₦airaland Forum

More views needed;truth or lie??

Dracula27:
True

YOU CAN SAY THAT AGAIN

By Akan Inyang

As a nation we have been through a lot of internal conflicts and international criticisms, but inspite of these seemingly insurmountable upset Nigeria still prevails as single growing nation. Unfortunately the major drivers of politics today are ethnicity and religion as opposed to competence and integrity; these are the reasons why we are stuck with the kind of leaders we have. But in the end every nation has its story and today this is the Nigerian story.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is one of our realities and today he is our president. Beyond what majority of Nigerians or international communities may feel about this person or his government, I strongly believe that in these times Nigeria needed and still needs a president like him. Kindly exercise a little patience to read further and uncover some of my reasons; most of which are not conventional I must say.

His personality has encouraged Nigerians to truly embrace ‘freedom of speech’: Jonathan’s calm and humble personality allows well placed and even ordinary Nigerians voice their opinions in more ways than we have ever witnessed in the Nigerian history. This has set an irreversible trend that no president after him can suppress or reverse by any form of intimidation. More than we have ever witnessed today, common Nigerians now have a very audible voice which has been amplified by the social media and deeply entrenched freedom of press Nigeria enjoys today.

His story is phenomenal and gives hope to the average Nigerian man: we all know the Goodluck ‘no shoes’ story; his humble beginnings and how he dramatically rose to the seat of the president of Nigeria by staying humble with a clear sense of purpose and unbridled ambition. Many say it’s just mere ‘Goodluck’ but his rise and rise has been a combination of ‘hardwork and smartwork’ behind the scenes; you simply can’t take that away from this man.

Patience Jonathan is a strong reminder that Nigerian women can be successful by simply being ‘real’ and sticking with a good man: clearly this woman is a reminder to all young women that for you to be the wife of a successful man you don’t have to be sophisticated- based on western standards. All you have to do is be the best you can be; be Nigerian and be yourself! You all will agree with me today that our Nigerian women hold very highly skewed validations and impossible standards which so far is depleting our culture and our true sense of belonging which stands the risk of being passed on to the next generation. On another note, you need to watch her Okrika campaigns/community engagements (in pidgin and her local dialect) for you to appreciate her funny, witty, bold and audacious side which most definitely compliments her husband.

The Jonathan story drives home the fact that there is nothing like a ‘born leader’: leadership is a continuous learning process where you learn from mistakes, get better and better. Just as Goodluck Jonathan has gotten better in making decisions, bolder in making speeches and more assertive than he was back in 2010. The truth is you can never become a great leader in one day; it’s a hard-biting process.

Jonathan is a patient man trying to inculcate the ‘patience virtue’ in Nigerians: For you to appreciate the Jonathan transformation you need a patient mind as the Nigerian problem today is a summation of many short-term solutions to appease the normal ‘quick gratification cravings’ of an average Nigerian. If we embraced long-term solutions (in areas like power, transportation, automotive industry, capitalist-driven job creation, monetary policies etc.) in the past, we definitely won’t be where we are today. Simply put, Jonathan isn’t doing things that pleases the eyes of an average Nigerian, neither is he doing most of what we want; rather he is focusing on our real needs which are sustainable in the long-term and in the near future eg, the re-construction of the Benin-Ore/ Abuja-Lokoja roads took time to build, but today these are the best quality of roads ever built in Nigeria-I repeat-best quality of roads ever in Nigeria- also the revived railway system after 28years of rot will ensure that these roads lasts even longer.

Am I saying he is the best Nigeria has to offer? A big NO!

My motivation to pen down a few of my observations is because Buhari is not the ‘change messiah’ many have tagged him as; rather Jonathan is a confirmed progressive transformer Nigeria needs today.
Clearly he needs your support, but always remember that whether or not you offer your individual support, it won’t stop progress, true democracy and moving forward from the old ways because there a many Nigerians that share the same thoughts like me!

If Jonathan truly disproved this project it must be as a result of the financial implications of executing such a project. 8years after the Federal government guaranteed the light rail project, it still hasnt been completed. GEJ did Lagos a favour, imagine the debts the state would have ran into; inspite of not going ahead with the project Lagos is the most indebted state in Nigeria.

chiebube:
I disagree. This is Nigeria. You can say that in America, UK, Canada, France etc.

You didn't state what you are disputing

This may seem like a totally insane article, but like they say ‘there is no perfect solution’. The current dip in the global price of crude oil which is edging close to $40 per barrel has been felt by consumers around the globe in so many ways. Like in the US, 2015 has been themed as the ‘SUV year’ as sales projections suggests a boost in the sales of SUVs which isn’t unconnected with the lower cost of fuel and subsequently, lower cost of owning SUVs with significantly larger and more fuel thirsty engines-when compared with sedans.

So with the #10 drop in petrol price, what can possibly be seen as a disadvantage in this situation? One thing is clear, with the same amount spent-during the #97 per-liter regime-you can achieve a whole lot more and for domestic use of petrol like fuelling of generators, the kegs have a significantly heavier feel when you lift them up after petrol has been dispensed. However for this article here, we will focus on the petrol price drop as it affects the automobile industry (especially the passenger vehicles segment)and general motoring trends in Nigeria; below are a few coined out reasons that may interest you.

Heightened pollution levels:one of the earliest signs that something is wrong with your car is when your fuel consumption level suddenly spikes; the next logical step ought to be visiting a workshop to trace the problem to forestall incurring higher expenses. But because ‘petrol is cheap’, you can afford to drive on and continue using your vehicle as if everything is alright. In the process, your under-performing vehicle pollutes the environment; a typical example of a condition that can lead to higher pollution levels associated with higher fuel consumption is driving with your ‘check engine light’ fully illuminated on your dashboard. But in the end who cares about what happens to the environment? One thing is for sure, the heat waves we are currently experiencing early in the year(2015) in Lagos may just be a form of punishment for our collective negligence- but I guess this should be left for an environmentalist to concretely ascertain. However, the green-house effect and global warming is an issue that shouldn’t be ignored and taken likely.

Low productivity and poor growth of Nigerian automotive service industry: in the US, EPA (Environmental protection Agency) is a critical growth mechanism in the US automotive industry, as new efficiency and fuel economy standards are enforced and facilitated (in collaboration with Auto-makers) by this body. But here is Nigeria, agencies responsible for vehicle monitoring and curtailing vehicle emissions like the VIO (Vehicle Inspection Office) and NESRA (National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency) are highly inefficient and ineffective in this regard. On a micro-economy level, low petrol prices discourage the need for swift intervention of automobile service centers to quickly get problems fixed-as explained in the first paragraph. When motorist can easily shoulder the costs of operating vehicles in bad conditions, you have a situation where plenty cars that should be in workshops/garages are still revving hard on Nigerian roads. This creates some form of economic imbalance which makes the business of providing automobile services less attractive, as the target market doesn’t perceive these services as a ‘critical need’. On the flipside, if the demand for such services is high, we will have higher levels of investment and better competition in this industry segment.

Less disciplined motorists: still connected with vehicle abuse is a motorist’s level of motoring discipline; which cuts across proper vehicle maintenance, proper driving and obeying traffic rules (after taking out time to learn these rules and signage). Simply put, when you start getting away with driving poorly maintained vehicles, you plant seeds of indiscipline which will spread to other motoring areas.

Warped market forces and high demand for used vehicles: ever stopped to wonder why Americans sell off fresh looking ‘tokunbo’ cars to Nigerians? Well the reason is simple, after the first 3-5years of Americans owning a vehicle (mostly towards the end of the warranty periods), the cost of maintaining these significantly older cars goes up by as much as 20%. Meaning you will end up spending relatively more money to keep an old car working; so what do they do instead? They trade-in old cars for new ones and the old ones get shipped to Nigeria. But because of the cheap cost of petrol in Nigeria, Nigerian motorists don’t necessarily feel this burden even inspite of our lower quality of roads which can equally raise operating costs of vehicles.

With petrol prices being low, there is very little motivation to buy new cars as long as old cars look new, hence why tokunbo cars will remain attractive for a while in Nigeria-even after we scale up our manufacturing activities.

In conclusion the advantages of lower fuel prices outweigh the disadvantages; the main issue in Nigeria boils down to the lack of standards and stringent enforcement of clear cut rules. Using forceful means to coerce motorist to conform to good vehicle ownership and driving standards will not necessarily yield long-term gains; instead the line of thinking in solving these issues should be geared towards achieving cheaper vehicle operating costs which vehicle owners must understand and appreciate.

http://autobaseafrica.com/4-disadvantages-of-low-petrol-prices/

you just have to love this woman;bold,factual and easily comprehensible ......seems she gets better with every post.Its a SHAME that youths of my age that hold the highest electoral power have been blinded by this scam alliance known as APC and its recent ex-military cohorts with their more than selfish interests.
GOD BLESS YOU AND MORE POWER TO YOUR LIPS

Not claiming to be an economist;but what i know for sure is that PLENTY MONEY IN THE BANK DOESN'T TRANSLATE TO BEING WEALTHY!!!

The pace of infrastructural development in Nigeria during GEJ'S tenure is highly remarkable and naturally it will take time for one to quantify the gains or start seeing the ripple effect of investing in infrastructure.

SOLUDO A DISSAPOINTMENT......JUST TOLD ONE SIDE OF THE STORY TO VALIDATE THE 'ASSUMED SUCCESS' OF HIS TENURE. I wont be surprised if this is a grand pitch for a position in Buhari's cabinet should in case he wins......Nigerians have grown wiser.....go and lick your wounds and leave GEJ alone!!!!

i support the total removal of fuel subsidy........any new cartel cant maintain high profit margins for so long because you cant compare the demand for diesel and the demand for petrol.Diesel is mostly used by industries and volume transportation as opposed to petrol used majorly by passenger cars and domestic generators.If subsidy is out downstream operators will have to do much more than providing any low quality fuel.......the have to improve their petrol quality standards/burn off rate,improve on the quality of services provided at their stations etc. We will be seeing different kinds of market dynamics......but for the main time,petrol will remain expensive in high brow areas after the subsidy removal.

CONSOLIDATING ON THE GAINS IN REVAMPING OUR RAILWAY SYSTEM AND RE-STRUCTURING OUR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR FOR ENHANCED PROFITABILITY CAN AND WILL GO A LONG WAY IN DIVERSIFYING OUR ECONOMY.......WHICH WE SO BADLY NEED NOW!!!


THE RIPPLE EFFECT OF THESE SECTORS WORKING TO OTHER CLOSELY KNITTED AREAS OF OUR ECONOMY CAN BE AMAZING ........I SEE NO REASON GEJ SHOULDN'T RETURN AND FINISH THE GOOD WORK.

I ALSO DON'T SEE ANY REASON WHY THIS TOPIC SHOULDN'T MAKE FRONT PAGE

CONSOLIDATING ON THE GAINS IN REVAMPING OUR RAILWAY SYSTEM AND RE-STRUCTURING OUR AGRICULTURAL SECTOR [/b]FOR ENHANCED PROFITABILITY CAN AND WILL GO A LONG WAY IN DIVERSIFYING OUR ECONOMY.......WHICH WE SO BADLY NEED NOW!!!
THE [b]RIPPLE EFFECT OF THESE SECTORS WORKING TO OTHER CLOSELY KNITTED AREAS OF OUR ECONOMY CAN BE AMAZING ........I SEE NO REASON GEJ SHOULDN'T RETURN AND FINISH THE GOOD WORK.

clearly these so called Ndigbo want their piece of the Apc campaign pie..........GMB winning any state in the SS/SE is very laffable.

Wisepac:
Jonathan, The Best In Nigeria During HisTerm As
President:
1. Petrol from N65 to N97 - in most other
places over N120
2. Kerosene from 50 naira to 120 and above
i.e (unofficial price).
3. Garri from N150 to N260 per measure
4. Sugar/flour/beans/ all from N180 to N350
per measure
5. Electricity charge from N1,250 to N4000
per month and yet no light
6. Scarcity of money but abundantly
available for groups campaigning for TAN
etc
7. Killings from few individuals to whole
communities being wiped out
8. Police/military roadblocks from 1 per
40km to 2 per 3km
9. Crude oil illegal bunkering from 10,000
barrels to 100,000 barrels stolen per day
10. Industrial strikes by many organisations
11. Sack of few workers to thousands of
workers
12. WASSCE from 40% failure to over 70%
failure
13. Trust, love and unity among citizens
from much to zero
14. Stealing in billions of Naira to billions of
DOLLARS or TRILLIONS of naira
15. Budget implementation from 40% to less
than 20% Per year
16. Roads from potholes to huge craters
and cut-offs
17. Economy from worse to greatest in
Africa on paper, but the masses from poor
to poorest
18. Politicians defect from one party to the
other in an unusual fashion and soldiers also
defect to other countries
19. Transport fares on both air and road
networks have shot the roof
20. Bribe takings from only police to soldiers
inclusive
21. ATM charges from zero to N65 per
transaction
22. New English phrase called 'Tactical
Manoeuvre' when soldiers are deliberately
dispatched with low grade weapons to be
killed by a well armed "Boko Haram"
23. Bribery scandal
24. Police pension scam
25. Oduahgate
26. Bart Nnaji NEPA scandal
27. Allison jet scanda
28. Oritsejafor $10 million gun scandal
29. Subsidy scam of N2.6 trillion
30. Immigration deaths scandal
31. Missing $20 billion from NNPC
32. Handlin boko haram with kid gloves
33. Election delegate bribe
34. Sheriff/Ihejirika case, etc.
35. Increase in taxes and austerity
36. 16 is greater than 19 in democracy
37. 7 Ekiti legislators out of 26 impeached the
speaker
38. IGP usurping CJN's duties and deciding
that Tambuwal no longer speaker
39. Army are conceding territories to Boko
Haram
40. Locking out House of Reps members
and teargassing them.
41. Suspected mastermind of Nyanya bomb
attack where no fewer than 100 killed discharged
and acquitted. To go and sin no more.
42. 200 Chibok girls are still in captivity of boko
haram.
43. National confab gulped billion of dollars and
went down the drain with no result
GEJ undermines our Army & strengthen
militants. Our military doesn't have the
equipment to protect us. Militants are
purchasing warships. What an irony

How dim witted are you?

GreatSoul:
Quote: 'GMB wiped out
Maitatsine, another Islamic insurgency
in his own administration by sincerely
identifying the problem as a challenge to
the authority of the state to maintain law
and order.'


This is exactly what I was afraid of when the good old Prof
fulll of integrity and purpose agreed to play second fiddle
to a man whose usefulness is at best sinister in its purpose-
he could destroy his own credibility by defending the indefensible!

If indeed GMB saw maitatsine as a challenge to the state which
Must be wiped out, what has been his contribution towards the
wiping out of BH?? Or are you saying we all should cross our arms
and wait until we win an election to be president of the country
before we contribute our quota to making Nigeria a great country?

WORD!!!!God bless your brains

ChimaAdeoye:
[size=14pt]The problems isn't to move it 20 times, the big question is
[/size]
[size=21pt]When will construction start[/size]

Are you thinking at all?Whats the point starting only for it to fail?

CityNG:
I hold a different position than you do, with due respect.

There are many still useful vehicles overseas that can be imported into Nigeria. Not all "toks" are condemned derelicts and unsafe contraptions. The issue here is that our automotive dealers, some of them, choose to bring a lot of the less than stellar vehicles into Nigeria, perhaps this is to meet a stingy price point as set by Nigerian consumers. I've advertised a 2009 VW Jetta now for months with no interest. It's not because the car is not a good or well priced (in my opinion) but it's because it's competing at less than stellar vehicles that are priced at ridiculous price points.

I still think that you used the wrong example in this specific Austin Mini Cooper to make your point. The only error in this car is that the VIN was tampered with. It's to because it's not safe.

Should the Nigerian Customs be destroying cars that are impounded like the idiotic Americans? Absolutely not.

Instead they should sell it at a great discount to junk yards so that the parts can be harvested and used in other cars. Or offer the owner an opportunity to sell it to another country (Cameroon or Cotonue) or licensed for off road use only.

To counter smuggling, all Nigerian Customs needs to do is stop accepting bribes, impound all smuggled vehicles, impose a heavy fine or sell it to junkyards for parts. I assure you that it will stop overnight.

A shameful and pathetic public display of aggression by US Customs should not be our way.

PS: I am personally affected by this crushing and this is why I am very vocal about this issue. It's simply not the way to go.

Point noted!
Its good that we have both agreed on the need for smuggling to be stamped out by any means necessary. One of the reasons Late Dora Akunyili's campaign against fake drugs was successful was because of the very forceful approach under her directive as the head of Nafdac then; this gradually led to a reduction of these type of imports (which means that the volume of goods intended to be smuggled drastically reduced overtime then). Why i beleive this method of approach (backed by fairness and equity) will work is because unlike the Pharmaceutical drug barons with stacks of money to risk in such unholy venture on a repeated basis even after facing huge losses, vehicle importation isn't run by a few financially buoyant cartels- rather it is run by a collection of many small-scale businessmen. What this means is that if you publicly destroy a few cars (which will lead to losses accrued by many small scale businesses); it will serve as a strong deterrent which will ultimately make these individuals rethink the kinds of vehicles they choose to import into Nigeria.

Finally, sorry for how this Mini crushing may have affected you, at the end of the day rules are rules.

CityNG:
Here's a more balanced source http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/12/12/feds-crush-illegally-imported-car-to-send-message/?intcmp=features

Here's the specific reason why the car was crushed ""Since the vehicle's VIN was intentionally manipulated, destruction of the vehicle is our only recourse," Hayward says in the nj.com report. "We do not take such action lightly.""

So we shouldn't start celebrating the crush of this innocent and absolutely "safer" vehicle and this has absolutely nothing to do with the Nierian customs and makes a very bad comparison.

A 1967 Austin Mini is allowed to be imported into the US and especially California. It is a rather unsafe vehicle. It has single brake line, no safe bars in the doors, no airbags, no abs, etc

A 2000 Austin Mini on the other hand is a very safe car but it is not allowed to be imported into the USA. It is safe because it is a modern assembly with modern weldings, has airbags, ABS, safety bars in the doors and roof, etc

So what some people do is take the VIN from a condemned 1960s Mini and then slap it on a 2000 Mini to instantly turn the 2000 into a 1967.

This is a blatant criminal act under US laws BUT does it make the car less safe?

My 1967 Austin Mini Moke pictured below is completely legal, even on the freeway and was my daily driver in Los Angeles and Dallas for many years until I sold it. So tell me is my Moke more safer than this unfortunately crushed car?

Let's not celebrate a government agency that destroyed a perfectly good car just to do a show of force. The act is criminal, at least to us in the LBC (Little British Cars) community.

I wasn't suggesting that our Customs service here in Nigeria starts destroying cars for the exact same reasons. If you know much about the automotive industry here, you will be appalled by the level of decadence and how Nigeria has become 'scrapville' for salvage/very old vehicles. If we can't control the age of vehicles that come into Nigeria, how will we kick-start automobile recycling-which is a key component of any sustainable industry? Currently this doesn't seem viable because the cost of scrap cars in Nigeria is really high and because there are no stringent regulations/enforcement to topple this imbalance.

All i am clamouring for here is a firm and concerted effort to solve one problem we have in this Nigerian Automotive industry which is SMUGGLING. I am very sure our Customs service can burrow a leaf.

Some people just need to take time and read..........dont just depend on the headlines to understand the entire content.

Nice observation from a man honest about his flaws.

abatically:
Well said. I am not against made in Nigeria cars, neither am I in support of smuggling. I think the government already has a policy to prevent cars older than 15 years into the country which is a good development. I don't think importing accident cars into the country is that bad like u put it. As long as the chasis is not affected. Most of the accident cars still have very good powertrain. Maybe Government should create a body that examines and screen accident cars.

Let me ask u, an imported accident 2005 VW Passat with damaged fender, broken headlight and door vs baba Kafaya's 1982 Datsun kabukabu that was bought brand new in 1982.. which one will be safer on the road?

Salvage vehicles are called 'salvage' vehicles for a reason and are sold off at cheaper rates probably for the same reason. I may not exactly choose the 1982 Datsun but i wont go for the 2005 Passat either. From what i know about German cars, the obvious problem may be a broken light or door but trust German cars with all the automation, you may never know he bigger problem which will crop up 3months into the vehicle's use.

Accident vehicles are a TOTAL NO - NO.........coupled with the angle of deceit by some car dealers who mask these accident vehicles and sell them off as used cars with a clean title, i can never support the importation of accident vehicles. The only good importation of these type of vehicles has brought about in Nigeria is the positive changes i have witnessed in the vehicle spraying sub-set of our automotive service industry, as these guys have really raised standards and quality of output at very reasonable rates.

Personally i belong to the school of thought that will rather drive a used Mercedes Benz than driving a brand new Innoson; that's just me.

abatically:
This is a very good development, but is Nigeria really ripe for this? The answer is NO and I have my reasons.

1. The US automotive industry has come a long way and it is one of the biggest automotive industry in the world. They started producing cars from the early 1920s, Nigeria just started in 2013 and it is still in its infancy. It is easy to buy a $1,000 used car in the USA with sound engine, good luck finding a used Nigeria made car here.

2. The USA is an advanced country with everything already planned our for its citizens. They don't even pay outright for a car, they have functioning loan system and everybody can afford a car loan so far u have a job. Back here in Nigeria what is the minimum wage again? You want a car in Nigeria u have to cough out millions just to buy a car that u like. This means only the rich can afford a car while the poor will suffer. What about students? In the states a student can buy a used car for as low as $1,000 because the cars are made in the US hence no clearing and shipping fees. The only way to help Nigerian citizens is the importation of used cars that are affordable while our automotive industry grows (trust me it is going to take a really long time to get there ).

3. The USA have good roads and engineers, hence a car used for 15 years in the states is equivalent to a 2 years used naija car. So buying a naija used made in Nigeria car for now is out of the equation. Have u seen one of those innoson cars that have been used for 1+ year? Trust me everything falls apart from door handle to the upholstry. They can't stand the test of time... At least for now.

Let's say I'm a student or a small business owner and need a car to run my business. Do I have to cough out 1.2 million naira to buy a Hyundai i10 or KIA picanto or any of the newly made innoson sedans (that are not even available yet)? Those cars can't even carry 5 passengers with ease and yet I have to pay over 1 million naira. What if I need a truck for my farm business? Do I need to pay millions just to get one? What if I need a car for taxi? With 500,000 naira or less I can get a used car that will serve me more than anything made or assembled in Nigeria (for now ).

We don't have functional regulatory laws on automobiles, no emmision test. having emmision test is a waste of time anyway because it will be a waste of time. I mean if we perform emmision test on vehicles, are we also going to perform emmision test on generators? Because every house has at least one power generating set, so the air is already polluted. The government needs to fix all these things before talking about crushing imported cars that don't meet the standard. They need to fix the power sector so people won't need to buy generators, they need to fix the roads so Nigerian made cars can stand the test of time.

All these things will take years and by then the automotive industry would have grown . by then people with low income can afford to buy a used made in Nigeria car. Americans have no reason to import cars into their country because they have a very functional automotive industry, DO WE HAVE A FUNCTIONAL AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA?

Well said,most of what you said is very true but the plain fact here is that its only Nigerians that will develop the Nigerian automotive industry!It wont be easy but significant steps can be made,one of which is strongly detering smuggling across our borders.A few benefits that follow are better data collation and more revenue for both Customs and Nac as stated.

You spoke about us not being mature for this,but i think we are because we have to reduce the volumes of scrap that passes through our borders into Nigeria. Talking about Nigerians having access to funding and long term vehicle financing,government has plans in place to support this type of financing through special low interest rates which will be possible through NAC equity stake to make this possible in affiliation with a few known African banks,especially a bank in South Africa. So NAc is hoping to raise funds through this higher tarrif regimes;the morr reason smuggling must be curbed.

Our automotive industry began in the 70's andbwe allowed it languish,but thank God the current FG has made reviving the industry one of their priorities.

PERSONALLY,i wish the new automotive policy was focused on commercial vehicles and aftermarket products,but since the government of the day has chosen this path, i feel we should lend our support as much as we can.

This Austin Mini Cooper worth $20,000 was publicly crushed as a warning to illegal importers.Officials from the US Department of Homeland Security confiscated this Mini which has not been tested under US emissions and crash requirements. It was seized from the owners, who were awaiting delivery .

Back here in Nigeria, our ailing automotive industry needs more aggressive actions like this to combat smuggling of old vehicles which have been prohibited by Nigerian laws. In addition dissuading Nigerian automobile importers from this foul practice, the government needs to be firm in combating smuggling of vehicles which so far has contributed in suffocating the new automotive policy which was introduced by the Federal government in 2013.

Asides, raising more revenue for the Nigerian Customs and NAC(National Automotive council), a more stringent prohibition of smuggling can help truly energize our automotive industry which will contribute in making our economy more robust, hence creating more avenues for employment.

But cap up my suggestion, i will like to ask; who clears accident vehicles and allows them leave Nigerian ports?


Follow link to watch video: http://autobaseafrica.com/the-nigerian-custom-service-should-take-a-cue/

sunnshyn:
You guys are giving that guy more attention than he deserves...someone that sees light but chooses to walk in darkness because he was given a stick of lit candle to find his way around does not sound to me like someone who truly has brains..

And what's your definition of the light?

TeskyMan:
Young man,

I don't know your age but I respect your thought. If you listen to yourself - "clear reluctance to act proactively as significant northern leader on this bokoharam issue. I expected much more from him to support the current government regardless of their political differences".

This is a poor guy (At least, we all can attest to the fact that he his not wealthy compared to ex-presidents). Buhari is not a public office holder. He his no Senator nor HOR member. He his not the Commander In Chief of the Armed Forces. He gets no monthly allocation neither does he retain a monthly pay with the current government, aside his monthly stipend as an ex-president. He his only a former Military President.

Cut me this slack brother! Why are you not holding our political office holder accountable? Why are we not sincere with ourselves? There is a PRESIDENT presiding over the affairs of this country, why can't we all hold him accountable? Don't forget that we elected the PRESIDENT for this same reason. Did you elect Buhari to have expected so much from him and ignore someone whose primary responsibility left unattended to?

Let us do away with sentiments and tribal differences. Lets face the issue and tackle it head on.

Just my humble thought.

Cheers!

The army seem to be making some progress because of the help they are getting from the locals in these Nothern hot-spots; truth is if my brother is a bokoharam member, its only me that can identify him quickly. The point am making here basically is that Nigerians are begining to see that the fight one that can only be won if more people are involved.

Buhari is one of the persons who ordinarily- if he truly has Nigeria at heart as he says he does- should be constantly canvassing for more people support for the soldiers and FG......but he didnt ....thats my point.

1stCitizen:
Tell the truth. Even you laughed when you read again the baloney you wrote above.

The only visible grin here is yours.......check the facts Jonathan is really trying.If you ask me Nigeria's biggest problem isn't corruption rather its our Insatiable greed. I think we should focus more on capacity building as a nation and right now Buhari isn't that guy; he is too much of a point-prover. We Nigerians are largely corrupt, even Buhari himself is corrupt by virtue of this his APC platform.......you need to stay in Lagos to understand what i mean

I strongly believe Jonathan should be allowed and supported to complete some of his laudable agendas. Buhari may be a real change agent when it comes to curbing corruption but truth is we need a Jonathan-kinda system with better foreign direct investments and re-investment of some of our looted funds. One of the reasons it seems Jonathan isn't quite working is because he has been doing massive FIXING.

Nigeria is so deeply entrenched in corruption so badly that there is no way we can significantly tackle corruption without many of our big businesses going down and our growing economy heavily affected.

The main reason am against Buhari at this moment is his clear desperation to curb corruption at all costs. Voting buhari will slow down our economy no doubt!As much as we have to progress via abating corrupt practices, we have to be tactful because if you study some big economies you will discover there are some corrupt underpinnings on which their big businesses thrive on......

Another pointer that make me averse to this Buhari idea is because of his clear reluctance to act proactively as significant northern leader on this bokoharam issue. I expected much more from him to support the current government regardless of their political differences.

......just my 2nairas....

Nigerians be wise.

DRealGeesam:
This is classic should be on front page.

How about drivers buying fuel in kegs and passing a hose from the keg to the tank. So they can actively monitor the amount of fuel being used. I have even seen drivers put the keg in the front passenger's leg room area.

*i have seen drivers put camfo (those white balls used in killing cockroaches) inside the fuel tank.
believing that it reduces the car's fuel consumption

hope it eventually does after so long!!

clemz85:
mehn you chop concrete o, though I have tried it once, what I discovered was that without engaging the break pedal the gear shift button doesn't work and without the button the shift stick doesn't move, may be it depends on design, I tryed it on tinny light camry, only movements like N to D or N to R can work without the gear shift lock (bottun).

I dont suggest trying to engage such because suchan abrupt gear change can wreck an automatic gearbox

In reality who will really want to wreck his or her gearbox? I guess no one, unless you plan running an expensive experiment with some bizarre targets or objectives in mind. With that said, automatic gearboxes are more sensitive than the less heavier, stick driven manual gearboxes which give more room for internal part replacements. If your automatic gearbox gets bad, there is every likelihood that you may require a total unit swap as opposed to a less expensive conventional fix. The reason behind this is the more complex design of automatic gearboxes with more internal gears which are subjected to significantly higher operating temperatures. Other reasons for this complexity is the profound use sensors and actuators which communicate with the E.C.U(electronic control unit).

So basically to avoid and totally forestall high expenses on a gearbox swap, below are a few gearbox wreckers you should have in mind. Worth mentioning also is the fact that over here in Nigeria there are very few technicians with the competency to correctly rebuild gearboxes- which is more like trying to fix it rather than have it replaced.

Excessive heat:

Generation of excessive heat by this unit is one of the major culprits behind its speedy damage. There are permissible levels of heat this enclosed unit can tolerate. The common cause of the gearbox’s overheating is stunted cooling which can be induced by low transmission oil level, transmission oil contamination-either by debris from worn out gearbox components/ fibre or aged oil that might have lost some useful properties and is overdue for servicing. Other likely causes of immense heat generation are; towing vehicles with your automatic transmission car (towing trucks with automatic transmission systems are specially designed to withstand and manage resulting heat inevitably generated) and going up against a high gradient with too much engine load.

However, extended idling can cause speedy wear of some inner gearbox components. Hence during traffic, try as much as you can not to keep your vehicle idling for an extended time frame. Also, just leaving the engine functional whilst the vehicle is idle just to facilitate the use of air-conditioners is a bad move, which affects both the engine and the gearbox.

Low suspension/ground clearance

Apart from ensuring the ride comfort of occupants and dynamic stability of a typical car, active suspension components help maintain substantial ground clearance in line with the manufacturer’s specifications. So if for any reason, adequate ground clearance isn’t maintained, the resulting effect amongst others is the closeness of a typical car’s gearbox to the ground(depending on the way the gearbox is mounted). This makes it prone to different kinds of impacts owing to uneven road surfaces which are very common here in Nigeria. These impacts can seriously affect the input and output shaft seals and other joints around the entire gearbox. This will eventually induce oil leakages over time and when there isn’t enough oil in the gearbox, the days of the gearbox are literally numbered.

Wrong transmission oil

Servicing your automatic gearbox in due time is well recommended. But it’s even more imperative to use the recommended transmission oil as stipulated by your car’s manufacturer, not just your mechanic! SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) ratings differ for a wide range of oil products, including transmission oil products. Some oil products with viscosity levels and properties close to some manufacturer-specified products for some cars might be tolerable. But the resulting negative effects play out overtime and you might just be caught off-guard.

Bad engine

Engines are permanently mechanically linked with gearboxes and in recent times, even electronically linked as well. So the chances of a complete malfunction of either one of these independently functioning units not affecting the other are very slim or even non-existent. The real issue is always how badly either the gearbox or engine gets as a result of either of these units stalling abruptly. So as much as you pay close attention to your gearbox, do same to your engine which equally plays a vital role, as either units not working well can indeed render your vehicle almost useless.

Wrong driving practices

Wrong towing- There are certain precautionary measures which must be taken before towing, and these vary according to different live-axle positioning of the vehicle to be towed. So if in very dire cases you have to tow, take precautionary measures seriously in an adaptive sense and drive as slowly as possible. Also don't do the ridiculous by towing a vehicle whose weight is higher than your car's weight/towing rating- its plain ridiculous.

Not using parking brakes when needed-Like accelerating against gradient to stabilize your car or using just your brake in tight traffic situations.

Shifting levers with vehicle in motion-Not quite an issue in more recent cars with design-incorporated restraints to ensure shifting only when the vehicle is idle or safely close to idle.

Depressing your gas pedal too much whilst the vehicle is idling-It’s simply uncalled for. What ensues is intense wear in both engine and gearbox, especially when the vehicle is barely warmed up.

http://autobaseafrica.com/are-you-an-automatic-gearbox-wrecker/

Saving up to buy a vehicle may take time and paying off a car loan requires a good level of self-discipline; these point straight to the fact that planning is a critical aspect of vehicle ownership. Before the actual purchase of your car, most of your planning activities will revolve around financing or saving up for your eventual purchase; after you buy the car you then begin to concern yourself with vehicle maintenance issues.

However, before you kick-start this vehicle ownership process, it will pay you to be clear about certain considerations which should serve as a guide in your pre/post vehicle planning. These considerations are what we will be discussing. With a heightened emphasis on planning, every prospective vehicle owner or actual vehicle owners must act with the practical awareness of these tips.

Decide whether your car is for ‘keeps’ or to be ‘traded-in’: and if you plan trading your car in(after use), how long do you intend using your car and what is the projected resale value of the vehicle after this period of use? A smarter way to go about this is deciding the number of years you intend using a vehicle based on your local market projections, taking account of the best time (number of years) to sell the car off to get most value for your used car.

Modern cars are hardly built for keeps and cars made by premium luxury brands even require more spending as time goes by, so you have to be smart and clear about the reasons you want/need a vehicle for the long haul.

A car is hardly an investment: however owning a car could be seen as an investment from a personal finance standpoint if owning a car truly offsets your convenient transportation cost. A car is a liability not an asset, as you spend more money in fixing and maintenance even as the vehicle depreciates further. So if there is a slim chance your vehicle will be a classic in the future and you hope to make money off selling it, you should consider parking and not using the vehicle till then.

If you don’t spend little you risk spending more: this even applies to vehicle purchasing because if you don’t spend time and a little money to do your due diligence before choosing which car to buy, there is every likelihood you will face challenges you are not ready or prepared for. An example is not spending a paltry #5,000 in testing a tokunbo #1,200,000 car only to discover a month down the line that your #250,000 gearbox is bad. The list is endless and even trickles down to simple vehicle maintenance activities which should be treated quickly to forestall bigger problems.

The type of mechanic you stick with reflects the type of person you are: the reason baba Mechanic’s shop down the road-type-of-mechanics have become a problem in the Nigerian automobile industry today is because inspite of all their crappy economical suggestions and low-level expertise in fixing cars, they still have returning customers. The mechanic you choose to stick with heavily impacts on vehicle ownership. Some mechanics will literally dissuade you from buying a car you really want simply because it comes with a more complex V6 engine he is still yet to understand how to fix properly.

Simply put, invest time into selecting the right mechanic for your car.

Drive carefully; but not too carefully: I was really surprised when I was speaking with a lady friend who owns a 2004 Audi A4 and she told me that after driving for an extended time-frame within the city, she takes the car out for a spin on the interstate express to ‘open the valves’. But why is this even necessary? City driving can be a potential engine killer! As you face the double risk of sludge formation in your engine or poor lubrication of mating metal engine parts- which eventually leads to heavy internal wear. Engines are more efficient when well heated up (close to its peak operating temperatures) and oil within it circulates properly.

So with this few tips I wish you a blissful vehicle ownership.
http://autobaseafrica.com/5-smart-vehicle-ownership-tips/

When compared with the French Peugeot or the German Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz, the loved and well embraced Toyota, Nissan and Honda of our time are late comers to the Nigerian automobile market. This is a fact people barely remember owing to the current wave of Japmobiles-Japanese cars-in Nigeria. The shift in the demand for more Japanese cars in Nigeria instead of more European cars is very much in line with the global shift to light-weight vehicles with better fuel economy and reliability.

According to vehicle sales data at the end of 2013, Toyota still held the top spot in total vehicle sales, followed by a strong European contender-Volkswagen. In this article, I will go beyond justifying the current market shift to Japanese vehicles solely from a global market perspective. In line with what obtains in the Nigerian vehicle market and general transport trends in this region, I have observed a few collective trends which may have led to this local market shift beyond key global or western influence. I will go further to try and explain why Nigerians have come to love Japanese cars so much and why this may be a very difficult trend to reverse.

Initial low price required for vehicle and spare-parts purchase: as many people have a very wrong notion about European car spare-parts pricing, for instance Mercedes Benz parts are traditionally tagged ‘too expensive’. But the truth here is the seemingly higher initial expense required to purchase a Mercedes car part is relative to the expected time it will serve you. A Nissan shock-absorber may cost half the price of that of a Mercedes but would hardly match serving half the life-span of the Mercedes spare-part; it’s not a question of durability, it’s just the clear strategies adopted by these distinct vehicle makers. In a cash-based society like ours with a struggling number of the middle-class individuals, without a doubt, the Japanese strategy suits us very well. A significant chunk of individuals are not after owning super vehicles as they need a simple transporter capable of moving them from point A to point B. They want the car with the lowest price tag and lowest spare-part cost regardless of the long-term durability prospects or frequency of repairs owing to more frequent spare-part replacements or maintenance procedures.

Nigerians are largely ‘safe followers’ and poor researchers: this is very glaring in our purchasing attitude. Some just love Toyota cars owing to the safety in numbers. However, in the real sense of it, you can’t rule out popularity of a particular brand when choosing which to spend your money on but, there a several other factors to consider. A typical Nigerian will land at his/her conclusion based on the facts that many people use Japanese cars and many mechanics know their way around these cars- which is hardly true for newer models.

Japanese cars have good 3rd hand value: when it comes to reselling vehicles in Nigeria, European cars are seen as ‘bad market’, as Japanese cars are the ones that ‘move well’ in the market. But why is this the case? Japanese cars have lighter weight and fewer automation making them more reliable even to non-attentive owners, but European cars with more automation require that extra attention most Nigerian buyers are not willing to give.

Fuel economy is the king: over here in Nigeria, the true test of how fuel thirsty a vehicle is happens to be a measure of its fuel consumption when something is wrong with the engine or drivetrain. Nigerians don’t want a car that will consume excess fuel just because a few sensors or an injector is bad, as they will rather manage. If a vehicle can’t maintain reasonable fuel economy levels while they are ‘managing’, it simply means the vehicle is a true fuel guzzler.

Transporters choice: many transporters prefer Japanese vehicles like Mazda buses/cars, Nissan vehicles, Toyota vehicles and the new wave of Chinese vehicles generally. A good example of this shift from European to Asian vehicles is the fleet history of Cross Country transport which operates across West-Africa. They first began in 2002 with Volkswagen buses but today they have a fleet which comprises majorly of Asian brands like Toyota, Nissan, President Hiace , Foton and our locally made Innoson. Preferences of this kind go a long way to cement the motoring public’s perception about the reliability of Japanese vehicles as these inter-state commuter buses are subjected to repeated stresses and road impact more than any city car, hence why they are used as a perfect yard-stick in passenger vehicle selection.

Vehicle dealerships/car sale centers in Nigeria are largely uncreative: every dealer hopes to get a market share and very few really think about a long-term strategy to go up against well embraced and loved Japanese cars. A few notable efforts have been made by dealers like Cosharis, Dana, amongst others in the past to lure Nigerians to try out European, Koreans and American marques but, for there to be a true market shift, there has to be a more sustained and collective approach backed by better after-sales services and better post-warranty policies.

Our average mechanics are lazy and non-progressive, but street smart: the same mechanics that will worship the 1999 ‘tiny light’ Toyota Camry will out rightly regard the 2008 ‘muscle’ Toyota Camry as a problematic car. This is simply because the tiptronic gear system (which is electronically mated to the engine) is any average mechanic’s nightmare. A typical Nigerian mechanic isn’t conscious of technological advancement around him/her. Rather than trying to learn new things, they will rather justify their love for the old technologies, just as they did with the injector system when manufacturers began phasing out carburetors. These same mechanics are however, smart enough to influence purchasing decisions of their clients to enable them remain relevant.

So if you happen to be a Japanese-crazy Nigerian vehicle owner, please share why you love your car so much.

http://autobaseafrica.com/amazing-facts-why-nigerians-love-japanese-cars/

lonelydora:
Using Natural gas condensate as fuell instead of the normal petrol. My neighbour, a banker, always begging me to bring condensate for him whenever I'm about to go back to work.

Thats interesting,how do you go about storing this condensate?