Ms. Potato:

So u mean u are a budget kinda persin like me too?

Yeah pretty much. Don't get me wrong, I'll buy expensive things every now and again. But not too often. I guess for me, I enjoy inexpensive things nearly as much as expensive things. I enjoy going to a $5 or $10 burger joint just as much as a $30 or $60 dinner. And a homecooked meal that costs me $2 to make, I enjoy as much as the $5 or $10 meal. So end result is that I'm cheap. . . unless forced to spend  


But cool that your guy spends a lot! Whatever makes him and you happy is all that matters (so long as ya'll can afford it.)

I took the liberty of editing out the name of the ambassador and her state of origin from the above article, since neither is really immediately relevant.

By Emmanuel Ogala
March 17, 2011 01:46AM
print  email   


The Senate has confirmed the ambassadorial appointment of Ijeoma Bristol, who could not recite the national anthem when she appeared before it a fortnight ago, on compassionate grounds.

Mrs Bristol, from Anambra State, had failed to impress the senate committee on foreign affairs at a screening of ambassadorial nominees. She was not able to recite both the national anthem and the pledge. She could also not say the capital of Jigawa State.

“She demonstrated fair knowledge of the job and what is required of her as an ambassador,  but was not knowledgeable on specific and general issues concerning the diplomatic concerns of Nigeria,” Jubril Aminu (PDP Adamawa State), head of the senate committee on foreign affairs, said in his report to the senate.

“She was nervous during the interview,” Grace Bent, another member of the foreign affairs committee added.

Despite her shortcomings, the senate’s foreign affairs committee recommended that she should be approved for the job “so that she will retire as an ambassador”.

Mr. Aminu told the senate that even though he was personally against Mrs Bristol’s approval for the job and had advised that she go and learn about Nigeria first, majority of the committee members were lobbied to approve her.

“I was in the minority,” he said.

He said that in solidarity with the wish of his committee members the nominee should be approved with “benefit of the doubt” because she is a career diplomat and next in line for the position.

The stance of the committee divided the senate with many arguing that Mrs Bristol should be dropped. The opposing senators argued that competence, intelligence and courage should not be sacrificed for age or affection.

“We cannot continue to allow mediocrity,” Olorunmibe Mamora (ACN Lagos State) leader of the opposition said. “It is not helping us; we cannot allow this lady pass.”

“Temper justice with mercy”

The leadership of the senate, however, pleaded with their colleagues to “temper justice with mercy”.

“Her case is a case of what we call poor pass,” the senate president, David Mark, said.

The senate president however was optimistic that if given the opportunity, Mrs Bristol would learn about Nigeria. He added that the resentment expressed by senators would deter President Goodluck Jonathan from sending incompetent nominees to the senate in the future.

Mrs Bristol was confirmed alongside 25 others.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5683742-146/senate_confirms_ambassador_who_failed_anthem.csp

I'm pretty frugal, lol. Some might (and have in the past, unfortunately) even call me cheap 

Smh @ destroying infrastructure in your own heartland.

Oh well, everyone must do as they think best, I guess.

Gekko:

Chai, see massive support!!!  Even Beyonce headlined by Lady Gaga cant pull this type crowd!!   

lol

proudly9ja:

As regards airports, I think the problem many have is thinking all airports have to be as big as the one in Lagos or Abuja.
We should realise that the size of an airport would greatly depend on the traffic expected and as such, does not really have to drain Govt's pocket.

As for other positive reasons why airports in every state will be a good idea, others have said it better than I prolly would.

Personally, I don't think it is a good idea. But my larger point is, rather than having eku_bear, the FG, or anyone else decide, let the states decide themselves. This is better than a one-size-fits-all solution.

Evidence will not be provided, I guess. . .

blink182:

I love your point but Nigerians cant afford that now that is why the govt needs to do it. It will be a disaster if the private sector comes in, start charging higher rates but do not meet up demand. This country is one funny place govt should do it-credible govt. Lets give BB a chance

Not a good idea. Allocate some money to subsidize for the poor, maybe charge an extra tax for excess consumption. Things like that. But if the government keeps subsidizing electricity (as its doing now), then there will not be enough.

Imagine if the gov't forced all rice in Nigeria to be sold for less than the cost of production. And they used the excuse "Nigerians cannot afford the true price of rice right now." What do you think would happen?  All the rice farmers would shut down their farms and farm something else. Supply would plummet. Rice shortages everywhere. The few guys who are given import licences for rice would divert it and sell it on the black market. Or divert the rice to Benin Republic. Etc, etc. In other words, total disaster.

In general with these sorts of things, the more government interference (subsidies, price fixes, etc), the worse off we are. There are a few exceptions. . . but this ain't one of em.

Government needs to keep its nose out of basic commodities like electricity.

What type of name is Femi or Dike, then?

Or Bimbo?

All have negative connotations in English.

Perhaps no Nigerians should use those names again. . .

Seriously man, who cares what it means in American English in a Nigerian context?

babaogun:

He knows he can't achieve it.

Non of our politicians want to stick their heads out and play with figures. They all will tell us solutions, without telling us exactly how they tend to achieve it. Even nairalanders know all the problems we have in Nigeria.

Now imagine, if an incumbent cannot give figures or back up his claim that there will be free housing, how will the opposition have a clue on how to tackle the problem or argue a different alternative.

We need to remove sentiments, low cost housing is a thing of the past or a thing of not the immediate future. Even if the houses are built with the cheapest materials available today, they still can't be considered low cost based on capital that will be required to complete the houses.

These Low cost houses will find their way back into the power play market. [Just imagining a low cost house at NGN 10m, the successful applicants might be quick to sell at NGN 20m and move back to rented accomodation]

+100.

He is just saying it to get votes. I don't blame the man. . . sometimes you have to promise things which don't make any sense just to make the people happy. People love being told lies, for some reason, and do not like hearing hard truths 

As you say, giving away "low-cost housing" is just going to enrich the pocket of whoever is lucky enough to get on the list, who will then flip the house for a quick profit  

With that said. . . increased access to loans would be useful. If Lagos State setup the equivalent of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for the state, it would do a lot of good.

I'm surprised no links to his songs, aloy/emeka

Hrm. If I were in GEJs boots and as desperate as him. . . rig and siphon votes from Buhari to Ribadu, enough so that GEJ can win outright? Might not have to shift over more than 3-5%. I dunno how easy/difficult this would be to pull off though.

Abagworo:

Even if Buhari wins and tows the path of Jonathan by refusing to engage in all inclusive negotiations with every aggrieved section,I still see no end to the violence.

Unconditional release of Henry Okah and all freedom fighters followed by aggressive infrastructural development of the Niger Delta region is the only peaceful solution.

The other option is an all out war and complete defeat of militants.This option is applicable only when dialogue is exhausted because it will affect several innocent Nigerians and foreigners.

In a nutshell.Every informed Niger Deltan knows that the PDP government tried to apply divide and rule tactics as a solution to militancy.The North therefore does not in anyway influence MEND.The aggrieved faction is being haunted by the pro-Government faction with the aid of the army while the pro-Government faction are busy engaged in illegal bunkering.

I honestly don't think their concerns are justified. They receive enormous amounts of money as is, but do nothing with it. Ibori has $3 billion+ in his account, for pete's sake 

Bayelsa supposedly hauled in $200 milion per month. And this is likely the least populous state in all of the south.

Why should anyone feel compelled to give them more money if they piss away what they get? Bayelsa should be more developed than Rivers State. . . yet it is not. Whose fault is that but their governors and leaders?

There is no accountability here. Until they take responsibility for their own failings, why should anyone sympathize with them?

Anyway, with Shell and these multinationals selling their onshore assets and attempting to move mostly offshore, perhaps option #2 that you mention becomes more feasible.

@slap1 and everyone else:

Let's leave it be. . . I think the point has been made. It isn't good to bash other African countries unless absolutely forced to.

What do you mean by "bad teeth"? Like, diseased teeth? Or just teeth that aren't straight, white, no gap?

There are different degrees of bad. Depends on how picky you want to be. . .

semovita is absolutely disgusting 

Kobojunkie, you are violating the principle contained in your signature.

Let those who want an unviable airport in their state have it. . . and find money themselves to pay for it. If the government wants to give them $X for an airport, it had better give me $X too, which I'll invest in infrastructure for my state.

This is how African countries never progress. Pissing away money on bad investments.

@jensinmi: Exactly. I'd much rather spend the money on an excellent high-speed toll road from Lagos to Ekiti. Cut the 3-4 hour drive down to say two hours. This is a far better investment. It is nearly as good as having an airport in the state, but also helps Ekiti farmers get their goods to market (or anyone who buys and sells goods from one location to the other.)

You get far more bang for your buck doing this than building a silly airport.

fstranger3:


You cant be sure of that. Analyzing voting patterns in Nigeria is akin to trying to decipher if God really exists, All parties rig, heavily, and the notion/conclusion that the town turned against him is not  based on fact. IMO, all it means is that his opponent outrigged him in those states. Simple!

That is false, dude. You can visit a town and see what the sentiment is. It isn't hard to tell. Talk to enough people in enough towns, pay attention and you can figure things out. At least on a town by town basis.

Ekiti is genuinely ACN? says who? Did you conduct a research or poll?

I didn't conduct a scientific poll, no. But the state has been pretty close to 50/50 for some time now. In terms of the common sentiment of the ordinary man. However. . . Oni simply performed very poorly. Pissing away wealth in harebrained schemes. This obviously pissed people off. By "genuinely ACN", I don't mean like 95/5 ACN/PDP. Probably more like 70/30, 60/40, something like that. At least in terms of current sentiment within the state.

I dont know  about any state in the SW being genuinely ACN.   .    .  the same thing they said about Ogun in those days, did Osoba not lose to OGD?  Who ever thought that Lam Adesina, who fought for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria, would lose Oyo to the PDP, despite Bola Ige, the staunchest follower of Pa. Awo campaigning for him somewhat.


I dont believe any state in the SW is genuinely ACN, TBH with you. That is what they want us to believe, but trust me, if I were to vote, I wouldnt vote ACN for any reason.

Dont tell me you also think Lagos is genuinely ACN? Remember, Bola Tinubu never won any election in Lagos, he rigged himself in, just like Aregbesola and Fayemi have just done in their respective states.The joke is on us all.

I don't know the other SW states well, but I've paid attention to Ekiti politics and think I have a good sense of how people feel.

People are anti-PDP there simply because it didn't perform well. It certainly doesn't mean that the ACN can rest on their laurels. If the ACN don't perform, they'll be tossed out too. Ekiti people really aren't that obsessed with party labels. Whoever performs well will get support.

tpiah!:

well, i have no apologies to anybody, including the yoruba males on this forum who suffer from a severe inferiority complex due to the extreme ugliness of their female relatives.

Err. . . my female relatives are hot. In fact, truth be told. . . my half cousin for example, if she were not related to me. . . 

other ethnicities celebrate their own, and i do not in any way feel guilty over doing the same.

Nor should you. Tis a free world, people should do what they like.

This however does not mean I dont know many other races have far better looking male specimens than nigeria.

Eh, when it comes to matters like this, ethnicity doesn't matter to me. I don't racialize/ethnicize it. It is pretty personal stuff. If you want to do so however, certainly your choice.

but I see no reason why i should carry that fact on my head.

Igbos marry outside their race more than you. How many of them have you seen dissing their women in like manner.

Show me once where I've ever dissed Yoruba women. I like them a lot. . . for compatibility reasons it'd probably be best if I marry one. I just don't have too many of 'em where I live.

Really cool story!

When Mr. Uwechue took his first album to his friends and family in Nigeria, they were, he said, “a little bit surprised, yet proud” to learn that he had become a pop star in China. He recalled his mother’s response: “‘China? Wow! I never could have imagined.’ ”

Lol

^-- Iirc, he barely won in 2007. There was some controversy about the towns which ended up giving him the victory. And most of those towns turned against him in the re-run.

That is why I'm saying I'm fine with him being out. By the time the re-run came around, his support in the state had plummeted. Ekiti is genuinely (for the most part) an ACN state right now. And I say this as a guy whose town was heavily for Oni and the PDP in 2007 and 2003.

Lol, I shoulda just said "under 18"

Very interesting.

Oni was a pretty crap governor. . . seems likely that he genuinely lost, fair and square. Still, this seems suspicious.

Yeah, I've no clue about that 60% figure for under 18 they stated, how accurate it is. It does seem quite high.

Here is what under 14 looks like for our neighbors (at least from Wikipedia):
Benin Republic, looks like 44% of the population: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_Benin#Age_structure
Camerooon: 40.9%: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Cameroon#Age_structure
Niger Republic: 49.6%: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Niger#Age_structure

So yeah, this 60% is likely too high? 50% or 55% for 0-18 is likely a better estimate.

But in either case, you still get too high a # of votes. 140.4 million population from 2006 census? 5 years of pop growth. . . say 2.5% pop growth.

If we use 50% below 18, that suggests max of 79.2 million voters. If we use 55% below 18, 71.28 million max eligible voters.

Even using 79.2 million. . . do we really believe that 73 of those 79.2 million eligible voters registered? 92% voter registration seems. . . really, really high, doesn't it?

Hrm. . . I wonder what it looks like for other countries.

Here is a report I googled discussing voter reg rates, not sure how trustworthy the data is though: http://brennan.3cdn.net/3234b49c4234d92bf3_3km6i2ifu.pdf

Key table from above: http://tinypic.com/r/2dmci6u/7

I'm not sure what to believe. . . seems sketchy.

You must live in a place with lots of amazing women. Her face gets at least a 8/10 from me. She is pretty damn good, imo.

If 60% of Nigeria's population is below the age of 18, then they are correct. Would be massive voter inflation. . . on the order of 20 million fake votes.

ACN faults INEC figure on registered voters •Says 73million claim is false

| Print |
Written by Idowu Samuel
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on Tuesday, faulted claims by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it registered a total of 73 million voters during the last voter registration, averring that the figure was not correct.

The ACN made this known in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, who said the 800,000 number of multiple registration announced by INEC a week ago, was also unrealistic .

The ACN said the figures released by INEC had raised serious doubts on proper use of the AFIS software which it deployed for registration, just as it challenged INEC to explain how it arrived at the figure of 73 million voters and 800,000 multiple registrations.

The party said, ‘’we have taken our time to study the figures and here are our findings: Empirical analysis of the Nigerian population census given the 2006 figures and using a three per cent growth rate annually from 2006 to date will put the Nigerian population at about 149,229,090 by July 2009, according to Wikipedia.

“If the population of under 18 years who are not eligible to register are taken into account at about 60 per cent, and we discount those who voluntarily decide not to register to vote at about 5 to 10 per cent at a conservative estimate, then there is no way that up to 73 million people could have registered to vote.

‘’The portent of this bloated voters’ figure, therefore, will be that INEC is yet to come clean on its real figures following the AFIS scanning or may still be touting the pre-AFIS scanning figures as the actual voters’ registration figure. Either way, the bloated figure can only lead to a distorted result for the polls and reward those who engaged in sharp practices during the registration.

‘’Nigerians will recall that the ACN screamed non-stop during the registration about the activities of some crooked politicians who were inducing people financially to engage in multiple registration and bringing to their private residences the DDC machines used for the exercise. Based on our observations during the registration, the number of duplications should have been far higher.

‘’We also warned that the so-called AFIS software used to detect and remove multiple registration has been compromised by greedy engineers who sold their conscience to politicians in certain states where they were supposed to have run the software, thus failing to do so and leaving the multiple and irregular registrations in such states intact,’’.

ACN said the minimum criterion for the transparency of the process will be for INEC to give a state-by-state analysis of the pre- and post-AFIS scanning report, showing the initial figures registered for each state, the figures after AFIS scanning and the number of registrations discarded for multiple and irregular registrations.

it added, ‘’ if INEC could give figures for initial (provisional) registration without difficulties, it can also hold the operational officers who delivered such figures to provide the nation with a state-by-state account of the figures arrived at after cleaning up the register from multiple and irregular registrations. Not to do so will make the Jega register as unreliable as the Iwu register, and will also mean that the huge expenditure on the registration exercise is a colossal waste.”

Further highlighting its concern over the AFIS scanning process, it said if INEC had done the proper thing in cleaning up the register of multiple and irregular registrations, it could not have been able to come out with the figure for the final register at the time it did.

‘’Experts in the specific area of finger-print forensic assert that to properly detect the irregularities which INEC sought to remove fromthe voters’ register, the collected registers from each ward had to be consolidated, then all the wards in each local government will then be consolidated, then all the local governments voter registration data within a state had to be integrated.

“To do this, the experts said, it will require a pool of IT experts working in concert for a few days. Having consolidated all the data into one huge file, this data will then be scanned through a bank of computers, or mainframe, which INEC was supposed to have set up in each of its state offices.

‘’Experts are unanimous in asserting that highly-populated states such as Lagos, Kano, Rivers, Oyo, Sokoto and others could not have done the AFIS scanning in such a short period and come out with the expected three-category list, and then subject them to claims and objections, before sending to the INEC national office for consolidation and scanning for inter-state multiple registrations to get a final figure of 73 million.

‘’It is therefore imperative for INEC to come clean on how it arrived at its figures and to publish a state-by-state analysis of the pre-and post-AFIS scanning report in order to win the confidence of Nigerians. This is important because a credible voters’ register is a sine qua non for a free, fair and credible election,’’ ACN said.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/18977-acn-faults-inec-figure-on-registered-voters-says-73million-claim-is-false

1. Energy.
2. He can be an attack dog while allowing Buhari to remain presidential and above the fray. Excellent strategywise.
3. Help attract SW votes, which Buhari will need to win the election.

He has made a few gaffes here and there, but overall a pretty damn good choice.