₦airaland Forum

I am in PHC (lucky me) and was driving past a billboard with a smiling Atickle saying ', The man OBJ and EFCC could not stop.' You simply cannot separate this man and his ego. He is proud to be bigger than the law and institutions of order. Good for him.

When I saw the caption like every free thinking, reasonable person I began to put my thoughts together but having read the full text I was sorely disappointed.

Zimdrill or whatever you call yourself. I believe this site is for Nigerians and friends who have the interest of Nigerians at heart. If you genuinely desire to know about us, fine - you will get well thought out answers. However if you feel every thread you open and every post you make should insult and denigrade us then you better find some other outlet. No country in Africa has done more for the continent. We expended ourselves in your wars of liberation without asking for anything in return. Yes, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. And yes we lost well earned economic advantages with the UK an the USA in the seventies and eighties when we sided with you folks.

And yes because we 'bonk like rabbits' we were able to send close to fifty thousand troops or fifty thousand rabbits to Liberia and Serria Leone to help them become what they are today - viable democracies. And guess what we lost three thousand men in that hell hole. I lost fifteen friends, three ex-colleagues. Go tell their mama not to 'bonk like rabbits'.

When your country can sort out its self and begin to offer selfless services continent wide then you may begin to understand what it is meant to be a giant. It is not what you have dummy, but what you are able to do, what hou are able to give at your own expense.

Cote d'ivorie is there. Tell Mugabe to try them for size.

Yeh Kulutempa, it there any locality that isn't covered by a senator or rep. MMA, Ikeja is covered by at least a senator and a rep. Will they tell me they are not aware of its condition. How many times have they raised the situation on the floor and what was the response. They don't care. - It belongs to government. They only pass when conveying their loot. Those stinky toilets are a few yards from someone's office but we will not hear NLC on that matter why, because they rather strike for more money and don't mind earning it in a puddle of piss. - It belongs to government anyway.

Marcdunu, GEJ, Zoning, the PDP and other interests are not bigger than the aspirations of the majority of well meaning and progressive Nigerians. If we say we want GEJ it is for a reason, a structural reason not based on sentiments or some undemocratic political manipulation. If the south felt in 1999 that rotation was its best chance of assuming power so be it. This is 2010 and things have changed or are you saying the south cannot change its mind. Does the north want to take over the MINDS of southerners as well.

We don't want rotation, period. Nigeria does not belong to any section neither did GEJ did kill Yaradua. He got there by fate. I repeat, no one is saying GEJ represents the best the South-South, the South or Nigeria has to offer but at this time - December 2010 he represents the best agent of structural change in this country. Let us fix the building before we take care of the furniture. The election of GEJ will prove that outside the north and west other regions belong and if you feel there are second class citizens in Nigeria with no aspirations as and when they want to rule, stand up and defend that position.

Hmmmm, we are still far from redemption.

I started developing a different line of thought lately. Why is it that southerners react by this 'secession thing' whenever the north flaunt thieir 'we own Nigeria' stuff. Is it that the north feels hey cannot be led by the 'pagans in the south'. Let Atickle and his ilk realise and understand that the south WILL rule Nigeria for as long as it likes. Times have changed. The west has done so, the south is and the east will follow. There is nothing to rotate. The north will just have to accept it. No one is going anywhere now. They will have to find medicine for that lump in their throat that can't swallow alternate rule and repay 30+ years of mismanagement. Enough of looking down on others. There are no second class citizens in Nigeria. If they want to prove Ikemba wrong then it should be INDEED.

Kulutempa, the reason I'm an advocate is that capitalism is in our DNA. I will not deceive myself, Nigerian WILL NOT care for anything they do not have a vested interest in. Do not get me wrong we have elements of socialism in us but it is very low frequency, it does not radiate beyond immediate family, friends and neighbors. I don't know what has caused this but it is there. That is why large institutions and corporations rarely succeed here, social security cannot work, businesses rarely transit generations, etc. That is why Madam Ibru will not hesitate to empty the till.

I'm sure you will say but Oceanic is not government. Yes but you can see the actions and reactions. She is out and the business allowed to fail. If it is government on the other hand we will all say, 'Its government money who cares' There will be massive corruption, no one will get fired and the institution will be propped up, no lessons learnt.

A case in question is Air Nigeria. Why do we insist on propping it up when the management is/was no better than Okada Air or Bellview, since defunct. If MMA was private or commercial, haba the Manager(s) will have since left or the airport closed. But they will tell you airlines and passengers do not pay adequately for facilities so the decay, blah, blah. Tell me who wants to hear that MTN cannot maintain services because people don't want to pay for airtime. Its ludicrous, but in the public sector they will rather buy expensive SUV's and have a goodnight sleep in Transcrop Hilton rather than invest in their businesses.

Fact is that if you do so in the private sector, you're history and the list of dead companies is long with no one shedding a tear.

Murtalaa, there's something quite upsetting about this incident. And not spoken by Atickle, but by the other players (Ogbeh). When will the north ever learn humility. When will it ever learn to stoop to conquer. This notion that it gives power when and how it likes it severely irritating and to me unifying opposition to its ambitions. In every meeting you hear this - Obasanjo was in prison for treason, the north forgave him and put him in power. If the north continues to believe it almighty, they should realise this is a democracy we are trying to build here. When you look at advanced systems power changes hands based on 'the feelings of people' and if people feel you are patronizing they will rebel.

Every time they come out with these threats they lose more ground. The guy should take a week off and read the 'Art of War' if he has the composure to read. Did he not huff and puff against his boss in 2003, did fellow northerners (the late Rimi, Gemade, etc) in the PDP not contest against OBJ with the zoning arrangement intact. What are they saying. This inconsistency is a recurring decimal with this man and I tell every well meaning Nigerian - steer clear of this man.

I think it is up to the electorate to decide her future. If they feel she is the best candidate and will further their interests considering her clout (which she definitely can) why not. Remember this is her first time seeking elective office and has done comparatively well in her previous posts. Ribadu is doing the same thing and incidentally both have decided to join the opposition so we should give them a 'C' for courage. And 'C' because I detect a whiff of 'godfatherism' in her pandering to Peter Obi.

A porch to a house is exactly what an airport is to a country. If the porch is like that you can imagine what the kitchen and closet will look and smell like. MMA is a reflection of what the Nigerian government is all about. I've said it countless times, government has no business where money changes hands for goods or services. Sell that scrap now!!!!

Which true enterprise will wait for its facilities to decay to that level if it not in liquidation. Madam minister do you have to call a press conference to scrub your toilets or de-ice your freezer. How many times have MTN or GLO called press conferences to inform us of its maintenance programs. Nada, they just go ahead and do it. They are in business. In their interests the press is only called when they have something new and enterprising to offer to knock the competition off.

They wait for the whole thing to fall apart so that the problem will be big enough to attract the attention of a clueless FEC. Tomorrow you will hear one trillion naira approved for conveyor belts and the tills in Las Vegas will be rattling. Government, this government, this Nigerian government cannot handle commercial ventures. Let them just give up and leave us in peace.

Mtchewww. Waste of bandwidth.

Shameless criminals. This man was a looter par excellence. The very embodiment of corruption. He is simply giving as good as he got. I do not pity any of them for tip to toe. What you can see on display are public funds belonging to a state in Nigeria that should have gone into schools, hospitals, roads and the lot for which he swore an oath to provide. Let him tell us how much he was worth in 1998. Nonsense thief.

And for you pity patters o this thread hear this clearly. This is what you get when you relate with corruption. She cannot claim not to know that her comfort was stolen from someone else. Did she not know that when you relate with a criminal whether a kidnapper, smuggler, murderer or looter you should not stake the lives of others (children) with yours.

As I will always say this is the damning effects of unmitigated corruption. It neutralizes creative, productive and rational thinking. Instead of making you a productive citizen you remain a lazy and lousy. Instead of work all you seek is pleasure and more pleasure requires more corruption to fuel it. Well your hubby is not in government right now so he must cut overheads. Unfortunately madam since you are not adding to his piggy bank, you're fired. Lazy woman, thinking babies are assets. Now go and find decent work like the rest hardworking citizens of this country.

A big lesson for those illegally milking the cow. You will never be able to make it. If the best Madam Ibru could do with all those stolen funds was to buy property then you can see how bad the effects of corruption on rational thinking is.

Let the people decide freely.

I think those striking workers should think very carefully. They have every right to strike for perceived grievances but they should know the world of finances lives and breathes trust. If we the people perceive they cannot sort out themselves then they are history. Wage cuts would sound funny then. They have a peculiar challenge. The bank is not doing well, workers MUST make sacrifices and Management should do same in an equitable manner.

You're right Medoski, privatisation and the attendant competition particularly price wars are highly desirable particularly for long suffering Nigerians but like every war there's the risk of collateral damage and we know too well that the first civilian to fall will be the employee. But look at it this way if it will enhance worker productivity why not. Productivity does not kill rather the opposite. The kind of things we see in NNPC, PHCN, National Assembly and other such establishments is tantamount to assault.

You can imagine I was in a certain Federal Ministry this morning for a service and these two ladies (instead of attending to business) were rather engrossed in a bunch of Christmas cards a vendor had brought for sale. After repeated attempts to gain their attention one of them finally asked 'ah which one do you want to buy' She was completely lost. I just shook my head and left. Outside I purchased a copy of today's Punch Newspapers and guess what I saw, 'Bloated Expenditure: Mass sacking looms in civil service'. If their office was not on the 9th floor I will have returned.

This is what we are saying. Government has no business in business. IMHO their role should strictly be regulatory. It will brood better on one's conscience if he is laid off for competition sake rather than for being a waste pipe. It would be far easier for an unemployed worker on top of his game to get sourced or reinstated than a lazy bag of beans.

Hmmm, where are the privatisation haters. Waiting for their artillery. PHCN must fall.

Hackney you are right. I'm all for privatisation, hook, line and sinker. Anything short of full privatisation will be like oil on a hot plate. I once mentioned that investment in this sector will only attain its full potential if the players are permitted control from beginning to end, i.e. from generation to distribution with government's involvement strictly regulatory. That is the closest model to the telecom one. Now government will decide who gets what parts and its favoured players will carry the lightest loads, the juiciest deals while neutrals or its perceived enemies will be hung out to dry.

This is the great regret why power was not thrown open the same time with telecoms back then. Bad men have simply become wiser and what they lost in telecoms, power sector privatisation will pay for. Hackney I'm sure that is what you mean by 'Nigerians making things seem hard'. There should be a round table with investors and nothing should be off limits. I'm sorry to say 'beggars cannot be choosers'. Let them present their proposals before a structure is concluded then we can express all our fears and concerns and check how many are still left on their seats after our whining is over.

Very good news if true. Now the business of accountability starts. We, ALL of us (students, parents, tutors, government) need to extract maximum milage from every dime released.

Ah I've just got to the point at the end of the movie where the line goes 'Its done' and the boss replies 'Shut it down'. Sorry oh. Lion of the Jungle.

Ironically while replying this thread I'm watching the first in the Bourne trilogy where Bourne compels the chief operations officer to come to Paris after dispatching the assassin he sends and as he prepares to leave the office he is asked 'if he would really bring him (Bourne) in' and he replies ' I think we're passed that don't you, '

Kobojunkie as I think of your points, watch the film and glance at the pictures of Theo and the fellow with a wire-brush mustachio I cannot help but detect the faintest of synergy. With these fellows you just can never tell. How come nothing ever seems to affect these fellows who play with fire and fuel all the time.

I understand he was involved in a pitch incident a couple of matches prior. I suspect it may have had something to do with this. As I was speaking to a relation in the medical field today, a head injury (which may have been the case) may result in a bit more than a concussion and you know diagnosis for the under-privilege here is no better than the doctor asking how do you feel. For men and women in contact sports like football I think scans should be made mandatory for all cases of injury but then on hearing the cost (something like 50 to 80 thousand) I could understand where their priorities will be.

On Brilla FM this morning a colleague of his speaking about the poor fellow said he kept on complaining of his dire financial situation lately. I think the NPL and by extension NFF should take the health of footballers very seriously. They should make clubs undertake mandatory screenings of their players after injuries and perhaps twice over the course of the season. Every player should produce an authentic health card to the commissar before stepping onto the pitch.

Much has been made of insurance. It is good but I rather have prevention. Pity its rather late for Emma Ogoli. We wish his family, his colleagues and club the fortitude to bear this very, very sad loss.

. Seun. If Cheney sues me for changing his name to Manliness na you sabi. Or person no fit bear D-I-C-K again.

Or you think Dick 'the hunter' will ever stand trial or ever, ever, ever do time here. If we can get the money then it will be a miracle. I just laugh. When we cannot even put our people away. Madoff is doing 150 years, Madam Ocean is nowhere to be found.

Another Pakistan in 2035. Utter rubbish. Have they revised their earlier 15 year disintegration projection. We have corruption, ineptitude and religious intolerance. We do not have fundamentalism. Of the 140 million people in Nigeria how many are willing to give it all up for a cause. The establishment has ensured that flash point is never reached. I rather think the US is a bigger target to external aggression which should escalate in the coming years while its socio-economic fabric is gradually eroded by the typhoon called China.

One thing for sure the Nigerian education system is in crisis in its entirety. Doctors are in short supply no doubt, however we could do with extension workers as well to look into our alarming population growth. We are not China where the penalty for corruption is grave. This is simply a developmental issue and we are clearly wanting.

Good oga Samba, but we prefer to hear how safe the roads are rather than how good the airbags are. I sincerely hope you guys can pursue with greater vigour the soft underbelly of government finances that makes these funds easily accessible for theft and perhaps begin to rope in the conduits through which these monies are stolen. Yes I mean banks. What we have now is a basket, in a leaking bucket, in a leaking drum, very hopeless.

Wow. Why didn't he do a passenger 57 and perhaps end up in Naija or show up in his blade costume complete with Samurai sword. Which marshal for fit touch am.   Anyway what a pity. Though these laws are good you cannot but help thinking what the government stands to lose over the three years in potential tax returns from this guy when you consider the dire financial straits the US treasury faces. Like the over-the-top cuts in the UK, a repentant - by his own admission on 'Larry King Live' - tax dodger is a waste of prison resources. I would rather double his tax.

Sorry Kodewriter, the very Land Use act you refer to is another insert for corruption. In a nutshell, if you cannot respect your wife how do you expect your neighbour to respect her. The interests of your people come first. The land use act is not in the interest of the people. When countries open up to foreign investment and give incentives they have term limits. Shell DOES NOT need incentives from government. They have exploited this country for decades. Made enough money. They DO NOT NEED INCENTIVES. They should not be made to hide under government and exploit such nonsense Acts to destroy the lives of people. They should be made to face the people squarely and hear them out.

I repeat no one is suggesting Shell should be nationalised or kicked out. We are not communists nor socialists. What sensible people should be asking for is the same standards of accountability and probity that these mutinationals are subjected to whether in Texas, Louisiana, the North sea, or Russia. Simple.

PS. I cannot remember anyone suggesting Shell is American. Multinationals have hazy identities. America is involved because they remain the destination of most of the world's crude. That is the extent of their complicity. If certain standards in environment and human development are applicable to them they should extend such to us.

Omenani, it starts with a idea, it is grown by suffering and harvested when ripe. When enough of us have suffered enough then, maybe.  You may sleep for hours, when hunger comes you will surely wake.

Good for establishment, bad for us. Audu Ogbeh is a survivalist. Except he's changed, he's not a moral man I'm afraid. Ribadu should pick someone his colour and size.

Oya boys, centre don open for ma yard. Come make we begin the capture. Book early to avoid Christmas rush oh. !!!

Thanks Beaf for amplifying that point. If MTN comes to my home and says it wants to erect a mast, I have a right to say no. If the government forces me to give up my house the result is down the line MTN will take over the government. Simple. Corporations are important but Governments must act as a buffer. The interests of the people come first simply because government is made up of the people. So hitting people is hitting yourself. This simple equation has been lost on our government for ages. If Shell is permitted to bring arms to haunt people it is only a matter of time before they turn these weapons on the government. It is called in CIA parlance 'blow back'. The CIA trained and armed the mullahs in Afghanistan to drive out the Russians. Guess who's been tossed around today. It will always come back. Ask Odili.

If the government calls me instead and explains the need for the mast for the 'common good' the respect the government shows me is bound to rub off on MTN. Now if government returns to its base how on earth will MTN now erect two masts or build a refuse dump instead. They can't because there is now a chain of watchdogs. Just imagine the differences in response to the gulf oil spill and those that happen in Nigeria.

This country is a real gangsters paradise.