₦airaland Forum

I am shocked at some responses on this thread. Where have you folks been all these years. What do you think Shell is. A business. A raw unadulterated business. What is a government, a raw Nigerian government. If you do not know SHELL IS BIGGER THAN THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT. It has been bigger than the government since BP left. Consider this simple analogy. Oil accounts for what 90 percent of our income, thus oil accouts for 90 percent of our GDP. Now Shell, one company produces over 60 percent of this oil. Do the maths. Shell acounts for approx. 50 percent of our GDP. Which means in lay terms for every two policemen one owes his salary to Shell, equally for every two state security men, customs officer, bank staff, fire man, doctor, nurse, mechanic, pastor, etc. Do we talk of infrastructure one of every two kilometres of roads, one airport in two, one minute in two of your airtime, one mega byte of two you use to hang onto Nairaland. If others (telecoms, taxes, hustling, forex repatrations by you good fellows out there, etc) pays one legislator, Shell pays the other. Hell I wonder who they choose to pay, the President or Vice President. So why are you surprised they have information about government. Who's office is it anyway. How can you spy on yourself.

You may ask. How come ? It came by in the sixties and seventies when you abandoned all other sources and forms of productivity and jumped into one. You sold your house to buy a chair. Or is the saying 'he who pays the piper dictates the tune' no longer applicable for Shell. Did they tell you to abandon coal, ginger, hides and skin, tin, copper, did they tell you to abandon agriculture, did the force you not to complete Ajaokuta and bar you from industrialization.

Who in this forum in all sincerity will not grab the monopoly of Shell with both hands. Who will not savour indirect control of this country. We all love power but power corrupts. Shell is massively corrupt because it is massively powerful. Who let it be. We the people because of our laziness, the government because it loves cheap money. So Shell did what all businesses do. It trades. It traded money for power. Government got the money, Shell got the power. As long as our focus remains on personal gain alone, Shell and the likes will continue to rule. Julius Berger, Dangote, Oando, etc are the same, just mini Shells. It is not a white thing. It is a global thing. Corporations control corrupt governments.

Big oil and big defence were key players in the Iraqi debacle because the Bush regime was corrupt. They had eyes and ears in the White House, they controlled the powerful armed services committee of the House. If I was in a business for forty years and traded trillions of dollars I would be grossly foolish not to penetrate every institution that can threaten it.

My friends, due to globalization corporations are the new countries and corporate I.D cards will soon become more valuable than international passports. Maybe, just maybe this 666 business will happen. The top ten fortune companies will buy out Africa three times over.

If you don’t like control don’t worship money. These folks produce everything we need for life and existence and you simply cannot send them away. What you can do is to say no to perceived excesses.  It is called regulation. I believe in foreign investment and foreign participation but I recognize getting the right balance is critical. This is what the Niger-Delta struggle has always been about and some naïve people turn up their noses. The people are not anti-Shell or anti-Nigeria or anti-government. All they want is a fair and right balance in control. The right to say no when they feel cheated. Simple.

My dad once told me partnerships only succeed when one party accepts to be cheated by the other.  True as this may be. Must it.

Very lively debate. In a few sentences.

1. Similar fears of infrastructure, corruption, financing and affordability were abundant in 2001.
2. There are ship loads of money out there seeking viable investment opportunities.
3. The Nigerian power market has unbelievable potential. It will be second to none in africa and earnings will dwarf anything telecom operators have seen.
4. Roads, power, corruption, security, governance are all worse than in 2001 but investment in telecoms has not receded.
5. The cost of power infrastructure is not more expensive or complex than oil and gas infrastructure.
6. There are more indigenous jobs in the telecoms sector today than pre 2001.
7. Scale has brought down the unit cost of telecoms services.
8. Technology has improved the range of services offered allowing both rich and poor access. e.g Blackberry, blueberry, strawberry, beri-beri.
9. Telecoms privatisation has freed the government from an annual bill of 100 billion ? (2001) - though it has not improved government finances and would have saved us 12 billion US lost/mismanaged by the OBJ regime.
10. Power reforms will bring the players with the best practices in various fields of enterprise globally.
11. Power reforms is the only way any meaningful industrialization can be achieved.
12. Power reforms will lead to a reduction in Lebanese visa applications to Nigeria.
13. Power reforms will enrich the people of the Niger-Delta since the primary fuel for generation is sourced there leading to (hopefully) direct negotiations with affected communities and peoples.
14. Power reforms will collectively reduce the health bills of Nigerians and make them speak more quietly when interacting with folks of other countries.
15. Power refo, Ah ah NEPA.

Johnie, the summary of what I am saying is that I appreciate investment of whatever kind, moreso when it seeks to tackle immediate challenges such as the bar beach erosion and Island accommodation but what I also advocate is caution. Whenever you take nature head long you do so at enormous risk. We should not allow our hunger for development to becloud sound judgment. Global warming coupled with ocean level rises is real and while I am not a blind environmental activist I believe the truth lies somewhere between complacency and hysteria.

I just think Lekki is far too low lying to survive going far forward. There are places you stand with a GPS and it is flat zero ABSL. The rainy season also proves it is just a matter of time. It may not have mattered when the artificial peninsula was created thirty years ago but it matters today. What factors will threaten Eko Atlantic tomorrow? I don't know but if you have ultra long-term plans then it matters. Do your study diligently. Most who purchase Lekki today don't know, probably don't want to know and are at best short to medium term planners. To be close to Victoria Island/Ikoyi and for business reasons the peninsula is crowding. Is it right? yes and no. Does it matter? Ask the Lagos state government. What we don't want to see in the future is another similar bar beach like battle to save Lekki and God forbid a third battle to save Eko Atlantic in sixty to eighty years.

Earlier someone mentioned Dutch consultants. They have done a great job in Holland like in Venice and New Orleans but when you consider the cost of keeping those waves at bay a country like Nigeria will surely balk at it. Let us not over estimate our abilities. Cheers.

P.S. If you've been away from the island for a couple of years like I have and get down to those Lekki beaches you will understand what I am saying. I noticed on a program on local telly a few weeks ago the distance between the waves and the tree line over the presenter's shoulders and was quite alarmed. I know that spot very well. What can I say.

Johndoe200, we are already paying more than any anticipated tariffs. Do not think only in terms of your personal consumption. The electricity you consume directly in your home or business (if you are the owner) is a fraction of the cost you pay right now. If you use a phone, own a car, visit the clinic or a watering hole, attend church or cut your hair, the cost of providing power for this services is a major, major, major component in the final bill you pay and mark you you have no choice. You cannot say excise the cost of power and let me pay PHCN rate, not generator. You may have a choice sometimes as when you photocopy in a business centre and they have 'NEPA rate 'and 'Generator rate' but these are few and far between.

The lack of electricity and attendant cost of alternate power is a major inflating factor in Nigeria. And there is no product, name it or service of worth that is not currently made possible and available by expensive generating plants. You currently spend 200 naira or 2,000 naira a month on power. Can you live on that in a month, no. You probably spend more than that on other stuff. Those things are massively inflated by the prohibitive cost of alternate power.

What we are simply saying is that if me any my neighbour can share our generators we will probably preserve one of them or increase the capacity to bring the third neighbour into play. It is called economies of scale. As more GSM lines rolled out the price fell not necessarily because of competition but because the cost of providing the service fell per unit.

I suppose when it starts it may initially be high but as more houses are hooked up the cost of the infrastructure will be split between more people and the price will recede. There is a certain neighbourhood I know that has adopted communal power supply. They came together, purchased a plant and are running it. So instead of having a trombone near your bedroom it is now down the road away from buildings, the cost is less because it is shared. Now imagine this within a community, a state, or a region. Nuff said

And while we are busy debating the viability of our marriage to the devil India has just ordered two reactors from Areva. I am not opening a debate on nuclear energy but the truth remains that there are several such companies out there that are willing to partner, to part finance energy projects of all types if we can just put our house in order. What they see is a large market with a huge supply/demand gap. We don't have to import any sort of fuel. We have oil, gas, coal, uranium, two massive rivers, 1000 miles of coastline, two mountain ranges - one geothermal, and enough desert for solar plants. Haba these things belong to us. They are our equity contribution in any investment equation.

What did it cost the Federal government to bring GSM to Nigeria - nothing. It licensed, made a fortune and even had the audacity to give part of the proceeds to Nitel/Mtel to compete. The rest is history. This bottomless pit of corruption called Nitel has swallowed hard earned privatisation earnings with absolutely nothing to show for it. Today we are still paying dearly to liquidate Nitel, billions to disengage this Satan and the unions who collaborated with their thieving masters to ruin these institutions are shamelessly asking for more. Tell me who in Nigeria dead or alive has done time for this carnage, none. And one (let me not be emotional) of a man is preaching caution.

Your house is on fire and someone is wondering why you are running. I am at a loss at members of this forum that try and explain this away. I am angry at anyone who will even suggest anything other that total disengagement of government from public services. Don't be an enemy of this country. Kudos to Lagos and Rivers states. The latter is already erecting transmission lines side by side with that of PHCN and I'm sure it would sell for a profit to anyone who will take up the challenge in the future.

It is a real pity that once again his interests and those of his constituents have been placed above that of the majority of us long suffering Nigerians. Who is afraid of privatization I wonder. We have heard these scare mongering theories from self styled socialists for too long. If he was around before the death of NITEL I would be posting from the local government headquarters because internet services at my local post office are out of order. (This actually once happened to me.) My friends are we not paying enough for electricity already to remain afloat and alive. What can be more capitalist than that. When our petrol or diesel runs out do we not shut down and go to bed? Where is NEPA or PHPDP then.

They say electrical infrastructure is different from that of telecoms. It is difficult, it is impossible. But tell me what can be more expensive to an individual that providing his own electricity infrastructure and paying to run it which is happening daily. I have just come off an allied project where the sum of 20 million has been spent to provide power to a particular facility. This is external mains - poles, conductors and transformer only. And guess how much NEPA is asking to energise the line (as if it is not their responsibility or in their business interest to provide such infrastructure). Irritating isn’t it. And guess where the high tension cable links – a nearby military barracks for reasonably stable power. More irritation. (Topic for another day). A close friend who works for a multi-national once told me they paid NEPA an annual fee of approximately 60 million for unstable power supply and expend a further  – wait for it – 165 million (Abacha time naira) to stabilize the power. They have storage facilities that can take one million litres of gas. Tankers are regular features at their gates. Now this company is not located in some distant village, village ke. In fact it is located in Abuja, five keys from the three-arm zone. It is that bad. Thankfully somehow they are still in business – but at how much cost to us.

By the way I could remember visiting their radio room (the size of a small flat) then, grateful for the call and cursing NITEL as well. Now tell me if you tell these fellows that a new power company cannot provide infrastructure for their business they will simply laugh. My friends let these scaremongers not cower us with stories that because it took the government decades and cost billions it is impossible. I could remember reports then projecting something like fifteen years for PTO’s to catch up to NITEL. How will they lay cables, how will they find money, how will they recover investment, bla, bla. Well, ten years down the line the entire nation is covered by fibre optics and GLO has laid a submarine line to Europe and PTO capacity is forty times that of NITEL who has been in business since before independence. Shame on them. I bet if NITEL was asked to lay a sub-cable to Cotonou they will squander trillions, it will probably be abandoned and billionaires will be made overnight. Infact military men will be falling over themselves on who gets to take over government because of it. Corruption cake. Or are the bells of Siemens and Haliburton not still ringing (by the way is Dick Cheney going to be extradited to Nigeria – topic for another day).

Power infrastructure is not too difficult nor impossible. Telecoms has shown us that the private sector has the technology and can muster the resources to quad the capacity of NEKPA in a just a few years. As for tariffs competition will handle that. It will stimulate positive thinking. Who can get cheaper financing, cheaper gas, cheaper equipment, who has the better environmental plan, who can negotiate better with communities. Etc.

Leave them, nonsense, selfish dinosaurs.

See how bad it is, very bad. I tell you as I type power has gone off twice now (in ten minutes). My UPS is rattling. If it isn’t for personal investments in backups and storage. Mtchewww. Useless people.

I have no doubt it can be done. Its been done in the UAE and just next door in Lekki. The question remains for how long will it last. Everyone knows ALL island nations face the challenge of ocean level rises between 15 to 30 metres over the next 50 to 100 years. JUST HOW HIGH IS EKO ATLANTIC. No doubt most parts of Lekki have no long term future. In Eko Atlantic have these challenges been addressed. This is pertinent because heavy engineering is very, very difficult and improbably expensive to rectify once established.

My second question is access. Eko Atlantic will be expensive. And except we expect all Lagosians to move into a certain income bracket by the time this island is completed you will still have people pushing in the opposite direction - Ogun state while commuting across longer distances through more gridlock to work and serve the elite on this new island. I know some will say - fourth mainland bridge but consider that the Lekki corridor is growing, this may offer only temporary reprieve when completed. What plan does EKO ATLANTIC have for independent access from the mainland. I would not even speak of internal/city transportation, ecology, power and so on. Someone mentioned taxi drivers. I laugh. Why not add area boys to the mix. I hope it can do better after-all its a private initiative. Why not lay the foundations right away for real mass transit and legislate vehicular traffic to no more than 20% of the populated area.

Anyway good job. Hope for many more such projects. At least someone is thinking and acting. When you see Abuja gradually degenerating into a slum you come to understand that great development ideas and moves are best made by the private sector if and only if the Government creates the enabling environment. How I wish this can be replicated in the Niger-Delta where REAL investors seek to put their money in rather than exploit the land and people and take everything out.

This (let me not express myself freely) of a man can never change. It is always about his selfish, criminally inflated ego, not about zoning (then why not back Atickle to the end), his people nor this country. If he does not get his way he will take down everything around with him. No problem, the PDP has done enough damage anyway. If a Jonathan victory will broaden and deepen democracy I will consider it a good victory. The interests of the electorate MUST be placed above that of prospectors.

And the irony of the whole thing is that the CBN gov'nor speaking at Okada just a few days started this charge against legislators about their loot. Now tell me who the senator and legislator under whose radar both universities are. I will not be surprised if he was one of the most vocal castigators of the gov'nor.

At a top speed of almost one million naira a day each (senator and legislator). It is certain they could provide whatever infrastructure is needed to ameliorate the situation within a couple of weeks. And to think the dumb federal government is to establish six more mushrooms or is it anthills in each geo-zone. Tell me fellows, is someone really thinking in this country.

I'm really sorry for the victims here. I hope it will be short-lived but the silver lining is that the hardship is being felt by the youth. Let is be a time of sober reflection and boil to righteous anger against our so-called leaders. Corpers will play a major part in the forth-coming elections. I enjoin you to count it a privilege that you are in a position to right some wrongs having in mind your brothers and sisters that are stuck on the other side of the fence.

Are you talking of private jet. Was privileged to see one of his rigs when it came in for repairs a while ago. You'd be aghast what these fellows do with your money. Can't upload the pictures for obvious reasons. Only life imprisonment or demise will stop these fellows from enjoying their ill-gotten wealth. And our anti-corruption authorities will claim they don't know this and that.

I agree to all the posts so far. They are very true but the fact remains, the Federal Government remains in the best agent for change in the ND and this is simply because it pulls the purse strings and controls all the institutions about the region top to bottom. Whatever has become of the word accountability. Why can't they call they these public servants to account. If you or I was giving out billions monthly to quench a fire wouldn't we be interested in how the fireman was using it. Are the arms of law enforcement no longer Federal. How many of these people have the EFCC striped naked in the market place since 1999, none. When Odili's tenure was over, did the thief not run to Abuja.

This is the crux of the problem. If you truly give power to the people the people will hold them accountable. If you decide the outcome of elections in Wadata House, setup a Ministry of the Niger-Delta under the Presidency and share contracts amongst party faithfuls nationwide you're just wasting your time. The people cannot be fooled. They know who their true leaders are. Look at states that have anything close to the aspirations of the people like Lagos, they hardly complain. If it is good, it is Fashola, if it is bad it is Fashola. So the chap has no choice but to act.

It is not about multinationals or oil but who decides how they the people, live, work, marry, procreated and die. Right now the man is lying peacefully on his mat in his hut in the middle of the bush. Suddenly the door is kicked in, an Abuja man with a wad of papers, a white man in coveralls and a Mopol with an AK47 put an end to his lifestyle in the blink of an eye and you expect him to just wander to the next palm tree and only cry his eyes out.

He might just do that if he does not see exuberance displayed in a short while obviously at his expense.

Bolafex, well said. This country is littered with the corpses of doctors who killed many, lawyers that defended lawlessness, bankers that emptied our treasury instead of creating wealth, engineers of all shades that have individually and collectively destroyed Nigeria. Dead men still practicing their professions long after their reign of calumny. They should never be allowed to practice or offer their services for a fee, ever !!!.

These are the people that gave colour and credence to the likes of IBB and Abacha, the acceptable faces of the tyranical and grossly corrupt regimes. We will not forget the crimes the likes of the two "Dan's" perpetuated in NNPC.

Aondoakaa should console himself with community service for a season. Let him defend the defenseless for free, the down trodden in society and those he aided in enslaving by turning a blind eye to their tormentors so he may understand what oppression feels like.

Well I think change is only possible by those on the losing end and this is the political dynamic that has been haunting Nigeria. Power corrupts so you get more power. The assembly has grown in power and wealth proportionately. This is expected. Make life difficult for the executive arm and get money in return.

It will take the moral will of a highly disgruntled section of this country to effect change and only if that section is immune to the money bug. All current activism (save for tanker drivers) revolves around money so how can you effect change. Are we willing to resist salary increases and inflation infested stipends to force their hands on more pertinent matters such as the preservation of our collective wealth.

Militancy is defeated by money. Lecturers - money, students - money, unions - money, doctors - money. The national assembly is simply singing from the same hymn sheet. No one exercises his or her powers for the 'greater good'. Though great is his complaint, the fellow speaking is doing so because he is no longer there. Sanusi who spoke a few days ago has the purse strings of Nigeria under his watch. He can send a memo and place a wedge. After all these monies are earned and payed through banks he controls. But he can do nothing. We can do nothing because we all like money and they (the powers that be) know it.

We seriously need a moral renewal in this country. No constitution or institution can renew the mind as there is no such thing as an unbreakable lock. And because the locksmith is enticed by what lies in the vault it makes me believe sometimes that this country cannot be salvaged.

Though it can be potentially divisive, this is precisely why I will continue to respect governance in Lagos. It has given progressives this wisp of hope. You can challenge the centre when you have issues that bother you. Let this be clear. The tanker/road worthiness issue and the trailer/container issue is a huge problem in Lagos which the Federal Government through its agencies has so far failed to address. I could remember the timid attempts by the former Minister of Transport Allison Madueke to get trailers (going into Tincan) off the highway and the former Minister of Works (what was his name again) to get tankers off the expressway at Ogere. Both were half hearted measures. It took the States involved to organise real action.

The truth remains that he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches. If Niger-Delta state governments were more pro-active to exploitation and environmental degradation by multi-nationals decades ago perhaps this militancy problem would have been averted. Lagos state government will not wait till arms are taken up by its citizenry when they get periodically roasted or crushed by dilapidated trucks. Is it not at this time that the Federal Government has extended the age of imported vehicles from ten to fifteen years. Did they consult with Lagos State - the state with the highest vehicular density - before doing this. Did they consider that this could undermine the state's efforts in maintaining its burdensome infrastructure or protecting its environment.

No, they went ahead because they are the almighty FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. To me this arm is overrated, insensitive and useless; and every well meaning state governor and government should put its people and their interests first. Be it security in Aba, environmental/infrastructure in the ND or road traffic in Lagos.

I look forward to a 2011 where states will slowly and tacitly pull away from the centre. Federalism might not be realised through the barrel of the gun but it will come by sound reasoning. No one is saying stay away from Lagos but simply conform to its rules after all some northern states prohibit the sale of alcohol in public places and where is the hue and cry.

No surprises here. These things give reason to why we remain in a quagmire. Always placing individual interests over collective aspirations. When its time to return stolen mandates it will take years for justice to be done. When it is now time to prepare for proper elections judges are quick to scuttle it in the interest of a contractor.  The forces of darkness remain unrelenting.

Another sad story from what is fast becoming a degenerate society. You know this when gangs rule and intellectuals are shot, the end is definitely nigh. My condolences go out to his family and friends.

Why print money when you can print a picture of Buckingham Palace and live in it, or print a picture of our politicians behind bars or print a copy of my Nigerian Constitution and when you get tired and frustrated print a picture of a three-course meal including a chilled Bolinger 63.

Mtcheew, no go work.

Morning fellas, how was your night, hope you all slept well. Another day of deliberations and errr, 400 million for the national assembly.

And over the course of this same day the office of the finance minister will have shelled out another 960,000 to each clown to fund this drama. A cool 400 million gone today.

Guys if your figures (158 billion and 450 lawless men) are correct then it comes to something like 351 million naira per head over just twelve months or something like N 961,948.00 per head every blessed day of the year come rain or shine, strike or work, come fight, brawl or snore, come rigging or rigmarole. Really with a purse such as this to fund their excesses would you really say these fellows are in a position to truly represent your aspirations.

I salute the courage of the governor but the sad reality is that you can commit the whole budget of Lagos for the next ten years to road repairs and still not accomplish anything. Very few people realise that Lagos is a city out of economic control. The economy simply cannot sustain its inhabitants and its inherited infrastructure. The Federal Government has simply left an elephant and  given Lagosians a bag of nuts to feed it with. If tomorrow the FCT is stable and made a state who will maintain the massive interchanges and eight lane boulevards that have been built.

This is why Abuja like Lagos will become a future slum if our government continues to modernise without getting the economic balance right. The economies I speak of are people not places and things. If people remain poor how do they pay for the stuff they use (roads inclusive). Daily thousands of people move around the city not really contributing positively to its economy but seeking a means of survival. Thus infrastructure is not optimally utilised. How would the roads not go bad quickly.

It is another reason that I have never been in support of the creation of new state capitals or new territories because I believe they are artificial, unsustainable and economically disconnected from their inhabitants. People will build slums, tap electricity, clog gutters and ruin roads no matter what you legislate if they simply cannot afford better. So while we need infrastructure to prosper (comprehensively), we need to prosper to have and sustain the environment and infrastructure we have in particular.

Now by simply analogy if you equate two negatives you may end up with a positive. If you need good roads and you have a teeming unproductive populace why not engage the people directly in providing infrastructure. This is what most countries (who have passed through difficulties) have done. America during the great recession comes to mind. You pay people directly for the work (not bureaucratic engagement) while eliminating capital flight and minimising the corruption that comes from contracting. You get more value for your lean purse, the people are empowered and best of all they begin to appreciate what it takes to create and sustain their own prosperity.

Most who argue against this often wave the socialist or high tech card. They say we need capitalism and enterprise. Why should uneducated rough necks command the repair of roads, rail lines and airports. Yes capitalism could create wealth in good times but worldwide the people take charge to fill the gaps when capital is short or has failed completely.

I will also say two things in response. If we cannot do it we probably do not need it. Two if we cannot do it how will we ever appreciate and preserve it when it is done.

Of course every house should have a garage, a living room, a bed space, a kitchen and before I forget, a toilet. I dare you stop anyone from going there.

Crusufixo, I nope you're joking.

I really wish to know what goes on in these FEC meetings beyond contract approvals. Nigeria is degenerating into a contract economy. Quick bucks by allocation. When it was said in Gowon's time that our problem was not money but how to spend it, now I trully get the import. No suggestions on how to generate income, no meetings on how to put Nigerians to work - those are for Hilton talk shops, no brainstorming and retreats by our executhieves on how to turn allocation to production, no, it is all spend, spend, spend.

The reserves are gone, the debts are back and top leadership still meets on who to give money to buy plastic boxes, the job of the technical department of INEC. That is what 30 odd men and women of timberand calibre, the best brains in Nigeria and our hope for redemption met to decide. We are in a big mess.

Where are the 2007 boxes and why can't they be reused. Why can't we be ever accountable in our lives for once. What is wrong with us in this country.

What a waste.

Hmm, this is serious, so the value of my portfolio has halved and overnight I have become a fool and a sinner. For your information Image I called my brokers and reported you and they were all pleading for me not to listen to the naughty man. .
Chei, I actually feel foolish. But they told me tomorrow will be better.

My man if you need to know everything about everything in this life before you can be a saint then don't leave the house and don't bother to make money. Believe me in Nigerian finances one special adviser, one malam Sanusi, one Ndidi Okereke, one Erastus, one militant with a stick of dynamite can flatten your portfolio, melt your candles, redraw your charts and send you back to your village to farm before you can say kai barawo.

Talking of gamble who will you pay upfront for Nigerian crude, Shell or Henry Okah. Who is more reliable today. Do you know the effects on Nigeria, do you know that people have lost millions just like that.

Image, everyday millions wake up go out and take far reaching decisions backed up with the best knowledge, devices and goodwill yet some return angry at the end of the day.

Barca should beat almeria for many reasons just as gold should continue to rise because of fears over mounting goverment debts. But a mad Puyol or a crazy Bernanke can change everything in a flash before you can reach your laptop, power your platform and cancel the deal.

Yet another kwashiorkor decision. Pls, government we need planned policies and balanced decisions not garri and nuts always. Why not attack the problem from both ends. If I had a teeming cassava plantation that my cottage industry could not handle it would only make sense to expand capacity if I could sell the garri before it rots.

This sickening stockpile of graduates without jobs is like eating for days without a relief. The day it will blow, hmmm.

Or does the govt. not realise a good number are in school for want of other productive pursuits.

For their information the education that will free the bulk of Nigerians from ignorance is not tertiary but so basic that youth corpers can handle effectively over just a few years. But no, in Nigeria, the bigger the better.

If these universities will award degrees such as B.A. in anti-graft, B.Sc. in Legislators Excesses, M.Sc. in PDP deshackling then I would see reason. If not next topic.

Concensus candidate indeed. They can't even pretend to be democratic by electing a flagbearer. Everything must be underhanded, decided by the fewest number of people and obviously riddled with corruption. That is classic northern politics for you. Is Atickle really the peoples choice. If not they should forget the presidency. We donot want any feudalistic overlord.

Oga tickle, I salute your foresight. Even I couldn't see what is coming in the primaries.

Could remember the period a few months before the roll out having to make a four and half hour round trip from the Ranch to the exchange at Ikom just to call headoffice in Lagos. The long queue stretches out as early as 5am and as your turn approaches your heart is pounding that the spiritual dialling tone dosen't trip up on you of the boss is in the john.

Blasting past on my way to Abuja right now and replying this thread on my palms. Been on the field for a couple of weeks and as far as the net is concerned haven't missed my laptop one bit.

Wish we had a museum of contemporary ICT history where we could confine Nitel and those dingy 'cybercaves'. Sorry - cafes.

One of those iconic threads. A real mind bender. IMHO, 1. Any decision taken for gain without a control of the outcome is a gamble. Be it stocks, currencies, comodities, soccer matches, options, bingo, horse races, oil exploration or other activities that interface with nature.

Now if we believe gambling is a thoughtless exercise how would you compare me a novice who has lost a lot in the Nigerian stock and mutual funds market because I knew nothing. Am I a gambler or not. Now how do you compare me with those folks I know who know the premiership in and out that they win regularly or study advanced charts and can predict where the dollar, gold, pork bellies or platinum will be next week, or have such sharp intuition they will floor you in bridge, poker time after time.

Where is the line between skill, knowledge, effort and luck in all human endeavour and gain and where does gambling fit in.

For goodness sake am I gambling on MTN, Philips, Nissan, Aero, Dstv, IBTC/Stanbic, etc. How much of them do I/can I know before I try them for gain.

Over to you guys.

Bacteria will tnrive where it is neither too cold nor too hot. If he was in the west he will be explaining himself to a judge, if he was in the east he will do same in the grave. At least that's where all his 'friends' are.

Yes, 'sensible' people ask us why we are complaining 17 years after, but the water will taste funny if you defacate up stream and drink downstream. Haba, this is not rocket science.

Its one thing to have many suitors but the rate of divorce is alarming. Haba Celtel consider the children.