karl max: the fact that we were once among the top ten most corrupt nation in the world not long ago and now were no longer their is an improvement.

What year was this?

Sincere 9gerian: The politically and ethnically motivated false alarm and mis-information from Punch et al all through the year is enough to make Nigeria drop to the bottom on the ladder of perception of corruption.

When all else fails, inject politics and ethnicity

It would have been better if you didn't post on this thread. So Punch newspaper is responsible for the worsening corruption perception index?

The truth of the matter is that Nigeria is getting worse in terms of corruption index. I really don't know why this should come as a surprise because all of saw the granting of pardon to Alamieyeseigha, the handling of Oduah's case (into which people like you injected ethnicity), and the so many scandals flying around in the Oil Ministry. Are we really surprised?

Are you surprised to see Ghana, which sacked a Deputy Minister 'just' because of her corruption-friendly utterances, rated much higher than Nigeria?

Abi na Punch newspaper, which you have severally claimed is not a good or acceptable newspaper, cause that one too?

Billyonaire: He needs to change that name first before thinking of being president, who answers a name that sounds like the noise made by a falling metal on a marble floor. <<<Tam - booo - wa-wa-wa-waaaa

This must be a joke; a colourless one for that matter.

theoctopus:

Most of what you people quote as facts are fake reports from the opposition. Isnt that funny. All the recent reports about Nigeria, both from within and outside the country shows that

1. Inflation rate has dropped

2. Exchange rate is stable

3. Corruption in government has dropped.

But then again, you will counter my points with another report from an opposition source. It is a funny circle of propaganda, isnt it?

1. If inflation is dropping why are interest rates not dropping?

2. My point on the exchange rate is on its strengthening.

3. Provide evidence that corruption HAS dropped.

ballabriggs: Diversified? Rubbish

Where oil is still the main source of government revenue and spending. Where oil is the main foreign exchange earner.

I only need to see the monetary policy direction of the CBN to know if the economy is diversified.

With falling oil revenue, it is raising interest rates to reduce the pressure on the reserves, it is devaluing the naira to hold the reserves and maintain macroeconomic stability. But guess what, it is still far from stability.

To talk of a diversified economy is grand delusion.

The economy is not yet diversified. However, if this report is anything to rely on, absolute figures for non-oil exports have gone up. Oil remains the contributor of the lion share to foreign exchange earnings and this is not likely to change in the short run. We also don't know how much accrued to the government as revenue from the non-oil exports earnings.

There are many problems in the economy. There is massive and unprecedented oil theft which government appears unsure and unprepared to tackle aggressively. Oil revenue is falling and government is pussy footing on corruption and the word out there is that the Jonathan government is very soft on corruption. A lot of government spending disappears into corruption and waste which is why there's a disparity between the so-called economic growth and standard of living of the people.

Like you said, the CBN is pursuing very tight monetary policies and is yet to have a model that can reduce the high interest rates, inflation rate and strengthen the exchange rate. Sometimes I pity the CBN though because it can't control the goebrnment's fiscal policies. The infrastructure is still weak and the cost of doing business is still high.

If, in spite of these problems the non-oil exports sector was able to post these figures, I think it's commendable.

Sincere 9gerian: This progress is in spite of the faulty structure of this country. If only we can have the UNITY of purpose take the more radical step of re-structuring this country we shall see far more greater progress. We must re-structure this country in such a way that states/regions will have control of both human and material resources in their domain and pay tax to the central govt. This will automatically solve more than 50% of the problems we'r currently grappling with, including curbing the almighty corruption.

In addition, we must remove the wasteful fuel subsidy and de-regulate the downstream sector. Hopefully the PIB currently in the NASS will take care of this

What's stopping this now? I don't think we need a Conference before we change the revenue allocation formular (for crude oil, federal taxes etc) or cede most federal resources to the host states (e.g. roads) or start state police.

Why can't the gradual journey towards true fiscal federalism start now?

This result is commendable. The future of the economy depends on manufacturing and agriculture. It is pleasing that the country is trying to move away from being a mono-product country. As good as the result is, Nigeria is still scratching the surface in terms of the amazing potentials that abound in the country. Nigeria is a resource-rich country with millions of hectares of farmland.

The Ministers of Trade and Agriculture should keep at it while the government must also look for ways to save money aggressively and cut down on waste. It cannot be business as usual if we want results.

The President should bring out the Oronsaye Committee report on the scrapping or merger of parastatals/ministries. Also, the anti-graft agencies should be emboldened while clear and decisive efforts should be made to reform the Police and the judicial system.

Ultimately, the common people need to see the effects of results like this in terms of rates of poverty and unemployment.

NoProphecy:

The curse of Ham, is correct. Ham saw Noah's junk (after he got drunk and passed out n.aked), so Noah made him black and a slave (as well as all of his descendants). You see, the bible is all about LOVE and a true source of morality.

Did Noah's curse change the colour of Ham immediately or that of Ham's offsprings? What was the colour of Ham's wife?

ifyalways:
Gbam !

This is the major problem i have with LASG. They collect money and look the other way when :
People buy and build on stated owned lands.
People build on water ways,pipelines and below electric cables.

Then 2 years later,they'll wake from their deep slumber and come with their demolition trailers. Do they ever look inwards- fish out,punish the government officials involved in this whole biz racket?

The sad thing is that it is not only in Lagos. It is all over the place including Abuja.

Government wakes up one day and starts to demolish illegal structures - houses, shops, etc. The question people should be asking is whether the illegal structures dropped from the skies. Has any government ever meted out sanctions to its officials (serving or retired) who though collected salaries from the government to enforce planning rules, looked the other way or colluded with the house owners to issue approvals?

Most times, it is the poor people who bear the brunt. People should start saying no to this nonsense. The house owners are guilty but the government also has questions to answer.

slim fit :
Let call a spade a spade, it's a dangerous place to build a house. Common sense should tell people that its not a safe place to build even a toilet. The question we should be asking is have they built an alternative for these people. Let the government build a place these people can relocate too.

1. I agree that it makes no sense at all to build houses in flood plains or under tension lines but it is not every individual that will be responsible or sensible. This is one of the reasons governments exist (to regulate).

2. I think prevention is better than cure. It would have been better for everybody of government had prevented them from building rather than demolish. Now that the houses will be demolished what is government action on the officials who who were paid to handle town planning and regulation of physical structures?

3. In terms of social housing delivery, governments across Nigeria have been highly irresponsible and non responsive.

geeez:

I'm certain Lagos State under BRF will never approve building of houses under HTCs

I'm also sure those who have built under them knew the implications before digging a trench for their foundation

My point remains regardless of whether BRF was in charge or not because government is a continuum.

Yes, the houses should be demolished but what happens to the officials (of the government in power then) who either approved or looked away?

sunstyle:
the truth is that most of those houses don't have building aproval, in most cases people build without regards to law, with thugs on watch while they were been built and because it was during the military era civil servant in charge were not on duty.

Are you sure of what you're saying? So ALL those people built with thugs on watch? Haba! The truth is that many of such houses belong to the poor and the middle class. Let the government of the day in investigate what went wrong in order to prevent a recurrence.

Also, civil servants and commissioners don't shut down during a military regime.

Note that it is not only in Lagos state that governments flex their muscles against the owners of such houses while keeping mute about their own officials who approved or conspired to have such houses in place.

Where was the government when the houses were being built? Who gave the approvals? Or who looked away from the buildings when they were being constructed?

How can the Commissioner now be planning to punish the house owners without including all the government officials and civil servants who either granted the approvals or looked away while the houses were being built?

ROSSIKE:

Also, the main question is value. The purchasing power of the dollar, which varies from country to country. The value of the said $1.65 is about ten times higher in Nigeria than its value in America, hence making the comparison and association with ''one dollar'' very misleading. For starters that $1.65 can buy you three solid meals daily here in Nigeria. But in America, the cheapest meal you can buy is around $10.00 if you're lucky. So it's a highly misleading comparison.

Your assumption is not correct. Doing a straight translation is not the basis of the $1 a day concept.

Look at what $1.65 can buy in the US in terms of a basket of goods as at 2005. That's purchasing power parity. The concept has its weaknesses but it forms a good basis for analysis.

If this line is too cumbersome, how about the fact that about 112million people lived below poverty line as at 2010?

the warrior72:
Yes I know there's poverty in Nigeria,but that figure scares me

The fact that the figure scares you does not make it wrong.

the warrior72: Bros this figure of 112m Nigerians been bellow poverty line is outrageous,fictitious& unbelievable.
What are u guys trying to prove?, that 112m nigerians live bellow #200 a day?, Do know how much a derica of rice cost, how much an average plate of food cost even in rural areas like east & south, how much a cup of egusi cost, a cup of ogbono,a derica of garri, a loaf of bread ,a tin of milk, a tin of tomato etc. Let us stop buying into whatever those racist oyinbo propagated about nigeria& and africa @ large

I quoted the figures from the Statistician General of Nigeria. Or is he an 'oyibo' man?

If you disagree with the 112m figure, what are your reasons and what is the correct figure?

ballabriggs: This is ignorant!

It is not your $1 as you change at your BDC but economic prices. The poverty head count line is US$1 for extreme poverty and US$2 for poverty a day in PPP all in 1985 prices. It is not the currency but the basket of goods that amount will buy. The PPP $1 a day standard denotes not what a US dollar can actually buy in Nigeria but what a US dollar will buy in the US in 1985.

Given Nigeria's double digits inflation rate and the less than 4% US rate over these period, it may interest you to know that US$ 1 ppp can even be at about N1300 today.

So please understand the standard and what is being measured before you criticise.

I think it's 2005 prices.

Regardless of the year, many of the people you're addressing will choose not to understand it and get permanently fixated on the simplistic understanding of the issues.

This is why I usually use local figures to tackle them. Can you see how they have been avoiding the ugly fact that 112million Nigerians were below poverty line in 2010? They would rather flex their muscles on the $1 a day which they are not even right about because that's easier to spin.

Poverty is real in Nigeria and I don't know why they are denying it.

the warrior72:
Considered is different from actually been poor.,Me I considerd myself poor, but I don't live on one 1$ a day!!

What's your take on the second part of the post?

shymexx:

You asked question and I answered them. However, rather than debate the answers I posted logically, you turned into a rabid dog with simplistic and incoherent rebuttals laced with ad hominem attacks.

Anyway, if you want to go down that route - we can get busy. I never disrespected you, so don't disrespect me.

I ignored him then because I saw the very disrespectful manner in which he entered the thread.

So far, what fresh angle has he contributed to the debate? Mere platitudes!

ndu_chucks:

Some people are telling you not to expect sensible responses to your questions because they believe that opinions which differ from theirs are not sensible and are inferior - I think you should ignore such small minds.

I share your very reasonable concerns but I disagree that our problems are due to high population. The federal allocation to some states is much more than many countries' GDPs, yet these states are not developed. I think the main problem with us, especially those abroad, is laziness and selfishness. We need people like you who have been to the other side to come home and show us how things should be done and participate fully in the developnment of this country. You cannot split the country up and repopulate the new 'countries' with people other than Nigerians. Think about it.

You will notice that I've been ignoring you on this thread. I expect you to do the same because I really don't want this thread to be derailed.

Honestly, I hated the condescending, haughty and abusive manner you entered the thread. Anyone who respects others and their opinions won't say all such to a group of people.

So far, you've been evading the issues, throwing other nebulous things into the mix and making condescending remarks about those who don't agree with your viewpoint. Must you always have your way?

You want Nigeria to be one for ever and a significant number of the people who are the human being that make up Nigeria say they are fed up with a country that has been stuck for years. How's that a problem?

The trait you've exhibited on this thread is one of the problems with Nigeria.

^^^^^Please don't expect sensible or straight answers to your questions.

Is the benchmark of $1 or $1.25 per day the issue or the fact that millions of Nigerians are swimming in poverty?


According to the Statistician General of Nigeria, 93.9% of Nigerians considered themselves to be poor.

According to the same man, poverty rate stood at 69% in 2010. According to this report, about 112million Nigerians lived below poverty level.


http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/02/93-9-nigerians-considered-themselves-to-be-poor-nbs/


Clearly, owning a mobile phone or buying a bottle of beer is not the yardstick for measuring poverty.

tensor777:
It is still very difficult for you and others in your position to grasp that elusive concept as to what it means to be a Nigerian.
Well Nigeria has been invested with the leadership position in Black Africa to lead ,as it were ,the Black Race out of darkness and into the light.
Thus every Nigerian of the leadership class, if you like, has this important role to play to ensure the fiulfilment of this divine destiny and as such has been invested with this authority whether they realise it or not.
This role Nigeria has inherited thus makes any centrifugal ramblings and rantings of the reactionary ethnic supremacists on this forum not just irrelevant but utterly deluded.

It is either you have deliberately turned this into a joke or you're just revelling in the nebulous and grandiose idea of Nigeria being 'invested with the leadership position in black Africa'.

What type of leadership please? How does this affect the masses? Do you want to tell this to the many Nigerians that are working hard at menial jobs in Britain or languishing in the prisons of Thailand? Honestly, inability to face reality is a major problem for many Nigerians.

Another funny idea you have put forward is that the leadership or authority is divine destiny . This is as funny as it is outlandish. And when debates go the way of the supernatural, it is wise to walk away from it.

shymexx: ^^^Typical of a Nigerian to answer a question with another question, yet you lot wonder why there will never be a solution to the Nigerian quagmire.

One must know when to ignore certain people at certain times.

It is energy-saving.

You can only wake up someone that's truly asleep and not someone that pretends to be asleep.

Billyonaire: APC Governors do not care about the poor Nigerians, Fashola and Oshiomole continue to disappoint the good members of that Party by their anti-poor policies.

By these actions from the APC Governors, the poor has lost faith in APC.

Please don't trivialize this issue.

The ongoing carnage in Nigeria transcends party politics.

The elite must condemn useless leaders regardless of his party. The masses have since lost their voice.

Does anyone need further evidence that governance in Nigeria has gone to the worst and the most cruel among us? They have done it in such a way that the most qualified and humane have given politics a wide berth.

The utterances of this Governor are disgraceful, callous, and reprehensible! All good men and women must condemn this shameful action and ensure that people like Oshiomhole are never voted for again in any capacity.

In a society that knows the real meaning of democracy, it could amount to an impeachable offence.

We didn't even have it so bad in the heady days of military rule.

This is disheartening.

Joavid:

First,I have to start with;am not a good writer,and am not an english scholar unlike you.
As much as I like,appreciate and look forward to reading your posts,I must say, I hate this part.

You are only a Nigerian because your parents are Nigerians. All you know about Nigeria and Nigerians is what you read(online or whatever) and watch.
Simply because you are privileged to have been born,raised and still living in the UK gives you no right to call Nigerians dumb and lazy thinkers.

Who are you to look down your nose at us? Enough of this insults.
How can you judge 160 million based on the actions of anonymous people??

Yes,there is the Nigerian identity.
Yes,we still have patriot Nigerians
Yes,there are Nigerians who still believe in one Nigeria,that is how much they love their country,the tribes,diversity and all.
Because they believe in a one Nigeria DOESN'T make them dumb or lazy thinkers.

How many REAL Nigerians have you met??

There are other countries,with diverse religions,tribes,ethnicity etc and they remain one. So for those hoping for a one Nigeria,the Nigeria of our dreams,let them BE!
People have there different beliefs,that does not make them less intelligent.

All you do is critize,critize,critize!
Luckly it is of no concern to you what becomes of it,so hold on tight to your British passport and let us be.

You are just trying to evoke sentiments based on the basis that the writer isn't living in Nigeria or hasn't met a lot of Nigerians. That's all.

The truth is usually very very bitter. Let's face the message and leave the messenger.

By the way, have you read 'Mumudom' or Mumu Kimgdom by Lagbaja? What's your take on it? There's nothing Shymexx has said that he didn't say. I guess you didn't attack Lagbaja then because he lives in Nigeria?

Sam_Ikenna:

Nigeria is simply a tricycle that has all its three tires moving in different directions. I believe we need a new and mutually agreed direction or, for the love of God, lets disembark from this tricycle and, perhaps, use a simple bike, trek or do whatever we think can get us from point A to B. Time is gold and we have already killed millions, pauperized many, wasted 50 years on this silly Nigerian project. We would have done irreparable damage to ourselves and the Black race if we wasted another 50 years on a project no one has been able to define its mission or identity.

Words on marble.

I agree with all except that the tires that are moving in different directions are more than three. The tires should be up to 250.

shymexx:

You can't run a country when you have 3 major ethnic groups who are at par in size, with different outlook to life. It's never going to work because they will all try their best possible to work against one-another's interests for undue advantage. There's no common interest whatsoever in Nigeria, hence why the country is the way it's. I know some are for regionalism and I'm leaning towards that a little bit. However, how are you going to control migration? In this scenario working/functional regions might end becoming overpopulated by people from the other regions. Thus, turning the whole place to what's current attainable in Lagos. Anyway, I'm still waiting for someone to explain how regionalism would work effectively.

The Brits too most likely knew it wasn't going to work. They clubbed the disparate nations together into one country for cost reasons and administrative convenience.

They forced the groups into one country which none of them has really enjoyed.

tensor777:
Well what is the Nigerian identity.Very elusive to pin down to be sure but it exists nonetheless It is really a concept that can only be understood in an emotional quasi- spiritual non-materialist sense. Well you must have fully imbibed the history and geography of Nigeria the promises and the potential of the Nigerian project well as the sounds the colours, rhythms and the tempo of Nigeria.
It cuts across ethnicity and tribe into an almost spiritual sense of identity.

What you have described up there is tenuous and amorphous. It need not be that ambiguous or unclear. It sounds like one of those lines that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pay for and air when looking for investors.

The bitter and sad truth is that Nigerians have subordinated Nigeria to their ethnic considerations. That alone speaks volumes. There is no common identity at all! And the previous leaders haven't been able to build one and I doubt if it can be built.

Nigeria has become an orphan. This is even worse than being a mere 'geographical expression'.

tensor777: Shymex


As for what it means for being Nigerian well you can only appreciate Nigeria if you have spent a reasonable amount of time there and no I am not talking about holidays. You would have schooled there regularly recited the national pledge, regularly sung the national anthem, witnessed independence day celebrations, done NYSC, travelled around the country for work and business and mixed with Nigerians of different backgrounds and cultures.
Then you will know.

How many people in Nigeria are not fed up with the problems in Nigeria? Didn't they recite the pledge and the anthem in their schools?

There's a primary school in a major city in Nigeria. Every Monday morning, the pupils and the teachers spend the first 2 hours to wash the classrooms clean of human faeces! The human waste is usually dumped there every weekend by their neighbors who lack toilet facilities.

I know primary schools that delinquent boys turn into smoking arenas after school hours.

What kind of impression about Nigeria do you want those kids to have even if they recite the anthem 10 times a day? Don't the thieving leaders recite anthems?

I have not been mentioning the names of these places because I don't want tribalists to hijack this thread. That also is part of the problem in Nigeria.

tensor777:
Well your case is very easy to comprehend. You don't know Nigeria as you have never lived in Nigeria for any reasonable amount of time and you live in England a place with a very different culture and mindset. What's more you would never be able to understand the Nigerian pysche just by listening to the deranged rantings of the ethnic jingoists on Nairaland.
Who are these people by the way? I can assure you that the different ethnic groups in Nigeria are not at each others throats in Nigeria itself. Who has time for that anyway when everybody is out hustling to make a living.
On the contrary you just have to come down and live in Nigeria as it is not an open book that you can comprehend just through the meeeedia.

You wanted an interesting debate but you're now killing it on the basis of the fact that someone does not live in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the issues that he raised have not been addressed. The issues are so germane that it is not apparent from them that he doesn't reside in Nigeria. Would you have known about his location if not that he had admitted it on some other threads?

Ok, I live in Nigeria. Engage me. I have lived in Nigeria long enough. I have interacted with the high, middle and low. I have travelled a lot within Nigeria and have worked in more than or industry. I have seen the boundless energy of ordinary Nigerians which is yet to be translated into a lift out of poverty.

I want Nigerians to stop pushing trucks filled with refuse and selling food right beside smelling refuse. Many people can't even afford to bathe twice in a day because they need to buy the water. The issues are legion. What's the way forward?

It is also not true that Nigerians are not at each other's throats on the basis of tribalism. I know cities where landlords tell estate agents not to introduce prospective tenants from certain tribes. I know towns where indigenes don't let out shops to some tribes. I know states that self only issue C of Os to non-indigenes. These are as real as the Lamido sons' protests and the defence of Odua that we had recently. Did you see the number of requests for new states even though the promoters knew the states won't be viable?

However, things may not be as overt and brazen in real life as they are on Nairaland because of anonymity. But you see, the issues are there.

What's the solution?

Joavid:

It is something,shymexx and his likes will never understand.
Also something only a few Nigerians possess,and because of this there is a possibility that if the WORST happens we have no choice than to align with our ethnic groups.

You've not been able to fault any of the arguments put forward by him.

Don't you see it as a major problem if, according to you, only a few people possess it?