₦airaland Forum

The thing is bad guuun oooh! Hampering my transactions!

And you see the renovations going on in all the airports and you suddenly wonder what all the previous aviation ministers did with funds. Imagine all these had been happening since 1999, we wouldn't be complaining about the poor standards of our airports anymore!

Ol boy! I didn't expect it to come this fast. I'm proud of my rivers people. Traitors will be treated expressly. Amaechi betrayed the people of rivers now he is been betrayed by the people he taught he owned.
Everybody say Kaaaaarrrrrrmaaaaaa!!!!

Who is this "the north" we keep hearing about? Do you refer to the idomas, berom, kuteb, jukun, bwaris or the Hausa/ Fulani? The last I checked, at least 9 northern states have more than 50% non Hausa/Fulani/Muslim populations. These states: Adamawa, Taraba, Benue, Kogi, Plateau, Nassarawa, Niger, Kaduna, Kwara gave Jonathan victories in 2011 and would give him same in 2015. Worse still, the citizens of these states are the ones that feel the strongest impact of Hausa/Fulani/ Islamic violence propagated by the book haram and Fulani herdsmen.
So when you talk of "the north" I wonder what you mean because the funny thing is that a berom or idoma or southern Kaduna fellow is more likely to vote for Jonathan than an itsekiri man who lives amongst and marries the Ijaw.

Truth be told, you core northerners don't understand that anytime you gang up against Jonathan, he gets more popular southerners and northern Christians. You need a new strategy if you must get power back. Every other set of Nigerians are totally fed up with your born to rule mentality.
You have just 10 secure states and guess what: two of those states(Bauchi, Katsina) have Jonathan's men firmly on ground while two orders are under a state of emegency leaving the core north with only 6 states to claim safe during elections.
And if you think Yorubas will come out to vote a northerner like Buhari, then you are in for a shocker. Tinubu did it in 2011. He will do it again. Maybe you don't know that the Yorubas understand who their real enemies are.
You better replace the word "the north" for the"core north" as half of the north is firmly in Jonathan's palm.

sagombugo: Article very apt! Everyone and anyone who as much hold a contrary view to the Pro-GEJites is an hater,efulefu,should go and hug transformer....yet its not as if their lives is better!

Bunch a Clowns

And anyone who speaks for Jonathan is either Igbo, Ijaw or PDP. iSN'T THAT THE VIEW OF MANY TOO?

Ok. Let me explain to you poster how elections work in Nigeria.

They say 70% of Nigerians live below $2 daily. Well, majority(about 80%) of that number lives in the north.
Now imagine a man who lives on 200 naira daily being given the opportunity to earn 100 times that amount in 1 day. That is 20,000 naira.
That is akin to someone who earns 20k per month suddenly asked to work for 2 million in one month. Well, he will gladly accept the offer.

Now what would it cost to get 2.5 million northerners( 25% of Buhari voters 2011) who would otherwise have thumbprinted Buhari to vote PDP? Well, 2.5m x 20,000= 50billion. Sounds like a lot of money? 3 days of oil redirection(read theft) would cover that. Remember the SS/SE actually own the oil.

Game of numbers? Well yes. But just not the kind of numbers you refer. Financial numbers mean everything. And the North just doesn't have it.

The above stated scenario is hypothetical and seeks only to buttress the fact that the numbers that count is financial and not demographic.

I love the new 2 party system that is evolving. But the biggest mistake of the APC is thier focus on Jonathan rather than on the APC brand. 2015 is literally impossible for APC not just because there is too much money in the hands of PDP and too many citizens who really do need that money, but mainly because the APC has failed to present itself to Nigerians as a party with a strong ideology that represents a healthy alternative to PDP.

Lies lies lies!! Nobody will pay 11 million naira for printing 10,000 posters!!

Ten thousand posters would cost even 200,000 Naira to print!!


ASll these sensationalism! Everybody knows that Vanguard is being heavily financed with Rivers State taxpayers money!!

mu2sa2: Is it that they've declared war on lslam and muslims? Ok oo, let's see who wins. Btw, those who set out to exterminate lslam in the past, where are they today? And lslam keeps growing at astonishing rate, as God wills.

greatgod2012: Btw, where is the right to practise religion?

Please help me ask Saudi Arabia and Qatar why they dont allow churches or temples. If they give me an answer, I will condemn Angola. But as it stands, Angola is just doing today what almost all the GCC nations have practiced for ever. Churches and temples are not allowed in Saudi Arabia, a country that is the center of Islam. It has about half the working population as foreigners yet they have no places to worship.
All other nations have tolerance for other religions. Rome even has a massive mosque capable of sitting 12,000 people. Its only islamic nations that don't allow other religions practice freely. Angola is taking a que from the likes of Saudi, so no biggie!

We need to upgrade our excellence in this country.

Everything being built is of such a low standard that you wonder whether the people running these projects have ever left the shores of this country. Every project being held by both Government and Privates of so ugly with very poor design aesthetics that you wonder whether

Why is this station so ugly? It surely isn't because of a lack of money because many of these projects in Nigeria are much more expensive than what you see outside.

Fashola builds railway station, they look like Bangladeshi prisons.
Stella Oduah renovates airports, they end up looking like a Romanian bus station.
Julius Berger builds a 10 lane road in Abuja, it looks like it was built in the 60's.
Our restaurants look like crap, so do our cribs and our offices.
What happened to design?? We must begin to upgrade our quest for excellence in this country. This is appalling.

Look at pictures for the Gautrain in South Africa when it was under construction:
[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Sandton_Gautrain_Station.JPG
[/img]

https://s11.postimg.org/4ozkqjv1f/guatrain.jpg

In all the six states of the south south, Okada is totally eliminated as a source of transportation in urban areas. From Benin to Warri to Asaba to Yenagoa to Port Harcourt to Uyo to Calabar.

And most people agree that its been very beneficial. There is a greater sense of sanity and thousands of lives have been saved from the daily occurrence of bike accidents.

Its bad enough that they do all that, but isn't it even worse that we allow them define us before we define ourselves.

There's this saying I love: The power of an oppressor lies in the ignorance of the oppressed!

While I totally agree that the western media paints Africa bad, truth is Africans usually paint a horrid image of Africa as well such that it gives so much credibility to the antics of the west. When I lived abroad, I knew people that did all they could to disdain Africa just so they can get working papers. People told crazy unbelievably horrid stories about violence in thier communities just so they could get immigration papers.


There is many reasons why the west would not want to see Africa progress. They can manage an Asian progress but would not tolerate an African progress.

The number one reason is Economic. Imagine what has happened to western economies as a result of developments in China, Brazil and many other developing countries. Imagine how the demand for resources resulted in increasing prices. Now think of what would happen if 1 billion Africans suddenly have to drive cars(Fuel Price), build houses and skyscrapers(steel prices), eat more meat(water scarcity, yes water scarcity),etc. The consequences would be devastating for the west first because the resources currently available to them literally free from Africa would have to be used in Africa. Imagine a situation where Nigeria has to consume all the 2 million barrels we produce? Where will UK get its supplies from?

The other reason is the maintain a sense of superiority. If Africa can keep being painted in bad light, then aid is what it needs and not investments. If more money goes into aid rather than investment, then Africans would remain dependent on handouts and see no reason to fix themselves.

Africa's growth story is going to be different from that of other regions.

When other Regions developed, they needed resources from outside of their shores to work their growth. In Africa, we've got it all!
Agriculture, Minerals, human resource and an excellently stable climate.

Also, Africa growth is made easy by the presence of simple technologies that are helping us leapfrog conventional development patterns.

And more importantly, being at sub zero on the development ladder, we have huge,humongous and Gargantuan room for development.


The onus is on us Africans to make the coming decades our own.
Our entrepreneurs must come up with new ideas on what our cities should look like. We must come up with new ideas on what kind of houses we would lived in. New ideas on the kind of transit systems we should commute in. On the kind of drugs the sick should take and the kinds of foods we should consume. We need new ideas emanating from Africa on how we would live in the coming decades. Its time to stop swallowing hook line and sinker everything the west brings our way.
We did it in music. In Nigeria,We developed our industry without much input from the west. Our sound is different, our style is different. If we can do it in music, we can do same with architecture, nutrition, culture and even technology & science!
The onus falls on young, thinking and intelligent african entrepreneurs to create that new Africa!!

Saints as vultures! It doesn't get more intelligent than this! Excellent piece!

And why is it incomplete? I want more!

ike4blast: After one of ban on the motorcycle operators in warri porpularly called okada, how well has the rate of crime and illegal activities reduce in warri?? because to me it has really helped to cut street robbery.

I think it brought a sense of sanity to the city. Plus you can imagine the number of lives that have been saved by since there are no more bike accidents

ROSSIKE: True talk... Nigeria simply cannot be compared to Angola. Doing so is as dumb as someone going to Dubai, UAE, and based on the stunning architecture, concluding that UAE is more advanced than Germany, since Germany has no cities that look even remotely like Dubai.

While I agree with your analogy, I have got a big ish with what we accept as standard in Nigeria. You look at those infrastructure built in Angola and you get a sense that the job was handled properly from start to finish. You look at a very expensive job done by Julius Berger(Abuja Airport road) and you know it was a well done engineering job but design and aesthetics would always be wanting!! I really don't know why it's that way.

Even the best estates in Ikoyi are poorly finished despite being some of the most expensive pieces of real estate in the world.

There is no reason the picture below should look the way it does when a plot of land there sells for more than $1.5 million. It makes no sense!!
We must start demanding more from not just our government but from our entrepreneurs and ourselves !

The most important questions:
What is the cost if hosting this event to the people of river state?

What is the benefit of this event to the people of rivers state?

AMADU77: I [i][/i]beleive the first victim of this will be Igbo ppl who sell spare parts n import vehicles

If i buy new car from dealer like Kia or hyundai i will buy spare parts from d. Dealer , i will not go again to Apo.or Ladipo or wherever those igbos sell parts
Thousands of them will be jobless

Well the same Igbos would start manufacturing spare parts. They already do so in nnewi.
The biggest beneficiary would actually be Innoson at least for now as his cars would suddenly become ridiculously affordable.

That Innoson vehicles guy don hit!
His cars would sell like hot cake !

And some people actually scream Eko Oni Baje!!!!

This is Luanda that is just out of a long war situation. Infact, Tinubu was already in power when the war ended in 2002. And all these developments happened in a space of less than 10 years. Lagos and Abuja should hide themselves in shame!!

But looking at these pictures of development, it is pretty obvious Nigerians have a very low standard. We need to demand more quality from our leaders and ourselves and accept less of trash. If Luanda can experience this much in a space of less than ten years, why not Lagos, why not Abuja, why not Port Harcourt??

And you would have thought that APC would use the opportunity of been a brand new party to create for itself an image that is devoid of what it constantly derides..

But all I have seen the party do is move from state to state begging PDP members to come and help it form a party. What selling point would they now have since most of thier members would be PDP. How are they going to tell Nigeria that the problem of the country is PDP?

I want a strong opposition, not a loud mouthed, noise making one with no plans whatsoever to uplift this country. The only plan I see is a desire to take Aso Rock.

Sagamite: You are a person!

When I call people fucktards, do you think I am wrong?

It is not profanity, it is assistance in self-discovery. It is an avant garde and efficient approach in educating Nigerians like you. I do it consciously. Your IQ is lower than my age divided by 3.

Don't worry. I don't get miffed at your insults. I actually do sympathize with you. Cos I imagine the kind of environment you must have grown up and how it must have molded your outlook. Fight because your neighbour is trying to take your bathing water. Curse because you neighbour's toilet is leaking into your bedroom. I can really imagine.
However I am sure you are in a better place. But if you are still struggling with hardship, I'm pretty sure things will be well with you soon as the economy is looking up.

^^^^
@Sagamite
No man, you sound more like a product of a failed education system. Screaming you are a person on every speech is a sign of improper education.
You know it's been long found by qualified research that folks with very low IQ are more likely to make use of derogatory terms. Clearly, the more profanity, the lower the IQ.

But, I sincerely don't think you have a low IQ. I think you just lacked love as a child. Must have had a hard life growing up.

^^^^
Any ideas how to go about that?

I thought you had some reliable and fresh info to back up your heading.

That notwithstanding though, there is no doubt that after the rebasing in December we will overtake SA. Intact, if we add the huge black market to the mix then we would even be much larger.

We own the future. We shouldn't wait until government fixes our problems. We the people must start thinking creatively to and convert our current challenges to huge opportunities.

Goodluck to Nigeria. Two gold victories in one year. It's more than a coincidence.

^^^^^
Don't mind him jare. That eddieburke dude has never left the shores of this country. Atlanta hartsfield is the world's busiest. If you don't want to take off your shoes,you do what is called pre screening and to do that costs a whooping $85. As in American airports will charge you if you don't want you shoes taken off. To think his complaint started with a purported 1000 naira trolley charge. For his info, JFK charges $5 for cart usage. Toronto charges $4. Many airports actually charge for carts and nobody likes that especially in arrivals because you might not have the local currency on hand.

To think that this is just one out of 22 that she is working on.
To think that 5 brand new terminals are in the process of being built.
To think that all these have been done in a space of 2 years by just one person where about 20 others failed In 40 years.



And to think that the non performing ministers have been spared while the performers have been attacked.

It's just sad. We are all culprits. We are all victims blinded by unfounded hate. Kind of like a doctor who is sick. Sad.

kingoflag: Not only that, they look at other factors too to determine if your country is suitable/friendly for investment. Nigeria is not.

Nigeria is one of the best investment destinations in the world right now. I'm speaking as one with access to key insiders in various top investment institutions worldwide. Nigeria is hot!! Maybe I should pander to your tribal cravings and say it like this: Lagos is one of the hottest investment destinations right now. Hot! Hot Hot!! You have no idea. If you do, you will [prepare for a windfall and start taking advantage. Nigeria is on the radar globally in every investors with some appetite for risk and high returns!!


Read below:

[size=14pt]Entering Africa: where is a good place to start?[/size] BY KATE DOUGLAS | FEBRUARY 20, 2013 AT 10:28

Entering the African market can be quite a daunting task for companies looking to profit from the various opportunities that today’s and tomorrow’s Africa presents, and many have wondered where is a good place to start. With 54 diverse markets offering unique prospects and different challenges, it is a commonly held perception among Africa’s business experts and advisors that it would be foolish to look at Africa as just one market.

KPMG, a professional advisory firm with practices in 33 African countries, launched the Global Africa Project (GAP) at the end of 2011, placing Africa on KPMG’s global high growth market investment programme. According to GAP’s chief operating officer, Anthony Thunstrom, the issue on where to enter the African market is a popular one among their clients.

“It is a question we get asked almost every day and I think the answer is that it depends very much on which sector you are actually dealing with,” Thunstrom told How we made it in Africa in an interview last week. “So different countries are going to have different dynamics that are more attractive to different sectors.”

Having said that, Thunstrom has identified a number of markets that offer companies a good entry point to expand into Africa.

Nigeria: I think Nigeria for me has to be the standout as the best of the best destination in many ways,” he said.
With a population of roughly 170 million people (depending on who is doing the counting) and a growing middle class, Nigeria is a notable market for those looking to target a large consumer base in Africa. According to Thunstrom, financial sector reforms and “the fact that they are cleaning up and reforming the petroleum regulations” have also made this country an appealing market for multinational companies.
“Certainly, for a lot of sectors, I think Nigeria is extremely attractive but has a reputation as not being the easiest country to do business in, and I think that has put some people off,” he added. “But the people who have persevered there have done really well.”
Thunstrom estimates that around two-thirds of the clients he and his team are communicating with are either currently doing business in Nigeria, or are talking to their firm about how to enter the market. “So Nigeria, hands down, would be a very good starting point.”


East Africa: “If you look at it as a bloc, the East Africa Trade Bloc also has a population that is around about a 130/140 million people and it is seen as a kind of easier place to enter the market,” said Thunstrom.
He added that while it may be more perception than reality, this bloc is often viewed as being more business friendly compared to other regions on the continent, and this is very attractive to those looking to enter the African space.
“[There is] very high standards of education in many cases, great universities, access to good human capital, and excellent IT infrastructure and IT skills,” highlighted Thunstrom. “So again, depending on sector-specific stuff, it is one of the really attractive areas.”

Ghana: “As a specific country, I think Ghana comes in quite close as well,” continued Thunstrom. “The country is doing fantastically well. It’s politically stable at the moment and it gives you entry into that West African market.”
He added that it is also seen as being an easier place to do business in West Africa and allows companies access to the Nigerian market too.

Mozambique: “If you had to ask me where I would be investing nine million in the next five years, to be honest I think in many ways Mozambique would take a lot to beat as well,” said Thunstrom.
“Just the extent of development, the pace… if you actually go to Maputo and take a look at how many companies have set up, how hard it is to find accommodation, the number of multinationals that are literally looking for skilled resources from wherever they can get them.” Thunstom added that this business interest and development has been particularly prevalent in the last 12 months.
Nevertheless, whatever market a client may decide to enter into, Thunstrom stresses that they cannot do it from overseas. He also doesn’t think that the decision should be simply made after a trip to Johannesburg and a couple of meetings with advisors, no matter who they are.
“For me the single biggest piece of advice is that you need to go through those steps to kind of narrow down your focus, but before you even seriously contemplate any particular investment or locking into a strategy you actually have to get on a plane and go and spend some time and immerse yourself in the economies you are looking at,” he stressed. “You will very, very quickly get a sense to whether it’s the place that suits your business, whether you are going to be comfortable doing business there, and it allows you to start meeting the people that you are going to have to be doing business with.”

Linked to that, Thunstrom said that companies entering a new market in Africa should consider finding a local business partner. “In many cases early success has something to do with finding a local business partner; somebody who really understands the local economy, particularly if you have never done business in Africa before… Down the line you might end up setting up your own 100% owned companies but it’s difficult to do that if you are sitting on another continent and you don’t have the oversight of what’s going on in a particular country – typically a lot easier to do it if you have a business partner on the ground who you can trust.”

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/?post_type=post&p=24413

trillville: Debt to GDP ratio is not what international banks look at to know who to loan to. They look at a countries credit ratings, e.g. S & P. We are currently rated BB- which implies that we are considered NON INVESTMENT GRADE SPECULATIVE. whereas America with a high debt to GDP ratio is rated AAA, the best grade possible.

The reason for this is in no way GEJ fault. In fact our ratings have improved during his tenure so he should be rightly congratulated. The true reason is because our economy is based on oil and we are still not diversified enough. If we are given a loan and the price of oil drops, we may not be able to pay up the loan. This happened in the 80's that's why our currency became so messed up.

Uuuummmh......Do I really have to explain that one of the key factors used in determining credit rating is debt to GDP ratio? I don't think so.There are other factors sure, but Debt to GDP ratio is big on Standard & Poors rating criteria! And the investment banker for your info dont rely strictly on credit rating to make investments.There are many other interesting factors used especially with the shift in global geo-economics.
McKinsey for instance believes that Nigeria is one of the best places in the world to make investments for products that target young people ages 0-15 and to some extent 15-24. Why?? Because more children would be born in Nigeria over the next decade tha would be born in all of Europe combined. That means a company like Procter and Gamble would be better off investing in a diaper plant in Nigeria than in any where in Europe. My point is: other criteria beyond credit rating is factored when making investment decisions!

Aggrippa: my guy op u try for this report...to be sincere these economic stats and figures are cosmetic... the USA owes so much debt yet they are the most powerful dynamic nation. naija's correct and tidy economy is tearing people stomach with ulcer, hunger, lack and want. Mr economist no one should suffer from this stingy economic policies. America knows this and you also know this.

No, you dont get it!! It simply means we can start taking debts without really having default problem. It means that very soon many financial institutions globally would start looking to dump debt on the Nigerian private sector. And I tell you it is a good thing. Look at the list of all the top debtor countries, they are well developed.

This is how it works. Lagos wants to build a light rail system but doesnt have enough money to complete it. Because our debt to GDP ration is low, an investment bank like say Goldman Sachs would think, hmmmm...not a bad idea to put some of our money on that project. So they arrange a tool and fund the project. Or Dangote wants to build a refinery and needs a loan of $5Bn. HSBC looks at our Debt to GDP ration and says wow, those guys are not going to be defaulting any time soon. They throw the money in for Dangote.

In a nutshell, Nigerians would be the beneficiaries. Debt develops countries. The kind of debt we shouldn't be taking is the ones obtained by Government to fund recurrent expenditure like the purchase of 300 cars by Lagos state Government for a sports festival or purchase of 202 cars by NCAA.

But if it is debt to fund essential infrastructure then fine. Build Roads, Rail lines, Airports, Seaports, Power Sector, Industries, et al with debt and your economy expands giving you capacity to pay back.!

[quote author=ndu_chucks]Hmmmm. Musa Kwankwaso warned Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah, not to prevent foreign airlines from doing business in Kano.
The governor said: “If she (minister) wants to sleep well, she should allow all foreign airlines to come to Kano for business.”

I'm not so sure Oduah is sleeping well even after succumbing to Kwakwanso's request.[/quote]You guys think business is about sentiments.
And so when Emirates, Turkish and Saudi Arabian fly Kano route for 6 months and keep flying with empty planes, what next?
Egypt Air has been flying Kano forever and they surely are not having a good time as they have to fly from Kano to Lagos to pick up passengers before heading out to Cairo. Or go and ask Ethopian how their performance in Abuja has been since they'd been flying Ethopian?

We can do all the political correctness we like, if we dont have sound economics, all these let me Airport fly international would fail!

[quote author=ndu_chucks]Wow. What mentality!!! What an admission!!! Your position is clearly unmistakeable, case closed.[/quote]Oh surely. Call it whatever you like. For these 6 ministers, I don't care about sleaze. All I care about is the wonderful works they are doing.While I don't support sleaze in anyway, I cannot any longer decieve myself. A culture takes ages to die out and in Nigeria sleaze has become a culture even for the commonest man on the street. Its sad that the President doesn't see social re engineering as a priority, but I would not blame him because things have messed up for decades.

Now these six ministers, I will fight anybody who fights them. They are working and should be encouraged to continue working. How can I castigate an Adesina with all the works because some nasty article comes out. Never!! Let him work. Let them work!!
1)Akinwunmi Adesina- Minister of Agric
2)Olusegun Aganga- Minister of Trade and Investment
3)Mike Onolomemmen- Minister of Works
4)Stella Oduah-Minister of Aviation
5)Okonjo Iweala- Minister of Finance
6)Idris Umar- Minister of Transport