₦airaland Forum

phantom: apparently you do not know how far the rabbit hole goes....if you think the US is the richest nation today and amerivans are happy because their economy is doing so well then think again.
quote me anywhere....AMERICA IS THE GREATEST NATION ON EARTH TODAY NOT BECAUSE OF THEIR ECONOMY BUT BECAUSE THE CITIZENS HAVE AS SENSE OF BELONGING.THAT IS WHAT THEIR WEALTH AND SUCCESS IS BASED ON...

But the US had and still has some of the world's most intense racial issues.

From 1900-1960s, America's economy was advanced and the greatest in the world and yet blacks were not allowed to vote until 1965. Surely the blacks, and probably native Indians didn't have a sense of belonging. There were much more violent riots in the 50s/60s America that there are riots today in Nigeria. That didn't stop America from creating some of the greatest companies which eventually created the greatest middle class the world has ever known.

phantom: i dont care if nigerias economic growth is at 100% per annum.....if we do not tackle and de-emphasize tribe,religion and ethnicity.....then this nation will be like a mansion built on quick sand.

You are very right. However, I read something interesting in another article that says its been researched and proven that once an economy hits a GDP of $6,000, the likelihood of political, tribal or other parochial instabilities reduces considerably. Nigeria is currently at $2500. We are not too far.

Truth is, people are less likely to act on their tribal hatred if they have work to occupy their time. When there is enough food to eat and excess money to spend, who cares about tribalism.

[quote author=]brilliant post Papa Browne. You sound like a man with ideas and solutions.[/quote]Thank you bro. I just believe somehow that Africa is finally on the3 verge of something. And this will only happen if Africans create the solutions instead of waiting for the west.

Prof Corruption: Forget the rosy picture of SA painted, facts, in unmistakable terms, show SA is in a gradual decline. Nigeria has a chance to create a future now. However, our politics is messed up and that messes everything including formulating and implementing required reforms capable of re-engineering our economy.

If we can get the politics right, the rest is assured.

Yeah, our politics is messed up both at the center and at its adjoining bodies.
However, the private sector can make a lot of impact even where the government is failing.

I actually like looking at things from an individual perspective with the big question: How do I as an individual take advantage of this scenario? What can I do to harness these opportunities?

There are 15 million Lagosians.
If I make shirts for just 15,000 lagosians, I can easily earn 15 million Naira on a profit of 1000 Naira per shirt.
Fresh Meat is sold in dirt poor environments. Instead of buying that SUV, might just be better to start a clean Butchery and make tonnes of money from the emerging middle class seeking cleaner alternatives.
Instead of buying that land in Lekki for 50 million, it might just be more sensible to go back to my village and by 100 acres and start a plantain plantation to feed this massive population.


Our thinking must change or else it is the Indians, Lebanese, Chinese, South Africans and Europeans that would harsess these opportunities. Again we might just be left with the crumbs. We must start thinking entreprenuership instead of thinking consumption.

Every jeep you see on the street can start a very profitable business. Every plot of land purchased in our uban areas for building homes can start very successful businesses. We need to change our thinking.

The big question is what are we going to do about it?
Area we going to wait for the west to come take advantage of our potential or are we going to start companies that would harness the immense potential in this great continent.

Entreprenuership is the way forward. Africa is booming and the onus is on us to start an economic revolution.
The west saw the potential in our oil and they came for it, left with trillions of dollars and left us with pollution and poverty. That was then. We didn't understand entrepreneurship.Now we know better.

Nobody should wait for government. Think up solutions. Start companies in Technology, Agriculture, Retail and Services.
Start Small. Grow Fast.Think Global. Act Local. The future is ours!

[size=14pt]Five Countries to Watch[/size]
Africa's rapid growth is not affecting the continent equally. Here's a look at five African countries that represent some of the brightest spots.


In May 2000, The Economist magazine declared that Africa was "the hopeless continent." Eleven years later, in 2011, it referred to Africa as "the hopeful continent." And on October 20, 2012, the magazine stated: "In recent years investors have been piling into Lagos and Nairobi as if they were Frankfurt and Tokyo of old."

Clearly, gloomy skepticism has given way to glowing optimism about Africa, and for good reason--over the past 10 years, many of the economies within Africa are outpacing economies anywhere else in the world. In fact, according to the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic Outlook released in October 2012, 11 of the world's 20 fastest-growing economies are in Africa, and this booming economic growth has helped create the fastest-growing middle class in the world.

Of course, the major trends driving this growth--changing policy environments, a growing middle class that expects equitable social and economic policies, high commodity prices, robust domestic demand, and rapid mass urbanization--have not affected all countries on the continent equally. Here's a quick look at five economies that have especially benefited from recent developments, and those that pose some of the best potential for the future.

1.South Africa: The Continent's Largest Economy
Africa's southernmost country has a mature economy with strong industrial, financial, and transportation sectors. With GDP estimated at $408 billion and per capita income estimated at $11,000 for 2012, the country sits firmly in the World Bank's Upper-Middle-Income category, along with Brazil and China. In 2010, South Africa joined the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), an association of top emerging economies distinguished by their fast growth and burgeoning influence in regional and global matters.

Despite its developed infrastructure and abundant natural resources, South Africa does face challenges in the areas of governance and inequality. Protests, strikes, and instability have hindered foreign investment in the country. And compared to Africa's Middle-Income Economies--or MICs, as defined by the World Bank--South Africa's 2.6% economic growth rate is sluggish. (This has partially been because closer ties to the global economy and substantial exposure to the Euro zone mean South Africa has been more affected by the global economic slowdown.)

That said, the country is a major regional powerhouse. It has large investments in neighboring countries. And South African companies--particularly its financial services, retail, fast food, supermarket, service station, and textile firms--are flooding the continent with consumer goods and services. This has given the country an outsize influence on the continent, and a firm stake in the success of economies across Africa.

2.Nigeria: A Waking Giant
Nigeria, in West Africa, tops most lists of African countries to watch over the next decade. Traditionally known as "the sleeping giant of Africa," the country has a huge population of more than 167 million, over 50% of which lives in urban areas like Lagos and Kano. According to the state-run Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria is Africa's largest oil producer, exporting 2.5 million barrels per day. Economically, it has registered a solid 7% growth rate for the last decade, and politically, with its second civilian transfer of power in less than a decade, the country has begun to consolidate its democratic reforms.

In many ways, Nigeria's current status resembles that of Brazil before political and social reforms turned around its economy in the 1990s. Nigeria may be able to replicate Brazil's success by adopting similar policies, including investing in infrastructure, reducing poverty and inequality, and reforming institutions.

According to an October 2012 report by Standard Chartered Research, Nigeria's challenge is to replicate its success in technology (mobile telephony) in the utilities, refining, and agricultural sectors. The report urges Nigeria to move away from the "system of patronage" that has held the country back for decades. It also calls for greater emphasis on diversification and long-term planning that will change Nigeria from an "allocation" to a "production" state. The report states that, "Oil and gas, even given Nigeria's vast resources, are not going to determine development in the future."

Nonetheless, there is a great deal of optimism surrounding Nigeria. The Economist even suggested recently that Nigeria's economy, messy as it still is, has the potential to overtake South Africa within a few years.

3. Angola: A China-Fueled Surge
Angola is sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy after South Africa and Nigeria, with a GDP of $107 billion and per capita income of $8,200. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola's economy has been growing much faster than the continent's two powerhouses, and the World Bank recently reclassified it as an Upper-Middle-Income economy. Unlike South Africa, however, Angola has a young economy that lacks diversification. And the country is still recovering from that 27-year-long civil war, which devastated its economy and people.

Angola is the continent's second largest exporter of oil. Its economy was expanding at a rate of 15% before the global recession of 2009. Despite the current contraction, its economy is still expected to expand by 6.8 % this year thanks to the export of oil and diamonds, as well as uranium, iron ore, gold, and copper. (Most of Angola's oil goes to China; Angola is China's biggest trading partner on the continent.)

Since the end of the war, Angola's civilian government has instituted aggressive economic and social reforms that are beginning to bear fruit, and it claims to have reduced poverty from 68% to 39% over the last decade. It has also asserted an infrastructure development program to build thousands of miles of roads and railroads, and hundreds of bridges and reconstructed airports. Most of these infrastructure projects involve Chinese firms under an oil-for-infrastructure deal that some criticize as favoring China.

4. Ghana: Africa's Next Economic Star?
Another emerging African "lion" is West Africa's Ghana, which is still classified as a Lower-Middle-Income country by the World Bank. Its economy grew at 14.3% in 2011, making it one of the fastest-growing economies in the world (and tops on the African continent), though the World Bank expects its growth to slow to 7.5% for 2012.

Ghana's growth can largely be attributed to increased oil production, although diamond, iron ore, and cocoa exports also contributed to the bottom line. After decades of mismanagement, Ghana began to turn its economy around in the early 1990s, when it instituted wide-ranging economic reforms with the support of the IMF and World Bank. In 2007, oil was discovered, which led to faster economic growth. Today, Ghana has been a stable democracy since 1992, and is considered a model for prudent political and economic reform.

5. Ethiopia: Public Sector Investment
Ethiopia is an example of a non-resource-rich country with an economy that nonetheless grew at an average of 11% between 2004 and 2011. According to the World Bank, this is based on its government's public sector investments in agriculture, industrialization, and infrastructure. Government investments in hydropower have made Ethiopia a net exporter of electricity to neighboring countries such as South Sudan and Djibouti. And with a population of 85 million, Ethiopia is sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country, after Nigeria.

With that population expected to reach 100 million by 2020, Ethiopia represents a huge market that is expected to drive economic integration in the region and growth for its neighbors. In addition, the country has been praised for making progress in all areas of the Millennium Development Goals (ending poverty, hunger, and disease). The Ethiopian government estimates that poverty declined from 38.7% in 2004 to 29.6% in 2011. As a result, Ethiopia has laid the foundations for sustainable growth and even emerging economy status.


https://individual.troweprice.com/retailCommon/applications/brandjournalism/africa/Africa_infographic_image.jpg


A Look To The Future
While these five economies represent some of the brightest spots on the continent, others are waiting in the wings, particularly those that are rich in resources. The World Bank notes that the combined benefits of a peace dividend and iron ore exports in Sierra Leone, for example, have led to a 25% growth rate over the course of 2012. Similarly, in Niger, uranium and oil exports have led to a 15% growth rate this year.

According to the October 2012 edition of Africa's Pulse, a World Bank publication, at least 10 countries are expected to join the 21 in sub-Saharan Africa that the bank classifies as MICs. Among those predicted to be upwardly mobile are Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, where the discovery and development of new reserves of oil, gas, and other minerals, is expected to accelerate growth.

Terra Lawson-Remer, a Fellow for Civil Society, Markets & Democracy at the Council for Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., cautions not to paint Africa's growth story with "too broad a brush stroke." She notes that most of the countries that have registered rapid growth rates are resource-rich, and have benefited from high commodity prices in recent years.

Emira Woods, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, also cautions against focusing too much on growth rather than equity. She notes that, "We are seeing growing inequality both within and among countries." This inequality is compounded by the rising expectation among the poor for wealth-sharing that, if not met, could lead to political instability.

"This is the reason we have protests in Nigeria, Tahrir Square [in Egypt], Sudan, and Tunisia," Woods said. "The current labor uprising in South Africa also shows evidence of the problem of expectations [and] of inequality."

Nevertheless, there are strong signs for the continent as a whole. Lawson-Remer suggests the downturn in Europe's economic fortunes means that "capital looking for investments has to go elsewhere." Thanks to Africa's growing economies, high rate of return, and abundance of natural and human resources, Western conglomerates like IBM, Nokia, and Nestlé are investing heavily. And China's interest shows no sign of waning. The country's trade with Africa is expected to hit $220 billion in 2012--a 25% growth rate annually--and its former vice-minister of commerce, Wei Jianguo, told China Daily that Africa will surpass the U.S. and the E.U. to become China's largest trading partner.

Woods argues that, across the continent, technological development will be the "way of the future." She points to innovations such as mobile banking and the massive penetration of mobile phone technology, as positive developments. "The combination of the fast-growing youth bulge--workers aged 16 to 30--and technological innovations are positive and bode well for the continent," Woods said.

Considering these factors, there is reason to believe that, despite challenges, Africa will continue to produce dynamic, emerging market economies. South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, and Ethiopia may just be the first wave--with many more to follow.

http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/connections/archive/2012/12/265894/

More than enough reason to say thank you Lord.
Look at that face filled with joy over his new born. And to think some folks think their lives are worthless because they have pimples.
And then again, to think that people are redoing their perfectly normal faces with botox, getting implants and liposuction!!

modicum: Bishop David Oyedepo may be right altogether in his assertion that the Covenant University was not built with tithes and offerings of parishioners. There are some possible scenarios and some very impossible ones in considerations here. Let's start with the impossible ones first

1.) He couldn't have raised the funds to build the university from the royalty he gets from his books
2.) He couldn't have done same from any form of income he makes that are legitimate (I will like to be taken up on that).
3.) He couldn't have done it with any partner(s) from abroad known or unknown.

The possibilities could be any or combination of the following
1.) Such huge funds could only be raised by investors that do not want to be named, which means it is a venture or an investment that pays dividends. That possibility is remote but could be advanced.
2.) He could have raised money from Capital market to do it, but no data to back up that argument publicly or secretly.
3.) Or is it possible that Oyedepo is being used to front private University by some powerful entity who doesn't want to be seen or known. Very remote possibility.
4.) Such huge funds can also be easily sourced if Oyedepo is into Oil deals and collecting subsidies (we just heard about one Folorunso Alakija topping Oprah's money as the richest woman in the world). There is huge money in the Nigeria Oil sector to be made, and I remember Obasanjo calling the prominent Nigerian Pastors contractors in religious cloak. Very high possibility if what Oyedepo claim is true
5.) The only other possibility is that Oyedepo is lying about his story. That's about 90% possible with me.

If you disown the people at a critical time like this then something is startegically wrong somewhere. Every missionary institution that I was born to see in Nigeria claim they built everything with donations and offerings of people elsewhere. This case is very different and we need to critically examine it.

A display of absolute ignorance.
And it is this attitude that bedevils this country.

The Governor of a state which you belong, steals billions and buys lavish properties in Dubai ... You say nothing, you do nothing. Infact, many of your type celebrate his crass performance.

A Pastor, whose members are extremely happy with his leadership, builds the best University in Nigeria, charges a fee below the cost of training a student.... you come here feeling smart attacking his explanation. That he cared to explain sef is a favour he has done for you which you should be extremely thankful for!!

First you are not a member of his organisation. Secondly, his members are extremely happy with him. If you talk to winners members you'd see they feel like part owners of the institution. This idea of taking panadol for someone else's headache is a key symptom of the pull him down syndrome prevalent in our society.

When you have the influence of someone of Oyedepo's class, you can turn anything to money. Do you have any idea what it means to have over 5 million people take the word that spews from your mouth as authority over their lives? If you publish a book, they want it in droves. If you give a speech, they want the CDs in numbers. Whatever you do turns to wealth. And they buy because they benefit. Its not business. It is just what it is. Anybody that influences lives would be wealthy.
The gifts alone that accrue to these guys because of the influence God has endowed them with and the lives they've touched is unquantifiable.

Please Mr Pessimist, do the maths yourself. Afterwards, ask yourself this question. Why is it that these churches keep getting bigger. Why is it that members stay put and are willing to pay tithes, give offerings, buy more books and CDs.And the members I reference are Bank Managers, Successful Businessmen, Doctors, Lawyers and in a nutshell, people with the capacity to think for themselves. Stroll into a church and you see well dressed individuals with chubby faces and a car park filled with the best cars you can find in town.
These people are capable of thinking for themselves. They don't need your help.

0lumide: ACN has never made it's economic theory secret. What I want is for people to be developed so they can compete well. That's the only thing we can ask for right now.


I hate capitalism. It is too exploitative and leaves the wealth of people in the hands of a few.

I want an hybrid economic system that will fit the SW which is the biggest market in West Africa.

Natural resources belong to all people not private investors. Investors can be given 10% profit for management. i.e, We get a situation whereby the government forfeits 10-20% of the resources to investors for developing, exploiting while the people get 80%. The government can hands off other man made investments like Telecom, power, etc.. but will regulate such sector or even compete to keep the price balance for the people...

Capitalism is too raw and jungle to be practiced. If it wasn't for credit, Americans will be revolting right now. Capitalism is evil!!!!!

Natural resources should be used by all the people and not auctioned out to the highest bidders.

History has taught us that capitalism is the most successful economic system the world has ever known. All countries that have made success in modern times did so on the back of capitalism. America built the biggest middle class known to humanity on the back of capitalism. China's rise can be attributed to the incorporation of capitalism into its economic system.

The beauty of capitalism is that it gives the best and strongest entrepreneurs the opportunity to create solutions that would in turn create employment for the rest of society.
I believe in Conscious Capitalism. One that brings out the best tenets of Capitalism and uses it for the betterment of the totality of society including upliftment of the weaker class. A good exmple of Conscious Capitalism can be found in Social Entreprenuership.

As for Fashola, I think he is a core capitalist. But what currently obtains in Lagos today is Plutonomy or Plutocracy if you like. Tinubu is the Achilles Heel.

Obasanjo!!!
Over swagger!!
Look at the carraige!!
Kind of makes you proud!!

Callotti: This keeps getting better and better!
God bless my sweet America jare!
Thank my Agnostic God!
Wharrrra USELESS CU/NT-RY!

See debt being raked up for thieves to loot?
Kai!!!!

GenBuhari: We cannot even afford to buy rice without resorting to a loan and mortgaging our future?

Nigeria I hail you !!

0lumide: Where did all the money spent on agriculture all these years go?

They will ruin it for the next president that comes in to fix things...

I think we need to sack this administration and have a new election!!!!

black9jaberry: CHINA pls dont give em oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Na thief dem bi ooooooooo

dis Guflack sef>>>>>>>
hisssssss in spanish

mkmyers45: WTF? So we have to borrow to feed? Now, that's a shame.

If reading the posted article were an exam, you all would have failed woefully.

This is some excellent policy. They wouldn't give the loans to the Nigerian Government. Rather, payments for the equipment for the rice mills and Cassava processing would be given directly to the Chinese manufacturers by the Chinese and these would be supplied to the FG who would in tuirn pay it back as a loan.

Nigeria would save billions of dollars from this. This is the best way to take loans. No cash. Just equipment and infrastructure.

binger: A small unnecessary multi-purpose hall worth 2.2bn!!! Chai! God punish these merciless looters.

2.2 billion for a 150 seater hall.
Even if the spend 1 million naira on each chair(N150 million), they would still have N2 billion and N50 million left.
Even if they buy one air conditioner per person(those big ones= 400k each= N75 million)they would still have 2 Billion.
And then they can buy one 50kva generator per person at 2 million each= N300m and be left with N1.7 Billion.


On a serious note, how do you build a 150 seater hall with 2.2 billion Naira?? Crazy country!!

mrkels: Bad move, no market here, we don't buy songs, we DL em.
If una like mk una say na just 0.99 cents , them go use una money tk do love-vendor my ride, ma crib and fuel private jets

You don't buy songs. You download them.
I don't download songs, I buy them.
Who gave you the authority to speak for me na??

I am their market,. You are not.

0lumide: The support for Jonathan was sentimental nothing short of that bro.

Your points as to why Buhari can't win are rather very very corrupt. Corrupt in the sense that having someone who has the quality you prescribed doesn't guarantee a true leader.

If you are a south Christian, will you vote for Buhari? given the fact that he has proven himself to be a selfless, corrupt free, economic savvy leader with his track record. If yes, then I doubt you are the only Southern Christian that will vote for him. Bakare is a Christian and I bet you all the people in his church will vote for Buhari though small in number. In the west, Tinubu is a Muslim, so is Fashola and I bet you that didn't stop Christians from voting for him. I doubt Edo people will hug an unsophisticated rejection base on religion.

Don't generalize the south. We aren't the same. Politically, there is no south because ACN has the west, PDP have 99% of the rest. But if Buhari can have the west and North, I think the vote of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Rivers, Calabar, Enugu etc can't stop him.

Remember if the west didn't vote for GEJ, he wouldn't have won even with east and south south votes.

And about a visionary leader, check Buhari's track record. GEJ wasn't a military leader and here we are still borrowing money and wallowing in corruption.

I swear your post makes me think you hate the man! He has every quality of a leader Nigeria need. At least to lay a strong foundation and pave the way for better leaders.

Buhari 2015

The problem with many Buhari supporters is that their passion has blinded them from the reality on ground.
Idealism and realism are two entirely different things.
Buhari cannot win any election in Nigeria for the simple fact that he cannot make an impact in the south and the middle belt.
The south west is the pentecostal christian belt with all the mega churches like Redeemed, Deeper Life,Christ Embassy and the likes. They would never cast a vote for Buhari. Infact, they would rather vote Ibori than Buhari for the simple fact that a percieved robber is better than a perceived terrorist.

During Oshiomole's re election bid, Buhari wanted to come and campaign with him. Oshiomole rejected him like one with leprosy because he knew how unpopular Buhari is even in the very liberal Edo State.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/edo-poll-oshiomhole-denies-alliance-with-buhari-cpc/119313/

What Buhari should do is to look for a younger more electable politician, irrespective of tribe and seek to allow that person ride on his leverage and attempt to claim the top spot. But no, because of selfishness and bigotism he will never have the capacity to do that.

Ryabcool: The idea of a man keeping a weapon in his bedroom for protection, what's your take on it? Can you keep a weapon in your bedroom for safety? Take for instance, your house is about to get burgled by robbers, would you prefer it if there is something(perhaps a gun) that can protect you and your family from these people? I'm basing my question on something I just read online. Honest/Candid views please...

If you aren't planning to cheat on him, then its fine.



On a more serious note, as long as there are no negative trust issues, no palaver.
Advice him though to separate where he keeps the gun from where he keeps the bullets and to make sure its one with a safety lock. While I was growing up, I discovered that my dad had a quality double barrel in his cupboard. I and my bro always used to open it up in fascination and play a little bit with it. Interestingly, he never knew we knew he had a gun.Good thing though he always locked up the bullets somewhere else.

Point is, make sure it is kept out of the reach of kids and all safety precautions should be followed.
In Nigeria we all need guns.

Last year, I had an interesting experience. I dressed up as Father Christmas and went to a an area near an army barracks to distribute gifts free for kids. Lots of kids were running towards me. Then I noticed a group of muslim kids who wanted to come and get their own gifts but couldnt because their parents were giving them a stern look.
I saw the despair on the face of the kids. I walked up to them and gave them gifts in the present of their parents. Interestingly, the parents were so happy and asked the other kids inside the house to come out and meet Father Christmas.
I learnt that day the essence of tolerance and the power of reaching out. From that day on, a seed of tolerance was sowed and those kids will be less likely to hate the other religion when they grow up.


Christmas is such a lovely event. Everybody should enjoy what it represents.
It is a season of sharing caring and reaching out!
Muslims should celebrate christmas same way they participate in valentine.
It would to broaden interfaith harmony.
During eid, I pay my maiguard bonuses. During ramadan, he gets adequate food supplies!

afam4eva: I beg to disagree...i'll address your assertions later.

Its Ok. I'm waiting....

ROSSIKE: You're running on generator eh? Tell me something, you and all these other goats that have been typing nonsense here. Are you the only ones using generator in Nigeria? You have no shame. A whole man like you has set up an entire vehicle manufacturing plant that's now supplying various govts and businesses across the land, with top class vehicles. In this same Nigeria. Not in Japan. Not in Germany. HERE, in Naija. He set it up, and is making massive profits, using the same generator that you're using. Same as millions of other businesses in the country. Meanwhile you're online now, typing dust on NL, wasting your generator money, when you could be using the opportunity to fashion your own multi-million dollar Nigerian 'Amazon.com' or 'facebook'.

But then again, much easier to blame your slackness on generator.

On point. On point. In the same Nigeria where many graduates are complaining of no jobs, I know of a woman who has a mamaput joint and sells over 80,000naira daily. I know of a purported motor park tout who started a transport company(Agofure)and today has over 1000 buses with sales of over 20 million Naira daily. I know of young people that start with nothing, go through the grind and make something out of nothing.
Nigeria is filled with opportunities and many people see it and take advantage. Others, many of whom are graduates, sit down and wait for government to call them for the next job interview. They will keep waiting and complaining about no eletricity. They will complain about the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer. They will attribute success to voodoo. Look around you and you will see businesses doing very well despite the hardship that surrounds it all!!

We need to stop complaining and start thinking. We need to start seeking to convert the numerous problems in society to amazing opportunities. We need to stop thinking job opportunities and start thinking entrepreneurship. It starts by seeking to add value to society.

The internet is a leveller. It gives Seun Osewa the same opportunities that Mark Zuckerberg has. Many Nigerians, rather than think up how we can create solutions with with the internet would rather blog to get $200 from adsense monthly. We need a rethink. One that focuses our energies on creating solution and adding value as against making money!!

igbsam: Them pack 14days fufu for your skull in replacement of your brain ? Don't you think he might be typing from his smartphone ? which he already charged with his Generator ? I wonder how some people dey reason sef.

The senselessness of your post. You just failed to realise that generator is a source of electricity. Or were you taught in school that the only source of electricity is the one supplied by NEPA??

The post said, 60 million Nigerians would have access to Internet in 2013. Somebody said how is that possible without power. While you intend to support the poster, you failed to realize that you just answered the poster's question and butressed Rossike's point with your retort: Don't you think he might be typing from his smartphone ? which he already charged with his Generator

[quote author=*Kails*]LMAO!!
[b]I should be offended [/b]but honestly to a certain extent I agree.
I think the benefit would be their ability to blend in with their surroundings
since most people when they think BG, they thing big buff dude with that suspicious look
in his eyes and mean mugging.

The ladies other than their guise, would have to work a bit harder than males.[/quote]Don't get why you should be offended. Can you explain?
Men are stronger than women is a fact of science. That should't offend even the most ambitious feminist.

UncleJJ: Bros cool down, even yoruba support their bros - whether or whether not , he performs well.

Fashola and Jonathan are the same, so neither of them can return in a free and fair election.

You cant fight for Jonathan, my dear ibo minions cos this is a battle for the gods. He knows, how he became president - (heavy rigging in northern states).

And, he (Jona) is doing all he can to pull this one off again. Go out and vote ur bom boms off, the man that will win must be a professional rigger with international political influence. Remember, the golden rule - you cant rig where your not popular. You cant rig if you dont have men who are more powerful to accept you. Why you think Jona is kissing Mu-Barack Obama's a.s.s

Jona has a very ugly face - home and abroad. Whomever, the gods want to kill they first make you dumb.

Who is on Jona's team, that had not worked for IBB, Abdulsalam or Atiku in the past.

My dear ibo brothers and sisters, since you said Jonathan is an ibo man, the ibo people have also run their term in Aso rock.

Whats even more worse, OBJ used Jonathan was used to break an agreement to revenge (deny) Atiku the presidency. Now, rumors have it - they have made up.

Atiku is a superstar rigger - a true son of the northern "shadow men" politics . Jona needs all the weapons he can get, we have already seen that he is siphoning as much cash as he can from all avenue's - fuel deregulation is a scam, accept it or not.

And, since Jona's has damaged the zoning policy - the north can rule for 1 billion years, the west can rule for 1 billion years and the east can rule for 1 billion years, no wahala.

I personally do not support Jonathan, he has done nothing for my country. We can use the current us president for an example - as political i deduce both of them r presidents from similar circumstances.

Obama and Jonathan are both patsy's but Obama made the best of it - Jona could not do anything with his tenure because, he is not a politician. And, we can not allow him to use Nigeria as a learning board.

Let, Jonathan partake in elections, if he can survive the primaries but no man should complain if a northerner or westerner wins.

Jonathan has had his chance - fair is fair. Atleast, the person we go come go return my N64/lit

You are leaving in the past. If you knew the power of money in Nigerian elections, you would understand that an incumbent can only lose if he chooses to.

Abagworo: Greatest Nigerian leader ever.

True!! He is my best president till date.
Only that the man gets petty like a woman.

If you speak to Taxi Drivers, Okada Riders, Danfo Drivers and Market women, you'll know that ACN is in trouble in Lagos come 2015.
Last week I was in Lagos and took it upon myself to speak to all the drivers in Taxis I entered about their current perception of Fashola and ACN. They are very angry and feel a sense of betrayal. They claim Fashola's Government is focused on developing the elite areas of Lagos. They are angry that Tinubu has colonised everything the state owns.
They all swore never to to vote ACN in 2015.

The interesting thing I realised in all my discussions with them is that their view of PDP is different from the view of PDP in other states. They are more positively disposed to PDP than people in Edo and Delta states and other SW states.
Then I realised something: Lagos has never tasted a PDP government, so they probably dont have a real picture of how a bad PDP government feels like unlike their counterparts in say EDO state that experienced Igbinedion for 8 years who didnt construct a single road then suddenly Oshiomole comes and is constructing hundreds of roads all over the place.

In a nutshell, Lagosiona are more likely to vote PDP than any states that has had a very bad PDPD experience for the simple fact that they haven''t ever tasted it before. Lets remember that Funsho Williams was a PDP member and if he wasnt killed would have had a resounding victory in Lagos.

All the people complaining about why this is on front page: My big question to you is:
Why did you click it in the first place. Didn't you see the heading before clicking.
There are many topics on the front page and they serve the interests of different classes and types of people. If you dont like a heading, please dont click it. Interesting thing I've noticed is that picture threads like this one actually garners amongst the highest number of clicks.

If you dont like the heading dont click it and leave those that like it alone!

juman: Definitely NO.

President Jonathan will not win in 2015 if he decide to contest.

He is a bad president.

Being a bad president doesn't equate to losing elections. If a country ius filled with bad people, then a bad president would be very popular. The last I checked, Nigeria has more than enough bad people, so if you think the president ids bad, then he is surely coasting to victory!
Good people always stay at home during lections, bad people do the voting. Jonathan will win except the opposition learns politics.

Everything would depend on the tenacity of the opposition. As it stands today, the President will win convincingly, not because he is popular but because the opposition is weak and polarized.
Truth is the power at the disposal of the President to dispense financial favors would give him the edge in the primaries. In the popular vote, simple mathematics would give the PDP the edge. Infact, the opposition is worse off than it was 2 during the last election.

Most southerners wouldn't vote for a CPC sponsored candidate. In as much as there is a lot of dislike for Jonathan in the south right now(it stated right after the subsidy palaver), the dislike for Northerners(due to Boko Haram) far outweighs that for Jonathan.
I can bet you, you wouldn't get up to 10% of southerners right now even in the southwest that would vote a northern candidate.

The truth is, if the opposition must win, there is only one candidate that can be fielded that would have a good run. That candidate is Oshiomole and I will explain.
The South south and South East are Jonathan's stronghold. If you field Oshiomole, he will take the whole of the southwest comfortably and he will add Edo and a chunk of Delta states damaging Jonathan's strenth in the south. He would get a good showing in many south east states. In the North, Oshiomole can ride on his Kaduna connections. He lived in Kaduna for ages, speaks fluent Hausa, was the Chairman of the textile Union and has Muslim parents. He would definitely make healthy inroads in the north.
If the opposition must win, they should field Oshiomole at the top of the their ticket and look for a strong and young northerner to field as vice.

In a country where life is hard and the popo is not capable. . . . you make a video celebrating robbery!!!
We will reject your music!! Nonsense video! It can pass inn America and other safer climes, not here!

basher: Nor mind d yeye 9ja people! Instead of them to be innovative, Dem go dey use their tashere money dey import range rover and bombardier jet. Mumu people nor no say all their crass flexing Na heavy hammering for all these other countries!

Thank you. We spent $6.5 Billion buying private jets in the last five years. That would have helped us start 6500 $1 Million dollar companies. Thats 180 new companies per state. 1 million dollars can start a really big company.
Sadly our culture is an egotistical one so we rather get the jets!

afam4eva: But don't you think the government is responsible for making it's citizens to behave in a certain way. if the policies of the government does not encourage productivity then people will look the other way. I don't want to believe that the Swiss were specially made by God to be more productive than the Austrians. Something must have been a catalyst for this quality.

I agree with you that the Government is responsible for making its citizens behave in certain ways, but it can only do so in line with the capacity of the people. Culture on the other hand is the strongest determining factor in the prosperity of a nation. Infact, culture actually determines whether a people would suffer bad governance or not. It is not by coincidence that Nigeria has never had good governancce. Our culture is largely responsible.

One good example I'd give to buttress my point is the Entertainment industry. Nigerian citizens, without the slightest support from government have pushed themselves to the forefront of the industry in Africa and are beginning to take it out to the rest of the world.(Dbanj, Psquare, Asa,Nneka) South Africa on the other hand, with its very strong and well laid out government support has not made as much impact even on the African continent. Can't remember the last time I saw a successful South African artist.

The thinking of a nation's entrepreneurs is the key to prosperity or otherwise of a nation. If our picture of business is production and value creation as against trading and rent seeking or If we solve problems by creating solutions instead importing solutions, then we would be better off for it.

It wasn't failure in government policy that made us ignore farming. It was our impatience with the rigours of farming versus the ease of importation and oil income.

The truth is the government has failed woefully because the people have failed woefully and the people have failed woefully because our culture is one that encourages wealth acquisition as against wealth creation.

caseless: murtala wld have been the best for this country..no thanks to those that killed him

Yaradua tried his best. He went to saudi for medical check and u knw wat later happened. He meant well for this country.

Murtala was communist in his leanings. Meaning Nigeria would have been sorely frustrated by the west and our economy would have tanked in a short while. No communist leaning country had a good story.

As per Yar Adua, meaning well for the country is far different from doing well for the country. Many people never get to do what they mean. It is doing that matters, not meaning.

About Nigeria not being on the list, it is not so much the failure of Government as it is the failure of the people.

We as a people haven't being able to create innovative products that the globe needs. We are coming up slowing in the arts and entertainment area. If we produce optimally,the world would buy our goods and services and we would get richer for it whether or not we have bad government!!

If we have more entrepreneurs that think like Dangote, instead of our numerous importer types, then we would be getting closer to prosperity.
To put things in better perspective lets take a country like Switzerland. Population- 8 Million.

Switzerland's productivity is visible in the kind of companies that populate the land.
Food- Nestle- Revenues for 2011- 80 Billion Dollars-
Pharmaceuticals- Roche- $34 Billion Novartis- $37 Billion
Finance- UBS- $107 Billion Credit Suisse- $89 Billion
And the list goes on and on. Lets not forget Swatch($6 Billion) the world's largest watch maker and Rolex($5 Billion)the world's largest luxury watch maker.

Switzerland(8 Million People) has 15 Fortune500 companies as against Austria(8.4 Million People) which has just 1. Both countries have some of the best governments in the world, but Switzerland has more entrepreneurial citizens and as a result a better productive output than Austria.

Wealth of a nation is not so much a function of who is in government as it is a function of the nature of the citizens.
If Nigeria much be prosperous, we must embrace entrepreneurship, not that import export type, but the type that seeks to create value out of the most infinitesimal of things.

Per Capita GDP represents the gross productivity per person in a country.

The USA is still a behemoth. With 300 million people and a per capita GDP of almost $47,000. . . thats crazy!!

The other countries like Qatar and Luxembourg have less people than a Local Government Area in Lagos.
Qatar gets all its money from oil while Luxembourg is for secret banking.

The rest of the countries on the list except Netherlands have less people than Lagos.

Singapore is a city state. Hong Kong is a city!

My point is USA is just the bastion of productivity which equals wealth and prosperity!!

About Nigeria not being on the list, it is not so much the failure of Government as it is the failure of the people.

We as a people haven't being able to create innovative products that the globe needs. We are coming up slowing in the arts and entertainment area. If we produce optimally,the world would buy our goods and services and we would get richer for it whether or not we have bad government!!