₦airaland Forum

Reports confirmed from NN24 has it that there has been sporadic shootings at INEC office in Abeokuta. INEC office burnt down. Can someone pls confirm this, please. This is my state and I was already celebrating the apparent sweep of change.

That will be terrible. Going by the electoral law, it's automatic cancellation.

So, after two grossly embarrassing but totally avoidable postponements, Nigerians will take to the polls in a few hours to decide their future by voting leaders who they believe will take them to the proverbial "promised land".
I have no doubt Nigerians are ready for d elections. My doubt lies in the electoral body and its chairman, who promised so much but have so far delivered little. It is my utmost wish that INEC will get it right this time. It will be a collective failure if we fail again.
The bigger problem, however, is with the electorates who are caught in a dilemma; a choice between largely underperfoming incumbents on the one hand and mostly rubbish oppositions on the other. We've almost always had that singular misfortune- Two bad choices.
Despite all these, we will still go out to perform out civic rights. Things may not be going as we've all dreamt, but we still believe things will get better.
Afterall, that's why we're Nigerians. We are born to believe,

@naijaking,
You've stil got me wrong. Pls go through my opening post, and other contributions. Nowhere did I criticise d president's mastery of english or his accent (afterall, who d hell am I, an ordinary BSc holder to critique a PHd holder!). My problem is his choice of words, especially in the full glare of d public. Pls do not forget, that as a president, he's no longer entitled to his opinion. His word must project d image of the nation. Imagine if Barack Obama were to make such statement. He would be pilloried by both Democrats n Republicans. That's d standard I want for my president, whoever he (or she) is.
Again, I did not say anything about d forthcoming elections beyond the fact that I will not vote for him. Pls ignore the temptation to compare him with the other candidates for next sat's elections on this thread, especially since it seems to precipitate further insults among supporters. There are many threads dedicated for that purpose. However, I still insist d embarrassment of d first lady has not been well managed. I learn Maryam Babangida withdrew from d public for 9 months to be "schooled". It wont be a bad idea if Patience Jonathan does d same, whether she's still in Aso Rock or not on May 30.

@kobojunkie, but dont u think not knowing any party does not mean not following politics. Every Nigerian is interested in who's contesting what post, who won what election etc. It doesnt make ur politicians, but it does mean we're followers. Got my drift?

@naijaking, obviously u've got me wrong. I'll excuse d unwarranted insults and clarify. By saying until d last 1 or 2 months i havent read any topic under Politics, i only meant the politics section on nairaland. I guess that will take care of d other insults too. Every Nigerian follows politics, so i'll be telling a lie if i say i havent been following politics before now.
Overall, I shudder with disbelief d amount of insults this thread has caused. Is there a way i can delete this thread?

@Karl Max,
Again u got it twisted. I aint complaining about GEJ's english (of course i complain about his wife's). He's a Phd holder, isnt he? My grouse is his choice of words in public arena.
@Wesley, what else can I say? You said u live in the Niger Delta. Well, now i know. Warri guys are habitually d best comedians and "yabbers". So i would be fighting a lost battle if I engage you in war of words, since i'm not schooled in that art and you're obviously very experienced.

Wesley,
Another insult. You neednt use insulting words, haba. Pls make ur point, and dont insult other posters. This is what I was trying to avoid. And I will not stoop so low as to call people names.

@karl max,
Nobody is fooling u, unless u want to be fooled. The task of nation buildin demands that nigerians, especially youths, join hands to rise above d sphere of politics and demand better from our leaders. I aint comparing GEJ with other candidates. For me, he is still the president at least till May 29. I'm not one of ur normal NL political apologists. I simply made a point in appealing that our dear president improve his public speaking. And at no point did I request that he speaks "queen's english". You should have gone through my posts before commenting, cos it does seem as though u were on auto pilot. U even dare to call someone "low-brained"! Must u lower yourself just because u want to defend ur candidate? If I knew my thread would elucide this kind of short-sighted response, I seriously doubt I would have posted it in d first place.
Nothing more to say friend. Pls look elsewhere to air ur campaign of calumny.

@karl max, 
Nobody is fooling u, unless u want to be fooled. The task of nation buildin demands that nigerians, especially youths, join hands to rise above d sphere of politics and demand better from our leaders. I aint comparing GEJ with other candidates. For me, he is still the president at least till May 29. I'm not one of your normal NL political apologists. I simply made a point in appealing that our dear president improve his public speaking. And at no point did I request that he speaks "queen's english". You should have gone through my posts before commenting, cos it does seem as though u were on auto pilot. You even had d audacity to call me "low-brained"! Must u lower yourself just because u want to defend your candidate?  If I knew my thread would elucide this kind of short-sighted response, I seriously doubt I would have posted it in d first place.
Nothing more to say friend. Pls look elsewhere to air your campaign of calumny.

When I floated this thread yesternight, little did I envisage dis myriad of responses. I've been shocked by d quality of contributions i've received. Make no mistake. Until the last 1 or 2 months, i'd never read any topic under Politics.
The position of a president is d highest position in our country, and deserves to be occupied by the best person, in terms of education, honesty, modesty, experience and what have u. I wrote somewhere yday that i was sick of making excuses for public office holders. I really do wish him well on April 9, even though i aint going to vote for him (i simply cant afford another 4 yrs of inactivity), but most of the excuses given by his supporters smack of downright idiocy. I was in a forum late friday among my peers, and we agreed the NASS elections could hold d key to our becomin a truly democratic nation, due to checks n balances. If different parties control d legislature n executive, democracy wil be better for it.
And come to think of it, at no time did I call d president any name. I only wish he's more tactful when making public statements. He's d incumbent, so we all need him at his best. At the Lagos state rally, He is reported to have said "Lagos is too important to be left in d hands of rascals". Such statements are inexcusable!
Maybe I expect too much from him, maybe i've set the bar too high. As an auditor with one of d world's Big Four, sometimes I get carried away by the high professional standard required of my profession, so anything less from public office holders is simply unacceptable for me.
In summary, his statement tells me he's got little or no regard for the legislative arm. What would he have said if it was d local govt elections that were affected? Even assuming he meant something entirely different, it still boils down to lack of tact. His office demands the highest level of caution! He should watch what he says n how he says it!
It was d same mistake he made in allowing the (very) unfortunate situation of his wife to degenerate into a national nuisance. They could have had her tutored all through d time he was deputy gov - acting gov - governor - vice pres - acting presi - president. At least 8 yrs to have discovered his wife was unfit to be a "first lady" and tactfully helped her deficiencies. Imagine if she were to have a one-on-one meeting with Michelle Obama! It's all lack of tact. And instead of making excuses for him, i wish we could all see beyond our partisanship and demand he and his team work on this very critical part of governance: public speaking.

I have just listened to President Goodluck Jonathan, and I quote him, inter alia, "luckily, it's only the parliamentary elections that were affected, "
what the hell was that? If the president of our nation could make such statement, it shows how trivial he holds the parliament.

Well, I'm sick of making excuses for public office holders. A week ago, while addressing stakeholders at a forum, Jega emphatically declared that INEC was ready for the elections. I mean, this guy was appointed like 9 months ago, and unlike many of his predecessors, he's enjoyed d confidence of d opposition and every Nigerian. We all sensed somethin good could come out of dis elections. Well, if d shabby re-election in Delta didnt arouse our doubt, today's misnomer definitely has. It seems he's just realised d enormity of d task at hand. Honestly, I really hope, for d sake of Nigerians, than things improve. Jega has failed his first real BIG test. Let's pray n hope his team gets it right. We all need him to get it right. If he fails (again), we have all failed.

Price? More interior? Engine? Looks tite on the outside. Should be a bargain

There was never a time Fashola called Pa Randle a criminal. He merely said it was a criminal case. Two different things. For example, if your house is robbed by armed robbers,and you take the robbers to court, it'll be said you're involved in a criminal case. Doesn't make you a criminal.

The Lagos guber debate, while confirming the dearth of quality opposition, also led credence to the belief that PDP will never capture Lagos. How on earth could they have presented Dosumu? So PDP, after 8yrs, still cannot source for someone who will give ACN a good fight for their money.for me, it was the key learning point from the debate. PDP has lost it. Dosumu? That guy did nothing at the debate to win extra votes.
He also said he wasn't aware of any court injunction preventing him from campaigning. The following day, the court ruled that he was free to continue his campaign and he celebrated it, 24hrs after claiming he was ignorant of the earlier injunction. Governor indeed!

Ozin
I'm sorry if bored u with my "sermon", and nowhere did I say you should or should not vote GEJ. It's ur human right to vote whoever u like, however, phoney the reason is. But humor me, what do u think GEJ (read: PDP) has done to solve any of our problesms?

Well, going by his anteceDEnts, I learnt he's very thorough and strict, but with a poor human rights record.

I still dont know who I'll vote as the president. However, what I do know is I WILL NOT vote for GEJ. I am simply not ready for another 4 years of inactivity. There seems to be too many people who have vested interest in him becoming president that he cannot but do their bidding.
It is also an insult on the educated Nigerians like me for someone to advise me to vote for GEJ because "he is divinely ordained to be the president". WHY? Because of the Deputy Gov - Acting Gov - Governor -Vice President - Acting President - President gimmick. What Cheap!

As for the PDP, I find it grossly annoying that a party that has ruled me for 12years without solving our most basic economic problem, Power supply, is now asking for another 4 years to solve it. Are we really naive in this part of the world Havent we given this party enough chance to right the wrong, only to be repeatedly failed. Will magic will happen in 4 years that could not happened in 12 years. Let us at least give another party a chance. Especially if another person seems to have a clearer idea on how to solve our mire of problems.

"A mad man is someone that does the same thing the same way every time and expects to get different result".

Last week I made a decision to vote another candidate (apart from PDP) for the presidency and PDP for the governorship in Lagos if their candidate can convince me. Well, yesterday I had the chance to hear him (Dosumu) speak. But i was greatly disappointed. He simply doesnt have it. which, sadly, is a reflection of the PDP accross most of the states: shocking lack of know-how! So i'm going for BRF once again. As for the presidency, I await the presidential campaign, minus GEJ.

Fashola WON the debate, of course, and by some distance too. He kept addressing issues. My worry is that none of his opponents proffered any solution to the mire of problems bedevilling Lagosians. They showed they were ignorant and inconsistent with the issues of the day. The greatest culprit was of course The PDP candidate who i hadn’t heard speak before so I was interested in what he had to say. But he failed spectacularly like his predecessor, Koro, in attacking the incumbent and failing to answer any of the questions asked. Any question like "what will you do to improve the road network in Lagos" was met by "This Lagos state govt has mismanaged our economy and looted the treasury". Is that a reasonable reply to such question? Fashola did what an incumbent would normally do in a democracy; used his achievement as a platform for his arguments. the burden of proof is then left on the challengers to proffer better alternatives.

This is why I cannot understand Mr Goodluck. Why not subject himself to a live debate where his own points would be what he HAS done while others will be saying what they WILL do. Except that he has not done anything in One year.
And pls stop this Deputy gov - acting gov-Governor - Vice President - acting president-President gimmick as a reason we should vote for GEJ it's simply an insult on the intelligence of millions of educated Nigerians like me. We need more than Goodluck; we need a president who can and will perform.

For the PDP, if they cannot solve our power problem in 12 years, how can they convince us they can do so in 4 years? I wonder.

Fashola did very well of course, and by some distance too. He kept addressing issues. my worry is that none of his opponents proffered any solution to the mire of problems bedevilling Lagosians. They showed they were ignorant and inconsistent with the issues of the day. The greatest culprit was of course The PDP candidate who i hadn’t heard speak before so I was interested in what he had to say. But he failed spectacularly like his predecessor, Koro, in attacking the incumbent and failing to answer any of the questions asked. Any question like "what will you do to improve the road network in Lagos" was met by "This Lagos state govt has mismanaged our economy and looted the treasury". Is that a reasonable reply to such question? Fashola did what an incumbent would normally do in a democracy; used his achievement as a platform for his arguments. the burden of proof is then left on the challengers to proffer better alternatives.

This is why I cannot understand Mr Goodluck. Why not subject himself to a live debate where his own points would be what he HAS done while others will be saying what they WILL do. Except that he has not done anything in One year.
And pls stop this Deputy gov - acting gov-Governor - Vice President - acting president-President gimmick as a reason we should vote for GEJ it's simply an insult on the intelligence of millions of educated Nigerians like me. We need more than Goodluck; we need a president who can and will perform.

For the PDP, if they cannot solve our power problem in 12 years, how can they convince us they can do so in 4 years? I wonder.

Fashola of course, and by some distance too. He kept addressing issues. my worry is that none of his opponents proffered any solution to the mire of problems bedevilling Lagosians. They showed they were ignorant and inconsistent with the issues of the day. The greatest culprit was of course The PDP candidate who i hadn’t heard speak before so I was interested in what he had to say. But he failed spectacularly like his predecessor, Koro, in attacking the incumbent and failing to answer any of the questions asked. Any question like "what will you do to improve the road network in Lagos" was met by "This Lagos state govt has mismanaged our economy and looted the treasury". Is that a reasonable reply to such question? Fashola did what an incumbent would normally do in a democracy; used his achievement as a platform for his arguments. the burden of proof is then left on the challengers to proffer better alternatives.

This is why I cannot understand Mr Goodluck. Why not subject himself to a live debate where his own points would be what he HAS done while others will be saying what they WILL do. Except that he has not done anything in One year.
And pls stop this Deputy gov - acting gov-Governor - Vice President - acting president-President gimmick as a reason we should vote for GEJ it's simply an insult on the intelligence of millions of educated Nigerians like me. We need more than Goodluck; we need a president who can and will perform.

For the PDP, if they cannot solve our power problem in 12 years, how can they convince us they can do so in 4 years? I wonder.

Fashola of course, and by some distance too. He kept addressing issues. my worry is that none of his opponents proffered any solution to the mire of problems bedevilling Lagosians. They showed they were ignorant and inconsistent with the issues of the day. The greatest culprit was of course The PDP candidate who i hadn’t heard speak before so I was interested in what he had to say. But he failed spectacularly like his predecessor, Koro, in attacking the incumbent and failing to answer any of the questions asked. Any question like "what will you do to improve the road network in Lagos" was met by "This Lagos state govt has mismanaged our economy and looted the treasury". Is that a reasonable reply to such question? Fashola did what an incumbent would normally do in a democracy; used his achievement as a platform for his arguments. the burden of proof is then left on the challengers to proffer better alternatives.

This is why I cannot understand Mr Goodluck. Why not subject himself to a live debate where his own points would be what he HAS done while others will be saying what they WILL do. Except that he has not done anything in One year.
And pls stop this Deputy gov - acting gov-Governor - Vice President - acting president-President gimmick as a reason we should vote for GEJ it's simply an insult on the intelligence of millions of educated Nigerians like me. We need more than Goodluck; we need a president who can and will perform.

For the PDP, if they cannot solve our power problem in 12 years, how can they convince us they can do so in 4 years? I wonder.

The time has come as Nigerians to address politics as sensible and patriotic citizens. This time last year, I was seen as a fool among colleagues at work anytime I argued that the PDP should give GEJ the chance to rule this country, He's young, he's energetic and his hands arent soiled of corruption. Well, looking back now, i realise they were right: I was a fool. This guys has done practically nothing to improve my life, 12 months after. I do care who our president is come May 2011, but by all means I pray it's not GEJ I am simply not ready for another 48 months of inactivity and dumbass (un)governance). the same promises he made last May, he's making now. Electricity,  healthcare, etc, none achieved. It's an insult on people like me for PDP to have 12 years of (mis)rule and not provide solution to our single biggest economic problem:Power supply. Has ayone gone through the 2011 budget?that's d ultimate! billions of naira to renovate the VP's kitchen, buy "operational" vehicles, etc.   It's absurb!
My belief is that even if GEJ wants to really do things to help the masses, there are too many people with vested interest in his becoming the president that he just cannot afford to do it. We need a clean break from all these. And definitely it's not PDP, the party that celebrated the return of a jailer looter in grand style, that will do this.

Believe me when i say this, this is about the most sensible offer i’ve seen on this site. Easily the best. Assuming there are no hidden secrets. Wish i could fast-forward to July when i intend getting ma ride. Nice one man and happy selling

for your mind. 1.1M for a manual of this ride. even a toks auto goes for less than a mill. sorry bro, but i really do think u need to down ur price.
The car is xtremely neat though

David Luiz to chelsea appears back on track and could well go through in the next hour. watch this space

So Luiz Suarez finally joined liverpool for £23. He will wear the no 7 shirt

Well, let's roll as we say goodbye to another transfer window that moved at thye speed of snail only to pick up at the last hew hours:

Confirmed stories first.::::::

1. Andy Caroll off to Liverpool for £35m. There, he will partner Luiz "handball" Suarez, what an attack.

2. You all know what's coming next, It's official, Liverpool have accepted a bid (of a full £50m) from Chelsea for star striker Fernando 'El Nino' Torres. He's been given permission to talk with the London club.

3. In Italy, Legrotagglie has left Juventus for Milan (Are they crazy?)

4. Juventus signed Alensandro Matri, a midfielder

Hi Bizbooks,
Great Threat. Even greater response to inquiries.
kindly send pix ASAP to mcgboye@gmail.com

The amount (to the nearest $100) that will get each car to Lagos, including all associated costs.
It wouldnt hurt if you could connect me to a clearing agent that can help me with the clearing, someone you've done biz with and can recommend.

Thanks again guy

Ok. But pls do leave a message as soon as it's available. Cheers

Hey man,
called your guy earlier as per the white Bold 2, but he sounded not sure if it was still available. promised to call me back, but didnt.
can i still get the phone? like 4pm tomorro.

and why do you put your BB pin online put dont reply to questions on ur PING?

@ timmie002, seems you are no longer in this BB skin thIng. pls confirm so i can move in.