 Politics › Re: Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis In A Generation by Godszilla(op): 7:28am On Jun 17, 2024 |
The pix was from the original article. However, what is still beyond logic n understanding is how some still manage to defend this collosal failure even at their own demise is just incredible. Its actually scary because if we as a people are still hell bent to continue on this path,am afraid for my/our children. Please we need to wake-up and see who our true enemy is tobenuel:
Toh
Where is Helinues. him never wake up?
@OP that pinchure wey you use as illustration get as e be na |
| Politics › Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis In A Generation by Godszilla(op): 8:17pm On Jun 16, 2024 |
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, a national currency in free-fall and millions of people struggling to buy food. Only two years ago Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria is projected to drop to fourth place this year.
The pain is widespread. Unions strike to protest salaries of around $20 a month. People die in stampedes, desperate for free sacks of rice. Hospitals are overrun with women wracked by spasms from calcium deficiencies.
The crisis is largely believed to be rooted in two major changes implemented by a president elected 15 months ago: the partial removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency, which together have caused major price rises.
A nation of entrepreneurs, Nigeria’s more than 200 million citizens are skilled at managing in tough circumstances, without the services states usually provide. They generate their own electricity and source their own water. They take up arms and defend their communities when the armed forces cannot. They negotiate with kidnappers when family members are abducted.
But right now, their resourcefulness is being stretched to the limit.
No Money for Milk
On a recent morning in a corner of the biggest emergency room in northern Nigeria, three women were convulsing in painful spasms, unable to speak. Each year, the E.R. at Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital in Kano, Nigeria’s second-largest city, received one or two cases of hypocalcemia caused by malnutrition, said Salisu Garba, a kindly health worker who hurried from bed to bed, ward to ward.
Now, with many unable to afford food, the hospital sees multiple cases every day.
Mr. Garba was sizing up the women’s husbands. Which source of nutrition he recommended depended on what he thought they could afford. Baobab leaves or tiger nuts for the poor; boiled-up bones for the slightly better off. He laughed at the suggestion that anyone could afford milk.
More than 87 million people in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, live below the poverty line — the world’s second-largest poor population after India, a country seven times its size  . And punishing inflation means poverty rates are expected to rise still further this year and next, according to the World Bank.
Last week, unions shut down hospitals, courts, schools, airports and even the country’s Parliament, striking in an attempt to force the government to increase the monthly salary of $20 it pays its lowest workers.
But over 92 percent of working-age Nigerians are in the informal sector, where there are no wages, and no unions to fight for them.
For the Afolabi family in Ibadan, in southwestern Nigeria, the descent into poverty started in January with the loss of an electric tuk-tuk taxi.
Forced to sell the taxi to pay his wife’s hospital bills after the difficult birth of their second child, Babatunde Afolabi turned to occasional construction work. It paid badly, but the family managed.
“We had no thoughts about starvation,” he said.
But then, he said, cassava — the cheapest staple in many parts of Nigeria — tripled in price.
All they can afford now, he said, is a few biscuits, a little bread, and for their 6-year-old, 20 peanuts a day.
A Country Built on Gas
Nigeria is a country heavily dependent on imported petroleum products, despite being a major oil producer. After years of underinvestment and mismanagement, its state refineries produce hardly any gasoline.
For decades, the national soundtrack has been the hum of small generators, fired up during daily power outages.  Petroleum products move goods and people around the country.
Until recently, the government subsidized that petroleum, to the tune of billions of dollars a year.
Many Nigerians said the subsidy was the only useful contribution from a neglectful and predatory government. Successive presidents have pledged to remove the subsidy, which drains a hefty chunk of government revenue — and later backtracked fearing mass unrest.
Bola Tinubu, who was elected Nigeria’s president last year, initially followed through.
“It was a necessary action for my country not to go bankrupt,” Mr. Tinubu said in April, at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Saudi Arabia.
Instead, many Nigerians are going bankrupt — or working multiple jobs to stay afloat.
Mr. Garba, the hospital worker, used to be solidly middle class, even though 17 family members, including 12 children, depended on him.
After shifts at the hospital, where he is setting up the first statewide ambulance service in addition to working in the emergency room, for which he is paid $150 a month, he heads to the Red Cross. There he occasionally receives a $3.30 volunteer stipend for helping tackle a severe diphtheria outbreak.
At night, he works at the pharmacy that he and a colleague set up. But few people have money for medicine anymore. He sells about $7 worth of medication per day
Last year, Mr. Garba sold his car when the gas subsidies were removed, and now takes a tuk-tuk to work. Unable to power the generator, he reads medicine labels at the pharmacy by the light of a small solar lantern. He can only afford to buy rice and cassava in small quantities.
Life under the previous government was very expensive, he said, but nothing like today.
“It’s very, very bad,” he said.
It’s gotten so dire that there have been several deadly stampedes for free or discounted rice distributed by the government — including one in March at a university in the central state of Nasarawa where seven students were killed.
Mr. Tinubu promised to create a million jobs and quadruple the size of the economy within a decade, but has not said how  . The International Monetary Fund said last month the state has started subsidizing fuel and electricity again — though the government has not acknowledged this.
“There’s still very little clarity — if any — on where the economy is headed, what the priorities are,” said Zainab Usman, a political economist and director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Tapping Craze
A spate of new crypto-mining games that promise to generate income the more the user plays has people across Nigeria spending all day tapping on their smartphone screens, desperate to earn a few dollars.
People tap as they pray, in mosques and churches. Children tap under desks at school. Mourners tap at funerals. 
There’s no guarantee any of them will ever benefit from the hours they put in mindlessly tapping.
Then again, they can’t count on the national currency, the naira.
The government has twice devalued the naira in the past year, trying to enable it to float more freely and attract foreign investment. The upshot: It’s lost nearly 70 percent of its value against the dollar.
Nigeria cannot produce enough food for its growing population; food imports rise 11 percent annually. The currency devaluation caused those imports — already expensive because of high tariffs — to explode in price.
Nigerians can become paupers almost overnight. So they’re searching for anything that might hold its value — or ideally, get them rich.
“People are looking for me everywhere,” said Rabiu Biyora, the undisputed king of tapping in Kano, opening one of his five foldable phones to add to his 2.7 billion taps on the TapSwap app. “Not to attack me, but to collect something from me.”
A relaxed, businesslike 39-year-old followed everywhere by young tech-savvy acolytes, Mr. Biyora would only say that he made “over $10,000” from the previous tapping craze.
He profits from everyone else’s taps, so he encourages them in posts on social media, and by providing free internet to anyone willing to sit outside his house. Nigerians don’t need much encouragement — despite the risks and volatility, Nigeria has the second highest cryptocurrency adoption rate in the world.
So every evening, struggling young men gather by Mr. Biyora’s home and tap.
Pleas for Help
In much of Nigeria, it’s normal to share with your neighbors and give alms to the poor.
Every day, people come to the gate of Kano’s Freedom Radio station to drop off sheets of paper containing heartfelt appeals for help paying medical bills or school fees, or to recover from some disaster.
A radio presenter chooses three to read out daily, and often a sympathetic listener calls in to pay the supplicant’s bill.
But lately the appeals have multiplied, and offers of help have dried up. 
Good Samaritans used to come to the E.R. and pay strangers’ bills for them, Mr. Garba said. That rarely happens now either.
Still, Mr. Garba said, the number of patients coming to his hospital has almost halved in recent months.
Many of the sick never even make it. They can’t afford the 20-cent bus ride. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/world/africa/nigeria-economy-strike.html
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| Politics › Tinubu Govt Tackling Economic Crisis, FG Replies New York Times by Godszilla(op): 7:50pm On Jun 16, 2024 |
The Presidency has reacted to a report published in the New York Times criticising the Nigerian economy as facing the worst trajectory in a generation.
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, responded on Sunday to the report by Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal.
According to the Presidency, the feature story, titled ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation’ and published on June 11,https://www.nairaland.com/8126901/nigeria-confronts-worst-economic-crisis
reflected the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments have reported on African countries for decades.
Onanuga stated that due to the ‘misleading’ slant of the report, the government needed to clear up some misconceptions conveyed by the reporters regarding the economic policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, which took office at the end of May 2023.
He noted that the report painted a dire picture of some Nigerians’ experiences amid the inflationary spiral of the last year and unfairly blamed it all on the new administration’s policies.
He argued that the report, based on several interviews, is at best jaundiced, portraying all gloom and doom without mentioning the positive aspects of the economy or the amelioration policies being implemented by the central and state governments.
Onanuga emphasized that Tinubu did not create the economic problems Nigeria faces today but inherited them. 
“As a respected economist in our country once put it, Tinubu inherited a dead economy.
“The economy was bleeding and needed quick surgery to avoid being plunged into the abyss, as happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela,” he noted.
He explained that this context led to the policy direction taken by the government in May/June 2023, including the abrogation of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the multiple exchange rates.
Onanuga highlighted that Nigeria had maintained a fuel subsidy regime for decades, which consumed $84.39 billion between 2005 and 2022 from the public treasury, in a country with significant infrastructural deficits and a high need for better social services.
He also alleged that the state oil firm, NNPCL, had accumulated trillions of Naira in debts due to unsustainable subsidy payments.
He noted that when Tinubu took office, no provision was made for fuel subsidy payments in the national budget beyond June 2023.
“The budget itself had a striking feature: it planned to spend 97 per cent of revenue servicing debt, with little left for recurrent or capital expenditure. The previous government had resorted to massive borrowing to cover such costs.”
Onanuga further explained that like oil, the exchange rate was also subsidized by the government, with an estimated $1.5 billion spent monthly by the CBN to defend the currency against the unquenchable demand for the dollar.
“This low rate led to arbitrage and failures to fulfil remittance obligations to airlines and other foreign businesses, drying up foreign direct investment and investments in the oil sector.
“To address these issues, Tinubu rolled back the subsidy regime and floated the naira on his first day”, Onanuga said.
Despite initial challenges, Onanuga noted that some stability is being restored , with the exchange rate now below N1500 to the dollar and prospects for further appreciation.
He cited a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in Q1, as opposed to a deficit of N1.4 trillion in Q4 of 2023, and renewed interest from portfolio investors as indicators of improving economic confidence. Loans from the World Bank, AfDB, and Afreximbank are also contributing to Nigeria’s renewed bankability.
Onanuga highlighted efforts to control inflation, especially food inflation, through increased agricultural production and state-led initiatives to sell food at lower prices.
“The Tinubu administration has invested heavily in dry-season farming and provided incentives to farmers https://punchng.com/just-in-tinubu-govt-tackling-economic-crisis-presidency-replies-new-york-times/
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| Family › A Father's Day Letter To Their Family: Know How Loved You Were by Godszilla(op): 12:07pm On Jun 16, 2024 |
Dear Yusef, There are no words to describe the horrors we have been through these past few months. Last year, we sat around a dinner table as a family of four, making plans for the future. Now it’s just me and you – and our only hope is to survive tomorrow.I often think back to our family picnic on the beach last summer. Your brother Ismail ran towards the sea and your mother chased after him, both laughing. I sat holding you in the shade and watched them – and I thought to myself: I must be the luckiest man in the world. But in less than a year, everything has changed. One day, three months into the war, I went looking for bread. Your brother Ismail had wanted to come too but your mother was sick so I asked him to stay with her. You started to cry and I took you from her arms, hoping to offer some respite. But we returned to find our entire building reduced to rubble after it was hit by an Israeli missile. You’re too young for any of this, Yusef. At night, you ask me to sing the lullabies your mother sang to put you and Ismail to sleep. But I don’t know all the words. I make up my own funny lines and you giggle. I’ve always been good at being the funny guy, but you need a father, not a clown. I wonder how long it might take for you to forget your mother and her lullabies. You’ve started asking about her less and less – and don’t cry for her like you used to. You don’t deserve this, Yusef; no child does. You should be playing hide and seek with your brother. Instead, you’re crouched here in the dark next to me; hiding from Israeli missiles, seeking protection from the next airstrike. Every night, I place my hand over your racing heart and am grateful that it is still beating. I thank Allah that you are still alive and pray you’re still here in the morning.You’ve become used to the sound of explosions now, some nights you even sleep through them. But your tiny body, curled up next to mine, still flinches instinctively. Every day when we wake, we find the trail of destruction that has been left behind after the bombs. We walk among the debris, your small hand in mine, as we search for food. This is no place for a child. Amid the death and devastation we experience daily – you are a light that flickers in the darkness, a triumph over fear. Yusef, if I should die before you, please know how loved you were. I hope you grow up knowing your place in this world. I hope your hands get to pluck olives from the trees. I hope we both get to return to the beach and watch the sunset by the sea. My son, I want you to know that your very existence is an act of resistance, of freedom and of hope.It’s not something I can think about right now but I do know this: I will do everything in my power to ensure we survive this war. We will rise from these ashes and continue to exist. I will teach you how to play football and how to swim. I will learn to cook your mother’s recipes and memorise her lullabies. I will be the best father I can be.When this war is over, we will pick up all the broken pieces and find a way to make us whole again. That is my promise. Your father, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2024/jun/16/fathers-day-letters-from-frontline-to-children-gaza-ukraine-afghanistan-sudan |
| Politics › Re: Democracy Built On Ethnicity Does Not Endure — It’ll Continue To Wobble - GEJ by Godszilla: 6:56am On Jun 12, 2024 |
Dude they are insufferable. The mind is truly a terrible thing to waste. mikywonder:
They swear for Una
Are u guys not tired yet |
| Politics › Re: Like Buhari, Peter Obi Is A Repackaged Fraud And He Knows It Himself - Sowore by Godszilla: 9:39pm On Jun 08, 2024 |
Controlled opposition. Its still a mystery how God could put such a massive number of dumb people in one place,its astonishing. Mayb this is what hell is i suppose. fergie001:
SOURCE |
| Politics › Re: 5 Countries That Recently Changed Their National Anthem by Godszilla: 9:45pm On Jun 03, 2024 |
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| Politics › Re: NLC Mobilises Unions For Nationwide Strike by Godszilla: 11:39am On Jun 02, 2024 |
How we(the people)have made the servants(civil servant elected to do our bidding) the master is beyond comprehension. While the master(the people)have willfully given up their power and submit to the servant. "Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it. Mark Twain 0001Lagos:
Tinubu and shetima alone spent N8.64 billion naira in 3months but don't have minimum wage to pay Nigerian workers
What a wicked and useless president 
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| Politics › Re: Tinubu's Silence And Unreported Achievements - Tunde Rahman by Godszilla: 7:32am On Jun 02, 2024 |
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| Foreign Affairs › Re: Trump Found Guilty In Hush-Money Trial, Faces Sentencing In July by Godszilla: 9:57am On May 31, 2024 |
Here is a quote from BBC - Holly Honderich Reporting from Washington DC As a reminder, Donald Trump's team say they are planning to appeal against the verdicts. But on what basis? The evidence of Stormy Daniels, whose alleged sexual encounter with Trump was at the heart of the case, could be one reason. “The level of detail that was provided [by Daniels] is really not necessary to the telling of the story," says Anna Cominsky, a professor at New York Law School.The novel legal strategy taken by the district attorney in this case may also provide grounds for appeal. Falsifying business records can be a lower-level misdemeanour in New York, but Trump faced more serious felony charges because of a supposed second crime - an illegal attempt to influence the 2016 election. Prosecutors broadly alleged that violations of federal and state election laws, along with tax fraud, applied to this case. But they did not specify to the jury exactly which one was broken.Legal experts say there are questions around the scope and application of the federal law, which could form a basis for appeal. Never before has a state prosecutor invoked an uncharged federal crime, and there’s a question if the Manhattan District Attorney had the jurisdiction to do so.firearcher:
I followed the case closely. The verdict is most likely going to be reversed on appeal but that can take a year or more. The case is weak and convoluted but Trump was most likely going to be convicted by jurors picked from a 90-95% democrats area.
In the meantime, he will be tagged convicted felon by the democratic ahead of the election which I think is what the democrats want. Its a political game, and the left hate Trump intensely that they will do anything to destroy him and justify it. To them he is Hitler and Stalin rolled together |
| Politics › How VIO Sells Number Plates For N120,000 by Godszilla(op): 7:20am On May 25, 2024 |
The Office of the Director, Directorate of Road Traffic Services, popularly known as Vehicle Inspection Office is selling “express” and “premium” number plates between N100,000 and N120,000 , Saturday PUNCH has gathered. Our correspondent learnt that the exorbitant fee was charged under the guise that the number plates were unavailable, and may take a long time for one to secure, except one was willing to get the plate in under a week or two days . A motorist, Mr Friday (not real name) who recently tried to get a number plate in Abuja, narrated that he was asked to cough up N120,000 as against the official N56,000 price, adding that the VIO created an artificial scarcity, to drive up the price. “I have been trying to get the number, but I was told by VIO that it is N120k against the official N56k price. They received a new stock last Thursday, but the plates are not available. They are creating artificial scarcity so they can continue to sell at 120k”, he said When our correspondent reached out to an officer in the VIO under the guise of urgently needing a plate number  , the officer said there were no plate numbers, but that he could get an “express” number in two days from the Director’s office for the hiked sum, adding that the official plates were N58,000 for a saloon car.“No plate numbers for now. It will be till next week when they bring a new order. The plates are between N56,000 and 58,000 for a saloon car. But if you want it express from the Director’s office, you will pay between N100,000 and N120,000. I will go and pick it up for you within two days, you understand? “So, think about it. But if you don’t need it urgently, then you can just wait till we restock, and I’ll let you know. The one from the Director’s office is by slot. So, it depends on if you can pay that amount. If you can’t, just wait till next week”, the Officer said. https://punchng.com/how-vio-sells-number-plates-for-n120000/ |
| TV/Movies › Re: Hisense Unveils First 100-inch TV Made In South Africa (PICS) by Godszilla: 9:28pm On May 21, 2024 |
Rule of thumb never buy a Hisense tv, they r cheaper mayb flashy subjective but highly unreliable. Check reviews online about their TV reliability. Also i can confirm 3 person with this your experience, it will just stop displaying n thats it. You can try Alaba though but know the risk involved if it worth it. Cheers n kpele its never fun especially this hard times Oghene86:
It has exceeded the warranty period |
| TV/Movies › Re: Hisense Unveils First 100-inch TV Made In South Africa (PICS) by Godszilla: 4:20pm On May 21, 2024 |
It can be fixed i suppose but since mine was still under warrantee it was replace not with Hisense but LG. So, it's either you risk Alaba or you take it to fouanistore they will charge you for almost the price of a new one. kpele i know the pain / Oghene86:
So it can't be fixed ? |
| TV/Movies › Re: Hisense Unveils First 100-inch TV Made In South Africa (PICS) by Godszilla: 1:21pm On May 21, 2024 |
Kpele, its gone. I had same experience with same 65". unless if it's under warrantee. Just go for a clean tokunbo Oghene86:
I have a 65inch that's gone blank don't know what to do about it, if I should repair or go for a new TV |
| Politics › NERC Deregulates Meters Prices May 1 by Godszilla(op): 4:15am On Apr 30, 2024 |
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Monday released an order on the Deregulation of Meter Prices for meters deployed under the Meter Asset Provider Scheme.
It said the prices of meters were deregulated after Meter Asset Providers and other operators requested a further review of meter prices in consideration of the significant changes in foreign exchange and inflation rates since the last price review of the prices of meters by NERC in September 2023.
It said the significant changes in these macroeconomic variables had constrained the abilities of meter providers to supply meters at the approved regulated price.
“The commission has noted the need for the efficient pricing of meters to respond more quickly to changes in macroeconomic parameters, particularly exchange rates.
“The commission has further taken cognisance of the constraints/challenges faced by MAPs and LMMAs and therefore approved the deregulation of prices of meters deployed under the MAP scheme with effect from May 1, 2024,” NERC stated.
It added, “With effect from May 1, 2024, all prices of meters under the MAP scheme shall be determined through a competitive bidding process with customers provided with a choice of authorised vendors.”
It said the combined effects of sections of the regulations on the regulated pricing of meters deployed under the MAP scheme was hereby derogated.(otilo - its gone)
“The cost of prices of meters deployed under the MAP scheme is hereby deregulated to enable end-use customers acquire meters from MAPs of their choice based on competitive open market prices  determined from transparent bidding frameworks,” the commission stated.
It said, “All MAP permits holders are henceforth eligible to provide services and transact for the provision of meters and metering services with any Disco in the Federal Republic of Nigeria with their existing permit.
.
“The lifting of the restriction on permitting to operate in all Discos is subject to the mandatory requirement for MAPs to comply with the associated Disco specific requirements/specifications.
“All Discos shall ensure the effective and seamless integration of smart meters deployed by MAPs with the Disco’s head-end systems and meter data management systems.” - the gift that keeps on giving" https://punchng.com/nerc-deregulates-meters-prices-may-1/
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| Politics › Re: New Electricity Tariff: Band ‘A’ Homes May Spend N170,000 On Electricity Monthly by Godszilla: 5:41pm On Apr 28, 2024 |
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| Politics › Re: Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder In Sokoto, Black Marketers Sell Petrol ₦2,000/Litre by Godszilla: 2:18pm On Apr 28, 2024 |
Its one year on whats the single positive thing from the removal,ok thats a stretch what are the sign that it will get beta. We are experiencing ultra hyper inflation, by their definition only the people should sacrifice, can they name 1 thing of significant to the politicians that they have given up. I have never seen a parent that enjoys inflicting maximum pain on their children while living in luxury. You keep telling your wife n kids that you are broke,you cannot afford basic things but you still keep late nights,you still go clubing,you have gf. They say hold the government accountable can they give us one scenario where they have been held accountable please. Subsidy is for the rich so they say but in reality they have taken from the poor n give it to the rich completely now. We all know the west subsidies allot for her people, even at the start of the Ukrainian/Russia energy crisis they still implemented temporary energy subsidies. Here lets remove all form of subsidies,subsidies are demonic bad for business,bad for government,bad for capitalism. Let see how we will become a producing/self sufficient economy @ high energy cost ivandragon:
I have let him be. I just had to quote him because he has been getting away unchallenged with supporting subsidy removals.
I don't understand why a person supports imposing hardship that can be avoided or mitigated if the government simply does what it is elected for. |
| Politics › Re: Fuel Scarcity Bites Harder In Sokoto, Black Marketers Sell Petrol ₦2,000/Litre by Godszilla: 12:04pm On Apr 28, 2024 |
Dude you have a soul,you are a good human with empathy. Ask you friend what happen to the 1 trillion they have been saving per 2 months since last year in subsidey removal https://businessday.ng/news/article/we-have-saved-over-a-trillion-naira-from-subsidy-removal-tinubu/. God bless you. ivandragon:
It's not a matter of winning and I would let you have the last word since I quoted you first.
But the point is, removing subsidies is not an end in itself and especially not so if it creates more hardship than it solves.
You and your likes are the ones that are not ready to hold the government to account because you can easily afford whatever prices it rises to.
I cannot understand how the masses should be made to suffer because the government is too cowardly or complicit in the corruption and ineptitude allowed to fester in a system.
For every Venezuela, there is a US, Canada and even Germany to learn from. |
| Technology Market › Re: House Clearance Sales.. Come In Here!!!! by Godszilla: 7:38am On Apr 28, 2024 |
Hey Drickstore,do you have btw 65" - 75" panasonic or Philips or something comparable? Drickstore:
Panasonic 42" Full Smart TV with Bluetooth is available for sale.
Model: TX-42AS650B
Condition: UK Used
180k
Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and Screen Mirroring, Bluetooth.
Payment on delivery is available in Lagos only.
Waybill outside Lagos is available.
Pickup at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos |
| Foreign Affairs › US To Withdraw From Niger As Security Pact Fails In Strategic Victory For Russia by Godszilla(op): 7:05pm On Apr 20, 2024 |
US to withdraw from Niger after security pact fails in strategic victory for RussiaThe US will withdraw more than 1,000 military personnel from Niger in a move that will force the Biden administration to rethink its counter-terrorism strategy and amounts to a strategic victory for Russia.
The decision comes a month after the west African country’s ruling military junta revoked a security pact with Washington that had allowed American forces on its soil to help fight jihadist terrorism.
US officials had voiced hopes that behind-the-scenes talks could salvage the 12-year-old agreement, which was thrown into jeopardy on 15 March when a junta spokesperson publicly declared the continued US military presence in Niger “illegal”.
But the US finally admitted defeat after meetings in Washington this week between Kurt Campbell, the deputy secretary of state, and Niger’s prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine.
The withdrawal, expected to occur over the coming months, will mean the closure of a US drone facility, known as Base 201, at Agadez in the Sahara that was opened in 2018 at a cost of $110m.
The base, one of the main US drone facilities in Africa, has been used in operations against jihadist groups in the Sahel region and was reportedly the launchpad for a series of deadly strikes against Islamic State fighters in Libya in 2019.
Niger’s relations with Washington have been tense since last July when the democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum, was overthrown in a coup. He remains under house arrest, despite American calls for his release.
Since the coup, Niger’s new leaders have pursued closer ties with Russia, mirroring neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, where Russian military forces have established a presence.
Just days after the arrival of Russian military equipment and advisers in the country, thousands of protesters gathered in the Nigerien capital, Niamey, last week to demand the withdrawal of American forces.
According to Russian reports, the newly arrived personnel were part of Russia’s Africa Corps, a new paramilitary group established to replace the Wagner Group, the mercenary outfit founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Prigozhin had been an ally of Vladimir Putin until he led a failed rebellion last year against the Russian president’s stewardship of the war in Ukraine; he was killed in a plane crash. He offered the Wagner Group’s services to the coup leaders after they seized power.
US military commanders have warned of the spread of Russian influence in the Sahe[/b]l, a semi-arid region in the southern Sahara stretching from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, and in other parts of Africa at American expense.
American alarm rose when Lamine Zeine visited Moscow last December to discuss military and economic ties, followed by a visit to Tehran the following month, where he met Ebrahim Raisi, the Iranian president.
Senior state department and Pentagon officials visited Niger earlier this year in an effort to keep the military agreement intact.
The visit was not a success, with Nigerien figures voicing anger over what they said were unfounded American suspicions of negotiations to allow Iran access to Niger’s uranium resources, potentially enhancing Tehran’s nuclear programme.
[b]The departure of American forces from Niger follows the expulsion of French troops in the wake of last summer’s coup. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/20/us-withdrawal-niger-security-pact-russia 
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| Business › For Sale: Lg 55" Broken Screen by Godszilla(op): 3:51pm On Apr 13, 2024 |
Lg 55" working perfectly with remote available but got broken by kids. Used for about a year n half. For sale for N200k negotiable
Call/ WhatsApp 08105433997 
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| Politics › Band A Customers Decry Extortion By Power Firms Amid Poor Supply by Godszilla(op): 7:36am On Apr 07, 2024 |
Following the approval of 240 per cent tariff increment for Band A customers by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, some power consumers in that category are complaining of severe extortion by the various electricity distribution companies in the country amidst worsening power supply.
NERC had on Wednesday announced the tariff increment for Band A power consumers from N68 to N225 per kilowatt-hour with immediate effect.
With the new tariff, the regulator said the subsidy on electricity had been withdrawn completely from the Band A consumers, who constitute about 15 per cent of the total number of power users across the country.
At a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, insisted that the Federal Government would continue with the new tariff regime for Band A consumers despite calls for its reversal.
He said this was because the government could no longer continue paying humongous sums as power subsidy, stressing that subsidy on electricity for 2024 would cost the government about N2.9tn.
But in a flurry of reactions to the development via their X handles on Saturday, some customers lamented that despite paying exorbitantly for electricity following the tariff hike, they were experiencing poor supply in their different neighbourhoods across the country.
This is just as some Nigerians in Bands B, C, D, and E alleged that they were now being made to pay N225/KWh by the Discos instead of their old tariffs after the distribution companies upgraded their payment platforms to reflect the Band A tariff increment.
An X user identified as Heybeedo @Fadodunabayomi, stated, “My environment was listed among Band A, but we have never used a 20-hour electricity supply per day. As I am typing, there has been no light since around 1am in the early hours of today (Saturday). Who will pay for the shortfall in their supply? A lot needs to be clarified.”
Kaduna-based Tariq Abdulazeez @tariqq2 wrote, “The Kaduna Disco has failed to comply with the new regulations thereby upgrading 80 per cent of its customers to band A. We barely get 8hrs power supply.
@OlaosunSina posted, “IKEDC claims OPIC in Isheri-North belongs to Band A and immediately implemented N225 per KwH. N50,000 energy (VAT inclusive) purchased yesterday (Thursday) gave 207 KwH Units. Light was taken since 9.34am today (Friday) 5th April and as of 3.37pm yet to come. This is a pure SCAM!”
Vivo Val also tweeted, “Though I am on Band B, IKEDC gave me 82 units for N20,000.”
One Michael Ifeanyi posted on the platform, “Please NERC, ask Enugu Electricity Distribution Companies to downgrade Centenary Estate Enugu to band C we hardly enjoy 10 hours light. They are charging us for band A.”
One Bolaji @bolsaid said, “I am on Band A and have not had up to 20hrs supply in the last five days, from Easter Monday till now. NERCNG, FCCPC Nigeria,” while @Otyjonah wrote, “My environment is under Band A even though the Disco has refused to issue us a prepaid meter. I have seen power supply since 11pm on d 4th of April. Today is 6th and there is no single hour of light in almost 48hrs. Will I be made to pay for the darkness at the end of the month @NERCNG?”
Lere Ojedokun @doklere said, “There is so much secrecy and loopholes in the electricity ecosystem which investors and players exploit to milk electricity consumers. This is why we will continue to be at their mercy
Oluwakemi @tykeemon said, “Are there really any Band A users in Nigeria? Are we joking? I get less than eight hours of electricity supply daily and I have been fraudulently classified as a Band A user. @NERCNG, you are not a regulator but an accomplice to rip off.”
Isaac Emalunegbe said, “We in Calabar around the Akai Effa axis suffer from your Disco staff here. They will tell us we are in Band A and we get supple less than those in Band C and at the end of every month they will issue exorbitant bill. I was a victim in 2021.”
Sack minister now’
In a related development, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Lere Olayinka, has called on President Bola Tinubu to sack the Minister of Power for alleged incompetence reflected in his inability to ensure a steady power supply.
Olayinka, a former House of Representatives aspirant, also accused the minister of insensitivity with the incessant electricity tariff increases despite failure to ensure constant power supply since he assumed office.
Olayinka, in a statement in Ado Ekiti on Saturday titled, ‘Sack power minister, Bayo Adelabu, now; he can’t even give you constant electricity in Aso Villa, PDP chieftain tells Tinubu’, advises the government to save itself from further embarrassment by sacking Adelabu and replacing him with a professional.
Power ministry, NERC inefficient — Afenifere
Similarly, the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political organisation, Afenifere, has described the electricity tariff increase as an attempt to thwart President Bola Tinubu’s economic recovery efforts.
Afenifere stated this in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi and made available to journalists on Saturday.
While noting that the electricity tariff hike will shrink both corporate and small medium businesses in the country, Ajayi said, “It is clear that rather than exploring ways to reduce the cost of producing energy thus reducing the pains of Nigerians, the relevant government agencies are passing the price of their own inefficiency on the people.
In a related development, Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has called on the management of IBEDC to urgently address current irregular power supply in the state.
Adeleke, who made the demand at a meeting held with the management of the company in Ibadan, Oyo State, described Osun as a critical stakeholder in the Nigerian power sector with Osogbo, the state capital, hosting the National Transmission Control Centre.
The governor said it was “unacceptable that the state will be having epileptic power supply,” which he said has been affecting its local economy and businesses badly. https://punchng.com/band-a-customers-decry-extortion-by-power-firms-amid-poor-supply/
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| Politics › Re: Renewed Hope: Tinubu’s March Scorecard - PBAT Media Centre by Godszilla: 2:43pm On Apr 02, 2024 |
complete total olodos, sad. Look @ list of achievement. TragicBobloco:
The Nigeria president , Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had revealed his administration scorecard for the month of March.
This was posted on the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre social media account on 1st April, 2024.
Highlighting the President Tinubu’s progress towards the fulfilment of his Renewed Hope Agenda
Here are list of March progress recorded
Approval to institutionalize a 30% representation of young people in government appointments
Approval to restructure and institutionalize Nigerian youth investment fund
The revamped youth investment fund will receive #25 billion from the 2023 supplementary appropriation act, and additional #25 billion from the youth development fund in the 2024 budget
Approval for a #60 billion release from the CBN through the Agric Investment and Small and Medium Enterprises Scheme to Nigerian Youths.
Approval for the establishment of an economic management task force.
Complete payment of the $7 billion foreign exchange (FX) backlog
A new Recapitalization benchmark of N500bn was set by the CBN.
A Bill to prescribe the Salaries, Allowances and Fringe Benefits of Judicial Office Holders in Nigeria and for Related Matters was forwarded to NASS.
3 months ban on foreign trips by Government appointees, this is in order to reduce cost of governance.
Approval for the conversion of the Federal College of Dental Technology and Therapy, Enugu, to a full-fledged University of Allied Health Sciences.
Commencement of the construction of the 700 km Lagos-Calabar coastal road with the handover of the 1st phase of 47.47km of the dual carriageway to the contractor.
– Payment of $7 billion FX backlog.
– Establishment of a new economic team.
– Commencement Of 700 km Lagos – Calabar Coastal Road.
– Judiciary Reforms.
– Youths as a priority …..
President Tinubu’s March came with a lot of progress towards the fulfilment of his Renewed… pic.twitter.com/WR1qozvqsy
— President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre (@PBATMediaCentre) April 1, 2024
https://tribuneonlineng.com/renewed-hope-tinubus-march-scorecard/ |
| Travel › Re: Air Peace Staff Land In London In Ishiagu Attire, Sparking Outrage In Nigeria by Godszilla: 6:28pm On Apr 01, 2024 |
Dude forget the voting pattern that you have carefully stated,about the igbos. The real question here should be how can any thinking self respecting human with quarter of a brain still vote APC after the 8 years of utmost disaster,how do you defend that level of failure n still endorse it for @ least another 4 more years?let's even forget the President,the monumental disastrous APC not only held on to the the executive but the 3 tier of government,how does one explain that?it defies logic n reasons. Please what's the logic behind continuing with APC government,please. broadman20:
From what I can understand from your point of view, you started following elections from 2023 and that's why all your consideration is based on that.
I'm still wondering why it's difficult for you to go research the pattern of voting in the south east from 1999 till date.
For you, IGBOS started voting from 2023 and that's what you just want to see and hear, oya go on with that one sided mindset. |
| Foreign Affairs › Re: Easter Sunday Declared Transgender Day In The U.S By President Biden (Photos) by Godszilla: 10:04pm On Mar 30, 2024 |
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| Foreign Affairs › Trump Says Some Migrants Are ‘not People’ And Predicts A ‘blood Bath’ If He Lose by Godszilla(op): 7:11pm On Mar 17, 2024 |
Former President Donald J. Trump, at an event on Saturday ostensibly meant to boost his preferred candidate in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary race, gave a freewheeling speech in which he used dehumanizing language to describe immigrants, maintained a steady stream of insults and vulgarities and predicted that the United States would never have another election if he did not win in November. With his general-election matchup against President Biden in clear view, Mr. Trump once more doubled down on the doomsday vision of the country that has animated his third presidential campaign and energized his base during the Republican primary. The dark view resurfaced throughout his speech. While discussing the U.S. economy and its auto industry, Mr. Trump promised to place tariffs on cars manufactured abroad if he won in November. He added: “Now, if I don’t get elected, it’s going to be a blood bath for the whole — that’s going to be the least of it. It’s going to be a blood bath for the country.”For nearly 90 minutes outside the Dayton International Airport in Vandalia, Ohio, Mr. Trump delivered a discursive speech, replete with attacks and caustic rhetoric. He noted several times that he was having difficulty reading the teleprompter. The former president opened his speech by praising the people serving sentences in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Mr. Trump, who faces criminal charges tied to his efforts to overturn his election loss, called them “hostages” and “unbelievable patriots,” commended their spirit and vowed to help them if elected in November. He also repeated his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, which have been discredited by a mountain of evidence. If he did not win this year’s presidential election, Mr. Trump said, “I don’t think you’re going to have another election, or certainly not an election that’s meaningful.” Mr. Trump also stoked fears about the influx of migrants coming into the United States at the southern border. As he did during his successful campaign in 2016, Mr. Trump used incendiary and dehumanizing language to cast many migrants as threats to American citizens. He asserted, without evidence, that other countries were emptying their prisons of “young people” and sending them across the border. “I don’t know if you call them ‘people,’ in some cases,” he said. “They’re not people, in my opinion.” He later referred to them as “animals.” https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/us/politics/trump-speech-ohio.html |
| Foreign Affairs › Ukraine Hits Back At Pope's 'white Flag' Comment by Godszilla(op): 10:04pm On Mar 10, 2024 |
Ukraine has strongly rejected a call by Pope Francis for Kyiv to negotiate an end to its war with Russia and have "the courage to raise the white flag".
Ukraine's foreign minister says it will "never raise any other flags" than the country's blue and yellow colours.
The Pope's comment appeared in the transcript of a radio interview to be broadcast later this month.
A Vatican spokesman later said the Pope was speaking of stopping the fighting through negotiation, not capitulation.
The interview with Swiss broadcaster RSI, recorded in February, is scheduled to air on 20 March as part of a cultural programme.
According to a transcript quoted by Reuters news agency, the Pope was asked to comment on a debate between those who want Ukraine to seek a settlement with Russia - or wave the "white flag", as the interviewer put it - and those who argue that doing so would legitimise aggression.
The Pope was quoted as saying: "The strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates."
"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," he added.
The statement triggered a barrage of criticism.
On Sunday Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on social media: "Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags."
Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican compared the Pope's comments to those who advocated talks with Adolf Hitler during Word War Two.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski asked whether the Pope would, for balance, encourage Russian President Vladimir Putin to have the courage to withdraw his army from Ukraine.
There has also been strong criticism from Ukrainians on social media, including the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church.
In response to the row, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the Pope had "picked up the image of the white flag, proposed by the interviewer, to indicate... a truce reached with the courage of negotiation".
He added the Pope had made it clear that "negotiations are never a surrender".
More than two years after Russia's full-scale attack, Ukraine is on the defensive. Last month Russian troops captured the strategic town of Avdiivka.
Since then, the invaders have advanced further west, and taken several villages.
In Washington a bill to provide $60bn (£47bn) to Ukraine has been blocked in the US Congress and European countries are struggling to agree on ways to support Kyiv. |
| Foreign Affairs › Pope Says Ukraine Should Have The ‘Courage Of The White Flag’ by Godszilla(op): 7:06am On Mar 10, 2024 |
Pope Francis has said in an interview that Ukraine should have what he called the courage of the "white flag" and negotiate an end to the war with Russia that followed Moscow's full-scale invasion two years ago and that has killed tens of thousands.
Francis made his comments in an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, well before Friday's latest offer by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war.
Erdogan made the fresh offer after a meeting in Istanbul with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Zelenskiy has said while he wants peace he will not give up any territory.
The Ukrainian leader's own peace plan calls for the withdrawal of Russian troops from all of Ukraine and the restoration of its state borders. The Kremlin has ruled out engaging in peace talks on terms set by Kyiv.
A spokesman for Zelenskiy did not immediately respond to a remarks.
In the interview Francis was asked for his position on a debate between those who say Ukraine should give up as it has not been able to repel Russian forces, and those who say doing so would legitimise actions by the strongest party. The interviewer used the term "white flag" in the question.
"It is one interpretation, that is true," Francis said, according to an advance transcript of the interview and a partial video made available to Reuters on Saturday. It is due to be broadcast on March 20 as part of a new cultural programme.
But I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," [/b]Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers.
[b]"The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate," Francis said.
It was believed to be the first time Francis has used terms such as "white flag" or "defeated" in discussing the Ukraine war, although he has spoken in the past about the need for negotiations.
In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said the pope had picked up on the term "white flag" spoken by the interviewer and used it "to indicate a stop to hostilities (and) a truce achieved with the courage of negotiations".
Last year the 87-year-old pope sent a peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, to Kyiv, Moscow and Washington to sound out leaders in those countries.
"One may feel shame," Francis said about negotiating, "but how many dead will it (the war) end up with? (One should) negotiate in time, find a country that can be a mediator," Francis said, mentioning Turkey among the countries that had offered.
"Do not be ashamed of negotiating, before things get worse," said Francis, who has made hundreds of appeals for what he calls "martyred Ukraine". Asked if he was willing to mediate, Francis said "I am here".
In another part of the interview, speaking of the war between Israel and Hamas, Francis said: "Negotiating is never a surrender".
Last month Zelenskiy said that 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the Russian invasion in February 2022 and that tens of thousands of civilians had been killed in the occupied areas of the country. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-says-ukraine-should-have-courage-white-flag-negotiations-2024-03-09/
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| Crime › Re: Mob Overpowers Policemen, Kills Two, Injures Two Others In Edo by Godszilla: 9:47pm On Mar 03, 2024 |
jumper524:
even civilians do kill people by accident.
Killing another innocent set of police men who could be your brother doesn't justify or makes sense at all.
I sympathize with the dead, accidents do happen, but mob injustice should be unacceptable.
Now they've stolen some policemen Gun and the street would become less safe. There you go mob injustice shouldn't b acceptable but police incessant maiming n killing of unarm n innocent should b condoned. Now u equate an untrained n unarmed citizen to a trained professional that their primary duty is to protect lives you put the two on the same pedestal. Nobody is in support of mob rule but there's time for everything beside the riot that followed after George Floyd incident in US was supported by the Dem n the current president,that was mob rule that ran for months n was never condemned,why is that?why was that allowed n ok? |
| Crime › Re: Mob Overpowers Policemen, Kills Two, Injures Two Others In Edo by Godszilla: 9:09pm On Mar 03, 2024 |
jumper524:
Govt should pass a law on MoB.
Police or security agencies should use brutal force when needed on MoB.
All those ritualist would just hide behind mob to kill people. Where is the humanity in you? A man,a woman n a child was killed but none of that matters but they need to pass a law against the mob that demanded justice that we all know the system will never give. No outrage for what the terrorist police did to the 3 persons none,so the police can do whatever they like,break the law kill the innocent but the people cant. Its a sad country we live in,sad sad |
| Education › Re: IELTS Increases Test Fee To ₦266,000 by Godszilla: 10:55am On Mar 03, 2024 |
omoredia:
Proverbs 1:28-33 NLT
[28] “When they cry for help, I will not answer. Though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me. [29] For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the Lord. [30] They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. [31] Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes. [32] For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. [33] But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.” 
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| Gaming › Re: Nintendo 3DS Xl Game For Sale by Godszilla: 7:32am On Mar 02, 2024 |
Will this go for 10k if still available Generalkontrato:
Nintendo 3DS xl video game for sale, working perfectly...
No charger
Price #20k
Slightly negotiate
Happy New Year to you all. |
