₦airaland Forum

karpentar:
Election was postponed to allow over 20 million voters get their PVCs within the 6 weeks period. The core of these 20 million is from areas likely to vote for GEJ. JEGA withheld PVCs from these folks to favour his party - APC. Government is smarter and more powerful and had to intervene. Now APC is restless and shouting; "postponement is provocative and threat to democracy”. I wonder how an act legally carried out by INEC has become a threat to democracy. Did INEC break any law? APC won’t tell you the real reason why they are crying wolf, but PDP/GEJ knows.
Insecurity is never the reason for the postponement. JEGA lied!!!

NIGER. The 2012 Niger Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) preliminary report shows a continuing high level of fertility. The total fertility rate (TFR, or the average number of children per woman) was reported as 7.6, higher than in the 2006 DHS. In the 2006 survey, women had expressed an “ideal” number of children as 8.8, while men preferred 11.0, one of the highest in the world. The rate of childbearing among young women ages 15 to 19 was quite high at 199 births annually per 1,000 women. Of the women interviewed, 80 percent had no education at all.

Total Fertility Rate, Niger, in Four DHS Surveys
https://www.prb.org/images13/TFR-Niger.gif

In the survey, 14 percent of currently married or in-union women said that they were using some form of family planning, with 8 percent using a modern method, up from 5 percent in 2006. The pill accounted for nearly half of modern usage.

Infant mortality was 51 deaths to infants below age 1 per 1,000 live births in the five-year period before the survey, down from 123 deaths per 1,000 live births in the 1998 DHS. This is another example of a sub-Saharan African country with dramatically decreasing infant mortality.


NIGERIA. The 2011 Nigeria Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey summary report shows, as in Niger, a high level of fertility, with no apparent decline. The TFR was reported as 5.7 children per woman, the same as in the 2003 and 2008 DHS surveys. In the country’s Northeast and Northwest Zones, however, the TFR was 7.2 and 6.7, respectively. TFRs in northern zones have been historically higher due to social and cultural preferences, with surveys documenting that women desire eight or more children. In 1981-1982, the National Fertility Survey had put the country’s TFR at 6.3, so that Nigeria’s TFR appears to have declined only by 0.6 children in 30 years. The rate of childbearing among young women ages 15 to 19 was 89 births annually per 1,000 women, down from 121 in 2008. That rate was quite a bit higher in the north.

Total Fertility Rate, Nigeria, in Four Surveys
https://www.prb.org/images13/TFR-Nigeria.gif

In the survey, 18 percent of currently married or in-union women said that they were using some form of family planning, up from 15 percent in 2008. Infant mortality was 97 deaths to infants below age 1 per 1,000 live births but that was an increase from 75 in 2008. In the Northeast Zone, the rate was 114, and was 123 in the Northwest Zone.

wesley80: Neither of those are "medal hopefuls".

deekseen: So who's next?

hardeyincah: Folem are u sure johny is not out?

oayombo: Swimming in the olympics goes beyond jumping inside water or ability to stay under water. The skills involved is something u should consider. Forget that naija delta or ilaje thing...na wash.

johnie: In the seventies, only the Carter(First) and Eko (Second) Bridges linked the Island with the mainland.

Carter bridge was constructed by the colonial government while the military ( I believe Gowon) built the Eko Bridge.

The odd and even number concept was adopted to reduce vehicular movement in the seventies. Odd-number vehicles could ply the major roads on particular days and even-number cars on other days. Ojuelegba and Yaba were two major bottlenecks I remember in those days. Fela's song Ojuelegba , was about the regular confusion at the place. Whenever we we were going to school and climb the overhead bridge at Jibowu (from where we could clearly see the traffic situation at Yaba at a vantage position), my dad would remark Yaba O wo loni o! - meaning Yaba is messed up today.

In those days, people such as my parents had two have two cars -one even and the other odd numbered. My dad still advises me today to ensure that my cars are evenly spread between odd and even - just in case the number regime returns!


The Third Mainland Bridge was constructed by the Babangida government and was actually named after him (Ibrahim Babangida Boulevard) on completion. That name did not stick particularly because of the June 12 Saga which shortly followed the opening of the bridge. In the first phase of the project, Adeniji to Adekunle was done and open to traffic. When completed, the Adekunle-Oworo section of the bridge was not open to traffic for about six months.

Before the Adekunle-Oworo section was opened I was worked variously at Lagos Island and VI and would have to go through Adekunle to join Ikorodu road. That stretch from the Third Mainland Bride through Herbert Macaulay was hell. The traffic used to be very bad. Thank God that in those days, the incidence of robbery in the traffic hadn't started (at least I neither experienced nor heard of it).

That's how we used to "cope" then.

GenBuhari: [size=18pt]3rd October 1980  - ITN News
President Shagari opens the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos[/size]
The third major road bridge from the Nigerian mainland to the Island of Lagos was opened by President Alhaji Shehu Shagari (on Tuesday 30 September), as part of the country's independence celebrations. It's designed to relieve the growing pressure on the two existing bridges which span the Lagos Lagoon.

SYNOPSIS: Since 1975 the growing number of vehicles driving in and out of Lagos have put the existing road system under considerable strain. So the completion of the Third Mainland Bridge is a welcome addition to tackle the problem. The first vehicles to travel along the bridge formed the official opening motorcade. It's the third in successive Government's efforts to link Lagos with the mainland.

Present Shehu Shagari was introduced to the officials who've co-ordinated construction since the bridge was merely a drawing on an architect's board. Then he was called on to officially declare the bridge open. He'd earlier paid glowing tributes to the contractors.

In contrast to the few vehicles in the official motorcade, the two original bridges were full, as usual, with heavy traffic. The problem's been evident since the early 1970s, and the first plans for the Third Mainland Bridge were discussed in 1975. Its design in comparable with the best in the world, according to Nigeria's Director of Federal Highways. It consists of two separate carriageways, each providing three traffic lanes and an emergency shoulder.

It's cost nearly one hundred and twenty two million pounds (Sterling).

qualified: Last week, i was listening to a radio program where people were calling in to support Gov. Fashola's view that Nigeria needs more LGAs, not more states.

Wht has our LGAs achieved? How many of us know our Local Govt chairmen? Wht development have they brought in? Wht do they use their allocations for? These n more were all i was pondering as d program was going on.

Our politicians always say things js to favor them. Gov. Fashola is from Surulere thus Lagoon state where d bulk revenue comes from (being a commercial area) may nt be under his jurisdiction.

Is d creation of states or LGAs wht we really need?

House, i need ur opinions on this. Personally, more states MAY be better than more LGAs cos judging from d performance of our LGA chairmen over d years, that position is a mere title.

Nigeria is a lost cause. The only distinction it is accorded is "the most populous country in Africa" -- as if that is some edifying characteristic. It is not the most "educated", the "most safe", the "most clean," or the "most peaceful" -- qualities that would attract either tourists or investors. Rather, the champion in producing babies. Don't get me wrong however. Of all the people in Sub-Saharan Africa, I bow to Nigerian entrepreneurship,
dynamism and verve. History books affirm that, in pre-colonial Africa, Nigerian women traders could be found in every West African market. Tell her you want an aircraft engine, go there tomorrow and she would have two aircraft engines for you -- in case you don't like one. It's hyperbole of course but you get the point. Also notable were Nigeria's Hausa long distance traders.

But that national treasure of entrepreneurial acumen and skills have been mis-channeled into 419 scams and squandered by Nigeria's thieving governments in the post colonial period. Government after government have not only been a sham but a scam as well. They can't even supply basic social services such as electricity (only 30 percent of Nigerians have access to reliable supply), clean water, health care, etc.

It is an oil-producing country that cannot supply petrol/gasoline to its people. And the whole supply system is an exercise in economic lunacy. Nigeria spends $4 billion a year subsidizing petrol which people can't get. The country has no domestic refining capacity because all its refineries have broken down and money allocated for repairs embezzled. So the country imports gasoline at $4 a gallon and sells it to its people at $1 a gallon. But because this price is only a third of what prevails in neighboring countries, Nigerian businessmen smuggle out the gasoline to neighboring countries to make huge profits and that creates shortages at home. To alleviate the shortage, the same Nigerian government re-imports the same Nigerian petrol that has been smuggled out of the country at $4 a gallon to sell at $1 a gallon. Then the cycle is repeated. It is lunacy triple squared.

I have stayed several times in Nigeria in recent times and must say that it is not for the faint of heart. I admire you for living there for 3 years. Perhaps, it was in the 1970s when things were much better and livable back then. But they have deteriorated dramatically since then.
Wole Soyinka dismisses Nigeria as a cankerous sore on the African continent. It s easy to misinterpret that but I think he was speaking of governance. I tend to agree with Chinua Achebe who wrote this in his book, The Trouble With Nigeria:

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership. We have lost the twentieth century; are we bent on seeing that our children also lose the twenty-first? God forbid!”

With Africa’s population pushing 1 billion, it is more accurate to say that one in six Africans is a Nigerian with Nigeria’s population at 150 million. Nonetheless, they carry the burden that whatever that they do – good or bad – affects all Africans. Of course, Nigerians do impressive things that make other Africans proud but it is the bad things – 419 scams, advance fee frauds and cons – that stick in people’s minds. Generalizations are always dangerous and risky. Not all Nigerians are con artists just as not all Muslims are terrorists. But the 419 scams have given Nigeria a bad reputation which has tainted other Africans. Some car companies in New York and New Jersey won’t rent you a car if you are a black African. Nigerian crooks have despoiled the place; they would rent cars and ship them to Lagos. They are also largely responsible for recent tightening of immigration laws because they have abused the system.

Back in the 1970s, Nigeria used to attract African immigrants. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Ghanaians left for “Agege” as we used to call Nigeria. Back then it was regarded as the land of opportunity. Today, Nigeria exports its people to every corner of the globe and are increasingly becoming unwelcome because the export cargo includes the criminal element as well. You may recall the recent xenophobic attacks on African immigrants in South Africa; the victims were mostly Nigerians.

Ghana is the choice African destination for most Nigerian émigrés. It is closer and also English-speaking. Further, things work in Ghana. It is a safe country and functions relatively well. Traffic lights work fairly well. [Lagos, with a population of 8 million does not have a single functioning traffic light.] The light comes on when you flip a switch in Ghana and you can drink water from any Ghanaian tap. But the influx of Nigerians into Ghana is reaching a breaking point and a huge debate now rages in Ghana about this issue.

Every hotel in Ghana is full of Nigerians. They have snapped up choice real estates in Ghana pushing housing prices beyond the reach of ordinary Ghanaians. The criminal elements have made matters worse with armed robberies and car-jackings.

Ghana has had a few spats with Nigeria over immigration. Former Ghanaian president, K.A. Busia kicked them out in 1971 and Nigeria retaliated by kicking Ghanaians out in 1983. Some Ghanaians are calling for another round of retaliation. But Ghana’s hands are tied because of ECOWAS, which guarantees free movement of people and goods within the West African region.

This is a lesson for all Pan-Africanists. It is not enough to preach African unity. You must ensure that countries you want to unite with pursue similar policies that sustain their people. Throwing your borders open to a country such as Nigeria, which is ungovernable and unlivable, is asking for trouble. Botswana found itself is a similar situation and erected electric fences to keep out Zimbabwean refugees.

ALL West Africans wish Nigerians would stay home and solve their own problems, instead of fleeing. They should make their country a decent, livable one. If Nigeria implodes, West Africa will be finished. For example, Ghana with a population of 24 million can’t handle an influx of 30 million Nigerian refugees; neither can Benin, Togo, Liberia or Sierra Leone. ALL West Africans live with this fear.

BUT NIGERIA CAN BE FIXED. However, I do not believe the solution lies in breaking up the country. Taken to the limit this will lead to the creation of at least 250 “mini-states.” I opposed the split of Ethiopia and Eritrea for the same reason – just as I opposed the split between Sudan and Southern Sudan. Break-ups, in my view, are defeatist solutions and we should be careful about advocating this in Africa. Else, we might well end up with over 2,000 little Djiboutis all over the continent – each with its own one-plane fleet of national airlines and a multiplicity of Swiss bank accounts.

The real solution lies in holding a constitutional convention or a sovereign national conference for Nigerians themselves to debate the “national question” of how to make their country governable, livable and working again. They should take 6 months to air this debate, flesh out ideas and hammer out a solution. I am sure they will be able to come up with all sorts of innovative solutions. The problem is, the governors, politicians, parliamentarians who make $2 million for just sitting in parliament, and powerful mafia bosses who benefit from the rotten status quo are simply not interested, period. As such, it will have to take a“movement” to push the politicians. But I don’t see such a “movement” on the horizon.

The intellectual class can lead such a movement but it is hobbled by tribalism. Yorubas stick with Yorubas, Igbo with Igbos and Hausa with Hausas. In fact, Nigerians identify themselves first and foremost with tribe than with their nation. You can’t blame them for this because this is what you get when a string of military dictators – mostly Hausa or from the North, monopolized power and played one tribe against another to maintain their grip on power. Those tribes that were excluded, disenfranchised or persecuted will stick together for their own safety and survival. How to break out of this tribal cocoon is a huge hurdle. But it can be surmounted.

George

[size=16pt]MKO and the Last Flight to Johannesburg[/size]

Now let us deal with the form and substance. Most agree with the substance of President Jonathan’s action that Abiola be honoured, but many do not agree with the form that the honour has taken; many more would have wished more consultations. Some – especially in the Unilag community - do not just wish to give up a part of the Unilag brand for MKO Abiola. As a collective, we have forgotten so soon the man who lost his life for Nigeria to have freedom (of choice) and keep the military in the barracks. Some even say you do not name iconic global universities like UNILAG and Harvard after individuals. Indeed Harvard University was named after John Harvard when he became that university's earliest benefactor in 1636.

Abiola was a great benefactor to major universities in Nigeria, especially the University of Lagos to which he gave N100 million in the eighties (about N15 billion in today’s Naira). James Buchanan Duke renamed Duke University after his father Washington Duke in 1904 while Cornell University was named after historian Ezra Cornell! Harvard, Duke and Cornell are amongst the world's top ranking universities as is John Hopkins University whose name was changed from the University of Baltimore to John Hopkins University in 1876.

Or is it the first University in New York City whose name was changed from Kings College to Columbia College (and later university) after 30 years of scholarship? What about Princeton University which started out as College of New Jersey? And Yale University which also started out as The Collegiate School in 1701 and renamed 17 years later after a Welsh businessman in India, Elihu Yale?

We can go on and on… Universities are not made by names, they become global centers of research and excellence through hard work and scholarship! What we need now is to promote research and scholarship not just in the renamed Moshood Abiola University of Lagos, but in all Nigerian universities so they truly can be centres of excellence and learning. What we need now is not to betray Abiola or blight his ultimate sacrifice, but ensure that we keep his legacies alive. What we need now is not to name stadia and buildings after Abiola, because stadia do not last forever as do great centres of ideas and learning like universities. For sooner or later structures are demolished in the face of architectural advances, sporting developments, and/ or growing demands of expanding cities.

What if Onikan Stadium, Lagos was named after the late Obafemi Awolowo: will it still be fit for purpose? I also agree with the many who say Abiola is not the only icon of our democratic struggle and so should not be the only one so honoured. To them I say there are many more anniversaries ahead for fallen heroes such as Shehu Yar'Adua to be honoured. But today is Abiola’s moment. Let us give him all his due. Imperfect as he was, he was truly the symbol of our Fourth Republic Democracy.

Goodluck Renames Yola Varsity After Islamic Scholar


The Federal University of Technology Yola (FUTY) has finally been
renamed Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), with effect
from 1st October, 2011. The renaming which was greeted with protests from various groups in
the state was approved by President Goodluck Jonathan as fulfillment
of part of his campaign promises when he came to the state to canvass
for votes. Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Usman Bashir, told
journalists that the gesture was in line with the
tradition of immortalizing important personalities and historians of
great repute adding that Modibbo Adama Ibn Hassan was a great Islamic
scholar and the founder of the Fombina Kingdom, now Adamawa Emirate
Council.

“When the President came for campaign before the elections, Lamido
requested for the change of name so he was asked to write a letter
which he did and it was approved; so it did not start from the bottom
but from the top and we are carrying out the directive of Mr.
President.” Bashir stated. On the controversies and protest the change had generated in the
state, Bashir argued that “I don’t think it is out of place for the
Federal Government to want to change an institution’s name after all
the university belongs to it.”

He however admitted that the cost of changing the name is enormous,
adding that “we will have to change our letter heads, academic gowns,
logo and so many things; it’s a lot of money so we are staggering it,
its going to be in stages.”

THE VIEWER recalls that the move to rename FUTY to MAUTECH Yola did
not go down well with the institution’s chapter of Academic Staff
Union of University on the grounds that due process was not followed.
Chairman of ASUU FUTY branch, Dr. Daniel Dahiru alongside other
executive members had based their argument on the premise that the
university is an autonomous institution and as such any such change
should emanate from the school up to the presidency and not the other
way round. The group had claimed that congress unanimously moved against the new
name of the university, stating that the institution was established
as an Act of Parliament and held that the presidency could not
single-handedly approve a new name for the school without following
due process.

Former governor of the defunct Gongola state, Ambassador Wilberforce
Juta on his part argued that the late Lamido was already honoured by naming the entire state after him,
pointing out that there were majority tribes more populated than the
Fulanis but their heroes were not so honoured.
He argued that even the Jihadist Othman Danfodio who led the Jihad to
the entire country was not so honoured in his Sokoto origin by naming
the entire state to him, noting that the change of the university’s
name will amount to Islamizing the state that has Christian and Moslem
in equal proportion.

The former governor argued further saying “there are also late
Christian leaders in the state sleeping in their graves without being
immortalized but had contributed greatly to the development of the
state, as such this move is unacceptable.” END