₦airaland Forum

Please unban the username ekt_bear which was blocked by the spam filter from posting

This is an article from 2001?

10 million? More like 500 million. We are too superstitious and prone to believing in magic rather than figuring out what is actually going on.

Can the mods restore the username ekt_bear? Posting privileges removed by the spam filter in this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-714883.32.html

Always quite fun messing with Mr Maggot.

But I should probably take off and accomplish some stuff today.

ekt_bear was banned by spambot, please unban

Cyanide Poisoning Symptoms

Cyanide poisoning can be difficult to detect. The effects of cyanide ingestion are very similar to the effects of suffocation; because cyanide stops the cells of the body from being able to use oxygen, which all cells need to survive. The symptoms of cyanide poisoning are similar to those experienced when hiking or climbing at high altitudes.

General weakness, confusion, bizarre behavior, excessive sleepiness, coma, shortness of breath, headache, dizziness, and seizures can all present with cyanide poisoning.

Typically, an acute ingestion will have a dramatic, rapid onset, immediately affecting the heart and causing sudden collapse. It can also immediately affect the brain and cause a seizure or coma.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/cyanide_poisoning/page3_em.htm#Cyanide Poisoning Symptoms

May God in heaven deliver you from this poison that has ravaged your body, Maggot. Looks like you are suffering from at least three of the symptoms.

This cyanide poisoning that Beaf suffers from no be small thing:

Cyanide Poisoning Overview

Cyanide is a rare but potentially deadly poison. It works by making the body unable to use life-sustaining oxygen. Unlike the hastily chomped cyanide-containing suicide pill in a James Bond movie, in the real world, most sources of cyanide are more mundane.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/cyanide_poisoning/article_em.htm

Can you imagine?  

Sounds like a terrible way to die.

Previous post deleted by spambot.

Anyway, long story short, I now understand Beaf's obsession with cassava. If it had poisoned and killed off my kin too, then I'd have nightmares about it too.

Behold the crop that torments Maggot in his dreams:
https://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/uploads/2007/11/cassava_root.jpg


Beaf erroneously assumed that cassava is a staple crop in Ekitiland, like it is in Isokoland.

Do you think my people would have grown poison as their staple crop, Beaf?  

Abiodun234:
@ekt bear
The discos can not by-pass TCN because:
-The distribution network is not designed to handle large amount of power, they are very lossy. This is because they are designed to operate at medium and low voltage level.

But you can generate different voltage levels from the power plant, right? The power plants don't produce high voltage power, right? I thought they step up the voltage and then convert to AC before sending onto the transmission grid.

-The power station generates power at a different voltage from what is required by the distribution network hence the needs for sub-stations. If the Disco and generating company decides to by-pass TCN they will be required to construct substations of their own.

Shouldn't be that big an issue, though.

-The law does not permit it.

You are saying that by law, the discos will have to buy their electricity from TCN? where does it say this?

-Security and redundancy issues:  if TCN is removed out of the equation, there is a possibility for the distributing company and the generating company to form a merger or acquire each other hence, creating a monopolised system.

It doesn't need to be that way. . . you can simply maintain the generating company as a separate entity and negotiate to buy electricity from them.

In situation whereby a major power plants fails or is shut down intentionally, there is a need to get power from other generating stations outside you environment.

This is the only real issue, lack of redundancy. But I think it can be worth it, if you can avoid having to deal with TCN. Plus you can create a bit of redundancy by using several power plants, etc.

I'd imagine that if you own the two Lagos discos or the Enugu Disco, you'd investigate doing it (since power can be generated locally nearby, area that you are serving is small land-mass wise.)

You avoid having to deal with the government entirely if you negotiate directly with your power plants. This seems a very good thing to me. . . likely your profit is higher, and you avoid having to deal with TCN and their issues.

@aloy-emeka:

Well, there are two sides here:
1) What is right and best for Oyo State
2) What would be best for me, if my family members were directly affected by this pay increase

I've already told you what I think the answer to (1) is. If (1) and (2) conflict, I'll probably choose (2) over (1), just because it is personal.

But the Governor has to be above that, in my opinion. . . he has to do what is best for Oyo.

If GEJ privatizes and increase tariffs, then we'll have 24/7 electricity in at least some parts of the country.

Main thing is for government to get out of the business as much as possible, imo

plz unban ekt_bear, was blocked by spambot

^-- The world would likely be a better place if you take your own advice rather than needlessly offering it to others. Your suggestion is much appreciated. . . but don't be too offended that I decline.

EzeUche:
3. As larger groups expand into other regions, they can displace other groups. Look at what happened to Lagos, which was originally part of your Benin Empire. Now it practically a Yoruba city.

Lagos was never inhabited by Benin ethnics, though? It paid tribute to the Benin Empire, but the ordinary people were Yoruba speakers? Contrast this with the rulers of the Benin Empire who I've heard spoke Yoruba as their court language. But since the people they ruled over weren't Yoruba speakers, the identity and culture of the nation did not change.

PhysicsMHD:
I think the Germanic groups diverged from one ancestor population and that the groups that diverged developed their own unique variants on the general ancient Germanic culture, leading to them being designated as different tribes. They then reproduced at varying rates based on their prosperity and the success of their towns and cities, and some of them intermarried with other groups. But is there really much difference between the Angles and the Saxons? Which one had a disproportionate share of the Anglo-Saxon culture? It's not clear, so I don't think we can assume that one group's culture was was predominant.

I was referring actually to the german tribes/states in Germany. . . Holy Roman Empire, unification of Germany, that sort of stuff. Sorry, I should have been more clear.

True. I was looking at "absorbed" as meaning actually becoming ethnically indistinguishable.

Ah, yeah that I wouldn't know. Even white American culture, if you meet a guy named Petrykowski somewhere in Boston, no matter how New England blue-blood he seems, Bostonian his accent, etc. . . you know that he has some ancestry from Poland. It really depends on whether you define ethnicity by blood or by culture.

PhysicsMHD:
1. Ok, I see the point about the Northern tribes, but I'm not sure that they all constitute distinct ethnic groups.
2. The Germanic tribes? Who were they "absorbed" by? (What large groups absorbed which smaller groups?)

Hrm, so this isn't quite the case of one large group absorbing a smaller one. More several small groups merging into one. But generally when this happens, one of the small subgroups seems to have a disproprotionate share of the culture. For the Germans, I'm not sure which group this is. For the Yoruba, it is probably Oyo language and culture. For Igbos, I guess Anambra?

3. Regarding a group numbering 100,000 getting absorbed, I don't really see how it can happen unless there is some sort of massive marriage drive between that small group and some nearby group.

Marriage isn't the only way. Language/culture is another way. The language/culture of the smaller group absorbs larger and larger percentages of the language/culture of the larger group. . . until eventually the distinction vanishes.

^--- WTF does Buhari have to do with this thread? Is Buhari the one that will teach you and Beaf the difference between GDP (ppp) and GDP/capita  Or teach you two that Ibori stealing $3 billion+ from Delta is bad? 

Rather than consulting Buhari, I'd suggest opening up a book. Or even Wikipedia will do the trick. . .

Kilode?!:
I think we agree on most of these. like I pointed out earlier, what you are proposing and what Oshiomohole is speaking about"

"is a fairer more justifiable version of the forced sharing we have right now"

I will welcome that, like you said, it is like comparing Six and Half a Dozen, We are giving up the revenue, they are not just forcefully taking it from the center. The power to negotiate is still there.

Err, what do you mean by the bolded?

Even if you give me 100% control, I will still pay taxes. right? which means I will have to give up a certain % of that 100%. I'm fine with that. As long as I'm not bit/ch-slapped into coughing up money.

It is pretty much the same thing that happens now. There is no real practical difference. Having 100% resource control and having to pay 50% taxes is no different from the FG owning it and giving you 50% of it  

The other states will also get whatever is commesurate with their need, population and strategic importance. I don't believe the North cannot out-produce the South.

Heh. I don't believe in what you wrote in bolded. . . and I suspect that you don't either   But that is fine.

We can also do better than the US by re-merging states. You bring your advantage to the table and negotiate a union or just remain small and less wealthy if you wish.

I'm fine with doing that to cut down on administrative costs. No need for 6 governors in the SW; one will do. Etc, etc.

That is why we need a more wholistic reform that addresses the fundamentals of revenue generation, taxes and control, I can bet we will not have the agitation we have in the SS if they are simply paying their own fair share rather than having their piggy bank robbed by the Bully Big Brother. There is a big difference between giving and taking.

Ultimately, there will always be New Mexicos and DCs in Nigeria, as well as New Jerseys, New Yorks, and Californias. This is simply inevitable; I doubt a nation exists on earth where every state pays exactly $1 out and gets $1 back. The goal should be reducing the variance, trying to make it more uniform. But realistically, unless the SS secedes, it is going to be a region that gets back less than it contributes. Hopefully we can go from $.05 or $0.10 up to $0.60.

"Sharing" away 87% is just some crazy nonsense though. . .

It is too high, I agree. But this was never the topic of the thread.

PhysicsMHD: But think of some of those small village tribes in the North who were absorbed by their neighbors. Or the Germanic tribes of the past who saw each other as distinct peoples. I think EzeUche's point is not incorrect. . . if you are a small ethnic group of 100,000 people, you'll probably get absorbed by your neighbors eventually. But if you are already several million today, then you are probably fine.

Likely a threshold exists above which you'll be OK, below which you are in danger.

And why do you see more ethnic groups coming into being? This only really occurred in the past due to poor communication/long distances, etc. Thousands of years ago, your cousin Frank would leave central Nigeria, move down to South Africa and 1000 years later his descendants speak an entirely different language, have a very different culture. Today, that is very less likely to happen.

ndu_chucks: Your position is pretty unreasonable. Ultimately, the resources belongs to those who own the land. So whether they are lazy or not is irrelevant; a rich man can be as lazy as he wants.

I'm not challenging their ownership of the resource. I'm just suggesting that 100% resource control say tomorrow will have a pretty negative impact on lots of states which don't have oil. An increase in derivation is fine; a 20 year plan to phase it out completely is fine too.

But. . . don't pull out the ladder from underneath me while I'm changing the lightbulb. If you tell me I have 10 minutes to use the ladder, I can prepare.

recoome:
@beaf:he's more of a fool than i had ealier thought, i never knew that a fool like this actually existed. what is GDP(PPP).

Indeed. No such thing exists.

Is he talking about gross domestic product or private public participation?,

I think I was very confused when I made the statement.

what is GDG/capita?, when did they start calculating GDP based on population and not sectors of the economy?

An excellent question. One could not calculate GDP and then divide by population and then derive meaning from that quantity. A good point you raise. . . hopefully the economists shall never use the quantity GDP/capita again.

Who stole $3 billion?, is the person on forbes list?

Well said. James Ibori didn't steal 3 billion+. Proof? He isn't on Forbes list! 

Look at his last statement on the first quote: The only thing u demonstrated IS THAT THREAD IS THAT you are a dumbass- is this correct?

I concede that I made a typo. I should have wrote "in that" rather than "is that." However, given the # of typos and grammatical mistakes you've made in this single post of yours. . . I don't think you are in any position to criticize.

It's even my 3 yr old brother beside me that saw the silly mistake of the mumu, what could be dumber than eku_bear?

Nobody. Certainly not you or Beaf. I bow in awe of your collective intelligence

Kilode?!:
That is why we need to find the reasonable middle ground. IMO, the solution must address the the point raised by kalokalo. Most serious critics of the Nigerian revenue sharing system approach it from that angle of justice and empowerment. We are not just seeking the transfer of money from Abuja to Asaba or Ado-Ekiti. No! for this to work, it must address the right of the individual, Land royalties and the right to mineral must reside with the individual not the state.

Sure, that is fine by me. You can in fact vest the ownership of all resources with each state. So what happens when the FG decides to tax the generated resource at an 87% rate? Nothing has really changed, has it?

As they say, "six of one, half-a-dozen of the other". . . no difference.

@Kilode: My post got swallowed by the spambot.

Anyway, let me respond to each of your "^----"s:

1) I think you are answering a slightly different question, no? Basically, there will be some states that generate less tax revenue than they amount they demand. Currently, for all but a few states, that is true. So again, what incentive does a net "+" state have to merge with a net "-" one? For example, the British merged the Northern and Southern protectorates because the Northern one cost money and the Southern one generated money. If it had been up the people of the South (or their representatives), they would have opposed such a merger.

2) Regarding how it is done in the US. . . consider this chart: http://www.taxfoundation.org/research/show/266.html
DC gets more than $5.00 for every $1 it pays out. New Jersey only gets $0.61 cents for every $1 it pays. We can make a similar table for Nigeria. . . but likely the variance is far higher. Highest might be $100, lowest might be $0.10. I agree, the goal should be to reduce the variance down to $1, as much as possible.
But let's not act as if the current system is completely abnormal. The quibble is the formula for FG payouts (or equivently, FG takeaways from each state.)

3) Regarding "belong to you in the first place", I freely acknowledge that it doesn't belong to me. And in a perfect world, I wouldn't need it at all. But as things stand, it seems critical.

4) Regarding "military defense", if the basket of goods sitting on the table is sufficiently valuable, then sure, I stay. Otherwise. . .

5)

Let them keep their money and pay taxes. You will still benefit from that, and who knows, they might one day need you too, Ask the Detroit city of yesterday.

How is that not what occurs now? Current derivation formula is 13%. So roughly speaking, the tax rate is 87%. I have no issue with seeing this tax rate reduced. But that is not the topic of the thread, or Oshiomole's point. His point is, how should whatever the FG accrues from this tax be paid out? Surely you see that these are two separate issues.

A whole president, jailed?

Quite impressive.

I don't think that could happen in the US.

mbulela:
Her case is not even the worst.
I knew girls of certain extraction who could not string a single sentence in English for four years and some of them graduated with degrees in English and even English (education).
All they needed to do was have a regular male sleeping partner who was good academically, sleep with lecturers who were willing to be paid in kind when they could not sit with their sleeping partners i nexam halls or pay the lecturers who insisted in being paid in cash (with funds raised from Aristo runs).
At the end of four years you would find one lecturer who did not fall into any of these classes listed above, then the girl will go on a begging parade,telling the man that his course was what was holding her from graduating and he should just "let her go" with an E. even the lecturers she slept with in her dept will join her in begging the rigid one.
At the end of the day, she graduates.

Wow. I don't know if that is funny or sad. Maybe both.

It really sucks for those who actually legitimately get their degrees, since their efforts are devalued by people like the ones you mention.

Wear platform shoes all the time to appear taller?

Or have her crouch?

oyb:
naija unis

i remeber during nyc at camp - i was reading a novel and some dude was like u never read enough book for school?

Sure, it is the same here too . . . people don't enjoy reading

But I'm sure the dude could speak English reasonably well? At least, better than an illiterate?

My dad's driver is a drop out from somewhere in Ogbomoso, but is more eloquent than her.

passyjango:
She probably got adult education, the type that they use their salary to bribe their way through school.

Yep. It is pretty much impossible to spend four years at an English-speaking institution and come out talking like an illiterate.

That is my own hypothesis at this point. . . her UniPort degrees are fake or purchased.