₦airaland Forum

Great man of God of our time

Mujtahida:
Remove my moniker from this group or whatever you call it. Cheers

Please remove my username from your trail, messages, everything

You got the gist well. That's exactly what is happening.
Most of the local management end up being your countrymen

Aol360:
Make God help us for this country. Most multinationals makes the highest market share here in Nigeria but they wont give you the best package as compared with their counterparts around the world. They leverage on the country minimum wage to cheat us.

Most atimes, Management deliberately cheat Local staffs so as to yearly declare excessive profit when their workers suffers.

That's why you see people working in some(not all though) multinationals are always marveled when they see what others earn in the same company outside Nigeria. It is true that cost of � running business is high in Nigeria and economic variation but even at that, make your employees live well as compared to their colleagues on the other side.

Chukwudi Akasike, Port Harcourt

Some sacked oil workers, who were formerly with multinational company, Baker Hughes Nigeria Limited, took to the streets on earlier in the week to protest an alleged non-payment of the severance/redundancy packages since they were relieved of their jobs.

The ex-oil workers, who were over 300, stood for about two hours at the gate of the National Industrial Court in Port Harcourt, where they had instituted a case against their former company over the development.

The ex-oil workers lamented that the management of the company had unduly served them with redundancy letter without paying them their packages.



They claimed that the firm did not follow Nigerian Constitution before laying them off, adding that some of them had served the firm for 10 years before they were sacked.

Some of the inscriptions on the sacked oil workers’ placards read ‘Baker Hughes, pay us like Congo, Gabon, Chad, Cameroun’, ‘We make 60 percent market share in Nigeria’, ‘Please, pay us our redundancy package’ and ‘Baker Hughes, Nigerian employees are the leaders in the geo-market’.

One of them (protesters), who identified himself as Lawson, explained that having served the company for 16 years, he was surprised that he could laid off unceremoniously.

Lawson stated that most of those sacked by the company could no longer cater for themselves and their families as a result of the non-payment of their severance packages.

“We were all employed and everybody contributed to the success and growth of the company. We contributed in different ways to make sure that the company succeeded in Nigeria.

“At a stage, the company did everything possible and was able to proscribe union. The company forced us into what is called individual contract. Our worry is that we were forced to resign.

“Anybody who refused to sign that contract would be laid off. Because of the country that we are operating, you are not very sure if you would lose your job, you are going to get another one. So, we were forcefully made to sign the contract.

“In that contract, you were not told that there would be anything like redundancy in the first place. The contract did not state that. One day, the management just got up and said they were going to lay us off.

“We know that any company operating in any country would operate under the laws of the land. If there should be any redundancy, there is an act covering it, which means that before they can lay off anybody, the employee and the employer would have to have a negotiation.

“The two parties would agree so that it is well spelt out on the terms and the amount to be paid. Again, a representative from the Ministry of Labour has to be there. Baker Hughes didn’t do all these. They just started laying people off without following due process,” Lawson added.

Similarly, another former worker that was also laid off, John Ofoegbu, told newsmen that he was working when a letter came from the management of the company, directing him to leave the firm’s premises.

“I had worked for Baker Hughes for eight years. We are here in court to seek redress for the ill-treatment that was meted out on us by a company we loved so much.

“We expected them to obey the laws of the land. They should adhere to the laws of Nigeria. The Labour law states that there are steps to be taken before laying off a worker,” Ofoegbu added.

However, the National Industrial Court sitting in Port Harcourt adjourned the 277 suits filed before it by the disengaged workers of Baker Hughes Nigeria Limited till December 4, 2017, for hearing of preliminary objections by the firm, who is the defendant.

Justice Ibrahim Awal, who presided over the matter, also adjourned till November 13, 2017, 14 separate suits filed before it by widows of deceased workers, who died after being laid off by the firm.

The angry workers had approached the industrial court to prevail on the oil company to pay their redundancy package, which they put at over N13 billion.

http://punchng.com/sacked-oil-workers-protest-unpaid-severance-packages-in-rivers/

A divorcee, Hajara Usman, on Monday sued her former husband before an Upper Area Court in Karu, Abuja for stopping her from re-marrying.

Usman, residing in Asokoro, Abuja told the court that she got married to one Adamu Abdullahi in 2011 but that they got divorced through Islamic way in 2016.

She said that while the marriage lasted, Abdullahi tortured her at the slightest provocation.

“My parents actually forced me to marry him. I never loved him and when I got into the marriage, I discovered that Abdullahi was ill-tempered.

“He usually beats me up whenever he is angry and his parents and mine warned him severally to stop it but he did not heed their advice.’’

Usman said that Abdullahi divorced her in November 2016, compelling her to leave his house immediately after pronouncing `divorce’ three times in line with Islamic injunction.

“I have long observed my compulsory Idah (waiting) period but my ex-husband has refused to allow me to marry other suitors coming for me.’’

She told the court that having finished observing the waiting period, two men had at different times indicated interest to marry her.

Usman said that the moment her former husband got wind of her wedding plans and the ceremony that followed, he came to the venue and disrupted the ceremony.

“ In April this year, the man who first indicated interest to marry me came to perform the wedding rites, my ex-husband sent a group of boys to disrupt the ceremony.

“ On another occasion, when he heard I was about to re-marry, he way-laid me and beat me up so much that I had to plead with him.

“On the day he beat me, he said he was beating me so that no man would desire me since I decided to move on and re-marry almost immediately.”

She pleaded with the court to compel her former husband to explain why he would not want her to re-marry because his actions had discouraged her suitors.

Usman also pleaded with the court to divorce her and Abdullahi formally and legally, saying that she no longer had interest in Abdullahi.

“ I want the court to issue us a divorce certificate and restrain him from coming close to me,’’ Usman pleaded.

Reacting to the statement of his former wife, Abdullahi, who also resides in Asokoro, said that it was true that they were no longer married.

He said that his grouse was that his former wife came to the court to tell lies against him.

“ Since I divorced her, according to the tenets of our religion, I had nothing to do with her.

“I have avoided her and her family because the marriage was arranged between our parents and we were never meant for each other,’’ he said.

The Nigerian Pilot reports that the estranged couple has no child from the marriage.

The Judge, Mr Abdullahi Baba, adjourned the matter until Nov. 1 for the plaintiff to come to court with at least two persons, who witnessed the disruption of her marriage rites.

Baba said that a divorce certificate would be issued to the parties at the completion of the case since there was no more love between them and they had also been living apart.

He, however, urged the parties to maintain peace since they lived in the same neighbourhood.

http://nigerianpilot.com/woman-sues-ex-husband-for-refusing-her-to-re-marry/

Sometimes people we argue with on Nairaland are kids, young enough to be our children.

Please let's stop poisoning our children with formula (cow milk). Exclusive breastfeeding gives your baby the best start all through life. Bikonu

BudeYahooCom:
Your muslim anti-Igbo ewedu-dripping mouth can cry to Allah 100 times the truth remains that Olaudah in his book made it very clear he is Eboe (Igbo) without leaving a shred of doubt, he only passed through benin enroute to slavery. We know you this but can't live with the fact that the great Igbo man is being celebrated globally due to your prehistoric envy. Pls die if you want to.

Fact number 1.
He translated his name Ikwuano (Equiano) Olaudah (which mean loud voice in Igbo). What does Olaudah mean in Edo or yoruba (as you would like to claim by extension)?

Fact 2
He mentioned 'Esseke' which is a town actually spelt Iseke in Ihiala local government area Anambra of today. I am from Ihiala and today a 45 minute drive from Ihiala will get you into the region that was the old benin empire. You see the proximity?

Fact 3
In his book, he mentioned our Igbo for market days as 'Oye' (Orie) 'Ukwo' (Nkwo) 'Ah-for' (Afor) 'Ekeh' (Eke). Where does benin come in here?

Cry till you die, grit your muslim teeth till you quench with hate. Everyone knows Olaudah remain IGBO as every true historian knows. Bitter pill for you right?

Nice treatise. Olaudah Equino is from Isseke in Ihiala. His name could also mean Ola-edo (gold bangle), Equino could be a corruption of Ekwealuo (Ekweanuo in Anambra dialect)

Tamass:
I get your point very well and thats so uncalled for but the military claimed they never engaged in the exercise

They know the atmosphere is tense, what are they moving from school to school to do? No matter how noble their intentions are, it is a very wrong timing.

In the US, they helped hurricane victims. Military can help in flooded homes here in Port Harcourt, clear blocked drainage etc. People will appreciate that more

deomelo:
The fact that you are rejecting vaccination that was never offered, was never given and that you can not even prove with facts was given to school children is still a reflection of your collective, societal and communal illiteracy ignorance, stupidity and illiteracy.

Seems you can't comprehend a simple post. I have vaccination schedule for my kids, including ones not covered for free. I wonder the extra vaccination they would give my kids at school? School general immunization is meant for illiterate communities. I can't just allow any immunization on my children when I already have a schedule covering needed vaccinations

I have children in nursery / primary school. Once my son came back with evidence of immunization at school. I had to warn school management not to administer any vaccination to him again. This happened more than two years ago.

I personally vaccinate my children in the hospital or health centers. They have cards and schedules. Most people of Southern extraction inoculate their children same way.

Refusal of Military immunization is not illiteracy. It's even more dangerous now we can't trust the President
and his military.

We wouldn't mind our depth profile rising if we're as developed as those countries. We borrow to steal, that's just the difference

coolestchris:
ok

top debtors in the world
*List of countries by external debt in us dollars*
1 United States 18,624,000,000,00
2 United Kingdom 7,852,460,000,000
3 France 5,369,125,000,000
4 Germany 5,141,400,000,000
5 Netherlands 4,306,190,000,000
6 Luxembourg 3,900,665,000,000
7 Japan 3,516,200,000,000
8 Italy 2,324,420,000,000
9 Ireland 2,236,430,000,000
10 Spain 2,036,560,000,000
11 Canada 1,775,920,000,000
12 Switzerland 1,738,370,000,000
13 China 1,562,800,000,000
— Hong Kong 1,498,880,000,000
14 Australia 1,487,720,000,000
15 Singapore 1,320,567,000,000
16 Belgium 1,278,465,000,000
17 Sweden 938,692,000,000
18 Austria 638,340,000,000
19 Norway 623,223,000,000
20 Brazil 538,693,000,000
21 Russia 532,846,000,000
22 Denmark 491,617,000,000
23 Finland 483,369,000,000
24 India 471,852,000,000
25 Greece 471,763,000,000
26 Portugal 447,022,000,000
27 Turkey 432,352,000,000
28 Mexico 431,344,000,000
29 South Korea 407,341,000,000
30 Poland 363,658,000,000
31 Indonesia 335,289,000,000
32 United Arab Emirates 220,400,000,000
33 Malaysia 202,572,000,000
34 Saudi Arabia 200,900,000,000
35 Argentina 192,462,000,000
36 Mauritius 189,220,000,000
37 New Zealand 186,216,000,000
38 Chile 170,293,000,000
— Taiwan 170,138,000,000
— Puerto Rico 167,400,000,000
39 Kazakhstan 165,501,000,000
40 Qatar 159,200,000,000
41 Hungary 148,024,000,000
42 South Africa 142,833,000,000
43 Thailand 140,510,000,000
44 Czech Republic 137,606,000,000
45 Colombia 121,097,200,000
46 Cyprus 119,672,000,000
47 Ukraine 114,836,000,000
48 Venezuela 110,878,000,000
49 Romania 108,880,000,000
50 Malta 96,251,300,000
51 Israel 89,438,400,000
52 Slovakia 86,630,000,000
53 Pakistan 82,980,700,000
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_external_debt

prinsoo:
A sister of mine was diagnosed of Hepatitis C. And the result was positive. She was told by the Doctor that it doesn't has cure. Please kindly offer your Help/Advise if any. Thanks

Yes, it has a cure.

Drug name : Sofosbuvir

In the US but freaking expensive. Please ignore all these quack spammers looking to dupe you. Will find links to the research. Read article below if looking for a cure. There other cheaper treatments but does not necessarily lead to a cure. These other treatments can be got from our teaching hospitals. The cure below :

" FEBRUARY 08, 2017
Laurie Toich, Assistant Editor

The high cost of hepatitis C virus (HCV) drugs has caused significant financial strain for patients and the health care system. These drugs cost as much as $95,000 for a 12-week treatment, but carry a 90% or better cure rate, which many believe justifies the cost.

While some insurers have implemented cost containment strategies to prevent early stage patients from receiving the treatment, lawsuits have been filed challenging the ethics of these practices.

Lawmakers are now struggling to create legislation that will provide these patients with the treatments they need, but a majority of proposals do not gain traction, according to a report published by Mediware.

Sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) received FDA approval in 2013, and was the first drug deemed safe and effective without interferon. It was also the first approved curative treatment for HCV.

No previous treatments resulted in a sustained virologic response, which made sofosbuvir a highly sought-after drug. Gilead Sciences priced the treatment at $1000 per pill, making the total cost of the treatment $84,000.

Gilead then combined sofosbuvir with a new drug, ledipasvir, to create the even more effective combination treatment, Harvoni. Harvoni’s total treatment cost is $94,500 for a 12-week regimen.

"
http://www.pharmacytimes.com/resource-centers/hepatitisc/will-hepatitis-c-virus-medicaton-costs-drop-in-the-years-ahead

BreezyCB:
The ting goes Skrrrat!
Pap pap ka ka ka!
Skidiki pap pap!
And a pu pu drrrr boom!
SKYAAA!

Lol

Monkey pox resolves within 2-4 weeks. Again, it weakens the body that they won't be able to be going to the Church the way you described. There are many other skin diseases that may be affecting your neighbors.

Philip Morris why waste almost $1B on the foundation when you can simply stop making cigarettes altogether?

Lol. E don start

Confused977:
Good afternoon everyone here. I have been an ardent of this forum so, I felt it wouldn't be bad to bare my heart here as I know I'd surely get an advice that will make me see clearer. Please bear with me as I am not very perfect when it comes to expressing my self in writing. Pls pardon my write-up should you see it as too long. I just want to bare it all so one can know what to tell me. Thanks.

HI dear, I would advise you continue with your entrepreneurship skills and also get your HND.

Abroad traveling can expose you to prostitution, most times it's a trap.

Better than today. Chai. See how neat and arranged. Environment alone will make you feel better. What's actually wrong with us in Nigeria? Can't we do anything with selflessness and true service to humanity?

Everything must be done through contract and kick back. Righteousness exalts a nation, sin is a reproach to any people. You reap what you sow. We've sown corruption, unfairness, stepping on people's rights. How do we progress?

We need to repent and go back to God

Abagworo:
There is nothing relating the Howard Stern show video with anything trafficking. Howard Stern rather referred to her as a shy virgin. I think attempt by IPOB to frame the lady has already failed.

Obi1kenobi:
Still coming up with the same shiit again and again. Nobody has "legalised" anything she did. We've simply pointed out your human trafficking claims are unfounded and you keep on parroting the same nonsense again and again. If she trafficked people in the US, she would not have spent 4 months in prison. It's a very serious offence and the punishment for that is 10 years to life imprisonment. Stop foaming in the mouth over your own lies. You don't give a fucckk about her crime. It's clear your only purpose here was to tribalise the issue. You could have just written the normal NCAN nonsense rather than boring us with your fake self-righteousness.

carzeem1:
Im yoruba and would advise you to tone down your hate because u never knw what life might throw at you. Its been rightly pointed to you that your accusation about human trafficking is wrong and baseless. What happened is long past and dont ever be a judge of anyone, what ever religious divide you find urself emphasizes forgiveness, love and only God been sinless.

Don't mind the imposter. Better ignore him, seems to be enjoying the mentions. No solution for his ignorance now .

Seeking for cheap attention

Adebowale89:
so? does that make it any better? you guys won't stop to amaze me with your unruly conviction

It makes it a lot better, unless u tell me u are without sin. I only pointed out that she did not commit atrocities against humanity as u alleged. She sinned like every other person, u have no right to judge her . Go fix your wretched life and come back to judge her

Adebowale89:
for the fact that she's Igbo then her inhumane character against humanity is justify according to what her kinsmen are posting up there


human trafficking is a deadly social problem in the world. its cruel, weird and uncalled for. why should a sane man justify such crimes, with what she was sworn in to be doing to her constituency?


no wonder you people had bad leaders, so far they're giving you stipends, their crimes would be protected and harboured



the only different btw u people and Hausas is just a little thing

Seems you obviously don't know the meaning of human trafficking. In human trafficking , young girls/children are recruited, shipped to another location and forced into sex, forced labour or for organ harvesting . This common in Italy, Dubai etc. She would have landed in lengthy jail in US if she's involved in human trafficking.

What she ran was escort services and high class prostitution which is illegal in the US , though legal in some countries. She used models and made a fortune on the services. Nobody was alleged forced, so it's not human trafficking.

She ran escort services website as far back as 1990s. This is akin to our university students following politicians. Normally someone arranges for these students for politicians. They are paid and everyone parts. That's prostitution, not human trafficking.

lereinter:
this is perversion
you mean she emulating rahab and mary magdalene

If she's repented, I see nothing wrong. We're all sinners. Remember a repented Mary Magdalene was closer to God than the Pharisees that never committed any major sin but lacked love in their hearts. God is love. Let's quit judging

Afikpo chic ran upscale escort service in New York according to reports. If she continued in Nigeria, I'm not aware. If she truly repented as part of her plea bargain (she was jailed only 4 months), then I see nothing wrong.

She's a smart and likable person, loved by her people. As a Christian, some notable people in Bible were prostitutes - Rahab, Mary Magdalene. However they had a heart of gold. Unless you have evidence of her still running prostitution ring, free her please.


I would rather vote her than your hypocritical politicians.

Good thing - she's not denying. Escort services is even legal in some parts of Europe and Australia.

Let her be.

Why should ppl be killing themselves about these woman's past ? What she's representing today is more important than her past. Whoever that hasn't sinned should cast the first stone.

She's a strong and energetic woman

Trial - facing difficult conditions which could include temptation. Paul faced trials while preaching, from insults, imprisonment, poverty, shipwreck etc. These are trials that can make someone give up on his goals

Temptation - being in a position to sin. Joseph's temptation by portipha's wife. Judas tempted with money to sell his master. Urge to drink or smoke is a temptation, definitely not trial for example.

WetinConsignMe:
U never said how you will keep Niger Delta and then Lagos, etc from seceeding.

Thanks for sharing the copied write-up. It is technically informative but otherwise full of fallacies, misinformation, and highly unrealistic. So many fallacies that one does not know where to start. Here are just some:

1) There are some 200 countries in the world yet almost all social media and information technology innovations are from one country, USA, and then from one state in USA, California. Most of the other places don't have oil either, yet they have nothing like silicon valley or Hollywwod. So clearly lack of oil is not what drove California.

2) That if we experiment and remove oil money from places like Kaduna and others they may produce Stanford university and silicon valley. We already have the answer: Chad. Those states will simply become dirt poor like Chad.

3) That in USA federal govt gets its money from states. Wrong. It actually GIVES money to the states. It gets it's money from individuals and corporations through federal taxes. The idea of filling a tax form is quite strange to the average Nigerian, something normal to Americans.

4) Nigeria already has wealth. Nigeria's problem is not gerating wealth. So even if removing oil helps generate wealth (which it won't) the wealth generated will still do us no good as long as the underlying.corruption and mismanagement are still there.

5) The universities the writer mentioned are PRIVATE universities. They have little to do with govt and restructuring.

In short the writer is comparing apples anf oranges. US and Nigeria are on completely different tracks.

In the United States, federal government sponsors certain state agencies eg health, education etc. States do not wait for federal government to pay their staff and government salary. States are not dependent on federal government.

Soon oil will be irrelevant. Coal already almost irrelevant due to carbon emissions. Restructuring will end agitation. Most food we eat come from the north. Why would South want to import it if they easily get it in one nation. Again, northern Nigeria won't be like Chad. Oil mining will be heavily taxed, eg 40 - 50%. Then other companies tax coming from Lagos, Niger delta etc. Federal government can directly invest in these states to improve their well-being.

It's a matter of time, if Nigeria is not properly restructured, people will pull out the right way. Nnamdi Kanu's method was full of insult. Imagine where where all niger delta reps /governors present to Senate and presidency that their people want to pull from the union? That would be a legitimate cause devoid of insult or use of force.

So think about it. It is better we do the right thing now. It is only a matter of time

There's no oil in my town but if we must succeed, oil cannot be in exclusive list. There could be an arrangement where oil is weaned from other states over say five years. 100%, 80%, 60%...0%. Once states know that oil money won't come and is gradually declining, they would sit up. In fact states should fund FG not the other way round. Remember federal government can bail out struggling states through direct sponsor of education, health etc in such states but not as allocation. Read this submission below :

California is the 6th largest economy in the World. It's economy is larger than that of France or Brazil. The little problem is that California is not a Country. It is a State in the United States of America (USA). It has little offshore oil, yet its economy is larger than States in the US that are famous for their oil reserves, like Texas.

California generates much of its revenue from non-oil products. It found a way to absorb and domesticate much of the intellectual output from its Premier University, Stanford University, into saleable products within its economy.
As a matter of fact, much of California's economy is built around Stanford University. So with this, Silicon Valley developed. I'm sure you've heard of Silicon Valley at least once in your life. Now with Silicon Valley came Companies like Apple, eBay, Cisco, Lockheed, Hewlett Packard (HP), Google, Netflix, Facebook, Oracle, Tesla...and the list goes on and on ad infinitum. These are multibillion-dollar companies. The yearly budget of any one of these companies might be larger than the entire yearly budget of, say for example, Akwa Ibom State. I'm taking about companies that are richer than countries. They are all in California. But that is just in the technology industry where the technologies and inventions spewing out of Stanford are caught midair and converted to money spinning enterprises.

But there is also the entertainment industry in California. Yes, Hollywood is in California. The US movies industry contributes about $504Billion to USA's GDP. Hollywood, as you know, contributes over 70% of that figure. Most iconic movie studios are in Hollywood. As a matter of fact, the "Big Eight" consisting of 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer), Paramount Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, United Artists, Universal Studios and Warner Bros are, or were, all in Hollywood. These again, are multi-billion dollar companies generating revenue for California.

Despite the above, California also thrives on agriculture. As at 2014, California had nothing less than 77,000 farms and ranches raking in about $55Billion in revenue yearly. It produces over 400 agricultural commodities, a large chunk of which it exports. It is the leader in producing exotic fruits in America. Its wine industry is unique. California wine is drunk with relish the world over. I used to drink some too.
This is just one State in America. You see, California actually had a choice of sitting back and striving to get a piece of the revenue generated from Texas' oil. It could have depended solely on Federal allocation to survive so that every month end, it will send its Commissioner of Finance to Washington DC to receive monthly allocation so that it can barely pay salaries of its workers and nothing more. Then San Francisco would resemble Ajegunle in Lagos. And there certainly would not be those beautiful sights and sounds that make California what it is today. But No, not California. Not America. California gives to the center and, because of its wealth, despises the idea of depending on it for survival. The Federal Government actually needs California to survive, not the other way round.

You see, America is structured in such a way that States must look inwards to exploit their wealth for the good of its citizens. There is no free lunch for the lazy States. There certainly is no commonwealth. But there is your wealth, if you can create it. Under American Federalism, you are the captain of your ship. But again, you are also the waves upon which the ship will sail. That is America. The local government, the government closest to the grassroot, is deliberately made the strongest level of government. Items like Variances (adaptation of state law to local conditions,) Public works (yes, public works!!), Contracts for public works, Licensing of public accommodations, Assessable improvements, Basic public services are all left for Local County governments to handle. The State handles weightier matters like Property Law, Education, Commerce Laws of Ownership and Exchange, Banking and Credit Laws, Labour Law and Professional Licensure, Insurance Laws, and Electoral Laws, including Parties and Civil Service Laws. Items that the Federal Government, the center, handles affecting the States, are actually very negligible.

Nigeria on the contrary will never do well unless we restructure. We pretend to have a Federal system but we are actually operating a unique form of unitary government, and it is weighing the polity down. Can you imagine a country where the School Curriculum is regulated by a national central body and states have no powers to vary or amend their curriculum? So, if the rest of the developed world is light years ahead in what they teach their children from primary schools, and our Minister of Education has absolutely no clue, the States must be burdened with antiquated School Curriculum until such a time (if we are lucky, before rapture perhaps!!) that we have an Education Minister who would realise how far behind we are and bring the Curriculum up to date. Just take a look at the Science Curriculum for grade students in advanced countries and you would cry for Nigeria. I recently read of a High School in Japan which has amended its Curriculum to include Robotics and Drones Technology. IN HIGH SCHOOL!! But our Professors here don't have a hang on Robotics even! Students are still taught the very prehistoric rudiments of Physics and Chemistry in our Schools. And this is even in the few schools that teachers and students still meet in the classrooms! For the few Public Schools that are lucky to have Laboratories, all you see are miserable nameless creatures trapped in formalin, to which nobody ever pays attention. These creatures suffer a double jeopardy having suffered the first misfortune of being caught and preserved in formalin in Nigeria, and then thereafter completely ignored, even in death! And because the control of our Curriculum is central, there is nothing States can do about this.

You would think this is not a problem until you understand that Nigerians spend over ONE TRILLION NAIRA every year to study abroad. You see, the reason why you have Cambridge, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Oxford, etc is not only for academic excellence of the citizens of the countries which have these schools. No. They invest in their institutions so that they can earn revenue from foreign students from countries like Nigeria which has destroyed its educational system. Abroad, schools are so important to society that the economy, business and lifestyle of whole cities and even States completely depend on or revolve around Schools. What would the city of Cambridge be without Cambridge University. Or Cambridge, Massachusetts without Harvard University. These cities depend on these Universities to survive. And imagine that Nigeria had invested in its Universities and was earning $1Billion dollars a year from foreign students seeking to study here, who would be fighting over oil in the Niger Delta? How many car manufacturing companies would we have in Owerri near the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO) where students are constantly doing and selling their research products to burgeoning engineering and manufacturing companies? Recently, three students in Sweden conducted research and came up with a product that could improve wear and tear on tyres. The product became so successful that Volvo had to partner with these students to patent the product. Now when this product hit world stage, can you imagine how much revenue Sweden would earn from these product? Do your research, most of the World-class products we buy today off the shelf, at great cost, were invented by University Students. As you are reading this, do not forget that without Harvard University, there would not have been Facebook, and this our interface would have been impossible.

But our Students in Nigeria are not entirely without inventions. We invented the Pyrates Confraternity, the , the Eiye, the Vikings and what not!! Students resume school with guns and bullets, rather than books and scholastic ideas, as though academic institutions were a War College. Lecturers fly colors as do students. And when the turf war begins, people die in droves. But States can do nothing about this because some of these institutions are controlled by the Federal Government. Even for the ones controlled by States, you still can't do much because the security apparatus is controlled by the Federal Government. The Federal Government will provide or withdraw Security from the State, depending on whether it is happy with the sitting Governor. So every year, all sorts of characters are vomited from Nigerian Universities to take their place in Nigerian Society. So you have Judges, Lawyers, Engineers, Doctors and so forth whose first and primary allegiance is to their Cult group, before the Country. The multiplier effect of this, is a treatise for another day.

But suffice to say that as long as this problem persist, let's forget about Silicon Valley in Nigeria, because there will never be a Stanford University here to provide an infinite supply of ideas and prodigies to feed the invention value-chain!

Nigeria cannot wake up from its slumber today because it cannot lift its head. The entire weight of its existence is concentrated in its head. From the viewpoint of government, the weight is in Abuja. From the viewpoint of revenue source, the weight is in the Niger-Delta. We need to urgently restructure and evenly distribute this pressure points and weights to diffuse tension in Nigeria.

We need to revisit the exclusive legislative list in the Constitution and systematically reduce the responsibilities of the Federal Government vis-a-vis the States. Resources have to be handed back to the States that generated them but place an obligation on each States to contribute an agreed percentage to the common federal purse to service obligations of the Federal Government. There is no reason Education, Policing, Prisons (only people convicted of federal offenses should go to federal prisons!!), Ports, Inland Waterways, natural minerals, even marriage (yes, English form of marriage!!) and so many other items should be the concern of the Federal Government. We will never develop with such weight that weigh us down at the center. Nigeria can never raise its head in the comity of nations because of the sheer weight of the head.

There is more to say, but scarcely any time. But to emphasis the point I've been laboring to make, shall I say again that there is absolutely no reason or need to fight for oil in the Niger-Delta. There are so many things that can bring more revenue to States in Nigeria than oil. South Africa has no oil, but it has Gold, and is richer than Nigeria. Let us fight for a system that will promote both equality and equity. Let us restructure Nigeria.

*Copied*

WetinConsignMe:
Good write-up, however here are the flaws:

a) People with oil on their land will seceed yesyerday!! - that's 70% of the country's income

1) Land use act review is good. However u must exclude oil. Also there have to be federal lands and they should have the right to buy your land at market value.

2) Power should be devolved but to towns. The state governors are too poerful. Mayor of Lagos should be more powerful than governor of Lagos state.

3) Infrastructural development should be championed by towns except inter-town.

4) A corrupt Nigeria cannot implement the technology u r talking about. They intentionally use primitive ways because it makes it easy to steal. Solution: ELECT not appoint a totally independent and very powerful body whose sole job is to follow the money and make sure no body steals a penny or takes bribe directly or indirectly including the president.

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Spare the rod and spoil the child. It's very important that children are disciplined in a responsible manner. Schools should have dedicated discipline teachers. In the UK where smacking is still legal, disciplined children are found to perform better in life.

Finally, lack of proper discipline has resulted in seeing adults shamelessly seeking for same-sex marriages and other vices

For Nigeria to be peaceful, people should not feel that they are forced into the union, they should also have as much freedom as practical.

1. Land use act should be reviewed and amended. Every one should have ownership of his or her land - including resources. That way nobody feels cheated. Federal government should only tax resources heavily and regulate its exploitation.

2. Power needs to be devolved from the center. Federal Government should mainly deal with maintaining our territorial integrity, while states deal with policing. There would of course be federal police to deal with interstate crimes, drug, money laundry etc.

3. Infrastructural development should be championed by states.

4. On corruption, we can only use technology to fight corruption not police and arrests. In my former company, you don't need to sign any time book. You log in with your ID and there is camera at reception. Everyone knows when you resume and leave. Procurement is done on a central database. Vendors bid for contracts, in as much transparent way as possible. Imagine our state government running central database for procurement(not paper applications), and tenders are open to public. Imagine our state secretariat operating on a large database like SAP controlling all activities. I have worked with a large multinational firm and traveled on a few occasions abroad . I can break down how technology can be used to reduce corruption to barest minimum, these are just few examples. Election ballot box snatching can be eliminated and made irrelevant. Imagine a smart ballot box that automatically reads your vote and send to Central database. Manual counting is only for confirmation. So if you steal the ballot box, it's of no use for you. You can't eliminate corruption completely , even in western countries but you can make it almost insignificant that it is almost non-existent.

I will end here for now.

Afonjatribeguy:
Afonjas specialist in action

ibkgab001:
Nah then alabiabia dem

This is a campaign to end ethnic bashing. It's not helping our youths in Nigeria. Instead of discussing intelligent ideas, we dwell on trivialities. I am campaigning to stop this on Nairaland. If only one person a day can make a decision to refrain from ethnic bashing henceforth, then this must have achieved it's purpose. Stop it and encourage others do so as well. Bless you