₦airaland Forum

Nigeria is just a crime scene where everyone is praying to get to the top so they can loot the resources of the land. Nobody will protest against them because everyone is hoping to be like them someday.

michlins:
Forget sha, all politicians everywhere are the same. Promise you heaven and earth to get your vote.

Difference between us and them is that they have a system that keeps everyone in check with active participation of the citizens.

Unlike here where tribalism and individualism reigns supreme and our politicians took advantage of it and are milking it to the last drop.

Yes, what helps America is that they have strong institutions whose heads understand that they must be loyal to their country, not their president. In Nigeria, we have sycophants trying so hard to please the president because they know that once the president protects them, they can do anything and get away with it. You cannot try that nonsense in America. So, even if America has mad men as presidents, it doesn't matter because heads of these institutions who genuinely love their country know what to do.

In America, there's real separation of power among the three arms of government. There are some laws the executives will try to enforce, the judiciary will fling it out of the window. Try that with a Nigerian president and he will use the DSS to raid Supreme Court justices' residence or twist the constitution just to kick out the CJN. This our country na big joke.

The same Donald Trump that spent lots of money to build a fence on the US-Mexico border will certainly not do this. Likewise, Biden has also promised to regularise the stay of all undocumented immigrants in the US if he wins.

The thing is, American voters have a tough choice to make in this election because they will have to choose between one very old president who always falls like a baby and one garrulous ex-president full of drama. However, I don't see Trump beating Biden in this election.

If the judiciary doesn't ruin this country, nobody will

helinues:
Bitter Peter Obi..

You will continue to be bitter as Nigerians would never allow you to near Aso rock

Address the issue raised and stop writing trash if you have nothing meaningful to contribute.

wallrichy:
No, No......it's a an economic gimmick by Dangote. It's profitable for Dangote at the long run. Importing fuel from other countries is a norm to most refineries even though the home country has crude in large quantity. For example, US is the largest producer of Crude oil and also has the largest reservoir of crude in the whole world but they import always. That's the way it goes in oil and gas. You know, crude oil ain't the same all over the world. We have different types of crude oil scatter all over the world. Research on the type of crude oils and you will save me the long write up.....in conclusion, it's economically profitable for Dangote to Import and ain't a shame to the stupid Federal government cos Dangote is a private liability company. The only shameful thing we can hold the government for is to privatize our refineries or kick them working and give Dangote a run for his money.

There's nothing normal about it. Stop comparing yourself with America. America is a strategic country everyone looks at to learn from.

America imports crude oil - despite having a large reserve of it - to plan for eventuality and unforeseen circumstances in the future.

On the other hand, in Nigeria, Dangote buys outside Nigeria because Nigeria doesn't even meet its OPEC benchmark for export let alone having enough to sell to its local refineries.

What are they kicking?

How many of them pay the current minimum wage?

Before the gloating over how Dangote could crash the price of every petroleum product, the government should address the issue of Dangote importing crude oil from the UnIted States. It's a embarrassing that Nigeria is a major crude oil producing country but its major refinery imports from a faraway country.

Remman:
For Nigerian elections specifically, we only need to vote via our phones. This is the only way to avoid death for no cause. As for rigging, they can continue, because that's in their blood. The generation of Tinubu and Atiku will pass away soon and we'll be left with a slight updated generation of our politicians (from the south though) that would actually begin to fix Nigeria.

I share this sentiment. Buhari ended the era of former soldiers coming back to rule this country. Tinubu and Atiku will end the era of politicians who use connection, godfatherism and money to win elections. The likes of Peter Obi, Wike and Kwankwaso (who have shown interest to be president) will usher a phase based on past performance. Past governors will become Nigeria's presidents for a long time.

At that time, what will matter the most is past achievement. Then, Nigeria won't have a choice but get better. That's if Nigérian voters put religious and tribal sentiments aside and vote for competence and credibility... and the INEC remains truly independent because how politicians got into offices matters. Nigeria is truly going through a political transition.

With or without Naira crash, Nigeria and most black African countries have relatively low cost of living due to poor disposal incomes. If you work for Americans from Nigeria, they tag you people from low-income countries.

Rossikk:
It's 24 fighter jets brother..

Plus those 'ragtag' guys are more organized and plentiful than you think. They are literally tens of thousands of them in total.

You guys don't seem to realise there is a low scale war in the north between the military and those insurgents. Bombs are dropped almost daily by the airforce in their forest hideouts and it's not even reported, so you think nothing is happening.

That's not true. The problem of Nigeria is that there are lots of 5th columnists in the military giving information to the terrorists. I don't know how long it will take Nigerians to eventually realise that most Nigerians don't like this country.

If people love their country, they give their lives to see it succeed. If people don't like their country, they occupy sensitive positions and share the scarce resources of the land at the detriment of the greater good. The latter is the story of one Nigeria.

Some civil society groups have the guts to challenge the new law in court. America has totally lost it. If not for the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, I don't see why God wouldn't give this world the Sodom and Gomorrah treatment because we have done worse things than they did.

IbnB:
A simple condom properly used by your daddy woulda saved us the mental and emotional trauma of having to engage with your stupidity

Stop spilling trash and address the points he raised.

This obsession with travelling to Europe is just annoying. These people can stay in their countries and farm. In Nigeria, there's a lot of money in agriculture now. Instead, they would rather go and take senseless risks.

Nollywood actress Genevieve Nnaji has revealed why she turned down opportunities to join Hollywood.

The 45-year-old Imo State-born actress made this known at the 2024 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum/Afreximbank Annual Meetings, held from June 12 to 14 in Nassau, The Bahamas.

Nnaji was a panellist at the 2024 AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum/Afreximbank Annual Meetings alongside notable figures such as Osahon Akpata, head of CANEX Creations Incorporation; Ginger Moxey, minister for Grand Bahama, the Bahamas; and Renee Robinson, chief strategist TidalRise.

The forum highlighted the benefits of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme, which supports trade and investment in Africa’s creative sector, including financial assistance.

The actress said that despite the success of her 2018 film Lionheart, acquired by Netflix, she needed more support in Hollywood to do more at the time.

“For the first time, I realised I was a commodity. I thought, you know, given what I had done with Lionheart and all of that, I would have an opportunity to do more. I am getting there and having the kind of support that CANEX brings on board, but I thought I could find it in Hollywood. That was not quite the case,” she said. Nnaji explained that Hollywood’s interest was mainly self-serving.

“They wanted what I had but for their benefit. It was all about their story. It was all about how, even if it was our story, I could make it more authentic to their understanding of whatever Africa is because they did have a lot of literature in their archives.”

She also mentioned during the session that she could have gone to Hollywood years ago but chose to stay and contribute to the development of Nollywood.

“But I am Nollywood. I could have gone to Hollywood a long time if I wanted to. However, I dreamed of building an industry in Nigeria that could rival it. That’s because I’ve always believed in that. I have always believed that we could own an industry like that that told our story for our people. I wanted that. I respect what Hollywood is doing. I respect what Bollywood is doing, and I felt like Nollywood had an equal chance at it,” she said.

“So when I found it wasn’t quite what they had in mind, I was like, I’m just going to wait this out, and the Covid happened, and the worlds switched at that point, and Africa sort of became it.”

Nnaji is famous for her works, such as Lion Heart (2018), Road of Yesterday (2015), Mirror Boy (2011), Blood Sisters (2003), and Sharon Stone (2002).

Source: https://www.premiumtimesng.com/entertainment/nollywood/705042-why-i-refused-to-join-hollywood-genevieve-nnaji.html

gift2xl:
With man it's impossible but with God it is possible. Matthew 19:26

Yes, there's nothing impossible for God to do, but there are limits to what God does for us in our modern time. That's probably because our ingenuity has improved our wellbeing.

God is a Supernatural Being who does extraordinary things. In other words, God works within the ambits of nature (He adds super to nature) to improve ordinary circumstances beyond human understanding (he adds extra to ordinary).

What Pastor Adeboye says now is like claiming that God has made a man whose leg was amputated to grow again and return to normal shape. Can God do it? Yes! Has God ever done it? Nah. Someone like that just needs to install an artificial leg, which never existed centuries ago.

Sometimes, I wonder if Godswill Akpabio thinks before talking or thinks after talking

This report highlights the fact that nobody is immune to hardship and bad leadership in Nigeria. That the SE people aren't protesting doesn't mean they are not going through hard times.

What keeps the SE going is that the people have been wired to believe that they must work extremely hard to get any good thing in Nigeria. It only takes someone who gets everything on a silver platter to protest when times get tough.

SMALL business owners operating in the South-East have cried out over Nigeria’s lingering economic hardship, lamenting that it is choking their businesses.

A cross-section of those who spoke to SEV, including tailors, dry cleaners, carwash operators, carpenters, masons, and even mechanics, complain that indeed the economic situation is negatively affecting their businesses.

Some of them have been forced to abandon their businesses and resorted to driving shuttle buses and riding commercial motorcycles in rural areas.

Ade is a popular tailor in Awka. Before the economy nosedived, his tailoring business was booming such that he was able to acquire sophisticated machines and bought two cars for himself and his wife, as well as one shuttle bus which he hired out.

He also expanded his business by stocking materials for sale; his place was a one-stop shop for fashion lovers. But Ade is now complaining of idleness as most of his customers no longer sew new clothes, and sales have also dropped drastically.

He said: “I have been in the tailoring business for the past 15 years in Awka and it was good. I later invested in new machines and later started getting materials from Onitsha, which I display in my shop and my customers were making their selections from my stock.

“But things have changed since last year. As it stands, I can stay for a whole month without anybody bringing clothes to sew. Another problem is the increase in electricity bills and the cost of fuel. Imagine buying fuel at N800 per litre to power the generating set and when you build the cost into the service provided, the customers complain. Now, I can hardly pay my rent, and paying my children’s school fees has become very difficult.

“To make ends meet, I now drive my shuttle bus myself and I must say that it is what provides food for the family”.

For Angus Dike, a carwash owner, it would appear that every car owner now avoids car wash like a plague, as he could stay a whole day without anybody bringing his car for washing.

“I was making up to N15,000 daily before things became bad. We were charging N1000 and due to the increase in the cost of materials, we increased to N1500 and sometimes N2000. I don’t know whether it was the increase that drove people away or the hardship. Some of my customers say they now wash their cars themselves to cut cost.”


Also, Okechukwu Anyika who runs a dry-cleaning business around Commissioners’ Quarters Road in Awka, lamented that people no longer bring their clothes for washing. The situation, he said, became worse when he increased the cost by 100% in line with the increase in the cost of all the materials he uses, such as detergent, starch, electricity bill, rent, and salary, among others.

He said: “I have hoped to get married this year to settle down, but I am no longer thinking along that line. The luck I have is that I have not committed myself to any girl, and so, I am just managing myself for now.”

Similarly, Eya Augustine, a mason said jobs no longer come as before because only a few people build houses these days. He said that members of his association decided to increase the cost of their labour, but because many of us could stay for days without finding anything to do; we were forced to accept anything that could enable us eat.

A provision store owner, John Omeh cautioned that if urgent action is not taken to control the rising cost of items in the market, many businesses would collapse. He said that the business environment is no longer promising, adding that many businessmen are highly indebted. He said that the harsh economic situation in the country has led to the collapse of many small and medium enterprises, SMEs in recent times.

“People are already dumping their businesses to look for something else such as tricycle riding, and farming. The situation has increased joblessness. And when you have such a situation, the crime rate increases because people must find ways to survive.”

A motor mechanic who operates at Coal Camp, Ogbete Enugu, Chukwuebuka Okoye has blamed the present administration for the current hardship in the country, saying that the government is not doing anything to solve the huge problem it created but was only interested in urgently changing the National Anthem which has nothing to do with the economy. He lamented that the cost of motor parts has made car owners park their cars at home, adding that they hardly see work to do again.

“The hardship has dealt with us. The number of car owners that come to repair their vehicles has reduced drastically. Even when they bring their vehicles, the price of motor parts scares them away. You can see that I am sitting idle unlike before, especially on a Saturday like this, you will see three to four vehicles waiting for their turn. This government forced hardship on us and they are not doing what they should do to save the masses,” he cried out.

Traders at the Relief and Eke Ukwu Markets, who spoke to SEV, lamented what the harsh economic situation has done to their businesses, saying the patronage is dwindling every day.

Madam Ify Eke, who sells footwear, women’s wear, cosmetics, and wigs, lamented that the prices of items change almost every day. “Most times we go to Onitsha or Lagos to buy goods; you are confronted with price changes. Goods you buy today, in a few days the prices have gone up. It is not good for business.

When you tell customers, they think you are just arbitrarily changing the prices, but it is what the market dictates. So we are experiencing difficulties. Tell President Tinubu that the suffering is just too much”.

Another trader at Eke Ukwu market, Ifeto Food said: “The price of everything is jumping up like the way you see frogs jump up from water. The pain we are going through is too much. The country is not moving forward. Look at a bag of rice, look at a carton of noodles, look at tomatoes and others; their prices have hit the rooftop.”

A food vendor on Mbari Road in Owerri, Madam Mercy lamented: “The country has turned upside down. Nothing is moving forward. The cost of food items is rising daily. Tell Tinubu to resign. He has done the worst. People are dying, crying every day, still no solution”.

Petty traders in Abia State have also decried the skyrocketing prices of goods and services, saying that their customers no longer make purchases as they used to. The traders, who deal in foodstuff and other items, stated that the most affected customers are civil servants and daily paid workers like labourers.

A petty trader along Ikot Ekpene road, Ogbor Hill, Aba, Ngozi Ugochukwu, said her customers cry out that they could no longer afford the basic needs of their families because of the decline in the purchasing power of the naira.

“Prices of goods are going higher daily. A product you buy today for N100 will be sold for N300 tomorrow. Just imagine that a cup of beans now sells for N500 and the same amount for rice. A family-size loaf of bread sells for N2,000. Customers are complaining that they can no longer afford the basic needs of their families due to the low purchasing power of the naira. It is worse that most people no longer do projects, but are only concerned with struggling to provide food for their families”, Mrs. Ugochukwu said.

Another petty trader who didn’t want her name in print accused manufacturers and middlemen of hoarding and increasing prices at will to make high profits and urged the government to check the trend.

A poultry farmer also told SEV that he can no longer sustain his business because of the high cost of feed in the market.

Chuks, a mechanic at the Alaoji Spare Parts Market on the Aba-Port Harcourt expressway, said most of his customers no longer patronize him because they could no longer maintain their vehicles due to the harsh economy.

He said: “Last week, I called one of my customers who said he had decided to park his two cars because he could no longer maintain them. You can see how the harsh economy has affected me. It is becoming difficult for me to feed my family of four, pay my children’s school fees and house rent.”

Chief Ndubuisi Ochiogu, President of Ogbaru Main Market Traders Association, Onitsha Anambra State, lamented that traders are the worst hit by the present economic hardship. He decried a situation where, despite the hardship, all manner of levies and taxes, both legal and illegal, were imposed on them. He mentioned among them, high electricity tariffs, haulage fees, customs duties, stillage fees, import and export duties, high cost of transportation arising from fuel subsidy removal, and other levies, saying they are being choked with levies and taxes.

According to Ochiogu, with local manufacturing companies currently folding up and multinational companies like Guinness pulling out of Nigeria, leaving the traders with the option of only sourcing goods from imports at the mercy of multiple taxation from clearing agents, seizure of their goods by the Customs at the river ports, tagging them contraband, the traders have been completely boxed to the corner. He, therefore, urged government at all levels to reverse these ugly trends to ameliorate this situation before they get out of hand as according to him, “we may get to a situation when Nigerians will go from high cost of goods to non-availability of goods in our markets and the consequences would be too heavy to bear by the masses, and when it gets to that point, a mass revolution might become the next line of action.”


Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/06/harsh-economic-situation-is-choking-us-south-east-small-business-owners-lament/

MT:
Stop being naive, a lot of their own CITIZENS are struggling to get jobs after university education. Some are under employed.

Stop being fed lies in faraway Nigeria.

Do you live in the UK? It's an insult to the UK (a country whose GDP is over two trillion dollars) comparing it with Nigeria (a country whose GDP is about 300 billion dollars).

dapotemi:
If you ask the same person to pay 2 million in unilag, he/she go carry placard..... Education is very expensive..

Yes, that's because there's no guarantee of getting decent jobs in Nigeria after graduation. People who graduated over 5 years ago are still struggling to get decent jobs in Nigeria. So, there's no justification for asking people to pay high tuition fees in Nigeria.

DMerciful:
Like 11 times Nigeria economy, just one company!!!

That's why we really need to drop that illusion that Nigeria is a rich country. I don talk tire! For Nigeria to be rich, we have to get smart people to harness all untapped potential. We cannot continue to be obsessed with crude oil because we are getting a meagre $50 billion from it per annum.

American tech companies are competing for the world's most valuable companies because the demand for AI experts and products is extremely high at this time.

Governments around the world must come together to formulate AI policies to protect that rapidly evolving industry. If not, AI may end up doing us more harm than good.

Africa has tons of problems but language is NOT one of them. I don't have the strength to type.

obiscranum:
But that's the norm in the US. You're just scared of nothing my friend. Why not just try to keep safe and stay out of trouble and you'll always be fine I guess.

And they are paying the heavy price today.

I always say that the worst thing that can happen to a society is having large numbers of non-state actors controlling lethal weapons. This must be avoided at all costs.

NFF should just get him to apologize to Finidi George; tender a public apology and everyone will be fine. Most times, people focus on how we react to things without asking what led to our reactions. For saying that Osimhen doesn't want to play for the Eagles, Finidi was inciting Nigerians against Osimhen.

santaclaws:
Instead of blaming the political class, you blame the ones who are praying for Nigeria.

So it's those who are praying that are the problem and not the thieving politicians? Most of you anti-prayer, anti-religion folks on social media will always misdirect your anger and end up blaming innocent Nigerians who look up to God...

I'll have to reply you because you missed the point.

First, I didn't blame anyone - read the comment you quoted again. I only shared my observation and conviction.

Second, I am a devout Christian who loves God with everything in me.

Lastly, I am saying that those who disturb Almighty God to fix Nigeria aren't any different from those at the highest levels of leadership; they just don't have the opportunity those folks have. Every leader was once an ordinary citizen who prayed for a better country until he got the opportunity to loot serve.

Yorubas won't protest against a man they strongly believe represents their interest at the highest level. Their hands are tied because other Nigerians will tell them they were warned.

Muslim North won't protest against a president who shares the same religious beliefs as them. These folks are only interested in power returning to their region after 8 years - they don't care about performance; they just want power.

Igbos are indifferent because they don't even expect anything positive from Tinubu's presidency. In fact, APC has engaged thousands of online warriors to attack Igbos who criticise the government and Nigerians of other ethnic groups are quickly tagged hateful Igbos for criticizing an incompetent leadership.

South/South and Middle Belt - which are made of minority ethic groups - are observing the major ethnic groups to see their reactions. These majors have disappointedly remained calm.

In summary, nobody will protest due to these intricacies, but the strongest among us will survive this insensitive and clueless government.

They don't usually tell anyone anything.

Tinubu refused to come for debates.

When he visits APC campaign grounds, he's either busy talking about Atiku Abubukar and Peter Obi or telling his people that it's their turn.

Nigerians no get sense. One Northerner told me in 2015 that he would vote for Buhari even if he would take Nigeria to hellfire. That comment is still on my Facebook page now. Expect this in 2027 too.

God gave Nigeria human and material resources to feed and cater for Africa and beyond, but our people decided to mismanage it. So, I am often shocked when I see people praying for Nigeria in churches. I will be like: "What else do you want from God that He hasn't given you?"

Praying for Nigeria is a complete waste of useful time. God answers the prayers of people who make genuine efforts to prosper their land, not those who gather to deliberately ruin their lands under the cloak of religion.