₦airaland Forum

"This kind of your quarrel can not be limited from the north because they also make the same complain too.
They believe other quota are ahead of them in everything"

Then why continuing to deceive ourselves about some fantom unity? Why not just breakup the country along governable lines or run a confederate system?

Yahksbiz:
This is the place most Nigerians got it wrong.
They always blame the Federal government for everything like the Federal government bodies are kind of demi god.

Those guys are body of working people from different constitute.

This kind of your quarrel can not be limited from the north because they also make the same complain too.
They believe other quota are ahead of them in everything.
That is just our problem and this is why Nigeria keep going back. Buhari may be absolutely innocent on all those atrocities of quato this quota that.

The problems lies with the elders of the people, some of these elders have sold their people and have pocket them in their pocket. They eat anything that come to their people.
They feed fat on their people which I don't see with the north elders that always fight for their people.
Just look at south west or east, they are just waking up. Hisba has been there since shekarau's time but what did they do or say about it nothing. When Lagos created lasma kwankwasu immediately brought karota. The elders of the north are needful to their people they hear the voice of their people and respect their opinion not like this other people. Genduje has to put an end to his no male in the same tricycle with the female thing because the people rejected it.

Bro just forget o.
Our elders kill us and we don't like them.
The Amotekun they brought should have come in to existence long before now.

My opinion though.

One of the most retarded write up I've seen on Nairaland. Africa is what it is today because of a number of factors not least of which is the unstable political systems from lumping together different people with different ideologies in same countries. This bred a corrupt political class that has been feeding on this system and is refusing to change the system because it is not in their interest.

Africans also have a strong heritage of superstition/poor grounding in scientific approach to problem solving which further worsens the political challenges and has made it difficult for Africans to demand results from their leaders.

This same superstition heritage is what "Africans" in Brazil, Cuba, USA etc carried with them to the "new world". Add their recent history of marginalization and exclusion from political leadership and you the factors that largely explain why people or African origin in those countries appear to have achieved less than the larger populations. The situation is changing as more people of African heritage gain more awareness of these issues. You now have a number of Africans creating businesses and jobs all over the world. More needs to be done but not by preaching self hate as many people are doing here.

VickJames:
I love black people. They love living in denial. They blame everyone for their problems. Like someone said in this thread, he blamed "the leaders", while another blamed "not thinking out of the box", while some said "other white countries are poor".

Hahahahahahahhahahahahah

Black men don't think. Someone said Algeria produces more oil than angola who is the second highest producer of oil in africa!

The black race is below the white race, take it or swallow it. Its not inferiority complex at all. It is the plane fact.

Can you imagine what another person said "it was the slave trade that made everything bad!" What a stupid excuse! When the portuguese and spaniards were thinking of what will be at the other side of the sea, your ancestors were living in mud house.

When Romans were defeating nations, and taking them as colonies, you guys were living in stone-age!

Oh! I remember, someone said the egyptian were the first in building pyramids, lmao! But she forgot that that same egypt have been slaves to different powers. Since the israelites left them.

Its simple, the black man have low capacity to expand his thinking. The black man is always selfish and always thinking about self. A black man can only learn from his teacher, but doesn't have the ability to create new things except he relates with the whites.

I am not saying I am an inferior being to the white but the truth remains that they are by far ahead of you. It is not your leaders that's the problem, the problem is you!

You complain about leaders every time, haven't you changed leaders, has anything changed? Black men!

Let me burst your bubbles, those saying some of these eastern europe countries are poor, I laugh you all. Someone even went ahead and said Ukraine is poor. Ukraine that's giving scholarships to international students who wants to study medicine and other courses? Have u seen an Ukrainian road? Oh please, stop fooling yourselves jooor!

Those countries doesn't have resources but very good tax systems, but they still provide for their people without much problems.

Nigeria: crude oil, bitumen, coal, vast land for agriculture, rubber, gold, iron, access to sea, etc. Still a third world country!

Angola: almost like Nigeria. Third world country.

South Africa: after the whites stopped developing them, I don't know what they've been doing.

Let's leave the shores of africa, what will say about Haiti or Jamaica? Any significant importance in the world except increasing the world dependency rate?


Leave matter for mathias! Blacks are lower than whites!

Like someone said son of Ham? Ham was cursed, remember?

Have you have why most of the companies you listed come from one country- America? Does that not substantiate the fact that culture, and not race or skin color is the determinant of development?

blueAgent:
White guys create wealth,jobs and fortunes for generations while our on people(blacks) loot wealth and destory it. google on wikipedia history of most of the world multinationals and their founders.from Mobil,Chevron,Shell ,Facebook,Google,instagram,Pfizer,procter&Gamble,General Electric,IBM,HP,Microsoft,Walmart.,Baker hughes, even to world largest Aircraft company Boeing.the list is endless.
most of this companies are older than the Almagamation of Nigeria in 1920 to say the least.Our own is politics nothing more no brain to utilize resources within their environment.imagine states like Imo and Bayelsa and many states in Nigeria.do not have any single factory or industry.eg in Bayelsa pure water is brought from Delta state.
yet they have politician and wealthy people but no foresight. i pity Nigeria till we change our mindset nothing will change.even corruption is a product of the mindset.

You're one of those sowing the wind of violence. Now you're getting the whirlwind of real violence and you're asking the zombie you partook in grooming to sow the path of peace. How does that sound to you?

kettykin:
Don't scare investments and investors from Aba please.

What the Tesla Powerwall home battery means: inexpensive time-shifting for solar energy

The Tesla Powerwall home battery system puts a higher-tech face on technology you can already buy: backup batteries that store the sun’s energy for use in peak evening hours, or that protect your house in a power failure. The Tesla Powerwall battery module is a small, light, maintenance-free system that is guaranteed for 10 years. It uses the same lithium-ion cells as in a Tesla vehicle. The Powerwall system runs $3,000 to $3,500 per module, and you’ll spend several thousand more for an inverter and installation.

For home users, Tesla will sell two Powerwall modules optimized either for backup (power failures) or load-shifting from afternoon to evening. For business, Tesla will sell massive battery packs that can load-shift power or provide short-term UPS-like coverage until the backup diesel generator kicks in. Awesome as Tesla’s devices may be, they’re good for hours, maybe a day — not as replacement power when the grid goes down for days at a time. Deliveries start later this year and the prices will be softened by federal tax credits of 30% of the battery price. California has a 60% be-a-fool-to-not-try-this rebate. Tesla’s quantities of scale in manufacturing will also drive the price down.

The upshot: more battery-powered homes

Powerwall unit dimensionedTesla is a company like Apple: It has the ability to create or legitimize nascent markets in tablets, smartphones, smartwatches (with the jury still out), and now home battery power. A basic Powerwall module is dazzlingly small at 51.2 x 33.9 x 7.1 inches (HWD) and 220 pounds. It’s small enough to be wall-mounted in your garage wall, even outside, as long as temperatures don’t go beyond -4 to +110 degrees F (-20 to +43 degrees C). The flooded batteries most commonly used today are insanely heavy, need to be checked weekly, and sit on the floor in leakproof plastic cases about the size of a thoroughbred jockey’s coffin. As I mentioned above, the Tesla Powerwall is maintenance-free and carries a 10-year warranty with an optional buy-in for a second 10 years; it will be interesting to see if that’s a full replacement or pro-rated.

Because Tesla knows how to generate media coverage, homeowners will start thinking more about battery backup. The federal and state tax credits lets homeowners line up at the government trough alongside defense contractors and transfer payment recipients (the poor, seniors). But these credits may serve a valuable purpose: To spur early adopters to invest in battery backup, which generates more battery and inverter production, which drives down prices. It’s all based on the underlying idea that the majority of Americans have concerns about climate change, and solar puts a dent in the use of fossil fuels. Elon Musk in Thursday’s press conference reiterated that climate change is a real issue.

How Powerwall works

There are two Powerwall modules. There’s a 10 kWh unit optimized for backup or power-failure applications, at $3,500. There’s a 6 kWh unit for daily cycle applications for $3,000. For both, that’s before installation (definitely not a DIY project for most) and the AC-DC inverter needed to convert 350-400 volts DC power to 120 or 240 volts AC. There may also be a charge converter needed to interface to solar panels, to manage power going into the Powerwalls if they’re not charged by energy grid power. Each runs in the low thousands of dollars.

The Powerwall delivers 5 amps (at 350-400 VDC), 8.5 amps at peak. If you recall high school physics, volts times amps equals watts. For a single Powerwall, Tesla cites 2.0 kW continuous, 3.3 Kw peak. A kilowatt is 1,000 watts and a single 15-amp household AC circuit delivers about 1,800 watts and a 20-amp circuit delivers about , so you’re getting about one circuit worth of continuous power with the ability for extended periods, and the ability to draw more than 25 amps when the hair dryer or toaster oven kicks in. That’s instantaneous power. The Tesla Powerwall page notes that the lights in one room, or a flat-screen TV, each use 0.1 k kilowatt hour (100 watt hours), which could be one 10 watt LED bulb or TV for 10 hours a day. It rates a clothes washer at 2.3 kWh per use and a dryer at 3.3 kWh per use. In other words, a single load of wash draws down the majority of a single Powerwall unit.

Caution: These are broad calculations that leave out transformer losses, the differences between DC and AC (AC watts are calculated as volts times amps times a fudge factor of about one-third, which your physics teacher may have blown right by when he saw the class already nodding off), and a system may show less longevity when dealing with massive drains of battery power. This also assumes all 10 kWh in the specs are available for use. So take this as a start and feel free to add detailed scenarios in the comments.

You may need more than one Powerwall

Tesla-power-demand-illoFor longevity (power delivered over time), look to the kilowatt-hours figure: 10 kWh means 10 kilowatts delivered for an hour, 1 kilowatt for 10 hours, or 1.8 kilowatts (a 15 amp household circuit) or just under six hours. In other words, your $3,500 investment (plus inverter, plus electrician, plus solar panels) gives you one 15-amp circuit running draw for a quarter of a day. Time to think about chaining together two or three Powerwalls, and doing high-drain applications (laundry, dishwasher) early in the day on sunny days.

The average American house uses 30 kilowatt hours a day, according to the US Department of Energy. A Japanese home, smaller and more efficient, uses about a third as much power. This suggests a typical US home might need 2-3 Powerwall units. With that, you could throttle back daily demand — maybe no air conditioning and line-dry the laundry — and get a week of runtime in an extended power failure. Or you could have more than 15 amps of time-shifted power draw in the evening.

People who’ve gone off the grid, or who want to take advantage of solar, shift their dryer, oven, and stovetop from electric to gas or propane. They run their dishwashers and washing machines in the morning to draw directly from the solar panels. LED bulbs are a must. A small, permanently mounted 7-10 kilowatt generator ($3,000) gets off-grid homes through multiple cloudy days and the shortest winter days.

Powerpack for business

Powerwall can be joined in microgrids. For business, the upsized version is called Powerpack, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk says it’s an “infinitely scalable system.” The basic module is a 100 kWh block at $250 per kilowatt-hour that can scale up from 500 kWh to 10 mWh. Or higher. Musk could say “to infinity and beyond” if Buzz Lightyear didn’t get there first. As Musk has said, “Our goal here is to change the way the world uses energy at an extreme scale.”

Powerpack has already been in low-key testing in businesses across the country including Wal-Mart. The biggest installations could be at electric generating plants, especially those with the lowest-cost or lowest-pollution electricity. They’d store energy created at off-peak hours and deliver it during late afternoon and early evening at peak demand periods. When utility officials or government planners talk about a shortage of electric generation capability, they mean “in the afternoon on a hot, humid day.” Even California has enough generating capacity from midnight to 6 a.m. Duke Energy and others are installing battery systems adjacent to wind farms and hydro power sites.

The demand for the batteries in Powerpack and Powerwall will lead to more gigafactories than Tesla’s first in Nevada. Tesla says the initial economies of scale will drive down battery costs by 30%. The convenience factor compared with flooded batteries, the wet-cell lead acid batteries much like in your car, are immense. They have to be checked weekly, the fumes can be problematic, and there’s even a slight risk of sparks causing a fire. There are already sealed battery packs for backup and storage, but Tesla’s lithium ion technology and longevity could prove preferable to consumers.

Should you buy?

The Tesla site already has a signup page for Powerwall-intenders and says first deliveries begin this summer. You’ll buy Powerwall from a Tesla partner that can handle the entire installation. They include Treehouse, SolarEdge, and Green Mountain Power. Tesla on its site says the prices of Powerwall ($3,500 for 10 kWh, $3,000 for 7 kWh) are the selling price to installers. Since the price will be known to customers, it’s not clear if the batteries will be marked up, or if the installer will recoup its costs and profit from the installation service.

If you’re concerned about a long-term power failure, such as from a hurricane or tornado, you need to look beyond battery backup to a portable generator. An installed generator runs $4,000 to $5,000 (including installation) for a 7-kilowatt unit that powers the essentials of your house to 20 kilowatts ($7,500 to $10,000) for a whole house generator that runs for weeks. In most areas, municipal gas delivery does not go out during a power failure. In earthquake-prone areas where gas lines can rupture, you may need a propane tank, and that may be regulated in urban areas.

Hopefully, the cost will come down over time. The holy grail is to get battery power under $100 per kilowatt hour. If that means the price a consumer pays, the initial Tesla solution is $350 a kilowatt hour.

Source: http://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall#
http://insideevs.com/tesla-reveals-battery-storage-solution-missing-piece/

lygn19:
God wud continue to punish dz set of ppl where ever they are;
1) Britain.
2) Lord Luggard.
3) Flora Shaw.
4) Nnamdi Azikiwe.
5) Nzeogwu.
6) Ojukwu.
7) Alex Ekueme.

What's their crimes?

mandarin:
I presume with all humility that majority of posters here are youths and its quite disappointing to read what lots of you have posted here.
To me, the idea of Biafra is not bad.Not is wrong for a people to agitate and even get their own country, its legal and acceptable anywhere in the world. However, if I don't buy into your vision if for instance I don't belong to igbo, you cannot blame me for not supporting you, its you that must look for ways to get what you want albeit lingering opposition.
Some thing have been quite clear from all discussed so far and what is actually on the ground.
1. What the igbo want seem at variance with their neghbours with whom they intend to have the same country.This can create gaps that can be exploited by your adversaries un case of conflicts.
2. The vested interests that seem to bring the over 120 ethnic groups in Niger Delta together is oil and gas.This itself isn't sufficient to build a nation. There is no common history or agreement that exist between these various groups other than militancy which has been used to get attention and get their own portion of the national cake
3. The igbo has not demostrated a sincere approach to these ethnic groups in the Niger Delta, they are championing it all alone and its more like an Igbo agitation for nationhood
4. I think the igbo has to look at how they can start within their five states and woo their kinsmen elsewhere rather than subjugating their own chosen identity, such will lead to internal squabbles and fall of any fragile nation
5.The igbo cultual groups and leaders don't seem to buy into this as nothing serious is forthcoming from such groups that will give it a stronger appeal

what about Nigeria
Ever since the end of the civil war, the igbo people have taken up trading thereby expanding into every sphere of Nigeria, from Fascari in Katsuna to Obubra, from Damasak to Osin Ekiti, from Donga in Taraba to Mokwa in Niger, the igbo will be the immediate best loosers if Nigeria break, they will loose their investments, clients base and the market segment they control.This is why this citation won't ever fly with the business class.
The sufficient inter ethnic troubles from the Niger Delta groups will be sufficient for the people a trouble to care. I have a strong believe that there won't aver be a Niger Delta country but the Ijaw confederacy may exist while the ikwere will be pressed between two evils; the Igbo tovthe north and ijaw/Kalabari to the south while the combination of people of Akwa Ibom and some parts of cross river can be relatively stable until the invaders come.
The presence of oil will definitely create different ethnic interests, greed and personal interests is often characteristical of the oil business and this may remain the undoing of the self determination groups from this areas in the long run.
There won't be any northern country too because to delimit new countries will be a serious matter and armed conflicts will be frequent.
Even if Nigeria is to be divided based on plebiscite the Igbo country will probably shrink more and Nigeria may have more than 20countries coming out a large part from the Niger Delta.

Best analysis so far on this thread

omonnakoda:
Ethnic homogeneity comes about by taking over small tribes deleting their history ,rewriting it and then coalescing it into a new whole.

This is profound. Respect

Dragonking:
please post a picture of a similar looking mosque like that in either Ogun Oyo, osun or ondo state let's see.

Central mosque in Ijebu Ayepe in Ogun State.

Chuba1:
This is why removing the subsidy is good for Nigeria (and why there are no bakeries in Nigeria).

1.  In the 1970s and 80s Naija-land built two bread bakeries. The bakeries were owned by the state. Two decades previously, Naija-land had discovered large quantities of oil. Flush with income from the oil, the government decreed that the bakeries should sell bread at N65, even though it costs about N140 to bake a loaf of bread.

2.  So from the outset the bakeries operate at a loss and have to rely on government subventions to remain operational.

3.  Incidentally, the government also adopts a similar policy for the other sectors of Naija-land. Its spanking new universities and hospitals are free, it creates monopolies to provide cheap power and cheap telecoms, and its banking sector is heavily regulated and consists of only 5 or 6 banks. Almost everything in newly rich Naija-land is provided for free by the government.

4.  But as the years go by and the government's revenues declines, and Naija-land's population increases (from 50m to130 to 170m), it becomes increasingly difficult for the government to fund the bakeries (and the other sectors).

5.  By the end of the 1980s the government is broke and heavily indebted. Creditors and multilateral agencies put pressure on government to streamline its obligations and reduce its spending. They suggest that the government should deregulate the bakery sector, the power sector, the telecom sector and the financial sector. The government (led by Gen BIB), and supported by the trade unions, refuse but later relents and in 1989/90 deregulates only the financial sector.

6.  The result is spectacular. The newly deregulated financial sector go on to become one of the most dynamic sectors of the economy and some of the banks created in 1990 (Zenith, GTB etc) go on to become some of the most successful businesses created in Africa since the end of the colonial era.

7.  But the government (supported by the trade unions) refuses to implement any further restructuring. Naija-land limps on, broke, economically stagnant and politically unstable. By the late 1990s, the bakeries are practically moribund (after billions had been spent on them, much of it siphoned off corruptly). Naija-land now starts importing bread from abroad. Licensed traders buy the bread abroad for N140 and sell locally at N65. The government refunds them the balance of N75. Naija-land’s forex reserves come under pressure, as the purchases are now made in hard currency. The new system fuels corruption, with the middle men becoming some of the richest people in the country. Some appear in the Forbes list of the richest people in the world.

8.  By the year 2000, as the government’s finances continue to deteriorate (and with Naija-land now among the biggest sovereign debtors in the world), the government makes another push to streamline its finances. The new civilian government of Chief JOB, despite opposition from the labour union, decides to deregulate the telecom sector (which like the bakery sector was totally dependent on government funding and barely functional).

9.  Again, the result of the liberalization is spectacular. The total number of phones in Naija-land soars from about 250k to about 60 million in a decade. Naija-land becomes the largest telecom market in Africa and one of the fastest growing in the world. The telecom sector becomes the biggest contributor to Naija-land’s non-oil GDP growth.

10.  Buoyed by the successful of the telecom deregulation, the government decides that it will deregulate the bakery and the power sectors too. But to do that it would first have to remove the price caps on bread (N65) and power. Nobody will build a bakery if they have to produce at N140 and sell at N65. And nobody is ready to sell at N65 and then go and lobby and bribe government officials to be paid the difference (N75), especially at a time when it was becoming obvious that the government could not afford to pay. But again there is vocal opposition from the trade unions and some Naija-land citizens and so the government backs down. The government manages to remove the subsidy for diesel-bread, but not for the more popular (and more financially burdensome) regular bread.

11.  So the status quo remains unchanged and by 2011 the government is spending about a quarter (25% of the annual federal budget) to import bread from abroad. The impact of this on Naija-land’s forex reserve and currency is devastating. Despite oil at over $100 a barrel, Naija-land’s forex reserves continued to decline partly because of the increased forex cost of buying bread abroad and reselling at N65. The Naira comes under severe pressure, forcing the CBN to further deplete the reserves in other to protect the currency. And of course, attempts to attract private sector investment into the bread sector are futile.

12.  Meanwhile, increasingly desperate about the power sector, the government (despite opposition again from the unions and after spending billions on a National Integrated Power Project) finally announces an ambitious deregulation of the power sector, in the process removing all price caps in the sector. Private sector interest is immediate and strong, and there is now the possibility that the power sector will over the next few years see significant investment and improvement.

13.  Finally, in 2012, the government ends the bread subsidy. It mismanages the communication of the new policy, focusing on the savings to the government (in a country where, for good reason, governments are not trusted) rather than on the savings to the economy via new investments into the bread sector and forex savings when domestic bakeries emerge. Predictably, the trade unions oppose the new policy and call a nationwide strike.

14.  Nigeria is poised for a big fight whose outcome could determine the fate of the country for perhaps another decade—economic stagnation and possibly political instability if the subsidy is maintained; or economic prosperity and political stability if the distorting, corrupt and unsustainable subsidy goes. I hope the government prevails.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

The situation here is far different from that of Banking and Telecoms which have undergone true deregulation. What we are fighting here is not deregulation but the creation of corruption opportunities for Govt officials

Whether you like it or not, you have to subsidize a sector to stimulate production (and sometimes consumption) to create opportunities and jobs. Oil is a natural resource that Nigeria has in abundance and one that the country can leverage to create an industrial base. Reputable local refineries should be justly subsidized.

Cheap energy is required for Nigeria's industrial development and job creation. Cheap energy (oil) is a major contributor to the industrial development of the USA and many western economies. No reason why Nigeria should not do the same but it must be done properly by subsidizing the right sector. Nigeria administrators have either been too dumb or too insincere about which sector to subsidize

Local refining will create jobs all over the country. Why ship crude to a foreign land only to ship back petrol at global prices? You can imagine all the jobs that have been created in those countries at the expense of Nigeria.

What the subsidy removal will do is to simply raise the price of this imported fuel and make more money available for Govt officials to steal at the expense of the common man.

trw:
Do you know that:
• Petrol Subsidy is a major channel for corruption?
• The inefficiencies of the subsidy regime have created an enabling environment for corruption to thrive. A small group of wealthy persons have benefited significantly from this system with little benefits accruing to the common man.

• Petrol Subsidy will eventually bankrupt Nigeria?
• 30 percent of total federal government expenditure or about 4.2% of GDP is spent on payments to fuel marketers as petrol subsidies, yet the government has to borrow a fraction of this figure to finance the budget deficit. This level is unsustainable and this unlimited liability exposes the government to volatility in oil prices.

• Petrol subsidy is denying Nigerians jobs?
• Since 2000, about 20 refinery licenses have been issued to private investors which should have led to hundreds of thousands of jobs being created but not a single refinery has been built because the subsidy will not allow investors to recover costs.

Removing the monies paid to petroleum marketers as subsidy is the only way out. But where will the savings go?

The Federal government has established a Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE – P) that Nigerians can use to hold government accountable. The discontinuation of the current fuel subsidy will save additional resources for investing in programmes targeted at mitigating poverty and spurring economic growth.

• Healthcare—many of our mothers, sisters, and daughters are dying in childbirth. At 545 deaths per 100,000 live births, Nigeria has one of the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. In addition, our children are dying from preventable causes. 1 in 6 children will die before age 5. The SURE – Programme will provide additional N 73.8 Billion to save the lives of 12 million pregnant women and children over the course of 4 years.

• Youth Employment— over half of Nigerian youth are unemployed, a socially unacceptable phenomenon. The SURE Programme has earmarked N81.1 billion to provide 370,000 jobs per year across the country for the unemployed youth through labour-intensive public works scheme, vocational training and youth employment programmes.

• Urban Mass Transit Scheme – given that Nigerian households spend between 30 to 40 percent of income on transportation, the government’s SURE programme has allocated N20.5 billion to increase mass transit availability in order to alleviate the transportation challenges of ordinary Nigerians.

• Roads—our roads have become death traps! Nigeria is ranked 191 out of 192 countries in the world with un-safe roads, with 162 deaths per 100,000 population, resulting from road traffic accidents. An additional N283 billion will be invested into the road sector, under the SURE programme, to complete over 1,326 km of high-quality roads across the country.

• Power—our epileptic power supply is crippling the growth of this economy. The SURE programme will invest N195 billion in the construction of large, small and medium hydropower plants that will generate a cumulative capacity of 2740 megawatts of electricity, while also providing counterpart funding for the development of coal power projects with a potential to generate 1000 megawatts.

• Food Supply—how can a country so blessed with arable land and hardworking people continue to spend about US$10billion on food imports? The removal of subsidy would free resources for a drastic increase in investment in Agriculture to ensure food security for our people.

• Other critical infrastructure investments –funds from the SURE-Programme will also be invested in the following sectors: Petroleum, ICT, Niger Delta, Agriculture, and Water. Specific projects include:

- Construct 3,877km of railway lines;
- Revitalize irrigation projects on 28,850 hectares of land;
- Build 3 new refineries with a combined output of 30 million litres of petrol in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Lagos States.
- Completion of the East West road across major towns in the Niger Delta.

This struggle is not between the government and the masses because government is squarely on the side of the masses. The fight is between the government and masses on one side, and persons who are bent on continuing their age-long “milking” of the system for their personal benefits, on the other side. Let us support government’s efforts at defeating these persons, and creating a better country for all Nigerians.

Very disappointing arguments from a person of Ngozi's caliber.

No 1, these same promises were made for previous subsidy removal. Nothing has changed

No 2, the programs listed are just too many. It is clearly not possible for an incompetent administrator like GEJ and his lackeys to make such a complex list happen. Why not focus on 3 big impact items eg electricity, refineries and roads instead of attempting to solve all the problems in Nigeria? Create jobs my foot. Ngozi should know more than this.

Lastly, corruption will kill the best intentioned administrator as long as they plan to get these done through govt agencies.

The best way out is to 1st implement all these programs before removing the subsidy. Any other way is simply moving the so called subsidy from existing cabal to a new cabal

Fashola has touched my life by bringing down the crime rate. We don't hear of armed robbery attacks on Osbourne road anymore. Before his tenure, attack on people just returning from on osbourne was a staple. I have witnessed this three times and got injured once.

lucabrasi:
^^^^^^^^there is and its real,however the reason you dont find them on forbes rich list is because the proceeds of money ritual is limited hence the reason ritualists will use the money he gets to run for a political post,set up a business e.t.c.

how did you know its real. Have you done one before? it makes sense to you that ritual money exist but you can't sensibly explain why Nigerian ritualist are nor some of the richest people in the world

I am very much against granting these criminal foreigners Nigerian citizenship, especially the Lebanese and Indians. Most of them are applying for the kpali so they can carry out their illicit businesses unchecked since they know our system is weak.
Only Nigerians don't see the value in Nigeria. We need to open our eyes

Mobile Payment: Open letter to Mallam Sanusi Lamido (Central Bank Governor, Nigeria)
in CONTRIBUTIONS WEST AFRICA by Editor — October 17, 2010 at 5:11 pm | 2 comments



Taiwo Olaoye
taiwo.golaoye@yahoo.com
NY, USA

Dear Sir,

There is Mobile payment in war torn Afghanistan and Somaliland. Why not in Nigeria?

With all due respect to you sir, we are aware of the inherited banking troubles and your numerous efforts to help the economy grow, the long delay in issuing mobile payment approval is uncharacteristic of your enviable resume and record of effectiveness.

In many parts of Afghanistan, you have to keep in mind the possibility of stray bullets when going about your daily business, but there is mobile payment there!

Mobile Payment is now a rapidly growing alternative payment method already largely adopted in Asia, Europe and gaining significant momentum in many parts of Africa such as Kenya, Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Congo, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania. This revolutionary method of payment is especially beneficial to the unbanked and people at the bottom of the pyramid in many parts of Africa.

In many respects, the banks are better-off in the sense that mobile payment services have a direct effect on the volume of deposits lodged in the banks.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that mobile payment will take off in the country by the middle of 2010. For those who are not familiar with CBN’s stand on this, there has been quite a few announcements and effort to get the public to show interest since 2008. The most recent serious effort to license interested operators started in March 2010.

Those who have shown interest lately are beginning to be wary of the slow progress even though they have committed significant amount of money and effort needed to make background preparations. Some have acquired equipments and signed agreements with partners.

The acting Director, Banking Operations, My Abayomi Atoloye noted at the EFInA Mobile Payments Regulatory Framework Dissemination Workshop in January 25, 2010 in Lagos that mobile payment will take off by the middle of 2010. He stated “One of the initiatives of the Payments System Vision 2020 is the development of “Mobile Payment System in Nigeria” and CBN is particularly interested in the mobile payments service in view of its capacity to drive financial inclusion, especially among rural dwellers as well as the un-banked in urban localities.
According to a recent article in the Punch news paper ” m-Payment market: Slow penetration in Nigeria worries experts” 10/10/2010 and report by some applicants and promoters, over 40 applicants have applied, and have gone through all the rigorous tests, documentations and presentations, then the wait began, then total silence.

As of the time of writing this article, no one knows when CBN will begin to license the operators. One of the operators (Moneyboxafrica) who was issued regulatory approval in 2008 is yet to commence operations.

This should be a wakeup call and lesson for CBN that even when the licenses are issued, it takes sustained effort, time and monetary investment to commence operations. On the investment front, even with a license in hand, savvy investors are skeptical of anything that has to do with Nigeria in a technology dependent business like mobile payment.

Most licensed operators are not likely to rollout anytime soon. Any operator who can rollout within 1 year of receiving the approval must have been doing some serious ground work for years. Thus the capabilities of the operators cannot be measured on paper but rather in the field and that is why CBN must keep an open mind by allowing all operators who can meet the basic criteria to prove themselves further in the field.

The argument that CBN may be slow in issuing the approvals because CBN wants to get it right is almost equal to a student spending 3 years writing a JAMB exam because he wants to get it right. That is a sure recipe for failure and if CBN ‘s strategy is not in line with the entrepreneurs, the vision 2020 will continue to be a dream.

I consider the information that CBN is planning to select just a few a rumor. If true, the method of selecting only a few of the applicants could be counterproductive. No regulators can accurately predict who is capable on paper where such service is yet to be tested in Nigeria. Some applicants have adequate liquidity, but lack in other areas, some have the technology but need to improve in other areas, some are good at marketing the product but lack many in other major components. Most of these applicants will find out what they lack in the field and self correct the short comings by market forces.

Selecting a few is not the way to go as this will surely eliminate the key components of a successful mobile payment industry.

With CBN’s guidelines, operators should be encouraged to start while CBN monitors their progress.

In the developed economy, and as we’ve seen in many parts of Africa such as Kenya, Ghana, Sierra-Leone, Congo, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, early adoption has a direct correlation with how well the regulatory authorities respect the role of entrepreneurs in the scheme of things. A friend once said to me that entrepreneurs will make the vision 2020 a reality for CBN and not the other way round. Understanding this dynamic is very important.

Time is of essence. It took just months to curtail the potential epidemic of avian flu viruses in Asia and 2009 H1N1 virus that emerged in 2008 to cause the first global pandemic in more than 40 years .

Somaliland, an unrecognized state located in the horn of Africa, has a thriving mobile payment helping the poor. Even in war torn Afghanistan as mentioned earlier, there is a thriving mobile payment helping the poor. Why not Nigeria? .

If Nigeria is to be competitive globally, then it should not take years to evaluate applicants and allow mobile payment operators to start gaining the experience they need to service the poor in the most populated country of Africa. CBN should be encouraging applicants rather than discouraging them.

While the process is taking longer than anticipated, it is important to conclude that CBN has impressed many in comparison to other government run processes, but the fact remain that Nigeria is losing the capability to compete on a global scale every day, not because of lack of talent or brilliant entrepreneurs in Nigeria!

Mr. Olaoye works with a non governmental organization specializing in the financial inclusion for the poor in developing countries of Africa and Asia.

fyneguy:
HYMEN,

You obviously dont know what sim registration entails, vis-a-viz what  it seeks to achieve.

The registration requires each subscriber to provide proper I.D- pictures, biodata, addresses etc.

Now tell me; In a country where there is no foolproof biometric Identification System, how do you verify the details provided by subscribers?

Banks do address verification, as one of the KYC processes, for current account holders. In spite of that, dont people still defraud banks on current accounts?
Do you think address verification would be easy for banks, if they had 60 million addresses to verify? They are able to do address verification because it has always been part of the KYC processes.

In the case of these telecom firms, you allowed them to sell millions of sims to subscribers without registration. You now turned around to impose registration, which is not useful for their operations, and asked them to be responsible for the logistics and huge funds required. Thatz sheer nonsense!

Sim registration is easiest done by the phone operators. Logistics is not an issue as all of them have distributors and distribution points across the country. This is how their sim cards and scratch card are able to penetrate the most remote villages in Nigeria

Also, the equipment required is the least of the issues. Some of the phone companies have already designed equipment that will capture picture, finger print and other information of the users. They are already distributing this to some of their dealers who for a reward are willing to carry out the task

The N6bn that some people are asking for is pure fraud. Unless you are a phone operator, there is no way you can use N6bn to register over 70million phone users scattered across a vast country like Nigeria. You will need at least N15bn and that is assuming that the cost is not inflated.
The national ID card project that they implemented with several billions came to nothing because it was poorly funded and the main intention was not creating a national ID system. This was simply a by product and that is why most people either don't have a national ID or those that have don't take it serious.

What the National assembly should do is to create legislations to support the phone companies on the registration exercise. BTW, in case you don't know, some of the operators are very comfortable running the exercise. The NCC and other govt agencies can support by creating a central database where all the registered info can be stored and retrieved centrally if required but then this introduces other issues of who keeps and manages that data and how do we ensure the data is not used for malicious purposes eg election rigging. What about privacy issues? These are the debates that the national assembly should be engaging in

I'm still struggling to understand why these thieves and pedophiles calling themselves northern politician think they own Nigeria. No doubt the ignorance and sectionalism in other parts of the country plays a great role. The power is now in GJ hands. Let's see if he truly has the guts to change things

It is good news for Nigeria if IBB end up in ANPP. He won't have the rigging machinery of the PDP at his disposal in 2011

The story is obviously a scam. i'm shocked at the number of people that have come to 'praise God' for this rubbish. Is it that the average Nigerian has a low IQ and cannot tell right from wrong? no wonder the country is backward. Every Nigerian would rather believe a miracle than use their God given brain including the so called educated ones. Shior. And where are the law enforcement agencies?

I really appreciate the level of discourse on this topic. even the mudslinging has been entertaining.
My question is what is wrong with each state managing its own power supply from generation to transmission to distribution? I am convinced our current political system makes it nearly impossible for an average president to implement any serious program. this is because there is no national interest in politics at the federal level, only selfish and regional interest.
The state govts however are more motivated to perform and leave a legacy. states with similar interest can cooperate on power supply without clueless federal bureaucrats meddling. for me, this is a far more important consideration than economics of scale of a national approach, after-all a lot of countries that manage their power supply very well are smaller than some states in Nigeria

Yusufi:
The bold portion happens to be a typical example of what I analyzed earlier on.

That portion of the statement, even when unintended and directed at just one individual, is decreed and bound to be considere[b]d by all muslim faithfuls globally as an abject mockery of God's divine statement as contained in His Holy book simply because phrases and statements from the divine book are completely forbidden and considered blasphemous when used outside the context of its intended meaning by muslims and worst of all non-muslims.[/b] This alone is ordinarily capable of inciting protests owing to the fact that such course of actions are decreed to be vehemently opposed at all costs as an act of worship. You have just got to know and stick to this to earn the respect and trust of any muslim faithful. He or she on the other hand is decreed and compelled to safeguard your interest, protect your life and property and live peacefully with you even if it will cost him his life.

Yusufi, your defense above is very weak.  Your statement is exactly why Islam cannot claim to be a religion of peace or one that is tolerant of other beliefs. Why can't Allah come down himself and deal with those blaspheming his 'divine statement'? Why must he rely on Ignorant Muslim faithfuls to do it for him? I don't buy the argument that non-Muslims should respect Muslims beliefs and sensitivities. They are under no obligation to do so as long as they are not breaking the laws as stated in the constitution (not the illegal sharia code).
What we are dealing with is a simple case of lawlessness on the part of Northern Muslims. If they feel aggrieved that statement by non-Muslims is hurting their sensitivities, they should go to the law courts to seek redress and not take the laws into their own hands. Just because other don't want to follow their barbaric path don't mean they have monopoly of violence. Northerners must realize that there are laws guiding how citizens should behave and interact. This intimidation and terrorism under the guise of religion must stop
It is a shame that the laws in this country don't work and I believe it is people like you who contribute most to this situation with your parochial and selfish religious view

For me, Fashola is no 1
Those who keep saying Fashola is doing well because of IGR seem to have forgotten what the IGR was before Fashola came in. The man has more than quadrupled IGR since taking over. Nothing stops other states from increasing their IGR and please spare me this argument that Lagos is more commercial. As long as a state is inhabited by people and not monkeys, Governors can embark on development project that will not only generate revenue for the state but create more jobs and opportunities in the state. This is what the Fasola has achieved in Lagos. Doubters should talk to operators in the BRT system and understand the level of sanity that has been brought into transport in Lagos state. Now you have all sorts of businesses investing in the scheme with everyone in the the state better for it
Governance is all about enabling people solve their most pressing problems using the resources is at the leaders disposal. it has nothing to do with the size of the resources but all to do with the size of the vision and energy to execute the vision. After all Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources but we have not been able to convert this to any meaningful development. Leadership at every level in Nigeria is littered with mediocres so any time we see someone like Fasola thinking big and actualizing it, we should applause them.
As for Akala, the bling bling governor, I can't understand why the people of Oyo state can live peacefully with that kind of person. He is a joke at best. Speaks volumes about the mentally of Nigerians in general

Nellychari
Posts: 10

Online

Re: $96000 Internet Fraud
« #96 on: Today at 08:34:13 AM »

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Mrs Floriana. I chose to address you as Mrs, because you are not man enough with all this rubbish you are propagating.You are not sincere with yourself. "When the church inquired about the source of the money, he explained he earned the money legitimately through his job." From the statement above, It means that the Church don't raised fraudsters and they do not condone it. If you have problem with the church or pastor Chris himself, just go and sort it out yourself. It seems you are an atheist. Pls, stop this scandal or EFFC will come after you because you are a fraudster too. It's a case of pot calling kettle black.

The above reeks of hypocrisy. Where did the Church expect a 23 year old boy to get all that money?

Re: $96000 Internet Fraud
« #81 on: Yesterday at 01:54:29 PM » 

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cunny man die, cunny man burry am, so what is d big deal now. he defrauded oyinbo hen hen! and so wot? Can that amount to one pich of what their forefathers have stolen from this land? abeg leave d poor boy jare afterall hes not armed robber neither pen robber

Guy, while I detest Oyinbos for their hypocrisy, deceit and thieving  through centuries, I discovered Nigeria is actually the no 1 victim of 419.
419 and scams in general have corrupted our people and displaced the priorities our youths. Go take a poll of fresh graduate and see how many want to make a career from white collar crimes. These are youth that should be pursuing meaningful careers that will benefit the society. Instead they spend their prime dreaming up scams lazily in Cyber cafes.

For every 1 scammer that hits a mugu, there are thousands that are wasting away. These other thousand come back to haunt the society because their lives have been wasted.

So tell me, is our society not the one losing. And we complain that the country is corrupt and upside down. Is it not from encouraging these acts. If you don't rise against evil, you have no right to peace

This is one of the reasons why Nigeria is backward. We must be ashamed of it and not celebrate it

[color=#990000]Homonide
Posts: 37

Offline

Re: Kano: Muhammad Abacha Declares For PDP
« #38 on: October 16, 2009, 12:42 PM »
Insanity extraordinaire!!! It is only in Nigeria that some1 like Muhammed Abacha can even think of aspiring for the post of a Councillor, not to talk of

governor. but why am i not surprised? beacuse i have seen the way some Northerners adore Sani Abacha, they put his pictures in their cars,  as if

the guy is some kind of hero. for GOD's sake, the guy was a KILLER, A Physco!

GOD go punish anybody wey won drag Naija back, to atoto fenu sogi, agbala esu. ASE Edumare![/color]

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This is why Nigeria should operate a true federal system. the different parts simply don't share the same values. In a true federation, the people of Kano can elect the devil if they wish. They will be the only one to suffer the consequences. Why should Kano's love for the Abachas affect those of us in Lagos? This is the real issue with Nigeria. This ridiculous federal system must end