₦airaland Forum

It’s no longer news that the present economic performance of the country is at an all-
time low. The sky-rocketing rate of inflation is so appalling that one begins to ask
himself, how did we come this far?
Ranging from the shameful rise in the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira, the
frequent fuel scarcity and long queues of automobiles that besiege the feeling stations,
adding to the already-annoying traffic congestion in urban areas, to the pocket tearing
inflation rate and rise in the cost of every commodity, including our locally-produced
garri and sachet water, it is obvious that our economy is bleeding and in need of a quick
and thorough surgical operation. Perhaps, a first aid treatment will do for now.
There are two interesting hashtags trending on social media recently that relate with the
topic and concern of this article: #WakaWakaBuhari and #BringBackOurCorruption.
Through these hashtags Nigerians have been lamenting the present bedridden state of
the Nigerian Economy and what they perceive as the lackadaisical attitude of the
Commander-in-Chief. While one may be quick to dismiss the second hashtag,
#BringBackOurCorruption, as myopic and mediocre, we cannot ignore the disturbing irony
it represents and portrays; the irony of the present state of the Nigerian economy and
the popular pre-election mantra of change.
Talking about #WakaWakaBuhari, it’s interesting to discover that President Muhammadu
Buhari is being accused of the same act of “excessive and frivolous” traveling which he
campaigned against during Obasanjo and Jonathan’s regimes. However, someone should
tell President Buhari that while he is busy globetrotting and spending two billion naira to
maintain presidential jets within six months and budgeting about one billion for the
acquisition and maintenance of his automobile fleet Nigerians are suffering and waiting
for the fulfilment of his campaign promises.
During the 2008 Obama Campaign the two major slogans of that campaign were “Yes we
can” and “The change we need”. The circumstances that surrounded the American
presidential election of that year are in many ways similar to those of the Nigerian
presidential election of 2015. Both nations were facing serious security threats and
economic setback.
However, one major difference between the Obama Change campaign and the APC/
Buhari change campaign was that the latter and her supporters failed to define the
change we wanted. While Americans chanted “The change we need,” Nigerians simply
chanted “Change.” The popular sarcasm that now describes the present state of the
Nigerian state is “Yes, change has come.” But is it the change we need? Is it the change
we wanted?
I had the opportunity of engaging in a political discussion with a group of colleagues
about the state of the nation. While arguments and counter arguments raged on, a friend
said and I quote, “If elections were to be held today and I am presented with the options
of either voting GEJ or Buhari, I will vote Buhari over and over again.” That is how solid
and unshaking the confidence Nigerians have in this administration is. Obviously the
administration is yet to live up to those confidence and expectations. But there are a
handful of Nigerians who are still very hopeful that the light will appear at the end of the
tunnel. At another time, after a colleague had painstakingly enumerated the different
challenges Nigerians are facing under the present administration and ended his long
statement with the question, “Is this what you call change?”, another colleague was
quick to say, “Yes, leave it. We like it like that.” The question that I found hovering over
my flabbergasted mind was: do we actually like it like that or we have willingly lost
ourselves in a self-destructive effort of justifying the outcome of a decision we made
about a year ago?
The administration has made some giant strides in fighting the Boko-haram insurgency,
but the suffering of Nigerians has increased in the last six months. I thought I knew what
fuel scarcity meant until this government came to power. Before now the queues we
used to experience at the filling station are that of vehicles and people with kegs. Now
people queue up with their power generators. Since the power supply in the country is
now at an all-time low, business owners find themselves in a pathetic situation where
they have to carry their power generators about looking for fuel. It’s now the case where
you can’t have the electricity that you paid exorbitant amount for and you still can’t buy
fuel to power your generator. Gone are the days when instances of fuel scarcity used to
trend on the social media and you will find people expressing their grievances and
disappointment in the government. These days people are even tired of talking about it.
It is no longer something unusual. It has become a part and parcel of our life as a
nation.
Senator Ben Murray Bruce, the common sense senator and fast rising twitter celebrity
and legislator, recently re-posted a tweet of President Muhammadu Buhari during the
last presidential campaign. In the tweet that went viral on the internet, the then
presidential aspirant said, “The countless man hour that will be spent at petrol stations
today, will reduce our productivity as a nation. This should not be so.” Maybe someone
needs to tell president Buhari that Nigerians now spend more hours at the filling station
than they have ever done. Fuel scarcity and queues at the filling station have become so
frequent that it has now become a part of our everyday life as a people. We have moved
from scarcity usually during the festive period to fuel scarcity every other week. I would
say that’s a landslide achievement if you ask me.
After listening to the president’s recent interview with Aljazeera I discovered that
President Buhari may not really understand the weight and gravity of the recent rise in
the value of the dollar against the naira on Nigerians. I have lost count of the number of
retailers who have had to close their shops recently in my area due to the high price of
goods and services and the devastating economic realities of “the largest economy in
Africa,” realities that have now gotten worse under the watch of the present
administration. I can imagine the disappointment on the poor women’s faces when they
heard President Buhari say, “Those who can afford it should afford it.” Well, the lack of
electrical power supply may have saved them from having such insult added to their
already sustained injury.
Yes, change is a gradual process, but do we have to suffer meaninglessly and aimlessly
to achieve change and progress as a nation? I am sure incessant fuel scarcity is not
part of the change process. That’s only a symptom of obvious incompetence. The
recent harsh financial policy of the government to mitigate the rise in the price of the
dollar against the naira has more negative effect on the middle class and lower class
than it has on the high class in the society. President Buhari and other well privileged
Nigerians can still afford to send their children to school abroad. The importation
business moguls can still afford to import goods from foreign countries, Nigerians will be
the ones to pay double the former price. That’s why this government must stop looking
at national issues from only her narrow myopic perspectives and think of the devastating
effect these policies will have on the less privileged Nigerians on whose wings it rose to
power. Government has to be efficiently proactive.

https://www.thecable.ng/the-travelling-president-and-a-nation-at-standstill

rusher14:
But in naija we call it "sharp guy".

haha,abi

rusher14:
What kind of witch-hunting is this again?

dats emblezzlement na

Police in eastern China’s Shandong province have
arrested 37 people in connection with an $88 million
vaccine scandal.
Health authorities said on Wednesday in Beijing that
officers were investigating three pharmaceuticals
companies involved in the scandal.
The authorities said last month that they arrested
two people on suspicion of illegally selling wrongly
stored or expired vaccines.
It said they were reportedly sold in 20 provincial-
level regions from 2011.
Authorities said they ordered drug and health
departments to check the manufacturing source of
the medicines and take the defective ones off the
market immediately.
The investigation centres on 12 vaccines plus other
medical products.
(dpa/NAN)


source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/foreign/200690-37-arrested-china-88-million-vaccine-scandal.html

Dauda Kako-Are, Accord Party member, representing
Lagos State’s Mushin 1 Federal Constituency at the
House of Representatives, said he would take 2,000
intending picnickers from his constituency to the
Sultan Beach on Easter Monday.
Mr. Kako-Are told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
on Wednesday in Lagos that this would afford them
the opportunity to relax in a natural setting devoid
of the hustling and bustling of the city centre.
He said it had been his culture to take some
members of his constituency to tourist sites during
Easter celebration.
The lawmaker said that no less than 2,000 intending
picnickers had already shown interests in the
exercise and more were still registering.
He said that the aim was to give back to the society
and an avenue for people to enjoy the dividends of
democracy.
“I believe my people need to enjoy the dividends of
democracy and this is an avenue to do so.
“I will be responsible for the expenses and not the
constituency because I do not want my people to be
overburdened,’’ he said.
Mr. Kako-Are said the idea was also to enable people know the
tourism potentials in the state, adding that the beach was one of the
best sites located in Badagry.
NAN reports that Mr. Kako-Are had been responsible for free school
bus ride for primary and secondary school pupils in the area.
He was also providing clean water and monthly allowances for adults
and the elderly in his constituency. (NAN)


source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/regional/ssouth-west/200694-easter-lawmaker-plans-convey-2000-picnickers-sultan-beach.html

divinehand2003:
Nice one. Bye bye to those days of loading in airtime at one instance, only to discover the the cash has been used by a ghost.

true

Airtel Nigeria, on Wednesday said the telecommunications company has
introduced new Service Short Code- *902#- to activate or deactivate
unsolicited messages.
The Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Ahmad Mokhles, in a statement in Lagos,
said that the short code would empower customers to choose, activate or
deactivate their Value Added Service (VAS) subscription at any point in time.
The statement said that the service would allow customers to dial *902# to
choose from two options of either activating or deactivating a VAS or SMS
service.
According to it, Airtel customer will either press ‘2’ to deactivate or ‘1’ to
activate a service.
It described the new offering as “placing power back in the hands of
consumers’’, saying that it would enable them to easily decide what services
to enjoy on the smartphone network.
”This simple-step service short code offers our customers freedom of
choice which ties with our commitment toward enriching the lives of
Nigerians.
”This is through the provision of exceptional service experience, driven by
innovative products and services,” the statement quoted Mokhles as saying.
(NAN).



source: http://thecitizenng.com

CHANNELS

operamini

itzeminent:
Please am I good to go for science laboratory in uniben. My jamb score is 231

sure...200+ makes d cutoff

4 u 2 have such a ride u must be a billionaire...so while will dat b a problem.

na so so extension,wen una go say una no fit ban dem.

Endtime love

FTC on point,afta several trials...Endtime advice

Happy matric 2 all 2015/2016 admitted students.

Seun:
He hasn't been found guilty.

but he was asked to pay a fine

Most times u can't create a mod,quote or even like a comment.Even if u do right or wrong u might b ban unconditionally...some of dis moderators just use dis medium to test if dey ar still in charge hmmm!!!,if dis continues i bet u nairaland will lose so many members.I know i might b banned,but truth must be told.

MadCow1:
NYSC should ban all UNIBEN graduates from serving.


Those things being produced by UNIBEN every year can't be called Graduates.. # Tufiakwa.

U ar a prototype of ur name

#lifeinuniben when u pass tru ebelebor tree at night u hear different kinds of sound.

#Lifeinuniben 4 weeks to exam twin LT go full 4 night like sardine.

themmy45:
Good evening roomies.
My question: I got my certificate three years ago.

Can I use my 2015 waec results with it to gain DE admission to Uniben? Thanks.

ar u combining two results

nikkyshyne:
but she is right. Looks like the rice needs a little salt

so u actually ate d food

slimyem:
Doesn't look appealing

eeh,u get d 1 wey fine pass abi

sod09:
happy new year

xame

EroticAngelina:
now I'm hungry

haha,oya just collect am 4rm ur screen.

New year day is so special to many family...imagine dis tempting food.

Op d 'CMPLX' is on so u shuld expect dat

hatux:
More like I used the three. Those days ehn, wey go write your name on paper con put inside your pen...;Dfunny days!

haha,guy so na all u carry

Imagine dos years of Bigs,fountain,winners e.t.c.Actually if u didn't use any of these...u were i.e born in d time of our fore-fathers or u are a 2000 kid.

U make me laff