₦airaland Forum

hinwazaka:
MR President, you are right, you are not an economist, so please SHUTUP. You know nothing. For starters, were is your certificate, what was your grade in Economics. Don't talk about things you know nothing of.

49cents:
The Naira was over-valued since......
As it stands now, the smartest thing to reverse that trend is to further mark up the dollar to N400 and give tax paillaitives to companies, social buffers to Nigerians in terms of mass transport, housing schemes, food availability and quality education

AreaFada2:
But Tam David West just told him that restructuring 9ja means break-up. If an SS person who should know the injustice of this current centralised system says that publicly, can you imagine what other influential people from other regions will be telling Buhari in private?

Even if we produce 8m barrels a day at $70 and the politicians use the money judiciously, 9ja will still be a country of poor people for a long time. Let alone under 4m b/d at $40 that is even embezzled.

Recurrent expenditure at all tiers of govt is way too much. Don't even get me started on ghost workers.

A restructured regional system with regional Premiers/Prime ministers will abolish all the legions of governors, commissioners, SSAs, SAs, department heads, agency heads, etc. Regional parliament instead of lots of State Assemblies.

Cities/LGs will get mayors/LG chairmen/women to administer municipal councils and districts, with councillors at ward level.

We can save much money that will go into capital projects, research, education/training, health, etc

donodion:
This for me could be the very last stroke needed to help Nigeria regain economic relevance... however that is provided:-
1. Nigeria would remain as one emtity ( which personally im becoming doubtful of)
2. The league of vultures amd vampires in that couldron we call House of Senate would kill this bill on arrival.
Wardrobe allowance, brand new SUVs and other sundry benefits that goes with being a senator, with little or nothing to show for the electorate wont allow the will for such.
3. The presiding governors security votes and unending white elephant projects, frivolous pillaging of states allocation with imputiny,etc... could all this ills be done away with to allow reasoning set in for effective regional governance?

Like i said, your poser would be the very last stroke.

quickly:
Rice production is a good start



Nigeria need to create a tourism industry to the standard of south africa and kenya. We should have the best game reseve in africa.

That would make them build world class hotels , world class transportation.

This western countires are always looking for somewhere to spend vacation.

kobonaire:
The gains of floating your currency are not seen overnight. It should take a couple of months for the effects to be noticed.

AreaFada2:
That is exactly where Abubakar missed a big trick after Abacha's death. That was the best chance. But as a Northerner, he won't do that.

Of course entrenched interests including NASS won't allow it currently.

Apart from greed, in their sumptuous mansions and privileged life, they don't realise just how tense, charged and fragile the country is. Or they chose not to care.

This aloof disposition is the biggest danger. When all comes crashing down, the situation in Somalia & Congo-Zaire combined will be like a mere picnic in millennium park.

49cents:
The Naira was over-valued since oil became Nigeria's main stay and that discouraged diversification and industrialisation whilw promoting importation of everything due to cheap petrodollars

As it stands now, the smartest thing to reverse that trend is to further mark up the dollar to N400 and give tax paillaitives to companies, social buffers to Nigerians in terms of mass transport, housing schemes, food availability and quality education etc

In about 6 years Nigeria will find its self in a superb state

jpphilips:
Just like the francophone and CFA economies did right? from buhari's speech I appreciate his sincerity saying it the way he feels it not the way it sounds or the economic theories of vodoo economists to say the least, in most of you, I see a group of disgruntled youths, what you think is a solution is being practised right behind you from Cameroon to Guinea, yet you are too dumb to realize how s!lly your suggestion is, most of you who enjoy your level of emptiness will still call buhari a dullard, what does that make you? Goat I guess?

AreaFada2:
But Tam David West just told him that restructuring 9ja means break-up. If an SS person who should know the injustice of this current centralised system says that publicly, can you imagine what other influential people from other regions will be telling Buhari in private?

Even if we produce 8m barrels a day at $70 and the politicians use the money judiciously, 9ja will still be a country of poor people for a long time. Let alone under 4m b/d at $40 that is even embezzled.

Recurrent expenditure at all tiers of govt is way too much. Don't even get me started on ghost workers.

A restructured regional system with regional Premiers/Prime ministers will abolish all the legions of governors, commissioners, SSAs, SAs, department heads, agency heads, etc. Regional parliament instead of lots of State Assemblies.

Cities/LGs will get mayors/LG chairmen/women to administer municipal councils and districts, with councillors at ward level.

We can save much money that will go into capital projects, research, education/training, health, etc

jpphilips:
What makes you think it will play out the way you are saying it? Nigerians are extremely greedy by default, so long as politics lives, those openings will be created one way or another, in 1965, the Western assembly was in chaos and it nearly destabilized the western region, I think there was a fracass like that in the eastern region when Igbos dominated that region ,irked others who felt they were relegated as minorities, it led to the relocation of the Eastern region capital from Calabar to Enugu. Such skirmishes will not disappear just because you regionalized the government.
Speaking of cost of governance, what makes you think that Rivers Governor will leave his oil producing status for a region that will accommodate an Ebonyi with no economic relevance? Is it not the same unhealthy wealth distribution you tried to abandon in Nigeria?
Don't you think that the rivers and Bayelsa men will want more constituencies in the regional assembly to reflect their Golden egg status at the expense of probably Enugu and Ebonyi?

Why do we need to regionalize just to reduce the cost of governance? that is an extreme if you ask me, Don't you think it is easier to ask all Governors to drop their deputies and sundry apparatchik to achieve that? why do you need a regional government for that?
We can adopt part time legislature to reduce cost of governance, is it impossible to collapse constituencies to reduce representation at state and federal levels? do you really need a regional government to achieve that? all these portfolios are created not in the interest of the Nigerian people but to satisfy interest groups. there is nothing you wish to achieve in a regional government you can't in a federal structure.

How are you sure that Bayelsans will not ask the eastern region for greater oil share, blow up pipelines to that effect? or demand for president of house of chiefs to reflect the federalregional character? imagine where you have 8 presidents of house of chiefs from all the collapsed states, how is it different from the federal government?

Let me tell you the kinda people who are desperate to have regional governments, Politicians, you know why? they are just looking more funds to steal, the federal structure has no problem when there is sincerity of purpose in governance.
you may think the niger delta feeds the country, well that may be right, guess what, you cant stop migration legal or otherwise, so what is really the point, I will open a thread on the benefits of a united nigeria real soon so you may weigh both options.

hinwazaka:
MR President, you are right, you are not an economist, so please SHUTUP. You know nothing. For starters, were is your certificate, what was your grade in Economics. Don't talk about things you know nothing of.

InvertedHammer:
/
US dollar is having its best time ever. Pound sterling got clobbered in the last two days. So did Euro. What is the current exchange rate of naira to the US dollar? My biggest disappointment is that Nigerians erroneously believe that Nigeria matters in the scheme of things. When G7 countries cough, shitty third world countries like Nigeria, etc catch cold. Okonjo Iweala and GEJ ran a voodoo economy supported by fictitious data. But like pregnancy, sooner than later the result will be there for everyone to see. Add all the funds looted so far (just a tip of the iceberg) and do tell how the economy will thrive when all the developmental funds ended up in private bank accounts.

hinwazaka:
MR President, you are right, you are not an economist, so please SHUTUP. You know nothing. For starters, were is your certificate, what was your grade in Economics. Don't talk about things you know nothing of.

49cents:
What's this fixation with low exchange rates? Is it so that you can buy iPhone for N10000?

Until importation is discouraged by devaluation, no fixed rate of dollar will stand over time...

Nigeria doesn't have an economy yet, if we don't deliberately fast now, we shall be forced to fast later by reality.

Now miss smartypants what is your solution cos your response didn't even suggest one

MrEverest:
Which tourist will want to come to a place Nigeria? I know you've gotten used to the gore & violence that have characterized our national life but to the eyes of foriegners, Nigeria is like Syria, Somalia, Libya & other high risk countries of the world. Only the likes of Jack Bauer would risk a visit to Nigeria for fun so get real.

2sexycom:
You know when people you talk about discouraging importation I laugh. Is our power sector working to begin with? Give people constant power supply and watch Nigeria transform herself in just 5-7 years.

49cents:
What's this fixation with low exchange rates? Is it so that you can buy iPhone for N10000?

Until importation is discouraged by devaluation, no fixed rate of dollar will stand over time...

Nigeria doesn't have an economy yet, if we don't deliberately fast now, we shall be forced to fast later by reality.

Now miss smartypants what is your solution cos your response dint even suggest one

There is no perfect system. But what we have now is worse than what we had in the 1960s. The war was very much avoidable. The Easterners in the North could have been far better protected. Just in case you want to ask why war broke out if 1960s was better.

Now we have 36 governors. Even if the dropped their deputies.
We had 3 regions before, now we will have 6 or 7 premiers and deputies. 12/14 is still less than 36 by far. In case we decide to make Lagos a special region of its own.
To restructure 9ja, cosmetics will not do. We need to do it root & branch.

Also, with 6 regions, there will be more relative homogeneity within a specific region. North Central for example will have related tribes like Tiv, Idoma, Berom, Igala, etc. Who can more easily co-exist with Yoruboid Illorin and Okun, etc.

SS will have Efik/Ibibio, Ijaw, Edo/Edoid groups, Akwa, Itsekiri, etc. Ijaw will be the main challenge there but can be settled from the beginning.

How regions use & distribute money would be addressed from the onset, with cognisance of agitation of oil producing areas even within each region. No make-it-up-as-we-go-along method.
Knowing the challenges regional system faced in the 1960s, we should find ways to prevent foreseeable challenges of the system.

Bayelsa is SS by the way.
Rivers in SS will not have any business with Ebonyi (SE).

SS States are: Rivers, Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom, Cross Rivers & Bayelsa.

There won't be governors. only regional premiers. The other tier will be LGA/district chairmen and counsellors. Democracy will come to grass root.

Your only aim of institutionalizing a regional government is to sack your governor by insinuation ,
let me ask you, do you have issues with your governor cos mine is doing pretty well?
Have you heard about a position called president of house of chiefs? I think most of you discussing regionalism have no idea how it worked in the past. I have a feeling you want to metamorphose the geopolitical zones to regions, well that is another dream because every apparatchik of the present state structure must reflect in the region, so if you have 5 states that make SS region, each of those states must be adequately represented in regional governance, failure to do that will end in chaos.

49cents:
When you learn social media ettiquette then you should quoting people.

You just didn't have to always show the whole world how poorly raised you were

jpphilips:
AreaFada2 post=47015757]


This is not true, in the 60's there were fewer interest groups yet only the northern region was fairly stable, between 1963 till the military struck, it was all chaos in other regions, are you aware that the mid west region used to be alone before they joined the western region, or rightly put, the western region was bifurcated to accommodate some interest groups when our population was less than 50m compared to now? within a space of three years the eastern region has relocated their capital to reflect the dominance of the igbos in the region, do you expect the Ibibio and ijaws to maintain a minority status in our present day regional Nigeria (if it will ever come) when they know their oil, gas and electricity are feeding the igbos? To satisfy all interest groups in our present day Nigeria, each person will need to be a republic, that is a fact.





It is better to have broadened your enlightenment before discussing National policies, you make it look as if you are dividing ancestral lands amongst family members, you are making it sound like the regions are out to sack the governors and nothing more, what do you intend to achieve with a regional government that you can't in a federal structure? I am all ears.






Tell that to igbos in the SE then take a picture of your face afterwards






Your only aim of institutionalizing a regional government is to sack your governor by insinuation ,
let me ask you, do you have issues with your governor cos mine is doing pretty well?
Have you heard about a position called president of house of chiefs? I think most of you discussing regionalism have no idea how it worked in the past. I have a feeling you want to metamorphose the geopolitical zones to regions, well that is another dream because every apparatchik of the present state structure must reflect in the region, so if you have 5 states that make SS region, each of those states must be adequately represented in regional governance, failure to do that will end in chaos.

rusher14:
[b]I'll try to explain.

For the Naira to be strong(er) we need to produce goods locally or deliver services that are utilised internationally.
One way of doing this is farming -which eliminates or at least substitutes for a foreign made alternative.

So as a salary earner, you are a noble citizen but if our services do not relate to import substitution or local manufacturing, I'm afraid, we have not helped the situation.

Government's role is to provide infrastructure, security, policies which would encourage local production.

The rule of Law has to be sacrosanct.

Our duty as citizens is to encourage government to abide by the rule of law by eliminating corruption and monopoly. Competition brings out the best in us.

In addition we need to start producing - farm produce, tools, fashion and other products which can quickly make us self sufficient in the shortest possible time whilst looking to export in the long run.

Agreed, not everyone can engage in these activities but the question I ask is if not me, then who?
[/b]

49cents:
The Naira was over-valued since oil became Nigeria's main stay and that discouraged diversification and industrialisation whilw promoting importation of everything due to cheap petrodollars

As it stands now, the smartest thing to reverse that trend is to further mark up the dollar to N400 and give tax paillaitives to companies, social buffers to Nigerians in terms of mass transport, housing schemes, food availability and quality education etc

In about 6 years Nigeria will find its self in a superb state

Problem is you think you are more enlightened about 9ja. Very far from it, you are not. If you believe the hype, my governor is one of the best performing governors in modern 9ja democracy.

This not about governors, but all govt paraphernalia that siphon huge amounts of money.

Think of how many states cannot pay salaries, governors diverting allocation for LGAs, the legions of aids and co. I also propose the scrapping of the many houses of Assembly. For fewer regional one. Many states were created solely to receive oil money allocation because every idi.ot and his dog knows they cannot self-sustain.

In terms or regional assembly representation, it's no rocket science. We can just use the current senatorial districts for representation. Nobody agrees on anything in 9ja but senatorial district has not been an issue so far.

What a regional system can achieve that states cannot achieve is this: (1)more autonomy. For example regional police will be more feasible. Each state cannot pay their own police. (2) Less recurrent expenditure. States currently run huge salary expenses. That is suicidal. With minimum 18 members of HoS in each state, with their aids, administrators etc, it's crazy. Then commissioners and aids in these states, and agencies, judiciary, etc.

If you take SS with 6 states, Rivers can provide 3 or 4 senators/reps, then others produce 3 senators in the regional parliament. That is adequate representation. It is the failure of govt and lack of development that has caused clamour of "every town & village" for own rep, LGA or even state.

(3) The locals can finally start holding local region/chairmen/councillors for lack of development. Right now, FG gets most of the flak for refuse in the market, bad roads, bad school etc. Nobody knows who's responsible for what. It was always GEJ , now Buhari to blame for everything. We can now better assign blame where it really should. More transparency therefore.
In fact the benefits are numerous.

kobonaire:
That's correct, floating or fixing the exchange rate becomes meaningless if the following do not take place
1) fight corruption
2) increase productivity
3) diversify the economy - reduce over dependence on oil revenue
4) improvement in public infrastructure, health, education, security etc
5) .......

jpphilips:
Floating the currency is an indirect way of telling you that our forex inflow can no longer sustain the Naira peg and effectively balance trade.

jpphilips:
AreaFada2 post=47034426]

Good for you




Do you think regional governments don't have its own paraphernalia?





This is why I said you have no clue how regional government works, if you knew, then you would have figured you don't need any regional government to solve the problems you just mentioned.
When Buhari assumed office, he and his deputy took pay cuts, what did the legislators do? You understand why Saraki must go!!, Saraki does not represent the wish of the executive in times like this.
Saraki's independence will come handy if the executive goes overboard, in this case he is way too insensitive.

Now, Let me explain how you will get the same results in a Federal structure, Imagine if you had a Buhari as a president who by the way, has collapsed unproductive ministries, took pay cut and a Buhari in the legislature, collapses committee and take pay cut as well, is that what you need a regional government for?

You are talking about states that can not pay salaries, what is stopping the states from collapsing recurrent expenditure to be able to afford whatever little accrued from Federal allocation and IGR? Do you need a regional government to achieve that? A state like rivers can rake in billions from traffic offense, why has the governor not thought of that? does he need a regional government to think?

Governors divert LGA allocations because section 7(1) of the 1999 constitution made it so, if you have a responsible legislature, section 7 can easily be repealed, is that what you need a regional government for?

Speaking of Assembly members, do you think regional governments don't have assembly members? if you argue about the number, then the current LGA's can be collapsed to have fewer representatives at the various state house of assembly, how is that difficult? is that what you need a regional Government for? If you form a SS region with Rivers, Bayelsa, cross river, delta and Edo making it up, the Regional assembly will be number of LGAS in all these states combined, if you can not collapse the LGA's at the Federal type of Government, what makes you think you can in a regional one without interest groups feeling aggrieved?
As a matter of fact, a SS regional assembly comprising of all these states will need a bigger assembly complex et al, overall,your regional Assembly model that failed to collapse the LGAs at the federal level will be more expensive to maintain.

The !diots you claim waiting for oil money, what are you going to do about them in a regional Government, kill them?
While the oil producing Imo state man think that Northerners are leeches, he forgot that the electricity in Imo is likely generated from Niger state and evacuated through the national grid, some of you guys need to keep your selfishness in check.






Why don't you use senatorial district for state House of assembly representation as well, must you regionalize to achieve that? A simple constitutional amendment can fix that. you are proposing killing an Ant with a sledge hammer when you can step on it





Quit Joking how can a state that can not afford salaries of mere teachers and state ministerial staff now have money for state police simply because you muddled them together? where will the money come from? a region has more ministerial staff than a state because in the SS region, Bayelsa will want their people in the regional service, same for Rivers, Edo, Delta etc, this arguement is weak.
Guess you think regional representatives don't have aides? who told you regional governments don't have commissioners, even military rule had commissioners let alone a regional government. Regional governments have Judiciary too so where exactly are you gonna save cost?






With constitutional amendment, that can be achieved in a federal system so why do you need to Regionalize to achieve that?




First, I know who to blame for my problems I don't know about you, secondly, if you repeal section 7 of the 1999 constitution on Monday, by Tuesday, all the 774 LGAS will have their accounts on the FG payroll, that is the least that can be done, you don't need any regional government to achieve that. What should bother you are these;
who is tasked with the responsibility of constitutional amendment?
Why are they not doing what the people want?

Corperadams:
Guys abeg ooo,. This man don confuse me. Na who he want blame now?
His saying he have nt seen anything that we have achieve by devalueing of naira, then who cause it?
Me oooo, na small thing dey vex me and if i :>vex now people go talk say i too dey vex and my vex no good if i dey hungre.