₦airaland Forum

I read this topic; https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-832752.0.html and noticed that some Yorubas are trying hard to shift the blame to the Igbos. They tend to forget that they betrayed the Igbos by joining the North to pillage the East of Nigeria. They have seen the consequence of their foolishness and are now trying to find who to blame.

It is in the records that Nnamdi Azikiwe, an Igbo man, singlhandedly ensured unity in the country. In his pursuit for unity, he spread his ideology to his people, the Igbos, and we spread through out Nigeria, taking every nook and cranny as our home and country. Yorubas and Hausas never did the same. They stuck in their regions, nursing ethnic concerns and searched for an opportunity to instill division and disharmony. They succeeded with the pogrom after some Nigerian soldiers carried out a coup. They perceived the coup as an Igbo coup due to their myopic and ethnic biased views, even though the coup was botched by an Igbo man, Aguiyi Ironsi. They pounced on Igbos and caused a war that cemented their wish for a divided country.

Is this the one Nigeria that the West (Yorubas) collaborated with the North (Hausa/Fulanis) to maintain?! Imagine the spate of deaths from the suicide missions being carried out by the Children and Grand Children of the hausa/fulanis that killed millions to ensure unity!!!!!

Northerners and Westerners should bow their heads in shame. They have ruined the lives of many through their short shortsightedness. They have condemned Nigeria to death through their own lack of vision. Even the Northerners and Westerners are dying in droves too.

Boko Haram will soon venture into the west. When they start bombing Lagos, Oyo, Ekiti etc, Yoruba children, including the naive ones on Nairaland trying to shift the blame on Igbos will ask their parents e.g. Adekunle, Why they fought to retain the cesspit called Nigeria.

I laugh in Chinese.

Thus says the most intelligent man in Nigeria. Now, will you all heed to GEJ's wish?

From Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, came a warning yesterday that Nigeria is heading for serious economic crisis. His warning followed his disclosure that the country lost $16 billion to subsidies this year.

Sanusi said as a result, Nigeria’s foreign reserves had been depleted such that serious economic crisis would befall the nation if the oil prices crash continues in the international market. He said that withdrawal of subsidy on fuel would stave off the crisis.
“Our shock absorber is gone. If the oil prices crash again, then Nigeria will now face a serious economic crisis,” he said.

Sanusi spoke in Lagos at the opening of a two-day Town Hall meeting on the controversial proposed fuel subsidy removal. The parley was organized by the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN). Sanusi said Nigeria lost $16 billion on subsidy this year, revealing that the total amount of money in the foreign reserves was $200, 000 short of the spent sum.

The CBN helmsman said that without fuel subsidy removal, the next administration would be saddled with a debt burden that would be difficult to manage. Sanusi expressed worry that a significant number of subsidized products were diverted to neighbouring countries by some dubious marketers and their cronies. He said the unwholesome practices of some marketers have turned the industry to a cash cow, with companies filing outrageous claims to the tune of 15 fuel-laden vessels.

Also speaking, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said government had resolved to deregulate the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry and that the delay, was only temporary, to allow for dialogue and a proper enlightenment of citizens on the benefit of the policy, especially as it affects the removal of subsidies enjoyed on both petrol and kerosene. Government, she said, did not want to appear dictatorial, hence, the resolve to embark on public enlightenment to earn trust and confidence prior to the policy execution.

“The current subsidy regime does not benefit the poor in Nigeria. It is the better-offs in the society who benefit the more from it,” said Okonjo-Iweala, “Between January and October this year, we’ve spent over N1.3 trillion being borrowed and it is used to subsidize petroleum products consumed mostly by the upper and middle classes who own the big cars, SUVs, jeeps, and not the poor who ride bicycles and motorcycles. We have to put an end to subsisy,” she added.

The minister said the current fuel subsidy regime was responsible for the large-scale corruption in the petroleum downstream sector as witnessed in the smuggling of refined products to neighbouring countries of Niger, Togo, Ghana, Benin and Cameroon. The quest to sustain the subsidy policy, Okonjo-Iweala said, had also forced government into massive borrowing. But labour leaders, Peter Esele of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Isa Aremu of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)as well as right activists Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba, faulted the Finance Minister, saying deregulation will worsen the poverty situation in the country.

Aremu specifically expressed grave cynicism over government ability to translate the gains from subsidy removal to the betterment of citizens, if eventually allowed. Deregulation, he said, would have been best appreciated under a atmosphere where the nation had functional refineries and not a net importer of petroleum products as it is currently being experienced.“Our fear is that if we allow the government to remove subsidies, it is not going to be a win-win situation for government and citizens. Removing subsidy will worsen the poverty situation in this country because inflation will go up. And we are not prepared for this,” Aremu said.

“Government has been responsible for the distortions in the market, for the poor state of the local refineries which has forced us to be importing fuel as we are doing. This inefficiency cannot be pushed to the masses. Why are our refineries not working? Who is responsible for the failure? Why are they not persecuted?
“Nigerians will resist attempts by this government to force citizens to pay higher prices for petroleum products imported from outside the country while we could have paid cheaper if we had our refineries working. It is time we compel the government to work. Let us have refineries so that we produce what we have and consume what we produce. It is an issue of good governance and not fuel subsidy removal,” Aremu added.

Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke said government was concerned about the impact the removal of subsidy will have on the economy and citizens and has taken steps to ameliorate such hardships.
He said efforts were ongoing in fixing some of the infrastructure especially roads and the local refineries. According to her, the original contractors who built the refineries had been brought back to carry out their Turn Around Manitenance (TAM), a development that has resulted in a 50 – 60 per cent increase in the capacity utilization of the four-state-owned refineries. She said, hopefully, in the next 18 months, the situation would be better.

But she cautioned,” It is not in the best interest of the government to remain in the business of refining petroleum products in Nigeria. Government will be better in holding equity but we will have to allow the private sector do this. We need to deregulate; we need to upon up if we must grow.” Alision-Madueke said the benefits of the deregulation policy was being worked out and expressed strong optimism that the masses will be better-off with the policy.

According to the minister, the government had agreed to set up a board to manage the proceeds that will accrue from the deregulation policy. The board will be constituted by the President and would comprise eminent and reputable Nigerians drawn from all sphere of work and from the six geo-political zones.

“I can assure that deregulation benefits are being worked out by the government,” She said. “We are also carrying out changes in the regulatory agencies like the PPPRA and DPR to ensure they meet up with the challenges of the policy. we are all working for the poor in our country and we need the support of all,” she added.

Source; http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/dec/23/national-23-12-2011-001.html

GEJ's led government is making too much of noise about their plans without actually achieving anything. They should stop all these "We plan to" attitude and adopt a "We have done" one. It will be better for them to keep quiet and announce their achievements after they have been achieved. They have always been planning without any concrete actualization of such plans.
GEJ is not alone in this. Even performing governors like Fashola and Amaechi are guilty of the above.

We all know that notable politicians are behind Boko haram. It is more political than religious. GEJ's political opponents are working day and Night to frustrate any positive effort that he is trying to make by funding and unleashing terror on helpless Nigerian masses.
I feel that if GEJ puts forward a proposal for the division of Nigeria into different countries on a North/South basis, these politicians will get scared and cease their nefarious activities. They stand to lose. I don't want to call names, but it is well known that these politicians own oil wells and other economic interests in the southern part of Nigeria. They will poo in their pants if they hear anything that sounds like division.
Moreover, the grieving politicians that lost the last elections and are among those sponsoring Boko Haram will become frightened because their aim is to rule an oil rich Nigeria and not an agrarian rich but economically poor North.
I think he should come out and propose a sovereign national conference where the intention of division will be clearly spelt out. Then, he should secretly call these men and tell them that if he hears any shot from a catapult from Bokoharam, they will lose everything, starting with a radical probe of their stolen oil wealth, seizure of all their wealth that they cannot account for and a subsequent division of Nigeria. If these men don't cease, he can then ensure the complete implementation of his threat. For all I care, we are either brothers or enemies.
Believe me, Boko Haram will disappear this way. Military action will not solve the problem.

[quote author=Rhino.5dm link=topic=797528.msg9490761#msg9490761 date=1320549074]Was it not your greedy Zik that persuade the north from secession? talking about looking for scape goat.[/quote]And so they killed 1 million people to ensure that. Now their children and grand children are strapping themselves with bombs and blowing themselves up. Soon, they will  extend their venture to the west.
From your flimsy excuse, one would think that Zik was a god over the North and West. A selfish person like Zik that was scared of his political standing if Nigeria disintegrated because of his exploits as a saboteur succeeded in convincing full grown men with little brains from the North and West to remain in a farce of a nation.
I am sure that the ones that are alive now will be gnashing their teeth. The West has been politically relegated to the background. The North has lost power. Now an Easterner is in control. Are those not the reasons that they want out? Stu-pid set if illiterates.

1 million souls were lost in an unfortunate civil war championed by the northern hegemony in collaboration with the western allies to keep Nigeria united. Now Boko Haram, the grand children of the same northerners are unleashing bloodshed for a course that could destroy the same unity. In times like these, we need to look back at our history to ensure proper vindication. May those 1 million souls that died not be in vain.

maclatunji:
We are not talking about club football here. If it was club football, I would say give him 3 more matches but at the National team level Siasia needs to go. Look at the quality of opposition Siasia needed to get past-Guinea, Ethiopia and Madagascar. I fear for your kind of Manager O because even Siasia is not using the Guinea Conakry game as an excuse for his failure- why should his principal accept it? Nothing wrong with winning your 5 matches after that and shutting everybody-up!

The fact that a goal was scored in the final minute of the game to deny Siasia's team qualification is irrelevant because Management deals with results not excuses. The greatest strategic mistake a Manager can make is not to reward success and punish failure at the end of any process. It is a sign of weakness and sends wrong signals to other people.

[b]
Going by what you are saying, Clubs reward failure and take success for granted? We are talking of coaching here and not type of competition. There is no difference between the requirements of coaching in clubs and countries.
Secondly, Strategic foundation of management's reward of success and punishment of failure is more intricate than you put it. Some failures are rewarded because they have short term implications and long term benefits. While some successes are punished because they have some long term negative impacts and short term positive implications. Even Westerhof failed first before becoming a success.
Let me give you a typical example, Amodu was winning and drawing all his matches, why was he sacked? Did you ever watch any of Amodu's matches without being angry about the way the eagles sat back and allowed themselves to be attacked endlessly by opponents. They won matches, yet failed to play good football, which was not satisfactory. Amodu was sacked despite the fact that he won the bronze at the nations cup. He was virtually escaping in all his matches. Now take a look at Wenger. The guy is losing to almost everybody in the premier league, why is he still the coach of Arsenal? Like Siasia, he has shown that he can go far in competitions and win laurels in the past.
Siasia changed the approach of the Eagles in matches. The Eagles are more like a formidable attacking team, with some defensive issues. However, they have averaged 2 goals in matches and create more chances now. Give Siasia chance to get good scorers and better defenders, then we'll have a better team. I want a Nigerian team that is feared and successful and not one that is successful but full of chickens. [/b]

maclatunji:
You see, I like Siasia as a person but as a trained Manager (I may be several other things but Management is my area of core-competence) I must tell you that this kind of failure should not be tolerated. I was against Amodu because of the performance of the team. I am now against Siasia based on the team's performance plus results. If Siasia is not sacked now, you might as well leave him for the next 10 years because not qualifying for the Nations Cup is the worst failure the Super Eagles can achieve!

[b]If you are a trained manager, and it is indeed your area of core competence, you should be able to understand the need for strategic considerations before taking a very important decision like to sack a manager because he could not salvage a situation that he is directly not responsible for. No doubt, he may have promised to salvage the situation and almost did it, but failed due to a momentary blunder, you need to take a critical look at the progress he has made in terms of the team he is in charge of and his ability to handle situations better in future.  Is the need for consideration of availability of options and means of attaining those options without distorting the progress of a team not important? If you deem it important, then you should find your outbursts embarrassing, because they seem to be coming from an inexperienced manager.
I bet Wenger, Mourinho etc should have been axed a long time ago. A typical example of the consequence of the type of action that you are advocating for is the impact of constant change of managers on the performance of chelsea. Bad is e bad, you need to give a manager time to ensure transformation. It is not an overnight magic. [/b]

totorimi:
What the poster is saying is not a lie, my personal experience was similar i once boarded Chanchagi plane from Lagos to Abuja and I wanted to ease my self alas and behold one aboki air host was standing by the door as though he was a bouncer, when i told him i wanted to use the toilet he said it was not working no apology whatsoever.

As if that was not enough, no sooner than the plane was airborne the pilot came on air with a husky voice. "Ladies and gentle, we will be experiencing some turbulence due to bad weather but that is not a problem we will just go through it and you all will be alright"
Those moments through the turbulence were the longest in my life. Now it is not as if i have never been through turbulence in a flight but the fact that the plane's toilet could not be maintained i wondered to myself if the engines will be. Well we landed safely to the glory of God but I knew that plane was not airworthy. Anyway somehow they have managed to maintain a clean record as usual they will claim that it is because they are the holiest people or maybe they have the best pilots but I think it will be nice the regulatory authorities takes a deeper look into the operations of that airlines. Politics aside that airline ought to be delisted from Nigeria's airspace.  Their cabin crew that one is another thing altogether, when you see them they look haggard and hungry, i dont get it anymore some will even be scratching their butts as they move along the aisle.

I have been suspecting and still suspect that the British influenced the North into claiming not to be ready so that they could remain in Nigeria as colonial masters. The North must have been offered a deal that they could not reject. Since they could not succeed directly, they did it indirectly. The war cemented and solidified their stance. SMH

I sorry for Nigeria

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePzJwds2-3k

Reverend Moses Iloh is the pastor of Soul Winning Church. He believes Nigeria needs to be overhauled as she clocks 51. The octogenarian says he is not happy the way things are going. In this interview, he speaks of Nigeria before Independence, the politics of today and other issues. Excerpts…

Going down memory lane, what’s your assessment of Nigeria at 51?

A man of 51 behaving like Nigeria today should be classified as an slowpoke. It is a shame. Today, we are saying go and learn from Ghana. We had a bomb blast recently; we flew our patients to South Africa. This is the greatest black nation in the whole world.

We have some of the best surgeons, best physicians, but they can’t stay in Nigeria because it is corrupt. Corruption is not just stealing money. At 51, we do not have a decent police force; we have now shown the world that our judiciary is in tatters, that we have a disreputable judiciary.

At 51, we have shown the world that as Muslims we can kill Christians. I’m almost 82 years old, and the Nigeria I was born into was a classical, superior nation. When you traveled out you were queen of Africa. But now, when you go anywhere with your green passport, they say watch him. I was in America last year, I met some retired generals, a friend, an American retired general, took me there, and at the end of the day, they asked me where I came from, and my friend held onto my jacket and told them I’m from South Africa.

This was in Florida. I looked at him, and he pulled my jacket again. I felt so bad, but I didn’t want to embarrass him, so I kept quiet. When we left for another speaking engagement, he said, “You know what? These fellows; you will need them someday, that is why I gave them your e-mail address, e-mail doesn’t say where you come from. If I had told them you are a Nigerian, they would never listen to you. They would say, maybe you have come with those funny letters that you have some oil waiting somewhere.”

He introduced me as a South African, that is bad, but I understood him. He said, “You might need them someday and I don’t want you to miss the connection.” The vehicle, the car called Nigeria, at 51, has its gear permanently stuck in reverse. We are driving backwards, nothing to show, I am ashamed. We are a disappointment to humanity, a great country, so blessed with mineral resources, unlimited mineral resources, even in the American army we have top soldiers that are Nigerian. We have Nigerians all over the world doing very well, but because we have a crop of the most irresponsible leaders, we have no natural disasters, but we have a disastrous leadership.

I don’t know where we are going. You cannot go to the police to report anything. They want to get money from you before they begin to investigate. Today, we cannot make any law in Nigeria that Nigerians respect. Once the law officer comes in, give him some money and he would go away. That is a country talking 51 years old? Irresponsible nation! With all the fantastic technology, we can’t even have electricity. Our refineries are not working.

I read in the papers, either true or false, that we are now importing finished oil products from Niger Republic. How do you explain that? We helped South Africa out of apartheid, Gen. Murtala Muhammed did a lot of good things there to help them out of apartheid, but today we are running to South Africa. We steal money here and buy house in South Africa. We steal money here and invest it in South Africa, Ghana, and Brazil. And we have 45 million youths unemployed in Nigeria, and your country is 51 years old. It’s a shame!

A friend wanted to employ marketing executives. I have a lot of people’s CVs to help them look for employment. Five are graduates and one just passed JAMB, but wants to try her luck there. She passed the interview and all the graduates failed. The man called me and said, “Daddy, this is amazing. The ones who have degrees in marketing failed the interview and the girl, who just passed JAMB passed.”
That shows you what we have in Nigeria at 51.

What do you have to show - shame, embarrassment, fraud and corruption at 51. We are a sorrowful nation, 51 years of no road. They sold our Nigeria Airways, they sold our NITEL. This is 51 years of shame, misery, embarrassment, and disrepute. And look at the judiciary; where else do we go? 51 years, a man has a case in court based on election, you drag the case until three and a half years and say ‘oh, the man did not win’, but he had enjoyed all the statutory monetary votes, he had enjoyed everything for three and a half years, then you say he didn’t win and yet he goes home with everything. We’d not say Nigeria is 51.

You are almost 82 years, before Independence how was Nigeria?

Life was so good. Listen, month end, you go to shops, young boy bachelor, you buy your groceries, buy yourself new clothes, ride around either in your bicycle or car, you go back home and pay your rent. Today, graduates are wearing second-hand clothing. We didn’t know what second-hand clothing was, you had the confidence that you worked and they paid you. I never heard in our time that salaries were owed. It is a crime that came with Independence.

Even though we were under the British, but we had true democracy. We could look at our masters and tell them the truth. One day, a young gentleman called Zik came and talked about Independence; he is my hero. I was a member of the Zikist movement, I was on his campaign train, and I went to campaign for him. I was the candidate of NCNC/NEPU alliance on the Plateau. I saw politicians who told you what they couldn’t do. Nobody gave us a naira; we were campaigning for our leaders. We enjoyed politics. When Zik was speaking the whole place trembled.

He didn’t offer anybody any money. If you told us what you could do, we followed you, because we wanted the British to go. We were expecting a Nigeria where no man is oppressed, a Nigeria where the black man is the President, governor. In our time, Marxists were almost everywhere. Then, Nigeria had a problem. On the eve of the incoming government, the North said they don’t want it. They said they were not ready.

This is where Nigeria ran into problem. Now, people like Zik, Awolowo, who had worked so hard, didn’t want Nigeria to break. So, they had to wait for the North. We called it internal self-government. To be able to get the North to agree eventually as we were preparing, the South began to compromise. The North wanted this, they gave it to them. You had a job for a school cert holder, and a northerner who was not qualified got the job, and you paid him the same salary. A northerner wants to work in Lagos; you pay him his normal salary and pay him extra income for agreeing to work in Lagos.

Compromise started and the foundation, which was strong, began to crack. Nigeria became a country of compromise, built on compromise, and whatever you build on compromise stands on one leg. I was very active, a young man in politics, because I loved our leaders, but when that compromise began that was the end of a united and great Nigeria that was built on a solid foundation.

In our time, before the Independence thing, who knew where you came from, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Ghanaian, we were all together, nobody bothered you. When Independence came, when we had that crack and compromise, a new philosophy was introduced. North for northerners, it’s a political slogan and very powerful. The Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, used the North for northerners’ slogan and we started accepting it, we started compromising in order to get a big country. And what is the bigness for? Nothing!

Some people now say maybe Nigeria should break up, what do you think?

I think it is too late to break up now. We must find a way to stay together. I was born in Jos. My first language was Hausa and I spoke some Bira, then I started going to school to learn English. I learnt English in school. Even, I learnt to speak my own language very late, I’m from Imo State. I speak a kind of bastard Igbo. It didn’t matter, because then in Nigeria, everybody was the same. We don’t need to break anymore.

Nigeria should show some sense of maturity. The only way you can keep Nigeria together is through good governance. Even what we call CAN is disorganized. I told them to prove a point to the government, if you kill somebody in the North because of his religion, then the family must be given a compensation of N100 million minimum. It doesn’t pay, and that money should be deducted by the Federal Government from source and paid to the family of the deceased.

So, if you kill 50 people, 50x 5 is 100 million, if a Christian kills a Muslim, also pay the family compensation. I believe in those talking about Sovereign National Conference. Let’s meet and talk to one another. We can still work out a peaceful one Nigeria. I have said we should invite five Christian leaders from outside Nigeria, Muslims to invite all their leaders from outside, let’s meet at the National Theatre in Lagos and say, can Christians and Muslims live together?
Let’s talk about Boko Haram, Obasanjo visited the leader and the following day the man was killed.

What is your take on this?

Why should Obasanjo visit them? That is the question. Obasanjo bombed Odi just because they accused a policeman or soldier, and he bombed Odi, a town in Bayelsa. He bombed Gboko in Benue State and nobody has yet taken him to court. He is supposed to be taken to the World Court, he should pay for that. Why should he go to Boko Haram, who sent him, did Jonathan send him? I learnt he went with an executive plane, which means the Federal Government knew about his visit.

What a government! He went to Boko Haram to say sorry, your leader was killed and the court granted you N100 million, we did not pay. You think those guys are fools? Why did he go? Medicine says when you have the correct diagnosis of an ailment, you will be able to prescribe the right solution. Don’t you know the reason for Boko Haram? Don’t you know it is unemployment, don’t you know it is impoverishment of the youths, don’t you know they are not educated, don’t you know that they live in squalor, don’t you know they are frustrated and bitter?

The rich show off their money and every Friday they line up the poor and give them N100 each in a plate, and the poor watch them come with convoy of jeeps each costing about N5 million. They are human beings, too. I thought the government by now should have started something. When we had a problem in the West with OPC, when they became violent, they were recognized and their leader became an Otunba. And today, he is respected in this country.

When the militants in Niger Delta started their own and blew up oil pipes lines and did everything, they were recognized. Look at them now, all of them are millionaires. They sent them to Germany and Israel for training, and the younger ones are waiting also to come out to demand recognition.

Source; http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/powergame/2011/oct/09/powergame-oct-09-2011-002.html

Improved power supply cuts energy cost 25%

Homes affirm development

Public power supply to factories and homes across the country has improved vastly and business leaders say they have seen up to twenty per cent drop in their energy cost which in some firms could be as much as a quarter of the total cost of doing business.

Streets and neighbourhoods in Lagos have become noisier in the day as small businesses like welders, tailors and motor repair shops, take on new life of heightened  activity, energised by a surprise improvement in power supply by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).

Petrol station attendants complain they are selling less diesel, with a drop in the tips they get from diesel buyers, and generator engineers are hoping it is just a dream that will go away soon.

“It is like everyday we are waking up in a new country, a new city,” says Chike Ahamba, a small business owner in the Apapa area of Lagos, who runs two generators at his office. “At home and at the office, we are spending less on diesel and we are able to sleep at home without the noise of a running generator.”

Leading economist and chief executive officer, Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, told BusinessDay that increase in power means improvement in productivity, and that translates into better incomes. “Anyhow you look at it, it is all positive for the economy”, he added.

Our investigation showed that on the back of the increase in electricity generation, Lagos now gets a supply of up to 1,100 mw on good days, from a low of 500 mw, in the very dark days three months ago.

Muda Yusuf, director- general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the chamber has received reports of improved power supply in some locations “and the impact definitely has been positive.

“Our members confirm that reliance on diesel for electricity generation has declined in the last month, at least. If the trend is sustained, it would result in moderation in the operating cost for many firms.”

Reginald Odia, chairman, Electrical Group, of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and managing director of Benet Industries Ltd, producers of light sheeting and electrical accessories, also acknowledged that there had been some improvement in power supply from PHCN but noted that the benefit of this will not be felt yet at major manufacturing plants, simply because many have since switched off from the grid.

Said he: “Only commercial and residential consumers are benefitting from the current improvement in the level of power supply. Although there has been improvement, the fear of unannounced power cut by PHCN remains a problem for manufacturers because this inconsistency in power supply makes most manufacturing firms to depend on only private power generation.”

Duro Kuteyi, chairman, Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries (NASSI) and CEO Spectra Industries Limited, said while the volume of diesel consumed has reduced because of improvement in power supply, the sharp rise in the price of diesel has virtually wiped away the benefit.

Ausbeth Ajagu, president, Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria, said: “The level of power supply has improved. We currently enjoy power supply for a total of 12 to 14 hours daily and this is helping to reduce our diesel consumption significantly.”

At Betterlife Water Resources Limited, Festac Town Lagos, an official said they spent over N1 million on diesel monthly during the bad days of PHCN but that the company now spends N600,000, a 40 per cent drop .

For Lydia David, executive director at the Oregun based Edelyn Nigeria Limited, makers of Edelyn Shirts, power supply has also improved, forcing down their monthly diesel expense from N52, 000 to just over N13, 000.

LanreTalabi, executive chairman of Talon Nigeria Limited, a fishing company in Ilaro, Ogun State, told BusinessDay that his company is now reaping a 60 per cent drop in the cost of running its generators.

In Festac Town, a middle class settlement, the story is the same and, according to Nwaneka Chikwendu, a housewife, “The part of Festac where I live has been having regular power supply lately. It is like a miracle”.

In Kano the industrial hub of northern Nigeria, power supply has risen to about 200 mw, up from the old level of 50-100 mw, although Kano will need about 350MW to be fully supplied.

Similarly, Mark Oboh, a Barbing Salon operator in the down town District of Sabon- Gari, also confirmed that the electricity supply in his area had improved.

He said the improvement was a big boost for his operation, but appealed to  the federal government to ensure that the improvement is sustained.

“I am happy now with what is happening to PHCN. In  recent times, electricity supply in our area has drastically improved. We are only hoping it will be sustained”.

However, John Aluya, Chairman of the Apapa branch of MAN and managing director of Crystal Glass Nigeria Ltd, said, :”The time is too short for us to put a figure on the amount we spend on diesel to power our generating set but there has been a slight improvement in power supply”.

According to Yusuf, “impact on capacity utilisation can only be perceptible if the improvement in power is sustained. Sustainability is always an issue. If this happens, the prospects for job creation in the economy would be bright,” Yusuf added.

Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/27986-improved-power-supply-cuts-energy-cost-25

[b]@Poster:
I understand your point of view. However, these people that you are advising to go back home own investments back home, in the form of estates, farmlands, transport businesses etc. Most Igbos abroad bring their profits back home. Yes, they build homes and investments in other regions, but they do so to make money and return back home when they are tired of making money. While doing that, they train their children in those regions. If you ask me, I will tell you that if other regions can truly imitate Igbos in this aspect, our unity would have been a done deal and division would have been more difficult if not impossible.

More still, Nigeria is our nation and our home. Which means Igbos are investing at home. Your statement about 10% of Igbos returning home is hypocritical considering your die hard stance about one Nigeria. If the North and West are not our homes, then how come we are referred to as Nigerians? See, my friend, you should be straight about this. Like some people observed here, it is either we divide Nigeria, then you can make such suggestions, or we remain as one with the right to call everywhere in Nigeria our home. This idea of suggesting that 10% of Igbos should leave where they currently live to go and invest in their "Home" is an insult to your Hausa and Yoruba Ancestors who died to keep Nigeria as one. You are promoting division, which is equal to saying that they died in vain.

Finally, The reason why Igbos cannot come back home to invest is because the commercial environment in Igbo land is saturated. Igbos migrate to other regions to seek for competitive advantage. In the process, we have children in other regions who grow as the members of those regions and integrate into those societies. They grow feeling as members of those societies, only to be reminded by your type of suggestion that they are not and will never be members of your society. They are murdered for nothing in some cases.  My question is, why the heck are we one Nigeria if we can not mix up as Nigerians and actually eliminate the differences among us?

You need to re-orientate yourself about the meaning of unity. While doing that remember that Igbos suffered dearly for trying to stay away permanently from other regions and will not suffer a second time for trying to integrate into the same societies that they were forced to belong to. We will never suffer again because of the envy that other regions have for us. Afterall, Igbo land is more developed and self-sustaining than Hausa and Yoruba lands.[/b]

As the Nigerian independence day approach, we need to really reflect about what we should be doing to mark that day.

As for me,

There is no Security
There is lack of political will
There is no efficient medical facility
There is dearth in the transport sector
Quality education is non-existent- Schools are now breeding grounds for murderers, Rapists, Corruption etc
Simple roads cannot be built and properly maintained
There is no efficient electricity supply
There is consistent rise of militant groups
There is rise in the rate of unnecessary deaths
There is an increase in ethnic bigotry
There is lack of respect for Nigerians that are home and abroad by the Nigerian government
There is lack of good drinking water in MOST parts of Nigeria
Millions of Nigerians are homeless and more are still being made homeless without compensation
There is a very high rate of unemployment in Nigeria

The list in endless.

Instead of celebrating, the Nigerian government officials should hide their heads in Shame and Nigerians should mourn their existence in Nigeria. It is indeed sad.
If you have a reason why you think Nigeria is worth celebrating, please don't hesitate to outline them. I am looking for a reason to consider celebrating Nigeria.

GOWON’S APOLOGY TO THE IGBOS LACKS SINCERITY

since he retuned from exile in Britain (after he was pardoned by former President Shehu Shagari for his alleged role in the overthrow of General Murtala Mohammed), retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon has undoubtedly tried to make amends and to also be fruitful in the daily life of Nigerian governance. He has made apologies to the Igbos and others, has organized the "Nigeria Prays" movement and in late 2002, with former President Shehu Shagari, intervened in the impeachment deadlock between Obasanjo and the Federal legislature. However, it is important that as Gowon makes up for his civil war shortcomings and excesses, he avoids one important thing: trying to change the undisputed and documented facts of the war, and that brings me to the speech and apology made by Gowon to the Igbos in Asaba on or about December 09, 2002, covered by reporter Austin Ogwuda, titled "Gowon faults setting up of Oputa panel" and reproduced in Nigeriaworld.com.

In that speech, and in the course of his apology, Gowon tried to change the facts of history by claiming that he was unaware of Gen. Murtala Mohammed’s genocidal instincts and the actual genocidal campaigns he carried out west of the Niger, between Asaba and Agbor. That denial of knowledge, in the face of abundant and contrary facts, undercut Gowon’s apology and denied it of sincerity and genuineness. In that Gowon’s speech at the Asaba Township Stadium, Asaba, Gen. Gowon said in part:

"It came to me as a shock when I came to know about the unfortunate happenings that happened to the sons and daughters of this state especially of this (Asaba) domain. I felt very touched and honestly I referred to it (killings) and ask for forgiveness being the one who was in charge that time. Certainly, it is not something that I would have approved of in whatsoever. I was made ignorant of it, I think until it appeared in the papers. A young man wrote a book at that time… It just happened seven hours ago when I was visiting the state for our nation prayers, I took the opportunity of being with his Royal Majesty (Asagba of Asaba) to make this public apology on behalf of myself and government of Nigeria at that time and to ask for forgiveness as we have to look at the future. I feel very touched when we acme this time to hear his majesty refer to it again."
The problem with what otherwise would have been an excellent apology is that part of it where Gowon was implying that: one, he did not know about the genocidal campaigns at that time, two, that he did not know until it appeared in papers and a book and three, if he has known at the time he would certainly have done something to stop it. But unfortunately for General Gowon, with all due respect, the facts are not on his side.

One of the most contradictory facts to demonstrate the inaccuracy of Gowon’s assertion comes from Gowon’s own wartime Federal Information Commissioner and foremost Nigerian war propagandist during the civil war, Chief Anthony Enahoro. In the first few months of 1998, one Jumoke Ogunkeyede, head of the "United Committee to Save Nigeria" organized a kind of reconciliation meeting between Chief Anthony Enahoro and some Igbos in New Jersey, USA. In that meeting, and in answer to one of the questions posed to Chief Enahoro about his anti-Biafran role during the civil war, Chief Enahoro, who thankfully, is alive and well today, said in part:

[b]"Do you really know anything about what happened during that war? I was the one that stopped late Gen. Murtala Mohammed from further massacre of innocent children and mothers. At a point when Britain refused to sell further arms to Nigeria because they had ample evidence from the Red Cross of the federal forces killing innocent civilians, I confronted Gowon with the fact and that the only way I can get Britain through my contact with their High Commissioner to resume a supply of weapon to Nigeria was that Murtala had to leave that war sector. Either Murtala leaves or I will have to leave his cabinet. Gowon told me that he is willing to call a meeting and on the condition I will be the one to confront Murtala. If there was anybody that Gowon feared so much it was Murtala Mohammed. At the meeting of the Federal Executive Council, I confronted Mohammed with elaborate evidence complete with photographs. He was livid. He could not refute them so he resorted to calling me all sorts of names prompting me to observe before the council that if he was a fine officer as he claims to be, he should not be acting the way he was acting. Needless to say that I was instrumental to his withdrawal from that sector and subsequent appointment as a minister". (See "The Nigerian and Africa" magazine, March 1998, page 10)[/b]

From this uncoerced and uninduced testimony of Chief Enahoro, who incidentally is still alive today, one can make the following observations:

That Murtala’s genocidal campaign against the Midwestern Igbos was well known and documented by the Red Cross
That the genocide imperiled Nigerian’s ability to secure arms supply from Britain.
That in attempt to maintain British arms supply to Nigeria, Chief Enahoro confronted Gowon with this reality widely documented by the Red Cross.
That Gowon was reluctant to confront Murtala with the allegation and indeed would not confront Murtala with it unless Enahoro would do it by himself, which he did, and
That it took a threat from Enahoro to Gowon "to leave his cabinet", for Gowon to eventually address the issue and remove Murtala and commander of the 2nd infantry Division.
I must say that Enahoro’s sincerity in his testimony is commendable. Enahoro admitted that his quest to stop Murtala’s murderous campaign among the Midwestern Igbos was to save the British arms supply to Nigeria and not out of sympathy or concern for the lives of those Igbos for whatever they were worth (at least not on the record). I think that Gowon should emulate this Enahoro’s sincerity and not come 34 years later to claim that he didn’t know something he abundantly knew.

Nor is Enahoro’s testimony in isolation as facts contrary to Gowon’s claim of oblivion of events in the Midwest at the time. The New York Times, on its April 5, 1968 issue, carried the following story "in relation to Murtala’s genocidal campaign in the Midwest"

Monsignor Rochcau, one of the two papal delegates representing Pope Paul VI in Nigeria, reports in Le Monde, a Paris newspaper, today that "between Benin and Asaba only widows and orphans remain, Federal troops having for unknown reasons massacred all the men".

It is common knowledge that Nigerian diplomats during the war read every major newspaper in search of "Biafran propaganda" to neutralize. I don’t know how Gowon could claim he did not know of a genocidal activity that was widely reported by the Red Cross and prominent foreign newspapers. Furthermore, it is a fact of history that the three Division Commanders that Gowon unleashed on Biafra were ruthless human beings with proven genocidal propensities: Col. Mohammed Shuwa- commander of the First Infantry Division, Col. Murtala Mohammed, commander of the 2nd Division and Col. Benjamin Adekunle, Commander of the third Marine Division. Murtala’s genocidal instincts and campaign have already been discussed above.

The military campaign of 1st Division commander, Col. Mohammed Shuwa (and Col. Theophilus Danjuma, his deputy Commander) was no less ruthless than that of Col Mohammed, even though it was less universally known. In military campaigns, it is usually assumed that more senior military officers are more restrained from unnecessary violence and that they also tend to act to restrain the lower ranks from unnecessary indiscipline and wantonness in their campaign. But regrettably, this was quite the opposite with Col. Mohammed Shuwa and his top officers that invaded Biafra from the north in July 1967. On the contrary, Col Shuwa actually mandated his troops to exercise the utmost violence on the Biafrans.

A New York Times war correspondent who visited Shuwa and Danjuma’s command headquarters in Makurdi in the last week of October 1967 found a directive dated September 16, 1967, issued as a general order (G.O.) hanging on the bulletin board. It has been issued by Col Shuwa to his troops:

"You are therefore required to push ahead ruthlessly to vanquish the rebels in your way. You will tell this to all your men because rebels have no honor and no respect for the dignity of mankind. You are bound to have heavier casualties than hitherto but you cannot win a war without heavy casualties" (See New York Times, Tuesday, October 24, 1967, p 20, Column 3)

Notice that Shuwa’s command for ruthlessness against the Biafrans (who have no honor) did not distinguish between civilians and uniformed men. And his troops carried out his instructions beyond the call of duty. As a 12-year old boy in January 1966 when the Balewa government was overthrown, there are many things I believed in Biafra, which with additional reading after the war, I have to come to discard as Biafran propaganda. But I still believe that the officers and men of the 1st division under Cols Shuwa and Danjuma were the most violent known to man (at least to me). One needed to be in Enugu in the later part of 1967 to see gouged-out eyes, amputated limbs, fractured skulls and horror stories of Nsukka refugees pouring into Enugu and environs, to appreciate the violent propensity of Shuwa, Danjuma and their men, in furtherance of Shuwa;s ruthlessness order. At my age then, I may not have known the intricate details of the cause of the war, but I certainly was old enough to recognize brutality, savagery, mayhem and wantonness when I saw one especially as practiced by Nigerian troops. Can Gowon say he didn’t know about Col Shuwa’s ruthlessness order and the atrocities that followed it, when New York Times covered it and the whole world knew? He has no way to explain it. If he knew and did nothing, of course, that’s not good for him. If he, on the other hand, as Supreme Commander, did not know that his troops carried out such atrocities and were capable of doing so, it doesn’t speak well of him either.

Now, here comes Africa’s famous Black Scorpion, Col. Benjamin Adekunle, whose genocidal instincts against Biafrans were well documented by reporters that covered the war. Addressing war correspondents at his Divisional Headquarters in the compound of Saint Michael’s Anglican Church and School in Elelewa on May 17, 1968, Col Adekunle told them with visible delight that he has besieged thousands of Biafrans inside the city of Port Harcourt "with no escape route except to jump in the water". (See New York Times, May 20, 1968, page 1, col 7). In another interview with reporters on July 14, 1968, he termed all relief plans for Biafra as "Misguided humanitarian rubbish".

In an interview with the Economist, a British magazine, reproduced in New York Times, Col Adekunle, in answer to a question about Biafran relief, proclaimed further. "I want to see no red cross, no Caritas, no World Council of Churches, no Pope, no missionary and no U.N. delegation. I want to prevent even one Ibo having even one thing to eat before their capitulation." (See Sunday New York Times Sept. 8, 1968, Sec. IV, p29). On another occasion, Col. Adekunle told the interviewer that in Biafra, "we shoot at everything that moves", and in response to another reporter’s question about how he would treat Biafrans when he gets into the "heartland of the Igbos", he replied "Then we shoot at everything, even things that don’t move." (id)

When these utterances are put together: "… no escape route except to jump in the water", "Misguided humanitarian rubbish", "I want to prevent even one Ibo having even one thing to eat…", "Then we shoot at everything, even things that don’t move." especially coming in quick succession from a Division Commander, it is no surprise that the ordinary ranks of the 3rd Division were beset with indiscipline, wantonness and violence towards Biafrans, as abundantly documented by war correspondents, missionaries and relief workers. Is Gowon implying that he did not know these well documented genocidal utterances from one of his most flamboyant and outspoken commanders during the war? To claim that will be nothing short of drawing a wool over the eyes of the Igbos, and deny his apology of sincerity and genuineness. Again, Gowon, with all due respect, might think that a smart way to escape responsibility is to feign ignorance of atrocities meted out by his troops. But indeed, rather, its smirks of naivety and aloofness for a Supreme Commander to claim ignorance of atrocities of his troops which were well documented by reporters and widely known to journalists, foreign diplomats and relief workers at that time.

On a personal note, I did not know the magnitude of the Midwestern massacre of the Igbos by Murtala’ forces until after additional reading after the end of the war. My limited knowledge came from an Asaba family with whom we shared space in a refugee camp in Uzuakoli. It will be recalled that after Murtala Mohammed’s two abysmally abortive attempts to take Onitsha from Asaba, he went up North and crossed the River Niger somewhere around Idah and then descended towards Ontisha on the Eastern bank. His "death and destruction" machine passed through my hometown in the first week of January 1968 on its way to Onitsha. Because of the unbelievable injuries visible on the refugees from Nsukka, their horror stories and the sheer rumble of Mohammed’s artillery and other hardware, everyone fled for their lives. The few people that attempted to remain were forever very sorry.

As my hometown evacuated, my mother’s uncle took us (my parents and my siblings) to Aba where we squatted in his house. Subsequently, Port Harcourt was evacuated and not too long after, artillery explosion became audible in Aba. In the course of time, all of a sudden, one evening, artillery explosions south of Aba became ground shaking in Aba. That same evening, the artillery frequency gradually increased from about one every minute to every 30 seconds to every few second to couplet, triplet and quadruplet instantaneous explosions. Luckily for us, my father, a carpenter with the Nigerian Railways, stationed at Umoba (2 or 3 train stations North of Aba) was visiting us on that day. By 2am, everybody was awake with multiple back to back unrelenting artillery bombardment. Right then, my mother’s uncle, my grandmother and my father said we must start packing immediately to leave Aba in the morning for Umoba where my father was stationed.

We arrived Umoba the next day but within 48 hours, artillery was shaking Umoba as it was in Aba two days before. My father went to the railway station at Umoba and was told that Umoba was on "evacuation standby" and that he should report for work at Umuahia for further instructions. In the midst of fear, terror and uncertainly, my father simply put all of us in a train headed north towards Umuahia with no real destination. My father didn’t want us to stay in Umuahia because of unrelenting air raid of civilians but he wasn’t sure where to keep us. In any case, that decision was made easy for him when the train grounded at Uzoakoli (2 or 3 train stations, north of Umuahia). The railway station master told my father that one of the refugee camps still had space and was still accepting people. My father, who wanted us to be in a private residence but couldn’t afford it, took us to the Anglican Primary School refugee camp near the railway station and we were registered and given space.

The refugee camp was really crowded with four families sharing each small classroom, each family to each of the four corners of the classroom. So two days after we arrived, one of the families in our classroom space moved away and an Asaba woman with three children took the spot. Her oldest daughter, 11-years old Adannia (daughter of her father) immediately struck a friendship with my 11-year old immediate younger sister and our two families became close. My father was finally posted to Umuahia.

But strangely enough, Mama Ada, as we called Adannia’s mother, would cry all night and never sleep, at least for the first few weeks. In the morning, my mother would be all over her asking why she cried all night and would never sleep, and she would say nothing. Then later, I and my younger sister pressed Adannia, her daughter, and she told us that Nigerian soldiers killed her father and her oldest brother in Asaba and forced them to watch their execution. Then we told my mother what Adannia told us, and my mother confronted Mama Ada with the story and only then did she open up. The she showed my mother her right shoulder which was a little out of joint and told my mother it was inflicted on her by the same soldiers. And my mother said, how? She said she insisted to the Nigerian troops that since she and her kids were forced to watch the execution of her crying and begging husband and son, that she must give them burials before continuing with her flight out of Asaba. It was during the struggle for the bodies of her husband and son, that they hit her on the right shoulder with the but of the gun. When she fell, they threw the bodies of her husband and son into the back of their land rover and drove away. And my mother said, "if they were heartless enough to kill your husband and son in your presence, you should not even engage them for their bodies. They could have killed you too.". And she said, "I did not know what I was doing"

I hope that Mama Ada and her children survived the war, because my family left Uzuakoli in the course of time because of relentless air raid on civilians. And up till that time, she still had not recovered from her very traumatic experience. I can only hope that after escaping the sword of Mohammed in Asaba, she did not succumb to Gowon’s unrelenting air raid of Uzuakoli. I had thought that Mama Adannia’s story and experience was an isolated incident in Asaba until I did some reading after the war and realized the scope and magnitude of General Murtala Mohammed’s genocidal campaign in Asaba.

In conclusion, I must say that I commend Gowon for bringing himself to grabble with an apology to the Igbos because, to be fair to him, apology is not a word commonly found in the dictionary of African leaders. However, having summoned the courage in the first place, he should do so without attempting to change the facts, a phenomenon that will have the opposite effect of depriving his apology of sincerity and genuineness. The facts are not broken, and they don’t need to be fixed. Also, it must be stressed that this writer has nothing personal against General Murtala Mohammed. I, like most Nigerians, admire his short-lived attempt in 1976 to reform Nigeria, albeit with ruthlessness, and I am glad for him that his name graces the busiest airport in the country. But his military excesses and overreaching are also part of his history and are needed for a balanced analysis of his legacy, especially when it is recalled that the same Murtala Mohammed and his friend, Theophilus Danjuma, oversaw the killing of over 300 Igbo army officers and men in less than 72 hours from July 29 to August 1, 1966.