₦airaland Forum

Amaechi


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWEFMhHyNOw&feature=player_detailpage

Listen to the commentary on power

Godswill Akabio


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjUtA22gE74&feature=player_detailpage

"Stand somewhere and hit your chest"
LOOOL Too funny. Like this guy.

Power outage did not "mar" the summit. It was a good thing it happened, making the very reason for lholding the summit more poignnt than longing standing speeches and pontifications ever could.

[flash]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGFfX9hIGbw[/flash]

interesting. A bit relieved to actually hear Oshiomole talk. He definitely set the right tone that was more about the fundamentals of the state of things (as opposed to the well intentioned chest beating of the other governors).
They aren't the pictures sometimes painted and yes I do agree (something I have been shouting till I got bored off doing it), we need to hold congress to greater account.

Wake us up when it happens

Nigeria is an emotionally abusive mother with mental problems who refuses to accept she has problems and take medications from her children who left to abandonment, managed to find a way against all odds to better themselves and come back with hopes of letting the past be the past and helping mummy get better.

You can force a horse to the stream . . . . . .
For how long will the children which she never appreciated to begin with continue to try? Wouldn't there ever be an argument for leaving her to her delusionary exhalted fate as a village champion if that is what would make her happy?

Sugardiva: Creating dis topic is as Nigerian as it gets. Useless drama over stupidity. U can burn d passport but how do u burn the Nigeria frm ur blood? U bleed green get used to it! The only thing is ure nt worthy of the green that runs thru ur blood.

Worthy of what? Corruption and appaling governance? Delusions of grandeur, funny thread indeed.

Desola: Au contraire mon frere, medical records are the most sacred to a person and should not be disclosed to anyone. You cannot equate it to a birth certificate as the daft interviewer suggested. Birth details are publicly available unlike medical records. I think that his answer couldn't be more apt.

He is a public official, not a private citizen. . .

Took a lot of patience to watch through that. . . . . What a waste of my time. This is what this man has been troubling himself with? International convention for naming of states.
On the other hand - "politics is contest for power and territory" (Aregbesola). A very scary quote indeed.

These promises are beginning to give headache. It might be better to not say anything and just deliver, we will see for ourselves. Meanwhile, what is the opposition doing? They won't make anymoves till 3 days to election and then expect to pry presidency from a better established party by magic. Short term thinking might just be the death of this country.

The handling of this whole subsidy fiasco deserves to be the defining moment of this administration. The damage to trust of the citizenry (which has always been meagre at best) and any goodwill the administration currently enjoys might be irreparable.

To think that we were almost sold on removing the subsidy completely with promises of change, only to mismanage the "savings" accrued and mishandle the sacrifice and trust of the citizenry, then have the audacity to attempt a play at cover up when it is time to set things right would be a new low in a country where I was beginning to think it was impossible to sink further into immorality and the corruption quagmire we face.

But to be honest my anger would not be directed at Jonathan if this all fares badly. It would be at an incompetent opposition (and by extension populace) that can never seem to do away with pettiness, and take advantages of the unshakeable feeling of disenfranchisement the citizenry feels to provide a truly viable alternative. Sadly, I don't really see a viable alternative.

Been hearing this since 19 bugudum. Call me when it starts

[quote author=Nwa_Nimo]Re: Anyone who does not pay taxes has no right to demand better infrastructure, or education, or power, etc, PERIOD. Those things don't come from thin air,.....blah blah blah.

Going back to the oil revenue thing - isn't it what they are meant to have done over the many decades we've been selling oil?

What makes you think 'tax money' will provide these things?

That oil money they've been dividing amongst themselves should have been spent on Nigeria and its people.

Until we have a govt that people can trust the issue of taxes should be forgotten.

And I have asked the question - how much does a politician pay in taxes?

Its a known fact that wherever you go in the world - the rich dodge taxes and its the poor man that pay's the most.

There is enough hardship and inequality in Nigeria already - taxing the poor masses will make this worse.

GEK/Okonjo Iweala are evil[/quote]I think even you realise you don't have leg to stand on with this position of yours. Again, you can criticise the implementation, but saying you wouldn't pay tax because you don't think they would spend the money well can be used to justify not paying taxes because one does not support the party in power. Where does it say in the article that the tax only applies to the poor? Anyone who does not pay tax has no justification for complaining about lack of development, PERIOD.

You cannot keep on going back to oil money not spent wisely in the past to justify tax dodging now, I could easily have asked you what the citizenry has done to ensure that it is better spent now. But of course you'd rather tow the line that involves you paying nothing for all those dreams you habour for Nigeria. We might keep getting the same plroblem , but what have the people done different?

And out of interest, how much money do you think needs to be spent on say power to give Nigeria the generating capacity it requires to provide for the whole country, I am really curious. Do you think last year's budget even covers it? Please stop with these embarassing arguments, I think Nigerians might sometimes suffer from delusions of grandeur about the country. Being rich in potential does not make one rich. Power sector needs attention, so does education, infrastructure, economy, police, military, etc. And you think that could be directly paid for with the chicken change we get from selling crude oil in a country of over 140million? Are you kidding me?

[quote author=Nwa_Nimo]^^^^^^^^

Silly people - Does the govt spend oil revenues honestly?

And your keen to hand over your hard earned cash.

GEJ/Okonjo Iweala are swindlers.

Anyone eager to pay taxes to this govt should just go and burn their money.[/quote]If the people are not happy with the way they are governed or their cash is spent, then the people should get more involved in civic and political life to change things to work for them, that should not exclude you from your civic duties. Because going by that, I could decide not to pay taxes to a dispensation simply because I don't like them or they are not the party I voted for. Anyone who does not pay taxes has no right to demand better infrastructure, or education, or power, etc, PERIOD. Those things don't come from thin air, and you can't be shouting in an 'I deserve it/it is my right' tone when you are not willing to pay for development. That is not how it works. Nigerians need to stop being so politically lazy and cowardly. Instead of changing things to work better you would rather shout about not having what you have not paid for, and you think it makes sense? In fact just for the sake of democrasy everybody should be taxed. If that makes people more interested in what their money is spent on and causes them to ask questions to that effect then GOOD!

BlackPikiN: I left naija yesterday.

Funny

If this has become a viable alternative then GREAT NEWS. I am a strong proponent for public transport, but would also be curious to see conditions inside the trains. There is obviously a demand so hopefully this would spur expansion - or the railway sector might just be another area crying for privatisation (with significant regulations on pricing)

[quote author=Nwa_Nimo]GEJ + Okonjo Iweala = Pure Evil.

How much more can nigerians take?

How much does a politician pay in taxes?

Bunch of rogues - Nigerians must resist becuase what they are doing is unlawful.

Where does it state within the constitution that Nigerian citizens are required to pay tax?[/quote]Nothing wrong in paying taxes, and Nigerians should start getting used to the idea of paying for the future they aspire towards. I would actually like to know how much money the federal government gets from tax from the whole country because I don't think it is that much. Development isn't cheap and costs money. Education isn't cheap, neither is power or infrastructure. The implementation of this in itself might be open to criticism, but we can't keep shouting about every single development being evil because we don't want to pay for stuff unless we really really really have to, then expect quality to appear from thin air.

You really can't please everyone. We have been calling for a leaner, less expensive federal government. Just wondering what we all thought that meant when we were crying for it? ? ? ? ?

lond07:
This was a very big MISTAKE on the part of these killers. Handling him to the police would have assisted to smoke out their sponsors. If the IG of police and a Police Commisioner could loose their jobs on the recent poor handling of suspects, then the police have showed us enough to trust them in the handling of this matter.
Their sponsors are still alive somewhere and will more likely be planning resprisal attacks. The church members have only succeeded to expose themselves to more dangers. Very silly thing for them to have done

No they have not!! What happened to the commisioner of police embroiled in the escape of Sokoto? Sacking should be the start and not the end in itself, if there is a case to answer there is a case to answer, sacked or not.

coogar:
what the worshippers did was the right thing to do. suicide bombers don't get the normal treatment other criminals get.
even in the uk, they get shot in the head once it's confirmed they carry bombs. you want to read rights to a suicide bomber or what? the nigerian police would have shot him as well and the ones who are taken to the police station still escape.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/nigeria/9086572/200-suspected-Islamist-gunmen-freed-in-Nigeria-prison-break.html

the above is a link to a news reported barely 2 weeks ago.
200 boko haram suspects were released back to the streets by their fellow bombers.
so i ask - what's the point in sparing their lives when we know we live in a corrupt system where these herdsmen would come back to kill more.

Was not concerned with legality but the context (it is a church). You might see it as being okay for them to kill but I don't see it that way. What I think is important for me is that I understand why they did it.

Let us all pray we are never in such a situation. However, I find the sanctimonious undertones in some commentary a tad irritating. Was what the worshippers did wrong? I will say yes. Would the bomber have been more useful alive? Perhaps yes (if the police did not do their magic). However were the actions of those paticular worshippers that clubbed their fellow human being to death understandable? Given the circumstances I will say absolutely yes. And that is the key thing.

It does not justify what they did but unless an attempt has ever been made on your life and others in a congregation that perhaps has your whole family in it including your children, I think you might want to just calm down a little. I can definitely understand the ire the suicide bomber drew. Would I have done the same? I would like to think not, but again, I definitely understand. Imagine someone wanting to kill your whole family in one go, imagine if he actually killed one or two and you caught the guy fleeing. You really think handing the man over to the police so they can extract information from him would be the first thing on your mind. I could even totally understand if they didn't actually want to kill him but just wanted to beat him a bit.

It is a shame, but this is the state of things in the country. And in Jos for that matter, a city that has known sooo much pain and sorrow in the hands of such people. Men, I definitely understand. The people need healing. . .

HNosegbe:
Story story, story.

How about some friendly advice, please, stop giving us promises for now, deliver first and then show us what you've done. Then we can believe whatever promises you spew out.

No results, no trust. Its that simple.

I concur, that is currently where my head is at with all things federal government. There is an immense trust deficit between government and the people and promises we've all heard many times over will not efface it, solid results will. No more blind promises (it is irritating), deliver or shut up. All I want to be hearing about is progress updates on solutions already being implemented, not lofty plans to start the process of implementing.

Tell us when it is done or started. Tired of hearing the same "plans" to start planning to do the same things over and over and over and over and over again. Niigeria and its perpetual deja vu, what have we not heard before? If "plans" could build a nation . . . .

I am quite curious, is the anger about fear that the money would be misused, or that the cost is too high (I am quite curious). I hope we can appreciate that there is a huge infrastructural deficit in Nigeria. We have neglected work, improvement and maintenance of what little infrastructure we had. Infrastructure IS capital intensive. We can't say one thing and say another. The issue if we are really ready to pay for the things and lifestyle we claim to want or aspire to in Nigeria. We can't keep expecting everything to be cheap without taking in to account that due to the dearth of infrastructure in Nigeria, doing most things (business, projects, etc) tend to be quite expensive. If we really want the infrastructure we claim we do then I think the issue should always be if we are getting value for money, not always making the issue being "the figures look too big". It is silly.

Just heard on aljazeera

SACKING IS NOT ENOUGH. Sacking is not the end all to everything. If found culpable, he and anyone else further down the line in position of this specific responsibility should be investigated and prosecuted!

Onlytruth:
If the news is old, then the Mods should delete the thread.

I personally think that this is a great idea, but I'm not unmindful of the Nigerian national REALITY.
It would be next to impossible to implement because of the contradictions in the Nigerian nation.
The simplest things are ever most difficult to implement in Nigeria.
Oh well.

The same people calling for fuel subsidy are against this, and I'm laughing.

Speaking for myself, I am not against removal of fuel subsidy in theory. As long as the money would be spent diligently and congress and the executive are willing to accept a significant reduction in their wages and allowances. Nigeria needs money for development. I was even irritated when I heard Amaechi was planning on adding 4naira subsidy when the government wouldn't back down. We can't maintain this lifestyle, we are a poor country that need to start investing for the future not living with short term and myopic solutions.

Onlytruth:
They can do all those, while still paying unemployed graduates.
Frankly, this is even a no brainer.
What has been stopping them all these while?

That is not a question for me. However, I think you really underestimate how poor this country is. Some people throw in those most patronising of words "potential" and we all start jumping up and down. Nigeria is poor! It is like a woman having to choose between wether to use the little water she has to cook or have a bath. We are that poor. What was our last budget worth in spending? This is about prioritising and the ideal, not shouting "they chop our money". We need a situation whereby the private sector is buoyant enough that we don't rely so heavily on government being effective anymore. More money to flow around for people, healthier economy. To do that we need to invest very heavily on infrastructure with the meagre resources we have and try to find new ways of generating money.

Onlytruth:
I have since concluded that this is a GREAT IDEA.
We pay our youth corpers, don't we?
Well, the same regime can be created for unemployed graduates.
The critics miss the point when they allege possible abuse. My question is, WHAT ABOUT POOR UNEMPLOYED NIGERIANS? WHO WOULD LOOK OUT FOR THEM?
If we are serious about doing something about them, the federal government will be forced to make it happen.
Abandoning them to the Hobbessian Nigerian jobless jungle is out of the question, else, be ready for more kidnappings, militancy and Boko Harams.
I don talk my own.  

The best way to look out for them and solve the problem long term, is to go on an aggressive campaign of infrastructural development and providing opportunities for training that will provide them skills and create the environment for businesses to invest in the country due to reduced costs of doing business as a result of improved infrastructure. Hence keeping the skilled and providing them to use does skills to start a business or earn a living and add to the economy, not paying them to not contribute (through no particular fault of their own) wit money that could be spent on the alternative.

Onlytruth:
They earmarked just N12 billion for starters. Is that not a pittance compared to what they steal?
C'mon! This is a GREAT idea.

So how do we gauge who qualifies? 12billion naira? Just out of interest how many unemployed graduates do you think we have? Multiply that by 10000 (not even 15000 sef). Didn't say the idea was a bad one, I said we need to prioritise and right now I rather we spend money on providing an enabling environment for job creation and business to thrive so that jobs will come, not focus the little money we have on paying the unemployed. Might not sound as noble or chivalrous as caring for the unemployed graduates, but for how long do you think we will be able to sustain this? The rest of the world is moving on and we can't even provide power for the citizenry, too significant a chunk of the budget is spent on paying salaries, and yet people shout they want development. The lifestyle we aspire to is not cheap! Good education, good infrastructure, health system, these things are not cheap. We need to invest for the future.

All well and noble but where is the money going to come from? ? Do you know how many unemployed there are in Nigeria? We need an agressively prodevelopment budget. This drift into a welfare state is not sustainable. Crucify if you like but how long are we going to continue to bury our head in the sand?

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=847522.msg9978881#msg9978881 date=1326733840]Nigeria is no longer safe again as it has become another Abach regime where soldiers go on killing spree.Soldiers are brutalizing civilians as if we are in syria.Why did power get into this minority hand for God sake ? [/quote]True to your racist and bigoted self, as predictable as the seasons. But hey, at least you are upfront about it.

I would like to believe such thinking isn't rife and widespread beyond a select few in the country if not we might just be doomed to wallow in perpetual mediocrity and non fulfilment of  the much touted "potential" we keep hearing about. This is deja vu. And when the military comes back then what? Gosh, how cowardly, how long has the protest lasted so far and people are already turning to the military of all people because they have such a stellar track record of sorting things out? Disgusting and honestly I dare say even laced with bigotry. Hold your politicians accountable and let them work for you.

@Websurfer, putting Jonathan on the same scale as Gaddafi and Osama Bin Laden a little hyperbolic, no?

The good thing about this protest is that the leaders of the country can hopefully get a messge that they are answerable to the people, can't just do what they like, and are not beyond being called to order, and to me that can only be a good thing. But do not be mistaken, not everybody is against fuel subsidy removal in theory, there is just a very very huge trust deficit in the country for those elected in power and very understandably so. Fuel subsidy feels like a taxation on the people and the poorest would be hit in the initial stage of things before free markets are allowed to work on the long term.

I believe if congress in particular, agree to take a 50% pay and allowance cut then they might gain some sort of trust from the Nigerian people. But the issue in all of this is trust. I am not even sure how diligently the money saved from the removal of subsidy (which is a lot) would be spent. More people than you might think do understand the economic argument for subsidy removal (too significant a portion of the budget is spent on paying salaries so how do we get development we are all impatient about getting). But as stated, this is way beyond fuel subsidy but about the fundamentals of how the government treats its citizenry.

For me Jonathan's main problem (among what others might claim are many), is his inability to articulate a vision or plan and rouse passions. His inability to get people enthusiastic and buy into a vision. Fuel subsidy removal could have been sold much better than he attempted to. And considering he is a leader, the truth is people have to buy into your vision and plan for a country for it to really move forward and he has had a poor history of articulating his vision.

Tired of reading the same thing over and over again, its like a broken record. Make noise when there is significant improvement.