₦airaland Forum

OriOko88:

The English failed to build Nigeria like the way the Dutch built south Africa. See how the country look like Germany

The colonial paths of both countries were entirely different. The main difference that has led to a more 'European look' to parts (not all) of SA obviously at the expense of nationhood is that South Africa was essentially fought over by two distinct colonial powers, the Dutch and the British.

When conflict like this happens it leads to a different outcome from when one colonial power establishes sole rule.

For one, the powers invest more to 'settle down and defend' from the other because they essentially had to live off the land to sustain any conflict.

So there is a difference between a colonial master that just wants to 'take and go away' and one that stays to build things for himself out of planning for the long run, for ever.

The good things seen in SA have come at a heavy price of prolonged colonial rule and the sufferings of apartheid that has scarred that country for generations.

Be careful what you wish for.... in retrospect.

PS. If the British had adopted Nigeria (the Niger area) as their own in deed and stayed as long as the 90's, integrating and grafting into the root canal of the country, many parts (the parts they conclaved) will have looked like these be it Lagos, Calabar or Jos....where vestages of the British remain today.

Most of the issues are structural with the government at the centre desperately trying to hang on to sole proprietorship of the country.

Just as security diversity is rigidly resisted on excuses of abuse at sub-national levels so tertiary education was once the exclusive playground of the Federal government and private ownership was resisted on excuses of variable standards and quality.

Most things we suffer today result from the structure of the country and the ways and means we conduct our affairs.

So it will take radical ideas from people in leadership that are not heavily exposed to the status quo. We need anti-establishment people in political leadership. Leaders that see the limitation of the present structure of this country and are courageous to change it.

ogododo:
https://dailypost.ng/2025/05/05/over-300-suspected-gunmen-seen-heading-from-zamfara-to-mashegu-in-niger/

In other climes you see such and simply dial 911. The police will be there with SWAT within 3 minutes (in town) and 10 minutes (in rural areas). That is global best practice where security is localized and police services are domiciled at the grassroots.

Nigerians will continue to suffer and die in large numbers because they refuse to think out their challenges and bear the courage to rise above sentiment to address them.

There is simply no alternative to state and local government police services. The Federal government is being out maneuvered, out resourced and overrun by criminal enterprises.

That is why the Holy Book in chastising man says,'consider the ant.….'

These things have been known since antiquity.

A country with a 75 percent poverty rate is building a 15 trillion naira highway, the highest single capital project ever executed in the history of this country.

This act alone abundantly shows how those in power think and act. This is how they think economies are built and citizens are prospered. This shows how urgent they consider the plight of the people they govern. This is how they 'invest' scarce income.

15 trillion to a single company employing perhaps no more than a couple thousands of people.

Which investment banker of sound repute does that, which wealth guru and ace motivator will recommend that.....which father of a poverty striken household will do that to his family.

On reading a number of responses I can see there is another angle to this, a social angle and the issues about land and ownership rights and the tasking issue of indigenization.

These are political issues for which governments formed. These are issues we should be speaking about as the backbone of our democracy, that is the restructuring of the country to ensure the concerns of all citizens are addressed.

But what is the basis of our elections..... money. The people ignore what really matters and trade their franchise for a morsel whereas it is an opportunity to get governments attention to building proper structures to guarantee social justice.

And there are many examples around the world to address all manner of issues including in Nigeria. Some examples.

You can have electoral colleges to guarantee fair representation to nullify the effect of a domineering demographic just like the US.

You can have state laws to control everything from business to personal health and wellbeing including population growth and permitted densities. In Nigeria some states in the north donot permit the sale of certain products and I have not heard of any challenge lodged with the courts.

So there is a lot local authorities can do under the influence of the voting public to address any concern. It is only a matter of awareness of how things work and testing the legal limits.

Nothing wrong if deals were done above board and papers are intact. That is best practice. However on the issue of people moving around with arms, that is another matter. Because that is illegal and that is where structure lets us down.

I was watching an episode of Lonestar on tv last night about the activities of law enforcement in Texas concerning everything from wildlife protection to petty crimes.

You can clearly see a State that is on top of the security of it's lands, it's natural resources and it's people.

Citations were given for illegal trespassing, unauthorized fishing (you need a license to fish on state land) and unregistered vehicles.

Why can't we be so organized at local government and state levels by a simple act of law to establish state and local government police then these herders can be protected by law (so they don't have to bear illegal arms) and by the same law their activities checked so they cannot continue taking laws into their own hands.

It is a simple act of addressing these pressing, intractable issues by structure.

The density of cattle in Texas is approximately 17.5 heads per square kilometers while that of Nigeria is approximately 22.5 heads of cattle per square kilometers.

Isn't it clear enough that we need a proper structure to take care of the needs of agriculture, the land and the people.

May the Nigerian citizen wake up and step out of the dark age by thinking through challenges to clear and progressive solutions.

But Nigeria with its pseudo democratic leadership has equally not been able to solve a single intractable problem it inherited and as far as most observers are concerned remains afloat on the hot air of torrid propaganda.

Speaking for the umpteenth time.
Security is local. Local crimes perpetuated by individuals known locally.

It is impossible for a country that has an inaccurate data base, weak institutions and weak governing structures to handle all matters of law and justice satisfactorily.

THMT:
Convert it to dollars and see the worth of Nigerian currency at the moment.

650 dollars makes one a millionaire in Nigeria but the government and some people expect citizens not to travel abroad to make money in hard currencies.

I don't understand this logic.
How else does a country prosper without 'going abroad to conquer it'. There is not country on earth hat prospered internally.

From antiquity empires rose to fame and wealth by extending territory, trading or coercing their way to the riches therein.

The old world did it to establish legacy wealth mainly in Europe by first slave trade and then total colonial rule.They built 'bridges', railways and roads to exploit resources.

Modern day, post war tiger economies grow rich by trade. The exchange of goods and services with other nations.

So I cannot understand how anyone will discourage external interaction and hope to survive thoughtless of prospering. Even conservative and insular nations of the Middle East are opening up as they envision a post oil era.

What the government should be doing is giving leadership.and direction to the quest so citizens are guided on what is best for the country as a whole and her citizens, strongly advocation for fair treatment abroad and ensuring their host countries are protected from criminally minded people back home.

How on earth is the country going to earn foreign exchange without someone venturing beyond our shores one way or the other.

APOPTOSIS:
Northerners are very very hardworking.
I lived among them for a few years and I ensured to travel to different parts.
Their problem is Religion and their successive wicked corrupt political leaders who fail to open their eyes.
They are the only tribe in Nigeria without a specific culture outside Religion. Both are intertwined. Every other tribe has got a separate religion from culture.
If they had kept their pathway to feeding west Africa without BoKo Haram and extremism they would have gone far. No nation with such Agricultural plans ever sleeps hungry.
A farm in a county in Texas made $5billion in a year from sales of Agricultural produce.

Education, not religion. The ability to reason trumps religion anyday. And that is why terrorism secretly supported by their feudal elites specifically targets education.

When a man is mentally liberated and infused with information and the manipulation thereof (education) he begins to become a generator of virtue.

Is it not the same Islam practiced in the Middle East and Asia where technology and enterprise for prosperity is gaining ground.

Is it not the same Christianity that is practiced in the West and Americas where monumental strides have been made in national development by adherents.

The difference is education. The African loves feudalism across all religions. They love the 'rankadedes' as we call it, the 'my daddy or mommys'. They accept people thinking for them despite the Holy books open and accessible to all. Books they will not read nor try to understand.

And topping the list of herd voting pattern.

As I always say when poverty rises HSE (Health, Safety and the Environment) tanks.

Add to this the cognitive ability to decide ones future. It is a merciless, vicious cycle.

uniquetechng:
he can't, PL is not Turkish league. His best and only great season in Europe top league was 26 goals in a Serie A season, it's harder to score goals in EPL.

The last statement is open for debate.
I'd like to see some data on this if any exists. There is always and EPL player on the goalador list.

ogaemma:
What a country.
The man who stole a chicken will be sentence to death.
The man who stole billions will be Celebrated.
Soon he will run for an election.

Because the African, specifically the Nigerian cannot relate his choices, at the polls for instance, to his experiences under the rule of the elected.

Of course you were not arrested and you can declare that boldly and unashamedly despite your clear years of misrule and reports of horrendous corruption under your watch because Nigerians are largely ignorant and docile.

If not they will have torn you to shreds and held this government by the democratic jugular to ensure you end up behind bars.

Once again I cannot fathom how a scenario (the oil industry, the subsidy regime and the quest to end scarcity and restore the economy) that has evidently gone terribly wrong plunging the average Nigerian into penury will slide without citizens exploding in fury.

Look at what is happening to Elon Musk just because of his political position. Not that he has stolen anyone's money but his acts have brought stress to the people and they are revenging. Then imagine what they will do if they heard him or any government official stealing their 'increased tariff money'.

Now superimpose it on the NNPC that borrowed wily-nily and mortgaged crude oil earnings in advance to God knows how long plunging this country into crushing debts and ultra high inflation because of those refineries only to be found out to be stealing.....

We are so docile in this country....too idle to ever experience development. Nigeria just cannot move forward without restructuring.

Nwaokunkpara:
What sort of democracy do we really practice in this country

When you consider the rudimentary definition of what a democracy is therein lies your answer.

Whatever state Nigeria has become, whatever position its government adopts is all about the collective will and competency of its people.

Look at the recent council polls in the UK. A typical Nigerian will have expected a Labour party sweep because the 'PM/HOG is Labour and all the machinery of state will ensure that but the people are independently minded, knowledgeable, in charge of their democracy and show clear signals that they will not tolerate poor performance. So they voted for other parties.

The news made it abundantly clear that the reasons were simple. The ruling UK Labour party 'was not listening to their concerns'.

We don't have mid term elections but staggered elections. What did Nigerians do with the same opportunity to send signals to the ruling party that it's policies were unacceptable..... An overwhelming endorsement at the staggered state and local government polls and with the recent defections a perfect icing on the cake, a ringing endorsement.

Who is in charge.... The politicians of course. And that is why misrule is so easy in these parts. All they think is power, both ruling and opposition.

But sensible citizens manipulate the powers of incumbency and opposition for their own good, playing one against the other to extract the benefits of good governance.

For you don't have to physically remove a government at the ballot to get it to work for you. A mere threat of power loss is the bit and bridle of democracy. If the ruling APC had been bleeding states and councils in all the elections since 2023 no one will tell the Tinubu led APC government to start listening.

This knowledge is lost on the Nigerian citizen.

arantess:
Milan are the original owners.
Inter are tenants

I don't think this is right. The stadium belongs to the local council and it is possible that there is just no other space available for development within limits.

You must remember that unlike in these parts where government takes land and property for the so called greater good, in other countries the people have more rights to their possessions making new developments of such scale extremely difficult.

You will have thought this post will bring out marbles of tolerance and mutual understanding amongst the various groups but as expected it has refracted even more the deep divisions.

Sadly out of the hundreds of replies only a handful are without bias to one side or the other.

Seems this issue will continue a while longer and the sufferig it fuels.

I won't even hazard the thought that the black race is fundamentally flawed and just cannot coalesce to form viable and prosperous societies independently.

This is the reason why folks like us have always advocated for a proper, well run, private sector led economy and economic revival.

The public sector is just hopeless. Government is a waste pipe, has no business dealing with anything involving money and every, every, every program, project, initiative it deploys is just a means to a corrupt end for whoever promotes or operates it.

In saner climes this epic scandal is enough to topple a government for the fact that gasoline and the economics thereof has been front and centre of national discord for upwards of fifteen years and is the primary reason for the dismal state of the nation and the grinding poverty of its citizens.

Heads should roll at the highest levels and this time people should be jailed indeed.

For these monies stolen were borrowed or our national resources mortgaged. Highly expensive capital causing us all to serve hefty penalties of devaluation and rampant inflation.

This cannot be hidden and this must not slide.

Growth or whatever front end stat is the contraband of government and it's lackeys. The stat that matters to everyone else in their everyday lives is inflation. Inflation is the metric, the temperature of the economy that citizens of sane countries decide by.

Not even interested in that. Except Nigeria gains growth that matches the inflation rate the nation gets poorer by the minute, period.

And we all know a 30 percent growth rate en-counting has to be a world record for this country to get any better than the government met it.

LordBiden:
This is very wrong,its not my force everyone should be a university graduate.

Nigeria needs more of skilled manpower than university degrees currently.

People will not speculate with their future. It is the lack of vision and direction by leadership that leaves the people to their fate, to their choices.

We still don't understand what governance is all about. It is about leading people along the lines of vision so that their futures are certain. Only then will they channel their resources after.

If the government were to have a vision for industrialization for example then it is easy to key educational quests into the masterplan, which like you say involves the acquisition of skills along the lines of future demands.

For example a masterplan to blanket the country with green energy will drive investment of all kinds including education and skills acquisition in that direction. Same thing with the extractive industry, same thing with agriculture and other mass employment sectors.

But what we have here is a toss up of resources in the name of business support grants for example leaving the people to imagine what they want to do with the potential resources and their lives in particular.

You simply cannot build an prosperous country like that and you certainly cannot develop without vison, planning and sound execution.

PS: You may be a bit young to remember but there was a time (like it is happening in parts of the west and much of Asia) that people went to college to target not only particular industries they wanted to work in but even specific companies they wanted to work for. Then industry worked closely with educational institutions as their defacto HR departments and consultants. Mt dad left Kings college with such a target and joined the firm straight out of university.

These ideals can be replicated even at these changed times. All it takes is visionary leadership at the highest levels because the potentials in Nigeria are there. Our poverty coupled with unproductivity means there are huge potentials for all sorts of educational-industrial combos in several sectors.

It is called inflation. It is a contagious disease that afflicts the ignorant and indisciplined.

We warned about its spread at the removal of gasoline subsidies. Now that it has enveloped the entire economy finally hitting the dynamics of durable goods we should brace for the kind of ride you see in Texan rodeo rings.

The bucking economy has just started.

aspabay:
Why are Nairalanders always dumb. A government agency is asking people to do things the right way, most comments here are saying it’s because of revenue drive.

You guys are not normal at all and you deserve the kind of country you have.

This is called 'the State of the Nation', people in government, this government and its promoters often ignore.

The level of trust by a people of their government is a significant factor in the success of the government in it's primary function. People with lower trust are harder to lead. This is common sense in any sort of relationship.

So when a government comes onboard it's first priority is to establish trust by transparency, responsiveness and solidarity with the people it governna then it is easier to get them to comply with policies and programs for the good of the country.

I don't blame Nigerians, the despair is contagious and as their fortunes tank HSE suffers. Survival is their priority, not this.

Classic photo, the salute to the Kop. Will remain iconic. And yeah he belongs to Jesus.

TallNigerian:
Churches springing up faster than Factories.

9ja my 9ja.

DJ, please me Shuffering and Shmiling by Fela Anikulapo Kuti

🎤"Suffer, suffer for world
Enjoy for Heaven
Christians go dey yab
"In Spiritum Heavinus"
Muslims go dey call
"Allahu Akbar"
Open your eye everywhere
Archbishop na miliki
Pope na enjoyment
Imam na gbaladun
Archbishop dey enjoy
Pope self dey enjoy
Imam self dey enjoy
My brother wetin you say?
My brother wetin you say?
My sister wetin you go hear?
My sister wetin you go hear?
Archbishop dey for London
Pope dey for Rome
Imam dey for Mecca
Archbishop dey for London
Pope dey for Rome
Imam dey for Mecca
Amen!"

Thought you guys said factories are for the Chinese only and everyone else should back off.

So let America have its entertainment, Europe have its tourism, Asia have its pilgrimages and of course let Africa have its worship centers.....

My own desire is to see modern vehicles equiped with automatic fire suppression devices placed in gas tanks and engine bays similar to aircraft.

And with the transition to electric vehicles and the notorious hell hot burning lithium ion energy packs, this should be a no brainer.

Because you are better placed inside the vehicle where the safety devies are located in the event of an accident.

Post accident matters of safety are secondary. There may be a need to get out quickly in some cases while in others the shell of the vehicle may offer additional post accident protection.

If the autolock on my Camry malfunctioned during a 160km/h spinoff in 2002 I will not be making this comment today.

In the end I guess the situation is similar
to the Hobson's choice of having the so called 'protectors' around our homes where safety is absolutely sacrificed on the altar of security. Guess on what most folks here hedge their bets.....they prefer being locked in no matter what.

OZIOGU1:
Nigerians take it easy, in 2017, my trip to paris, i experience same, it was not a direct flight, Turkish airline fa, i flew from Abuja to atarkut airport and boarded an airbus to paris CDG, the turbulence was something else, but we were assured that is just a turbulence and nothing more.

If that plan has technical issues, it will crash nothing will stop it, not your jesus or your Allah, we need to understand these basics

Mechanical problems require mechanical solutions
Medical problems require a medical solutions
Spiritual problem requires spiritual solutions

Turbulence is neither mechanical nor spiritual, rather climate and its require the pilots to activate safety measure to navigate.

Nigerians and fake claim of religion na 5 & 6

Turbulence can also be a technical issue if air traffic control does not maintain safe distances between aircraft. Weather isn't the only causative.

Madam it is just turbulence. You need to fly in Asia to know this is a common experience all pilots are trained to handle..... and 'suspending landing' .....so where do you want to disembark, in the clouds....

mayor1814:
Mossad - silent and deadly at the same time. After USA CIA, FBI, Russian KGB, mossad is next

There is nothing like the KGB anymore.