₦airaland Forum

Just before oil price crunch in 2014 was the deadliest Ebola crisis that resulted in the death of more than 11,000 people in Sub Saharan Africa. Commercial activities in the that region were almost grounded. Flights to that area were cancelled and as we all know, soon that followed was a sharp oil price drop.

Ebola became over, oil prices started picking up and the president of the United States has promised to fight what he referred to as abnormal oil price hike.

Few weeks later after that promise, Ebola outbreak has resurfaced and again spreading and a repeat of the 2014 scenario is unfolding prompting the question if someone is behind this outbreak. There is really no meaningful evidence but just an assertion.

Firstly I think the call for restructuring and power devolution is right for Nigeria at this moment. If we must move forward, then we must do away with this monthly ‘money sharing’ by the center to a ‘money bringing’ to the center one. The center should then spend 40-50% of whatever is contributed to the coffers back on the states, and the rest can be spent wherever high returns on investment are perceived in various states of the federation. States should be allowed to strive based on how they can manage what they have and bring returns to the center. Only by this genuine competition amongst states can be witnessed. But in addition to this we can also consider the followings:

1. Formation of Regional Assemblies: States houses of Assemblies and House of Rep from each region should be merged to form regional assemblies. The major responsibilities of regional assemblies should be to make laws for the region, approve budget for state governors and also monitor budget implementation (making sure states governments actually spend on what is mentioned in the budget). There should be no fixed head quarters for regional assemblies. Members should in each legislative tenure convene in a rotational manner in different states of the region or in the state where the present speaker at the beginning of the legislative tenure emerges from. The Upper chamber should be focused on making federal laws while regional laws are made by lower chamber which is now the regional assemblies. The constituency project and other projects by lawmakers be it National or regional should be scrapped. If there should be any, constituency accounts which must be maintained by subsequent law makers with modification of signatories to the account every legislative tenure should be opened for all constituencies and monies paid into them should be clearly stated for monitoring. The practice where monies for constituency projects are paid into law makers’ accounts should be discouraged. Ministers, commissioners and Local government structures can maintain status quo.

2. State Police: A complete state police may not be good for the nation at this moment. But recruitment of police officers should be done at state level as approved by regional assemblies depending on security needs. Such a recruit will serve in his state of origin and be allowed to grow through the rank and file of the police force till he or she gets to the rank of an inspector, then he or she can sit for assessment to become federal police and then can be posted to different regions where need be if successful. In order words, new recruits should be handled by states till they get to the rank of inspector. If such an officer is good and is interested in moving forward, he can become a federal police officer based on need and availability while maintaining federal character or otherwise remain an inspector and serve in his state till retirement. Effective policing can only be achieved if new recruits are from the locality where they serve.


This can also be adopted in the civil service, educational and other sectors for effective management.

This is personal opinion.

It has become common these days to see police operating in private cars and in Uniforms without names or any form of identification.

While some argue it helps to protect the officer and make operations more effective, others argue it is unprofessional as hoodlums often use this means in various acts of crime like kidnapping and robbery, e.t.c.

Knowing that police impersonation is very common amongst us these days, how does one idenfy a legitimate police office in a private outfit?

It is sad enough that many Nigerians have been rendered jobless due to recent economic misfortunes. To add salt to injury, foreigners are still being recruited for very simple tasks Nigerians can do. It is very disturbing to see your fellow Nigerians die in penury and the job needed to keep him well is given to foreigners. Who gives them work permit in the first place? head of such Authorities should be fired. Do Nigerians get work permit easily in other countries? Why should any Tom, Dick and Harry get work permit to work in Nigeria?

The government should set up an agency to shop for locals to do any job before it is given out to foreigners if Nigerians can’t be found. Are we in modern day slavery?

The cost of military action that may not yield immediate fruit has the capacity to add huge megawatt to the National gird if invested in solar energy. This a ploy to distract the government of the day and they should not give in for the interest of the Nigerian public. We can't be leading peace and stability moves in the ECOWAS region and be starting a war.
The government should try to keep all dialogue options open while it tries to run an economy without oil if they fail.
Who knows, it could be a test of diversification.

Divine intervention is needed here.

It is with a saddened heart I write this piece. Hostilities are back in the Niger Delta and this time it is for a complete shutdown of oil production in the area.

The major group NDA is not backing down and other groups are springing up. The signs are worrisome. There are five affected parties in this tussle. The group NDA itself, the Federal government, the people of the region, other oil producing countries and arm producing countries.

In the coming weeks, months or years if there is no solution, oil production gradually comes to a stop. Military action depending on how it goes may not work.

From the way the attacks are carried out, it shows there is a high level of coordination and military intervention may not stop it. It may only result in high human casualties and the government will spend more to feed people when IDPs eventually start springing up in the region like we now have in the North East.

With military action, the government risks spending huge amount of money in procuring weapons to fight these invincible dark bombers. The owner of a house knows the house best when it is dark hence they succeed and may always do. Souls will be lost on both sides and the government pays even more on compensation and post conflict clean up. Still oil production comes to a halt as the group might not spare any elevated structure be it platform, rig or production and storage unit above the water. The cost of rebuilding would be too high to imagine. Without military action, the government only looses from not producing oil and this cost is a lot less. The government only needs to focus on driving a united country without oil and war if negotiation fails.

With military action the group might be eliminated a last, but it will be after a brutal war that could give rise to separatist and sympathizers leading to a more complicated situation and full blown civil war. Without any military action the group will bring production to Zero and maybe stay idle. If they start attacking communities after achieving their aim then they lose sympathy from all Nigerians. Financiers soon get fed up and surrender.

With military action women and children will be internally displaced and become refugees. The people of the region will initially starve due to reduced commercial activities and may later have to take sides if the conflict escalates. Without military action, revenue allocation from the government will slowly reduce and the people of the region may turn against the militants.

With military action, other oil producing nations will enjoy high revenue from oil price as it will go up due to likely zero production. Without military action, the story is the same as oil production still may hit zero if hostilities continue.

With military action, arm producing countries smile to the bank as they supply arms to warring parties. More than 80% of weaponry is imported. Without a military action, they lose.

Solution:
No concrete solution exists but it is easier to negotiate at zero production as all parties are hungry.
World leaders led by the British government should have a meeting with major ethnic tribes in Nigeria to discuss the way forward for the country as more groups may be birthed in the near future. This is the right time for that as it is still in its early stage. The situation is political and those whom will suffer are the poor people who never benefited from the resources in the first place.

Going by the dynamics of politics today in Nigeria and the technicalities of the Nigerian state, a First Degree or Higher National Diploma cert with NYSC certificate is imperative for elective positions of leadership. This should be minimum requirement.


Also suggesting that certain portfolios in the cabinet be reserved for certain professions.

Strictly for Engineering degree holders: Minister of Science and Technology, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Minister of Environment, Minister of State for Aviation, Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Minister of State for Petroleum.

Strictly for Science degree holders: Minister of State for Solid Minerals, Minister of State for Environment, Minister of Water Resources, Minister of Environment, Minister of State for Solid Minerals.

Strictly for medical practitioners: Minister of State for Health, Minister of Health.

Strictly for ICT degree holders: Minister for Communication, Minister of Information.

Strictly from the Educational sector: Minister of State for Education, Minister of Education.

Strictly for the Legal practitioners: Minister of Justice, Attorney General.

Strictly from the commercial sector: Minister of Finance, Minister of Budget and National Planning.

Others should remain open to any profession.


This will enhance speedy and better performance by the government.

There are few cases of job seekers carrying placards lately at strategic spots and this has hit the media. A lady has even met with the vice president for doing this. Is this right? A few points would argue it.


1. Carrying placards in search for jobs undermines the progress made in job application process which has gone online and is quite efficient.

2. Jobs given could be regarded as out of pity and unprofessional as it might have been created to help the placarder otherwise it would be advertised.

3.Giving placarders jobs discredits the effort of hundreds of thousand of Nigerian graduates who have looked beyond the employment situation to be self employed and entrepreneurs.

4. Even if jobs given were advertised, there would be so many applicants who have taken out time to write application letters and applied through prescribed means. Why give it to someone who did not even search?

5. Considering the present employment situation in the country, young unemployed graduates could go on the streets with placards in search of jobs. They soon will form a body and cause unrest if left to go on unchecked.


What is the way out?

-The government of the day should regret the situation the labour market is in today.

-The government of the day should declare a state of emergency on employment and create jobs for graduates.

-When jobs are given through this means of carrying placards, it should be kept off the media so as not to encourage others to do the same.

While taking cognizance of the difficulty faced to erect a structure in Nigeria today, one is not wrong to conclude that most uncompleted and abandoned structures littered around cities and villages have become shelter for criminals and hideouts for perpetrators of illicit activities.

Some of these structures are decades old and sometimes have to near future completion dates. Some display lack of maintenance looks and make the environment ugly.

Thinking it is time this issue of uncompleted buildings/structures are looked into, but it must be done without discouraging property owners who work hard to make shelter available to the populace.

It is taking a year to settle election cases as most petitions find their way to the Supreme Court. One would expect all cases regarding elections are cleared before swearing in. This is hard to achieve as most elections even to local government are marred with irregularities.
If elections are held say eight months before swearing in and court cases are expedited, smooth transition and tenure running is achievable unless in few cases where a rerun is needed.

Contributing more to irregularities is the percentage of those within the voting age limit who actually take part in these elections. In this part of the world, only a very small percent of the population actually decide who leads, a greater majority are indifferent to leadership choice as probably they feel it doesn't affect them who ever leads.

While we hope to see smooth elections leading to less court cases in the near future, early elections that give time for numerous court cases to clear wouldn't be a bad idea.

We should rather be more concerned with its consequences on the job itself.
Countries that have experienced boost in manufacturing are those that have jettisoned age restriction to recruitment. It is very easy in advanced countries to see colleagues who have put in years in different fields come together to solve a common problem and it is very interesting. It encourages productivity as one soon learns how to incorporate good practices from other fields; sometimes only age and experience can bring such. While it might be a bit of a risk to have someone who has spent his entire career in engineering head a financial sector, it will be very productive to have him/her climb the ladder of leadership, starting as a trainee no matter his age if his qualification meets recruitment requirements.
The labour union and government must come together and discard this aged and anti growth policy by recruiters.

This story is just an analogy.


A woman in a village inherited a gold grinding stone from her mother. The gold grinding stone had no use to her other than to grind pepper, tomatoes and other cooking items. She liked it because it was different from everyone else’s.

One day a white man came to this remote village and saw this woman grinding tomatoes with her gold grinding stone she inherited and sweating as when one grinds pepper with a grinding stone. In exchange for her gold grinding stone, the white man gave the woman a blender and an electricity generator.

The woman was very happy as she now grinds more tomatoes quicker in a less stressful manner. Moreover, she alone had such a grinder.

Was the white man a kind man, a business man or an exploiter?

This story is just an analogy.


A woman in a village inherited a gold grinding stone from her mother. The gold grinding stone had no use to her other than to grind pepper, tomatoes and other cooking items. She liked it because it was different from everyone else’s.

One day a white man came to this remote village and saw this woman grinding tomatoes with her gold grinding stone she inherited and sweating as when one grinds pepper with a grinding stone. In exchange for her gold grinding stone, the white man gave the woman a blender and an electricity generator.

The woman was very happy as she now grinds more tomatoes quicker in a less stressful manner. Moreover, she alone had such a grinder.

Was the white man a kind man, a business man or en exploiter?

Most monies paid for these transactions don't even end up in the government account. Receipts are not given and you don't know what you have paid for. E-payment or bank payment system for public services is the way to go to reduce corruption. Pay at the bank and bring teller or use POS or any other electronic payment system.

In the early days of the previous century, the average standard of living was very low. Even in what we now have as the developed countries of today, people were very comfortable with a small house with a little garden behind for some food, a few furniture, few clothes and maybe a cart on a horse or camel to go around with. A larger part of Africa which plays host to the vast majority of blacks was undeveloped. I sometimes visit the village and still enjoy the sight of grandpa’s bed all made of mud in his old house. Families used to live together and just a big house was enough for even grand children. Life was easier on the average as the gap between the rich and poor wasn’t so vast. The pressure on manufacturing was very low.

After the Second World War which led to the industrial revolution, the quest for wealth and luxury has been on the rise. World population is also on the rise. A young adult now wants to live alone in a nice apartment with huge taste of furniture, having smart phones, smart laptops, tablets, sound systems, clothes and fashion, and a nice car to row. Many people now bring luxury like swimming pools, sports centers only found in parks into their homes. Looking good is now more expensive than ever. Wants which were endless have become endlessly unsatisfactory. A care driven for a year is now too old. Some don’t use same wardrobe twice. These activities coupled with the huge population who only struggle to meet these needs have put so much pressure on manufacturing in the build up to the end of the century. Huge manufacturing only means huge demand for energy. Huge demand for energy only means high cost of crude.

Crude became so expensive that only rich countries could afford it. With the ever growing demand for luxury and high standard of living, countries that could afford crude to meet increasing manufacturing demands became wealthy. So many poorer nations can’t meet with energy demand due to high cost of crude. If all of Africa, Asia and South America were to become like Europe overnight, I think the cost of a barrel of oil would be unimaginable as manufacturing would more than quadruple to meet this demand. Only a fall in demand, demand for manufacturing could lead to low oil price.

Renewable sources of energy were a relief. But contributing even more and faster are natural disasters, conflicts, sicknesses and diseases which directly reduce the pollution. The world is recording it’s highest number of displaced people today since the end of the Second World War. A displaced individual is only after surviving and not living and luxury. Ranging from AIDS, to Tsunami, to floods, to earthquakes, to the Arab spring, to pockets of wars, to militancy, to rebel groups, to drug wars, to terrorism to Ebola and now to Zikas, a slow down to manufacturing was imminent.

A drop in manufacturing leads to a reduced demand for energy and hence low crude prices. The bitter truth is that these factors are here to stay for a while. We all have to brace for it.

It is a step in the right direction to go after huge looters of our nation’s treasury, what we now call yam eaters. But the very ugly development is that there are hundreds of thousands of possible future yam eaters being brewed in our public sector.

It is very true that transactions in almost all public offices are over inflated. You are not issued with receipts most times but even when receipts are issued, what you pay could be as high as 300% or more of what the receipts of bear.
Extortion by public officials and even uniform men is no news. It is very common to see a road block with uniform men collecting bribery in the open from motorist. Sometimes these people are impersonators but it all bring bad name to the public service. These officials grow in their various parastatals to become national yam eaters.

Like you find in advanced countries, all public offices use the e-payment system with proper receipt for transactions. This should be introduce in our public sector to fight corruption and any public official who is caught in the act of collecting money from anyone for offering services be charged with corruption. All transactions should be done electronically to avoid physical cash exchanging hands.

The law should also be amended such that if anyone reports first to the police that he or she has given a public official bribe and can prove that such public official has actually collected bribe, he or she should neither be charged nor arrested.

Justiyke4u:
It is so heart breaking to see children being used to beg on our roads. Any development to discourage such is welcomed. But on the other hand, what plans are put in place for those children because it will be disastrous to send them home or stop them without rehabilitating them in the first place. If you say that the parents should send them to school and a situation where they don't have what would you do

Not all mothers who can't feed their children beg with them on the streets under sun and rain. Some mothers sell, do petty trades to put food on the table.
If you must beg, don't do so with the child, you leave no good future for the child you beg with.

If we assume Nigerians 100% depend on revenue from oil export then we must be magicians to have survived this long.
The maths below explains it:

Average price per barrel of oil = $100
Estimated cost of producing one Barrel (bbls) = $30
Profit from one barrel of oil = 100 – 30 = $70
Daily production rate = 2,000,000bbls
Nigeria population = 170,000,000
1dollar = N197

Assumptions:
1. 100% of profit from sale of oil goes to the Nigerian government. But this is not true as it is often shared with multinationals and operators.
2. 100% of funds are owned by the government. But this is not true as loans are often used to fund a huge portion these transactions.
3. There are no loses. But this is not true as sometimes spills, damages often add to production cost.
Total revenue from sale of oil = 70 * 2,000,000 = $140,000,000
Revenue for one Nigerian per day = 140,000,000/170,000,000 = $0.8235
Revenue for one Nigerian per day = 197 * 0.8235 = N162
If all assumptions are eradicated, the money is a lot less.

Question(s):
1. Do we all live on an average of N162 daily?

Facts:
1. There is a lot more to the Nigerian economy than just oil which is being affected that puts so much weight on our currency.
2. With the level of looting of the oil revenue; something else is driving the economy which cushions this effect.
3. Nigeria can very well survive without oil.

A child is better off at a motherless babies home where he or she can be catered for or adopted and given a life than begging or being used to beg on the streets. You need to the conditions some of these kids are kept in just to win the sympathy of arm givers.

This trend is now very common.
1.They will refuse to come to your house to take monthly meter reading.
2.They then give you an estimated bill. They disregard meter reading even if you send them actual monthly meter reading.
3.They expect you to pay the full estimated bill. They cut you off and when you complain the bill is an estimated one, they simply say "for every estimated bill there is an actual bill".
4. You then pay them to reconnect you.

The process continues.

OldJohn:
Over 2 million innocent igbo civilians were massacred or starved to death during the civil war..


No day to mourn them; the perpetrators of the evil actions never brought to book. Now we talking 10s of thousands and they should be remembered...

This is not about tribe. All tribes have been affected by this scourge. But why not, a day for victims of civil war can also be declared if some deems it necessary, you can push for it. It think it will be supported.

The irony of it all is that you feel pity for the child but giving him or her money only encourages the mother to put more children on the street begging as she is richer.

More than 80% of the explored oil actually head for refineries. Ridiculously OPEC nations own less than 20% of these refineries. In fact, many OPEC nations buy finished products from these refineries.

The question remains, why take crude to the market when you can refine. Why not take refined products to the market instead. It is cheaper to refine where it is found as cost of refining is reduced.

I urge OPEC nations to invest massively in refineries. This will starve foreign refineries of crude and drive price up due to lower supply.

I expected Nigeria’s budget to be channeled towards building more refineries instead of investing heavily in further exploration at very low prices. Lease out old ones and build new ones close to where the oil is to avoid high cost of production. This can also be done to all natural resources. Take finished product to the market. Invest in technology to refine. This will create jobs and increase GDP.

A home or town or country the kills her young ones cannot grow.

It is heart breaking to see children who are suppose to be in school selling along the road. More painful is when a child is forced to beg by her parents or someone else. This is wrong.

Begging, selling, hawking or any other form of cash generation should be limited to 16years and above and there should be IDs to show where age is in doubt.

I am suggesting an immediate arrest of anybody along the road or anywhere else begging with a child or anyone below 16. This act must be discouraged as it kills the future the child.

With high hopes that the Federal Government and indeed Nigeria has finally won the war against terrorism, I would suggest first Sunday of Every February as a day to mourn those whom the nation has last to this act of inhumanity in our dear country. Even though there might be more bombings, I want to believe the war has been won and I urge you to believe same. We have conquered and keep setting examples to challenges for others to follow.

This should be done by burning a stick of candle in the evening for those including our gallant soldiers who have lost their lives to this act of wickedness.

It is to send a strong message to those who kill innocent Nigerians that we remain united against any act of violence and killing.

In a delay unprecedented, it takes the South African Embassy in Nigeria more than two months to process study visa to South Africa. This might not be unconnected with the diplomatic roar between both countries. Think twice before you throw your passport in there. It might get stuck.

Keneking:
Where did you get this info from?

A friend who secured admission to SA in September had to wait till November to apply for visa. More than a month after application and he still doesn't have a reply.

1.An Orphan: Loses both parents, can’t afford to go to school, can’t feed, lacks care and made to hustle to survive.

2.A peasant farmer: Has no formal education, has more than one wife, has many children, can’t pay bills.

3.An unemployed graduate: Spends a year in pre-Nursery, three years in Nursery school, six years in primary school, six years in secondary school, four – five years in the university, one year in youth service, no job after graduation, can pay bills.

4.A widow: Not working, loses husband, has children, can’t take care of children, and can’t pay bills.

There is just one support available; I wish there was more. Who should get it?

The South African Embassies in Nigeria are not open to study visa applications all year round. They only open in November, so it does not matter if you are start school in September the same year. You have to wait till November to apply for study visa. To make matters worse, applications take more than a month to be processed. This is terrible.

The word "colored" is used to refer to people of black race. I don't mean to sound racist but does it mean who is not of the black race is colorless? Just asking!