₦airaland Forum

Pointers for the National Dialogue- Individual and village Part 1 by Kmariko

Individual:
1. Every individual shall be deemed to have a natural given rights, freedom, unhindered opportunity to purse his or her dreams without any form of inherence from the law or government, doctrine, religion, another individual or group. Individuals freedom starts right from birth. It is the duty of the government to jealously protect each and everyone's right .
2. No individuals right, freedom and unhindered opportunity shall be predicated on family, ethnicity, race, color ,sex, religion, locality, nationality or any other circumstance not mentioned here.
;;;;;No individual shall be discriminated under any circumstances..Nor laws be created to discriminate any individual or group on any basis. Or should any law or doctrine that discriminates against any individuals right, freedom and unhindered opportunity be recognized by the nation.
3. Every individual shall be equally protected under the law.,., in other words no individual shall be deemed to be superior or inferior to another under the eyes of the law or in any circumstance within the society.
4. Children from cradle till 18 years shall have the right to education, and access to healthcare and these rights shall never be encumbered by family's financial situation, color, nationality, ethnicity, sex, locality, religion, whatever circumstance not mentioned here.

5. In Lieu of 4 all children from cradle till 18 years of age or after high school whichever comes first shall be freely sponsored academically by the government. Every child must be educated.
6. Any individual from cradle to up to 18years of age who is not in school or has not been educated should be deemed to be infringing on the rights of others members of the community of which they are part of.
7. Individuals shall have the right to be educated in the language or ways of which they have the best advantage to study.
8. Education here means the ability to read, write and comprehend write and spoken words
9. The individual here is defined as anyone resident in Nigeria


Villages , Towns and local governments.

Since the village is the "singular" unit from which the nation was formed.
1. Any village shall have the right to decide on the division, county, local government , state or region they want to belong to, provided it is contiguous with a natural acceptable boundaries.
2. Towns/villages shall have the right to establish their own councils and leadership.
3. The leadership of each Town/village shall be recognized within that Town/village only. It shall not be the function of the state, region or nation to give or take privileges from the leadership of a village/town. Nor shall it be the function of the state to provide financial assistance to the establishment and maintenance of any form of the village/town leadership.
4. Admission into any state, division, region by a village/town shall not be subjected to any form of plebiscite by the state but merely the will and aspirations of the people of the village/town provided it there is a contiguous natural boundary..

5. Local governments creation shall be left to the states. Grouping of towns/villages to form local governments shall take into cognizance the yearnings of any village/town or group of villages/towns that wants to be part of or form their own governments.
6. Every local government shall have a headquarter and the representative of each village/town that constitutes a local government should be part of the administration. These representatives shall be by elective position from within the villages/towns.

7. The chairman of each local government area shall be elected from the constituent representatives of the villages/towns making up the local government for a maximum of one term of 6 years subject to a 2 yearly referendum.
8. The representatives of each village shall be elected for a maximum of one term of 6 years subject to 2 yearly referendum from their villages/towns.,., Any representative can re recalled anytime by their villagers/towners if they deem him/her unfit for the post any time during their tenure.

9. A referendum shall hold when a quarter of the signatures of the registered voters in that town/villagers wants it. Note referendum are not restricted to elective post only.
10. Once the number of signatures is ascertained a vote of referendum must be carried out within 60 days.
11. Only the elected representatives of each town/village shall be recognized by the state.

Sanusi is not a whistle blower. Sanusi is at the Apex of Nigerian government. He is a policy formulator as well as enforcer. He has very tool accessible to an "efficient and effective" administrator to find out information and act on it.
Sansui is accused by the "educated" class and his peers of unconscionable negligence and dereliction of duty that smacks of gross incompetence... Not for being a whistle blower.
A principal of a school cannot be whistle blower of the students acts or activities because they are under his purview.

If you cannot see a physician.. What you need is

Take 1 tablet of fluconazole 150 mg. And repeat after 3 days.

Do not use Azithromycin because it is an antibiotic and not recommended for vaginal problems.

Itching in most cases is a fungal problem.

Fungus thrive in wet . moist. Damp places. So TRY TO KEEP IT DRY.

@OP Dont you know anything about code of ethics in the office. Are you protecting the terrorist or Nigerians you swore to protect in your job.

You are a highly irresponsible fellow to say the least. It is very sad that fellows like you work in sensitive areas.

That you have a disdain for the government does not permit you to harm other Nigerians who are going about their normal lives.

Shame on you.

Did OBJ have a hand on Murtala's demise

GEJ in his reply subtly calls OBJ.

1. Clueless [/b]for not knowing how things worked under him..He was a petroleum minister.

2.[b] Liar for baseless allegations. Snipers. Instigator of PDP crises.

3. Academically unsound.. Not able to interpret basic economic indices.

4. A murderer...including Murtalas

5. Unanalytical and a Brute.. Brute force in action. No regard for rule of law.

Investors’ confident rises in Nigeria’s entertainment industry as Iroko raises $8m

December 20, 2013 | Filed under: Company News | Author: Editor

IROKOtv, the Africa-based movie platform for Nigerian movies, known colloquially as ‘Nollywood,’ has announced a funding round of $8million, led by existing investor Tiger Global, with further participation from Sweden-based Kinnevik and US-based Rise Capital.

This brings the total raised capital to $21 million, making iROKOtv one of the most well funded internet companies in Africa today.

IROKOtv is a leading Video-on-Demand (VOD) platform for African content, and following the announcement of the $8 million investment, the company will continue to focus its attention on growing traffic, content and building a platform-agnostic distribution system for its 1 million monthly users.

To-date, the capital raised by iROKOtv has been used to acquire content, expand the London-based tech team, develop mobile websites and applications and open offices in London, New York and Johannesburg, alongside the company’s Lagos headquarters.

iROKOtv now holds the world’s largest online catalogue of African content, with over 5,000 movies. The new capital will be channelled at building and transitioning the company’s audience from a primarily Diaspora base to an African base, as well as migrating from a largely ad supported model to more subscription service.

Currently, 50 percent of iROKOtv’s audience is located in the UK and US alone, but with the continent coming online, demand for home-grown multi-platform video content is rising fast.

There will also be a renewed focus on magnetising iROKOtv’s catalogue through its SVOD service, iROKOtv PLUS, as well as through its strategic distribution partnerships with global airlines and TV channels.

Jason Njoku, CEO/co-founder, said: “The $8 million raised by Tiger Global, Kinnevik and Rise Capital will further fuel our expansion and help us to realise our long-term goal of becoming one of Africa’s pre-eminent media companies. We started life three years ago as a Nollywood content aggregator on a YouTube channel and today we find ourselves with a VC-backed dedicated VOD platform, watched in 178 countries around the world, with 1 million unique visitors a month. These metrics were achieved with hard work from a great international team and today’s news allows us to continue in the same vein and accelerate our growth.”

Bastian Gotter, COO/co-founder, said: “We have forged a niche in African movie programming and captured people’s imagination in terms of bringing previously unobtainable yet popular content, loved by millions, to a global audience on an awesome platform. This additional capital allows us to consolidate our position as VOD market leaders for Africa, invest in tech, content and infrastructure and, importantly, we are now in a position to become profitable by 2015, which is an extraordinary feat for any start-up, let alone an African VOD one like ours.”

Nazar Yasin, managing partner of Rise Capital, said: “We are very pleased to participate in this round of financing alongside Kinnevik and my former colleagues at Tiger Global.

Having worked with Jason, Bastian and the team since their early days, we at Rise Capital look forward to continuing to help them scale their content acquisition and distribution channels and secure their positioning as Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and most impactful media company.

Mia Brunell Livfors, president/CEO, Kinnevik, said: “This latest funding round for iROKOtv is testament to the fact that Kinnevik continues to support them on their journey to becoming one of Africa’s most exciting and far-reaching media companies.”

On July 1, 2012, iROKOtv introduced a subscription service (SVOD) to its site, iROKOtv PLUS, where for $5 a month, subscribers are the first to access the 12 brand new movies uploaded onto the site every month.

The iROKOtv PLUS business is currently growing rapidly and is now the largest single source of revenue for the company.

source: businessday online 12/21/13

The biggest achievement of the President to date is the high level of political freedom and tolerance in the country. Thuggery and political killings have been reduced tremendously and people are not being arrested for their views no matter how extreme.

Nigeria’s economy largest in Africa as rebasing boosts GDP to $405bn

December 19, 2013 | Filed under: main story | Author: PATRICK ATUANYA

In about three weeks from now, when the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) releases the rebased Gross Domestic Product (GDP) it will show that Nigeria has overtaken South Africa as Africa’s largest economy, which will have great economic and geopolitical implications.

This is according to emerging markets focused investment banking firm Renaissance Capital, whose team of analysts were in Abuja, over the weekend.

“We are revising up our estimate of Nigeria’s GDP by 53 percent. The NBS has nearly completed its work, and our new estimate is that a 45 percent to 60 percent uplift is likely, and we are taking 53 percent as the mid-point figure. We expect the data in January,” said Renaissance Capital analysts led by Charles Robertson, its global chief economist and head of macro strategy, in a research report released yesterday (Dec 18).

“This means Nigeria, at $405 bn in 2013 would be the largest economy in Africa, ahead of South Africa at around $370 bn.”

Other impacts of the rebasing include the possible reduction of growth rates to 5 – 6 percent from 6 – 7 percent, and an increase in GDP per capita to $2,400 from around $1,700, in essence moving Nigeria into middle income economy territory.

“Sectors that may show the biggest upward revision range from Nollywood to IT and telecoms, while we think agriculture will shrink from around 40 percent of GDP to 25 – 30 percent of GDP,” said Robertson.

The rebasing will show public debt shrinking to 13 percent of GDP from 20 percent of GDP. Public external debt would be below 2 percent of GDP, while the current account surplus may still be 5 percent of GDP which will leave the sovereign in a good position to borrow if needed.

According to Rencap “In a Fed tapering world, these revisions make Nigeria look good, but credit rating upgrades (Ba3/BB-) are likely to be constrained by the most competitive presidential elections Nigeria will have seen since democracy returned in the 1990s.”

The NBS is seeking to change the calculations of Nigeria’s GDP, using a new base year of 2010 to give a better indication of the size and composition of its economy.

Most governments overhaul GDP calculations every few years to reflect changes in output and consumption, such as telecoms, financial services and internet usage, but Nigeria has not done so since 1990 (about 23 years) suggesting that the previous GDP framework underestimated economic activity.

The numbers will have new implications for investors and the geopolitics of Nigeria’s place in Africa.

“We would be very surprised if recent and pending investment decisions are taken on the basis of the 1990 national accounts,” said FBN capital research analysts led by Gregory Kronsten, in a note released in August.

“The new GDP series will however be tracked by potential investors, such as suppliers of consumer goods and services,” Kronsten said.

Nigeria already hosts the second largest debt and stock markets in Africa, behind South Africa.

Its stock market is valued at $77 billion, while the secondary market bond trading volumes, ”certainly exceed those of Egypt and Morocco and represent around 20 percent of South Africa’s turnover,” according to Samir Gadio, an emerging markets strategist, at Standard Bank, in London.

Overall – Nigeria’s debt, budget and current account ratios will look among the best in Africa and in the emerging markets (EM), once the rebased figures are released, notes Robertson.

“We like Nigeria in the coming quarter – though we see domestic bond yields up a little, at around 13.5 percent on average. Nigeria is going to rise from 14 percent of MSCI frontier markets to around 20 percent in May 2014 which could attract equity investors wanting exposure to frontiers and/or Africa. We expect the NGN to remain at 160/$ until June 2014. But we are still nervous for the second half of 2014,” Robertson said.

By: PATRICK ATUANYA
Businessday 12/19/2013

Chamackh: More than 100 graduates have benefited his scholarship program, lighting many towns in his constituency, massive road construction in my l g a etc. Saying that Ikeoha is corrupt is what I term campaign of calumny.

.

The scholarship program is worth how much per student. give us a list of the students and how much they got and their villages.

On the roads: Give us the list of towns and villages connected by these roads, quality of the roads ungoing or completed and please pictures, pictures and more pictures.

Lighting.,., Which towns were lit in his senatorial district.,., what year was this carried out ( becos some towns had light before he became senator), list the towns and pictures more pictures.

TALK IS THE CHEAPEST COMMODITY,but PROOF IS THE HARDEST PART.

be well

Chamackh: Smear campaign against our son and brother Bar Ike Ekweremadu that he is corrupt is unfounded and callous, we the people of Aninri and the Greater Agwu people will no longer watch our son being bullied. Bar Ike apart from being the Chairman of Aninri local government then has never held an executive position, then how come Bar Sullivan and his warriors label him corrupt? Enugu belongs to all of us, if Bar Ike will not contest for Governorship position,then its better he goes back to represent the people of Enugu West in the Senate cos he has done marvelously well. Long live Ikeoha Aninri, Long Live Ikeoha Ndi Igbo.

Can you provide us a list with pictures( where possible) what it is that he has brought/built for the benefit of the people of Enugu.

Its the season of budget proposals and accounts.,.,

Question is ..... Can any NLER/s give a good account of what their various State and Local governments have done with the monies they collected and or generated through 2012. Dated pictures will be nice.

Remember being a good citizen in a democracy ( whether flawed or not ) is making the leaders account for every penny allocated to them.


Be well

@ achiu, there are many ways of looking at figures and statistics.,,. Am only trying to point out that Ebonyi is the state to watch in the East. Currently they have everything going for them in trying to maximize the oppportunities and potentials in the state. Another way to look at the figures -- is a perception that businesses are becoming more viable ( in other words more profitable) in that state than any other state in the East. A high IGR can also be seen as a sign of an effective, "less opaque" government.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) last week released some interesting data set on the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) profiles for Nigeria’s 36 states between 2010 and 2012.

At a first glance, the data was not surprising as states in southern Nigeria continue to show dominance in terms of economic activity.

The oil producing states also featured prominently in the top ten in terms of states with the largest share of IGR.

Northern Nigeria’s poor showing continues to be a concern. Eight of the least ten states in terms of IGR are from Northern Nigeria, including Yobe and Borno which are mostly bearing the brunt of the current insurgency, while none feature in the top ten.

Source: BusinessDay Research, NBS

]]•Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial capital leads the pack for IGR by a wide margin, while Yobe has the least for 2012. While Lagos is 7 times more populated than Yobe, Its N219.2 billion of IGR in 2012 is 123 times that of Yobe State’s IGR of N1.78 billion.
•Nigeria’s oil producing states are ramping up their capacity for IGR, perhaps due to the increased economic activity that oil and gas production provides. Five of the top ten states with the highest IGR are oil producers, including Rivers, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
•When we analysed the data to see the regional champions it showed that for the SW region Lagos led with N219.2 billion, SS: Rivers N66.2 billion, SE: Ebonyi N14 billion, NC: Benue N8.4 billion, NW: Kaduna N11.5 billion, and NE: Adamawa N4.6 billion.
•The regional analysis for state IGR shows that states like Kano, Anambra/Abia and Borno are underperforming in their respective regions as their relatively high GDP and commercial nature has failed to translate into tax revenues for the state Governments.
•Only 3 states generate tax revenues of above N1,000 per head and these are Lagos (pop. 20 m) with IGR per capita of N10, 851, Rivers (pop. 6.1 m) with IGR per capita of N3,280 and Delta (pop. 4.8 m) : IGR per capita of N2,258.
•We believe the IGR status of a majority (> 90 percent) of Nigerian states is a cause for concern, and raises serious questions about their viability, in the event of an oil price shock.
•To make matters worse a majority of the states are also highly indebted. Yobe had $31.8 million (N5.088 billion) in external debt as at June 2013, equivalent to 180 percent of its IGR for the whole of 2012.


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IMF lauds Sanusi, Okonjo-Iweala for strength of Nigeria’s economy in 2013
Posted by: The Citizen in Business, Headline 2 days ago December 6, 2013

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that Nigeria’s economy performed well during 2013.
The IMF Mission Chief and Senior Resident Representative in Nigeria, Gene Leon, stated this during a visit to Nigeria between November 13 and 26 to conduct discussions for the 2013 Article IV consultation.
The mission met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; senior government officials; members of the legislature; and representatives of the private sector with a verdict that Nigeria’s economy did very well during the year.

The Fund’s mission issued a statement at the conclusion of the visit, which reads in part: “Nigeria’s economy has continued to perform strongly in 2013. Real GDP grew by 6.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (compared to third quarter 2012), supported by robust performances in agriculture, services, and trade. Oil theft/production losses have adversely impacted export receipts and government revenues, leading to a significant drawdown from the Excess Crude Account. Inflation declined to 7.8 percent (end-September 2013) from 12 percent at end 2012, in part owing to lower food prices and monetary policy implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The exchange rate has been stable, and the banking sector is well capitalized with low levels of non-performing loans.
“Although the outlook is positive, risks need to be managed. Growth is projected to increase to about 7 percent in 2014, while inflation should remain subdued in the single digits. Nigeria could be affected, however, by a decline in oil prices, the pace of recovery in global economic and financial conditions, capital outflows, continued losses in oil production, or increased security concerns. At the same time, the economy can manage such shocks given a relatively flexible exchange rate regime, improved financial crisis management capacity, and a stable banking system. But fiscal buffers are low and a sustained high rate of growth is needed to reduce unemployment, and poverty.
“Fiscal consolidation is progressing well, and the momentum needs to be preserved through the ongoing election cycle. Key public financial management reforms are underway, including the implementation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) and integrated information management systems, but lower-than-budgeted oil revenues are impacting budgetary plans at Federal, State, and Local levels and highlighting the need for rebuilding fiscal buffers to manage oil revenue volatility. Moving toward a sustainable non-oil primary deficit path will require resolve in continuing fiscal consolidation, including through resisting procyclical election spending, mobilizing non-oil revenue, improving efficiency in the public sector, and strengthening transparency in oil sector governance.

“The current monetary stance is appropriate and should remain geared towards sustaining low inflation and a stable financial system. Managing liquidity in the banking system remains a priority, and will be aided by the implementation of the TSA and prudent fiscal management. Likewise, the CBN has maintained stability of the naira, containing inflation and facilitating business confidence. However, the continued importance of oil receipts and the magnitude of portfolio follows present potential vulnerabilities, and exchange rate flexibility may be a useful tool in the event of persistent pressures. Ongoing initiatives to strengthen the supervisory framework, including supervision of banking groups, should continue, and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s activities phased out gradually.
“To promote inclusive growth and mitigate the impact of vulnerabilities, ongoing structural and institutional reforms should be pursued resolutely. The 20/20 Vision and the Transformation Agenda provide a framework for ongoing reforms, including the privatization of the generation and distribution of energy, initiatives to increase food security and viability of agriculture, and programs funded through the Universal Basic Education Commission to improve human capital development.

In addition, access to financial services for small-and medium-size enterprises, which have been key in many countries to enabling all to benefit from growth, could be improved. Other initiatives to improve the business environment and investment promotion could support diversification across sectors, but should be underpinned mainly by improvements in productivity and competitiveness. Growth in the next decade will need to rely on the continued implementation of reforms to strengthen institutions, improve efficiency, and prioritize quality infrastructure investments.
“The mission would like to thank the authorities and technical staff for their excellent cooperation”, the statement added.

@ Op thanks very much for the post --- goes to butteress the fact that Ebonyi is the richest state in the East. As their economy improves through a combination of good leadership, education and their natural resource one can easily envisage a reverse migration from other parts of the East.

Nigeria’s economy performed strongly in 2013 - IMF
Written by
Friday, 06 December 2013 01:18


AN International Monetary Fund mission visited Nigeria between November 13 and 26 to conduct discussions for the 2013 Article IV consultation.

The mission, according to a statement by the World Bank, met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; senior government officials; members of the legislature; and representatives of the private sector with a verdict that Nigeria’s economy did very well during the year.

At the conclusion of the visit, Gene Leon, the Fund’s mission chief and senior resident representative in Nigeria, issued a statement which reads in part: “Nigeria’s economy has continued to perform strongly in 2013. Real GDP grew by 6.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 (compared to third quarter 2012), supported by robust performances in agriculture, services, and trade. Oil theft/production losses have adversely impacted export receipts and government revenues, leading to a significant drawdown from the Excess Crude Account. Inflation declined to 7.8 percent (end-September 2013) from 12 percent at end 2012, in part owing to lower food prices and monetary policy implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The exchange rate has been stable, and the banking sector is well capitalized with low levels of non-performing loans.

“Although the outlook is positive, risks need to be managed. Growth is projected to increase to about 7 percent in 2014, while inflation should remain subdued in the single digits. Nigeria could be affected, however, by a decline in oil prices, the pace of recovery in global economic and financial conditions, capital outflows, continued losses in oil production, or increased security concerns. At the same time, the economy can manage such shocks given a relatively flexible exchange rate regime, improved financial crisis management capacity, and a stable banking system. But fiscal buffers are low and a sustained high rate of growth is needed to reduce unemployment, and poverty.

“Fiscal consolidation is progressing well, and the momentum needs to be preserved through the ongoing election cycle. Key public financial management reforms are underway, including the implementation of a Treasury Single Account (TSA) and integrated information management systems, but lower-than-budgeted oil revenues are impacting budgetary plans at Federal, State, and Local levels and highlighting the need for rebuilding fiscal buffers to manage oil revenue volatility. Moving toward a sustainable non-oil primary deficit path will require resolve in continuing fiscal consolidation, including through resisting procyclical election spending, mobilizing non-oil revenue, improving efficiency in the public sector, and strengthening transparency in oil sector governance.

“The current monetary stance is appropriate and should remain geared towards sustaining low inflation and a stable financial system. Managing liquidity in the banking system remains a priority, and will be aided by the implementation of the TSA and prudent fiscal management. Likewise, the CBN has maintained stability of the naira, containing inflation and facilitating business confidence. However, the continued importance of oil receipts and the magnitude of portfolio follows present potential vulnerabilities, and exchange rate flexibility may be a useful tool in the event of persistent pressures. Ongoing initiatives to strengthen the supervisory framework, including supervision of banking groups, should continue, and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria’s activities phased out gradually.

“To promote inclusive growth and mitigate the impact of vulnerabilities, ongoing structural and institutional reforms should be pursued resolutely. The 20/20 Vision and the Transformation Agenda provide a framework for ongoing reforms, including the privatization of the generation and distribution of energy, initiatives to increase food security and viability of agriculture, and programs funded through the Universal Basic Education Commission to improve human capital development.
In addition, access to financial services for small-and medium-size enterprises, which have been key in many countries to enabling all to benefit from growth, could be improved. Other initiatives to improve the business environment and investment promotion could support diversification across sectors, but should be underpinned mainly by improvements in productivity and competitiveness. Growth in the next decade will need to rely on the continued implementation of reforms to strengthen institutions, improve efficiency, and prioritize quality infrastructure investments.

“The mission would like to thank the authorities and technical staff for their excellent cooperation

Source: Tribune 12/06/13

Poultry production shoots up 20% in Nigeria

December 6, 2013 | Filed under: main story | Author: OLUYINKA ALAWODE

Growing health concerns in Nigeria about smuggled imported poultry have led to a 20 percent increase in local bird production in the last one year, boosting farmers earnings and creating more jobs in the local industry.

The poultry, mainly chicken, are now sold by large emerging super stores spread across urban centres. They are sold raw or smoked and are supplied directly or through distributors, by big agro companies such as Chi Limited, which have large farms and complimentary processing units.

The ready-to-cook chicken stock are supplied in modern packaging and are well preserved through continuous freezing, which supermarkets have the capacity to provide.

This, along with the hygienic environment of these retail shops, is driving up sales, in spite of the higher prices.

A smuggled imported frozen whole chicken for instance, is sold for between N700 and N1,200 depending on the size, while the locally produced frozen chicken goes for as high N1,650 or more, in the supermarkets.

This however is not deterring the growing league of high networth individuals who now have a habit of shopping for food in the supermarkets due to the assurance of hygiene, the beauty and safety of the environment, as well as safety of the environments and the benefit of available and free parking spaces.

This current growth was envisaged by the Nigeria Agribusiness Report in its third quarter 2011 edition, which predicted that between 2012 and 2015, due to rising living standards and expanding population, there would be an increase of about 23 percent growth in the poultry industry.

The prediction was based on increased government support, improved farming techniques and growing demand for poultry.

This increased demand for wholesome poultry stock by the middle class has been spurring business expansion among existing poultry producers, and also stimulating new investments.

Though there have been crises in the industry due to security challenges in the north of Nigeria, which led to lower demand for eggs from there, the growing middle class, their changing tastes and health concerns have spurred demand in the southern parts. Chickens and eggs are even being branded by producers as an assurance of quality.

Quail farming, another form of poultry, (a bird which is adjudged by health experts to be very beneficial healthwise, as it is very nutritious and does not contain cholesterol) is adding to the boom in the industry.

Also, the Nigeria Customs Service, in response to outcries of stakeholders and the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, has increased the interception and destruction of smuggled poultry products.

Dotun Agbojo, president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria, Lagos Chapter (PANLAG) recently in Lagos said from the beginning of the year to date, the customs have seized over N500 million worth of poultry products from smugglers. Agbojo urged the service to intensify its’ efforts. He drew attention to the health hazards, stating that smugglers went as far as hiding poultry in fuel tankers. The Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders have also at various times, pointed out the health hazards involved in the consumption of smuggled poultry.

A representative of the National Agency for Food, Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC) I. Sanni, during a recent poultry show held in Lagos, observed that the cold chain is usually broken during the transportation of the imported poultry.

At such times, he said, microbes begin to work on the meat. Subsequently, they may be kept in freezers again if they make it to the Nigerian market, but they expose unsuspecting buyers to health hazards.

Kola Oyedeji, a chemist and farmer, said the smuggled poultry is usually preserved from spoilage with formaldehyde, the same chemical used in mortuaries to preserve corpses. This, he said, exposes consumers to carcinogenic substances which predisposes people to cancer.

There are however still a lot of challenges experienced by producers in the country. These include high cost of input, and infrastructure challenges. But the domestic poultry industry as predicted by a 2011 Nigeria Agribusiness Report, is growing. Onallo Akpa, an executive of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN) estimates commercial production at N51.2 billion (US$3.2billion) and rural family production at N320 billion, with 553,000 metric tonnes of eggs and 708,000 metric tonnes of broiler meat being produced as at 2011.

By: OLUYINKA ALAWODE

source: BusinessDay 12/06/13

Olusegun Adekoya

Sincerely i do not understand why Nigerians allow old politicians that ruined this country for many years but now turned saints to mislead them.

If we ask ourselves a simple question that why are the elites crying out more than the poor populace or is it today we started suffering? The simple answer is that their avenues for stealing the government dry has been blocked thus the reason for instigating the masses against the president.

Let me give you some examples. For many decades fertilizer fraud was being committed costing the country billions of naira, GEJ through Adesina the agriculture minister stopped this fraud and they now have nothing to steal. In past years, once the budget is read, various ministries are given their budgeted funds that gets looted, put in banks to generate interest interest and contracts awarded to the elites including those in the legislative arm of government. Now under madam Ngozi's watch, they are given small percentage of the budget and its only when they are give account how it was spent is further funds released to them, In the civil service, the biometric exercise is going on and thousands of ghost workers are being identified and saving the government billions.

The executive also went against the legislative arm of government as per its constituency projects and won. Now they do not get the money directly but projects identified are being carried out by the FG.

in all these do we expect the elites to love the president? but what they do is attack him left right and centre, peddle lies to turn us the masses against him and we are falling for it.

For once in the history of this country in recent years we have a leader that is policy driven to reverse the downward trend but all we do is allow our judgement to be clouded by the elites and the opposition

If you look at the ongoing transformation in the agricultural, rail, aviation, power, civil service, automobile sectors amongst other, it is quite obvious that the country is being repositioned. However, as the effect of this policies are not going to be felt until couple of years, we are being myopic in our view as it relates to the progress of the country. We need to understand that repositioning Nigeria and reversing the decay in the system is going to be a marathon and not a sprint and the sooner we realise this the better.

As a country that imports 80% of what we consume, its obvious that reversing this trend is not going to happen overnight.

source: Punch newspapers 12/06/2013[b][/b]

"We've discovered that Britain is easily replaceable in China's European foreign policy," said the editorial in the newspaper's Chinese edition. "Moreover, Britain is no longer any kind of 'big country', but merely a country of old Europe suitable for tourism and overseas study, with a few decent football teams."

It added China would respond in kind to all perceived diplomatic slights, the editorial said, adding that "in conclusion, we wish Prime Minister Cameron and his delegation a pleasant visit to China."



Asked about the article Mr Cameron said he would prefer to "stick with the facts and the figures."

"This is a trip that has delivered almost six billion pounds worth of deals, a visit that comes off the back of an 18 month period in which we have seen more Chinese investment than in the previous 30 years," he said.

"It is also a visit in which we have seen very good high level and substantial discussions both with the Premier and the President. The premier described the partnership as indispensable."

The editorial's tone was said to be typical of the strain of nationalism identified with the newspaper, published by the ruling Communist Party's official People's Daily.

A similar editorial in the newspaper's English edition called Britain "just an old European country apt for travel and study."

source: the independent 12/03/12

ENEONWO: Ignorance is the hallmark of mediocrity! I should recommend that you read up the steps in land acquisition. Your questions at best, expose your ignorance. In law, whatever economic tree found on a man's land is enumerated for compensation. The law does not recognise what you call vagaries of nature in that. All trees, whether antropogenically raised or not (that is raised by man or not) stands on someones portion. And the person must have needed it, if he didnt uproot it at its tender stage

Yes I claim ignorance. I have never read any book or books nor have I ever seen one. My apologies. Also I have never bought any land nor read any book both traditional or legal books about land ownership. My apologies once again.
But all am asking you is to simply go back to your original thesis( if I may) . your accusatory tone seem to suggest that the government just walked into the area and started farming without providing any sort of proof that no form of negotiated compensation took place.Even the most repressed government would talk to the owners or supposed owners and people living in any piece of land before "appropriating" it for use. And last I checked the government of Enugu state is run by lawyers and other professionals who understand the laws as regards land ownership in enugu.

Lastly I prefer to wallow in my ignorance. You should try it sometimes helps to have a clear line of thought.

Be well

PhenomenonVFX: I strongly suspect they are underquoting their IGR. Albeit underhanded, it is smart. I will like the federal govt to audit both states.

It may appear smart but it is not. To an investor looking in it would seem that all is not well with both the governance and the economy of the state.

Another good thing going for Ebonyi is that it is a border state with an ungoing bank financed road construction connecting Nigeria and Cameroon - making it a stop center for Cameroonians and other central African countries trading with Nigeria.

I see a very well developed state in the near future.

Actually Ebony is the richest state in the East. Hint the IGR from rice. Salt .limestone. Marbles ( just a fraction of their resources) from a small population as Ebony could turn it into a well developed city state. But a selfless leadership is the key.

ENEONWO: Your question is baseless. Are you saying that if one allows his land to fallow, it should be compulsorily acquired: no notice, no discussion/negotiation,no enumeration, no compensation, no memorandum of understanding on employment and corporate social responsibility with the benefitting Mexican firm (San Carlos)? Besides, how would you think that non of the several plots of land, belonging to several families, (totalling about 6000 hectares) would be put to any form of agric use? Well, let me tell you that the area has hundreds of thousands of economic trees : palms, mangoes, rubber, bamboos, melina, neem, plantains, banana, ogbono, etc. Some families have cash crops: pineapples, cassava, vegetables, etc. Much of the area has been cleared. The fact remains that process was not even contemplated!

You still haven't answered the basic question. Again how long has the land been fallowed. Has the land ever been put to productive use by the "poor" owners.

Some areas with economic trees were not a conscious effort of the owners but in most cases due to vagaries of nature and man. Which is it. If it was a conscious effort you would have been telling us about takeover of a plantation but it is not.

Lastly the road you travel to work or home was once someone's 600 acres.

Be well

ENEONWO: That's what you get when touts assume power. Sullivan Chime has made Gil Nnaji believe one can grab people's land without compensation, all in the name of bringing development. Sullivan grabbed some 6000 hectares of land belonging to Ihe community (in Awgu LGA) and handed them to one foreign company named San Carlos for pineapple farm/ processing plant partnership with the State Govt. This was done without any negotiation with the land-owners, not to talk about compensation. Now, Gil Nnaji, a dormant senator, an educated illiterate has learnt the art of land-grabbing from Governor Chime's administration. Besides, if not for the unholy imprimatur of the Governor, why would two brothers and their father take the traditional rulership, Senatorial seat and LG Chairmanship post of their place? Is Nnaji family the only family in the zone? Or, were the people of Enugu East being used to compensate the royal father, Igwe Edward Nnaji and his sons?

What was on the land before Sullivan put it to use. Were they using the land productively or was it just there as has been throughout the millennium with nothing to show for it.

Thats a very fantastic news. Hopefully the smart ones will find a way to make use of the opportunity presented.

By the way any news on the rumored Lafarge cement factory.

Obiagelli: Japan's unemployment rate is 4 % while the US is 7 % so what are talking about. Interest rates and inflation are FG policy that determines the success of your creativity. Start up micro businesses in the US have survival rates of 6 in 10. Can you say same for Nigeria?

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Unemployment compared to small businesses centric enclaves like hongkong that is usually below 3%. ( of note Japan in the last few years was pretty more than 4 %)
Yes startups have survival rates of 6,to 10,years based on several factors. Owners change of business. Illness. New ideas. Etc. Usually the hump is 3,years beyond that the likelihood of failing gradually diminishes if one is still up to the task of running the business.

Obiagelli: I agree with the last parts of your post, but you people should stop all these individual creativity nonsense, we are talking industries here with capacity for thousands of jobs, where is the fund or loan for creativity? At what interest rates? How many companies in Nigeria can boast of 10,000 staff? You think opening a shop and paying sales girls 10,000 naira a month is employment?
How many jobs in Nigeria offer retirement benefits or home loans and Co. Abeg come off it.

Most jobs anywhere in the world is not created by large corporations but by small businesses. Case in point Japan with large conglomerates but still high unemployment. Same as Some states in the USA. Creativity ma'am does not have to start with a million Naira start up nor does starting something means that there should be an end somewhere for retirement. I have had professional friends out of work that started from palm oil sales in bottles to owning acres of plantations in that area. Its the brain not the money in most cases. Cases from tutoring to owning schools. Many more examples. Creativity comes in various forms to make a living not working for a large corporations.

Abagworo: Its neither State nor federal government but the mind set of the people. The reason why Abia and Anambra has the lowest unemployment level is because they believe in self employment. In Imo State, people seem to belittle self-employed people, traders and artisans which is very bad. We can only reduce unemployment by employing ourselves and not waiting for government.

Perceptions are not facts. There are more young educated people in Enugu and owerri due to the large number of schools there. So counting the students as employable without employment gives it a large edge on the unemployment market. In others words we can actually get a sense of unemployment in cities like Enugu but not in Aba where the stats are much more difficult.

It is also those graduates from Enugu and Owerri that go to Aba or Onitsha and other parts of the country to start business. So the issue of mindset is irrelevant.

I believe that Enugu government can still do more ( I do recognize finance is mearger ). One of such is the establishment of what I will call agric cities that will deal with tree products..orange. Udala. Ube. Pawpaw etc .animals such as cows and goats. cities meaning infrastructure and incentivice with actionable loans and facilitate with the sale and advert of the products from the cities. Its long term but with the right policies it create employment and wealth for the youths.

With agric cities come schools.hospitals.retail.research in areas of biotech.environment. With middle-class rising all over the world there's not enough food to go round.

Another area the state can help depending on finances is rail transport. Capital intensive but an unemployment mop. Done right with Enugu as a transit center to middle belt regions is a great incentive for investors to come to the state.

Lastly the state has to show the world what it has
No one sees your beauty if you hide in a windowless dark room.

Government merely creates enabling environment for job creation. On the hand government stimulates job growth using infrastructure projects, labor stimulating laws. But the bulk depends on individual creativity.
The lack of legal authority states have over some stimulatory activities using available resources hampers job creation in states like Enugu that have large population of educated young people.