₦airaland Forum

Africa has always been viewed by pan-africanists and critics of the west as a continent under the deadly seige of neo-colonialism.This perspective may be due to the fact that the economy of the continent is largely controlled by foreign interests and "too-big-to-fail" multinationals,or perhaps it is because the political atmosphere of the continent is defined by mostly western interests,infact,one could simply conclude that it is a peculiar combination of these two factors.It is therefore not surprising that Nigeria, the much decorated giant of Africa is a victim of this seemingly diabolic control by foreign powers.
This article will view the train of events as it began on the cold morning of December 5,2011 in the white house,Washington D.C.One would ask,what is the significance of this day to the US influence on Nigeria's politics?,Oh,its quite simple, that was the day the president of the United State,Barack Obama made the pronouncement that gay right will henceforth be at the forefront of US foreign policy.Prior to this statement,the US had always pressured African countries to forfeit the anti-gay bill that had taken root in many African countries,but the US apparently got little success as such approaches were rebuffed by African governments due to fear of public backlash.On January 13,2014 Nigerian president goodluck jonathan signed the Nigerian version of the anti gay bill into law sparking strong rebuke from western countries.And this was where relationship between the Goodluck Jonathan's administration and the US started breaking apart.That move by GEJ was seen as a direct challenge to the US foreign policy and a precedence that could spur other African countries to follow suite.
Now,let us keep in mind that the problem here is definitely not the gay right tussle between the west and African states,the issue is about the domineering policies and culture of "diplomatic enforcement" of the US foreign policy towards Africa.
Not to drag matters,let me fast forward to December 1,2014.On this day,the GEJ administration terminated an ongoing US military training exercise targeted at training a special task force of the Nigerian army that was to be set loose to confront the then rapidly advancing boko haram caliphate.This decision was taken by the Nigerian government on the basis that the US refused to sell critical military hardware to the Nigerian armed forces due to breaches in human rights that the Nigerian government furiously denied.
Unfortunately,that move only set to further strain relationship between the two countries and anger policy makers in Washington.January 26,2015 when the Nigerian government raised alarm over the secret arms embargo that was allegedly placed on Nigeria,according to military sources,the Nigerian government's efforts to purchase Chinook military helicopters from Israel for the war against terrorism was blocked by the US.But what should you expect when you refused to play ball with Washington?.
The US not only stopped there,On March 23 2015,Barack Obama himself sent a prre-election video message to Nigerians, urging Nigerians to vote for "good governance" and warning the ruling party against carrying out any suspicious activity.This clearly shows that the US was very interested in the outcome of the elections, and it was no secret that Washington did not fancy the goodluck jonathan administration.Interestingly,the present Nigerian president Mohammadu Buhari openly commended the US for "applying pressure" on the past administration.My fellow compatriots,wouldn't it be safe to assume that one of the factors that led to the ousting of the former administration was due to the US domineering influenceon the conduct of the election?,Remember that Obama's campaign adviser joined the fray by working for the then opposition party.
This is not to say that the 2015 election was rigged(as I do not have any such evidence or conviction) or that the present administration is not valid.This is only to illustrate the influence of the US in Nigeria's politics.

THE MOTIVE BEHIND BUHARI's EMERGENCY ECONOMIC POWER

California is the 6th largest economy in the world. It's economy is larger than that of France or Brazil. The little problem is that California is not a country. It is a State in the United States of America. It has little offshore oil, yet its economy is larger than States in the US that are famous for their oil reserves, like Texas. California generates much of its revenue from non-oil products. It found a way to absorb and domesticate much of the intellectual output from its premier university, Stanford University, into saleable products within its economy.

As a matter of fact, much of California's economy is built around Stanford University. So with this, Silicon valley developed. I'm sure you've heard of Silicon Valley at least once in your life. Now with Silicon Valley came companies like Apple, eBay, Cisco, Lockheed, Hewlett Packard (HP), Google, Netflix, Facebook, Oracle, Tesla...and the list goes on and on ad infinitum.These are multibillion-dollar companies. The yearly budget of any one of these companies might be larger than the entire yearly budget of, say for example, Akwa Ibom State. I'm taking about companies that are richer than countries. They are all in California. But that is just in the technology industry where the technologies and inventions spewing out of Stanford are caught midair and converted to money spinning enterprises.

But there is also the entertainment industry in California. Yes, Hollywood is in California. The US movies industry contributes about $504Billion to USA's GDP. Hollywood, as you know, contributes over 70% of that figure. Most iconic movie studios are in Hollywood. As a matter of fact, the "Big Eight" consisting of 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, United Artists, Universal Studios and Warner Bros are, or were, all in Hollywood. These again, are multi-billion dollar companies generating revenue for California.

Despite the above, California also thrives on agriculture. As at 2014, California had nothing less than 77,000 farms and ranches raking in about $55Billion in revenue yearly. It produces over 400 agricultural commodities, a large chunk of which it exports. It is the leader in producing exotic fruits in America. Its wine industry is unique. California wine is drunk with relish the world over. I used to drink some too.

This is just one State in America. You see, California actually had a choice of sitting back and striving to get a piece of the revenue generated from Texas' oil. It could have depended solely on Federal allocation to survive so that every month end, it will send its Commissioner of Finance to Washington DC to receive monthly allocation so that it can barely pay salaries of its workers and nothing more. Then San Francisco would resemble Ajegunle in Lagos. And there certainly would not be those beautiful sights and sounds that make California what it is today. But No, not California. Not America. California gives to the center and, because of its wealth, despises the idea of depending on it for survival. The Federal Government actually needs California to survive, not the other way round.

You see, America is structured in such a way that States must look inwards to exploit their wealth for the good of its citizens. There is no free lunch for the lazy States. There certainly is no commonwealth. But there is your wealth, if you can create it. Under American Federalism, you are the captain of your ship. But again, you are also the waves upon which the ship will sail. That is America. The local government, the government closest to the grassroot, is deliberately made the strongest level of government. Items like Variances (adaptation of state law to local conditions,) Public works (yes, public works!!), Contracts for public works, Licensing of public accommodations, Assessable improvements, Basic public services are all left for local county governments to handle. The State handles weightier matters like Property law, Education,Commerce laws of ownership and exchange, Banking and credit laws, Labour law and professional licensure, Insurance laws, and Electoral laws, including parties and Civil service laws. Items that the Federal Government, the center, handles affecting the States, are actually very negligible.

Nigeria on the contrary will never do well unless we restructure. We pretend to have a Federal system but we are actually operating a unique form of unitary government, and it is weighing the polity down. Can you imagine a country where the school curriculum is regulated by a national central body and states have no powers to vary or amend their curriculum? So, if the rest of the developed world is light years ahead in what they teach their children from primary schools, and our Minister of Education has absolutely no clue, the States must be burdened with antiquated school curriculum until such a time (if we are lucky, before rapture perhaps!!) that we have an Education Minister who would realise how far behind we are and bring the curriculum up to date. Just take a look at the science curriculum for grade students in advanced countries and you would cry for Nigeria. I recently read of a high school in Japan which has amended its curriculum to include robotics and drones technology. IN HIGH SCHOOL!! But our Professors here don't have a hang on Robotics even! Students are still taught the very prehistoric rudiments of physics and chemistry in our schools. And this is even in the few schools that teachers and students still meet in the classrooms! For the few public schools that are lucky to have labs, all you see are miserable nameless creatures trapped in formalin, to which nobody ever pays attention. These creatures suffer a double jeopardy having suffered the first misfortune of being caught and preserved in formalin in Nigeria, and then thereafter completely ignored, even in death! And because the control of our curriculum is central, there is nothing potentially proactive or progressive-minded States can do about this.

You would think this is not a problem until you understand that Nigerians spend over ONE TRILLION NAIRA every year to study abroad, despite there being over 100 tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Not one is deemed good enough. You see, the reason why you have Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, etc is not only for academic excellence of the citizens of the countries which have these schools. No. They invest in their institutions so that they can earn revenue from foreign students from countries like Nigeria which has destroyed its educational system. Abroad, schools are so important to society that the economy, business and lifestyle of whole cities and even States completely depend on or revolve around schools. What would the city of cambridge be without Cambridge University. Or Cambridge, Massachusett without Harvard University. These cities depend on these universities to survive. And imagine that Nigeria had invested in its universities and was earning $1billion dollars a year from foreign students seeking to study here, who would be fighting over oil in the Niger Delta? How many car manufacturing companies would we have in Owerri near FUTO where students are constantly doing and selling their research products to burgeoning engineering and manufacturing companies? Recently, three students in Sweden conducted research and came up with a product that could improve wear and tear on tyres. The product became so successful that Volvo had to partner with these students to patent the product. Now when this product hit world stage, can you imagine how much revenue sweden would earn from these product? Do your research, most of the world-class products we buy today off the shelf, at great cost, were invented by university students. As you are reading this, do not forget that without Harvard University, there would not have been facebook, and consequently WhatsApp through which we converse today.

But our students In Nigeria are not entirely without inventions. We invented the Pyrates Confraternity, the , the Eiye, the Vikings and what not!! Students resume school with guns and bullets, rather than books and scholastic ideas, as though academic institutions were a war college. Lecturers fly colors as do students. And when the turf war begins, people die in droves. But States can do nothing about this because some of these institutions are controlled by the Federal Government. Even for the ones controlled by States, you still can't do much because the security apparatus is controlled by the Federal Government. The Federal Government will provide or withdraw security from the State, depending on whether it is happy with the sitting Governor. So every year, all sorts of characters are vomited from Nigerian Universities to take their place in Nigerian society. So you have Judges, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors and so forth whose first and primary allegiance is to their cult group, before the Country. The multiplier effect of this, is a treatise for another day.

But suffice to say that as long as this problem persist, let's forget about Silicon Valley in Nigeria, because there will never be a Stanford University here to provide an infinite supply of ideas and prodigies to feed the invention value-chain!

Nigeria cannot wake up from its slumber today because it cannot lift its head. The entire weight of its existence is concentrated in its head. From the viewpoint of government, the weight is In Abuja. From the viewpoint of revenue source, the weight is in the Niger-Delta. We need to urgently restructure and evenly distribute this pressure points and weights to diffuse tension in Nigeria.

We need to revisit the exclusive legislative list in the constitution and systematically reduce the responsibilities of the Federal Government vis-a-vis the States. Resources have to be handed back to the States that generated them but place an obligation on each States to contribute an agreed percentage to the common federal purse to service obligations of the Federal Government. There is no reason Education, Policing, Prisons (only people convicted of federal offenses should go to federal prisons!!), Ports, Inland waterways, natural minerals, even marriage (yes, english form of marriage!!) and so many other items should be the concern of the Federal Government.We will never develop with such weight that weigh us down at the center. Nigeria can never raise its head in the comity of nations because of the sheer weight of the head.

There is more to say, but scarcely any time. But to emphasis the point i've been laboring to make, shall i say again that there is absolutely no reason or need to fight for oil in the Niger-Delta. There are so many things that can bring more revenue to States in Nigeria than oil. South Africa has no oil, but it has Gold, and is richer than Nigeria. Let us fight for a system that will promote both equality and equity. Let us restructure Nigeria.

A worthy example.

One christian character that has always interested me is Paul of Tarsus and his master Gamaliel the Elder,a leading authority in the sanhedrin
According to Jewish history,Gamaliel was a pharisee doctor of Jewish law and a presbyter in the council of Sanhedrin's in the early 1st century,he was grandson of Hillel the Elder,who was a reknown Jewish teacher of great charisma.
According to the Jewish Talmud,Gamaliel was described as the leader of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem.Gamaliel is known to be one of the greatest teachers in all the annals of Judaism.
Gamaliel was a colleague of the great rabbi Nicodemus,as they were both sanhedrins,many of the acts of Gamaliel are documented in the Acts of Llatzer.
But there is a question that bothers the mind of m,ost Christian scholars and bible addicts(myself included): acts 5:37_
Acts 5:37-39 tells the story of Gamaliel pleading with his fellow sanhedrins to set the arrested apostles free.If Gamaliel was such a benign man,why then did his student,Paul of tarsus hate the Christians so much?.Was Paul a religious fanatic?,was he an heretic?.This prompted me to read some of Paul's work,Galatians 1:8-21 was an eye opener to the way Paul thought,Paul believed that his knowledge of Christ was divine and not taught to him by a man.This showed that Paul did not avail himself to be taught by the disciples before starting his ministry.No wonder the Talmud described Gamaliel as teaching a student who displayed "impudence in learning".
Paul openly rebuked the apostles of christ(especially Paul,James and barnabas),in Galatians 2:13-14,by mocking their habit of eating with gentiles as "behaving like gentiles,instead of jews",perhaps he didn't know that Jesus feasted with zacchius,a reknown corrupt tax collector?,or did he mean "gentiles" as "non-jewish"?, this seem to show a flaw in his purported " knowledge of Christ".
In Matthew 19:27-28,Christ promised his 12 disciples 12 thrones in heaven,but in 2 corinthians 12:11 Paul said "in nothing am I behind the chiefest apostles,though I am nothing".It seem ironic that Paul thought himself equal to the apostles he met there without taking into consideration their personal relationships with christ,right?.Perhaps Paul was not a Jewish bigot who thought himself more educated than the illiterate fishermen who ruled the early church,but he certainly had an ego
In Galatians 5:14,Paul insisted that "for all the law is fulfilled in one word,even this; thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself", this is indeed very intriguing because Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40 that there are TWO governing laws;
1. Love thy God with all thine heart
2. Love thy neighbour as thyself
Why then does Paul claim that there is only one law when Christ himself said there are two laws of love?.
Paul's view on slaves is another rather interesting topic; the onesimus saga comes to mind.But all in all,Paul was one of the great disciples whose works were aimed at teaching the gospel of Christ to all nations in a Jewish way.He was the most resilient of all the disciples and this makes him one of my favourite bible character.

Very cunning reverse propaganda.

Geniro:
And you seriously believe giving an advantage to one man over others is a plus for healthy investments to occur. You are a clear novice for even insinuating the CBN has a fool proof to counter the incessant forex racketeering that happened in recent times unabated until when this stubborn admin decided to float the naira partially.

So you mean scarcity of tomato is because people are not into it or what ? Are you damn serious ? . And who told you the cocoa business is dead ?

The solution is simple, create a level playing field for maximum benefits than giving an advantage just to one person citing his readiness. You believe other business will turn down the opportunity to invest if given the same 10% forex incentive.

There are thousands of business who employ millions closing down due to FX restrictions and here you are yapping on how Dangote will mop them up. What happens between now and whenever Dangote refinery is ready for business. Have you bothered to consider that ?

Should we deny dangote forex simply because we want to "level the playing field"?,who are the players on the field and what are the scores?.
Cocoa and cotton are nearly moribund compared to what we had in the 1960s,we are not even anywhere near top 5 in producing these commodities anymore.Dangote has already acquired over 80,000 hectares of land all over Nigeria for rice production(infact he is about to harvest his first barge of grains),why aren't other business men following suite?,tomorrow if he decides to take advantage of the gap and start assembling cocoa and groundnut pyramids,we will start hearing monopoly.You can't blame him for the laziness of the Nigerian business elite.
Let people come in,and they will be given forex.

Geniro:
Just listen to the trash you posted. You are putting your local refinery hope on him since Dangote is the only man that can bring about such development.

A $100 million dollar incentive by the govt. is enough to stimulate the SMEs sector to bring about the much needed vibrancy into the economy in this trying times instead of believing that a single Refinery is the key to solving our peculiar challenges. Dangote will just price fix his stuff and there is absolutely nothing you can do to counter that due to monopoly.

How are we sure he didn't use some of the same slush funds to make more billions in the parallel market while other multiple business were folding up leading to several thousands of job losses.

By the time Dangote launches his refinery in a few years, we will be having millions who have lost their jobs and probably died due to hunger and frustration simply because the Govt. felt only an individual is worth such an humongous incentive.

Petty sentiments will get Nigeria nowhere; this is a man who has decided to invest $10 billion on building the largest refinery in the world in a country that does not have a deregulated downstream oil sector,in a country that has failed to pass the monumental PIB for over a decade.
What other hope of local refining do we have?; once dangote gets his refinery working,it would definitely attract other investors to do the same(including those that have already been awarded license),then competition begins and fuel price get moderated.
You are accusing him of selling out dollars to the parallel market(a claim which you are unable to prove); but if he does that,how do you think he will complete his project?,do you imagine that the CBN does not monitor the flow of dollars within banks and BDCs?.Moreover,only a selected number of BDCs are licensed by the CBN to sell dollars,so how will they escape monitoring?
You people scream monopoly; is it his fault that many of our business men fail to explore business opportunities in Nigeria,instead the prefer to do "clearing and forwarding" importation.There is scarcity of tomato,cocoa,cotton and other commercial produts ,why can't our business men seize the opportunity to start producing these things en masse?,tomorrow if dangote decides to do it,they scream monopoly.

Bethelwealthy:
bros, you can hug ur narrow narrative like ur pillow as u like. but for me here's my point:
1. Dangote is a big businesa but not as big as 20% of all other business in Nigeria.
2. He's business a deep sea port but so also are other four companies.
3. He's building a refinery but so also are 6 other companies
4. If a million business men rely on a "palstry", forex like u put it, what is the justification that just one man have access to a whopping 10% of that?
5. If FG feel d need to protect businesses in the face of its obselete Policies, it should be across board.
6. If dangote is the next biggest employer of labour after govt and agriculture, please what is the total number of people he employs in a population of 180million that govt is not willing to protect other businesses but dangote that doesnt employ up to 1% of Nigerian population?
7. Lagos is the earth of business in Nigeria and dangote's presence in Lagos is less than 2%, what happen to all other businesses that keep Nigeria liquidity firm?
.....................a narrow mindset is a disease.

The problem isn't a narrow mindset,it is failure to reason with civilized faculty,if any is present at all.
Dangote does not employ 1% of Nigerians,but it is the highest local employer of both direct and indirect labour in Nigeria,should we wait until we find a company that employs 50% of Nigerians before we support its goal of building a national asset?,please name any other local refinery that is being built(with proof of its construction) and their proposed capacity.
Over 50% of other big businesses in Nigeria's are import based,should we share out our limited forex to importers in special tranches?
Eko Atlantic is relying on forex from the CBN,should we deny Chaugary group forex needed to build the landmark project simply because it does not employ 1% of Nigerians,or it is not the only city developer in Nigeria,or because other developers should have equal right?.Please let's make use of our IQ or borrow one if lacking.
How many businesses in Nigeria need as much forex as the ongoing refinery?,its not as if the man is eating it,he is using it to build the biggest refinery in the world!
The reason why dangote needs special forex in the first place is because of the enormity of funds the project is consuming, other businesses are also receiving forex,but in a more normal way,after all,the CBN cannot eat the 90% forex left,it has to spend it.
Please let's reason more like human beings than bugs.

Bethelwealthy:
brof use ur brain. is dangote d only person building a refinery? am sure you know anambra is too, Lagos and Even few Igbo business men as well. think abt what innoson motors is doing abt substituting home-made vehicles for imported ones. The justification for this action is just one word "FAVOURITISM". Not just dangote only but we have induatrialists and masters of industries whose businesses requires forex. Am not against him getting forex but if the same treatment and shock absorbing process is not availed the other struggling or outrightly dying business, then it is a pure case of CONSPIRACY & NEPOTISM. Do you know what 10% means? except dangote is building 500 refineries at the same time, he doesnt require even 3%.
all i see is a govt deliberately shielding one man from the effects of their bad and backward policies just to see all other business owners roast in it. It is called ANIHILATION.
Any one who understand how islamization or any other dominationa works knows that once the economy is schewed in favour of the supremcist, power is totallt taken away from the unfavoured.
It is now i belief this whole dollar saga is a deliberate agenda to destroy certain business-vibrant set of Nigerians. It is crystal clearer now.
..........we are in trouble!

Again,we have failed to avail ourselves with common sense.
Dangote is building a refinery and petrochemical fertilizer plant along with a deep sea pipeline,all worth over $10 billion,how much is Nigeria's total forex year in year out?,let us imagine that Nigeria earn $80 billion in dollar this year,and we exchange 10% of it on dangote refinery,is that amount even still enough to fund the project?,you think 10% of our paltry forex means all the hard currency in the US federal reserve?
The US is the biggest economy in the world,yet its economy is ruled by capitalist business empires like wallstreet,GE,Apple,Google,Jpmorgan and co; in a capitalist system like Nigeria, the economy will always be tilted in favour of the big enterprises,that is how capitalist systems work all over the planet.

Geniro:
Putting all your economic hope on one man is sheer stupidity laced with craziness. No wonder we are still grappling with the outstanding uselessness of this admin foisted on us by ediots like you.

We aren't putting "all our economic hopes" on him.....we are putting our local refinery hope on him.
Would you prefer to wallow in scarcity of basic fuel simply because you are jealous of one man?; the refinery has employed and will permanently employ thousands of youths,have you considered that?.Have you considered the massive industrialization this project brings to the SW and the whole Nigeria?,I think you are just being selfish and petty.
I don't care if he is a northerner,so far this project brings about massive local refining of oil and a resultant enormous employment opportunity,then I support it.
Do you know how mucmuch forex Eko Atlantic and Abuja centenary cities consume?,should we then stop constructing both monumental projects?
I don't know how some people reason.

Pavarottii:
Wat a dumb response; u don't even know how CBN works. Av u ever even been to CBN Headquarter?

lol.....what does that have to do with anything?.

porka:
You people are fond of just picking up your calculators and doing addition and subtraction in any one way that suits your new wishful thinking.

How did you arrive at your 40% conservation of forex by Dangote Refinery now ehn?

How you people do your arithmetic is not clear, it's more of fictional assumptions than reality. In reality, Dangote would be buying crude oil in dollars as no IOC will accept naira from him in exchange for oil. Not even Folawiyo Petroleum.

Your assumptions are based on reduction in oil marketers' demand for dollars but completely ignore the reality that Dangote himself would need forex to buy crude for his refinery.

Aside freight cost, it's hard to see how Dangote Refinery will reduce the forex demand by 40%.

Nigeria spends 40% of its forex on importing refined oil,if dangote gets his refinery onstream,then we can conserve that huge chunk for more developmental purchases.Do you now understand?
Moreover,the FG can reach a deal with dangote that enables his refinery to lift crude oil without payment in return for selling petroleum products to Nigeria at an heavily subsidized rate,this would effectively eliminate the consumption of forex.
However,tell me why dangote refinery would buy the crude oil in dollars from an IOC when it is obvious that he is a local refiner?

revolt:
its amazing dangote is the only manufacturer in naija( interesting), as I just learnt telecoms coys consume forex, so going by your analysis, how do u know dangote isn't trading with the forex giving to him, and if he needs forex to purchase refinery parts that he would use in assembling his refinery here what's the difference between him an innoson that's bringing in SOME parts of the vehicles he's assembling here?. My man stop tryn to justify that move its clearly a bigoted move.
As for the PIB which you excused the presidency of, I am aware hes sent one bill to the senate and it wasn't PIB, it. Was cattle GRAZING reserves bill. Our president showed his interests was more with cattle rearing that ensuring investors in our petroleum sector. So oga leave that equivocal explanation.

Innoson is importing parts to produce cars,dangote is importing parts to construct a refinery; if any sane government were to chose who to give forex,dangote will be the option 'cos he is a building national asset that will conserve 40% of our forex.
It is simple common sense
Argentina has grazing reserves all over their country,today they are one of the world's largest exporters of diary products with an estimated number of 52 000 000 cows,they actually have more cows than human beings.
If we can eliminate the pointless ethnic sentiments that are getting us nowhere,then we would realise that there is actually nothing wrong with establishing government controlled grazing reserves.
The PIB has been an issue for over a decade now,I don't think we should heap the blame on this administration,moreover,this government has already deregulated the oil sector and promised to passed the PIB in tranches of bills,let us observe the trend instead of complaining baselessly.

ejilife:
What an excuse! You claim that these other companies are not quoted on the stock exchange and thus shouldn't be qualified for special packaged forex? So, it is Dangote refinery that is quoted on the stock exchange?

Dangote group is quoted on the NSE.

Let us also use our initiative to consider that Chagaury group,the developers of Eko Atlantic are getting special forex for their construction,should we stop giving them forex?,we are building rails and roads,do you think the forex flew into the collective laps of the contractors?.
Nigeria must give out special consideration whether we like it or not,unless we want to cease developing.

revolt:
dangote isn't the only enterpreneur sourcing for forex, innoson, telecoms, airliners, banks are all sourcing for forex which will help keep those industries afloat, now explain why dangote has to be given prefrence over the rest. And bro do u not know if the PIB is signed the fg will not even need to give dangote any forex , why?!! Cos loads of fdi will help fund the project as their interests will be statutorily protected(PIB). So why will anybody support forex for dangote but non for other biz men. Can we be this blind or are we just simply not intelligent.

It is a simple matter of common sense; innoson imports most of its parts from Germany,airliners are heavy consumers of forex because they refuse to deal in the local curency,banks are sellers of forex and would therefore naturally clamour for more even if it is harmful(so far they make their profit),telecom firms consume forex indiscriminately because they also deal in foreign currency; most of these companies are not even listed on the stock exchange.Should we dash out our forex to importers rather than manufacturers?.
Let them find ways to source local components for their services.
About the PIB,I think that is a matter for the legislature; if the executive were to be given emergency powers,they could adopt models of the PIB to develop the oil sector.As it is,we are at the mercy of greedy legislatives and if I recall correctly,PIB has been on the table since Obasanjo's administeration,this current administeration claims that it will unbundled the bill into smaller sections for easy passage,let see how that goes.lt is common sense.

9japride:
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We know the project is massive, Na me send am. He has always benefited from any government in power. It's very difficult to start up a business in Nigeria. Others might not been setting up such a large project but the ones who are trying on their part don't get much support from government rather they come up with multiple taxation. I'll inquire on d issue of forex.

Benefitting from the government in power is not a crime,is it?.It makes him a smart business man in a capitalist society,would you prefer that foreign firms like lafarge had dominated the cement market in Nigeria?
If I remember correctly,it was the past administration that gave him license to construct a refinery and indorama is also constructing its own petrochemical structure simultaneously.There has not been any known complaint from other big manufacturing companies that they lack forex,except the importers.

9japride:
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It's just pure nepotism. Why is the government not supporting other indigenous business men? Leave matter. We all pray for a better Nigeria free from oppressive elements

How many "other" indigenous business men are building a project on such a grand scale as Mr dangote?.Those that are building such,have they ever complained of lacking forex?,if so,provide evidence of such complaint.
Many of our business men prefer to import,and you wonder why government does not give them special forex.

9japride:
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It's just pure nepotism. Why is the government not supporting other indigenous business men? Leave matter. We all pray for a better Nigeria free from oppressive elements

How many "other" indigenous business men are building a project on such a grand scale as Mr dangote?.Those that are building such,have they ever complained of lacking forex?,if so,provide evidence of such complaint.
Many of our business men prefer to import,and you wonder why government does not give them special forex.

revolt:
I tried to ignore u but no!!! Wondering if you're mad!! If in a country of 180 million one man gets 10percent of all forex,( no govt agency can boast of that), and you don't understand what's happening. No wonder he's(dangote) the only person that can build a refinery when the PIB hasn't been signed, cos he knows indirectly the nnpc and the presidency got his back. So he's probably going to have a head start b4 they finally agree to sign the PIB and other investors come to build their refineries. GOVT OF NORTHERN interests. ONLY A FOOL thinks buhari is working for all of nigerias interests.

Let us reason objectively before making comments on national issues.If dangote is not given forex,how do you expect him to complete his refinery project?; this same refinery,when completed,has the capacity to conserve 40% of our forex and even earn us foreign income from our oil producing neighbours like Chad who don't have refineries!,with this refinery,we are capable of becoming a net exporter of petroleum products.
Considering that he is also constructing a deep-sea underwater pipeline that has the capacity to singlehandedly assist us in transporting gas across the south of Nigeria and solve a huge part of our power problem,I will say that he deserves all the forex he can get.

I'm not surprised,for the fact the UNILORIN is not part of ASUU,they will seek to frustrate any attempt by the government to appoint Prof. Oloyede.The man was a prominent anti-union character when he was VC.
Thanks to that,UNILORIN has the most stable academic calendar among all the federal universities till date.
ASUU is a greedy cabal and one of the problems of Nigeria's educational system; there is nothing they can do,let Oloyede do all in his power to bring them to heel so that Nigerian youths can be free of these bloodsucking vipers called ASUU.
Ambali chased them out with DSS earlier this year,and they could do nothing but beg the SUG for political support.Toothless bulldogs that they are.

I was pleasantly amused when I saw the news headline caption "Emir of Kano blasts Jonathan over Palestine".Some Nigerian leaders have always had the tendency to be shortsighted,sentimental and over-emotional about delicate national issues.It is indeed interesting that such a high ranking political gladiator would overlook the implications of Nigeria's decision to support a free palestinian state,is it that our leaders are so blinded by religious sentiments that they cannot reason about the diplomatic permutations of such a strategic swing in foreign policy?.Granted,Nigeria had always supported a israeli-palestine two state resolution as a means to seemingly quell the crisis in the middle-east,but has that been a wise political perspective,considering our own ethnic and sectarian irregularities?.
Interestingly,the highly controversial emir is making this statement at a time when renegade groups like the NDA(Niger Delta Avengers) and IPOB(Independent People Of Biafra) are both agitating for a secession across ethnic divides.Should we then say that Nigeria should split into splinter nations simply because some groups demand it?,I am quite sure that if this question were to be posed to the extremely talkative emir,he will disagree that Nigeria should disintegrate,despite contrary views from the affected groups.That brings the question: why support a free Palestine state and then turn around to oppose independent nations of Biafra and Niger Delta?.Is it that our Muslims are psychologically enslaved to Arabs who they see as Mohammed's kinsmen?,or is it that our leaders just like to jump into reckless actions without considering local implications?.
The truth is,if Nigeria tells the UN to create a Palestinian nation amidst the crisis in the middle east,then what right does the government have to restrict that same scenario from occurring in its own domain?.Does the government consider that we will loose many foreign allies,chief of them Israel that has huge stake in our construction sector and that has always assisted us in our fight against terrorism by providing us with equipments and technical advice?,what of our many bilateral relationships,what does an independent Palestine have to offer in replacement for our severed ties with nations that matter if such a move come into fruition(which I highly doubt)?.
Let our leaders not draw Nigeria into the murky politics of the middle-east,they should stop talking from two sides of their mouth.The best stance Nigeria can take on the matter of Israel-palestine crisis is absolute neutrality; which was a commendable decision by the last administration.
Nigeria is a secular state,and it will not be used as a tool to satisfy a bunch of racist arabs simply because an emir believes he will please God by restoring an Islamic state instead of his own country.

@oubenji,If had read my post very objectively and with common sense,then you would have realised that my intension is neither to discredit christianity nor to disregard God; I was posting a topic that made me curious.
Anyway,you have no biblical proof to back up your disparaging hypothesis,are we to believe the hastily compiled rhetorics you posted up there?.

If God created the light in Genesis 1:3,that means he created the sun right?.
Interesting thing is; God went ahead to create the sun in Genesis 1:16.
This signifies that the first light was a different source from the sun,which according to the bible was created much later.How is it that God created "light" on the first day,and then created the sun on the fourth day?,I'snt the sun earth's only primary source of light?.Curious indeed....

Indeed,i'm a student of unilorin and I can attest to oloyede's vigorous cleansing of UIL's academic and moral structure.
He is a strict religious adherent though.

shadeyinka:
Your argument is flawed. Heterosexual Reproduction in humans is a proof that humans were created/ born heterosexual!

Is this not true?

How?.If man was born to be heterosexual,why then are some people homosexual?

shadeyinka:
I have seen a man who eats his own feaces. Would you say thatbis normal? How will you explain the rational behind a young woman who drinks kerosine? Is it normal for a young girl to eat soil?

There are many irrational behaviours among the homo spiens. I have seen demons that afflict people in that respect being cast out and the people in question set free from their pervasion.

I was speaking from experience and not textbook speculations.

Going by your arguement,we can safely conclude that heterosexuality is not normal.Afterall,no one is born heterosexual,right?

idupaul:
Interesting .. will do some research

Nigeria is one of the 4 countries that has ever used attack drones in warfare.

KingEbukaNaija:
Anyone who does not know communist leaders killed in the name of atheism is very ignorant

Does this mean that athiests are the only ones guilty of such an offence?.It is simply a matter of interests and ulterior motives,let us consider pope pius XII who stubbornly stayed "neutral" and looked the other way when millions of jews were being gased in nazi concentration camps,despite desperate calls by almost every nation of the world urging him to denounce nazi killings and place a taboo on germany.was he an atheist?,he did it because he was anti-semitic.
There are many leaders in the history of the world who killed and "cleansed" in the name of religion,even the bible has its own rather enormous share of them.

naijadeyhia:
It shows you do not understand the chart. And again I repeat this thread is not holdinf brief for creationism but simply focused on evolution so if I do not mention God I don't think you should too

Well,I cant convince you of my views anyway.
PS: I have nothing against God,I'm a christian myself.

naijadeyhia:
You are displaying text book school lessons (theory).

Let me help you out with the codon chart. If you can interpret it then you would understand.

And you are displaying what?,knowledge from God?
A codon is NOT an "amino acid",it is a sequence of 61 amino groups and 3 stop signals that helps to harmonize and translate 4 DNA nucleotides and 20 amino acids into informational proteins.
Please dont just bandy around figures and chart to confuse the public.