₦airaland Forum

Like play like play miltancy will soon get listed in the stock market. The MEND 50 group, you will see people checking stock market to see how it is doing, how much "profit" has been made and how much return on "investments" and "capitals" have been attained. The "freedom fighters" indeed, the Che Gueveras of our time, LOL. Rubbish  . Who is the CEO sef, he/she might want to consider branching out into ventures like bounty hunting, coup instigating and assasination, i hear there is profit to be made in that too. Good thing there is no profit to be made in raping if not i feel sorry for females living in port harcourt

I believe a very important factor and issue with the Nigerian government has been highlighted on this thread, and that is the uneccesary and huge bureacracy that is present in government. President, ministers, governors, ssgs, commisioners, permanent secretaries, local government chairmen, the list goes on. Apart from the issue of wasting of money paying all these salaries, i believe corruption in such a system becomes a beast and more difficult to control (when using the approach being used anyway). This structure also makes implementation more difficult to actualise because of all the bureacracy involved. Hence it makes no sense why somebody would want to add more states which seems to increase such bureacracy exponentially. So this new state, is it going to generate its own revenue and how? The posts that seem to be pro new state have made arguements on how a new state will mean new cities and hence new developments because such a state will be entitled to its own derivation. Derivation generated from another region? Therein lies a major problem with the Nigerian setting. The complete disgusting laziness of significant many. And the arguement form the city and development angle is laughable. Canada does not have a state structure but a regional one yet it has a lot of cities and not one to a region either, LOL. So such an arguement just seems laughable to me.

@presido1 your responses never seem to address the posts you reference. I asked you for proof the the whole Scotland and England debacle was about resource control and you are yet to show or prove that. Does that mean you just jumped on assumptions and sentiments without any proof? I keep telling you to speak for yourself and maybe others you know because you speak as if this hatred is for everyone even though we know it isn't true. I am also Nigerian and you don't speak for me or for my family and friends who do not share such tribal bias and hatred. "Igbo wants to go peacefully this time"? So i am guessing you held a referendum and the feedback you got from a majority of igbos is that they want to go this time or is this just another assumption you are making like the whole "Scotland vs England is about resource control"?

What is most amusing is your immediate answer to an elaborate post - "it will never work". Why will it never work? Why do you think Nigeria will never work and yet seperate nations will? What have we actually tried to do about the nation that was tried and yet never worked? Again i don't mean to insult you but i think you might be the one deceiving yourself because you are so quick to assume that seperation is the solution to the problems that will probably still be present in the new nations unless you have a good arguement to counter this?

@Ibime, so i am guessing to give your post justification you also want to assume that i am yoruba and hence don't want seperation? You want to assume that the only people who want to be together are yorubas? Please build on better foundations next time.

@Eziachi i think you should have read through the postings well before you assumed where the whole comparing with UK came into the whole matter. Also your assumption that OBJ would not have been elected in a new nation is just funny because you are willing to assume this as some kind of a justification.

@presido1, it seems you need me to break it down for you so i will. First of all you say the thing between england and scotland is about resource control, please explain how or provide proof of this as opposed to posting what ight be (if i am not mistaken) your speculation?

Igbos and other ethnic groups have different dialects, is this going to be a reason for further seperation down the line when we have made this hundred and something countries from Nigeria as you seem to suggest? So differences according to you is reason for seperation? Then what is going to stop different dialects from becoming a reason for seperation of the already seperated countries?

You asked if i entertain any fears of the not being able to stand alone or whatever that was meant to mean, my response to this is no, it is not an issue of fear but of practicality.

You say i should give you a reason why i would not want to see an Odua, Arewa and whatever other nation, and you are completly missing the point and to be honest irrelevant. It is irrelevant if i would or wouldn't like to see an Odua or Arewa or whatever nation because when you speak you speak as if everyone wants to see such. So why wouldn't you like to see a working Nigerian nation? Why do you want to be so quick to assume that once there is seperation everything will automatically be ok? So corruption will stop? all that will just disappear when the actual people (eg governors of states) presently perpetrate these crimes on people from their own state and hence their own people? So if a referendum is held and we actually find out that the majority of Nigerians even those from your area that you seem to be so quick to speak for want to keep Nigeria are you then going to throw a tantrum?

So since we have dealt with the fact that a seperated Nigeria won't automatically solve bad governance, etc, the question then remains, what is left based on your arguements is that the seperation should occur because of mutual hatred between ethnic groups. These exist, of course they do and everyone knows that. However i keep telling you to speak for yourself because you make it sound as if it is the whole Nigeria that habours this hate you speak of. If you habour such hate, that is your problem, i and a lot if not the majority of people i know don't.

The problem i find with all your arguements is that they are based on this perceived hatred which is not so for everyone. If Nigeria actually worked, do you think as much people would want to seperate as do right now? So is it actually a hate for Nigeria or hate for the fact that things are not working? So instead of trying to fix things that will probably carry unto these new nations you propose should we just fixate on the retrogressive? I have heard seperation suggestions based on more credible and moving arguements, sorry again for what might be perceived as insult but yours i find to be flimsy excuses and i have elaborated in my previous posts. At the end of the day if Nigeria seperates i will not die, my world would not collapse and heaven won't fall down, i will just find it a shame that such potential for a great nation was squandered, so don't try and speak for me and suggest i have fears or whatever, that i find quite condescending. Any thing else you want me to elaborate?

@presido1 with regards to the text you highlighted, i wrote such in jest because i find the fact that you are so quick to blame every problem that is in Nigeria to the fact that Nigeria is together, pardon me and grant me the right to hold this view, but i think it is just plain silly and hence the jest. Sorry if you think i did not answer your question because i actually believe i did in the post unless you have not read it through and understood it which i believe to be the case.

presido1:
The earlier you understand that Nigerian as it is now can never function as a united country the better for you.You will complain from now till time immemorial about corruption and bad politics/politicians, yet nuffin will come out of your complain. Have you ever asked yourself why is this corruption in Nigeria, if you have not just do it now and try to figure out the answer. To me the answer is hatred, we don't like each other is that simple.
Yesterday was OBJ, today is Yaradua and wife who knows who will be on the news tomorrow and cycle continues with no end. If yaradua is going out he will select his shadow to be your president yet again you will start complaining as if you don't know already that,that is the trend in Nigeria. If Benin Republic can function as a nation to the extent of electing an independent candidate as their president i don't know why Nigeria can't(Hatred). Fragment it and you will have a functioning nations.

Can u give me reason why you will not like to see Odua Nation if you are Yoruba or Arewa nation if you are Hausa. Do you entertain the fear that you cannot stand on your own hence you chose to manage Nigeria as it is.

Then give your reasons why you like Nigeria as it is, unless you benefit(Financially) from the sorrow of the citizens of Nigeria otherwise you don't have answer.

Are those your questions?I believe i already answered the second one although again in jest because i just find this whole thing amusing. Some people genuinely believe that Nigeria should be seperated and those have come up with more genuine and better reasons than the ones you keep giving and such reasons i have perceived due to actual passion etc, but to want to seperate because of the mess the country is in now and hence saying the country is in a mess is because it is together is something i see as immature and an inability to actually accept resonsibility. Why are you making me repeat myself? LOL. Your reasons are just plain trivial. Also i am stunned at the arrogance you seem to hold whereby you disregard everyone else and speak as if Nigeria is made up of only Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba. If i am not mistaken Nigeria has close to if not over 100 different ethnic groups. Take only igbo for example, it is made up of groups with different dialects, so when such a county is made is it going to be further seperated based on those lines? And i think you are being mischevious when you compare the Scotland and England situation to Nigeria, you think such is about resource control? Where did you get that idea from?

I hope i have not insulted you in anyway but i hope you are able to allow me to hold my own views which is simply that your continued blaming of everything on Nigeria being together instead of taking responsibility and the continued reasons you give while seeming to ignore everyone else and speaking as if everyone wants seperation is just irresponsible.

Well, the e-mail address is there so feel free to drop "Ibori" a line whenever you want

LOL, i am honoured, my first 419 yahoo mail. Although technically speaking the e-mail was forwarded to me by a friend who got it and found it funny. I have a pretty much 419 yahoo, yahoo, proof e-mail account.

LOL, abeg see what i got through my email today, just absolutely hilarious.




From: JAMES IBORI <james.ibori@gov.ng>
To:
Sent: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 1:14:06 AM
Subject: URGENT

Good Day!

I am Chief James Ibori, the former Executive Governor of Delta State of Nigeria.
Without much ado I have to go straight to the point of my having to contact you. Right now I am undergoing a serious probe from the present President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for misappriation of funds. I hereby confidentially inform you that I have the sum of $200,000.000.00 (Two Hundred Million USD) that I want to move into the safe custody of a foriegn partner who will invest it for me and for your participation I will give you 40% of the total sum when you receive the funds.

I can get this fund to you through any means of your choice be it through wire transfer or I can package and pass it through your international airport through a diplomatic means.

Please. let me know immediately if you can help me receive and secure this funds and please if by any means you are not interested in this business proposal I implore you to delete this message and never disclose its contents to any third party.

Thank You for your time
J. Ibori

LOL, @presido1 i find it amusing the ammount of assumptions you would like to make about me because my stand is not in line with yours. America and a lot of countries are facing economical problems so i guess those should break up too, London and the UK are suffering from high rates of knife crime so i guess they should also break up. The reasons you give are not reasons to me. Everyethinic group in Nigeria hates each other? Why are you so quick to want to speak for everyone in order to justify your stance? Please speak for yourself, i don't hate anybody and i am sure a lot of people don't share this hate you have either. Since i have indulged you with regards to your reasoning why not listen to this line: Nigeria is the way it is today because instead of seeing a common enemy like corruption, bad governance, etc, tribal sentiments are immediately attatched. With the way you are speaking you would think Obasanjo did something great for yoruba people when he was in power given he is yoruba, is this the case? If there was robbery was it to everyone else except yorubas or to the whole nation? Sorry but i do not share your reasoning and i find it amusing that you are so quick to label it as being born out of fear because it is not thesame as yours.

Nigeria was thrown together during the colonial era blah blah blah, we all know the story and have the T-Shirts, but to continue to excuse cowardice and  the lack of integrity to stand for what is right; the lack of conscience and courage to see a wrong and oppose it; the inhumane selfishness and greed to see beyond ones gate when doing things like inflating contracts; the lack of common sense to unite against a commmon foe (that i am convinced would still exist in whatever country is born from Nigeria); to see these things and continue to excuse them with the past as a convenient way to justify seperation? when we fail to act in the present? that i see as rascality. We are were we are.

@presido1 at it again preaching seperation and secessionism? LOL, has that become some kind of passion of yours or something  ? Its very understandable that people are frustrated about the Nigerian situation but you speak as if you have some authority on all Nigerians. According to you it seems your answers to everything is seperation or secession without actually given thought to the fact that not everybody wants that and a lot of people might also see it as being unpractical. So please, speak for yourself when you go on these your rampages.

LOL, the responses on this thread are quite amusing, talk about terrorised citizens. Is everyone now so scared of the north and of offending the north that saying it as it is and has being becomes an act of bravado? If this was bravado then what would have been the normal way of telling the north anything that might be seen as "offensive" (which is basically everything) ? Via e-mail from a hidden account while we hide behind the couch hoping that the north does not throw another tantrum? Perhaps paraphrase and bend the truth a little with the use of well known cliches "the problem is not you really, its me", LOL, talk about a hostage situation, sorry but i find this quite amusing.

[quote author=Nigeria1;; link=topic=152687.msg2542317#msg2542317 date=1216739534]Sorry sky, you need to go and find out how nigeria company runs. Chairman of board are just mere political appointment. They have too to know power. The MD control the company. And I should know. I know alot about the NPA. I come from a marine family. All of the money taken by people with NPA, were done by NORTHERNER. I would start posting name and contract of northerner involve over the internet. If i can reach some of my old contact. 90% of this contract were awarded by northerner to Northerners. The same goes for the aviation industry. This are fact.[/quote]LOL, ok oh Nigeria1. I am not going to write any thing out of frustration because i have simply come to learn or believe that arguing with you is absolutely futile and you always use thesame line, always: tribal sentiments. Take it or leave it does not matter either way, but you write a lot and ultimately always say thesame thing and use thesame tribal lines for everything. Can't you for once see an injustice or something that is wrong and stand against it instead of making continuous excuses for such? Believe whatever you want to believe, according to you CEOs have no power and are just "figure heads", whatever. If you want to continue to make excuses for such things with such weak sentiments while people suffer then that is up to you, i won't waste my energy.

P.S: we have had this talk how many times now, please don't feel the need to respond to my posts, really, was expecting to see your award winning satellite maps. Have a nice day.

@oga.ade i'll just adlib through. First of all, there isn't anywhere near enough power capacity in the first place for all Nigerians to have constant residential power supply not to even talk of even running industries. South Africa has a population of about 43million people and the country has a power generating capacity of 40 000mW and even with such South Africa has been experiencing some power problems (of course no where close to Nigeria's level), you also have to take into account that South Africa has functioning industries unlike in Nigeria whereby companies like MTN are almost fully dependent on generators. Nigeria in comparison has a population of over 140million people. Guess what the generating capacity of Nigeria is ? - about 3000mW. See the huge difference? The power sector is just a mess to put it lightly because i don't know what else to say about it. There isn't even enough power to distribute in the first place and i won't be surprised if some rationing is done (i.e turning on and off of some switches to redeistribute to "important" places).

NEPA has a complete monopoly of the market and no new generating plants had been built for a long time. The resources are there to exploit, coal in enugu can be used to run power plants. The gas that is being flared in the Niger delta can be used to power most of if not all of Nigeria if people were serious about such and yet it is just being wasted via gas flaring simply because it would take the oil companies more effort to do this and gas flaring is cheap. Deadlines have been set by the government to stop gas flaring and the deadlines are continuously being shifted by the government. I believe a significant chunk of the power come from the only dam in the country and during dry season the water level drops hence less power is generated.

@Okija unfortunately that is what you get when tribal sentiment over rules all what might be seen as objective rational thinking which would actually move the country foward. Everybody wants their own state no matter how useless such will be in the economic sense and in every other sense. I think i will start filing for my very own state too with a popultation of one since it is the latest craze.

I am quite curious though as to how far this will go, so if everyone in Zimbabwe runs out of the country or die, leaving only Mugabe and his party cronies are they still going to want to rule the country? Who is Mugabe going to rule then? Are the animals going to become the new citizens? With this continued pet stance how far must things go?

LOL, i think i might be done with this thread. Why do people continue to insist that all that has been ,done is "beautification" and relegating all arguements to that? I hope when people say beautification they are also including the rehabilitation and building of roads to that effect? The micro finance innitiative, the rehabilitation of the CBD to make it habitual for businesses to return to the district they were actually assigned to and not scared of area boys, the Lagos Energy city which when completed will be able to hire about 50 000 indegenes, Eko atlantic city, reclaiming of ocean land to use for development, the closing of a large number of illegal schools, the rigoroues campaigning being done both at home and abroad by the governor and his team to attract foreign investors to partake in the visions the lagos state has laid out but unfortunately have no money to finance (eg the rapid rail project which already has stations and track areas designated), i could go on but these things are not difficult to find so why speak as if they are something i hard to go to the ends of the earth to find out? Could more be done? Sure, but let us not lspeak as if nothing worth appreciating has been done. I am sure after this post someone will come and speak as if all that has been done is planting of flowers again, so i think i will just leave you guys to continue arguing whatever you want to argue, i am out. Have a nice day.

What needs to be done to improve the policing in Nigeria as opposed to the current sham and embarassment? The police need to be policed themselves, some see them as armed robbers and i don't blame them. You hear stories of police men just setting up "check points" as a means to collect "thanksgiving, "thites and offering", (whatever you want to call it) only to jump into the bush and change into mofti and civillian outfits when actual armed robbers come around and then ofcourse coming back out when the armed robbers have just left and shooting some rounds of those paper guns into the air to announce their conveniently "a bit too late arrival".

Yes the police force needs funding, but this is not the major issue at all. Discipline should be enforced in the force and flogged back into existence because it simply does not seem to exist. This will include  what has been done before which means the use of an agency which enforces discipline in the police, some agency you can call to report police officers, like the EFCC(but an actual working organisation) of the police whereby such will arrest police people who are caught taking bribes on the streets, such will look into police's unruly behaviour and citizens will be able to take badge numbers ,from police and use it as a means of reporting which particular officer was offending. I think such has been done before though i can't remember exactly which part of the country, might have been port harcourt (though i seriously doubt it). However i continue to maintain that the task of having a federal police structure whereby states cannot even recruit their own officers or properly discipline them, a system whereby bureaucracy stifles effective management should be scrapped. Let states and smaller regions be allowed to police their citizens, it will just make management and enforcement easier to control, etc.

[quote author=Nigeria1;; link=topic=152687.msg2539624#msg2539624 date=1216703222]Sky , we care. Over here the police is not allowed to racial profile a person. And the EFCC is ethnics profile for ethnics clearing. Here is where the problem. Chief bode george was chairman of board. He held no executive power in NPA. NPA is run by the MD . Board are just figure head. Why did the EFCC not go after all the MD of NPA, I would note that from 1980 to 2008. Northerner have always been MD. None of them was arrested by EFCC.

We know this is a political move. What EFCC has made chief bode George is a political victim. Which is not good for democracy. Remember Huntu and Tunsi. Another issue is that Chief Bode George is the unofficial head of the Yorubas in the PDP. It is an insult to PDP members that are Yorubas.[/quote]Sorry but this is a weak arguement. Bode George was charman of board and you are saying he held no executive power? Is that not just a contradiction? That is like saying CEOs of companies hold no power and it is all in the hands of the MDs which is simply not true. You care about which thief is arrested and where such is from (i am not surprised given the line of reasoning you tow with all arguements i have seen you in) but i don't care and i have stated why so please speak for yourself without feeling the need to use pronouns like "we" as a means to justiify your stance. And please don't come back to post satellite pictures that hold no relevance to the topic at hand, i am really not interested , you did not have to respond to my post and i wish you didn't.

davidylan:
Welcome to Mugabenomics - I suggest they just go back to trade by barter.

Might not be such a bad idea. This has gotten to obscene ammounts of absurdity and Mugabe is not ashamed yet?

Nigeria: External Reserves Drop to $59 Billion as Interest Rate Rises Further in June - Moneymart

Vanguard (Lagos)

21 July 2008
Posted to the web 21 July 2008

Babajide Komolafe
Lagos

Reflecting the impact of the fall in crude prices in recent times and the crises in the Niger-Delta on the nation's foreign exchange earnings, external reserves, which had been rising for more than a year, fell by 4.64 per cent to $59.35 billion in the month of June, even as cost of funds in the inter-bank money market rose further during the month.

Meanwhile, the economy moved closer to double digit inflation as inflation rate rose further to 9.7 per cent in the month of May.


Money Market Association of Nigeria (MMAN), the umbrella body of banks' treasurers disclosed this in its monthly economic and financial report for the month of June released last week.

According the report, "external reserves witnessed a drop to $59.35bn towards the end of June, representing a decline of 4.64% from $62.239bn obtained in May 2008. Comparing the figure to its corresponding month last year, 2007, reserves was at $42.74bn in the month of June, and ended the year at $52.25bn. The drop may prevail as it is powered by Nigeria crude oil prices, which supply to the global market is unfortunately being threatened by militant activities in the Niger-Delta Region.

"Inflation rate was yet on the upward swing in the month, as National Bureau of Statistics put May 2008 rate on year-on-year basis, at 9.7%, the highest rate in the last one year. It represented 150 basis points rise against the 8.2 % obtained in the month of April 2008.

The level of corresponding rates for both April and May 2007 showed lower rates in year-on-year basis of 4.2% and 4.6% respectively, and month-on-month were at 6.5% and 6.0%. The 12-month average for May 2008 went up to 6.5% against 6.1% obtained in April 2008. The observed rise in inflationary rate was occasioned by general rise in the prices of some food items, household goods and diesel."

Nigeria Interbank Offered Rates were upwardly skewed, as Inter-bank market witnessed high rates in the month of June. Throughout the month, rates averagely hovered around double digits. However, rates within the range band of Call and 7-Day experienced significant drop in the mid and tail end of the month, averaging 9.8819% due to injection of FAAC and Excess Crude fund. Month-on-month average indicated relatively high rates for June compared to the month of May. Rates responded correlatively to the contractional outcomes of the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting pronouncement, increasing the MPR (Monetary Policy Rate) with 25 basis points from 10.0% to 10.25%, and movement in the direct Monetary Policy instrument of Cash Reserve Ratio from 3% to 4% mandatory. This action was boosted at the Open Market Operation activities of CBN.

However, the rising rates doused with injection of N440.57bn allocated from FAAC account shared in June and N569.79bn excess crude oil fund. Paradoxically, the upward movement in rates in the month did not impact the secondary market as expected, as Treasury Bills rates hovered round 9.00% as against the average of 6.62% recorded for May 2008.

Rates in the Open Buy Back market were upwardly inclined in the month of June, when compared to May 2008. The average rates for June were 9.4702% and 9.3651% for banks and discount houses respectively. Compared to May 2008 - 8.6256% and 8.4563% indicated 84 basis points and 90 basis point rise for banks and discount houses.

Deposit and lending rates: Savings rate maintained its stability at average rate of 3.5272% for the third month running, as lending rates continued an upward movement, with yet another marginal increment in the month of June. The average normal lending rate for the month was 17.6364%, against 17.5539% recorded in May, while Prime lending rate also rose up to 17.5238% against 17.4792% obtainable in May. This could be attributed to the tightening in rates experienced in the month, occasioned by increase in both MPR and CRR.

Foreign exchange market: CBN, through its Trade and Exchange Department sold dollar to the tune of $779,894,404.74m in the month of June, compared to $594,200,446.40m and $88,500,000m sold in April and May 2008 respectively. It indicated 31.25% increase in foreign exchange sold in the preceding month, and 781.2% increase over the April 2008 sale. It is the highest so far sold, since the beginning of the year. The volume was occasioned partially by the implementation of the Budget, and importation of goods that are dollar-dependent. In the corresponding month in 2007, a total $1,372,973,054.87billion was sold at the auction market.

Naira's strong performance against the dollar at the official market was felt in the Inter-bank market in the month of June. It ended the month on an average rate of N117.7856/$ and N117.8356/$ for Bid and Offer; representing 0.036% appreciation in value at both ends. Month-on-month average in the Inter-bank showed a stronger performance in June compared to May 2008. While the dollar had an appreciative rate/value against the naira in May, averaging N117.8282/$ and N117.8782/$ for Bid and Offer, it dipped in the month of June, as the naira gained value with average rate of N117.7856/$ and N117.8356/$ for Bid and Offer. Meanwhile, at both the official and Inter-bank markets, the premium between the naira and dollar is still below 1.00%, a disincentive for sharp practices."

Treasury Bills: As part of her liquidity management process, a total of N182.56b of Treasury bills was sold at the Primary Market Auction (PMA) as against N215.6b in May by CBN, representing 12.54% decrease in volume; with average stop rates of 10.75%, 9.53% and 9.20% for 91 days, 182 days and 364 days respectively in the month of June. Total amount underwritten by MMDs (money market dealers) was N1.53bn as against N65.8bn in the month May. Repayment for the month was N60.36bn from N90.1bn in May, while net withdrawal dropped to N122.19bn as against N140.5bn in May.

Central Bank, through the 2-Way Quote sold N80.0b with an average stop rate of 9.33% for tenors ranging from 90 days to 244 days compared to N42.0bn sold in May. Repayment was N275.66bn for the month of June against N344bn for May, while net withdrawal was N65.0bn as against N42.0bn in May. Also in the month, there was Reverse REPO on both sides of the market; N 50.0bn was injected, and at the same time, N20.0bn withdrawn through Reverse REPO. Comparatively, month-on-month, there was a total net withdrawal of N187.19bn from the economy in the month of June as against N182.5bn in the month of May, representing an increase of 2.56 per cent.

FGN bonds: The month of June witnessed, through the (Debt Management Office), the sale of FGN bonds in two issue of N30bn 5- years tenor and N 20bn of 10-year tenor. Both issue were re-opening, with bid rate ranging between 9.45% - 12.50% for the 5-year and 9.90 - 12 .75% for the 10-year. The issue rate was 9.45%. and 10.70% respectively."

qleyo:
Quite simply our resources would become our vast number of educated, intelligent, imaginative people. We'd sell services, improve our agriculture (of course when there's no money to important) and take taxes seriously. In other words, our resources would become our people (in addition to billion other things we have in our rich soil).

LOL, so this thread has not died yet? @qleyo, so what has stopped the "educated, intelligent, imaginative people" being the resources till now? So every Nigerian has signed a contract stating that when oil finishes they will begin to use common sense?

to be honest i am still at a loss in understanding how one single agency can be responsible for providing power to a whole country, and a country of 140million people at that. Just does not make sense especially given that the country we speak of is Nigeria. The way the government continues to handle this issue is just shocking. The market needs to be open and the task needs to be delegated to smallers regions or states. Let lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcout, etc be in charge of generating their own power. This monopoly in the power sector has not helped anything at all.

From my understanding creation of states is seen as a means to give people a voice or as a means of resouce allocation in its most basic sense. But in a country whereby wether or not you create more states corruption and greed and bad government among other things robs the people of voices anyway, what on earth will creation of more states achieve? What has the creation of more states achieved other than a new means for people to get money? This just seems to be again trying to cure cancer with panadol.

Which kind of limp defense or justification for EFCC is this one? These threads are quite amusing because of the way people post as if there is some kind of general amnesia. With the way people use such to somehow praise the EFCC or whatever is just nothing short of amusing. "intense manhunt". So were we not all also hearing news about Ibori, Iyabo, Odilli, Uzor Kalu, etc? Are any of them behind bars today? Any convictions? So how is this different? When someone has been handed a long prison sentence and money is retrieved then that would be news worthy.

@davidylan to be honest i really couldn't care less where the people targeted come from. If all the EFCC wants to target is non Northerners as you claim i really am not that bothered as long as the people being targeted are corrupt and have something to answer for, you speak as if innocent bystanders as opposed to corrupt looters and robbers are being targeted. I am still confused as to why people want to be so quick to defend thieves. A thief is a thief, wether from the north or south or east or west. I also don't understand how people can't see that if people from "your area" are targeted then that is not such a bad thing, if this means that appointed leaders from such areas out of fear of being a victim of the so called "selective justice" begin to spend money delegated for development on actual development and their is a reduction in corruption, then what on earth are people shouting for? It just seems to me that once again tribalism is clouding people from seeing this or is there something that i am not seeing? If the EFCC refuses to target people from the north as you claim, then please to whose detriment is it really?

ASL33:
Break up the fu*king country or stop complaining and take things as you see them.
Nigeria is not working the earlier you accept it the better for you.

@ASL33 how does NEPA and other non functioning agencies lead to "break up" cries? LOL. Mosquito bites somebody - break up the country; you catch cold - break up the country; the leaders of your own state that are your own people steal and rob from you - break up the country. LOL, quite amusing.

Still going after small fish i see, LOL. Abeg, when the man has been prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to serve a long jail term as well as money returned then we can hear word. Why does "arraignment" even make news sef? Ibori was at a point arraigned, so was Kalu, so was Nnamani, so was Iyabo, the list goes on and Iyabo is still a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria, isn't she? So what are we talking about here?

See what i mean? Members of the house of assembly, what an embarrassment indeed. And why did such a huge delegation go? Because everyone wanted free travel to New York? What a shame indeed, but what else could have been expected when you take into account the fact that the house has basically displayed the apex of unprofessionalism and bush man mentality in Nigeria and then such should be clamouring for "morality police" position? So what else could have been expected when abroad?

@BigB1 i am at a complete loss why you continue to insist that Yaradua is doing work given the "special circumstances" as you claim. What work? Please just name something. Why do we keep making excuses for rubbish? What lengths do we have to go to before we see the truth? I really need to know of something, a project, anything that this administration has actually ventured on because when people say Yaradua needs time to reverse what the previous administrations had done you will be forgiven for thinking he was actually working to change things but the point is the president does not seem to be doing anything, so how does he then get a pass mark? What exactly are we marking? If this is supposed to be good leadership then Nigeria is doomed. Please when people want to praise something, at least give a reason so that others can see with their eyes and see where you are coming from. @BigB1 you are making it seem as if the choices are a leader that steals money or does nothing and sorry but i don't see any choice there at all and don't think any of those should be seen as acceptable.

It is very easy to blame the "late start" on the passing of the budget but to be honest that is if you assume that all the president can do needs the budget to be passed. Is that really true though? A president that sends people into jubilation whenever he opens his mouth because he hardly says anything. Communication is a very important aspect of government so i don't see how people begin to see such silence as a charm. No one is expecting him to be a loud mouth, but at least communicate whatever vision he has so that the country can begin to see what direction it is going. It is basically like a ship without a captain.
I am probably being too hard i guess and it is not my intention, so to get to the point, what is it that Yaradua is doing that you seem to see that is worth praising?

@debosky that last line in your last post on the first page i completely agree with. The protests did not necessarily have to be about the Niger delta crisis even though it was. It was just a form of "feedback" if you will and right now the most obvious thing i see worth protesting and hence the "feedback" Yaradua should be getting is the anger at the lack of innaction in his path as president at almost every sector or issue. The passive way in which the country is run that one might as well be sleeping. The absurdity of preaching rule of law when the people that are guilty of breaching such are let to walk around and enjoy their stolen wealth. Good thing the president expericnced it, he might finally be getting an idea of how democracy really works because such would not have been possible in Nigeria. It is thesame thing with the lagos situation, it is simply feedback on performance so far, it is not hero worshipping or any of that stuff that people so quickly want to claim. It is something that has been so absent from Nigeria's so called democracy. Evil is done and leaders steal money, kill their people, blah blah blah, what feedback do such get? No opposition, no demonstration, nothing at all, so hence "we don't mind, keep up the good work", so why the surprise at the state of things if this is the message? If we support what we see as positive change and reject what we see as negative actions or innactions in this case, then the country is on the right course, isn't it?

You have to marvel at the reasoning in the highlighted text from the post above. I thought this whole issue was one big joke but apparently it isn't and is actually a "serious" issue. Is Nigeria actually going to go down the road of forcing a populace to dress the way the government or a group wants it to dress as opposed to practising decent parenting and community life which raises children of good standing? Very laughable indeed. When people try to enforce something on everyone else based on a reasoning whereby an excuse for their own shortcomings is the basis, it is just insulting. So ladies dressed in short skirts are now the cause of corruption in offices all over Nigeria? And the corrupt civilians are of course innocent in all of this, it is not because they are people without morals whereby instead of working were chasing skirts and stealing money, it is not because such are questionable characters, of course not. It is because people wear short skirts.

Nigeria: Muslim Group Wants Indecent Dressing Bill
Daily Trust (Abuja)

18 July 2008
Posted to the web 18 July 2008

Zakariyya Adaramola
Lagos

Alarmed by the dressing habits of young women on the streets, Lagos-based Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has urged members of the National Assembly to pass the bill seeking to ban indecent dressing in public places.

MURIC said the issue of indecent dressing should be addressed by the legislators with seriousness as it is one of the major causes of corruption.


According to the group, indecent dressing is a major motivation for crimes like rape and stealing of public funds.

It said in a statement signed by its director, Dr. Ishaq Akintola and made available to Daily Trust in Lagos yesterday that indecent dressing is usually seen as an issue that must be addressed in serious establishments.

It said; "We charge the Senate to do everything necessary to pass the bill into law. MURIC calls upon government to ban irresponsible dressing in its offices. It is a major motivation for corrupt practices. Scantily dressed females influence male workers to steal public funds in order to have enough money to spend on them. We must decide whether we want to run hotels or decent public institutions".

It said the legislators should discard opposition coming from women liberation groups and the Nigerian Bar Association as urgent passage of the bill would do the country a lot of good.

MURIC said the argument of those opposing the passage lacks was morally weak. "They are as dry as they are worthless. They have the noun 'deceit' and the verb 'to deceive'", it said.

The statement read in part: "Unless we want to deceive ourselves, we all know the negative effect of allowing the use of provocative dresses in public places. Women dress to kill to get contracts for which they are not qualified and they will get the contracts so long as men are in position to award them. They use indecent dressing to take undue advantage. Indecent dressing is tantamount to sexual harassment.

It would be recalled that the proposed bill for an Act to prohibit and punish public nudity, sexual intimidation and other related offences in Nigeria is being sponsored by Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette, the chairperson of the Senate committee on women and children. Senator Titus Olupitan also sponsored a similar bill titled, "An Act to Prohibit Indecent or Disgusting Bodily Exposure in Public Places" in 2004.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200807180284.html