₦airaland Forum

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Dora has always been a brave woman. This is the first step. Resignation may come later or may not come at all, depending on how YARADUA's illness plays out. Of all the men and women in the FEC she is the only one with guts. She is the only 'man'' amongst them. kudos Dora; continue to showcase what stuff you represent.

How many bags of Ghana must go has changed hands between Fasola and Tinubu and the Oba? This is pyrrhic victory at best. The citizens are the losers.

Good news from Southeast
Editorial
Thursday, January 28, 2010

At a time many Nigerians have expressed concern about the kidnap epidemic that recently gripped the Southeast geo-political zone of the country, we are happy to note the welcome move by the governors of the five states that make up the zone to re-position the area economically.

 
The governors as part of their efforts to put the area on the path of steady economic growth recently convened an economic council tagged the “Burma Retreat” at Okohia, the country home of Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State. The agendum of the retreat, according to reports, was to fashion out a blue print that will drive the economic re-engineering of the zone to the pattern it used to maintain before the disruptive civil war of 1967 to 1970. For a start, the governors have agreed to “investigate their joint investments” in 2010 with a view to repositioning them for better performance.

While repositioning the existing investments is no doubt necessary, no less important, if not more so, is the creation of an investment-friendly environment in that part of the country. The need for fresh investments is all too obvious in the face of the growing unemployment in most parts of the country. While we may not have the exact figure, it is to be admitted that rural to urban migration in the Southeast must be one of the highest in the country. And this unhealthy trend is the product of the unfriendly economic conditions in the area. Yet there is no question about the huge potential of the Southeast in the area of technology development and commerce. The many personal industrial initiatives of the hardworking people of the zone need to be turned into industrial clusters as is the practice in the East Asia industrial tigers like Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea which have since become major exporters of modern technology. When people observe that the Southeast of Nigeria is the Taiwan of Africa, it is not without justification. The enterprising spirit of the people is legendary and is only waiting to be properly harnessed. This can be best done through government-led massive infrastructure development that will certainly boost the growth of the economy of the Southeast states and consequently create employments for the millions of its citizens that have been forced to migrate to Abuja, Lagos and outside the country in search of the proverbial greener pasture.

It is noteworthy that the pre-civil war economy of the defunct Eastern Nigeria Region which then comprised the present day Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Rivers, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states was among the fastest growing economies in the world. According to Prof. Anya O. Anya, the immediate past President of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, this was the situation before the outbreak of the civil war. The challenge before the present leaders of the Southeast is to look back in history and try to identify the driving force behind such a pre-war performance and how it can be restored.

Clearly, the challenges are many and adopting an integrated approach in tackling them as the Southeast states governors appear to be doing will help a great deal. The Okohia declaration must therefore rise beyond mere rhetoric and seek to adopt a pragmatic approach in addressing the serious socio-economic challenges facing the zone. One of the most pressing of such challenges is the need for security of lives and property in the area. Investors must be guaranteed of their safety otherwise they won't venture. The governors must therefore endeavour to tackle the problem of social insecurity that has plagued the zone lately. Then, they must also turn their full attention to the provision of basic amenities which are still grossly inadequate in most parts of the Southeast. These are the only ways to give real meaning to the Okohia declaration. We commend the move and wish the governors success. 

http://odili.net/news/source/2010/jan/28/220.html

This is going to be a great section. One can start with discussing findings of current research that can impact on the sustainable development of Nigeria, especially if adapated to Nigerian situations.

Among others, it will be interesting to discuss:
Environmentally-friendly alternatives to chemical fertilizers (the present chemical fertilizers used by farmers are toxic to the environment)
Biocontrol of pest and diseases (so we do not have to use dangerous chemicals for pests,etc control)
Use of bacteria and plants for metal pollution remediation in soil
Use of plants to clean up oil spill (Beaf should like this)
Nanotechnology and its applications in medicine, agriculture and environment, and how this can play out in a country such as Nigeria.

igbo boy:
Whose supreme leader? Igbos are known to be the most republican of all nigerian groups thats why we dont have one king/leader, we independent thinkers , I respect the Ikemba of Nnewi but he aint no supreme leader

The use of the word supreme is really funny, in the context of Nigeria and Igbo in particular.

Yaradua is clueless in many ways, but I will just take on one aspect: his inability to pursue a single goal and achieve it. He's been trying to do many different things at the same time (and his poor health is impeding his speed) and all seemed to have been falling apart. Obasanjo, as bad as he was, did achieve a number of set targets, although he ultimately spoilt everything by helping to impose Yaradua on Nigeria.

The poor, overwhelming masses of Nigeria, 129.9 mill (of the 130 mill you quoted) are not clueless because they are not empowered to act with clue. Other countries which I know you will cite as examples of those who took their fate in their hands were empowered abinitio, and thus, can take on their govts when things go awry. Is it the 129.9 mill mama Emekas, the roadside akara sellers that will take up ''arms'' (note arms in quote) to fight clueless Yaradua?

Kobojunkie:
OH MY GOSH!!! I missed this response.

Now, I am not against PDP in anyway. You rightly said that all the parties consist to a great level CORRUPT individuals but I just have to pick on what you have up there(Not that I believe those in your list above are not corrupt either). You seriously still believe Yar adua is the CLUELESS ONE here??

A man, a measly weak individual HOLDS a NATION of 140 MILLION ( not thousands or even hundreds of thousands) but at least 130 MILLION able-bodied individuals and you seriously believe he is the CLUELESS ONE? SHUDDERS!!!


ROFLMAO!!!

The fact that many Nigerians could be clueless should not negate the alternate fact that Yaradua is clueless. I know where you are driving to: to say that 130 mill people allowed a clueless man to lead tham. May I ask if the 130 mill people include you, and if not, what did you do to extricate yourself from the clueless lot?

MrCrackles:
GBAM!!!!


Nchara
What are they still doing in a party which epitomises corruption, forgery and every other nefarious activities?

If they all left the party, whom will I cite as e.gs. of fairly upright people in PDP? Why would people like Ekwueme and Mbu leave a party they founded? If they do, which other one will they join? AC? PDP is corrupt but so are AC, ANPP, PPA, and others. As we speak, Fasola is hobnobbing with confirmed rogues such as Atiku and Tinubu, as is Oshiomhole with Igbinedion.

Sefago be careful. Or ammo whip your arse again.