₦airaland Forum

Nsiman:
@ ndu-chuks, the way the bombing were done in jos and abuja, is that how MEND operate, do MEND bomb/attack churches? Reason well.

Get your facts straight. No church was bombed in Abuja! The bomb was detonated in the market in the area where we go and buy fresh fish.  They did not target any particular religious group, the dead included moslems and christians alike. General Togo is a more plausible suspect to me. Togo even warned GEJ that he will come for Abuja to avenge the attacks on his soldiers. Why can't the dumbhead GEJ wait for full investigations  before accusing anyone for the bombing?  olodo

@Abali1, anyone who insults you because of your sensible post will be thoroughly dealt with.  Our problem is currently compounded because we have a president that is so weak that his wife probably slaps him twice a week because he did not come to bed early.

This man is very clueless. He had the opportunity to become the one of the greatest Nigerians by ensuring that we have free and fair election in 2011, and then do the honourable thing of stepping aside. Instead of doing that, he was convinced by his wife and other greedy people to run for office, despite the fact that he himself knows that he does not have the intestinal fortitude to do so.

No one respects him, even Gbagbo is spitting in his face.  If care is not taken, he will destroy his own people.

The most unfortunate aspect of this bombing is that the dumbed president GEJ, has quickly announced to the world that his brothers from the south south, the General Kings and MENDs of the area are not responsible for the bombing.  Just like he tried to pin the Independence day bombing on some politicians from the North, he is now accusing the bombers of Jos of last nights atrocities.

This act by the president is most irresponsible and smacks of gross incompetence and lack of leadership skills. Read his position as publicized by

Tonight, evil people determined to turn the joys of fellow Nigerians to ashes detonated a bomb at a barracks market in the Federal Capital City.

Basking in their nefarious success in Jos on Christmas eve, they have once again knifed at the heartstrings of a nation decked out in gaiety, celebrating new year's eve. This is extreme evil. It is wicked. It defies all that we believe in, and stand for as a nation.

The president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, condemns this attack, and commands the nation's security services to rise to the occasion and  arrest this new and dangerous challenge to our peace and stability.
There shall be no sacred cows. All, no matter how remotely connected to these incidents, must be brought to justice.
They must be made to pay.   No one, and we repeat, no one, can make this nation ungovernable.

Ima Niboro
Special Adviser to the President,
Media and Publicity

The statement was released only minutes after the bombing before any meaningful investigations were carried out!   Did the president know before hand about the bombing? This man will plunge the nation into chaos. It is not too late for him to give up his presidential ambition and greed. Shame on GEJ and his handlers.

As for his boi boi, Beaf, when the s.hit hits the fan, you and your ilk will be in diaspora where you are currently hiding out.  olodo

babapupa:
I gladly ignored that part of your write up be because it asked me to justify what I never asserted. I questioned the local folks objection to tolling which you yourself just supported by saying you have no objection to tolling, but I didn't question the suspension, I'll let the state handle that.

You made this comment about the news on the suspension of toll collection:

Obviously, Nigerians are not ready for prime time. There's nothing good about this news, many are to ignorant and shortsighted for their own good

I assumed it meant that there is nothing good about the suspension. If that was not what you meant, then apologies and Happy New Year.

@babapupa, I too do not have any objection to using tolls as a means of financing Lekki expressway. I however, welcome the review of this contract to make sure that sweetheart deals that are unfair and probably criminal, which may have been embedded in the contract, for the benefit of the usual suspects, are completely expunged from the contract. If this will delay toll collections a bit, so be it.

Why did you object to the suspension of this toll collection? This objection was the basis of my initial post.

manny4life:
A contract is a contract, it cannot be reversed and renegotiation isn't an option. Mr Gov. would not be willing to buy into their terms and vice versa, causing chaos. I hope the Gov should be ready to dance to a legal showdown, I do not not know the stipulations of the contract, but if does violate their contract, then Gov should pay the penalties.

A contract can be nullified by courts under certain conditions. I suspect that no one will file a lawsuit against Fashola, in this case, because if the details of the contract becomes public, and the "sweetheart deal" is exposed, quite a few people will be embarassed, to say the least.

Beaf:
Continue with the bombs and see.

I'm more inclined to believe that the boming was a response to your uncle's actions against his brother General Togo. I remember Togo promised to respond in kind, it appears as if he responded sooner rather than later.

Beaf:
[size=21pt]If people preach violence, they will reap violence. If anyone feels they can make Nigeria ungovernable, they will be executed. If you think innocent civilian blood is cheap, you will die.[/size]

err, Have you and your uncle executed members of MEND who have already killed innocent civilians in Warri and elsewhere?  shatap with the empty threat already.  GEJ is obviously incapable of leading this country with all her complexities.

Beaf:
There is a magic bullet and its called true federalism. It is wise for every Nigerian to learn what it means.

Happy New Year! Preach that to your thieving brothers in crime and leaders including General Togo, MEND, the Orkahs etc.  who bomb, kill, and maim innocent people.  Make sure that your uncle GEJ gets the memo as well.

manny4life:
I agree though but not under a million either though. I think a lil more than a million will do because it's Nigeria.

If Fashola can renegotiate the contract wherein, the costs are more realistic, trim the fat alloted for Mr. Former Lagos Government himself and his boys, while the toll is suspended, then all is well. Fashola deserves the benefit of the doubt in this case.

Ola edo:
Don't worry they will soon find out that it is also mend setting off bombs in iraq also. Grow a brain.

ola edo, funny guy. one would have thought by now, you would have reached the conclusion that Gbagbo detonated the bomb as a warning to ecowas and its leader GEJ olodo.

manny4life:
If I may, are u can engineer? How did u sum up that it would cost no more than $1 million? I guess its unique due to geographical location. I'm not an engineer, but cost of acquisition of land, as well as other fixed assets/resources alone would be significant as compared to some other states.

I agree, but to the tune of $5-6million or (almost N1billion) per mile?? That seems quite excessive. The government will not buy any land at retail cost and there are waivers on the imported construction materials - no customs fees, etc

@babapupa, what is your objection to temporarily putting toll collection on hold and revisit the underlying contract, in an attempt to ensure that Lagosian's receive the best deal possible.  If indeed Fashola's actions are illegal, what is wrong with going to court for remedies?  This is a simple non academic question.

I'd be surprised if your position differs from mine on these simple questions.  By the way, cut it out, and stop dodging the issues with not-so-clever fontenizations.

I find it interesting that people are starting to point fingers at Atiku while ignoring the more credible threats from (1) General John Togo of the Niger Delta, (2) Threats from the Orkah crew , and (3) MEND at large.

They will start blaming IBB for the bombing soon and GEJ will invite MEND thugs and others to Aso rock and have a press moment to show solidarity. olodo.

Happy New Year, and as Eze Ndiigbo Gburugburu would say, Good Morning.

Limaoscar:
Ezeachi and the rest of your ilk,
Shut-up and stop derailing this post. People have just died on the eve of a new year , we should be mourning but NO, You must PROPOSE and revel in a "dis-memberment" of the Country . Can't you find at least one good thing in your life that this country has done for you before campaigning for the Emergence  of republican or regional  states from what

Please take it easy on Eziachi. Those of us who have been here all year, understand that he is also a victim and casualty of the Biafran war, a former soldier.  He has seen more dead bodies than most of us will ever encounter, just pray for him. shikena.

[quote author=eku_bear link=topic=576642.msg7441924#msg7441924 date=1293831639]The $6.7 mil per km might be too high, but the $1.5 mil per mile ($940k per kilometer) is way too low. Might be able to do that in Ekiti State, but no chance of getting it done that cheaply in Lagos.[/quote]You may be uninformed. Assuming that one of the most expensive bridges, a cantilever bridge, is constucted throughout the length of this road, building material costs will be no more than $1million per mile, so what is unique about Lagos to add additional $5/6million per mile to construction costs? I'm assuming that the $5m is not the normal 9ija consideration which routinely travels under the table. Mind you, we are not talking about building a cantilever bridge here.

kulutempa:
@ndu_chucks, that's alright.   You see I have already addressed the issue of renegotiating contracts in an earlier comment, but  I will deal with it again.  The reason why renegotiating a contract good or bad, is risky, is that it creates uncertaintly particularly when large sums of money are involved.  And if there is one thing money hates, it's uncertainty and instability.  That is why most people given the choice, would prefer to invest their money in Dubai as opposed to say Somalia and Afghanistan.  The danger with trying to renegotiate what you consider to be a bad contract after you sign it, is that the other party thinks that you are trying to take advantage of him because he thinks you should, like him have considered all the loopholes and problems before signing the dotted line.  It becomes even more risky when you need foreign investors to invest in your country, because they would see what is happening and either avoid investing in what they consider to be such an uncertain environment, or they would  only deal with you on terms that are very strict and not particularly favourable to you.  This is why most countries try to observe international treaties and agreements because once you start moving the goal posts or playing fast with the rules your risk profile immediately goes up and fewer people want to do business with you.  As some people will say:  na so I see am o.

Your points are quite valid.  Note however, that the risk of having the contract renegotiated or even outright cancelled, has already been factored into the decision making process of the parties involved. Everyone knows that this is not unexpected in Nigeria.  The only thing that is certain is that, everyone will make plenty of money at the end of the day.

Fashola is armed with more information than we have and we should give him the benefit of the doubt in this case. Additionally, some risks are worth taking. Judging from all the money ready  to be invested in Lagos from just about every corner of the globe, one can easily conclude that Fashola’s action poses no significant risk to Lagosians.

@eku_bear, I believe that Fashola strongly disagrees with the LCC's estimate you posted above. To be fair to yourself, please try to find Fashola's estimates and you may discover that, the numbers you posted are grossly overstated.

You also wrote that they are spending $6.7 million per kilometer!!!  Does that bother you at all? Is the road plated in diamonds?? In places like the USA and Germany, the cost of such roads is $1.5 million cost per mile, not kilometer/ Note that Labour is quite cheap in Nigeria as well.

Why do you object to revisiting the contract in question for the betterment of Lagosians?

kulutempa. no vex. I needed to make that emphasis to point out how ridiculous your claims were.

Now, what is wrong with renegotiating a bad contract?

What da heck is going on?? NTA-24 is now saying that the bomb blast at Jikwoyi was just a rumour!!!


I'm switching off the TV, ASAP.


@binhozie, your friend may be alive, if NTA-24 account is true. take heart, buddy.

kulutempa:
Absolutely sir, but you know what, there is also a wise old saying which is: be nice to people you meet when you are climbing a ladder because you may meet them again on the way down. Worse still they may remove the ladder when you need it the most.

Wake up and smell the coffee!! Progressives like Fashola are, sooner rather than later, going to be in the majority. Empty threats such as yours on behalf of your ogas are just that, empty! If you call people who robbed Lagosians blind while in power, and did nothing tangible for the state during their tenure, as exposed by Fashola's gains, good people, then your values are at the very least, inadequate.

@Kilode?! Thanks a lot. I appreciate your comments.

kulutempa:
Sorry to burst your bubble, but Halliburton bribed government officials to get a fat juicy contract, not to run a BOT concession with banks and investors money on the line. Major difference there. Finally would you by any chance have any evidence of what those "profit margins" are, or is this just beer parlour talk?

kulutempa, you know better than this post of yours. This is not the medium for litigation - it suffices to say that aggrieved parties, if they have the guts, should go to court and seek relief. If Fashola believes that the original contract was criminal or grossly unfair to Lagosian tax payers, then it would be irresponsible of him not to seek a better deal. What are you guys afraid of, go to court or renegotiate the deal! Fashola did the right thing.

Fowl wey no want make wind open him yansh no dey smell court to seek relief.

I don't believe there are any laws or constitutional provisions against the act.  It is criminal under sharia laws, though we have dan daudus frying akara for a living and living as eunuchs openly.

What's the point of this thread? I'm not sure you people have any human rights to speak of, in Nigeria, anyway. Only the rich enjoy those rights. Strt with criminalizing tribalism and nepotism with enforcement, first.

kulutempa:
Yeah right, and in a few years time you go abroad on roadshows to ask the same people to come and invest in your country. If that isn't shortsightedness, I don't know what else it is.

Don't be s.illy! The profit margins on these projects are enough to make them return for more, over and over and over again. Go and ask Halliburton and others.

Now I am convinced that the bombing at Mammy market was not due to a drunken soldier's irresponsibilities. I just saw on NTA-24 that another explosion was confirmed in Jikwoi, a satellite town of Abuja's.  There is also a bomb threat being circulated via text messages that a bomb will be detonated close to Nicon in the area where New Year fireworks are usually carried out.

Something tells me that I will not be watching tonight's fireworks in person.  Na for TV I go watch am with my machine gun on red alert.  

olabukola:
Shot Up already this must be a planned something by the people withing the govt or outside of it. It has nothing to do with muslims this time around.

Are you drunk already? Whe.re in my post did I mention that the bombing has anything to do with moslems? Is being a drunken soldier synonymous to being a moslem?  I will assume that you were reponding to the wrong post. olodo rabata

kulutempa:
You are absolutely  right about our shortsightedness.   Someone once said that we Nigerians like to go to the moon but we don't like rockets.   We don't like paying taxes  but we complain about bad roads and hospitals.   We think that because we are an oil producing country, we should get all public  services for free.  One thing that makes me laugh is the demand by some people that the Lekki road fence should be removed.   Once that happens freeloaders will be driving on a road that was reconstructed with billions of naira of other people's money.  It has already been made clear here that there is an alternative route, but no, we prefer to use the six lane one, free of charge.  My people awoof dey kill.

I think you people are missing the point of Fashola's actions. There is obvious value in toll collection where the terms of the toll collection contract are fairly negotiated. Fashola's action should make way for a well re-negotiated contract wherein the interest of the state is well protected.  Let the agrieved parties go to court at argue their case.  Fashoa's actions in this case are brilliant. In the end Lagos will come out on top while the thieving participants in the toll collection contract be the losers.

Explosives are readily available at the Abacha barracks which is just a stone's throw from the Mammy market. I wouldn't be surprised is some drunken soldier did not have a couple of grenades explode on his person, bringing down a building in the process.

Several people were shown on TV complaining of missing loved ones. May the souls of the dead RIP.

babapupa:
You are not making any sense my friend. Please recompose and resend your thoughts.

I suspected you were not very bright, but I'm more inclined to believe that you are hiding the inadequacies of your position on Fashola's actions, in your supposed ignorance or inability to understand my post.  You don't fool me buddy.

@babapupa, I thought you were a staunch supporter of Fashola's. Why are you insinuating that his decision was not well thought out? One would have expected a more rational pronouncement from your likes.

Don't you expect the LCC investors to go to court for remedies, if there has been a breach of contract? I suspect they do not have the guts to go to court because the details of the contract will be exposed and the implication of Tinubu and others in a potential scam/scandal will not be well-timed at the moment.

I am beginning to suspect you, olodo.

Sapeleguy: My brother, I take it Olodo must be a term of endearment. You talk as if our constitution is sacrosanct or that the reps we have are answerable to us (bear in mind we didn't vote for them) The courts have overturned elections in Edo & Delta state due to electoral malpractices, is it unthinkable to believe that this malpractice didn't extend to the selection of 'our' reps.

You and I know that your friends in NASS would rather hell froze over first before any tangible benefit is derived for the common man. If you dispute this please name 3 bills that have been passed this year that have benefitted the common man.

No vex if I use olodo in my write ups, it is indeed a term of endearment from my viewpoint.

May I remind you that the Reps and Senators, did not originate from outer space. These are fellow Nigerians like you and I. You and everyone else has a duty to participate in the process we have in place and attempt to make a difference.  Once we recognize the fact that real power belongs to the people, we can start from the grassroots and one by one, take our country back. Even you can become a senator or a rep. You must believe that. Its time to stop making excuses and take our country back.

Katsumoto: Your suggestions about using NASS to solve the foundational problems that Nigeria faces is akin to asking a band of thieves to formulate and implement solutions that will fortify and secure their victims. It is naive at best and disingenuous at worst to propose this. Nigeria can not work in its current structure; we need to go back to the drawing board to decide on a way forward. True federalism or total disintegration with constituent parts deciding whether or not to form new republics with others is the way forward. Nigeria was formed by the Colonialists for their own interests. This experiment has run its course and we can not continue in this manner otherwise the rut continues.

I admire your idealism. I have to remind you that human beings never give up power voluntarily and inasmuch as you people have no way of seizing power from your current crop of leaders, I’m afraid your best option is to work within the existing system to make the changes you desire. If you can’t do that, start a massive revolution – a  people’s revolt to cripple the government and drive the reps out of Abuja.  Given the cowardice of most Nigerians, however, a revolution is not going to happen anytime soon. They will either kill the leaders of such revolution like fowls or pay them off

Katsumoto: What do you have against a Sovereign National Conference? The problem I have with a SNC is likely to be with the representatives.

SNC is a good concept but there is no place for it in Nigeria. I completely agree with you that the same leaders who are currently ruling the country, will set the agenda and handpick the participants. Additionally, you people (we Nigerians) do not function well in such environments. Nigerians need elders to tell them what to do, or dictators to force them to do those things. I also think that you people are genetically predisposed to fail and end up starting a war under a scenario such as SNC. I’m sorry to say, you people are barbarians, who are basically incapable of having a SNC in peace.  I will however welcome a SNC if the idea of breaking up the country is off the table. SNC will be used by secessionists(such as Dede1) to push their agenda. shikena