₦airaland Forum

Buyers remorse.

They should take their magical lamp home and patiently wait for their good health, wealth and good fortune as promised.

uniqueboi1:
The soldiers were obeying order. Abi you want them to be shot dead?

A Governor does not have the Authority to call the Nigeria Army and give them any order.

They admit that is what happened, it is illegal and misuse of power and should be investigated.

Only the President have the power to deploy the Nigeria Army within Nigeria soil or externally.

uvie66:
But come to think of it if we are not blinded by nationalism, this Myung-Hee Woman have more experience than Okonjo. She has been with the WTO for more than twenty years.

I guess the 104 Nations around the world that voted for her and then all the 163 member countries that rallied around her as their consensus candidate must also be blinded by nationalism.

We should defer to their superior judgement, having had the opportunity to access both candidates, interviewed them over several months, listened to their presentations, examined their body of works and experiences, etc.

wingmanIII:
COPIED

I have been reading some of the simplistic notions about why the US did not support NOI for the WTO DG position.

Even some of the most sophisticated thinkers and posters on this street reduced it to the most basic of their primordial instincts, race and racism. What a shame. She is a dual citizen (Nigeria and USA) and if citizenship or permanent residency of the US was the simple consideration, she probably would have been the candidate of choice for the US. And not only for the current role but also for position of World Bank President - which she sought - for which the previous US administration backed a Korean-American, and one without any significant background in finance, Jim Yong Kim, a physician and anthropologist.

One would have expected a little more complex thinking and a deeper understanding of US interests, its trade relationship with South Korea and other Asian countries, and the role of China in their analyses. None touched on the likely role of China in the WTO in the event of a NOI victory versus what a Korean victory is likely to mean for US-China increasingly complex and fractious trade disputes. China's support for Nigeria and NOI is not altruistic. The country is already aiming for one of the DDG positions that is open with an understanding that an Asian at the top of the WTO will foreclose that possibility. Of course, the US, which already has misgivings about the influence of China in the WTO (and other international organizations), doesn't want the country in a much stronger position of influence within the body. Hence, it makes sense to seek ways to block the Chinese aspirations and supporting a candidate whose background will effectively accomplish that goal is one such approach.

The trade relationship between the US and South Korea is a huge one and an amended agreement was signed last year, one led by the Korean candidate, Yoo Myung-hee. Japan, another huge US trade partner, for a different set of reasons connected with a trade dispute, is against the Korean but not necessarily in favor an expanded or exaggerated Chinese influence. There is also the concern that the Chinese may exert undue influence on NOI through Nigeria, her sponsor for the role. Whether this will be a real concern remains to be seen but such fears should not be dismissed. These are some of the issues playing out in the reluctance of the US to support NOI, not her race, not racism.

Don't get me wrong. I am all for NOI and hope she wins the final push. I believe she will and congratulated her this morning already. This is just to express my disappointment at the shoddy analyses advanced by some of our so-called online or social media intellectuals. I expected more from them. Maybe too much, I'm beginning to realize. To the one who was able to see the nuanced American position beyond the jaded lens of racism, I salute you.

To the others, please, up your game and stop reducing every analysis in the complex world of international interests to the lowest common factors of race and racism on the part of the US. Your readers and followers deserve better. Or maybe we should stop taking you too seriously.

'Kunle Oyekanmi

Excellent insight and write-up.

I must also add that, The US under Trump have lost the battle to take over WTO, because member States are fighting back and it all boils down to what you pointed out, which is the trade war between the US and China.

The Trump administration is fighting directly against WTO and there are talks within Republicans about their intentions to pull out of WTO, just like they did with WHO and other international organizations. This started when the WTO court ruled against US for imposing tariff on China, resulting in the usual Trump chorus that WTO is for China and if you looked at the rules they all agreed to, US was in error.

In retaliation, US have refused to appoint Appellant Judges for WTO to oversea trade disputes among member Nations. The WTO Appellant Court need at lease three Judges to adjudicate on cases and since Trump coming into office, he has refused to cooperate in appointing new Judges to replace retiring ones and as we speak now, WTO Appellant court is dead! No Judge to hear member States trade dispute cases and Trump love it that way and want to keep it that way.

Other WTO members are aware of this damage and are trying to fight back. They truly wish US can pull out, but that will be a huge own goal against US if they pull out of WTO and a big win for China....These thorny issues will be resolved by the upcoming US Election, I think the best way forward is for Biden to win and Trump will safe face.

Otherwise if Trump wins, he will either have to be forced in shame to accept the consensus candidate of all the other member States or they will force a vote and elect NOI and Trump will be faced with the decision to pull out of WTO, which will be a death nail to America farmers and manufacturers, who right now waits for regular checks from Washington DC to cushion a percentage of their lost as a result of the current Trump war with China.....also, Trump pulling out WTO will be a huge super win for China.....and Americans don't want this.

This is one of those Trump dick moves, where Trump lack diplomacy and thinks that he can bully everyone into submission.....and any day, any time you stand up to a bully as WTO member States are trying to do here, they fold in shame or loose spectacularly.

eeetuk:
Ngozi Iweala is pushing to become WTO chair
person because she is an American citizen.

According to recent reports, she claimed US citizenship upon hearing that WTO job would soon become vacant.

That to me disqualified her for any consideration.
Chair person of WTO is a person who has years of experience in trade issues. Ngozi Iweala has none experience in trade issues.

So, I write to call on Ngozi Iweala to immediately remove her name from consideration on WTO job. Save yourself and the world another global embarrassment.

God have mercy on this ugly and shameless woman.

NOI become a US citizen in 2019 and Roberto Azevêdo announced abruptly on May 14, 2020 via a Video Conference that, he will be stepping down prematurely on Aug 31, 2020, NOI must have a crystal ball or you are high on something.

babaolofin:
Some Nigerians can talk. Have they voted? When are they going to force the final vote? Does it mean China don't have a voice at WTO? The woman being an Asian and Trade War between China and US might be the reason why China has been silent.

November 9.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54725681

35824L:
The US doesn't have veto powers in the AFDB like they do the WTO. So unless the backers of Okonjo can replace her with another candidate acceptable to the US, her appointment will not take effect. They will appoint a caretaker to oversee the body until the next US president Biden takes office and makes a decision.

The US does not have a veto in WTO.

WTO appoints a consensus candidate, and if any member State opposes the consensus candidate even Nigeria or Ghana or any country can oppose a candidate, to resolve this; WTO can force a vote and still elect the consensus candidate.

Trump wants to leave WTO, just as he left WHO and other international organization and he wins second term and does that, that will be a huge win to China and to the detriment of US farmers.

Johnnyessence:
you see the clueless Democrat leftists here. this is how they hate trump that they never meet in their life. trump is a movement in US. trump isn't a racist but a president that appoints by merit. trump loves Nigeria and Africa as a whole. the same trump government that did well in providing modern security equipments to Buhari government as at when they need it urgently. trump loves the world. stop watching CNN. trump is the best president ever US will ever produced. upon there's covid-19 in US. US economy keep on soaring higher. stop hating trim here OK. he appointed first black man as the chief of Army staff in US. potus is best. much victory for him on November 3rd.

Guy, are you leaving in a man cave? Trump appoint by merit?

The same guy that appointed 21 Judges into lifetime seats having an ABA ratings of NOT QUALIFIED! Some of them, have not even trial a single case in their entire life, their only experience is been picked by the Federalist Society, a conservative group that vets his nominees.

Trump & the GOP have bitter against WTO, since the WTO Appellant court ruled against the US that their sanctions against China were illegal...Just like Trump left the Paris Accord, WHO, Iran Deal and many host of other international organizations, they are planning to leave WHO....and he has been blocking the appointment of Judges to WHO, therefore hindering progress of trade cases in that court...blocking NOI is another off-shoot of that fight.

This time around WHO member States are standing tall, because they have seen the negative effect of Trump blockage on Judges is doing....Getting a consensus candidate was how they have been doing things before now and they are willing to stand by NOI and are even taking of forcing a final vote, which Trump cannot do anything about.....Even the countries that did not vote for NOI were in against the US opposing her as the consensus candidate after getting the highest votes.

Your other rhetoric are laughable and does not deserve a response.

DICKstractor:


Following Nollywood script, 7 able bodied young men will go to the evil forest to recover the staff after the village have been hit by a serious plague

You didn’t add the part, where they will climb 7 hills, cross 7 rivers and 7 evil forests....and they must be 7 virgin able bodied men!

Sanchez01:
DO NOT ABUSE THE WORD 'VETO'. The United States already vetoed (negated or opposed) her candidature. All that is left is to flex the power, which I am not sure they have the power to do.

I am not knowledgeable as to what happens when a candidate is opposed during the WTO selection process but the one thing I know is that the US will frustrate NOI if they cannot remove her. It is always about interest to the US.

Again, the US did not negate her candidature, she is still a candidate.

The US only exercised their rights just like the other 60 member countries to vote against her. The currents votes are 104 for NOI and 64 for YOO, even if the US had joined the 104 member states to vote for her, and there are 63 for YOO, there will still be no consensus candidate and the person that get the most votes on Nov 9 will get the job.

No worries, by Nov 4; Trump’s powers will start withering and international affairs will be the least of his worries....The US will come around.

Sanchez01:
The US may veto the decision as they are clearly against NOI.

US can’t veto anything!

The rules stated that, all member states must have a consensus or rally around a single candidate at this stage for that candidate to prevail.

So if any single member state disagrees at this stage like US has done, they will move to the next stage, which is member states will state lobbying and influencing other states to back their prefer candidate, this is the consultation stage.

If after consultation, there is still no consensus candidate or non of the two candidates dropped off, it goes for a final vote and the winner of that vote will be about pointed.

How do I comment my comments for this post?

jerseyboy:
USA is all that matters

Not True, No country have a veto vote on WTO, if a consensus around a single candidate is not arrived at, it will then go for a vote and US have only one vote to cast, she is currently 106 vote out of 164 or so ahead.

US use to have influence and rally the EU and other countries around their pick, but under Trump they have shot themselves in the foot by going it alone and backing out of many international agreements, they essentially have very few aliens left.

I also believe the Chinese lady might out of divinity and self respect as an international diplomat step down; if about 65% of the member countries you want to lead have made public their preference for your opponent to lead them, there no need forcing yourself on them.

This is None story, it does does not carry any weight and does not prevent them talking openly to the press or anybody.

Politicians swore even more serious oath each time to take office and once in, they start behaving and acting in the opposite direction.

Mayng01:
Are you sure some have truly returned? Hmmm! I smell lies... or I say fake news from the government... I am very sure the fugitive are not as dumb as you think they are. As for the Leki shootings , we citizens are patiently waiting for the outcome of all investigations from our notorious leaders & government before we rain curses on you & your generations. Spit!

Some don’t have anywhere to go to, so they will return....they are sure of a roof over their head and a meal even if irregular and very poor.

There is also career prisoners, they have been in prison for too long and don’t have the human skills to exist in regular population. For these set of people, it will take years in rehabilitation and halfway home to gradually transition them to life outside of the prison, so a sudden breakout is not in the cards for them.

Since the breakout, some have not eaten, taken their bath and have no shelter over their heads, off course they will go back.

Yes, there are many who will never ever come back, even if the Governor offer to pay them $1,000 each.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Do you know the NNPC actually runs its operations at a loss?
How does all what you describe here translates to subsidy?

It looks like, we are now coming to the same conclusion. It appear that, we are saying the same thing, but looking at it from different angles.

My idea of subsidies is not limited to currency or naira or dollar signs that are given to individuals or companies....Government's favor toward one company against another, that give them an edge is subsidies...e.g. Dangote despite been a private and independent business in Nigeria, is highly subsidized by the government, because the government is not giving all other players equal playing field to compete.

Now, in a true competitive environment, NNPC should have been allowed to increase the price of her goods and services to the Nigerian citizens competitively just like other players in the market, so as to profit every single time just like other players....Instead, their primary focus is not profit, but an attempt to cushion the heavy impact that the citizens will face.....The act of cushioning this impact from the citizens is subsidy, because at the end of the day, when NNPC report at a lost or are heavily indebted, the Government come to bail them out in such a way that, they will not do to other companies in the oil sector.

If you truly want to remove all subsidies from the Nigeria oil sector; either privatize NNPC or allow it to compete on the same equal footings like others in the sectors with zero government favors....at that point, you will see the price of petrol will start going up.

Please note that, I am not disagreeing with you; am only try to point out that; the Nigeria Government is still subsidizing the price of petroleum products beyond the direct payments marketers at the pump.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Bros. NNPC is not the sole player in the upstream or downstream. We have other indigenous oil coys that do their own stuff independent of NNPC. Conoil, MRS, Sahara are good examples. NNPC is the nation's highest revenue generating agency. It does not do subsidy. The agency which is in charge of subsidy which only exists in the downstream by the way is the PPMC.
Like I said, it was Buhari who asked NNPC to be the sole importer of petrol so as to be able to monitor the amount paid in subsidy instead of paying directly to the marketers.

Yes, there are independent operators in the sector, but there volume is ver minimal to make any detent compare to that of NNPC.

Nigeria have three types of agreement in this sector: joint ventures, production sharing & service contracts.

The independent players are mainly under the latter two above. The big leagues like Shell, Chevron, Mobil, Agip, Texaco, Total, etc are in join ventures with NNPC, where NNPC takes as much as 60% stalk in each, essentially owing them.

So, NNPC is not just another player; it is the main player and they are not fairly competing for resources, rights, licenses, etc as in a competitive market because they are government own. That is where am saying that, they are subsidized at the upstream.

It is like the old NITEL, which was government own, they were also required to turn in profits, but they do not pay the same amount of money as the other providers in the sector them for licenses, government right of ways, etc... therefore their operations and existence was subsidized this way they can pass some of those savings to citizens in form of lower prizes.

If you take that same analogies and apply it to NNPC, assume if they are to be 100% privatized as some are clamoring for today; which means the resulting entities may no longer benefit from favorable government legislations, right of ways, licenses, etc which translates to actual cost savings and subsidies....these lost subsidies will be pushed to the consumers in form of higher prices than what we see today.

Agbegbaorogboye:
That's why I said you should enlighten me.
I only speak of what I know

NNPC have the sole responsibility for upstream and downstream oil development in Nigeria.

They enter into join ventures with other companies to carry out these functions. The intend for her creation is such that the government will participate in oil exploration and production in Nigeria.

It is heavily subsidized by the government intents licenses, government direct budgets, etc...The goal is that, these upstream subsidies and government give seats will trickledown to the average citizens at the bottom of the leader.

If NNPC is completely privatized and the government totally handle over her stalks in the oil industry to private owners like in America, my brother you will be surprise what the price of petrol and other derivatives will be in Nigeria.

Justiceibeikenn:
You are just crazy...that's why your whole post just got 1 like and 1 share...how do our think Trump can lose the election?...oh you believe in polls?..lol people like you are the ones that will vote for Biden if you were in America...I'm sure you voted for buhari too

I wouldn’t respond to your folly, this is just to bookmark your post against Nov. 3.

Agbegbaorogboye:
If you believe your analysis it's all good for you." I'm sure even Biden never planned on saying that. Trump baited him using the Paris Accord issue
What I know is Michigan and Pennsylvania and Arizona are swing states and they are not going to vote for someone whose going to shutdown the oil industry just as New York will never vote for a conservative. Take that to the bank!!

I will bookmark this post against Nov 3.

Though, you are wrongly contrasting a blue state that has never gone red, with a swing stated that have gone blue and have been trending blue for years now, plus Trump is currently down in the swing states you cited.

A little tidbit, oil or the economy is not driving this election, else Trump would have been up double digits. The Covid-19 pandemic and who will handle it better is what is driving voters and instigating their fears to vote.

More that 50mil Americans have already voted including myself, which is more than 8 times people that have voted this time around in 2016. The Republicans are running scare, because more voters turn means not too good news for them.

I personally think we may not know who wins on Nov 3, maybe Nov 4th; but if a winner is called on Nov 3rd, Trump will loose unless something drastic is done in the next two weeks....The infection & death rates are now climbing back up, many businesses and schools that opened before are going virtual, he have to do something to alter the trajectory and shift the focus back to the economy.

FYI: The state to watch this time around is not any of those states you mention, North Carolina is the state to watch. The GOP are suppose to win North Carolina easily, if they struggle there or even win marginally, they should kiss the Presidency goodbye.

The US have group of voters eg blue-workers, College Educated, Blacks, Elderly, non-educated, First time voters, Youths, Whites, blacks, women, men, etc.....each of these group backs one party or the other and each state have a makeup of these voters....so knowing how these voting blocks break in one state especially from early voting data that will be available before Election Day, will give a pretty good picture of how the other states will break.

Agbegbaorogboye:
NNPC has nothing to do with subsidy. Subsidy is paid directly to individual fuel products importers not to NNPC. If anything, downstream is under the purview of DPR. It was Baba Buhari who in his infinite wisdom made NNPC sole importer of fuel products. It used not to be so.
NNPC is a state owned oil firm like Petrobas of Brazil or ARAMCO of Saudi. It does not pay subsidy to anybody. What it does is invest in oil business in behalf of govt and remits profit to the federation account after removing its running cost.
I really don't know what you mean by government subsidizes the upstream. You can enlighten me.

You have a limited view of subsidy when it comes to Nigeria and look at it solely from the perspective of what is been paid directly at the pump to reduce the price.....and totally discount what NNPC does at the upstream to reduce that same price.

Ironically, when it comes to the US you take into consideration everything done by her government at the upstream and count them as subsidies despite the fact that, the same US government does zero at the pump and does not make any direct payment or give any subsidies at the pump.

Which are we talking about? Subsidies in general or just subsidies paid directly at the pump, let’s compare apples with apples.

Agbegbaorogboye:
What's the difference? Subsidy na subsidy. They're subsidizing what they think is important for their economy.
The point i'm making is if the world's hq of capitalism can subsidize oil and agric industry, what exactly is our govt yapping against?
Oil exploration and production is upstream. The distribution and sale to the final consumer of the products is downstream. All na still the same oil.

The US model is different from Nigeria’s.

In Nigeria, the government also subsidize the upstream and downstream.

NNPC is a government own company and is put there to subsidize the upstream and downstream, this way Nigeria will get a better price point...The US does not have a government setup similar to NNPC.

Subsidies at the pump is in addition to what has been done by NNPC.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Lol. Don't worry. When Atiku said he was going to sell NNPC. It was the right and truthful thing to do but it was turned against him not so?
If you know anything about politics, you'll know it's about popularity not legality or morality.
That's why Reagan was so loved in US because of the feelgood factor he had a way of conjuring.
That statement will hurt him so badly. I'm sure even he knows that.
I really don't know what you're on about.

I don’t pretend to know the outcome of the election, but the much I know about the US Election is, each party speaks to their base and a portion of independent and good politicians poll test their public comments.

America is divided into many camps, what might hurt a section would cheer up another. Another thing I know is, there are way more register Democrats than Republicans and in Elections where many people vote, the Republicans lose.

The left sees Biden as too to the Center, he was not their first choice...if you look at the polls more percentage Republicans are backing Trump compare to percentage Democrats and the reason is they feel that Biden is not too to left....Biden planted comments like these to assure and win over these folks.

If Biden’s comments alienates 1% of Republicans and attracts 1% of Democrats, he wins because the 1% percentage Democrats point translates to more votes.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Lol. Tell that to Biden who wants to shutdown the oil industry worth billions of dollars.
He should go explain that to Texas, Pennsylvani, Michigan.
Biden should have just swallowed a bomb instead of saying that.
Is there any difference between Biden and Oshiomole?

I didn’t hear Biden say that, he talked about gradual phase-in to renewable energy.

The oil industry is heavily subsidized in the US, it is not standing on its own feet, whereas renewable energies are not given the same priority...Biden said, he is going to eliminate that disparity.

The oil industry in the US is on a death spiral on its own, we all know it is not going to last forever, because, but it is happening too soon. They are laying off workers at increasing paces, I have friends that work in the oil sector, some have moved to Saudi, many are looking for jobs, some are doing career transition trainings.

You don’t wait until the ship start sinking before you start mapping out future alternatives. If the US follows Trump’s lead by the time they start arriving at the renewal energy sector and taking it more serious, other countries would have gone far, own patents that could exclude US, corner international markets, etc.

Agbegbaorogboye:
Trump beat Biden like scrambled eggs.
I really enjoyed every bit
One thing i learned from this debate is that the US subsidises its oil industry.
Abeg why then are our govt here against subsidies and their zombies write articles upon articles demonizing it?

The US subsidize Oil prospecting, exploration and productions and not the finished products sold at gas stations, which is the model in Nigeria.

You can say, that subsidize at source trickledown, but it is not evident as most of it go to the stock market as dividend and buy backs and to the pockets of oil executives.

The finished product is at the mercy of each State and even municipalities where they are subjected to additional taxes, fees and surcharges to raise state and local funds for other expenditures.

Na wao oh!

How times changes, I never ever knew a day will come when those who for centuries have defended the infallibility of the Pope, will do a complete 180 and question his infallibility.

My people, the Pope is either fallible or infallible, chose one; you can’t stack your arguments on both sides of the fence.

One thing with originality thinkers is, they hold on to original thinking while at the same time ignoring obvious current day realities that do not conform to those original thoughts.

Another question, you should ask is....did God create cripples? Did he create humans having female and male body parts? Did he create humans with six fingers or six toes? Did God create sicklers? The questions are endless...for the original thinkers, if Adam nor Even had these deformities, it means God did not create these deformities.

But in current day realities, we see how people born with these deformities, they are indisputable, we identify with these facts. Agreed, there are myriad of school of thoughts how these deformities came to be, but that is not the goal of this debate...

The goal here is that, despite our near universal agreement that, God did not create these deviated human physical, biological anatomy that we can identify with today, why then are we so confident in discarding that, there may also exist other deviations like psychology & behavioral deviations that the individual experiencing them did not make up and can’t help it?

As much as I can’t go and tell a cripple man to stop being cripple and that God did not create cripple and he must stop ‘faking it’; I can’t go and tell someone who have a psychology or physiological deviation from the norm to stop ‘faking it’.

As Christians, we should approach both individuals & situations with the same love, acceptance, prayers and supplications that God will bring a change to their situation and make them all conform to his original creature without blemish and righteous before Him....especially because, there are a lot we as humans do not know and God in His infinite knowledge kept these things from us and we will be very wrong to start judging conclusively things we do not know, after all, there is a reason He said judgement belongs to Me.

kenzysmith:
oga I only peep to look who he was peeping out to report him I didn't ve any bad intention I didn't peep for long

Bros....no shaking, we are on the same page, just make sure to be truthful.

Tell her that, after the landlord finished peeing; you also peeped through the keyhole to confirm who the landlord was peeing at, so to know who to report to and that you didn’t have bad intentions plus you didn’t peep for long.

As for the rest of us, we know that there are at least two peeping Toms in that compound and they both know themselves...please, I didn’t call names, so don’t take too personal.

romunu:
You were not peeping,you only peeped to know who he was peeping,ok na

@kenzysmith, Your argument that you were not peeing, you only peed to see who your landlord was peeing at is so juvenile. It is at the same level with accusing someone of looking at you.....how did you know that, they were looking at you, if you were not looking at them?

So, assuming you want to report your landlord to the lady, are you sure you are going to tell her the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

That is, you saw your landlord peeing through the keyhole while she was having her bath and after your landlord finished peeing, you also peed through the same keyhole and saw her?

Average is relative in the US....and I don’t know what you mean by ‘one room rented apartment’.

Are you talking about shared sublet rooms or studio apartments or one bedroom apartment?

In any case, you can get a studio or one bedroom apartment in Manhattan for less than $2,000/month and that is where it is more costly.

If you prefer to save money and don’t mind commuting, you can get it for far lesser in any of the other New York City boroughs or if you cross over the Hudson to Newark or any of the cities in Essex County or the other counties sharing boundary with New York City, you can get a decent three bedroom apartment or a whole house for far less.