₦airaland Forum

One big problem we're facing is that even if we were able to get rid of GEJ, there are no obvious candidates to replace him.

According to the constitution, Namadi Sambo would be next in line if the president were to die, resign, be removed by the senate or be otherwise unable to perform his duties. But there is very little to suggest that Sambo would be an improvement on Jonathan. So far, his political career has been just as unimpressive as GEJ's was at this stage. He has been fully involved in all the decisions that have brought us to the present situation and there is little that indicates that there would be any significant change of direction were he to become president. In addition, he is a product of the same PDP system that throws up incompetent candidates and elevates them to high office.

The next in line after Sambo is the senate president David Mark. Anyone who's looked at my posting history would know that I have serious problems with this man. Under his leadership the senate has become a giant, useless, parasite that consumes huge amounts of money and resources and gives next to nothing in return. The last senate session famously failed to pass the the petroleum industry bill as well as dozens of other critically important bills which could have made things a little better for Nigerians. And while the National Assembly couldn't find time to amend the constitution to allow states to control the electricity they generate, thus reducing the power problem, they were able to amend it to protect their jumbo salaries. While the blame for all this is shared among all legislators, David Mark more than any individual carries the bulk of the responsibility as Senate President. I haven't even mentioned his many worrisome public statements and his habit of turning off the microphone anytime a someone says something he disagrees with on the senate floor. David Mark is the last person I'd like to see in Aso Rock

That only leaves Aminu Tambuwal who incidentally is the only senior government official that I have any confidence in. I'll admit to not knowing that much about him, but based on his utterances and actions since becoming speaker of the house, I can at least tell that he is not ret@rded, which is a very rare quality in Abuja nowadays. In addition, he hasn't shown the kind of disregard for democratic principles that David Mark is known for. However, him being third in line makes him unlikely to become president.

President Goodluck Jonathan has not performed well in his 22 months in office. And rather than grow into the position, he seems to be getting worse with each passing day. Since his inauguration in May this year, practically everything about Nigeria has gotten worse. Bombings and religious violence have become an almost daily affair, electricity supply is as unreliable as ever, and the government is bigger and more useless than it's ever been.

The proposed 2012 budget doesn't hold much hope for the future either. The only significant reform it contains is the removal of petrol subsidy which will surely lead to untold economic difficulties for the ordinary people. Subsidy aside, there are no plans to reduce wasteful spending or the size of government. In fact, the budget is even more bloated than last year's with an amazing 72% being earmarked for recurrent spending despite the removal of subsidy.

What makes things even worse is that Jonathan is only just beginning his term. There will be no new elections until 2015, and it is likely that things will continue moving in this direction for the next three years.

So the question I ask Nairalanders is this: What do we do to retrieve the situation. How do we stop Mr. President from further damaging the country before his term runs out? How can we help him to serve us better. If it comes to it, what is the best way to get rid of him? And who do we replace him with?

Post your ideas ITT.

Ronalmagic:
@evil brain, you are advising the poster and his future wife to use condoms properly and consistently,isnt it?Let me ask,what is the purpose of getting married in the 1st place if you will not conceive a child or can you conceive with the use of condoms.

As crazy as it may sound to you, making babies is not the only reason why people get married. In any case, as OP mentioned, there are ways of achieving a pregnancy while significantly reducing the risk of the woman getting infected. Most of these methods are expensive, and they can't eliminate the risk entirely, but if his fiance is fully aware of ehat she's getting into, then it's no one's business what they do.

This thread shows how ignorant most Nigerians still are about HIV. I blame the government and their rètarded awareness campaign that somehow manages to talk about HIV without passing any useful information to the public.

Just so you know, if OP and his future wife use condoms properly and consistently, the chances of her getting infected are close to zero. Sadly, the religious nuts have managed to stop the government from doing any form of condom promotion despite they being the only effective, practical way to stop the spread of HIV. The muslim fundamentalists and born agains prefer that we keep decieving ourselves with that abstinence crap. As if it's possible to convince people to stop having sèx.

What rubbish.

You and your fiance should tell the church that you're not doing the test and it's none of their business why. If they don't agree, then go to a registry.

You need to be very careful that you don't infect your woman though. I've known people in similar positions, where the other partner got infected after a few years. It's really hard to maintain discipline with the precautions over the long term.

Anyone who advocates reprisal attacks is a m0r0n and is no better than the Boko Haram scum.

You religious fanatics should go and get your own country, or move to Somalia if you want to fight. Stop fûcking up Nigeria, sensible people are trying to live and work here.

Do Atheists Care For Homosexuals And Lesbians More Than God?

Yes. For the following reasons:
1. God doesn't exist, therefore we have no reason to worry about him/her/it.
2. If God did exist, he/she/it would be all powerful (all the most popular versions of God are), therefore he/she/it'll be more than able to take care of him/her/itself.
3. Homösèxuals are real people who are often oppressed, mistreated, and sometimes even killed over something they were born with and therefore need protection and support.
4. Many atheists feel empathy for the weak and downtrodden in society and want to try and help them. This is in contrast to the boko harams and christian talibans who just want repress, terrorise and occasionally kill those who don't follow their own version of sharia/gospel.

If the skys were to part and God were to be revealed beyond reasonable doubt to be a real, sentient being. And he/she/it was known to be imperiled through no fault of its own, I'm sure there would be plenty of ex-atheists who would try to help. But as long as it continues not to exist, i'd rather focus my energies on helping real people.

plaetton:
The earth is 4.7 billion yrs old. bipedal hominids arose about 4 million yrs ago. Homo sapien sapiens(Thinking man) is just about 200,000 to 100,000 old.First known civilization rose about 12,000 yrs ago.

Bibilical chronology gives us about 4600 yrs for the age of th earth from creation. So, the choice is yours to decide which is fact and which is ficton.

Another important date is that of the neolithic revolution which occured between 7000 and 10,000 years ago. That was when humans first invented agriculture facilitating the change from being nomadic hunter/gatherers to living in large, stationary towns and cities.

Edit: Just reread your post and I see you actually mentioned it. Sorry.

intrepid:
@abbey621. I'm wit you 100%.what most of our ppl here on NL pretend not to understand is that the US and Europe and other countries that felt they could give their citizens unbridled freedom to satisfy every human desire are paying dearly for it today.[/b]Most of them wil only understand when we have lost it,but Thanks to the strong opposition of our ppl.Culture protects us in many ways.YES,the white man brought Christianity,we picked the good in it,that somehow also supported our good aspect,we discard anything that is wrong wit their life.No African tribe supports fornication,or adultery,but [b]homosexuality is perversion that wil break down our society into shreds.

Really?!! How so? In what ways are the Americans and Europeans paying "dearly"? What are the negative effects of open hömösexuality on their economies, society and governance? Please be specific, please elaborate.

And what is the mechanism by which hömösexuality will "break our society to shreds"? Can you give us some examples of countries where this has happened?

From the little I know, all the countries where gäy marriage is legal and recognized are better than Nigeria in every way imaginable. I'm not aware of fire and sulfur haven fallen on any of their cities recently.

aikuda:
It is this kind of codescending attitude towards African countries that I am talking about. There is no need for such arrogance.

When you go cap inhand begging, you open yourself to this type of behaviour. The people who are dashing us money have every right to be arrogant, and to attach whatever strings they want.

Now that the Nigerian Government has called their bluff lets wait and see what they will do. I can asure you that no aid will be withdrawn. It all political posturing. You think they provide aid that does not advance their interest? If you research a liitle bit about the politics of aid to developing countries, you will understand why I said no aid will be removed for this purpose.

Clearly, you don't have any younger brothers that you're forced to support. Let me assure you that these people are looking for any excuse to cut back on aid. Don't forget that aid levels were drasically increased just a few tears before the economic crisis started and now countries are looking for any way to save money. Even if you want to call their bluff, is it right to bet the lives of millions of Nigerians with HIV (just one example) on it?

At the end, all they would have done is to create a more hostile environment for gay people in Nigeria. As I said before there are a lot of ways to support the advancement of the rights of gays in a country like Nigeria other than cheap political propaganda: Quietly support existing local rights groups; use influential nigerians to sensitize people and lobby against the bill.

And what makes you think they weren't doing this already? The americans at least have been quietly nudging GEJ and co away from this bill for years. They gave plenty of time to fix it or kill it without losing face. But since our government didn't listen and allowed things to get to this stage, the americans have pulled out their big stick. And they are going to flog us in the marketplace! Also, how much more hostile can Nigeria possibly get for gäy people? I think passing bills like this is a pretty clear sign of hostitlity.

And I dont think that most people in US and Britian really care whether their government stop giving aid to nigeria on this issue (If they have their way no aid will be given to any country any way). There are a lot of bigots in the us and britain as well. Some are being won over. Nigeria needs time to do same. Threats wont do it.

Visit the comments section of any american news story that mentions aid and you'll see how pissed of some oyimbos get that their governments are giving away their tax money. These people don't care about some brown people starving at the other side of the world. All they care about is reducing their own debt and cutting their deficit and lowering their taxes. They will more than happy to cut off their aid to save a few billion pennies. Meanwhile, this could mean certain death for the hundreds of thousands of Nigerians who depend almost entirely on American aid to get their HIV medication.

This gäy marriage stûpidity is going to cost us big time.

Judek2:
There's nothing immoral about their friendship. It was based on emotion and concern with free mind and absence of flesh lusts.
Infact,thats the type of friendship God approves.

Romans 16:16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

A kiss was a form of greeting and consolation in those days.It shows different signs on different occations.
As I can recall, Judas kissed Jesus when betraying him,Isaac kissed Jacob while blessing him, The prodigal son was kissed by the father on welcoming him,and many more Kisses.

1 thess 5:26, Greet all thy bredren with an holy kiss

Its just that things has greatly advanced in this century. A kiss is now viewed as an intimate lust,and proves to real suspects.

Do not compare David and Jonathan to these bewitched.

Yeah, sure, keep telling yourself that. Kissing is kissing, and it means only one thing. Two grown men kissing, hugging and shedding tears can only mean one thing. Especially when those men sneak around and resort to elaborate tricks to get rid of prying eyes prior to begining their bromancing.

It's amazing how christians can blind their eyes to the truth of the bible whenever that truth is something they don't want to accept.

kelz88:
So if God asks you to kill, you will kill?! Interesting.


And Boko Haram peeps don't have a right to blow us up?! Nice one!

What, are you suggesting that killing people is still wrong even when God tells you to do it?

What a strange notion. I'm going to need a bible verse to back that up because it sounds like another lie of the devil.

It's fake.

OP should try this simple experiment:
1. Go to your kitchen and smear some palm oil on your face.
2. Then get a white handkerchief, spread it out then press it against your face so that your image is imprinted on it by the palm oil.
3. Look at the image. You'll notice that instead of a 2 dimensional picture like you see on the shroud, you'll get a pattern that doesn't really look like a face at all because it was made in 3 dimensions.

The picture on the shroud is just that, a 2 dimensional picture. It was put there by a very clever medieval faker of holy relics. It was not made by a holy light or any such nonsense. You don't need any fancy tests to tell that this obvious fake is an obvious fake, just a little common sense.

But then, you can't really expect religious people to think rationally.

I'm going to work throughout christmas weekend, then work throughout new years weekend. This holiday stuff is basically a nuisance to me. All it means is that I can't go to the bank on Monday or Tuesday.

Rubbish.

Nice pics. There's nothing sèxier than two perky young women in a tight, loving embrace. I wish I could be the meat in that sandwich. Going to have to download some lèsbian pr0n tonight.

Also, OP badly needs to get a life, or a girlfriend.

aikuda:
@Evil Brain,
My point is that if Foreign Government starts interfering, it will (just as it has) galvanize cynics and and the conservatives to uphold their support for the legislation. No government wants to be told what to do in his own country. If they had stayed out of the matter, it probably would have been easier for moderates to criticize the bill.

No one tells America or Britain what to do. Why should it be different with Nigeria? As I mentioned before, Nigeria will get to the point when we don't care what people intimate orientation is in the future. But we are not there yet. The US and Britain think they are helping the Gay advocacy, they are not. They should stay out of it. If they want to help, let them quietly support on the ground civil liberties organizations instead of trying to score cheap political points.

You have a point, but then the american and british governments don't really have much choice. They can't be seen to be funding regimes that mistreat a segment of their populations. Nigeria is not Isreal and their people will not tolerate the use of their tax money for such purposes. Don't forget that almost everybody in those countries has a gäy friend or relative, so they are not going to be happy to subsidise oppression.

Besides nobody is threatening to force us to do anything. All they are saying is if we don't behave, then they'll take their aid money somewhere else, which is a perfectly legitimate position.

afam4eva:
You have a point. But you have to know that the legislators are there to represent Nigerian and you and i know that the average Nigerian does not support hom0sexuality.

So what if the majority doesn't support hömösexuality? The majority of Nigerians don't support Sango worship, that doesn't make it right to criminalize it.

Google "minority rights in a democracy"

aikuda:
I do not agree with the criminalization of homosexuality, but I do not also agree with the interference by foreign government on how we should run our countries. Look, its only a matter of time before homosexuality becomes acceptable every where including Nigeria. Do I support it, no. Do I care, no. If you think homosexuality is wrong, I think the sensible thing is to preach to them to repent instead of sending them to jail.

The religious leaders should accept that they have failed. How do you convert someone if you send them to jail?

If you don't pass ret@rded, unconstitutional bills that violate people's basic civil rights, then foreign governments wouldn't feel the need to interfere with you.

Or are you arguing that Nigeria was wrong to oppose as apartheid in South Africa? Because this is essentially the same thing.

afam4eva:
So because he's a prof people should blindly support whatever he says? Are we in the industrial age where there were few educated people who others often bowed to. We now have so many intelligent people with different thoughts and opinions. And pls stop throwing insults around.

No, I'm saying people should spend some time to consider what the man said instead of instantly dismissing it. I think that he has earned at least that.

And I'm not the only person throwing insults. Look at some of the disgraceful things people have posted about the great man on this very thread.

afam4eva:
It's obvious that the greatest threat to this nation is mis-information. Mr Soyinka got it wrong by saying that "what people choose to do behind closed doors is their business". I agree with him 100% as long as they don't drag other people into their act of shame. But the National assembly never barred anyone from  frolicking with someone of the same sex. They just said that the shame should not be brought to the public in the name of same-sex marriage.

Not true. The bill does this and then some. It is a sharia bill and completely unconstitutional.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-820629.0.html

Look at all these people criticizing the great prof as if any of you possess even one tenth of his intellect. Instead of you to ask yourselves why this man who is so much smarter than you thinks this way, you're throwing silly insults around.

Well, I guess I can't blame ret@rds for being ret@rded.

Ultrasound scans aren't perfect. The accuracy of a scan depends on the experience of the sonologist and the circumstances of the patient. Whenever there are more than 2 babies, its extremely common for one or more to be missed.

This is not a miracle, neither is it unusual. Nothing to see here, move along.

Also, why is this in Politics?

rhymz:
why will any heterosexual male that is comfortable with his sexuality belong to a g'ay association or participate in a g'ay procession?? You are begining ro sound like a closeted homo trying to vent out. Why don't you just be true to yourself and stop talking in disguise.
I understand your freedom to express yourself has limits in practice and is prone to abuse when left in the hands of people like you to misinterpret. Keep lying to yourself.

What if you have g@y friends or family members and you don't like seeing them get oppressed and mistreated? What if you work for an NGO that focuses on health problems in the g@y community e.g. HIV? What if you just feel like joining one because the constitution says you have the right to?

You keep saying that constitutional rights have limits "in practice" like a brainwashed North Korean. I wonder what you'll think when the National Assembly makes it a crime to criticize its members (because freedom of expression has limits)? Or when the PDP starts banning opposition parties for promoting h0m0sexuality?

If you really knew the implications of what you are saying, you wouldn't be saying it.

Oh, ggod. So you've read the bill. Now did you read the parts that presribed prison sentences for belonging to "gäy associations", or for participating in "gäy processions@
/demonstrations?" or from promoting/supporting "gäy causes"?
Do you know what freedom of expression means? Do you understand the importance of freedom of association? Do you know why it is crucial that all people have to right to peacefully protest in a democracy?

If you say you've studied the bill, yet you don't think it's unconstitutional, then you call into question your reasoning ability. Because, like you said, this stuff isn't rocket science.

@rhymz

Have you read the bill yet? It's obvious you haven't since you're clearly still ignorant about it's provisions. Why don't you try and study the subject matter a little so you'll have some idea of what you're talking about before you post.

Because believe me, you have no idea.

Wole Soyinka is 100% right. And he didn't even mention the biggest problems with the bill:

1. It's essentially a sharia bill that imposes one group's religious beliefs on others.

2. It bill is completely unconstitutional because it attempts to strip a segment of the population (and not just gäys, by the way) of their fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of association and the right to peaceful assembly.

3. It actually makes it a crime to lobby your senator/representative on issues relating to hömösexuals which goes against the basic concept of democracy. If people can go to prison simply for asking their reps to help solve their problems, can we really call ourselves a democracy?

I agree that the Senators need to go back to school, but they need to learn a lot more than the difference between public and private matters. Maybe the FG should organise teachers to read the constitution to them slowly in pidgin or their native tongues so that those rètards can understand their role and the limits of their power.

alj_harem:
To be honest, I don't understand why everyone is blaming GEJ for this.

This sort of spending on food started from Abacha era down to OBJ etc

GEJ is just following their footsteps.

The only reason why I am a bit upset about this is because of the removal of subsidy which was meant to save the country money. That is all

If GEJ spends more, na him wahala be that

So if OBJ had killed and eaten a baby every year, it would be okay by you if Jonathan followed in his footsteps? You think Jonathan would have no choice but to eat babies if his predecessors also did it?

You are using nursery school logic to defend the indefensible. Just because Chinedu sucks his thumb doesn't make it okay for you to do it.

This kind of waste is simply wrong. It is especially reprehensible when you consider the austerity measures that the very same same budget implements for the majority of Nigerians who are already struggling to stay above water. There is no excuse.

Rhino.5dm:
This budget was prepared by Yar Adua, so all you ignorants criticizing GEJ should have rethink. Besides, Aso Rock is a community. Infact, that amount is too small for Nigerian president. How much Obama dey chop/day? How much be common 1 billion wey people dey cry for? Wretched Nigerians!!

Sarcasm fail.

I actually typed out a realy nasty reply to this before I realized that no one could possible be this rètarded so it mast have been sarcasm. I hope I pressed Esc on time.

Rhino.5dm:
This budget was prepared by Yar Adua, so all you ignorants criticizing GEJ should have rethink. Besides, Aso Rock is a community. Infact, that amount is too small for Nigerian president. How much Obama dey chop/day? How much be common 1 billion wey people dey cry for? Wretched Nigerians!!

Guy, seriously, are you rètarded? Are you aware that Jonathan has been head of state for nearly 2 years now? Did Yar'Adua prepare this budget in the grave?

And WTF do you mean "how much be common 1 billion"? Are you not aware that Jonathan used lack of funds to justify something that will make life far harder for the vast majority of Nigerians next year?do you know what 1 billion will do if spent on something, anything sensible? Do you know how many Nigerian children die every year form lack of N200 antimalarials?

Also, do you think that food is the only inflated item on the budget? And WTF does Obama have to do with anything? If Obama started eating shît, would you tell Jonathan to start doing it too?

Your post suggests a level of rètardation that is simply impossible for one human to possess so I have to conclude that you think this way because you are a beneficiary of government corruption.

Mr. President is actually doing the right thing by removing the subsidy instead of cutting wasteful spending. You see, when the subsidy goes, the prices of food and other essentials will shoot up, and many of the poorest Nigerians will starve to death thus pushing our per capita income up.

If he reduces government spending, then the poiticians, contractors and other government hangers-on will make far less money, pushing our per capita income down. Perhaps Mr. President should invest whats left of the subsidy savings in bullets and Nazi style gas chambers to eliminate the poor faster and more humanely, while at the same time boosting the economy. This will also solve the housing problem in our major cities.

We need radical new ideas to move Nigeria forwards.

Anyone who truly believes in invisible, undetectable enemies must either be mentally ill or possessed by the demon of stûpidity. There are treatments for paranoid schizophrenia, but science is yet to develop a pill for the second group.

The woman is lying. The subsidy has been removed and the savings have been used to pad the 2012 budget.

The new budget without subsidy is 6% higher than last year's which included over N600billion for it. If the government was still deciding whether to remove subsidy they would have kept some money aside to pay for it meaning that this budget should have been significantly smaller.

So unless GEJ is planning to illegally fund subsidy with N1 trillion naira of mostly debt this year then this story can't be true. I find it hard to believe that Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala is stûpid enough not to know this therefore, she must be lying through her teeth.