₦airaland Forum

The mere fact that an Igbo presidency is being discussed is significant in itself. And if it is not then why does it solicit scorn on this forum. Just what are people afraid of. I can understand the fears of the so called owners of Nigeria just like an ignorant parent in the village afraid his child's education and elevation would threathen his authority. Its just crazy.

What we have to understand the dynamics of development. The strength of a country is the sum of all parts. You cannot have economic development without social justice. I repeat you cannot be corruption free and build institutions without EVERY Nigerian participating.

The reason there is so much clean up in the south west is because the centre no longer holds any attraction. They have been to Jerusalem and seen that salvation lies at home. The south-south presidency is already leading to a clean up there as Bayelsans are witnessing with the forthcoming elections simply because GEJ cannot do it.

The South-east needs the presidency demystified so they can look inwards and move forward. Nigeria needs all her regions moving forward.

No matter how strong an engine it cannot pull a train with even just one of its coaches broken.

The south-east should get the presidency. Let the BH thing run for a few more years until the recalcitrants there are exhausted and a new breed of leaders are prepared to take the rest of Nigeria seriously.

2002, 10.30 a.m., Ikom-Ogoja, Camry 1999, 160 km/h when I crested a hill, saw the pot hole, set the right wheels to the shoulder, didn't see they were ragged and lost two tyres clean off their rims. The rest is history and a bit of geography.

Glad he came round to forgiving Ali before he left whom accorded him so great respect. A legend indeed. They don't just make em like they used to.

EPL of course, if we are talking about the sum of all parts of a league, players, technical, officiating, administration, revenues, profitability, publicity, drama, etc.

It is the league that attracts the highest foreign investment with even league one teams in ownership from half the world away.

Practically every top coach wishes to handle EPL teams and most that have journeyed away wish to return. If I'm not mistaken it boasts of the longest serving active coach of a regular title contender.

Most players who leave even in the twilight of their careers move onto better things due to quality care.

No other league boast of broad based quality. EPL teams dominate Euro CL and Europa Cup competitions to the latter stages and finally,

The EPL has reinvented the game and attracted more fans to football in general. I know many people who didn't care about the game a few years ago but are now avid followers simply because of the excitement. The entertainment value is just unrivaled.

The EPL is one long 9 - month soap opera. There's drama week in week. Madrid, Barca or Bayern scores six - so what. United, City, Pool, Arsenal or Chelsea scores four and discussions block communications all week.

One can go on and on and the best of all with the recent results it appears the gods of soccer appear to be smiling on them. Best package by far.

Been hearing this news for a few days. You'd have thought with all the hue and cries about power these past few years we, Nigerians were on the same page tackling the challenge and there were some things so sacred, they would rise above the vices of corruption.

But alas it is evident nothing on earth can seperate the Custom Service from graft. Normally its fate would be like a dog that ate the only meal his starving master had left. It automatically becomes the meal itself.

It is so sad that individuals have become institutions unto themselves. That is the failings of the Nigerian project and to imagine the man himself will return home at the close of the day and together with his family, shed crocodile tears while bemoaning the dearth of electricity.

Pure kleptomanic hypocrisy. What is the difference between this and pipeline vandalism or cable theft. All economic sabotage of the highest order.

I tell you any leader that can effectively tackle these monsters will surely become an icon.

Monopoly of course. Give them a head start in the rat race. No dulling oh.  Btw Snakes and ladders is also good if you want them to be future politicians.

Dede1:
One of the major issues in Nigeria is lack of social equity on the part of central government. I guess Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State should ask what is it Jigawa has other states in the federation do not have as to extract such wonderful commitment from the Federal government to erect airport in Jigawa.

Equally, he cited that Federal Government is investing heavily in the Hadejia/Jamare River valley and during the visit of Vice President Namadi Sambo, N10 billion commitment was made to improve on the Hadejia/Jamare agro-based industry.

It is funny to notice the knack for Unclad disingenuous by Nigerians in certain governmental positions. Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State was able to point out two socio-political-economic commitments by the federal government while many states in Nigeria can not point to one-story house supported by the same federal government.

Federal government adamantly refused to erect airport in Imo State. However, the indigenes of Imo State in particular and Ndigbo in general decided to erect the airport in Imo State. There is no country that stands united when its citizenry is not treated equally.

Right let them hear, you pay taxes and half the money is shipped across the country to develop territories that do not regard formal forms of enterprise.

The Nigerian system is inherently unbalanced and that's why only corruption thrives. There is just no incentive to protect an unfair relationship. I agree with him the average Nigerian is selfish but his likes in government should be grateful we are less Libyan and more Liberal.

OAM4J:
He surprised me too, but then . . .

That's what I repeat time and again. People come and go, they constantly change and that's why institutions are better. That's what we should be building. They endure better.

If the man has stuff in him till now he'd probably be in intensive care or dead. Something doesn't add up here.

whose fault, complete sports and the rest that turn goal mouth scrambles in europe to goal of the week here, so that when you unwrap the 'Tiger of Lagos' on the field all you get is one small pussy cato.

The hype is far too much. Same disease afflicting the British, always clinging to hope. The germans, brazilians and Argies on the other hand keep their players, coaches and selectors on their toes.

You can imagine a certain player is being called 'weapon of mass destruction' up till today. The only destruction I can see is to the national team.

Another point of thought. The roles played by their followers, country and kinsmen in their misrules.

Stalin did not kill 20 million men alone, neither did Pol Phut terminate 2 million. Like every dictator, they led, inspired and intimidated some of the commonest of men to act in such unspeakable manner.

That is why followership should be as intently evaluated as leadership. Peoples are crafted in the image they likely permit. The gift should be equal to the giver.

Today even in our contemporary nascent democracy all we ever get to hear are the actors and less so the acts so that when they begin the long slide down the road of infamy we'ed seldom recognise it.

Believe me, Ghadafi, Stalin and the likes didn't start that way but by trying to turn human frailties into eternal institutions it all went bad.

Sadly today we in this country are beginning to see these seeds across all political party lines.

We must all say no to strong men and yes to strong institutions or be just as guilty for creating monsters of men.

I do hope Al.Assad and other sit tight African strong men currently mass graving (pardon me) their people take note before some on this forum return to blame the west for their demise.

How someone will castigate the people of Libya for bringing to justice a man who sent foreign mercenaries to slaughter them is quite beyond me.

Its like at the height of Abacha's reign he imported mercenaries from Niger, Chad, Benin or Cameroon to violently put down protests of people he claimed were his.

That is treason and the people he calls dogs and rats have spoken today and sent him to hell.

CNN's a tad slow on this one. Its like early this morning with the NTC closing in on District 2, the former army chief made a run for it in a convoy of cars to draw attention away from the kessel where Moammar was hiding. Did the opposite. NATO hawks spotted and b lasted the convoy, NTC followed the source and in the ensuing gun battle he was shot and died of his injuries.

HiMag:
Last weekend, we saw a host of Nigerian stars in action for their different club sides in Europe, with some putting up performances worthy of remembrance, while others would prefer to forget as soon as they can- perfect examples of such would be the red card Ahmed Musa received and the continuance of Vincent Enyeama’s unhappy start to life in the French Ligue 1.

Meanwhile, Nigerian forward, Peter Osaze Odemwingie was on hand to help West Bromwich Albion to victory in the English Premier League.

Here is a review of how Nigerians in Europe performed at the weekend.

England

Stoke City 2 Fulham 0 (Britannia Stadium)
Fulham’s Dickson Etuhu was an 80th minute substitute for Danny Murphy as the Cottages suffered a 0-2 reverse at the Britannia.

Wigan 1 Bolton 3 (DW Stadium)
Victor Moses was on for all 90 minutes as his Wigan side crumbled to a humiliating loss at home to Bolton Wanderers.

Moses had a super game exemplified by great movements and mesmeric dribbles and almost scored on 64 minutes but saw his shot blocked.

Queens Park Rangers 1 Blackburn Rovers 1 (Loftus Road)
Under fire Blackburn manager, Steve Keane consigned Yakubu Aiyegbeni to the bench for all 90 minutes as this petered out to a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea 3 Everton 1 (Stamford Bridge)
John Mikel Obi started the game and was hooked after 77 minutes for the Frenchman, Nicolas Anelka as the Blues recorded an important 3-1 victory.

Long term injury casualty, Victor Anichebe was not listed by Everton.

West Bromwich Albion 2 Wolves 0 (The Hawthorns)
Peter Osaze Odemwingie shook off his disappointment while on international duty to score within minutes of coming on as a second half substitutes as the Baggies pinched important points at home.

Newcastle United 2 Tottenham 2 (St James’ Park)
Nigerian-born Shola Ameobi was the hero for the Geordies as his exquisitely taken strike, four minutes from time gave his side a share of the spoils.

Germany
SV Mainz 0 FC Augsburg 1 (Coface Arena)
Anthony Ujah was thrown in as a 66th minute substitute but his efforts were inadequate as his side went down 0-1 at home to Augsburg.

VfB Stuttgart 2 Hoffenheim 0 (Mercedes Benz Arena)
Chinedu Obasi Ogbuke was given the nod to start by the Hoffeinheim Manager, Holger Stanislawski against a powerful VfB side.

Obasi was substituted after 66 minutes after receiving a yellow card as his side went down 0-2.

Turkey
Sivasspor 0 Gaziantepspor 0 (Eylül Stadyumu)

Michael Eneramo played no part in this one as his Sivasspor teammates fired blanks against the dogged visitors.

Manisaspor 2 Karabukspor 1
Former Under23 captain, Isaac Promise was the hero for Manisaspor on Sunday when his double strike helped the modest Turkey Superlig outfit to a win over Karabukspor on Sunday.

Promise's goals came in each half of the game.

Italy
AC Milan 3 Palermo 0 (Stadio Guiseppe Meazza)
Taye Taiwo was an unused substitute for Milan as Massimiliano Allegri’s side cruised to a 3-0 success against Palermo.

Napoli 1 AC Parma 2 (Stadio San Paolo)
Dream Team V midfielder, Obiora Nwankwo continues to be ignored by AC Parma coach, Franco Colomba.

The midfielder was not listed but his teammates produced a big performance at the San Paolo to shock high flying Napoli 2-1.

Catania 2 Internazionale 1 (Stadio Angelo Massimino)
Inter’s Joel Obi was suspended following his sending off against Napoli earlier this month and was not part of the action.

In his absence, Inter fell to a 1-2 defeat against the unheralded Sicilians.

France
AJ Auxerre 1 OSC Lille Metropole 3 (Stade Abbe Deschamps)
Nigerian football fans continue to follow with horror, the fortunes of Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama at Lille this term.

The former Hapoel Tel Aviv shot stopper has yet to kick a competitive ball this season as coach Rudi Garcia continues to place his faith in Mickael Landreau.

Enyeama was on the bench for all 90 minutes at the Stade Abbey Deschamps as Lille recorded an impressive 3-1 victory against Auxerre.

Montpellier HSC 5 Dijon FCO 3 (Stade la Mosson)
John Utaka continues to show his worth as he put in yet another fine show to inspire his side to a big win in front of their supporters.

The forward was substituted on 77 minutes after picking up a booking early in the game.

Holland

PSV Eindhoven 1 Utrecht 0 (Ohilips Stadion)
Ola Toivonen’s 71st minute strike took PSV joint top but it was a bitter sweet night for Nigerian youngster, Rabiu Ibrahim who sat on the bench for all 90 minutes.

Feyenoord 4 VVV Venlo 0 (De Kuip Stadium)
The Nigerian contingent at Venlo suffered humiliation at the de Kuip Stadium as Feyenoord gave them a hiding.

Uche Nwofor, Michael Uchebo and Ahmed Musa were all part of the action on Sunday night.

Musa was given the marching orders shortly before half time to leave his teammates with a mountain to climb.



Read More------>>>>> http://himagazine.tv/sports/Performance-Update-Of-Nigerian-Players-In-Europe-2

Pardon me but who's this Ola Toivonen fellow.

Because a zoo requires more attention than a game reserve, period.

Well I hope them cars come complete with a full doze of radiation from Fukushima.

Can't even look the way of locally assembled 407's being too substandard for their lordships, then they take a tour of Innoson and shed croc tears of patriotism.

And let's see whether the opposition will auction theirs and give the proceeds to the poor and long suffering masses including the squeaky clean CPC.

This whole matter just reminds me of the evolution of law enforcement in the US.

J. Edgar Hoover stood up against crime when it was considered suicidal. Formed the FBI and fashioned a string of successful results which impressed.

However, power soon got to his head and though he thought he meant well it was not perceived as such.

He died with a split legacy the better part being the FBI we know today.

No doubt that Tinubu has done great things for the Lagos and perhaps the west., but from what is going on today it is clear that his legacy can only go downhill from here.

Power corrupts even the best of intentions, that is why vision must translate to institutions.

His ability to build institutions and consensus is seriously in question. If it could not work for law enforcement it will certainly not work in politics.

He has to start building the party and not just projecting its power. He has to view his lieutenants as not just short term but longer term assets.

I agree. Visions are unitary but their realisation are corporate.

If the ACN is to survive beyond him, now is the time to begin to institutionalise it. If not just one medical leave of absence is enough to wreck the ship whether he returns or not.

What a sad tale. I hope Samson Siasia does not get blamed for this one. You can imagine, delaying the entire league for weeks and this happens.

Whether we accept it or not there is something fundamentally wrong with our football and its collective not personified.

P.S. Osaze could manage a goal today. Says so much.

If this case was so high profile to them I would suppose they would have undertaken multiple scans since his arrest and had the images scrutinised by a forensic doctor, simple. They need experts now not public relations men.

I've always criticised our para-military agencies of too much brawn and little brains. To them its all about the AK47 and jackboots, useless checkpoints and dud scanners, very little tact and training. From high profile assasinations, gun running to ship disappearances nothing ever gets solved.

I wait for the day these bodies meet with very, very serious legal consequences then perhaps we can get them out of our pockets and onto their jobs.

tunyus:
@bluetooth, its hightime u guy realise dat the act of feeding the masses is a wrong idea it could av been beta if he as empowered them by sponsoring dem to learn a skill dis could av help dem survive all dia life even after is demise, ok what is the hope of those he is feeding now dat he as gone, reason guys
RIP prince may God give his family the fortitude to bear the great lost,

Absolutely wrong. In the few hours before or after this post you would have eaten. I'm sure within sixty days of writing this post if you haven't eaten you'd be dead. How many skills can be learned, perfected and translated to profit within sixty days - very few. But you require skills to be self sufficient.

Thus by simply inference the key here is balance. That is the wisdom that that brings individuals, communities and countries out of trouble. No one issue renders a man broke, down and out, so no one item of solution can bring him out.

If you want to practice philantrophy spread your wallet wisely. Give to the old to preserve knowledge, give to the young for posterity. Give food so they may live to learn the skills you give them to survive.

Haba, have you ever seen a school filled with naked boys and girls, men and women.

Obviously the late man did a lot of good but so can we. Where perhaps his givings missed it others can paper the cracks.

But with all due respect Kobo, I beg to differ on some points here. Before formal governments we had organised societies where lack was alien and solidarity was prime. In Nigeria today it is government and its self serving patrons that has driven a wedge between communities and lately individuals. Today you either have or not. Nothing is communal any more.

So I appreciate those who take it to task to help in their communities. This is a noble cause. If the man wasn't a saint it is left between him and his creator.

Siena:
After I've worn them thrice, earlier if they're soiled with oil or grease.

For those that wear a pair of jeans for a year before washing, that's dirty. They'll be so stiff with dirt and grime, they'll probably be able to stand, and walk on their own. The word Exoskeleton springs to mind.

Exoskeleton as in Transformers: Revenge of the Crystallized Levi's, Siena you're a case.

You simply should not be subsidising a finite and environmentally damaging comodity such as oil.

If fellow african countries some of which are poorer than us are able to buy the stuff at international prices so can we. I think the scaremongering is over-hyped. The cross border thing is like saying for every dozen barrels we export we give a couple free to our neighbours. This is unacceptable.

Having said that I have always advocated a sequential removal in sync with mutually agreed developmental milestones. As such 10% goes by say 18th of October, this and that program will have to be in place by 17th next year or the house halts any further price hikes.

In such a case both government and the people are under equal pressure.

A more favourable alternative will be to privatise the oil industry. Let the companies set their price regimes under the scrutiny of the DPR. The NNPC goes.

The only way to get housing affordable to the poor is to make a market of it, make it a tradable commodity.

Assuming there are 15 million poor (or tenancy disadvantaged) in Lagos and they are to be warehoused by government at a rate of say 800,000 naira per head (conservative est.), it will cost the government up to 12 trillion. Where will it get that kind of money.

Then you may say but of the 15 million who do not own their homes they don't exactly sleep on the streets do they. But if government takes it as a social responsibility who will want to lose his house, his right.

Then you'd have massive problems of allocation (as previously highlighted), issues of merit/demerit, who is an indigene, alien/foreigner or not, poverty definitions and redefinitions (like council housing in say, London), corruption, etc.

The problems are just massive. Thats why I think government should limit itself to creating the atmosphere, the market, be the tournament organiser and referee via. regulatory agencies and not seek the glory of participation.

How to create a market. One. Standards. Two. Standards. Three Standards. Fly over parts of the U.K., Spain, the US and its neat, well laid out and inviting. Fly over Lagos and its chaotic. Buildings scattered willy nilly. Tell me if you had equal opportunity to buy and sell won't you prefer the order of a supermarket over the chaos of a garage market -at least for those who have 15 trillion.

Shacks and shanties will never attract partnership investment but exploitative, pirate hostile takeovers, the kind of thing that turned those shanties to Lekki exclusive. Government must set standards for houses to reach the poor. Knock a few heads together. Encourage co.operatives.

I have a quarter plot, Bassey has half, Haruna has a quarter and Ade has a few feet. By planning rules none should get papers. Bring them together and via.a planning company increase the value of their holdings and make it attractive for investment.

That is the role of government. That is how housing will reach the poor.

Pardon me. But what's a guy doing inhaling generator fumes. Surely you can get power some safer way. Must be a new way of getting high.

Government cannot and should not be building houses for people. Our population even at state level is just so out of control that it will bankrupt government.

Nigeria cannot at this moment adopt socialism. Housing must be seen and engaged as a commodity for market forces to bring it within range of the poor.

This is why I'm in full support of the government's PPP program. The government provides land, guarantees and documentary advice while the private sector does the business.

I particularly like and have advocated (even on this forum months ago) the building of up market housing first and ploughing profits back to subsidize low cost housing. The same model was adopted in the GSM rollout, premium service first to high value customers then to the poor.

This is where government returns and I would advocate for a housing regulatory commission to ensure government's partnership is not hijacked or derailed.

Good one, Lagos State. I do hope the Lekki road is fully privatised. We the people must remain relevant to our development.

mallorca:
this is very simple, 85% OF CURRENT SUPER EAGLES PLAYERS DOESNT WANT TO PLAY UNDER SISIA,from aunthentic source!

Hmm, perhaps we should ask the players to select the coach and perhaps the NFF board and set the laws that govern them.

Osaze wants to decide when to play, Enyeama wants to decide when to travel, Mikel decides when to leave Stamford bridge and arrive camp.

With all these and much more jaga jaga can we be surprised they cannot put away glaring chances.

If this player power thing is not discarded for honour and the flag, we would soon exhaust all the managers in the world and perhaps them players will demand for our lives as well. Pity.

Look Mac, I think people are beginning to realise the simple truths about life in general. That one, institutions are more important than individuals and in building institutions instability is your worst enemy.

We have witnessed a couple of tournaments and a couple of qualifiers this year and to my knowledge we have not done well in any of them. But to the credit of the NFF no one has been discarded. Eucharia, Eguavoen, U 21 coach, etc are still there, why not Siasia.

There is a need for stability. No one is saying Siasia is world class, neither was Westerhoof back then. He missed the world cup qualifier but came back to build perhaps the best squad Nigeria ever had. Not surprising, he enjoyed the longest reigns of any coach. Stability is key.

Personally I have always felt our national teams need a strong technical department to co-ordinate activities of the coaches, ensure proper age group progression and aggresively debate the selection of players.

The much highlighted issues of discipline viz. selections was badly handled by the FA. They left Siasia out to dry when they know its their responsibility to set standards and enforce them - the Tevez issue comes to mind.

I just implore Nigerians to be patient. Turn arounds are not easy. If Siasia is becoming to arrogant reduce his powers but for heavens sake don't further destabilize our football. There is a reason United played Barca in the UCL final and not Real. One is highly unstable while the other has had a management in place for decades even though the early years were barren.

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=780502.msg9327083#msg9327083 date=1318462069]That is chronic poverty at work ![/quote]

Hmm, no wonder them air guys were unavailable the past few days. Wonder what rank he's wearing. The pic. isn't too clear. And those medals, hmm.

Whem these fellows say and do things as ambassadors they do so on behalf of not only the government but the peoples of the country they claim to represent.
I can't see why he can't see the negative cost/benefit. If he was attacked by pesky reporters, his diplomatic training should have simply sealed his lips.

Well, since he was not declared 'persona non grata' at the instance, I guess it will always go downhill from there.

And yes western countries do target their nationals abroad more than is reported.

There's no such thing as unending statutes. When push came to shove one time hero and strong man Milosevic was sent to the Hague naked of any Serbian representation even with strong left wing disapproval. Those who love Abdul and disapprove of the trial should visit him.

In Milosevic's case, the government simply had other interests. The question now is, what is our government's interest in this ruinous matter.