₦airaland Forum

I think what most citizens should ask is what their state governors have been doing with the huge budgets and expenditure over the years in junketing round the globe on so called investor drives. It clearly shows total failure of their efforts, defective strategies and waste of resources. I cannot understand why they cannot simply connect with the more successful states to learn what they did to put them where they are. All they do is to copy the trappings of offices and excessives of government but when it comes to the responsibilities they lag behind and profer all sorts of excuses simply because of our structure that rewards sloth and ignorance.

You may discover that Ben Ayade's convoy of SUV's is worth more than that of Udom Emmanuel and that there maybe more Cross-Riverians on the payroll of government than there are Akwa-Ibomites even though it is obvious Akwa-Ibom has a larger private sector which is necessary to carry the financial burdens of state.

Restructure Nigeria today and we will have no option than to seek investment when the tables are turned and states become net contributors to the centre to remain valid territories of Nigeria. Yes. The Federal Government under a proper structure will tax states for providing them with national assets and services such as the military, customs and immigration, external affairs, etc. Constituents will be taxed to send Legislators and Senators to the centre to represent them increasing the efficiency and productivity of these individuals.

Maduawuchukwu:
I doubt this report. What comprises investment? If it is any asset that produces income then this report is false. I have seen shopping malls springing up in Kaduna and Imo just between January and now and they say no new investment.

Those malls are likely to be brand chains and the FDI will be credited to the location where the Nigerian headoffice is. That is why Lagos gets a lot of mention simply because most enterprises have their headoffices in there.

Benekruku:
"The states that got new investments are Lagos State, which attracted the highest amount of $2.6bn during the six months period, followed by Akwa Ibom with $52.44m.

The Federal Capital Territory followed with $31.51m while Ogun State attracted fresh investment inflows of $5.31m; Oyo had $5.25m, and Rivers recorded $550,000 of investments."





At this pace, Its glaring beyond all doubts that Ogun state is the next big thing to happen to Nigeria. Ogun is rising at a very fast pace which I believe is because of its close proximity to Lagos.

Would have been so good if Oyo state can take a clue and tap into its close proximity with Lagos!

Efficient rail connection. It is not rocket science.

doublefreez:
Well, the senator may have question to answer himself, but the NPF is shameless. the PPRO is frankly clueless and deceitful. read people's comments and see that on the average N15,000 is paid per police escort daily. and He (PPRO) is blatantly denying.

Does the presenter have to look far. His company and studios are probably guarded by the same police. All he needs to do is to go upstairs to his accounts department and find the facts, simple. But my guess is that Lai Mohd has paid them a courtesy call/ solidarity visit and they will not want to put governent in bad light in anyway. Shame.

obailala:
The interest rate issue has been talked about a lot. Nigeria's economy has peculiar problems and cannot be directly compared to the US where they can easily adjust interest rates at will.

And instead of tackling the 'peculiar' problems head on, they are satisfoed with kicking the can down the road. Very soon our debt profile will creep into territories not seen since the Obasanjo era debt cancellations. To spend your precious forex on what is essentially consumables is just stupid. Until we restructure we will continue to have peculiar problems and remain poor and indebted.

TonyeBarcanista:
He died at a time his service was most needed to the development of the country. He'll be greatly missed.

Development of what country. Does this country remotely indicate that it can be developed. Where are the elements of development. What is the vision. What is the philosophy to drive the vision. What are the universal values that fuel that drive. Nothing. Visionless, missionless country where everyone struggles to survive and does nothing else but build fortifications to defends his or her primitivism. All these folks are just passengers in a vehicle having no driver nor direction. He is better of now that he's jumped off.

I just heard that the matriculation index to our higher institutions has been cut to just over a hundred points. Tell me. Is this not an affirmation of what I have consistently said. That this country is on a continuous downward spiral irrespective of administrations. Education is one of the barometers of future development and prosperity. What does this unprecedented step tell us. That we are willing to accept mediocrity going forward. Will anyone be surprised when the so called cut-off marks decline to ten or twenty in the future. Why. No vision, no philiosophy, no values, no aspirations, no standards and most certainly, no future development.

stillseth:
you've said it all brother...and he had a very strong government backing/connection so they monopolized everything for him...majorly the cement sector...dangote controls cement price

But cement isn't what made Dangote. Dangote was a big brand before cement. In time to come people will say Dangote is this or that because he has the only functional refinery in Nigeria and so government loads the dice for him. When Dangote started out in wheat Golden Penny existed. When he started in sugar Savannah was there, when he started in cement WAPCO, BCC and Ashaka was there and when he starts in O&G, the NNPC is here. These were all government/pseudo-government owned entities and enterprises. What was common between them was they were failing, inefficient monopolies unable to meet up with a growing Nigerian demand for products and efficient services. People seem to forget easily that this country experienced a flour, sugar, cement and steel crises in the mid-eeighties just as we exoerince a fuel crises today. Was it Dangote's fault then.

He simply takes advantage of a failing system. Gets government to divest and occupies the vacumn. That he fights to keep enterprise in the hands of the private sector is not monopolistic, it is sensible. It is what we all do. If government sought to take over your business line what will you do. All the governemnt cement plants were put up for sale. He did not buy them all. Have you asked where are the others.

ITbomb:
5th Lesson
Use your Northern connections to bend policies to suit you so that you can create a monopoly and control production.
Meanwhile encourage people to use your "500k investment capital from your uncle" story to deceive youths who do not know that a brand new car then was less than 10k which approximate value today is not less than 5m.

Which means your uncle gave you about N500m today's worth of cash plus free Export licenses to stay ahead

Stop this rubbish. 500,000 then is equivalent to something like 20 to 25 million today in real terms and this I know because we traded with Dangote back then (my family) when he started out trading sugar and flour in Kano. The man is just dogged, persistent and consistent. Never been distracted by easy money that comes with politics as you insinuate. Most Nigerians quit when the investment cycle or season is over. Not this man. His appetite for progress is just unrivaled.

He needs help not money.

trexzee:
It's everywhere not only Nigeria,

That is why I say it is our culture. If not will you say this. Just imagine if you are personally payjng the IGP's salary out of your sweat and you hear about this incident. Will you say this. Can you personally tolerate and excuse corruption against you.

richidinho:
See wetin Buhari and his gang of thieves cause

2baba wanted to lead a protest against govt over high cost of living in the country, he was accused of gsleeping with prostitutes without condom thereby not fit to talk, APC sponsored counter protest.

Charlyboy led a nationwide protest against buhari to either "Resume" or "resign" the following day pictures of his unclothedness flooded the internet, APC again sponsored counter protest.

A govt that a member of the national assembly blew a whistle against the corrupt practices going on in the chamber but instead got suspended for a year cannot be a govt of "change".

This man is a retired senior police office who understands how the institution operates, the IG of police shld come out and explain instead of telling us how the senator did not retire from the force

Is that an answer to that weighty allegation?

That is why I say corruption is not the problem in Nigeria but the fertile environment created to sustain it courtesy of the way our country operates. If it is a problem then why do we all defend corruption from the highest office in the land to the least, the common man on the streets. Corruption is the common denominator. It is our culture. It is our heritage, our identity. Anything that stands against it is instantly crucified. They go after you to destroy your image, your personality then your life. How can we say as a people we donot love corruption. What is the proof.
He, the IGP is paid by government and appointed by the head of it. They should get him out by the end of the week if he does not resign before that or it just confirms what we all think and all like and we all are. A corrupt people. This is Monday.

I, I, I as if he is the electorate that will vote. All these primitive politicians sef. Anyway it is caused by a lacuna called an unintelligent citizenry.

Since the days of the invincibles the quality of players Arsenal has presented has declined season after season. Si has been the results. I cannot see them finishing higher than 6th this season.

When you talk about Arsenal ,'lovers' will say you are a hater. Just like Nigeria, the club is locked in a downward spiral its supporters fail to admit and cannot bring themselves to demand for a change.

GoroTango:
Igbos are just too sentimental. The issue of Kanu and arewa youths are seperate. While those arewa youth should have been arrested long ago, it does not detract from the fact that Kanu violated his bail conditions and the FG is right in demanding his rearrest.

That is the point. The lack of universal social justice. That you have two separate countries in one with laws and standards for some and not for others. That is the root of the agitation. To that I have called for restructuring for close to a decade but even that has been resisted so...

I repeat again. Nigeria has a choice of whether to survive or self destruct. Thank goodness no one has a course to blame 'foreign' powers and interference. This is purely a situation where a sovereign state is hell bent on destroying its citizens and then itself.

Cinkq:
Ohanaeze should stop being hypocrite. They told Nigerians they are not in support of N. kanu's actions and the guy is not ready to backdown yet they don't want him to be chastised. This statement of theirs just proofs kanu is doing what he's doing because of the tacit support he's getting from his people who are condemning him openly just to save face. They should make their true stand known to Nigerians now.

Back down from what. His desire for self actualisation. Is that a crime? Must every one like to be part of this country the way it is.

He couldn't keep up with the argument, couldn't proffer intellectual points so typically he resorts to personal attacks to 'hurt' and 'win' the challenge by silencing the opposition. From individuals to our so called institutions and their leadership it is the same. Personal attacks and insults are the standard response to difficult inquiries.

When you see a man or woman who resorts to insults at the drop of a hat, chances are that there is little upstairs. I rather desire to continue an intellectual argument for as long as possible because you get to learn things you hitherto did not know whether you are convincing enough or lose the debate. Speaking about debate we all remember the ones we had in grade school. The objective was never to win but to spur intellectualism, to broaden knowledge. Unfortunately this has been lost on us adults who have retrogressed with age to become like kindergarten kids in attitude.

MrEdimulo82:
Honestly, it's not funny.....systemic corruption at all levels. We can't continue to be making excuses for corruption it's killing us, we don't have to wait till it drown us. Imagine corruption in academic community wt funds meant for their own development, we rants abt how it's working in other climes while here we scuffle that here. We need to be responsible pple. We need to be responsible. ... we don't need govt or religion to teach us to be responsible. Especially we blacks, need to rid ourselves of entitlement mentality and the greed that comes wt wanting to be better than the others at all cost. This fundamental problem degrade our societal value, making us seek baseless gratification of things dat cripple us all.

I accept corruption as a fact of the system we presently operate. Obviously you don't, so what is your solution apart from the usual hot air.

Once again. By 2019 everyone will be demystified. The future of Nigeria is in the hands of Nigerians. No individual can move this country forward. I hope this is abundantly clear now. Good morning Nigerians.

chubbygal:
"Our members didn't vandalize Buhari's office" -
Rat Association of Nigeria kicks.
Rats Association of Nigeria (RAN) has refuted the
Presidency's Allegation of Vandalism against
their Members.
Reacting to the allegation, the National chairman
Rats Association of Nigeria (RAN) Comrade
Ntapia O. Ntapia said "We respect protocols, our
members don't cross National Red Lines. We are
peaceful and law-abiding citizens as we are
found in every home across the country. We
therefore urge the general public to disregard
the allegation

chubbygal:
"Our members didn't vandalize Buhari's office" -
Rat Association of Nigeria kicks.
Rats Association of Nigeria (RAN) has refuted the
Presidency's Allegation of Vandalism against
their Members.
Reacting to the allegation, the National chairman
Rats Association of Nigeria (RAN) Comrade
Ntapia O. Ntapia said "We respect protocols, our
members don't cross National Red Lines. We are
peaceful and law-abiding citizens as we are
found in every home across the country. We
therefore urge the general public to disregard
the allegation

Chai I don die wit laff. I suppose dey sick-off oh. Abeg no put me for wahala.

Any club that pays its gaffer as much as its top players is a toadstool and will remain grounded until the horse gets off the jockey's back. This is wierd.

Every sporting club with great aspirations must have at least a superstar it breaks the bank for. That is what pro sports is all about, the achievement and the celebrity. It inspires the entire team to achievement. Arsenal is managed like a kindergarten club in a communist country where there are no first among equals. No wonder morale is often lacking. When they conceed they deflate cos no leader to call the order of battle. Sanchez ran himself into the ground last season. His reward has been just fractions more. Very unambitious club.

How many times will I say that air travel is way beyond the capabilities of Nigerians to manage and patronize. Same old story. Stupid rogues pouring their loot into wicker baskets and calling them buckets of investments. I laugh. Anyone investing in the airline business in Nigeria must be a unique kind of dunce. Even the almighty Richard Branson fled with his tail between his legs.

fk001:
You must be joking right?

Why not kuku add Numan of Adamawa state in your middle belt imagination, since Numan are predominantly Christians

The identity these people project as being middle-beltans (permit me) is from their Christian heritage, the same way most middle-beltans of islamic heritage will want to lean towards the core north. So dividing those identities into geographical expresssions will be impossible to draw. This is where restructuring comes in. If two divided by two is one, then let one religion divide or eliminate the other to unite. That is secularism in the most puritan form. Agree to make religion of no consequence whatsoever in a future Nigeria. That is agree to make it a crminal offence to openly or privately discriminate based on ones religious affiliation. So everything from discriminatory language such as a Christian calling a moslem a heathen or a moslem calling a non moslem an infidel becomes outlawed to more contentious matters of security and capital crimes. Agree to outlaw them all. It is these things the core north saw well in advance and pushed for sharia law so that they have all their populace on alert and ready to resist a perceived de-islamization of their domains. It was a well calculated socio-political, socio-economic strategy of dark proportions aimed at confronting any attempts to restructure the country by taking a vantage point.

kennygee:
Its not the hate self, I don't like that state Kogi, I don't like the ethnic groups we share the state with, we barely tolerate each other.

If I had a choice, I'd change the state ASAP, but I'll just wait for marriage to do that for me.

You see what I've been saying for years. We are just tolerating one another in this country. That is why we have to restructure. Right now because of the animosity no single positive, sustainable development goal can be achieved. Every Nigerian is a short term thinker by default because he nervously waits for the bomb to go off. How can we progress like this. That is why corruption thrives. It is the only viable business amongst rivals possible. Nothing legit works well because its requires absolute solidarity across the nation. A nation without shared values can never prosper. So instead of walking around with clumsy bomb proof apparel daily why not seek to difuse the danger. Instead of planting shrubs as the citizens of Pompeii did awaiting volcanic events anytime why not plant the trees of longer term, sustainable partnerships. These are the reasons why we cannot afford not to restructure Nigeria to live as real human beings and not as some unfortunately say as animals in a zoo, just tolerating each other.

Restructuring means sitting down to explore our differences and negotiating a way to appease one another by giving up everything that offends the other, simple.

Terkimbi01:
Maybe we used to be north.
not any more.

if north is north, why are the Fulani invading our lands And killing us?

As a result of the pressure from the Biafrans and the resultant effect in the Middle Belt, Areas quickly handed over to Paul Unongo just like they gave power to Gowon during the war.

If things heat up, they will look for a middle beltan and hand over the presidency.

our people need to wise up now.

Good morning. A Paul is now acceptable because he can safely embark on a missionary journey down south.

Famsey:
So Abrahimovic has started playing football

The day the Arsenal board takes to the pitch led by Wenger is the day reality will set on them.

izzou:


6) As usual, a lot of Bet9ja slip were torn beyond recognition, thanks to Arsenal

The only sure bet concerning Arsenal is that they will conceed. Their clean sheet record is as red as their colours.

He can do one better and enter into the minds of those who want out to change it if he can. No one is arguing with the other. A section is fed up and wants out. Self determination is a God given right. No one can force the other into a union he/she does not. In the civilised world it is called abuse. So he can say whatever he wishes. If those he calls touts are irrelevant why is he concerned. Why is he stalking them.

Nigerians have no right to comment on this matter because the state of race relations here is considerably worse. I can see prominent internet racists and supremacists passing comment and I just laugh. When they cannot tolerate other views....when they cannot stomach desires for self determination. Abeg. What is the difference. Here you will be killed for your land, killed for your religion and killed when you complain about it. Nigerians should just shut it. Your leaders you idolize are worse than Trump. His is open, individualistic and petty personal. Your leaders are green snakes as part of a wider, systemic, organised and institutional racist, supremacist snake pit. It is a lot better living there. Racism there is Disneyland compared to what happens here.

smartnero24:
The most important quality to look for in a business associate: Integrity & Integrity, then competence.

....easier to find crude oil in the Chad Basin. The key is vigilance and diligence. Hold them on a leash. It is tough but there you have it.

chronique:
I tell you. I'm a Nigerian but I must confess that Nigerians are the most difficult people to do business with. Both at home and abroad, na to dupe people na him dem sabi. Just a minute percentage are honest. And it's this dishonesty, that is making the country not grow. They don't care about how you suffered to get the money and how you'd feel if things go sour. All they want to do is get what they can from you and move on. Every corner you turn to, it's scam and fraud you see and it's becoming an open secret. People no longer hide it. As a matter of fact, they see you as a fool for being straight. Such a messed up country.

So you can see that it is a 'people' problem not a Jonathan or Buhari problem. Because it is these warped minds that make fundamental decisions at the polls to start it all. Nigeria is the way it is because of Nigerians, period.

Hmmm....what about the fluid in the inner lining of the cranium that prevents the brain from bumping around and getting damaged. Surely most drivers ignore this...what else can explain some bewildering sights on the highways.