₦airaland Forum

aww, Mobinga, how thoughtful of u. I cld certainly do with some shopping right now & you'd be pleased to know I always pay 4 my own shopping. So, come on, lets go!

Why GREAT IFE?  My personal reasons would be: 1) the extraordinarily strong academia 2) the understated glamour & incredible organised beauty of the campus, which is a great testament to the achivements of the govt  of Western Nigeria under AwoLowo.

I wld be pleasantly surprised if there was a better environment in Nigeria to study that Ife Campus.

I assume d PDP has no intention of taking this to a court, since they must be aware that obtaining evidence illegally tarnishes that evidence & renders it inadmissible. Law 101.

The public release of  information is to hem Mr Salami into a corner & embarrass him sufficiently enough to secure a voluntary resignation.

Also, neither the president nor pdp has the power to remove him. They have to work thru the Judicial council headed by d Chief Justice. They tried to use d latter but d attempt failed cause Salami claimed to have a lot of dirt on d Chf Justice.

This will  get a lot  messier, but my bet is Salami will prob go in the end as the other camp pile on d pressure.

Cocoa farming is NOT dead in the SWest. Cocoa remains nigeria'a biggest non-oil export.

Total production has fallen from its hey day, mainly because most farms are now old, with trees yielding less & less. New farms are not coming up as quickly as old ones are coming to the end of production. But it remains a multi billion naira business.

power is a problem, accepted, but we dont all sit at home & fold our arms because there's currently inadequate supply of it.

All the factories, banks, & other sectors of the economy run on power, even as things stand.
So, this seem a lame reason to do nothing. This is a 10-15 yr program, & if d blue print is well crafted, then power supply will be catered for. The fact power is inadequate today is not a reason to stand still.

When all is said & done we are generally inept at delivering this type of project. It is also clear to me that we lack the 'can do' spirit of the Asians.

ah well, we cant give up on the basis that we cant compete in researxh with developed countries.

Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand were not much better than us, if at all, 40 yrs ago, but they started from somewhere. Today, singapore is a leading medical research centre' at least within an Asian context.

Research industry in Ibadan doesnt need to be about competing with silicon valley about the next iphone. Again, it's about starting with a niche - poverty reduction, agro research, tropical diseases, malaria, sickle cell, child mortality, indeginous building materials for d 21st century,reafforestation with indeginous trees etc. I can go on.

These are important areas, but not necesssarily ones that researchers in silicon valley or Cambridge (Uk) are preoccupied with.

eku, just been busy, but all is well. hope you're cool too.

In my view, over the next 25 yrs, Ogun state will prob emerge as the most industrialised state in Nigeria. But Ibadan/Oyo state need not despair & throw in the towel. Ultimately, the battel to be won is not just about 'industrialisation' but about 'development.' In this battle, Ibadan has a secret weapon which it can unleash to torpedo itself back up the rich league - that weapon? revert to being one of Africa's pre eminent research & education centres.

Remember this, Univ of Ibadan was once the leading uni in Africa & in the top 15 in the world. UCH was the pre eminent medical facility in Nigeria. IITA, an international research institute was unrivalled in the field of agro research in Africa, & the city has other  research centres of one kind or the other.

No other city in nigeria has the competitive advantage that Ibadan has in this area. If the authorities there can reawaken the spirit of education & research & get people coming again from all over Africa & the world to these institutions, billions of nara will be made & Ibadan will sit again close to the top echelon of the rich ladder in Nigeria,  Not only will Ibadan become once again a hot bed of academia, complimentary industries, such as biotech, industrial/product design, materials research & development etc may follow.

With good planning, returning Ibadan to its old glory can be achieved in 10-15 yrs. The question is, can the politicians commit to such long term  project.

Eku, just been busy, but all is well. Hope you're cool too.

In my view, over the next 25 yrs or so, Ogun state will prob emerge as the most industrialised in Nigeria, for obvious reasons inc. proximity to Lagos & Ibadan.

However, Ibadan needs not throw in the towel.

agree with OP. re Lagos sucking the life out of Ibadan & anything within 5-6hrs drive.

I understand in the 70s Ibadan was the largest(most populous?) city in sub-sahara africa. So how has it somehow disappeared off the raidar? As you rightly indicated, Lagos has brought it to its knees.

It's a big problem for d south west, as most of their investments are in Lagos & they are relaxed about it, which is ok.

Just to give u an example,  even in far away s.western states like Ondo & Ekiti, people are relaxed if a relative is based in Lagos. But tell them you are based in Minna or Aba, to them it's as good as being in Mali! They feel sad for you being so 'far away' from home lol. But they dont apply d same yardstick for Lagos.

But this 'lagos is home' thing is in reality a big downer for the other states, who really need to come out of d shadows of Lagos a bit. And there is plenty of potential in some of these states.

I notice for instance that Akure is almost equi-distant from Lagos & Abuja. Benin is just 2hrs down a relatively good motorway (at least on d Ondo side). Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti capital is 25mins from Akure, & it is difficult to enter Ekiti without passing through Akure. Most of the trucks from d north pass thru Akure on their way to Lagos. All of these factors should at least make Akure a fantastic regional/national distribution base with huge warehouses everywhere, & factories. But I dont see any of that.

And some of these politicians parade big qualifications, but can they see d big picture & actively promote/provide an enabling environment in their states?

Like many institutions in nigeria, the institutionn of Obaship has gradually lost respect over the years, particularly, as many of them have become involved in unwholly fraternity with politicians.

Notwitstanding, the youths of this town are unlikely to accept this kidnap lying down, particularly, if he's a likeable Oba.

Life will be easier for the assailants if they release him unharmed. Oba or no Oba, why have we stopped respecting elders? We want to copy oyinbos? How hard can one's heart be to kidnap & keep an elderly?

i agree with beaf. i worked in a top global consultancy firm, similar to goldman sachs where agagu worked. it's almost unheard of in that type of environment to hear people talk in loud voices let alone behave in anything but a supremely gentlemanly & professional way. because this guy does not have the bravado of the typical nigerian, most people think he's clueless, which is laughable. he will certainly struggle in the maddening nigerian political space, cos of his background. all in all, i am glad sanusi came in when he did. his decisive actions saved this economy from a calamity- i  genuinely believe that. sorry, i cant edit on my phone.

i always thought this started & was always about resources - land, grazing rights & who contolled what. secondary in all of this.

the president's contempt for the people's desire for a smaller government is shocking. one has to worry about his competence. why hundreds of presidential advisers?

again we are at the risk of over analysis here. the problem is down to incompetence & inane corruption. marry the 2 and you get what we have in nigeria.                                                                      1 - why did the govt wait until about 3 mths to registration before giving inec the authority to embark on sourcing equipment.                                                                                                                     2 - why on earth with a budget of over 500 million dollars did inec not call in nigeria-based international consultants to manage the procurement. why go directly to the chinese & zinox?                                                                                    3 - i agree with sochan, jega should consider his position & if he has any dignity at all, offer his resignation. obviously, it wont happen.                                                                                             i am not entirely surprised by this latest show of corruption & incompetence. every big project in nigeria is marred by these sad factors.

There's a thing to be said of  ACN's 'custom' of having a major say in the selection of candidates, even though, on first thought, the idea looks undemocratic.

Candidate imposition is common in the UK. Any one remembers the 'Blair Babes' during Tony Blair's time? Basically, the Labour party imposed several young & aspirational women on constituencies up & down the country,, & guesss what, more women, as a proportion of the voting electorate, voted for the Labour party, than at any previous election in history.

In d 2010 elections, the Conservative Party imposed several young professionals, bankers, lawyers etc on constituencies, 'cause they believed these smart, photogenic, TV-friendly types were more likely to attract votes. In many cases these candidates had absolutely no connection with the constituency they were due to rep. Think of a 30 yr old lawyer from Lagos, being imposed on a constituency in Adamawa, a place he's prob never been to. The constituents in the UK often complain, but their party's headquarters do get their way.

Thats not to say if it's done in the UK, it is right for nigeria,  Nonetheless, I believe there are even more compelling reasons why small parties such as the Acn shd pay close attention to d selection of candidates. Here's what happened in my constituency:

Mr A contested for the Hse of Rep seat  in 2007, but lost marginally to the Pdp candidate. Following his loss, & after the political jobbers had run back to Abuja, he continued to work arduously for his party within the grassroots in the constituency . When he signalled his intention to run again in the 2011 elections, there was overwhelming support by constituents for his candidacy based on his sacrifice for the party.

Everything changed in Oct 2010, 3 mths to party primaries, when a money bag from Abuja who had not visited the town in years turned up & picked up a nomination form for the seat. He proceeded to splash cash in a way that's never been seen in the area, & in the process 'bought' the handful of delegates that wld vote in d primaries.

Our guy that's been working so hard to keep the party going in the constituency but who had no money, was suddenly pushed aside by local party chiefs in favour of the moneybag.

Party HQ folks from outer state intervened when this story got to them. They insisted the poor hard working guy must be the party's candidate.  The local party officials who had been bought by d wealthy candidate ran to the press accusing party HQ of imposing a candidate.

This is the story up & down d country, where pple with money and who had previuosly shown absolutely no interest in politics, suddenly turn up a few months bf primaries & use their money to displace candidates who had been working hard for d best part of 3.5 yrs.

Although d word 'imposition' is dirty, am afraid, in some cases it is absolutely necessary.

no need for this guys.

,,,and Jason,'we would fight till we all die' cant stop Lol! but you are abroad,,,u mean you'd honestly get on a plane to return home to pick an axe, cutlass, or machette to fight the northerners 'till you all die?'

Lol!

there are good reasons why he should think carefully before declaring a state of emergency.

1 - there  is no guarantee it will deter the hard core perpetrators
2 - a state of emergency suggests a loss of executive control
3 - the attacks in Jos can be replicated easily in some other northern states, in which case, vast swathes of the country would come under emergency rule
4 - emergency rule will test the constitution & may create more instability than it stops
5- how long will emergency rule last : 1, 3, 6 months, one year?
6 - what happens to elections?

I can go on.

Am not suggesting that emergency  rule should be ruled out, but it should not be rushed into either.

this guy needs to do better than give us an underwhelming cut & paste job from the internet.

his is a laughable high-school level material.

as much as we want to know what he  will do, he must also tell us HOW he will achieve these things. He's had months to prepare and I expected he would be making some BIG & captivating speeches on those blue-ribbon issues such as power, security, the economy etc over the coming months. This is not a good start.  

Gej's reform agenda for Phcn is vastly superior in content, detail,  and direction.

to the person that said too many northerners in top posts. What shld concern the public is wthether they are the best candidates, not whether they are northerners.

Most people are tired of zoning. We simply want the best candidates.

Think of Ogbona, the previous IGP of police, who was a product of zoning. See how inept and incompetent he was. The current IGP is prob not much better.

People should get to positions on merit.

the guy is beaten and deflated. what else do people expect him to do? declare war?

remember also that he is a member of the State Council made up of the present and all previous heads of state. these guys meet from time to time,,,he can hardly not congratulate GEJ.  All the other living heads of state will have done so privately, but he had to do his publicly because of the public role he played in the zoning affair.

All said, good from him.

Btw, when Gej was declared winner, did Atiku not walk up to him to congratulate him? If he didnt, then he behaved very ungentlemanly & missed an oppportunity to win back some respect from Nigerians.

OAM, Sagamite,,,abomination!!!

back to the point kia kia

I can be done for a 'high' state crime even for discussing it. Nigerian officianados wont dinstiguish btw 'discussing' and 'advocating.'

I'm convinced the SSS are active on this forum.

i agree, the casualty from a popular uprising against a sitting govt in nigeria will be large.

a nigeria govt wont think twice about kiling thousands to keep hold of power.

There's an option that will bring down the govt & the entire political class fairly quickly and with minimal casualty, but it's not one i can discuss,,,publicly. and it doesnt involve a coup.

Following weeks of riots by youths fed up with unemployment, alleged govt corruption, Tunisian President, who had been in power for 23yrs has FLED the country.

A lesson in people power?

Can we achieve in Nigeria what Tunisian youths have achieved for themselves or is the fear of death an impregnable barrier to fighting our own cause?

Pls provide a link if you can - I cant with my mobile.

@Ikeangwo, pls we are all here to be educated. Pls can you list the evidence to show we are effectively dealing with our problems, such as:

-LONG TERM Political instability
-LONG TERM Economic mismanagent: poor policy initiation & implementation; poor budget mgt; inchorent macro economic policies etc
- LONG TERM Massive corruption
-Religious riots 
- LONG TERM infrastructural problems

Just some examples. We've had some of these probs for over 30yrs and they are not getting better.

I'm certainly not bashing nigeria, but rather, want us to acknowledge we have some serious problems which we need to tackle with zeal. Pls leave Ghana out of the picture so the debate is not distorted.

this is not about whether Ghana has 24/7 electricy or is more developed than nigeria.

it is about didscipline in policy initiatives, investment environment, social order, respect for the rule of law, political stability etc. On each of these accounts, Ghana is better placed than nigeria.

Ghana is not perfect, or probably as developed as nigeria presently, but by most indices, it is set to attain midlle-income country status before nigeria.

Nigeria has unrivaled POTENTIAL, but we also face endemic structural political, economic, social, and, now religious problems, which will hold us back unless we tackle them head-on. There's currently no evidence that we are dealing, or able to deal with these problems.