₦airaland Forum

ahidjo:
In 1999, the poverty index was 45 percent. In spite of the huge revenue that has accrued to the government, today, the poverty level is 75 per cent. In 1999, 64 percent of our pupils were passing WAEC exams, after twelve years of PDP in power, 98 per cent of them failed WAEC and NECO exams. This has never come up for discussion for one day in the National Assembly. Every other index is going from bad to worse.

This doesn't sound correct. I understand his overall point. . . but I don't think we should distort the progress naija has made since 99.

@Reference: Nigeria has the 7th largest natural gas reserves on earth. There is also a lot of coal. Absolutely NO need to go nuclear. It is silly.

Most of these countries that have gone nuclear have done so because they are not blessed with natural resources to the same degree Nigeria is.

Sai ACN

Man this "Sai" word is pretty catchy

KenGali:
The distribution companies are only attached to their meters and customers, hence they do not have to be localized. they should be free to do business anywhere.
If I can not choose from among two or four different distributors  from at my home say in Ankpa, then their is no market competition, but localized monopolies. and Whats the essence of all the unbundling.

Who is going to want to be the guy to spend money building a 2nd distribution network (to compete against say Ikeja Distribution Co)? I don't see how your suggestion makes sense. . . distribution networks are inherently monopolistic.

The whole idea of unbundling the sector is to remove transmission function from distribution companies, so they only buy power into the greed and take it out from any point via their customers meters. If they will not be competing with each other, the unbundling is fruitless.

No, for the reasons stated above.

As for Sub-dividing the National Grid, you only need a lead operator among the four, to whom every other sub division must key-in. The network does not need to be entirely separated to be divided into units. Especially when the number of sub-units is small. The Concession is also for management and maintenance, hence non- of the sub units is at loss

Not really a big deal either way, in my opinion.

Just turn off images/javascript/etc in your browser?

If you don't want to do this in your main browser, download another one (chrome, firefox, etc), and use only basic html in it.

Just finished reading through all of it.

I would suggest that whether or not Goodluck wins in April 2011, most of the task force is retained and a plan like this be adopted. It really seems a good one, at least to me.

Nigeria will suffer a lot if we have to waste years drafting a new plan rather than using this one.

The Power Transmission system should also not be concessioned off as a single unit. else how do we benchmark the managment performance of the concessionaires.

How would this happen? Right now, the grid is one unit, right? Not several, like in some other countries (e.g., the US)?

The Transmission Infrastructure could be broken down into four units and concessioned off seperately, and preferably to nigerian firms.

I also wonder if the distribution companies can compete against each other, seeing that they are named after specific zones. no monopoly please.

Distribution is inherently monopolistic. I don't see any way to avoid this.

violent:
Omokri works with the American political strategist, Joe Trippi. Mr. Trippi is a consultant to Mr. Jonathan’s presidential campaign.

How much is GEJ paying you, Mr Trippi? And did he give you a bonus for writing that fawning article on the Huffington Post? 

Trippi is just another shameless pros.t.itute

Having read through a bit of GEJ's plan, it doesn't make sense to sell everything to one buyer.

Better to unbundle the plants and have them independently owned, in my opinion.

And as others have said, the price seems a bit high?

Doesn't look like I'll get a response.

We know what that means

EzeUche:
You two only respect them, because they agree with you all quite often.

I proly agree with less than 30% of what Eziachi says. But I still try to understand his perspective, how he came to his conclusion.

Abagworo has disappointed many Igbos on Nairaland, and has went against the wider view of many Igbos.

Ya'll do too much follow-follow. 100% agreement is implausible. No human beings are like that.

Eziachi is a wise Igbo sage in my opinion. He doesn't rush to conclusions, but that does not mean he doesn't have our interest at heart.

Agreed.

I voted for Rokiatu. She looks pretty amazing in that picture. At least, imo. Very nice body

[quote author=ekt_bear link=topic=632823.msg7999781#msg7999781 date=1301276478]And tbh. . . where on earth would this hostility in "the East" towards the ACN come from?

I'm very curious to find out the reasons. . . . .[/quote]I wonder what Uche's answer to this will be

jason123:
Abagworo and Eziachi are very wise.

Two dudes who I highly respect (though we are on different teams), and pay attention to what they say.

Chinese workers seem to be a lot better.

When these companies get to freely choose who they want as the contractor, they choose to bring in Chinese.

Kind of unfortunate.

I'd like to see us build a company that can match CCECC (the chinese construction firm.)

It'd take a lot of time, but might be worth the effort.

[quote author=Chyz* link=topic=632823.msg7999793#msg7999793 date=1301276731]Makes no sense to arrest the opposition candidate. This repetitive act of political sabotage through the arrest of the governor's opposition candidates is played out. Let the playing field be fair.[/quote]Well said.

And tbh. . . where on earth would this hostility in "the East" towards the ACN come from?

I'm very curious to find out the reasons. . . . .

^-- But not in Akwa Ibom, where it appears the ACN is strong :]

EzeUche:
No one has a right to the presidency. I just see groups that are more deserving of the presidency than others.

Fair enough. But at that point it is sentiment, not moral imperative. . .

Until Nigeria comes to a period, where we will not look at the region, religion or ethnicity of the person, I shall continue to vote for those who have my region's interest at heart.

. . . plus selfish personal interest (entirely understandable.)

I am tired of the same region ruling Nigeria for 35+ years. Don't you people see a problem with that? What gives them the right to think that they should rule Nigeria?

Same here. I'd prefer if the north is shut out of power too. But is my dislike for the north reason enough for me to support a candidate of questionable competence and zero accomplishments? Is reverse-tribalism (against the North) really the best way to make major decisions Probably not.

My support is for a minority from a region that has been neglected for decades, which should show many of you my reasoning.

As a member of a majority group in Nigeria who are supporting a minority, that speaks volumes about my people.

You already argued from the POV of selfish personal interest. . . so I don't think you get to use altruism too


Anyway, I guess there is nothing left to be said.

At least you seem to agree that there is no moral imperative here to vote for GEJ. That is enough. Then everyone can choose their candidates freely without any compulsion.

Well said, Tinubu.

^-- Why do you say that?

EzeUche:
We are not at that level of advanced democracy yet. You are coming from Western view of our democracy. In the developing world, democracies are quite messy. Frankly, we haven't even formed partisan identities in Nigeria, in people mostly look look to regional, religious and ethnic lens. Haven't you realized that by now.

I understand all of that. That is not the issue I raised, though.

GEJ became president by chance and now he wants to run for office. And he has the right to run for office. My vote for him is a vote for the Niger Delta. I am not here to make people agree with me, I am only telling you my personal views.

Of course! He is certainty entitled to run for office. I've no problem with that. But one cannot say, "Vote for GEJ, it is the morally correct thing to do because he is from the SS", etc. . . otherwise a contradiction arises.

By destroying zoning, he has no higher "right" to the presidency than anyone else. He is in fact on equal footing, and anyone can freely compete against him.

So there is no value in "about time for someone from the Niger Delta" sort of arguments. Once you use "about time" arguments, then you are implicitly arguing for zoning. . . the very thing that Goodluck sought to destroy.

Hopefully the contradiction is clear to you.

[quote author=Rhino.5dm link=topic=632819.msg7999668#msg7999668 date=1301274454]Promising the youths of Nigeria hope, the president said his administration had mapped out several economic blueprints which were being implemented to better their lot. Jonathan also restated his administration’s commitment to fighting corruption in the country.[/quote]

EzeUche:
It is about time someone from the Niger Delta, become president. Only a Niger Deltan can fix the problems associated with that region, which is the most important issue that is plaguing Nigeria. Since the Niger Delta is the goose that laid the golden egg, it is only fitting, that a minority from that region produce the next president.

How does this go along with democracy? What if a majority of people do not think that minority is the best person for the job? They should vote for him. . . just because?

In other words, zoning (which GEJ sought to destroy)?

There is a fundamental inconsistency here. If GEJ believes that zoning is dead, then is the alternative not people choosing freely who they want to lead them?

You cannot have your cake and eat it. If you keep zoning intact, then the SS can rule again once it is their turn. If you destroy zoning, then it becomes a free for all.

How on earth did this thread get derailed into "If you don't vote for GEJ, you are a bigot?"

Honestly, do not be confused by those who reason like m.o.rons.

Waste of your time and energies.

Heh, makes sense that Mexico would be unhappy.

Key quote, at least w.r.t. Nigeria/Africa:

Regional view
And what about the more positive view in the developing world?

In some countries especially in Africa, China has been investing heavily.

That brings jobs and infrastructure, though critics do see it as a grab for African resources, especially its energy and metals.

Perhaps some also welcome the sight of a developing nation emerging as an increasingly serious challenger to the rich world.

In some business circles, even among those who criticise China's policies, many nonetheless see the country as an opportunity.

More than a billion consumers are going to buy more goods and services as their living standards rise and Chinese firms will not be able to supply everything.

*shrug*

If he loses, no big deal. It isn't by force that he must be president. In theory we are a democracy. . . so if he doesn't get enough votes, he shouldn't be president.

Especially given all his incumbent advantages. . .

Playing the minority card and crying marginalization is a bit silly.

All the missed deadlines in the doc are annoying though

Thus, although the total actual generating capacity is targeted to increase from 4,612 MW
to 7,033 MW by April 2011, the more meaningful set of figures (from a transmission
planning perspective) is the fact that the increase in the annual average generation is
targeted to increase from 3,825 MW in July 2010 to circa 5,755 MW in April 2011.

A great plan. . . but is GEJ the man to implement it?

What evidence is there that he will unite Nigeria? Seems more like hopeful thinking.

Objectively speaking, he stands a good chance of destroying Nigeria too.