₦airaland Forum

monkeyleg:
@Cap28,

You are very right in you analysis. It is not as easy as people make it to invest in Nigeria. The start up cost can be high, something evern wealthy returnees cannot afford. the Nigerian system is not setup to encourage the honest investor. Most blue chip companies with stringent moral coprorate policies would find Nigeria hostile

True, startup cost can be ridiculously high, but same goes for the return on investment. Nigeria has one of the highest rates of return on investments in the world.
Ask yourself why despite the high costs, Lebanese, Indians and Chinese are opening factories nonetheless. And they are doing ridiculously well.
MTN, Nestle, Chi and the likes can complain all they like about the cost of doing business, but they also know the profits that come with it.
Or ask yourself  why all the international hotel brands like Four Seasons, Intercontinental, Radisson, etc are all rushing to take position in VI and its environs despite the cost of real estate??
KFC is looking to open 300 branches in Nigeria over the next 8 years and thats because they've seen immense opportunity in the midst of inefficiencies.

Nigerians pay good money for any goods and services no matter the quality provided. Any good entrepreneur would do anything to be in a market like this.
A market where you can dump anything and the people would buy is definitely a good place to stake your investment.

Investors think differently. Where the common man sees problems, they see opportunities.

When I saw the article on the politics page, I told myself to take a wild guess: It is from Saharareporters!! As I opened, i rushed to the end of the article to check the source and lo and behold: Saharareporters!!

Every wise person has long stopped taking Saharareporters seriously. Sincerely speaking, as soon as I saw Saharareporters, I didn't bother to read the article.

cap28:
The vultures are getting ready to swoop in on their prey - loads of cheap labour, non existent labour unions, corrupt puppet govt, deregulated financial sector - perfect recipe for massive exploitation of the nigerian masses.

by the way when was nigeria's debt forgiven? I thought OBJ handed over $18 billion dollars to the Paris Club in PART payment of our supposed debt?

The vultures would scoop only on a dead prey!! If Nigerians can't wake up and see the immense opportunities existent within the country then let these guys come in and teach us the way! Sometimes you wonder why Nigerians overseas are not coming back in droves to come and start up new ventures with the knowledge they have learned from outside. The Foreigners would keep coming and they would keep getting all the fat ROIs until we wake up and see the light like the likes of Dangote, Adenuga and the likes have done!
There is immense opportunities in Nigeria. In my opinion, Nigeria should be the most attractive country in the world for any investor as every existent problem presents in itself immense opportunities.

With Jonathan, there is hope for the future. I'm waiting for his ministerial list and it will show his direction.
The power sector reform is definitely in the right direction. With the involvement of the private sector, it can hardly go wrong!

[size=13pt]Going bullish on Nigeria[/size]
By Stanley Oronsaye
May 21, 2011 11:55PM
print  email   


Despite inherent difficulties in the Nigerian business environment, investment-savvy international financial players are taking up position in order to reap from the immense growth the economy is projected to experience over the next five years.

While Nigerians seem to be overwhelmed by the intricacies of the operating environment, international fund managers are seeking areas of opportunities. To this end, many portfolio and fund managers, who seem to have uncommon faith in the economy, are lining up for action.

The prevailing enthusiasm is further buoyed by the recently concluded elections which many see as an indication that Nigeria would always get its act together when it mattered most.

Explaining his firm's bullish outlook on Nigeria, Stephen Jennings, the chief executive officer of Renaissance Capital (RenCap), an international investment bank with a focus on emerging markets, said Nigeria has incredible attributes for emerging market investment banking and consumer finance.

"Nigeria recorded over seven per cent growth in GDP (Gross Domestic Product). This is despite all the problems with the power sector. Think of what will happen when that sector is up and running," Mr Jennings said.

According to him, while developed economies in Europe and the United States are offering about three per cent returns on investment, emerging economies, of which Nigeria occupies a prominent position, offer far more.

He said his firm was optimistic about prospects in Nigeria for all the right reasons.

"When you look at the foreign debts of this country, it is one of the lowest in the world, thanks to the debt forgiveness some years ago. Government debt is low and even the private sector debt is low. This makes it a much safer place for global investors," he added.

Nigeria's debt is currently around 18 per cent of GDP, much lower than the 40 per cent international benchmark.

Positive demographic indices

Beyond the issue of debt are all the other demographic indices that stand the country out as a worthwhile investment destination. According to Mr Jennings, Nigeria's population places it in a position to attract foreign capital.

"Nigeria is home to one out of every five Africans. Its population of 155 million is largely youthful and increasingly urbanising, which presents significant opportunities in the consumer goods, real estate, construction, and services industries."

He explained that there were still untapped sectors in the economy. "Nigeria's small mortgage is growing, which is positive for the financial services sector. The construction industry will benefit from this growing demand for real estate, and is expected to get further support from infrastructure development."

Mr Jennings said the growing pace of democracy in Africa could provide a platform for attracting more investment away from other emerging markets.

"Russia is not a fully democratic country. China is not a democratic country. We have seen the fear and instability in North Africa. In comparison with other big emerging markets, Africa may not have some of the political risks that others have to face," he further said.

He alluded to the recent elections in Nigeria as relatively successful, which would form a basis for international fund managers to want to do business in Nigeria. "The recent election cycle has, on balance, been positive, and the market focus will start to shift away from political risk," he said.

Impetus to economic growth

Analysts at Afrinvest, a Lagos-based financial and investment advisory firm, also believe that the success of the elections would drive investment into the country and improve the country's investment attractiveness.

"In our view, the most important priority will be to ensure that ongoing reforms in Nigeria's financial services and energy sectors are sustained and, perhaps, fast-tracked so as to deliver the much needed impetus to economic growth," stated the firm in its post-election prognosis released last week.

The firm believes tackling the problem of the power sector, achieving reforms in the petroleum industry, and addressing the inflationary tendency of the budget would go a long way to put the economy on a better pedestal.

"According to Mr Jennings, the deficit in the power sector provides immense opportunities for investors. "Nigeria's notorious power shortages actually represent a massive commercial opportunity which the forthcoming privatisation of generating capacity will hopefully address. There is infrastructure opportunities because the capital is available globally today for large-scale complex infrastructure projects.

With Nigerian banks still playing safe, international funds may just be the catalyst needed to boost the confidence of local investors. The bullish outlook by RenCap may be the positive approach necessary to put the Nigerian economy on the right track.

No wonder Goldman Sachs, the international investment bank, listed Nigeria as one of 11 countries with promising outlooks for investment and future growth to propel global economic recovery.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5702856-146/going_bullish_on_nigeria__.csp

Gbawe:
Interesting. Do you have proof Patience Jonathan is an importer of generators ?

Gbawe, Do you actually find this interesting or disgusting Be sincere.

^^^^
RENCAP has become one of the foremost Global Investment bankers on the Nigerian scene! They came in at the time the stock market was booming and stuck with us even when it crashed! I admire their guts! They are betting bullish on the Nigerian market! A huge risk when you consider the potential for political upheavals this country presents every now and then.
They are a Russian Company with an international outlook.

Below is a brief on the company from wiki!

Renaissance Capital is a leading investment banking firm that operates in high-opportunity emerging markets. It is a top-ranked investment bank for M&A, equity and debt capital markets, as well as securities sales and trading. Renaissance Capital focuses exclusively on emerging markets, including Russia, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and sub-Saharan Africa. The company was founded in 1995 by a group of founding partners, including Stephen Jennings, who is today CEO of Renaissance Group, as well as Boris Jordan, and Leonid Rozhetskin.
Renaissance Capital is unique in that it has no "home office", but rather its businesses are run from the markets it serves. Specifically, the firm's offices are in Moscow, Kiev, Almaty, Lagos, Nairobi, Accra, Harare, and Lusaka. Renaissance Capital also maintains offices in London, New York, Dubai, and Nicosia.
Renaissance Capital is part of Renaissance Group, which also includes investment management, merchant banking, and consumer finance businesses. Renaissance Group is a partnership wholly owned by the firm's management.
The firm may buy or start a brokerage in Egypt that would also cover Morocco and Tunisia and also plans to move into Angola, Uganda, and Rwanda in 2011.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Capital_(Russian_company)

Surely does depend on the big IF. I hope Jonathan doesn't disappoint considering the overwhelming support he got at the elections!! The first sign would come from the kind of cabinet he chooses to pick. If he chooses cronyism over competence than we would have to pray that by some stint of faith the reins of governance as regards infrastructure development would be handed over to the private sector in the form of PPPs. That would be the only hope we would have left!!

Nigeria's potential is massive! I think given the right environment, it would out perform Brazil, Russia and India.

We have some of the world's worst infrastructure- Roads, Power, etc.
We have some of the world's worst business environments.
We have some of the world's most corrupt humans.
We have some of the world's "unsafest" cities.

Yet,
We have one of the best performing economies in terms of GDP growth rate.
We have one of the best Return on Investment rates worldwide.
We have the likes of MTN, Dangote, NB, Banks, etc churning profits running in billions of dollars!!

Imagine we get Power [/b]and [b]Road and transport infrastructure right, Stamp out Bureaucracy and Corruption [/b]and get the right kind of [b]Human capital! The country's economic development would blow up like Clutter bombs in thermobaric proportions!! If we can do so good in the absense of these neccessities, then imagine!!

There would be skyscrapers rising out of trenches like Nnewi and Calabar. Automanufacturing lines churning out trucks form the likes of Benin and Kaduna. And world Class research institutes springing up in places like Ile Ife and Zaria. Business Parks in the likes of Warri and Lagos. These would dominate the headlines if we just get our infrastructure and red tape right!

One emerging trend I'm loving is this new quest for regionalism. I think it is the perfect antidote to the nations indolence. I don't support regionalism based on tribes but based on geography. The arguments we see between Igbos and Yorubas on Nairaland is also a reflection of this move towards regionalism.

People would begin to feel the need to develop their regions in order not to be the underdogs. This article is just ripe!! There is so much resource in this country beyond oil and if everyother region can take their eyes off the oil, this country would begin to see development!!

I love what he said about Bauchi seeking to attract the oil money by developing tourism infrastructure. Thats exactly what Donald Duke sought to do.

My respect for Tinubu and his ACN gang keeps rising. Their plans are razor sharp. But plerase they should leave Edo State out of their equations and Calculation!!

Alxmyr:
Is CPC a party?

dustydee:
^^ it's a political movement.

Nope. It is a terrorist group!

All thses GEJ haters on this thread, una never tire!! Wetin God don bless let no man curse!! The man don win!! Una still dey beef am!! Abegi!

@Topic.
What I find interesting is that these evil folks trying to derail Jonathan's government have failed to realise that with all the pre-election bomb blasts and post election violence they engineered, Jonathan is still recognized and accepted by the majority of Nigerians and the rest of the world as a president that would alleviate the sufferings of the Nigerians people! They would never succeed in extinguishing our hopes for a brighter future. They are of the old stock and they will soon pass away and leave this country for a generation of leaders that seek to make impact. Leaders in the mold of Jonathan, Fashola, Amaechi,Duke, and the like!!!

monkeyleg:
@Papabrowne,

Have you got evidence to backup the Ibori visit? this is the first i have heard of it

‘My meeting with Ibori in Dubai'
By Kadaria Ahmed and Kayode Ogunbunmi
April 17, 2011 02:51AM
print email


The former minister of the Federal Capital Territory was one of the few people that visited James Ibori when he was in detention in Dubai.

Mr. El Rufa'i tells NEXT why he went for the meeting and his impression of Mr. Ibori's state of mind.

Context of the meeting

I met with him twice, I think first on the 14th of March, which was on a Monday. I just wanted to see how he was doing and also ask him some questions about the Yar'Adua administration, because I am curious about how it worked and why Yar'Adua went after me.

I just wanted to understand and I have been visiting people that were close to him in that regard. I have met other people very close to him (Yar'Adua), to try to find out from them why he did what he did.

So, I called my friends in the Dubai police that I wanted to visit Ibori and they gave me a number of his cousin, a young man called Innocent. I called Innocent and he said he would relay that through Mr. Ibori and he called me back in an hour and said James wanted to be sure that no one was impersonating me. We agreed to speak the next day.

I went to the Dubai Police Headquarters, Interpol section, Economic Crime department, and I spent one and a half hours with James.

Was he allowed visitors as a matter of course or was an exception made because it was you?

He was allowed visitors on Mondays in the morning. I don't know if he was allowed visitors on other days, but I know for sure I saw him on Monday, on two Mondays between 9 and 11. He's allowed visitors, he has access to his phone, and he can make calls. Though he was in detention, it was not very restrictive.

What kind of life was he living in Dubai?

At that time I saw him, he was in police detention. Shortly after I returned, I read a report that he was granted bail. Now, granted bail means he could be at the hotel, but his passport was seized because he was not allowed to leave Dubai. I honestly do not know that for sure. I know that I saw him when he was in police detention. We spoke on the phone even when I came back to Nigeria.

How was he when you saw him?

Physically, he was in good shape, he had lost a bit of weight but he was looking good and relaxed. During my discussion with him, he was philosophical, saying "you know, this is how life is. Life has its ups and its downs. Some of the accusations against me are justified, but some are purely fabrication."

He looked like he was in good health and had resigned to his fate. I asked at that time if there was any further appeal and he said to me "well, I can't appeal anymore, this is the end. I am just waiting to go to London."

What was the nature of the meeting?

When we were both in government, I was not very close to James. I knew him just as the governor of Delta State, but we are not very close and quite frankly, I do not blame anyone for what Ya'Adua did to me. I blame Yar'Adua, pure and simple. I have no issue with any of the other people because I think that Yar'Adua was truly and personally responsible for my problems.

James was quite surprised that I came to visit him. Maybe he thought I came to laugh at him and so on, but I think he saw that I was only curious about what really happened. I said James, you and I have a civil relationship, we are not close friends, like you were with Nuhu, (James and Nuhu were very close friends and they used to meet in Andy Uba's house and Bukola Saraki's house).

But what did I do to Yar'Adua that he led this campaign against me. He said Yar'Adua was convinced that your group (the Olusegun Obsanjo economic team) had presidential ambition and you were opposed to his emergence as president, so he felt he had to deal with all of you: Nuhu Ribadu, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and one of the issue was because one of the team was going to contest against him(Yar'Adua).

Who told him?

He said marabouts played a major role in his life and government and that may have contributed and as far as he was concerned, the information he got from OBJ that we were opposed to him. I said ok and I tried getting some few insights. It was a good conversation.

By the time I saw him, he was in incarceration for 9 months. He appeared adjusted to the state and was handling it quite well and he had visitors and was sending messages to Nigeria. My assessment of his emotional state of mind was that he was healthy and he was not looking distressed at all.

Maybe he would have looked different if I had seen him after he was arrested in Dubai, but we laughed about it. However, at a time he had to visit the hospital because of his blood pressure.

Did he explain how he left Nigeria?

I didn't ask specifically, but he was deceived by certain people in government and was betrayed by others he trusted and that's why he was surprised to see me. That people he helped betrayed him, but I didn't ask for any names.

[b]What was the purpose of your second visit?

I went back to him to talk about local politics, who he would be supporting because, like it or not, he's a factor in politics and he said he was not in charge and that his brother in Delta State was. He said Jonathan was not his friend and that Nuhu was not his friend and he would be happy to support any candidate other than those.

When I read he was out of bail, I called and chatted with him and he read that I was a strong supporter of Buhari and he felt I should talk to some of the ex-governors to get support for Buhari. That was what we were talking about until a few days ago.

Why would you reach out to James Ibori?

Well, politics is about people and I felt I should explore that discussion. There was nothing on the table, there's no deal we will be offering him or anything. What he has done has caught up with him.

I thought if we could explore any discussion with his governor or if there's something that is possible, why not. But the discussion didn't go any further because James' approach to politics was let's talk to former governors, but my approach to politics is to talk to people, not choosing who is good or bad.[/b]

While I would have loved that option as well, I think El Rufai messed up bad with the way he ran a campaign of calumny against Jonathan. He played foul during the elections. He went as far as visiting Ibori to get him to prevail on Gov Uduaghan to work against Jonathan. I don't think he would make a good minister in a Jonathan cabinet after that kind of mess up!!
He used to be my best but not anymore.

I think Tinubu and the Yoruba folks should leave Edo alone. We belong in the South South and not in the South West. Why are they trynig to claim us??

Anyway, nice move. I love this new quest for regionalism. It would spur healthy developmental competition.

[quote author=eku_bear link=topic=664813.msg8298572#msg8298572 date=1305115570]If GEJ privatizes and increase tariffs, then we'll have 24/7 electricity in at least some parts of the country.

Main thing is for government to get out of the business as much as possible, imo[/quote]Seconded. The good thing is that this is exactly what he is doing. And this is the top most reason many people voted for him.

@Goforthnig
Welcome to Nairaland. It is usually advised you ignore posters like the one who first responded to your post! They are notorious for the depth of hollowness and length of shallowness that exist above their neck and shoulder!!  They are not usually worth your time. So next time just ignore and don't allow them the privilege of a singualr response!

Nice article. Would be good you post the highlights here directly and allow those that want to read the whole thing to use the link.

The first point on Entrepreneurship: This(Entrepreneurship) in my opinion is the solution to the grinding poverty. There is something I term scalable entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs should be thought to seek growth in their business even if what they are getting is already enough to cater for their basic needs. That way more jobs would be created allowing the teeming populace of poor masses to exit the poverty trap.

Gbawe:
To be honest, I really don't know when Nigerians will start to see what must be seen. Everyone, more or less , got the leaders they wanted . This is what we all proclaimed we would settle for before the election. It has now happened . It is then time for focus to shift towards ensuring that these leaders deliver. How about focusing on holding the President and Governors of today to task , so they move our Nation/States towards a semblance of what we want it to be, before we start thinking of who succeeds them in 4 years time?

Seconded!!

very good. We will gladly pay for better roads! For every kobo we pay for driving on a well paved and free flowing road, we save on visits to mechanics and unnecessary fuel consumption!

monkeyleg:
Right, and so because you judge him to be a coup plotter makes him a potential bad Governor? Why dont you say the same of Uduaghan who was a failed / unsuccessful medical doctor, sacked from DSC. Apparently he has a clear record of failure, not so?

Would be cool to simply answer Roadstar's question by simply telling him on what basis you made your judgement that Ogboru would outperform Uduaghan.

@Sun of God
The pictures
Another classic!!

Let me guess, the poster of this article is Urhobo. I have a big question: Why is it that it is mostly the Uhrobos that dislike Uduaghan with so much hatred and passion. I have spoken to Itsekiris, Ijaws, Isokos Igbos and Urhobos and I find that only the Uhrobos hate the Governor.

In my fair and honest opinion,  the Urhobos might not win any elections in Delta state for the next 20 years despite being by far the largest ethnic group in the state. The reason is simple, as long as the Urhobos keep voting along ethnic lines, the other ethnic groups would keep teeming up to ensure power rotates amongst themselves continually. After Itsekiris, it would be the Igbos then maybe the Isokos and again the Ijaws.

Sun of god:
Strengths - The South
Weakneses - The North
Opportunities - The South
Threats - The North

HEHHEHEHE!! Funny!!

Capital, Capital, Capital!! How can we match good governance with the required capital to help this country move forward?
If Fashola had more money he would do much more for Lagos! Ideas, Ideas, Ideas! Where are the brains in the house!!

jarkbauer:
NIGERIA CONSTITUTION

182. (1) No person shall be qualified for election to the office of Governor of a State if -

            (a) subject to the provisions of section 28 of this Constitution, he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria or, except in such cases as may be prescribed by the National Assembly, he has made a declaration of allegiance to such other country; or

            (b) he has been elected to such office at any two previous elections; or


with section 182 1b fashola will not be elected as governor but as a deputy governor then be sworn in after the new dummy  governor resigns
in that case he wasn't elected as governor but as deputy governor

@Jackbauer.
You are Brilliant!!!! Very brilliant!!

The reason I believe at least any of the governors should attempt your suggestion is so that the constitution would be put to the test. That way the flaws would be made pretty glaring and those in charge would seek to correct it. Thats exactly what happened with the issue of Governers and their re-run cases! The new electoral act has taken care of the flaw that allowed some Governors to stay longer than the constitutionally required 4 years per term. If that correction was not done, Governor Uduaghan of Delta state would have spent a good 7 years on a 4 year term!

hercules07:
@Papa

You are thinking in one direction, the baker can get a POS terminal, most of those people selling bread have savings account with UBA, they can pay via their cards, he can also break his deposits down into smaller bits, I am into IT and I can see this thing working, POS terminals will most likely be fixed which means network access is going to be easier, the specification can just be that they must be able to connect to more than one network at a time, we need to move with the times.
I know you do not like Sanusi, but, I can tell you that this is one of his better ideas, it might take time getting used to it, but, it is absolutely necessary. I run a business that deals with smaller businesses and I do not give out cash in my dealings, I only deal with you if you have an account, I insist on my clients transferring money to my account, not even issuing cheques, I issue cheques to people, I do foreign transfer all the time and I try as much as possible to make it cashless, do you think if I have 30,000 dollars to change and I insist that the aboki must get a POS he will not get it, he knows that I change up to 500K in a year and he is not ready to lose that business, Abokis are smart, they will make sure that they comply, it even helps them, they do not need to carry dagger on their person every time they are carrying cash up and down.

Hercules, nope! The baker cannot depend on a POS terminal for various reasons one of which is epileptic power supply and the second is unreliable internet connectivity. Thirdly, illiterate bread sellers are not going to pay with a credit or debit card- that is way too sophisticated for them.
And finally, the fraud angle, very prevalent with ATMs already cannot be ignored.

The sad thing about this policy is that it directly attacks businesses that are already struggling with numerous other challenges! We should be seeking to crrate business friendly environments and they don't come with policies like these.
I used the bakery as an example to mirror over 90% of small businesses in the country- Traders!!They do a lot of trading and depend on very minuscule margins to survive. I thought banks should be giving interests and credit facilities as against charging taxes and applying extortionate practices!!

The business opportunity I see is for cash holding companies. Rather than a trader take his money to a bank and be extorted, he would be glad to take it to a cash holder where he can pay maybe a monthly fee to lodge cash daily for security purposes. When he needs the money, the same cash he lodged would be given to him from maybe a locker where it was placed. Many Igbo traders currently practice this in the rawest form. This is backwardness and thats what Sanusi keeps bringing to the banking industry.

What do you expect from a CBN boss whose only higher degree is a Masters degree in Islamic Studies from Sudan Nairalanders were told about this guy and many said they like him because he speaks english and hates rich people!!
This man just reels out policies that seek to kill business and entrepreneurship. Which kind policy be this??

Lets practicalise this thing.

Imagine this scenario:
A bakery sells bread to road side traders and churns out sales of say 500,000 naira daily.  Lets assume this Bakery which probably suffers already from high costs of diesel to run generators, bad infrastructure that damages its supply vehicles, struggling markets due to a sluggish economy, etc makes 10,000 Naira per day in profits. Now it goes to the bank to lodge its 500,000 Naira sales for the day and is slapped with a fine of 5000 Naira which is 50% of its profits. In a month, that would amount to 150,000 naira in fines on what would have been a profit of 300,000 naira.

If you own the bakery, would you ever go back to the bank??Never. You would find an alternative and resort to keeping money at home which in itself would increase insecurity dramatically.

What happens when you institute policies without thinking through the impact is that the exact thing you are trying to curb would arise from other areas.
What we would have instead of a cashless society is a cashfull society that never goes to the bank. The banks would die a natural death!

You just wonder if this guy runs CBN alone without any advisers whatsoever!

Is Chime a PDP Governor I thought all things PDP were incurably bad??

Nice works especially considering the fact that Enugu's allocation is on the low side.

^^^^^
Wish you knew!! As I said, majority of the petitions in Den Haag right now concerning this case mention Buhari and  CPC as the key points of investigation!

The group(SERAP) also urged the UN to identify state and non-state actors,[b] including leaders of political parties, who are either complicit or directly responsible for the violence and killings, and to send their names to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for prosecution.

[/b]

[size=14pt]Killings in the North planned, says Soyinka
[/size]
Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday spoke on the violence that broke out in the North, following the outcome of the presidential elections, saying it was pre-meditated.
He called for a code of common behaviour, which prescribes distinct punishment for those elements, who have violated the rules of mutual existence in the country.
Lamenting the murder of Youth Corps members in some northern states, which he said has affected the unity of Nigeria, the former university don urged President Goodluck Jonathan to facilitate the convocation of a Sovereign National Conference (SNG) to discuss the basis for peaceful co-existence in the country.
Soyinka applauded the power shift to progressives in Ogun State, noting that the electorate have voted out a "fetish" government, which trampled on the dignity of the people and prevented the House of Assembly from performing its democratic duties.
Urging the governor-elect to restore the honour of the state, he said the murder of the late Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) politician, Otunba Dipo Dina, should be revisited.
Soyinka, who spoke with reporters in Lagos on the general elections, especially the preliminary report of the monitoring group, ‘Reclaim Niger Organisation’, said that President Goodluck Jonathan won the presidential election.
He said despite the hiccups, including under-age voting and improper accreditation of voters, the polls were declared free and fair by domestic and foreign observers.
"My view is that the presidential election was won by President Jonathan, based on figures collated," Soyinka stressed, adding that he would not comment on matters of figures because he is not a ‘mathematician’ like Akinjide. Chief Richard Akinjide, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, argued the 12 2/3 case in the 1979 elections that brought Alhaji Shehu Shagari to power. He was later rewarded with appointment as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Second Republic.
Soyinka rejected the speculations that led to "unbelievable carnage and destruction of lives" in Kaduna, Gombe and Bauchi states.
He said what appalled him was the glee with which the assault on humanity and killings were accomplished, stressing that the joyful acceptance of the carnage in high quarters was worrisome.
Soyinka said: "The carnage is unacceptable to me because it involves human beings. In the end, these killings were done on a non-existing foundation. In any decent society, such killings are not acceptable. In the end, in my view, it turns out that these killings were carried out on nothing. They were carried out on a piece of lies; I suspect sometimes, deliberate misinformation, may be, on no information at all. They were planned well before hand. Anybody who says they were not planned before hand is a naive individual. From the reports, I did not detect any note of spontaneity. I am convinced that these killings were planned before hand. And it is the responsibility, not only of government, but any citizen who lays claim to humanity to denounce these killings in the strongest possible terms.
"I watched the body language of some of those leaders on television responding to these killings, the unnecessary waste of human lives. I was very disappointed. I am not going to name names. I did not detect any vestige of remorse."
Soyinka spoke on his involvement in the efforts to rescue Youth Corps members trapped in the trouble spots, saying their condition was pitiable.
He lamented that the youths were deliberately targeted by rioters who actually chased them while on national duty.
The renowned playwright, who described the NYSC as the greatest legacy of the Gowon administration, likened the scheme to the Peace Corps of the Kennedy years in the United States, stressing that members deserved the care and protection of their host communities.
Soyinka blamed successive administrations for not acting decisively when violence erupted and strangers were targeted, pointing out that non-natives were usually vulnerable in their places of sojourn.
He added: "Two of my children served in the Northern parts of the country; one in Maiduguri, another in Jos or somewhere I can’t remember now. Today, if I have children who are to go on service there again, I will say ‘over my dead body’. These children were brought together and sent to the various parts of the country to foster a sense of unity.
"The frequency of the killings has, not now, but ages ago, passed intolerable level. We have a succession of governments who revel in the culture of impunity."
Soyinka, who congratulated the President for his victory at the polls, enjoined him never to emulate his predecessors, who, he said, turned deaf ears to the agitations for a Sovereign National Conference (SNG).
He chided the past Heads of State for their insensitivity to the national question, saying their attitudes contributed to the dismembering of Nigeria.
Soyinka said the Jonathan administration would fail, if the President brushes aside the call for the resolution of fundamental issues germane to the existence of the country or if he reduces it to an unintended interpretation.
The master dramatist also called for a new direction in governance, proposing a closure to the bogus salary earned by legislators.
He maintained that the country does not require full-time legislators who earn more salaries than the President of the United States and Russia as well as the Prime Ministers of India and Britain.
He said only credible people, who are ready to serve and receive small allowances, should serve as part-time legislators.
Soyinka called for security in the country, saying that he objected to the enactment of different and arbitrary laws.
He described the Gboko Haram violence as a product of negligence, complacency and complicity of those in government, who have created allies they could no longer control.
Soyinka said: "When people spend all their times scheming for an unconstitutional third term in office, then, they seek allies and they fail to condemn and punish when prospective allies act in a way that break the constitution. They appease them simply because they want to stay in power. These are not friends of people; they are not friends of humanity. They are traitors to the cause of humanity.
"President Jonathan has no choice than to tackle the problems headlong in a comprehensive, holistic manner, not piecemeal. Otherwise, I greatly fear for the continuity of the nation. The moment one reaches a point where he cannot allow his son to go any part of the country; the nation has already failed as a nation."
He emphasised that his views on these matters represented the views of majority of Nigerians, who have expressed concern about national security.
Soyinka congratulated the people of Ogun State for redeeming themselves from the PDP, urging those who would take over the baton on May 29 to return the state to the path of honour.
He added: "This is an address to the people of Ogun State. At long last, you have redeemed yourselves. I have
been very shocked and disappointed at the docility of the people of Ogun State in accepting that their house of parliament is shut down illegally, disorderly, shabblishly by the out-going government of Ogun State, headed by one ‘Daani elebo’, who brought fetish into the government of the state. He is the son of his political father.
"Nobody expected this. But we were fooled at the beginning. I was among them. And when we tried to correct this situation, this character, ‘Daani elebo’, was adamant. I congratulate the people of Ogun State for redeeming themselves a little, although that stigma that they tolerated them for so long will be there, especially the closure of the House of Assembly, the voices of the people, although some of them were not elected, but got there through manipulation by the master mafia, the former President of the Federation.
"I thank them for not making me to sell my house in Ogun State and relocate somewhere else. That is what I would have done, if they have not chased the ‘Daani elebo’ gang from Ogun State and humiliated his father. So, it is a new beginning for the people of Ogun State.
"There is no perfect person who does not have a baggage in their history, but I think those elected have an opportunity to restore the state to its former condition, to the days when individuals like Funmilayo Ransom-Kuti led the charge against the colonial powers because of their feudal excesses, when I was a little boy. Ogun State has always been the gateway to democracy. It is about time we re-open those gates and chase out those fetish people and criminals, some of who still have to answer for some murders, especially the murder of Dipo Dina, and other murders".

[url]http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/4501-killings-in-the-north-planned-says-soyinka.html
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Pataki:
How long does it take our newly assumed Politics section jester to file a simple law suit against Buhari and Bakare?

Even a charge and bail lawyer is not that hard to find innit?

Or do you people just love attention seeking and noise making?

I dey wait oh.

You no need to wait, my broda! Not sure where you are located but If I''m right, then train ticket to Den Haag no go pass 30 Euro. Walk into ICC and ask how many petitions have been filed already concerning Buhari and you'll understand that boys are not smiling. Omo, You BB fans need to start praying hard for Buhari oh.