₦airaland Forum

hercules07:
I do not trust the World Bank, their agenda is for everything under the sun to be privatised. I actually fail to see the activities that our Government is carrying out now, the Government can afford to fund the power sector if they will place more emphasis on other forms of revenue, we lose billions of dollars to bunkering, outright stealing, tax evasion, and have refused to mine other minerals we have because oil money is too sweet. Our Government is always ready to take the easy way out, we can not fund power oya privatize it, we can not fund police oya privatize it, education nko, we must privatize it, what the heck is the function of the Government when they are privatizing everything. The money sanusi used in bailing those useless banks out should have been spent on power.

Leave the world bank out of this and whatever you think about them for a second and think for yourself. Nigeria to the best of my knowledge does not generate up to 5000MW of power (correct me if I am wrong). Southafrica with less than a third of out population generates at least 40 000MW and are planning expansions. Roughly speaking, you can equate power investments to being 1billion dollars for 1000MW. What was Nigeria's last national budget in dollars? What percentage of that budget was for capital projects (as opposed to recurrent expenditure - paying salaries, etc)? Even if Nigeria spent all the money allocated to capital projects on power and ignored every other sector to rot away (including among others: education, health, infrastructure like roads, etc) do you think that would be enough to reach our lofty targets of generating enough power not just for domestic copnsumption, but for running of industries as well?

Instead of doing 'one million man post' (I'll try not to laugh) against IBB, why don't you guys just save your energy and actually do something basic: go and register to vote and vote. Simple!!! All this unecessary IBB attention. Una go make noise but when time comes to vote are you going to be there?

Obiagu1:
Northern political leaders were right to ask Jonathan to resign as he failed to treat MEND like Yar’Adua treated Boko Haram. You got it right so suck it up.  

Why do you continue to expose your blatant ignorance? I asked you whether you knew what was going on in the Niger Delta with regards to the Nigerian army. When gun ships were bombing the creeks was that child's play? Are you kidding me? Why do you insist on refusing to obtain information which would cost you nothing? Are you scared of using your internet? You asked a poster why the Nigerian government has been going easy on MEND as compared to Boko Haram (which by the way is still active and the government continue to ignore - but you would rather sidestep that ofcourse) and I alluded to such postulations being rubbish when backed up with factual incidences. Or have you decided to contract selective amnesia so you don't have to recall when whole areas of creeks were bombed all in a quest to get Ateke Tom about a year into Yar Adua's presidency? Was that also child's play? Look, there is nothing I can do for you if you refuse to use resources available to you for free. Boko Haram broke free a significant number of their operatives from jail and no one is talking about it. How many so called militants have been killed throughout this fiasco? You can force a horse to the stream but you can't force it to drink water. I won't indulge you any further.

Obiagu1:
I asked to hear your biased opinion. Bias is typical of you folks.

LOOOL. Why am I not surprised? I won't even bother with you any more. Have a nice day

Obiagu1:
Listen, it’s because MEND still garner international sympathy that’s why the Nigerian government is still soft on them. Let them kill more civilians and be branded a terrorist group and let’s see what happens then.
Odi is a typical example of what you get from Nigerian forces, you know that.

If you really believe what you wrote to be true then why ask such and irrelevant and condescending question (in the spirit of pretending that the Nigerian government would treat people who interrupt its oil addiction with kids gloves)?

Obiagu1:
I asked a question about using similar force on MEND and you sidestepped it. It would be interesting to hear your opinion.

Dude what sidestep? Why are you trying so hard to seem naive or are you just being purposefully mischievous? Do you think MEND are still here because the Nigerian forces have been going easy on them or because the army can't seem to take them out? Are you for real? So what happened in Odi, what was that, was that child's play? Do you really no what goes on in the delta with regards to the Nigerian military?

9ijaMan:
He who the gods wants to destroy will first be made mad!

While the Northern Elders may seem not to be making sense to many, GEJ's steps have been wrong all the way through this crises.

Inviting MEND members to Abuja is a silly mistake, just as it was plain dumb of the presidency to come out openly to defend MEND when the investigation into the bombing had barely started.

GEJ's continued response to everyone who come up with counter information is also another series of blunder. He claimed to know those behind the bombings but is yet to give names apart from those names picked from FaceBook.

Another blunder is the arrest and release of Dokpesi and the ludicrous text messages brandished on NTA news. Why pick a suspect with such damning evidence for an act of terrorism only for you to release him after a few hours?

It's unfortunate that such a drama is fast unfolding in my beloved country and it's also unfortunate that all the dumb mistakes GEJ has made and keeps making in only benefiting the same opponents he seemingly set out to implicate.

While I may not like these Northern Elders as such, there is an element of truth in their resolution: GEJ is too naive for the position he's occupying.

I won't stop you from making the argument in bold, I only ask for at least some pretence in consistency with our condemnation. Who started this 'engaging with the militants' as a solution to the Niger Delta crisis? Is this the first time MEND has been invited to Abuja? You mean to tell me Yar Adua had no talks with MEND last year before the amnesty programme? Yet in that instance there was no condemnation and his act was even deemed to be one characteristic of good leadership? WOW.

Obiagu1:
. .  but they dealt with Boko Haram and crushed them. Would you advocate for such heavy-handedness to be used against MEND? Let me see how biased you are  

Why wasn't Yaradua impeached (even with his 2 years of non performance) when the Boko Haram wahala approached a climax last year? And all the religous clashes in the past two years, why wasn't Yar Adua impeached when they occured? When Yar Adua disappeared for how long, why didn't the same group call for impeachment?

@poster You might want to get more informed with the character of Amaechi. Apart from presidency I don't see him being able to relegate himself to being anybody's VP. Humility and diplomacy don't seem to be his strongest suit. Amaechi

oyb:
obj fked the nd up when he selected that failure as umya's running mate

Some posters and their ethnic chauvinism, you really just have to try to continuously ignore, especially when they attempt to wrap it up in 'credible arguments'. And why haven't the misdeeds of OBJ who ruled for eight years and even wanted a third term been counted against the south west? Disgusting

Abagworo:
You still sound brain washed.Nairaland is a microcosm of Nigeria.As at 30th september almost 85% of Nairalanders had confidence in GEJ(myself inclusive) but when he lied about MEND not doing the bombing,we all got pissed off.Trying to use lies to frame up his opponents got me more pissed.The worst of all is that criminals like Ateke,Tompolo et al have been invited to Abuja and given recognition as MEND.Jonathan is giving a very heavy insult to the true and intellectual Niger Deltans.The one that will blow everything up is trying to use these criminals to fight MEND.

No need to rant. @toba was merely highlighting the double standard that is so glaringly obvious with regards to certain sections of the country and leadership in Nigeria. When has Nigeria ever been "safe"? Was it when there was kidnapping, militancy, boko haram, regular religious clashes in the north? Are these all new? The people in Odi were they not Nigerians also? Did they feel safe when the Nigerian military was used against them? I will join @toba's call to who ever it applies to that we are spared the sanctimonious and hypocritical 'I was a GEJ supporter till he made us feel "unsafe"' trite and sing another tune. Impeachment indeed. How many Nigerian President's have been impeached in the history of the nation when you consider all the nonsense that has happened? The hypocrisy is indeed what is extremely irritating. The same posters that laud OBJ for his progress in the nation considering all he did are ready to crucify someone who has not been in office for up to a year while still holding OBJ (and in some instances even Yar Adua's) records of leadership as standards the nation should relish and aspire to.

Gosh, posters its not every single flipping thing you have to criticise or make jest of. How demoralising it is to be a police officer in a country that does not even have a clear mechanism for rewarding or even showing some appreciation to officers who excel. How much is the average police officer paid? Have you been to the barracks where they live? They are under equipped, under trained, under paid, bathed in insults and ridiculed by the public, and you still expect these same people to be paragons of professionalism in the dispensation of their duties? How demoralising it must be serving as a police officer in Nigeria indeed.

violent:
Why is no one addressing the primary issues?

The fact that the army gets drafted to a place to restore order over such issues that should be normally handled by the Police calls for serious concerns.  In saner countries, citizens will be calling for the resignation of the Inspector General and possible the impeachment of the governors of the state.

The army mostly operate outside the borders of the Nigerian state  and only in certain unique scenarios are drafted to restore order within the state in such places that suffers from break-down stemming from unruly civilians taking up arms or battle terror attempts.

But the Nigerian state, a 50 year old toddler is quiet different from many other saner countries, here, the Police is largely incapacited to handle even the smallest issues that would normally require intelligent hands and good working technology to solve, the result of this? of course, the army gets called upon even if two households engage in verbal attacks.

summary of my musings===empower the damn police with the right tactics, technology and motivation.

I wouldn't imagine Obama calling on the United State armed forces to address kidnapping issues, when a team of 5 smart FBI officials can work magic!

Its beginning to make sense what Ribadu meant when he said all he needed was to train 5000 men for Nigerians to sleep at night---i believe him!

Let us not beat about the bush, "empowering" the police would cost money. Money which the country currently (despite what you think) does not really have due to an overbloated civil service whose salaries take well more than half of the yearly budget allocations, as well as poor states unwilling to invest in increasing their internally generated revenue. Hence you have a lot of beggar states fighting for the very last crumbs from Abuja, money which could be invested in other worthwile ventures.

It is funny how a lot of things actually link together. It really would surprise you just how much of a difference abolishing state monthly allocations from Abuja would make, especially when states have to actually pay taxes to the federal government. Trust, it all links together. If we want things to improve we need to decentralise power from Abuja and make states more responsible and accountable (you will see how the whole concept of more states will disappear and how some defunct states would even be begging to merge together when the free money is gone).

princekevo:
PDP can only win a free and fair election in a country where people with your type of mindset are majority. That is if there is anything like free fair election that can be attributed to PDP. Whether there is credible election or not i will always pass on the campaign against these enemies of Nigerian development that called themselves PDP. I would prefer to cast my vote to an independent candidate am sure of his credibility to jst following the majority in bring in another criminals in power.

I won't even bother to ask if you read what I actually posted but will ask you some simple questions. Who are these independents or opposition? Where is their campaign to win the hearts of the people? Why haven't we heard about them? No pontifications, just post simple answers to these quesltions and see for yourself the contradictions in your postulations. (By the way, never said PDP was the best option but of course what I actually posted doesn't matter as long as you could make your point, right? )

Echidime:
@Bluetooth:

looting spree of the military is better and acceptable, than a fellow civilians looting our treasury and call it democracy,yet they are incapable to give the nations security,which with the military security is 100% Guarranteed if not for anything else

What a careless statement. The military left because the country went broke. Estimates of how much Nigeria has lost via corruption since independence put the figure at about 400billion dollars and here you are running mouth about how the military (that were known for gross corruption except for the Buhari regime) would be a much better option. Was is police or miltary that killed Saro Wiwa after a kangaroo trial? The same military known for executions at will, stifling of free speech, and working side by side with multi nationals to rob and pollute the country?

princekevo:
These are the same crooks solidly campaigning for Jonathan to seal their automatic re-election, plus-including Governor of Abia whom his state has turned to evil forest at the broad day light. The problem we gonna face in the next 4 years for electing another PDP presidential candidate is not jst abt the Federal government, but also the states. GEJ has guaranteed all these same crooks an automatic re-election for their support to his candidacy and tml someone will come here and preach to me GEJ  has the interest of Nigerian at heart.

Anyone who wish that such governor as this, that of Abia state ,and many others should be re-elected is nothing but enemy is the states and Nigeria at large

The key is free and fair elections. If PDP wins free and fair elections at the end of the day then as much as you might hate them you can't put the blame solidly on their feet. Where are the opposition and what about the citizens who actually after making all the noise in the world and online don't turn up to vote? It is quite easy to castigate while doing nothing but at the end of the day to shape things in the country you need to get involved.

As long as people actually pay for only the ammount of electricity they consume then no probs. If this is to fly then pre paid meters have to become the standard prerequisite.

9ijaMan:
Perhaps you need to go back a few years to educate yourself better. Did PDP hold any primary election in 2007? If the party did, who were the contestants? Did Odili contest in the primaries? How can Jonathan's explanation make any sense when he is also a beneficiary of the zoning formula? Have the elections been held when the residency was zoned to the north and South-South took the VP slot, ?

GEJ has only taken a look at the zoning issue entrenched in PDP constitution and decided to explain it in a manner that suits his ambition. Why would you chose to assume that Jonathan's explanation is the best when majority of the party members affirm that zoning is part of PDP?

These questions are begging for sincere unbiased answers and not the type of cockeyed explanation GEJ is trying to peddle.

Will cut through the drivel in the post and highlight the main issue. If not for OBJ threatening Odilli with EFCC what on earth actually stopped Odilli's ambition? Who were all those who aspired to the PDP ticket in 2007 and what actually stopped them? The fact that you actually insinuate that PDP didn't really hold a truly democratic process for choosing their candidate in 2007 actually makes my point for me. The party could not ban people from all zones in 2007 and now they want to? Unfortunately you are resigned not to see reason so I would leave you to argue with yourself. I will simply highlight that the past instances in the same party do not in any way support your argument and would leave it at that.

20mill for 1000 children is not the worst thing in the world, as long as the children are gathered from the most deprived parts of the country. What I am more interested in is the 20mill for a "special session of the national children's parliament". Haven't such parliaments been held before and what is so special about it that it would cost 20mill?

Goddex:
I think it's high time our constitution recognized rotational presidency between the six geopolitical zones. Zoning should not be left to PDP alone because as a political party you cannot zone what you don't have. And by the way, why is IBB, Atiku, and Sariki crying about zoning? In all fairness to the people of the North-East only Aliyu Gusau should be talking about zoning.

Why? Why should the idea of one party be forced on the whole nation? Why must I be stopped from voting for a candidate I deem more credible and better equipped to do the job because he is not from a particular zone? What on earth is democratic about that? What exactly is your argument for forcing constitutional zoning on the nation, or is it by force to now open a thread? Is PDP Nigeria? What exactly is your argument? If we are to practise zoning why don't we zone it among all ethnic groups instead of geopolitical zones if the idea is about "equity" so each group can get a shot? Or those that not fit better into your definition of 'equity'? Wouldn't it be easier to just be allowed to lvote for whoever it is you want to vote for?

9ijaMan:
@ Beaf,
You can go ahead and rain curses on me after reading this. I know it's your way, so I'll not take any offence, as I've come to accept you fpr what you are.

You have either decided to ignore the truth or simply think others are dumb. How can you dare to say Jonathan was not made the VP 'cos of zoning? Would Yar'Adua have won the election if a northerner were picked as his VP? How come a Yoruba man was not picked as UMYA's VP?

Perhaps if you have forgotten some history lessons, I should remind you a bit:

During Obj's (South-West) reign, Atiku (North-East) was his deputy, Evan(s) Enwerem, Chuba Okadigbo, Pius Anyim, Adolphus Wabara and Ken Nnamni (South-East) were Senate Presidents one after the other,  their deputy was Ibrahim Mantu (North Central). The house of Rep had Salisu Buhari, Ghali Umar Na'Abba and Aminu Bello Masari (North West) as the various speakers and Chibudom Nwoche and Austin Opara (South-South) as deputy speakers.

These were the six top most positions in Nigeria spread across all the six different geopolitical zones.

When UMYA (North-West) came in, GEJ (South-South) was deputy, David Mark (North Central) is Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu (South-East) is his Deputy, while Patricia Olubunmi Etteh & Bankole Dimeji (South-West) was & is (respectively) the speaker of the house and Babangida Nguroje & Usman Bayero Nafada (North-East) was & is (respectively) the deputy speaker of the lower house.

Once again every single geopolitical zone in the country has a representative in the top six position in the Nigerian Government structure.

If this is not zoning (or federal character or rotation) then I do not know what it is.

If GEJ is now claiming today that Zoning has not been part of his parties structure, he is either lying out-rightly, or deliberately abusing the collective intelligence of the Nigerians.

Did you actually read what GEJ said? Why not inform yourself instead of brazenly espousing opinions seemimngly tainted by a dash of ignorance or just a tentative unwillingness to actually seek out the truth? GEJ did not outrightly claim zoning was not part of PDP policy, he simply explained the policy better and his explanation made perfect sense. Please try to absorb and then dispute the following points. Zoning is not a Nigerian policy and PDP is not Nigeria. If zoning was a PDP policy why were touts like Peter Odilli and co not banned from contesting at the PDP primaries during the run up to the last elections? Did the party all of a sudden forget about zoning especially when you consider that Peter Odilli was at a point a running favourite? How can a party zone positions it has not yet won? The explanation given by Jonathan with regards to the zoning policy of the PDP in which he stated that positions won by the party were zoned after presidency and vice presidency was won makes perfect sense especially when you look at the past evidences. If zoning was a PDP policy then is it between North and South of six geopolitical zones? If it is between six geopolitical zones as you argue then why is IBB planning on running when he is not from the North West? Would he not be breaking the "zoning rules" of the party then? I just don't get it, is it because GEJ is not from one of the big three ethnic groups or what? The ethnic chauvinism one sees on nairaland can be quite disgusting.

A sitting president who constitutionally got to that position when his boss died cannot even be allowed to run for primaries in his party when people from all regions ran in the same primaries of the same party in the last elections? Why all the fear, really, why?

Dede1:
Well written, pal.

If Nigerians ignore the need to respect any ordinance, the talk of fighting corruption and graft from the likes of GEJ is total rubbish. GEJ should quit PDP to run as presidential candidate so as to obey the clause contain section 7-2 C of PDP constitution.

The same thing should be shouted and told to IBB too. If zoning is to be followed then IBB's contention is null and void too because he is not from the north west. What is good for IBB is also good for Jonathan. If jonathan is withdrawing then so is IBB and so is Atiku, simple as that if not everyone should just shut up and stop exposing their blatant hypocricy so brazenly.

Actually @OP, your title is misleading. The article does not say IBB has picked Odili as running mate. "Advanced talks" does not mean chosen, we don't even know what the talks were about. No need to be sensationalist.

LOOL. Has to be a joke because I would personally find it difficult to think up a more untrustworthy and deceitful pair than IBB and Odili. You have maradona paired up with one of the worst (if not the worst) govenors the south saw in the Obasanjo era and definitely the worst govenor Rivers State has ever seen in its entire history ( even the military administrators did a much much much better job with less funds). At least Timipre Sylva has an excuse for his gross ineptitude and we can blame it on him being a crackhead, but what on earth was Odili's excuse? Why hasn't the EFCC arrested this man yet sef? Is the court injunction against them arresting him he got through his wife the judge still standing?

koruji:
@Omolulu
How do you expect official thiefs to defend themselves - "EFCC is after me because of politics", that's how.

How about "I did not [size=15pt]STEAL ANY MONEY. [/size] EFCC you are welcomed. Can we get you chairs so you won't be uncomfortable looking through our books? We have work to do, but hola when you are done and [size=15pt]DON'T FIND ANYTHING[/size]. Too bad you would waste so much government time & money finding nothing,  money we could use for our projects."

See how simple that was!

It is easy for these governors to blackmail the government into emptying the Excess Crude Accounts into their laps, but when asked to show "what they have done with it" they shout blue murder.

I tire for Nigerians o!

cosigned. This has always been my argument when people bring up this "selective justice" or "persecution" issue. If you have nothing to hide then what are you afraid of? Unfortunately I have stopped even bothering because it seems some people would defend whoever they want to defend and that is just it.

Any acts of vandalism of NEPA lines or power infrastrcuture by the goup or any group (which I predict would occur as a means of sabotaging any development in the sector) should be treated seriously and the perpetrators handed jail sentences. Power is too critical a sector to continue playing these silly games with.

As long as reforms continue they can strike all they want. Nigeria has been running on generator for decades now.

asha 80:
I can agree to that when those smaller units generate their own revenue to run their affairs rather than running to abuja to beg for funds.

Cosigned. Everybody can be a state unto themselves if they want, you can even make your house asha state if you want sef, just don't come and tell me the federal government would have to take money from a few states just to pay for commissioners, ssgs, permanent secretaries, special advisers, senators and reps, official residencies, and all the bureaucracy that goes with it, just for you to sit on your lazy butt and live your own fantasy. If anyone wants to be a state then they should be ready to support yourself. This gravy train has gone on for waaaaaayyyy too long.

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=279117.msg6632787#msg6632787 date=1282669644]And you keeping asking me about cocoa derivation fund as if i was existing over 50 years ago.cocoa was a federal government commodity traded and you can't disconnect the money being shared among the federating regions in as much as the money went to the federal government purse.
I don't have anything against the niger delta region but i do have a problem with people that capitalize on a flawed system to rip off the common man in the region.The resource control agitation was given a higher tone by the likes of Victor when he was governor using his influence as chairman of the governors' forum to champion the cause until the present 13% was agreed upon.fine nd better,he went through a good process and he achieved something purposeful.why would MEND kidnapped people and release them after collecting ransome,vandalise oil pipeline and steal crude oil only to claim that it was seeking government intervention by doing so and at the end of the day,they all become rich men while the problems they were agitating against keep piling.
We must be sincere to ourselves if we want the issue of niger delta to be solved and frank opinions may look tribalistic at times.[/quote]Suprise surpise, I return to read more diversionary tactics. Go ahead to ignore the fundamental flaws in your weak argument and make the issue about MEND. I am not in the least disappointed, your ethnic chauvinism is as predictable as becomerich's maps and what is worse is your attempt to veil it in cheap and patronising pontifications.

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=279117.msg6632516#msg6632516 date=1282667262]The issue of oil when being over-stretched piss me cuz nigerians would definitely continue with their lives if there is no oil in nigera or the present one stop flowing.I'm yet to see a genuine militant group that actually cared about the common man of the region.The cries have always been about federal government injustice but what keep bothering me is how billions of naira allocated for the region disappear into thing air,yet the same people from the region keep blaming governement and the other regions for the problems bedevilling the region.what happened to OMPAEDEC ? What about the present day NDDC ? What have they achieved despite the billions allocated to them ? Was it not last year or so that Sam Edem the former NDDC chairman spent almost a billion naira on juju ? [size=14pt]you guys need to settel your problem GENUINELY among yourself before other tribes can take you guys serious [/size].what i only see in MEND are some boys just hiding under the cause and making cool money.there is still a long way if the niger delta problem is to be addressed.[/quote]And once again your award winning ethnic chauvinism rears its ugly head (as usual it did not take much to bring it out). You immediately assume anyone who does not support the current system is from the Niger Delta. Which region of Nigeria does not have its problems? So why on earth does it become a case of using government corruption (found in every corner of Nigeria) as a justification for stifling the right of people living in a region to fully keep and benefit from the oil taken from their land and decide if they want the oil drilled or not while paying taxes to the federal government (like is done in developed countries)? Why ask them to better behave themselves till you deem it fit to consider raising their 'allowance' which is shared out every month? You don't see such as patronising? Was there any such thing as Cocoa derivation fund? Was Cocoa money shared out for free? If you cannot get the gross insensitivity and insult in your ststement then I cannot help you, keep living in your own world and wonder why people fight against a system that would ignore their voices because they are a minority and then express shock and disdain when you hear they would consider outing from such a union.

Beaf:
Learn about your country before spewing hogwash. If you don't know everything in Nigeria is state run from Abuja, then you aren't fit to comment in the politics section.

The amusing thing is that I keep saying we run a federal system in theory but are very much a communist state (except without the sharing of wealth with the people and all the good parts of communism). We are practising federalism and running a very corrupted and novel communism. Nigeria we hail thee 

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=279117.msg6632348#msg6632348 date=1282665828]You are replying me and castigating me at the same time ? Na wao
you are looking for cocoa derivation fund ? Lwkmd
see you know about trade,maybe you should find out what and how nigeria was earning her foreign wealth before oil was discovered and the commodities that were traded.fyi,MEND stand for nothing than oil bunkering and militancy.[/quote]Ok, I genuinely apologise if I offended you, but a lot of your posts (99% of which I ignore) tend to irritate me because you seem to have a myopic and insensitive view that does not accomodate the struggle of other groups in a country you so proudly proclaim (it is a trait that seems to run through most - if not all - of your posts that I actually read). I am not a supporter of MEND and in your quick quest to reply me you failed to see that I was not asking you what they stand for in a metaphorical sense, but what the abbreviation M.E.N.D literally stands for and hence why your question could appear silly in light of that fact. Yes before oil Nigeria earned some of her wealth by trading in commodities with other countries, but how many states were there and I have to repeat, was there any such thing as Cocoa derivation fund? Where are the structures that Cocoa and groundnut money built in other regions that did not have it? Weren't other regions of the country also trading in their own commodities? Were people who did not produce Cocoa handed out Cocoa money for free? Did we have Cocoa and groundnut spills that destroyed livelihoods, farmlands, and affect people's health? So do you see why I lambast such a weak parallel?