₦airaland Forum

SLIDiE: so, going to functions at the expense of the tax payers, doing cocktails and observing banquets, eating and drinking all around life is such a stressful job?

Someone is working 10hrs a day and only pays tax for the queen to go eat around makes the queen a very hardworking lady abi?

ner gracious majesty during her reign has signed over 2 million acts of parliament which she has to study page by page before signing.

She holds meeting with the prime minister and other members of the government where she is kept up to date with government buisness and she advises them.

Her majesty as queen of 16 other countries hold meeting and cousel her governor generals and prime ministers.

Her majesty undertakes over 800 engagement annually ranging from commissioning, meeting foreign heads of states, visiting mines, places of work and general interaction with her subject.

Her majesty reads and approves thousands of government documents brought to her in red boxes.

Her majesty has visited every country on earth save isreal and north korea. On diplomatic meetings.

Her majesty approves judges, magistraits, comssioners, and various government officials around her realms and meets them regularly.

Her majesty is supreme governor of the church of england(anglican) and as such in involved in the running of the third largest christain denormination on earth.

Her majesty is head of the 54 member commonwealth of nations and she attends all summit, meet all leaders and work on all papers, documents and policies of the biggest organisation of countries after the united nations.

All this for and more for an 88 years old woman. What were some of your grand parents or parents doing when they were 88? GOD SAVE OUR GRACIOUS BRITTANIC MAJESTY, LONG MAY SHE REIGN OVER US.

Joavid: Symphony007,i dnt understand ur love for the British royal family...
Do u get paid for defending them?? lol

oh,,,i'm so in love with themat times i feel i am part of them afterall queen elizabeth ii till 1963 was queen of nigeria. Even today she is the head of the commonwealth, of which nigeria is a member, GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!

Do you realise that from his profile and all we have come to know about him, GOD, the most famous person ever. An entity which almost every religion worship is not democratic.

From what we know,GOD is a monarch. He rules over the heavens and the earth and we're told next in line is his son, JESUS. In jewish history when the isrealites wanted a leader, God did'nt tell them to go and elect a leader, he annoited a leader for them. A king who rules and is suceeded by his heirs.

But overtime people have deposed of monarchs, people including christains find the idea of a monarchy as primitive and unequal but they never challenge the oldest and grandest monarch of all, GOD!! Rather he is worshipped, instend the only democrat in heaven who say the inequality, LUCIFER, who bansihed from heaven and is today the world's oldest villian. Why is it like this?

P/s: i am not making a case for satan before you hardened christains start binding and casting me, it's just an honest head scratching question.

Rossikk: Not sure why you're comparing Nigeria with Japan. Apart from the gulf in technological development, you do realise Japan's annual GDP is $5.87 TRILLION per annum as opposed to Nigeria's $280 billion, and therefore the former CAN easily afford a cutting-edge high speed rail network while Nigeria will necessarily struggle and sacrifice a lot more to get one?

nigeria will not struggle to build a high speed rail network between lagos and port harcourt. The money is there. This country is the 6th largest oil producer on earth and has the 9th largest deposite of natural gas, not to talk of shale gas. Calculate all the money stolen in this country, calculate the over 30 million each member of the 360 member house of rep and 109 senators get from this country, calculate the billions spent on presidential food. Operating over 8 presidential jets. Etc...this country has the money and can afford it.

50calibre: You call this a marriage? The idi*ot man is has been serving his wife for 65 years.

A man made docile by his wife's position.

you folks can talk o. Who told you prince philip is docile? For your info, he is fully in control of his farmily. He and the queen have a long standing aggrement. Her position as head of state ends when she is at home, when it comes to the farmily, he is still the head.

prem love: You should be happy that you have a president who see the need to revitalise the rail way, what was obasanjo doing even yaradua? I wish there started it by now we wound have move from dis level. Lets jst give this man a chance he have good vision for nigeria

most of the rehabilitation contracts were actually awarded by the yar adua administration, but away from that, if pres. Jonathan really has a vision for nigeria, he should have a "definite vision" if he is focusing on power, then he should focus squarely on it and create a legacy, not today power, tomorrow, cell phones for farmers, next week, 29 billion naira for textbooks no nigerian child will see.

vanunu: It will be foolish for Nigeria to build a high speed train service now without a private company running it, since Nigeria railway corporation could not run 19th century locomotives for many years. The best we can go for is fast train service, like the one being built by GEJ from Abuja to Kaduna. It is not easy to maintain high speed train, even the US don't even have it and they should try and involve Dr Jude Igwemezie who is one of the best in rail technology in North America.

after building the network, there is a possibility it could be sold to private individuals so it can be handled better. That is why i love margaret thatcher and british capitalism. Most of the greatest landmarks. Heathrow, land rover, jagua, rolls royce, the mines, BAE systems,etc..where all built by the government but later sold off to private folks who have managed and improved it futher.

25omega: see old mama wey never work a day in her life

how dare you say such? How many 88 years old women do you see carrying out over 800 engagement annually and travel around the globe representing her country?

Queen elizabeth and her husband prince philip have been married for 65 years. With four children, eight grandchildren and three great grandchildren. This picture speaks volumns for their lifetime of love.

kel4soft: Building modern railway is very expensive that needs large junk of money. I mean money.

of course, money that we have that is wasted and stolen everyday.

Joavid: To those praising this old lady,what exactly are u praising her for she was brought up to be who she is.
And how has she,the head of the commonwealth help Nigeria??

she never wanted to be queen. She always said she wanted to live a quiet life on a farm with lots of horses, then her uncle abdicated the throne leaving her shuttering and shy father to be king, he too never wanted to be king and died only 16 years later from the stress. And she took up this job she never wanted, then killed her father, and has been proudly doing it for 61 years. She deserves respect.

Her gracious majesty, her brittanic majesty, elizabeth the great....this woman is an icon. A prolific attestation to morality and duty, traits that are missing in todays world. Been serving her country for 61 years, been married to one man for over 65 years. When this woman goes the commonwealth and indeed the world would loose an unsung and unappreciated quiet hero.

Her majesty and her loyal husband for the past 65 years.

kel4soft: In Port Harcourt, Amaechi is building a monorail that will start from Station bustop to terminate at Eleme junction. It was supposed to be in Partnership with a Chinese firm. The govt was to bring 30% and the chinese firm with the remaining 70%. Do you know, this Chinese firm pulled out citing financial breakdown, after the state govt has already fufill 10% of is it's bargain. The 40km rail project now became a sham to Rivers State people. Monorail is a very expensive project which requires funds from partners. The dilenma now, should the state govt withdraw or continue. If they does the former, all hell will let lose by the opposition since he was warn not to venture into the project from onset. And if he does the latter, it requires enough finance cos 1 column is equal to N800m. Amaechi been a stubborn man refused to back down. Instead he concluded he will terminate the project at waterlines. But, can he pick the project from UTC bustop to Waterlines? That is another question that need answers. So far out of the 39km initial plan, he has decided to complete 10km before leaves office single handedly since the Chinese firm pulled out. So far, he has been able to cover 4.5km. Can he achieved the remaining 5.5km in 2years? Is that what Jonathan should do?

the federal republic of nigeria should be able to review the capabilities of any partner they want to do buisness with. If they cannot find any suitable partner, the federal republic of nigeria that pays it's legislators over 30 million, where a minister spends 2 billion on travels, where a president spends 1 billion on food, can single handedly complete that kind of rail from port harcourt to lagos and then use the overwheaming revenue gotten from it to construct the lagos-kano phase.

A-ZeD:
We have to start from somewhere but like a typical Nigerian politician, the refurbished trains are more of a campaign tool than the solution to a problem.
The trains should have been strictly cargo. In that way, they make money to expand why reducing the trucks on the road.
It must be said though that there are certain areas that need long term planning and rail transport is one of them.

thank you very much. Your observation i think is what caused the BBC commentator to call it "a cargo train used to transport people"

jp philips: Technically, Amaechi got the credit for over seeing the contract in his tenure whereas Odili and Omehia, has completed payment for the bridge.

technically, you and your cohorts lied when you said that ikwerre road plus the bridge was done by Amaechi, and Technically, your facts speaks from two compasses of your mouth.

Technically, you are sounding boring, pls change the subject because technically, Amaechi's first tenure roads were good but very short compared to the Amount he collected,

technically all his second tenure roads are below standard not just by quality (Nigerians are used to) but by overwhelming reduction in carriage capacity which technically, qualifies his roads to be mere streets.

Technically, Amaechi has failed rivers people and i categorically implore him to go back to work and technically leave Okupe and his madness alone.

i deliberatly left mr aboki to debate you on my post's you quoted. But before you continue, i'm wondering why you fail to mention the primary healthcare centers, model primary schools, model secondary schools, the RSSDA and many more.

koikoi2: The journey of a thousand miles begins wit one step. Countries using fast rail didnt start from there.They also started from d locomotive. It wil not b out of place if someone else introduces the speed train after Jonathan's govt, remember there was none wen he took office.

yes, the journey of a thousand miles does start with a step but the question is how great a step? Is the step a pace or a stride? If you use your logic then nigeria will never be an advanced nation because it will always be behind the greats. Do you know what new technology will evolve when jonathan leaves office? But that is when nigeria will think of building high speed rail when to the outside world, it's old.... technology. Your fathers first phone must have been a land line but if you wanted to buy your first phone in the year 2013, will it also be a land line?

jp philips: If i were you, i will leave ikwerre road out of it, but if you want to straighten your facts, you can as well say he did some patch work at some sections of ikwerre road, that will be gracious of you.

let me educate you a little, do you know that all the roads you mentioned above are not upto 10km if you sum it together, are you aware?

now, do you know the income of rivers state within the 5yrs under review?

someone dualized a 1.5km road, or 2.5km road, with billions and you pick your ogene in appraisal, it is either you are naturally daft or there is something about amaechi that gives you a hard on.

dude, i won't abuse you cause i actually pity you and your ignorance. You call ikwerre raod patch work. You call the full overhaul of that road with underground dranaige, new street lights patch work. A work that extents into mile 4 where a fly over close to the school of nursing a patch work? How many km is choba road which is now under construction? How many km is ahoada road? The new fly over at choba? All this money spent on road not to talk of the one spent of health centers, schools, shonghai,RSSDA,etc...wow! I'm in awe of you my friend.

If you bought a nokia 3310 today in a world were smart phones are the norm, will that be a cause for you to celebrate or beat your chest about?

So it is with the recent rail revitalization project of the jonathan administration, in a world of high speed rail lines, the jonathan government has spent and is still spending billions of naira on rehabilitating colonial era rail tranks and buying "LOCOMOTIVES" to run on them.

Recntly, the lagos-kano rail line was opened and the nigerian government beat their chest to the world that the nigerian rail sector is back so as expected BBC world news came to withness the new wonder of the world. BBC reporter komla dumor took a train ride from lagos to kano and it took him 22 hours to get there and the coaches were crowded and hot. One commentator called it a "cargo train". And it raised questions about how a country that aims to be an economic powerhouse have such a disfunctional internal transport system? How is it possible that it takes more than a whole day for people,goods and services to move within a country the size of califonia plus texas.

Nigerias don't deserve 20th century locomotives. Nigeria deserves a high speed rail network connecting essential cities. This is the approach this government should have taken. All the money being spent currently could have gone a long way combined with investments from the private sector to fund a high speed rail network from port harcourt to lagos and kano. Even if the government could not find foreign or local private investment, this country can afford to fund such a project by itself. Can you imagine the possibility of travelling between port harcourt to lagos in 3 to 5 hours, can you imagine living in ogun state and working in lagos? Imagine what that will do for the economy, the fast and mass movement of people, goods and services, the relief on nigerian roads, even the massive revenue it will bring in for the government.

Now, my all i have articulated above are open to debate. But they are my candid feelings on the "transformation agenda"...the jonathan administration is all over the place and that has made pointing at a specific area and say gee, they have really tried in this area. It's sad due to the high hopes nigeria had for the guy with fresh air.

Mr Aboki: You will keep lying until your surname changes to Linus...

Please name one road that Amaechi demarcated a single lane and called it dualized.... We are waiting o!!

Opkoro Road - Is that road not currently under construction?! Infact was that road not expanded from its original size?! - Answers required


Woji Road - Is that not the same road that Temple Ejekwu and the band of Ikwerres there have insisted on being paid unwarranted compensation before work commences?!


My guy please.. Call Amaechi names, but dont ever talk shiit about him when it comes to Healthcare, Schools, Roads, security and Electricity.. The roads to be fixed are still very plenty, but the roads that have been fixed, and being fixed are plentier.

please allow him to rant on. He is following the slogan "it's not a lie, if you belive it".

jp philips: If the Amaechi's Govt still have time for all this big grammer, who or how will woji road and sub roads, okporo road, Eneka road be fixed? i don't get, rivers has the worst roads in Nigeria and our governor is busy throwing punches.
Road is the only social Amenity available for portharcourt residents and Amaechi is stil waannkkiinng on it.

his latest road maintenance formula now is, award contract worth billions, send the contractor to demarcate an existing single lane and hurrah! Amaechi has a dual carriage lane with only one feasible lane.

I tire for that mofo. shut up! and get to work

how many roads did peter odili construct in his 8 years? Ameachi in his 5 years has constructed the stadium road, rumuola road, airforce road, ikwerre road, and many more. He even supervised the reconstruction of the collapsed airforce bridge which was one of odili's only achievement. You are busy running your mouth about ameachi who has done alot for his state while no one is speaking of the biggest ex governour thief, odili who roams free and even visits aso rock.

PapaBrowne: These Pictures should be a warning to Nigerians!!


When your politicians call you to start a revolution because they lose out on a power struggle, don't heed their call. Simply tell them to bring back their kids from Paris, London, Dubai and Los Angeles and put them on the frontlines.
Only then should you heed such a call.



This warning goes to all lovers of a certain old man(an ex coupist/head of state) who keeps promising us blood if he fails to win elections he has lost 3 times. This warning also goes to all lovers of one a certain loud mouth(an ex-militant) who loves chest thumping about war if his candidate is not re elected.


Nigeria's economy is booming. Let's work hard to make it a prosperous nation. Lets hold our leaders accountable. And if we must protest, lets do so in peace and more importantly lets focus our protests on our localities where the pains of underdevelopment are more evident. The money we use in buying jeeps can start factories. The money used in buying land in Lagos can start a huge factory. I repeat, this economy is booming. We just need a change in culture. We need to move from a culture of consumption to a culture of production. When you get a little money, your question should be what can I produce instead of what can I consume. That way jobs would be everywhere. About the power sector, it is coming up, albeit slowly. I repeat, don't listen to any politician who tells you rubbish about revolution.


We don't want the Egyptian situation in Nigeria. I visited Egypt twice in 2005 and I found it a very beautiful country. I found the people living prosperously. They were happy under Mubarak. They were free. I saw them at parties in the hotels I stayed in. They were so friendly. I remember meeting former Vice President Ekwueme there. The country was booming. Today, two and half years after the so called revolution, the country is in blood and turmoil and trepidation and everything has gone down. I weep for Egypt.

same with libya where they enjoyed peace and stability under gadafi, their oild market boomed. They were an independent and proud country, today libya is in ruins and unrest, living off foreign aid money.

How about iraq, where for all his flaws, sadaam held the country together. Despite the ethnic divisions, they were forced to live together and the country progressed. Today ethnic problems have crippled the nation and not a day goes by without a bomb killing scores of people in bagdad.

Need i mention tunisia, or amny others? I repeat, most muslim nations do not need democracy.

This may sound insensitive and my apologies to anyone who may find it offensive but most muslim nations do not need democracy, they can't handle it. They need a dictator to keep them in line, in the absence of that supreme power, there is choas. Look at iraq, libya, tunisia, many others and now egypt.

A woman stands before a military bulldozer as it charges before her injured son.

As the shooting military approaches and with no were to go, pro morsi protesters jump from bridges to their death.

Two egyptians kill their fellow egyptian who is a supporter of the deposed president, and drag his corpse around.

A man uses a touchlight to search for the dead body of a loved one out of scores of unpreserved, bloody corpses.

The streets of cairo, alexandria and many other egyptian city runs red as thousands of people are dead due to the ongoing crisis. Below are some pics of the hell the most populous muslim nation has decended into.

Two men pray for scores of dead bodies preserved with blocks of ice block by protestors.

If you think the nigerian government owns LNG. If you don't know that LNG is a partnership between shell, NNPC,total and others. If you don't know that shell has produced the M,D of shell since it's inception then there is no need arguing with and ignorant person like you.

And by the way, that plant you call small is the largest LNG plant in africa and amongs the top five globally. Ignorant one.

How dare you post pictures of NLNG and other company residential areas here and say the president built them. What sort of stupid lie is this? Everybody has access to the internet and can spew any trash. Internet troll.

Why do these development banks and agency keep borrowing money to nigeria without seeing that every penny is spent for the reason it was taken, nigeria borrow money and government officials take 80%, then the remaning crumbs trickle down. How do you effect a "transformation agenda" with thieves in government.

Very soon, fashola will colaberate with david cameron to bring his "GO HOME" campaign to nigeria. You'll soon be seeing ads on brt buses saying "GO BACK TO YOUR HOME STATE".

Amanwulu1: bt ppl can b brainless, so u thk gej visit to china is jst to lure obama to visit. Tho I dont fancy obama's visit bt u're wrong.

your comment is so confusing and outlying on so many levels. Pleasw clearify!!