₦airaland Forum

With the kind of leaders we have in this country, who needs enemies. I mean look at the psycho they left to serve and protect us [shake head]

Until a fortnight ago, many
would have vowed that he
was no longer a policeman.
But controversial officer
Zakari Biu, recently
promoted Commissioner of
Police (CP) , has long been
‘secretly’ back in the force.
The escape of the Madalla
bombing suspect from his
custody has put the
enigmatic policeman to the
limelight. Will this be his
end? OLUKOREDE YISHAU
and OLUKAYODE THOMAS
write
He was a man after the
heart of Inspector-General
of Police Hafiz Ringim.
Zakari Biu, the embattled
police officer in charge of
terrorism in whose custody
a bombing suspect, Kabir
Sokoto, escaped two days
ago, was until this year a
Deputy Commissioner of
Police (DCP). Ringim
recommended him to the
Police Service Commission
(PSC) for promotion to
Commissioner of Police. The
PSC, after its 25th plenary
meeting, approved Ringim’s
recommendation. The
commission, in its wisdom,
also decided that Biu’s
promotion should take
effect from last December
15.
As the commission
announced Biu’s promotion
on New Year’s Day, it also
said nine other officers were
reprimanded. A Deputy
Superintendent of Police was
demoted to Assistant
Superintendent of Police for
conduct not expected of a
senior officer.
Its Chairman, Parry
Osayande, said the PSC
would always reward
diligence with elevation and
punish offenders. Less than
a month after it happily
promoted Biu, the
commission, most likely, will
have to review its decision,
with Biu’s alleged negligence
leading to the escape of a
suspect believed to be
central to the Madalla blast
in which scores died.
He is on suspension. Sadly
for him too, the officers,
whom he asked to escort the
suspect to his house before
his gang waylaid them and
set their colleague free, fled
yesterday, leaving Biu all
alone.
Like Ringim, Biu is due for
retirement next month. For
many who have had
encounters with him,
nemesis may be at work.
Under the regime of the late
Gen. Sani Abacha, the
embattled cop was terror
personified. As head of the
regime’s Presidential Task
Force on Terrorism, he
terrorised journalists and
human rights activists, who
he labeled terrorists.
Journalists on the stables of
The News, TSM and Tell
were the worse hit. The
publisher of the now rested
TSM, Chris Anyanwu, who is
now a senator, narrated how
Biu physically assaulted her
and practically got her eyes
permanently impaired.
Founder of the Oodua
Peoples Congress (OPC) Dr.
Frederick Fasehun, can
never forget Biu, whom he
told the Oputa Panel set up
by former President
Olusegun Obasanjo how the
embattled cop assaulted
him. Senator Babafemi
Ojudu, who was Managing
Editor of The News, said Biu
put a gun to his head,
threatening to blast his
brain.
The Borno-born cop is also
criticised over the death of a
reporter with The News,
Bagauda Kaltho.Biu claims
Kaltho was trying to
detonate a bomb in a hotel
and got killed in the process.
Kaltho’s widow was also
tricked by Biu to reveal
information about
Independent
Communications Nigeria
Limited (ICNL), publishers of
The News on the pretext of
reuniting her with her
husband. It turned out he
only deceived the woman, as
he used the information to
invade the magazine’s
offices, carting away its
property. Of course, he also
arrested workers found on
site during the raid. Biu’s
deceit became clear to Mrs.
Kaltho after the dreaded cop
announced her husband’s
death. He claimed a copy of
Wole Soyinka’s book, The
Man Died, was found at the
scene where Kaltho was
supposedly consumed by a
bomb he was trying to
detonate. Yet the book was
not defaced by the
explosion, which killed
Kaltho! His remains were
never released to his
family.
Biu, at a press conference
after Abacha’s death, said
Kaltho was the
“unidentified” person who
died while planting a bomb
which went off at Durbar
Hotel, Kaduna in January
1996. He then showed the
media a video recording of
the scene of the blast and
two photographs – one of a
charred body and another of
the journalist. Biu said he
“strongly suspects the
management of ICNL of
having connection with the
Durbar Hotel bombing or
else James Bagauda Kaltho .”
He later said Abacha’s Chief
Security Officer, Major
Hamza al-Mustapha , may
have been responsible for
Kaltho’s fate. “I have never
seen Kaltho in my life, either
alive or dead and don’t know
the whereabouts of Kaltho.
Only the Chief Security
Officer to the late Abacha,
Maj. Hamza al-Mustapha ,
can explain what happened
to Kaltho,” he said
When Biu appeared before
the panel, he refused to be
put on oath with the Holy
Quran, because “he is not
pure. ” He denied all the
allegations against him.
A retired Commissioner of
Police Abubakar Tsav, who
also appeared before the
panel, debunked Biu’s claim.
He said: “Everything he is
saying is not true. I mean
the evidence he gave in
respect of Bagauda Kaltho.
He said he got photographs
from the wife of Bagauda
Kaltho. He also said he got
reports from the SSS through
the Inspector-General of
Police, which said the person
who was killed in the bomb
blast at the Durbar Hotel
was Bagauda Kaltho. And he
said that he never met
Bagauda anywhere in his
life. Then how could he
come to that conclusion that
the man killed was Bagauda
Kaltho? He merely saw his
pictures …He (Biu) should be
in prison. As far as I’m
concerned, he is a prisoner
on parole. ”
James Danbaba, a colleague
of Biu, said Kaltho was
“summarily executed on the
orders of the Inspector-
General of Police, because
Kaltho was said to have
seen IGP Ibrahim Coomasie
suddenly collapse and was
foaming in the mouth.”
Danbaba added: “ The
journalist was ordered to be
arrested and executed
because of a disclosure that
he (Coomasie) is suffering
from epilepsy may
jeopardise the I GP’s well
preserved and seriously
guarded position and
ultimately lead to his
untimely retirement from
the police force.”
He added: “After the said
journalist, Bagauda Kaltho’s
summary execution, a bomb
was attached to his corpse
and detonated. I reliably
learnt that this was directed
at selling a story to the C-in-
C that a NADECO journalist
has died of a bomb explosion while attempting
to plant a bomb, thereby
finally covering their track
of having killed Bagauda
Kaltho and the reason for
his murder.”
After the death of Abacha,
his successor, Gen.
Abdulsalami Abubakar,
deemed it fit to ‘dash’ Biu a
national honour, a
development which irked
many of those who regarded
him as a brute.
In his book, Trials and
Triumphs: The Story of The
News, Dr. wale Adebanwi,
had harsh words for Biu.
Adebanwi said: “Zakari Biu,
Assistant Commissioner of
Police (ACP), the crude and
sadistic officer in charge of
the Presidential Task Force
on Terrorism, was probably
the best man for the
operation designed as the
“final solution” to the grave
problem posed by the ICNL
publications to the Abacha
regime. Biu was an officer
who represented the most
grotesque face of the Nigerian Police. He saw the
force as a repressive organ
of an unaccountable power.
And with the official bigotry
that not only sustained him
to the heights of the force,
anything that looked like
ethnocidal project excited
him.”
Former President Olusegun
Obasanjo, who was sent to
jail by the Abacha regime,
felt Biu was not fit for the
force. He was said to have
asked then Inspector-
General of Police Musiliu
Smith if the controversial
cop was still in the force,
after meeting him at a
function. Not long after this,
Biu was dismissed.
But, unknown to many, he
was long back. Soyinka, in an
interview in 2010, said he
was aware Biu had been
recalled. The Nobel laureate
said: “Zakari Biu was dismissed from the Nigeria Police and has been recalled
into the Nigeria Police Force,
despite his crimes against
humanity during Abacha’s
dictatorial rule by torturing
innocent citizens. He could
be likened to Charles Taylor
of Liberia. He is brute and
has no concern for
humanity. For his past
history, he should not be
trusted with any national
responsibility as he is
capable of causing
terrorism, which could
destroy the image of Nigeria.”
The Nation learnt that after
Obasanjo’s exit from power,
Biu petitioned the PSC. Mike
Okiro was the IGP then. Biu
said he was retired without
getting a fair hearing. He
argued that by law, only the
commission could fire him.
Osayande saw merit in his
case and ordered his recall.
The then Public Relations
Officer, Emmanuel Ojukwu,
said: “Biu is back in the Force as his name had never
been removed from the
Police register. Biu is now an
instructor at the Police
Academy in Wudil, Kano
State.”
Ringim’s emergence as IGP
paid off for Biu, as he was
entrusted with curbing
terrorism, which in the
country is synonymous with
an insurgent group, Boko
Haram, whose root is deep
in Borno, Biu’s home state.
Now he may have got his
fingers burnt. Only a few are
weeping with him.

PointB:
'Youths in the town spotted him and attacked the police team. Sokoto was freed by the youths.'

What does the above mean? Does it imply grassroots support for Boko Haram? Or are the youth of the town in habit of freeing suspects in police custody?

something is very wrong here. A very bad message that'd the youths of the town support the killing of southerners and bombing of churches. In orders words they aid and abet terrorists!

See what I mean, another gullible one here.

The funny thing is if they ever do defeat BH, GEJ and his troupe of morons will take all the praise ( e.g look at the way Obasanjo and these fools are so quick to boast about the mobile revolution as if they were the ones that invented Nokia).
But this failing and every other one will always be someone else's fault (which is simply code for the Nigerian people, represented by those alleged "youths" in this situation).

Dis Guy:
_{would be interesting to read the Igbo equivalent, yoruba equivalent (those in government)}

Don't know about the Igbos but in Yorubaland this a sad era for political leadership.

There is obviously no living old school political leader that can even be compared with Buhari; and here I mean as someone the masses truly admire and will follow.

As for the yuppies like Sanusi and co, we have a few, with the most prominent obviously being Fashola, but it's safe to say no self respecting Yorubaman would lose a hair for someone whose actions have shown him to be nothing more than a glorified houseboy. Anyway I'm not sure any Northern Youth would lose hair over Sanusi and co either.

I guess it's just that political leaders in Nigeria do not understand the worth of sacrifice, and as long as Buhari remains the only leader who's been there, done that and still lives like a middle class civil servant, he'll continue to get the true empathy, respect and love of the people.

Gekko:
Meanwhile Ribadu is in Kabul doing serious work while these men are seeking each others affection, bunch of useless whores. these guys are violating our anti-gay laws someone needs to look into this.

lol

Jarus:
I will also prefer a Buhari to any of them, for maturity and experience.

What about for justice sake? Like I said earlier I believe that if Nigerians do not get justice, and get it soon, I honestly believe we will not be talking about a "Nigeria" in the not too distant future.

Jarus:
Now, let me set the ball rolling with my own perception:

I will rank them based on these criterias and brief comments on the ranking

1, Integrity: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I find disturbing the revelation that some lands were allocated by el-Rufai to relatives

2, Patriotism: Ribadu>Sanusi>el-Rufai: Ribadu is very passionate about this country, and for singularly stopping Obj from installing Peter Odili, I see him as most patriotic;

3, Nationalism: Ribadu>el-Rufai>Sanusi: Sanusi identifies too much with his Fulani background, though not bad, but earns him my least mark.

4, Intellectual depth: Sanusi>el-Rufai>Ribadu: el-Rufai had a First in Qty Surveying from ABU, but hey, Sanusi, to me, is too deep to ignore. The guy is wide read and easily earns my top shot here.

5, Courage: Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: Tight one here. Sanusi fought banking cabals, Ribadu fought political cabals and el-Rufai bulldozed Abuja to masterplan, but I will give it to Sanusi because unlike a strongman Obj that supported the latter duo, SLS did not have a too strong presidential backing

6, Consistency Sanusi>Ribadu>el-Rufai: I have issue with Ribadu's association with Tinubu after calling him a thief of international dimension(or word to that effect); I'm not too comfortable with el-Rufai's changing statements too. SLS gets the prize here, for me. He walks his talk.

Pretty good Jarus, I concur with your rankings.

As for 2015, I'd want none of them to get the top job. Why? Because I'm now convinced more than ever that Nigeria needs justice more than any other thing and I'm not sure any of them is mature enough or in the right position in life to provide it.

Personally I'd love if Buhari took another swing.

dustydee:
fighting to be El Rufai's friend.  

El Ruffie got game baby

Meddler:
Oh lookie lookie. Clap for urself Deep Sight. Apparently spelling and grammar are now one and the same. I'm glad you passed through 6 years of secondary school and x amount of yrs at tertiary education. Mumu

Kindly take correction and shut it woman.

"Spelling" has and will always be part of English grammar so stop clutching at straws.

Katsumoto:
Speech by Chief Obafemi Awolowo made to the Western leaders of thought, in Ibadan, 1 May 1967. (quoted in "Crisis and Conflict in Nigeria (Volume 1), January 1966-July 1971" by A. H. M. Kirk-Greene. )

The aim of a leader should be the welfare of the people whom he leads. I have used 'welfare' to denote the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the people. With this aim fixed unflinchingly and unchangeably before my eyes I consider it my duty to Yoruba people in particular and to Nigerians in general, to place four imperatives before you this morning. Two of them are categorical and two are conditional. Only a peaceful solution must be found to arrest the present worsening stalemate and restore normalcy. The Eastern Region must be encouraged to remain part of the Federation. If the Eastern Region is allowed by acts of omission or commission to secede from or opt out of Nigeria, then the Western Region and Lagos must also stay out of the Federation. The people of Western Nigeria and Lagos should participate in the ad hoc committee or any similar body only on the basis of absolute equality with the other regions of the Federation.

I would like to comment briefly on these four imperatives. There has, of late, been a good deal of sabre rattling in some parts of the country. Those who advocate the use force for the settlement of our present problems should stop a little and reflect. I can see no vital and abiding principle involved in any war between the North and the East. If the East attacked the North, it would be for purpose of revenge pure and simple. Any claim to the contrary would be untenable. If it is claimed that such a war is being waged for the purpose of recovering the real and personal properties left behind in the North by Easterners two insuperable points are obvious. Firstly, the personal effects left behind by Easterners have been wholly looted or destroyed, and can no longer be physically recovered. Secondly, since the real properties are immovable in case of recovery of them can only be by means of forcible military occupation of those parts of the North in which these properties are situated. On the other hand, if the North attacked the East, it could only be for the purpose of further strengthening and entrenching its position of dominance in the country.

If it is claimed that an attack on the East is going to be launched by the Federal Government and not by the North as such and that it is designed to ensure the unity and integrity of the Federation, two other insuperable points also become obvious. First, if a war against the East becomes a necessity it must be agreed to unanimously by the remaining units of the Federation. In this connection, the West, Mid- West and Lagos have declared their implacable opposition to the use of force in solving the present problem. In the face of such declarations by three out of remaining four territories of Nigeria, a war against the East could only be a war favoured by the North alone. Second, if the true purpose of such a war is to preserve the unity and integrity of the Federation, then these ends can be achieved by the very simple devices of implementing the recommendation of the committee which met on August 9 1966, as reaffirmed by a decision of the military leaders at Aburi on January 5 1967 as well as by accepting such of the demands of the East, West, Mid-West and Lagos as are manifestly reasonable, and essential for assuring harmonious relationships and peaceful co-existence between them and their brothers and sisters in the North.

Some knowledgeable persons have likened an attack on the East to Lincoln's war against the southern states in America. Two vital factors distinguish Lincoln's campaign from the one now being contemplated in Nigeria. The first is that the American civil war was aimed at the abolition of slavery - that is the liberation of millions of Negroes who were then still being used as chattels and worse than domestic animals. The second factor is that Lincoln and others in the northern states were English-speaking people waging a war of good conscience and humanity against their fellow nationals who were also English speaking. A war against the East in which Northern soldiers are predominant, will only unite the Easterners or the Ibos against their attackers, strengthen them in their belief that they are not wanted by the majority of their fellow-Nigerians, and finally push them out of the Federation.

We have been told that an act of secession on the part of the East would be a signal, in the first instance, for the creation of the COR state by decree, which would be backed, if need be, by the use of force. With great respect, I have some dissenting observations to make on this declaration. There are 11 national or linguistic groups in the COR areas with a total population of 5.3 millions. These national groups are as distinct from one another as the Ibos are distinct from them or from the Yorubas or Hausas. Of the 11, the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group are 3.2 million strong as against the Ijaws who are only about 700,000 strong. Ostensibly, the remaining nine national group number 1.4 millions. But when you have subtracted the Ibo inhabitants from among them, what is left ranges from the Ngennis who number only 8,000 to the Ogonis who are 220,000 strong. A decree creating a COR state without a plebiscite to ascertain the wishes of the peoples in the area, would only amount to subordinating the minority national groups in the state to the dominance of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. It would be perfectly in order to create a Calabar state or a Rivers state by decree, and without a plebiscite. Each is a homogeneous national unit. But before you lump distinct and diverse national units together in one state, the consent of each of them is indispensable. Otherwise, the seed of social disquilibrium in the new state would have been sown.

On the other hand, if the COR State is created by decree after the Eastern Region shall have made its severance from Nigeria effective, we should then be waging an unjust war against a foreign state. It would be an unjust war, because the purpose of it would be to remove 10 minorities in the East from the dominance of the Ibos only to subordinate them to the dominance of the Efik/Ibibio/Annang national group. I think I have said enough to demonstrate that any war against the East, or vice versa, on any count whatsoever, would be an unholy crusade, for which it would be most unjustifiable to shed a drop of Nigerian blood. Therefore, only a peaceful solution must be found, and quickly too to arrest the present rapidly deteriorating stalemate and restore normalcy.

With regard to the second categorical imperative, it is my considered view that whilst some of the demands of the East are excessive within the context of a Nigerian union, most of such demands are not only wellfounded, but are designed for smooth and steady association amongst the various national units of Nigeria.

The dependence of the Federal Government on financial contributions from the regions? These and other such like demands I do not support. Demands such as these, if accepted, will lead surely to the complete disintegration of the Federation which is not in the interest of our people. But I wholeheartedly support the following demands among others, which we consider reasonable and most of which are already embodied in our memoranda to the Ad Hoc Committee,

* That revenue should be allocated strictly on the basis of derivation; that is to say after the Federal Government has deducted its own share for its own services the rest should be allocated to the regions to which they are attributable.

* That the existing public debt of the Federation should become the responsibility of the regions on the basis of the location of the projects in respect of each debt whether internal or external.

* That each region should have and control its own militia and police force.

* That, with immediate effect, all military personnel should be posted to their regions of origin,

If we are to live in harmony one with another as Nigerians it is imperative that these demands and others which are not related, should be met without further delay by those who have hitherto resisted them. To those who may argue that the acceptance of these demands will amount to transforming Nigeria into a federation with a weak central government, my comment is that any link however tenuous, which keeps the East in the Nigerian union, is better in my view than no link at all.

Before the Western delegates went to Lagos to attend the meetings of the ad hoc committee, they were given a clear mandate that if any region should opt out of the Federation of Nigeria, then the Federation should be considered to be at an end, and that the Western Region and Lagos should also opt out of it. It would then be up to Western Nigeria and Lagos as an independent sovereign state to enter into association with any of the Nigerian units of its own choosing, and on terms mutually acceptable to them. I see no reason for departing from this mandate. If any region in Nigeria considers itself strong enough to compel us to enter into association with it on its own terms, I would only wish such a region luck. But such luck, I must warn, will, in the long run be no better than that which has attended the doings of all colonial powers down the ages. This much I must say in addition, on this point. We have neither military might nor the overwhelming advantage of numbers here in Western Nigeria and Lagos. But we have justice of a noble and imperishable cause on our side, namely: the right of a people to unfettered self-determination. If this is so, then God is on our side, and if God is with us then we have nothing whatsoever in this world to fear.

The fourth imperative, and the second conditional one has been fully dealt with in my recent letter to the Military Governor of Western Nigeria, Col. Robert Adebayo, and in the representation which your deputation made last year to the head of the Federal Military Government, Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon. As a matter of fact, as far back as November last year a smaller meeting of leaders of thought in this Region decided that unless certain things were done, we would no longer participate in the meeting of the ad hoc committee. But since then, not even one of our legitimate requests has been granted. I will, therefore, take no more of your time in making further comments on a point with which you are well familiar. As soon as our humble and earnest requests are met, I shall be ready to take my place on the ad hoc committee. But certainly, not before.

In closing, I have this piece of advice to give. In order to resolve amiably and in the best interests of all Nigerians certain attributes are required on the part of Nigerian leaders, military as well as non-military leaders alike, namely: vision, realism and unselfishness. But above all , what will keep Nigerian leaders in the North and East unwaveringly in the path of wisdom, realism and moderation is courage and steadfastness on the part of Yoruba people in the course of what they sincerely believe to be right, equitable and just. In the past five years we in the West and Lagos have shown that we possess these qualities in a large measure. If we demonstrate them again as we did in the past, calmly and heroically, we will save Nigeria from further bloodshed and imminent wreck and, at the same time, preserve our freedom and self-respect into the bargain.

May God rule and guide our deliberations here, and endow all the Nigerian leaders with the vision, realism, and unselfishness as well as courage and steadfastness in the course of truth, which the present circumstances demand. "

Undoubtedly my favourite Awolowo speech, I mean the agony and torment is so omnipresent in it, it's almost poetic. This is what real leadership and service should look like.

oiseworld:
BUT WAIT OH WITH ALL SINCERITY @ POSTER YOU MUMU YOURSELF.

PALLIATIVE AS USED MEANS, THE PRICE AT N97 IS JUST TO EASE THE BURDEN ON THE MASSES, NOT THE SOLUTION. THE SOLUTION IS TO REMOVE SUBSIDY.

THEREFORE FOR THE COUNTRY TO SURVIVE, WE SHOULD BE EXPECTING A TOTAL REMOVAL SOON.

The solution to ease the burden of the masses is to fully remove subsidy eh?? FFS,

Anyway the word was first used before, during and after FULL deregulation was being implemented.

I just hope you don't go abroad spitting "KAABAAL" everywhere as they might all think we're quite feverent fans of Mortal Kombat in Nigeria.

Since that inauspicicous day in October 1960 Nigerians have refused to speak English properly and I use to think it was done on purpose as an expression of lingering protest or something radically akin.

Though since then I have learnt that our inherent inability to converse properly in the global language of choice stems from that uniquely Nigerian trait that demands showing off at any conceivable time by any conceivable means no matter how ridiculous or inappropriate .

I honestly believe a Nigerian could take a poo,compare it with his neighbor's and boast his was the lighter one.

It's obvious 'alleviate' was the word intended but when dealing with arrogant dunces (as this forum clearly show) simplicity will always be despised and correction spat on.

I'm off to Cediland ftw.

Kai :shakehead: may God in his infinite mercy deliver you from whatever is afflicting you, Amen.

kingoflag:
No its not; wrong usage!

But, carry on, I don't want to derail.

There was little wrong with his first use and his second example is the most common way you'll find salaries expressed in the UK.

Seems teacher might need to update his textbooks.

Nchara:
^^^^
And Awolowo (Oba of Yorubas) served under an illiterate northern officer (Gowon)
And Awolowo and the Yorubas joined the North to kill Igbos
And Bakare served Buhari
And Fola Adeola (a seasoned banker) served a mere Police Officer, Ribadu
And Dayokanu is serving me too

Your level of education is quite alarming, I mean if ever I saw a case for the reapplication of fuel subsidy funds to education, then here it is, kai!!!
SE=SS
Gowon= illiterate
SE= resource rich lol/ champion of resource control

Kai!!

So pro-suffering eediots, what did the original poster say that was actually wrong? More than 90% of nigerians eat a good meal for less than 200 naira as he indicated, but seeing as most of you cultist fled the country before doing nysc how would you know.
Anyway she should know what the proper price of a plate is for the vast majority of the country seeing as her policies directly affect that. I'm sure even Obama knows what a bucket costs in KFC.

Lol u no try o, u suppose put small description nna

Well done Omo_Tier_ 1, you sir have eloquently sent the message to the mods about the bias of their FP, and on their part they have finally accepted it and explained why.
IMHO though seemingly done for benevolent reasons, the disproportionate skew on the FP, still is what it says on the tin, disproportionate, and thus it's benevolence will always be questionable. But i guess we'll have to agree to disagree, well done mods anyway.

Thanks mod for explaining partly but why do pro government topics, and especially ones by that thing called 'Beaf' get disproportionate coverage on the front page?
I mean anyone who makes the mistake of only checking the front page (something i use to do) will come out with a skewed perception of things in Nigeria. I mean take the fuel subsidy for instance, pre 2012 NLs frontpage made it look like it was 50-50 support, which was clearly deceptive once i checked the full politics section. Why such favourable publicity for such an unpopular policy?

Remii:
Lagbaja, I am sorry to say that almost all your answers are based on ceteris paribus but in Nigeria all things are never equal. Only Yar Adua have ever reduced price of fuel, and Naira is not getting stronger anytime soon, not with so much importations by all and every sectors of economy.

His analysis is so laughingly naive that it's pretty embarrassing, but i'm sure his secondary school economics teacher will be proud somewhere. But instead of waisting keystrokes taking his simplistic theory apart, i think we should exercise Patience Jonathan and agree to convene back at this spot in 3 months time. Remember, cheaper fuel and stronger naira in 3 months time, bump.

'These are necessary shortterm sacrifices we must make to reach paradise'- that is what they will say, since that is what they have been fed .
Funnily this is the same line a babyfaced Boko bomber is being fed by his cell leader, probably while the latter is contemplating the next wife he's going to marry.

[quote author=alj_harem link=topic=836786.msg9877532#msg9877532 date=1325468489]the country and nairaland are JOKES and as such people need to start acting like jokers.

gbamm but why

a beg remove the subsidy and let fuel rise to 200 naira a litre, we need it for the FG to build more schools, roads etc [/quote]I hate this government with a passion, but i think despise nigerians even more! A people who God has given so much but are so intrinsically petty, that they seem unable to ever make the right decision no matter how many chances they are given, due to the same jealousies of the 60s. We never learn, we have no standards and thus our merry-go-round continues. And while slumbering another beacon of the black race, Brazil, overtakes UK as the 6th largest economy in the world. should a Brazil be more united than us?

Obiagu1:
We are over 1 million people living in Abuja. They can do their job if they want to.

Let there be a revolution but not about subsidy removal. Subsidy removal is essential for the survival of our economy; we don't have more to 3 years to survive with subsidy still in place.
IBB is there, burn down his house and kill him.
OBJ, Atiku, Tinubu, Mbadinuju, Odili, etc. We all know where they live!

Oh, but people who budget 1 billion naira of our money to buy akara are not corrupt and should be spared eh? May God remove the mote from our eyes in 2012.

Obiagu1:
Now is the time for everyone to come out and fight against corruption in the government, in the senate, everywhere in Nigeria and not fight over things that are necessary like subsidy removal and forget things that are more important like corruption!

Abeg oga, which fuel u wan use reach Abuja?? Okaaaay,  no be return journey

Can you see the stupidity of this government, they can't even afford to pay 18000 and by the time Labour have finnished with them this year, minimum wage will be substantially more. This is where our subsidy savings is going to go to . . . but don't worry we'll find that out at the end ofthe budget year. . . and we've not even started talking about the devaluation the naira will go through this year. . . to think any secondary school economist could have predicted this. But i bet you they will be blaming everyone else, including the pope for their failings.

I can't really understand Nigerians, just look at the list!! For a country known for our prowess in 419 and all things associated with deception, you'd think we'd be able to spot a scam artist a mile away . . . .look at that list. . . .Practically everything their is cosmetic, very little policy thrust . . . . and these are the same people that watched all the Obama debates spellbound. . . . educated illiterates
!

It's practically been 8 months, and not one of those over 30 promises have been met yet.
This is what happens when any people are stupid enough to vote on predominantly ethnic and religious sentiments. Goodluck Nigerians, goodluck.

Villain= GEJ
Heroes= Those corpers that served in the north for an inherently ungrateful country

@ Lagbaja
What needs? What needs did the farmer need to borrow for that surpassess the need for food? I ask would the farmer's family die if he doesn't pay school fees or buy them new clothes? So your advice to him is to keep the money, let his family starve to death first and then educate and clothe the corpses.
And this is what people like you don't get, we are not angry about paying more for fuel, we are angry about what paying drastically more for fuel is going to do to the price of bread, garri, unemployment, a simple haircut at the barbers etc. This policy will definitely be more fatal to the majority of poor massess with overwhelmingly fixed incomes than the fairytale obese middleclass brothers that you dream about.

Now to all my true brothers and sisters, understanding the price of petrol is not rocket science and doesn't take a phd. The authentic physical cost of petrol remains the costs of all that is needed to bring what God has given us in our land, to the fueling stations- and yes after dividing that by the amount of barrels that we produce it won't take a genius to realise that it is probably less than N40. In fact any economist worth his salt will tell you that the real price of fuel would still be lower than the lowest price you have ever seen quoted for it in the international market- so lets say something like 15 dollars a barrel. So the fact that fuel is currently trading at 100 dollars plus in the international market is not the physical cost of fuel but the opportunity cost to the whole of Nigeria, note i did not say nigerian government - so we can choose to accept that price or not. Finally with a simplistic example, imagine one is a farmer and you grow the last yams in the world. There is a famine, no other food available but your yams and thus the market price is now a 1000 dollars for them- was that the physical cost you incurred in bringing forth the yams? Anyway you decide to sell them all because of greed and then realise your family is starving because their is no other food available- you go back to the market to purchase the yams and obviously you end up spending more or getting less than what you initially produced. This inefficient clueless farmer is our government, the only difference is our government does it on purpose because it despises it's family.

Now to all my true brothers and sisters, understanding the price of petrol is not rocket science and doesn't take a phd. The authentic physical cost of petrol remains the costs of all that is needed to bring what God has given us in our land, to the fueling stations- and yes after dividing that by the amount of barrels that we produce it won't take a genius to realise that it is probably less than N40. In fact any economist worth his salt will tell you that the real price of fuel would still be lower than the lowest price you have ever seen quoted for it in the international market- so lets say something like 15 dollars a barrel. So the fact that fuel is currently trading at 100 dollars plus in the international market is not the physical cost of fuel but the opportunity cost to the whole of Nigeria, note i did not say nigerian government - so we can choose to accept that price or not. Finally with a simplistic example, imagine one is a farmer and you grow the last yams in the world. There is a famine, no other food available but your yams and thus the market price is now a 1000 dollars for them- was that the physical cost you incurred in bringing forth the yams? Anyway you decide to sell them all because of greed and then realise your family is starving because their is no other food available- you go back to the market to purchase the yams and obviously you end up spending more or getting less than what you initially produced. This inefficient clueless farmer is our government, the only difference is our government does it on purpose because it despises it's family.

dmainboss:
You are a funny guy, really! What 40 head start? Have you been living in Ukraine? We are on minus headstart! With refineries nearing 40 years and no proper turn around for same period, you say we have a headstart? You must be in dreamland. The truth is, it might be cheaper to actually start from scrath right now than to rely on the silly infrastructure we have! Haba!!

It's not your fault,  It's the people who sent you that i blame, but i continue to pray to the Almighty that you all and your children will reap what you have sown and hopefully Nigerians as a whole get a glimpse of it.