₦airaland Forum

Sagamite:
If we get rid of at least 2 of the 3 moronteers then we should have a good game.

Don't even include Okoronkwo in that category. Okonkwo and Promise are the only morons in that team. And I believe that in 2-3 years time, you will see a totally different Okonkwo. I remember how brash Adeleye was in 2005 and we can all see what 3 years in Europe has done for him. Okonkwo could be the same. Already I saw a big improvement in the final with his discipline. He shackled Messi a lot better than some well known left backs in Europe, Ashley Cole for instance. As for Promise, no hope for him.

Coming on to Okoronkwo - if you are judging Okoronkwo as a winger, I can reason with your views. But I have always known him to be a central striker in the Adebayor/Kanu mould. So where you are expecting him to dribble three players at full speed down the line, I am looking at his touch, ball control and intelligence. It speaks volume for his discipline that SiaSia plays him on the right. By no stretch of imagination is he a winger so if you are looking for blockbusting runs and dribbles, he is not the one. . . . . . but he did create everything positive that we did in the first half.

As for Nsofor - he is not a left winger. Full stop. He creates nothing from that position. Infact, his left wing play is somewhat defensive. His best play was against CIV when Odemwingie and Obasi would drift to the left, allowing him to drift into the middle where we could all see him at his lethal best.

Sagamite:
Yes, Nsofor has not done anything but he has credit in the bank.

Maybe in your bank, not in mine. He has just cleared the overdraft he was owing me from ACN 2006 and 2008. I never understood why he was always picked despite several poor performances. Maybe he has some political leverage. And he needs to stop taking the corner kicks. He can't cross. At least he has gone some way to restoring his standing with me in this tournament - but I still don't like him on the left of midfield. He is limited cos he has no left foot nor enough dribbling skill or spontaneity to play the position effectively. His best position is striker.

Wetin Obasi do SiaSia na? Maybe he has bad attitude or something because there is no reason why he doesn't merit a shirt. The two best games we played against CIV and Belgium were the only games he has started.

Anyway, I had no expectations of the gold medal so I suffer no dissapointment. I am happy to see that a lot of these boys have a good future for Super Eagles - and Okoronkwo will make a very good 2nd central striker someday.

Obasi will come on for Promise soon. I expect Anichebe to make an appearance also. Nsofor is not doing anything either.

Saga,

You see. I just told you Odemwingie is too sloppy in possession to play right-wing in a match like this. That goal started from his sloppy conceding of possession.

Sagamite:
You were supposed to have only one shot of that ogogoro, not the whole bottle.

Please let Odems play on the right or bring Ekpo in.

^^Tell that to my brother who just called me to say that Okoronkwo is really impressing him.

On top of that, Okoronkwo is tactically disciplined even though right-wing is not his natural position.

Odemwingie does not have that discipline and loses the ball too much to play right wing in this particular game.

Okoronkwo is a bonafide skillachi!

Heir apparent to Kanu. He will do very well in his favoured central position. Nobody in the team possesses his intelligence, touch or ball control, talkless of vision.

Good tactics by SiaSia to shackle Messi. Okonkwo has improved in that respect. He cannot attack like Adefemi otherwise Messi will kill us on the counterattack. He is playing to SiaSia's strict instructions.

I can understand Isaac Promise in the team. He is more disciplined than Obasi.

Expecting more from Nsofor.

Kaita and Ajilore are playing very well. Even Apam.

Dayo, let go of the past please. . . . Chelsea have outperformed Madrid in CL for the last 5 years. At this moment, no player can be faulted for choosing Chelsea over Madrid.


Nateevs,

Strong counteraction from Madrid. . . . . let us see how Robinho will respond. . . . they should remember that he only has 2 years on his contract. . . . isn't it ironic that we could do to them what they failed to do to Man Utd over Ronaldo?. . . . .anyway, the ball is in Robinho's court. . . . . rumour has it that there is a deal in place with Roma for Malouda should the Robinho transfer go through.

Is that a rhetorical question?. . . . before, if it is not down to oil, then what is it down to?. . . . the S&P report is not arguing that, rather they are comparing non-oil GDP during past booms and non-oil GDP during the current boom and they find that the results are more encouraging.

This was on goal.com early this morning . . . . I didn't wanna say anything sha before internet police arrest me. . . . anyway, BBC has finally caught the story. . . . BBC always slow as usual. . . .



http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7559701.stm


[center]I want to join Chelsea - Robinho[/center]
 
Brazilian forward Robinho has made it clear that he wants to leave Real Madrid and sign for Chelsea.

The Blues had a £19.7m bid rejected, with Real president Roman Calderon insisting the 24-year-old would stay.

But Robinho told Spanish news agency EFE: "I want to leave. I've told the president, the directors and the coach. I want to play in the Premier League.

"Chelsea have a great squad, a great team and their offer is good for me and for the team."

Robinho, who can play in a wide attacking position or through the middle, is keen to move to Chelsea to join fellow Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari at Stamford Bridge.  I hope the Real Madrid directors reach an agreement with Chelsea to resolve my situation as quickly as possible

Robinho

Real were prepared to use Robinho as a makeweight in their pursuit of Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United and refused to release the Brazilian for the Olympics.

Robinho added: "I'm telling the truth. I want to leave and I have got the character to tell the press that I'm not aiming to stay at Real.

"It isn't because of money, it is simply because I want to leave. My personal aim is to be the best player in the world and that isn't going to be possible at Real Madrid.

"I've played three seasons at Real Madrid and have given everything.

"I think my period at Real Madrid has come to an end. I hope the directors reach an agreement with Chelsea to resolve my situation as quickly as possible."

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon said last week that the Blues could still sign Robinho - despite the Spanish club insisting he was going nowhere.

"We've still got a few days left of the window," stated Kenyon. "Hopefully we'll get a result."

Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has claimed that Robinho will not be sold at any price, while Calderon told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Definitely, he is going to stay with us. The coach has said he wants him in our team.  "We don't see any possibility of Robinho leaving Real Madrid."

Meanwhile, Robinho's agent Wagner Ribeiro was recently reported as saying that Madrid have "failed to value him as he deserves" and that he was unhappy at being included by Madrid as a potential makeweight in any deal to take Ronaldo from Manchester United to Real.

Kenyon believes Madrid's eagerness to secure a replacement is the only factor preventing him from moving to Stamford Bridge.

"A key issue over buying Robinho has always been that Real are looking for a replacement," he has told his club's website.

"It is fair to say that is what has been holding up discussions."

[quote author=ife-eco-06 link=topic=162225.msg2690923#msg2690923 date=1219403725]Vice Admiral Adekeye, my townman, I'm proud of you. You did a good job for the Nigerian Navy. No wonder you were the longest serving of the four. Offa people are waiting for you back home.[/quote]Ask your town man what happened to the ship that went missing - not to talk of all the bunkering he is involved in.

I grew up with these Navy guys in Navy Camp, Borokiri, PH. All they know how to do is terrorise secondary school students from Comprehensive and Enitonia. The only thing Navy Camp is good for is playing football and basketball.

wormedup:
heard we upped the ante for Robinho to 28.4m
this dude should come already !!!

Never read The Sun, SkySports etc. . . . The Times said we upped our offer to £27m and I always believe The Times. Real Madrid are holding out for £32 but Chelsea are adamant they will not meet that asking price.

Actually, this a breath of fresh air as far as I am concerned. Even, if we don't buy Robinho, no wahala. At least other teams will respect us and we will not get cheated like before. For too long, we have been the mugu's in the transfer market. LFS is showing that he is ready to run the football club along conventional lines. . . . nice to have someone who actually cares about the clubs finances, not throwing away Chelsea's money and reputation. That is all part of good management as far as I am concerned.

Gay people always love to believe that many others are closet gays besides themselves. . . . lol. . . . well, newsflash: 99.5% of Nigerian men are straight, whatever you think.

dyabman:
as u can all see, im on top of the nairaland league,

bammy fc ------ 75 points.

Enjoy it while it lasts sunshine.

Ijawboys United are coming for you.

What is everybody elses team name on there?

Nobody gets used that doesn't want to get used. . . . so all this talk Palma is talking is just yarning dust. . . . a respectable chick does not stay with a man who abuses her trust. . . . . I remember I once tried to play the role of 'Captain Save-a-Ho' for one chick whose boyfriend was physically and emotionally abusing her. . . . . in the end, the stupid bitch didn't stick with the plan, wouldn't call the police, nothing. . . . she just ended up back with her abuser and he must be abusing her till this day. . . . . . . like I said, no woman gets used who doesn't want to get used. . . . .thank god, my sisters are respectable people. . . . the day my sister's boyfriend cheated on her is the day she left him. . . . exactly 12 months later, she was married to the best brother in-law a man could hope to have. . . . . chicks need to start respecting themselves.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7573135.stm


[center]Shevchenko's Milan move hits snag [/center]


Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko's return to AC Milan has hit a major stumbling block, according to chief executive Adriano Galliani.

The 31-year-old Ukrainian had been close to securing a return after two disappointing years in England.

"Talks are deadlocked at the moment," Galliani said.

"Milan were interested in taking the player on loan with the right to buy but Chelsea said they wanted a full sale, therefore negotiations are over."

Shevchenko is AC Milan's second-most prolific goalscorer of all-time with 127 goals from 208 games.

An initial one-year loan deal was reportedly discussed when Milan chairman Silvio Berlusconi met Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich in Sardinia last Thursday.

And the Italian press had claimed the deal was going to finalised on Thursday or at the latest 24 hours later.

Milan director Silvano Ramaccioni had said: "We are close to the end of the deal and I hope these little things that have to be fulfilled are done soon."

But due to the disagreement between the two clubs Shevchenko's move to the Italian giants appears to be off after their summer-long pursuit of the striker.

Shevchenko, who cost Chelsea £30m, is still popular with the AC Milan supporters who have also seen the arrival of Ronaldinho this summer.

cholerik:
whole town being a market does not affect people's spending power positively or negatively,check out,if u run a telecoms company which town would u pop first,aba,onitsha,kano or ibadan? u know ibadan tops it,ask glo,multilinks,starcomms,mtn and co.

Check Ife-Eco's post again. She was talking about commerce on a day-to-day level. On that level, Aba is King.

Ife, I cannot believe you put Onitsha ahead of Aba in commerce. I have been to both cities and the whole town of Aba is a market. It is not the same in Onitsha. Infact, when it comes to commerce, Aba could be no 1, definitely higher than Ibadan. I've never been to Kano so Kano may well be the no 1 in commerce, but I find it hard to see anyone else topping Aba.

Politics wise, you better believe that PH, Warri and Yenagoa are top of the agenda right now.

Well, the more the middle class grows, the better for Nigeria. Abacha killed the middle class. I hope Yar'Adua will leave finance to the professionals and not appoint his northern cronies.

Only Hausa man can put Kaduna ahead of PH.

Don't forget Yenagoa 

Kobojunkie:
but the common man seems to see the opposite happening. The high cost of oil and food does not make it easier. Until these advancements start to trickle down, I believe the news is only worth much to banks and government in Nigeria.

The common man is always the last to feel any change. . . . even in China today, we have starving peasants, yet China is a developed economy. . . .

Like Outkast said:

Thinking that you light-skinned? Aiight then!

lol

^^^How is it old news when it came out in Sept 2008 IMF journal?  The fact it is classified as 'emerging' is old news. . . . but all of this is fresh news.

Kobojunkie:
Consumer Prices have risen much more slowly? Where??

In comparison to previous years, why not? Remember that oil prices usually rise in conjunction with soft goods - so in the past whenever the price of oil rose, it is safe to assume that soft goods rose as well. Which 300 goods would you pick to measure Nigeria's CPI? I am guessing Yam, Rice, Egusi, Palm Oil, Cassava etc - a lot of these crops are homogenous to Africa and are not in high demand worldwide so not each and every of those goods would have been affected by the rise in the price of soft goods. I don't exactly see anyone in Europe speculating on the price of Egusi.  

Also, remember that the rise in the price of soft goods is fairly recent - lets say it started at the beginning of this year - you can see that the graph has not factored in the CPI for 2008 yet - so it may still be bad news, as you suggest.

Kobojunkie:
How much of the investments and more is due to high cost of oil? Any information on that?

Well, this extract answers some of this:

One way to assess the prospects for these countries is to examine how they are performing today, compared with previous episodes of high commodity prices. Is there anything to suggest that this time their performance after the boom could be different? The best emerging market prospects would be resource producers that have installed sound economic institutions to avoid the boom-bust cycle of the past. Take the case of Nigeria. Since the current oil boom started in 2004, its economic performance has been far better than in previous booms in 1974–78, 1979–83, and 1990–94—whether measuring non-oil growth or inflation (see Chart 1).


https://img29.picoodle.com/data/img29/3/8/21/f_nellor1m_b138f3f.gif


The key to this good performance is that fiscal policy has been set with an eye on the ability of the economy to absorb the domestic demand consequences of spending booming oil revenues. Use of a budget oil-price rule, which allowed spending of oil revenues in line with absorptive capacity and saving oil revenues above this budget price, was effective in breaking the link between growing oil prices and budgetary outlays that led to booms and busts in the past. If this fiscal rule can be sustained, the prospects for ongoing growth are strong.

extract:

This group of African countries compares favorably with the ASEAN countries of 1980 (see table). ASEAN was already experiencing strong economic growth in 1980 but, in many other areas, the ASEAN countries looked quite different than they do today—and the African candidates perhaps have lower vulnerability and greater economic stability than the ASEAN countries had in 1980. Growth in sub-Saharan Africa is strong, as it was in Asia. Unlike the high ASEAN inflation in the 1980s, inflation in Africa is single digit. High international reserves and low debt-to-GDP ratios—the result, among other things, of debt relief—characterize the African countries relative to the ASEAN countries of 1980. Government, however, comprises a larger share of the African countries than it did in the ASEAN countries.

https://img27.picoodle.com/data/img27/3/8/21/f_nellortbm_f387cb3.gif

The macroeconomic policy challenges for the African markets are similar to those faced by the ASEAN countries in the 1980s. African markets tend to use monetary aggregates as the basis for achieving inflation goals, supported by a managed float exchange rate policy. With financial liberalization and other structural changes, the stability of money demand and relationships between monetary aggregates and inflation becomes problematic. As questions arise about their credibility, central banks look for more effective ways to meet their needs. In Africa today, a goal of some central banks is to move to inflation targeting. Some ASEAN countries adopted inflation targeting for much the same reasons, but not until after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s.

The rise of some African countries to emerging market status gives them a tremendous economic opportunity. Access to capital markets is a key ingredient to high and sustainable private sector–led growth, and this access had long seemed out of reach for Africa; it is now a reality. Evidence is already mounting that financial flows are being translated into growth in financial intermediation in these countries. To help ensure sustained growth, the countries must ensure that macroeconomic policy and capital account prudential policies are tailored to avoid the traps of volatile short-term flows, and that supervision promotes financial sector stability and effective intermediation.

Positive news or the calm before the storm?

Certainly good news in terms of attracting foreign investment. Now, sufficient investment in infrastructure must follow to capitalise on our improved international standing and enhanced risk worthiness.

For the indepth Standard and Poors report, read here:

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2008/09/nellor.htm

http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=120213


Nigeria Now ‘Frontier Emerging Market’, Says IMF


Nigeria’s recent private sector-led growth and vibrant capital markets with potentials for investors have placed it in a league of eight sub-Saharan African countries (outside South Africa), heading towards emerging market status, a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has revealed.

The country is now a “frontier emerging market”, according to the IMF – a position that will guarantee the Nigeria the emerging market status as soon as it matures.
Also, Nigerian banks raised about $12 billion in capital over 2006-07 mostly from offshore investors, using a variety of investment vehicles, the report noted.

In the new report titled “The Rise of Africa’s Frontier Markets,” IMF Senior Adviser Africa Department, Mr. David Nellor, said Nigeria, Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia had met the criteria required of emerging market countries.

Emerging markets, the study explained, refer to countries that have financial markets and attract investment interest.
According to him, these eight countries in the sub-Sahara Africa region account for about 40 per cent of the region's population outside South Africa and almost one-half of its GDP.
He pointed out that Nigeria dominated trade in this group and had fared well because of lower debt burden.
The study also pointed out that since the country received Paris Club debt relief and bought back much of the remainder of its external debt, trade in Nigerian debt had been mainly domestic.

This placed Nigeria 21st on the global debt trade ranking at the end of 2007, which in his view “is equal to or exceeds many first-generation emerging markets.”

Nellor said in the report: “The criteria for an emerging market set out here—growth, private sector–led growth, and investible markets—can be identified in eight sub-Saharan African countries: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.

“Emerging markets are attractive to investors because they offer rates of return that are high relative to mature markets and offer opportunities for investors to diversify risk. High GDP growth signals that there are opportunities for investors to ‘buy’ into the country’s overall prospects or seek out opportunities by identifying undervaluation in specific sectors.

“Growth prospects in emerging market countries are likely to be based on technological catch-up, significant output gaps, young populations, and faster population growth than in mature markets. The processes that bring about growth may differ by country, but a track record of solid growth is common to emerging markets. The potential for risk diversification might arise at the country level when growth trends are not synchronised with mature market economies.”

One way to assess the prospects of these countries, particularly resource-rich nations, was to compare their performance during previous oil boom periods to today and how they tried to avoid the boom-bust cycle, Nellor said.
Using Nigeria as an example, he argued that the country's performance was better since the current oil boom which started in 2004, compared to the booms of 1974-78 and 1990-94, measuring non-oil growth and inflation.
Good fiscal policy, budget oil price rule and saving oil revenues above the budget price all helped Nigeria perform better, he noted, warning, however, that Nigeria would have to adhere to strict fiscal rule in order to maintain strong growth.
These new developments, according to the study, would provide tremendous opportunities for African countries because access to capital markets was a key component of high and sustainable private sector led growth.

The study also noted that the term emerging market was coined by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in 1980 to refer to developing countries with stock markets that were beginning to demonstrate the features of the mature stock markets in industrial countries.

It also gives investors the opportunity to make financial investments in a country. Before now, only South Africa held that status on the African continent. Access to capital had in the past been out of the reach of most African countries.

It depends on if you are asking the question in terms of trade or culture. If it is based on trade, Aba should be higher up the list, certainly ahead of Ibadan and Kaduna.