₦airaland Forum

Nitah1:
So,aside banning people you comment also?

Moderators are also Nairalanders too.

Even Uncle Seun, Nairalander no 1 and founder of this esteemed website does comment from time to time.

SEGLIZ:
you are wrong. just like say the Yoruba speaking Benin. Republic, Igbo speaking Cameroonian or Hausa speaking Niger are Nigerians, it's a no.

And we are all, at the end of the day africans....

VictorRomanov:
So make them just kuku dey Europe.

Sorry....geography and other facts can't be changed...

from Wikipedia...

Russia is not proportionately populated between its larger Asian portion, which contains about 23% of the country's population, and its smaller European portion, which contains about 77%. The European portion contains about 110 million people out of Russia's total population of about 144 million in an area covering nearly 4,000,000 km2 (1,500,000 sq mi); (making it by far the largest European country) an average of 27.5 people per km2 (70 per sq mi).[2]:6[2]:10

The eastern portion of Russia, mostly encompassing Siberia, is part of Asia and makes up more than 75% of the territory with 22% of the country's population at 2.5 people per km2 (6.5 per sq mi).[2]:6

VictorRomanov:
So you wan undo wetin Peter the Great don do?

Abeg I no fit reverse 300 years of history.!

In this regard, the party is looking for a candidate who the North, as a zone, including traditional institution, the elite and down-trodden, would accept as its own, especially since the major opponent, President Muhammadu Buhari, has a northern appeal.

The fear, it was gathered, is that a candidate not acceptable to the North would not stand a chance against President Buhari, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

So PDP is looking for a Northern candidate....

Very very interesting.

In my opinion, 2019 is going to be one fine race. PDP choosing a Northern candidate might work in their favour...especially as APC is anathema in the SE and SS and crucially the Middle Belt. They might get a narrow win next year.

On the other hand...SE may be eyeing the presidency in 2023 (though as I have said elsewhere, an SE Veep means the SE gets into government for a potential 16 years, the last 8 being as president)...so APC might get somewhere in the SE...though that is a looooong shot. PDP still looking like the better option...16 years on top.

The unknown quantity is the SW....will the SW go for APC or PDP this time?

bigtt76:
How are they Asian? Russia is not in Asia or are they?

kennygee:
Cause Mikel is playing for a Chinese club or because you don't know your geography?

Russia is partly in Europe and partly in Asia.

Infact, Russia is a very diverse and multi ethnic country. And it includes many ethnicites that are 'Asian' like...Tartars, Mongols, even Koreans!

(When the Soviet Union existed,it was even more diverse!....Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Kirgizs,etc...and many of those former nationalities live in Russia too).

Even many of those European Russians have a bit of Asian in their ancestry.....just read about the Mongol invasions centuries ago.

That Russia seems European is thanks to Peter the Great in the 18th century modernising the country.

Bitterleafsoup:
God help us when the youth celebrate this as achievements.

Other developing countries like Botswana or Rwanda are doing so much more to modernize life for her citizens.

No wonder youths are going to Afganistan just to get out of Nigeria.

1. The hospitals you are showing us are the 'tertiary' hospitals in those countries...while Ituk Mbang is a secondary hospital.

2.Botswana is a country that is one of the largest producers of diamonds and platinum...and has a population of 2.5million. Nigeria has 200million people...and produces the same amount ofoil as the UAE. (In other words,we are not rich...and our elite make matters worse by being corrupt).

3.Both Botswana and Rwanda had visionary leaders who crucially knocked down the tribe issues. Nigeria ? We are yet to agree on who a visionary leader is, and we prefer to argue on how we would share the money

Ifiokumo:
Is that a hospital in 2018? It’s shameful for the Giant of AFrica to continue to build nonsense in places without federal presence like the East


See what hospitals are meant to look like

Yes,hospitals are meant to look like that....until you realize that in order to maintain that hopsital either of two things are going on

1. The country where that hospital is located pays HIGH taxes .....up to 50% of your annual income.

2.The average hospital bills in that hospital are probably higher than what Nigerians can afford. For example,a Caesarean in a Nigerian hospital might cost $1000 while a cesarean in a foreign hospital might cost $15000

The budget too has to be taken into consideraton. Healthcare budgets in foreign countries are far higher than the entire budget in Nigerian countries. As an example...a Nigerian hospital might be lucky to get a budget of $20million...whereas a foreign hospital can get budgets up to $500million.

If you want that kind of hospital in Nigeria...be prepared to pay high taxes....higher than what you pay now....or pay N2million naira for common appendicectiomy for example.

tspun:
OMG I wish there is a dislike button, can't believe this dude is still support our useless and lifeless government

As usual...someone who thinks I back Bubu.

Well....let's make our explanation clear.

We have to take loans because we are not earning enough from oil.

To earn enough from oil...we need the oil price to be at $140 per barrel.

Anyone who thinks we can survive this period without loan taking (considering that the last PDP admin ran down our savings from $47bn in 2009 to $32 in May 2015 despite oil being above $100 from 2010-14< and considering that in the last three to four yearsoil fell from $75 to $29 and then rose to $77...while not reaching $100 or even $140 per barrel..) is in dreamland.

Where our government makes it bad..(since you want me to say that Bubu is besties with Lord Lucifer )

1.We spend billions on subsidies...

2.We don't take loans strategically...eg we should be pushing for loans for power renovation for example)

3.We still condone petty corruption.

4.We don't pay taxes.

You guys...LIFE Is not always PDP vs APC. Take some time out.....smell some flowers., have some fun with your bae...

frenzyduchess:
you seem not to get the point, if you understood the last part of my statement then you will understand just how much in deep sh1t we are in this country.its like borrowing money to buy generator and also borrowing money every day to buy fuel.

The government is do lip service with "let's encourage local content" .In the end we enjoy the luxury of having a generator ,yet no vaible means to pay back the money borrowed to buy the gen nor any viable means to.fuel it either so we continue borrowing to fuel it. I hope you get the picture now.

Well, you get it but....

1.We have to borrow money because we are an oil dependent country...and our economy is hooked up to the price of oil.

Since 2014...oil has dropepd from $130 per barrel to as low as $30 in 2016 and to $77 now. And as I said...we need it at $140 per barrel. I doubt we could have survived without taking loans.

The govt...could have said they won't take loans...and by now we would have had things like salaries not being paid for years.

2.We have viable means...all we need to do is cut subsides, cut corruption and spend only on things like power and public transport...then we can pay back our debts...in due time. But Nigerians...from the govt to the people like to live large...and like their cheap fuel.(Subsidy for fuel is an example of the waste you alluded to...YET...if we try to remove it there are protests. So...money continues to get poured down a bottomless pit.).

Long term...we become an industrial nation

frenzyduchess:
honestly with the way FG is begging for loans up and down, they might just use the entire country as collateral to fund their vacation and allowances.

OK....if we stopped taking loans today, we would be in an even worse state.

Fact is....unless oil goes up to $140 per barrel...our break even point...we will need to incurr debts.

Keep in mind that even GEJ borrowed...because even at $100 and above per barrel...it still was not enough.

itiswellandwell:
This type of news doesn't move Nigeria government. They believe, loan facility is always available since their are still enough citizens to use as collateral. I just hope one day, someone won't wake to the news that a side of the country has been barricaded and citizens of that environment should be expecting a big ship which will come pack them to the go work in another country for some years so as to pay up Nigeria debts.

Cheap clean s6 edge. Check my signature.

1. You are exxagerating.

2.Fact is, we need oil to be at $140 per barrel....to be in a position not to take loans.

3.The problem is not the loan taking...it is what we are taking the loans for. We should push government to take loans for trasport and power infrastructure....

4. We should also remove subsides. Currently we spend N65 per liter of fuel as subsidy. If we remove subsidy...we save trillions of naira...and we also get investment and job creation...even though there would be the hardship of N200-300 per liter fuel.

5.America owes trillions to China. Wonder why they are not going to be slaves to the Chinese....

6.Thing is....if we want to be free of debt....we have to end subsides, end our reliance on oil...and do the hardwork towads being an industrial nation. But the thing is...chaps like you don't want that. You want government to share the money...and you are only interested in the debt issue as a political weapon. Acutal nation building...you don't want. And there are many APC chaps like you.

That is why marriage is a good thing.

That sheet of paper is very very important.

The problem I have with these musicians is that they get some random girl pregnant, said randomgirl then uses them to chop money well well.

Next time, any up and coming musician should marry the girl he wants to make love to. Or abstain. Or use protection. Because at the end of the day...it is the innocent child who suffers.

I am sorry for Wizkid's children. They will suffer the lack of a father. This is not a curse.

adecz:


The mistake made by govt from
the get go was to negotiate & pay
Ransom to terrorists.

If citizens are kidnapped, the best any
modern responsible govt should do is, plan
a commando style rescue, not minding the
risks to victims & our soldiers.

If we succeed, good.
If we fail, then a message has been sent.

When you pay terrorists, you become
their ATM, anytime they are short of cash,
the will raid another school. If they can
raid full military bases & barrack, then how
many schools can you protect?

America, Israel, Britain & most developed
countries will never negotiate with terrorists,
that is why nobody takes their citizens hostage
for ransom, the terrorists know say, na
bad bizness.

And the Nigerian govt is here, financing
the terrorists to the tune of billions of
naira (in $$€€££) & endangering the rest
if us.

Yes, sadly, the hostage may be
killed if we don't negotiate
( just as innocent kids, women & old
people are killed in any war)
in the long run, it makes the rest of us safer.

RIP to the innocents!!!

1.The US does negotiate with terrorists....eg Bowe Berghdal's release....IN exchange for some Taliban fighters...

2.Israel too does do negotiaitons....eg the dead bodies of two Israeli soldiers in exchange for some Hezbollah millitants, as well as the negotiaitons around Gilad Shalith.

3.Yes, there is the commando job...but it does not always work.

4.Nigeria has tried commando tactics. Example in 2014...a white guy in Sokoto was kidnapped by a terror group. SSS located the guy...and cordonned off the house he was in. The terrorists killed him.

Kira290:
the royal pen*s is clean my lord

And I saw this film for the first time as a nine year old.....

czarina:
Came to see Lisa

I think most of us did

tetralogyfallot:
We voted this administration hoping oil subsidy can be thing of the past but here are we. Its really pathetic and pitiable seeing my country put all their hopes in dangote refinery.

APC could remove subsidy....but that means fuel would cost N300 per liter .

And that would provoke riots in the street.

See when GEJ raised price from 65 to 140....there were protests...and that was a partial removal mind.

Thingis....govt should remove subsidy...and charge a tax on the profits made by marketers in return. We can't continue like this.

emmie14:
Which subsidies again? Does it mean without subsidies PMS will be #210.6 per litre against #87?

Exactly.

We import the vast majority of fuel we use in this country.

If we wanted to stop importation completely, we should have all our refineries operating at max capacity plus four new refinereis like Dangote's own plus Dangote's own. Plus dozens of mini-refineries.

Thing is,even if we do that...fuel will still cost N180 at least (My estimate...not official!). Dangote wants to make a profit...seeing as he took a loan to build his refinery.

Subsidizing the imported fuel really is the wrong thing to do. Yet both GEJ and PMB did it because both of them don't want to lose power.

jayson87:
This singular news has vindicated GEJ's payment of subsidy. Imagine how much that man paid when the price was about 111 - 120 USD per bbl

It was a lot of money...considering the trillions saved when GEJ partially removed subsidy by raising fuel price from N65 to N140 before Nigerians forced him to beat it back to N97.

(SURE-P was funded by the billions saved).

But even then paying subsidy was the wrong decsion then...and it is the wrong decison now. Fuel price should have been left at N140 per liter...then by now.....thanks to massive investment...jobs and investment would have flowed in.

But instead...GEJ continued to subsidse fuel...and we continued to have fuel queues...because most marketers could not afford to sell fuel at N97 later N87 per liter.Plus....the subsidy payments were not sustainable: by 2015 when GEJ left office...he owed billions in subsidy payments. Buhari had to do emergency payment at one stage to stave off a crisis.

Thing is...GEJ was right to remove subsidy. And he should have remained firm at N140 per liter. But Nigerians did not see the benefits...they just saw N65 go to N140 and then N97.

The truth of the matter is simple

That is N65 that could have gone elsewhere...like transport, health, education, etc.

But the government keeps on spending N65 because the alternative....complete deregulation....is horrifying politically

But from an economic point of view....removing subsidy could enable us save more forex, and free up more money for public spending projects.

I think it is high time we faced the truth...and removed subsidy. Yes...fuel price will shoot up to N300 per liter...BUT....foreign investment would flow in, more investment will flow into our oil sector...and eventually prices will come down.

GEJ and Okonjo Iweala had the right idea in 2012....the problem was Nigerians of all shapes and sizes...GEJ fans inclusive...prefer cheap oil. Well, cheap oil is costing us money that is better spent elsewhere...and money that to begin with...is not enough (and I haven;t even talked about corruption).

Oil subsidy must go. It should have gone since 1986...since 1993 since 2006 and since 2012. It has to go now.

OreMI22:
[s][/s]


Shameless liar!

Now, your theory is that the USA recession of 2008 that is responsible for our reckless rate of borrowing.

I have said it that Nigeria had so many leaders who loved and cared for Nigeria genuinely. They worked hard for debt forgiveness and restrained themselves from borrowing wildly so that Nigeria will not collapse financially.

Buhari does not love Nigeria. He is bent on making Nigeria insolvent by the time he is removed from office. By raising the foreign debt to $50 - $60 billion dollars, when oil price is still above $70 dollars is beyond criminal.

The question is Who will pay for all these debts being piled up by Buhari on largely non-existent projects?

Thank you and good evening.

Again, we are not on the same page.You seem to have mistaken me for a Buhari defender, which I am not (Two words...he refused to remove fuel sibsidy and then there is the matter of diversificaiton...but that is besides the point).

The issue is, we would always be in debt because we keep on relying on oil....which after all is part of the 'bad leadership' argument.

You hate Buhari....me I think we have all these problems because our leadership past and present cannot make the decisions to get us off oil....which is why we get into debts.

p.s:

1.I refuted your argument that IBB did not get us into debt.

2.If you read the article I quoted...you would have seen why we get into debt...and it is because governments do the wrong thing over and over again...and also because oil revenues cannot be enough for this country.

3.And that's that.

4.If you want to get off debts...you have to get off oil. And into industries. Does the PDP or APC have a plan for that?

5.We got into debt under Yaradua and GEJ because the oil price, though high, was no where near the break even. And we would get into more debt now...in part because the oil price was not near the break even.

P.S 2

I don't like using the argument that oil prices are not high enough , hence economy fails because it appears to let governments off the hook...which is what you are assuming i am doing.

The thing is, I merely point out the problem.....and it is up to the government to get solutions. Like really really diversifying us out of this.

Good evening...and next time, don't insult people you disagree with. It makes you seem petty. I did not call you names. I see no reason why you should. Be more decorous in your speech next time.

OreMI22:
[s][/s]

Bloody liars!

Even if oil is at $50,000 per barrel, Buhari will still ask for $200, 000 for him not to steal.

Perhaps.

When has oil been at $140 per barrel? Babangida built most of what we see in Abuja and Ajaokuta to Warri railway line with oil price at average of $15 per barrel. HE DID NOT ACCUMULATE FOREIGN DEBT!

Nigeria's external debt went from $360,260,000 in 1985 to $1,093,661,000 in 1993...

Obasanjo paid back our Paris club debt, built the LNG plant at Bonny, rebuilt most of the federal roads at average oil price of $25-$30 dollars per barrel. HE DID NOT ACCUMULATE FOREIGN DEBT!

Obasanjo paid 1/3 rd of the debt, the remainfer was forgiven by the G7

Again, what has Buhari built in Nigeria with average oil price at $75 dollars? WHY HAS BUHARI CONTINUED TO ACCUMULATE UNSUSTAINABLE FOREIGN DEBTS?
who will pay back these debts?

We will continue to accumulate debts until we take our economy off oil...which is my ultimate point.

Sorry you missed it.

I am not into your PDP and APC fight.

ADDENDUM

According to Omoleye, and Ezeonu (2006), Nigeria is the largest debtor nation in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The genesis of Nigeria’s external debt can be traced to 1958 when 28 million US dollars was contracted from the World Bank for railway construction. Between 1958 and 1977, the need for external debt was on the low side. However, due to the fall in oil prices in 1978 which exerted a negative influence on government finances, it became necessary to borrow to correct balance of payment difficulties and finance projects. The firstmajor borrowing of 1billion US dollars referred to as Jumbo loan was contracted from the international capital market (ICM) in 1978 increasing the total to 2.2 billion U.S dollars (Adesola, 2009).

The rate of borrowing increased thereafter with the entry of the state government into external loan contractual obligation. According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria’s external debt outstanding stood at N17.3 billion. In order to solve the problem, several external debt-financing options were adopted under the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986. Since the introduction of this programme, Nigerians have been plunged into one hardship after another ranging from the devaluation of the naira through Second Tie Foreign Exchange Market (SFEM) now Foreign Exchange Market (FEM) to the rising prices of commodities, inflation etc. (Ayadi, 2008). The objective of this paper is to review Nigeria’s external debt and the burden it imposes, and use the various indicators and prevailing global economic circumstances to justify the need for substantial debt relief for the country.

The increasing fiscal deficits driven by the higher level of external debt servicing is a major threat to growth of the nation. The resultant effect of large accumulation of debt exposes the nation to high debt burden. Nigeria is about the richest on the continent of Africa, yet due to the numerous macro-economic problems, such as inflation, unemployment, sole dependency on crude oil as a major source of revenue, corruption and mounting external debt and debt service payment, majority of her citizen fall below the poverty line.

Prior to the $18 billion debt cancellation granted to Nigeria in 2005 by the Paris Club, the country had external debt of close to $40 billion with over $30 billion of the amount being owed to Paris Club alone (Semenitari, 2005). The history of Nigeria’s huge debts can hardly be separated from its decades of misrule and the continued recklessness of its rulers. Nigeria’s debt stock in 1971 was $1 billion (Semenitari, 2005). By 1991, it had risen to $33.4 billion, and rather than decrease, it has been on the increase, particularly with the insurmountable regime of debt servicing and the insatiable desire of political leaders to obtain loans for the execution of dubious projects (Semenitari, 2005).

[b]Before the debt cancellation deal, Nigeria was to pay a whopping sum of $4.9 billion every year on debt servicing (Aluko and Arowolo, 2010). It would have been impossible to achieve exchange rate stability or any meaningful growth under such indebtedness. The effect of the Paris Club debt cancellation was immediately observed in the sequential reduction of the exchange rate of Nigeria vis-à-vis the Dollar from 130.6 Naira in 2005 to 128.2 Naira in 2006, and then 120.9 in 2007 (CBN, 2009). Although the growth rate of the economy has been inconsistent in the post-debt relief period as it plunged from 6.5% in 2005 to 6% in 2006 and then increased to 6.5% in 2007 (CBN, 2008), it could have been worse if the debt had not been cancelled However, the benefits of the debt cancellation, which was expected to manifest after couple of years, was wiped up in 2009 by the global financial and economic crisis, which was precipitated in August 2007 by the collapse of the sub-prime lending market in the United States. The effect of the crisis on Nigeria’s exchange rate was phenomenal as the Naira exchange rate vis-à-vis the Dollar rose astronomically from about N120/$ in the last quarter of 2007 to more than N150/$ (about 25% increase) in the third quarter of 2009 (CBN, 2009). This is attributable to the sharp drop in foreign earnings of Nigeria as a result of the persistent fall of crude oil price, which plunged from an all-time high of US$147 per barrel in July 2007 to a low of US$45 per barrel in December 2008 (CBN, 2008)[/b]

Available statistics show that the external debt stock of Nigeria has been on the increase after the debt cancellation in 2005. The country’s external debt outstanding increased from $3,545 million in 2006 to $3,654 million in 2007, and then to $3,720 million and $3,947 in 2008 and 2009 respectively (CBN, 2009). Therefore, the study seeks to thoroughly and empirically investigate the consequential effect of Nigeria’s external debt on her economy for us to appreciate the need to avoid being back in the group of highly indebted nations..

iammo:
I can bet my last cent, premium times is owned by a southerner. while northerners cooperate in protecting their own and their members, southerner keeps attacking each other. you would think north only have huasa/Fulani as its only inhabitants, but it is a diverse ethnic groups, protecting common interest of enjoying southern resources, using southern sea port, and most especially sell agricultural produce to southern market at any price they deem fit(e.g local rice been expensive than foreign rice). ironically southern lawyers backed by tinubu, went ahead to procure a judgement which prevent any action been taking for buhari's lack of producing the basic educational certiface required for a fair contest from a southern judge. my simple question is what if North decides not to zone presidency to south come 2023, are we southerners going to still play the game fairly?

Considering the fact that the North is paying for years of defending their corrupt people in heartbreaking poverty....I say it makes sense to keep on exposing corrupt Southerners....till they get replaced by guys who won't steal.

In other words...

Mr Bichi was recommended by Mr Seyefa.....not by Bubu.

Plus....it seems the guy is quite the professional....

I know Bubu's appointments are lopsided....but at the same time,let us stop pretending that ONLY southerners are qualified to head any office.

mrrights:
Nigeria is now the country with the poorest people in the world. Yet, Buhari is working

https://www.focus-economics.com/sites/default/files/wysiwyg_images/focuseconomics_poorest_countries_march_2018-01.jpg

You might want to check your facts again

Sauce

And by the way...I am for Nigeria...not for APC or PDP.

Oil dependency.

Lack of innovation!

NCAN Laboratories LTD.... Reporting for duty...

Subject . Robert Akpan

Test results: Negative for Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo.

Diagnosis: Minority tribe

Plan : ABORT MISSION. repeat ABORT MISSION repeat ABORT MISSION.

This shows that Christians are fraudsters and sinners....

(Sarcasm intended)

ok

The only way forward is to DEREGULATE...ie increase fuel prices.

Right now we

1,Import most of the fuel we use in this country.

2.Even if ALL the refinery were working in this country....we would still need to import 20-70million liters of PMS alone.

3.Landing cost of fuel is now N180 per liter.

4.Marketers are forced to sell at N145 per liter.

5.Subsidy only gives marketers N25 at least per liter of fuel sold...meaning no profits made...meaning no jobs, no investment ,no resources.

6.Even IF dangote comes on stream....Dangote...will not sell fuel at N145 per liter...not while he has loans of $6billion to pay back (he took $6bn loan to build that refinery.).

7.If deregulation happens....we will have fuel price of N300 per liter. Yes...it is harsh. Yes...it is wrong...BUT....investment will flow in, especially foregn investment...and jobs will be created, and government will save BILLIONS in dollars.

So...let us DEREGULATE....or we will keep on seeing hoarding, smuggling, etc.

PresidentAtiku:
Thanks for reconfirming that this government is bad and a generational error

And how does your MR atiku intend to fix the problem?

Thing is,we need to do a lot of hard work to fix the problem...not populist slogans from both APC and PDP.

PresidentAtiku:
may your generation live and depend on N35 meal then. They borrowed to pay but we bought fuel at N87... Now Kogi and some other states are owing salaries yet buying fuel at N145.... What is our current debt profile as a country? My friend carry your zombeism to you generation... Not all of us are fools you know!

The fact that we werepaying N87 for fuel under GEJ is a myth.

First...from 2012-15...the official price of fuel was N97.It was reduced to N87 in 2015.

Second...that price only took effect in Lagos and Abuja. Outside those cities...fuel was going for N130-180,and even as high as N200...largely because government was finding it difficult to pay subsidy benefits. And we had lots of fuel scarcity back then.



You don't own a car., obviously.

As for our high debt. ....we rely on crude which has not passed $75 since Bubu took over. Meanwhile, we need oil to be at $140 per barrel to be able to have a balanced budget. THAT is why borrowing under this govt has been so high (and why GEJ borrowed too...because oil while over $100 was not higher than $130.)

And that is why we cannot afford a good school feeding program. I'm even surprised we have N35 per school meal.

This is not a defence of bad government, mind....it just states our problem...overdependency on oil.

On a more serious note, as I have been saying...Nigeria is not earning enough from oil to fund anything adequately.

Our education budget is insufficent. Universites alone need N2 trillion yearly. I bet primary and secondary schools need N3 trillion (my estimate) before we can have enough money to fund feeding programmes.

The only solution is simple. Either we raise fees, or we keep on taking loans. We can recover all looted loot, and fight corruption seriously....but the amount recovered....are we going to spend it all on feeding programme? For how long? What do we do when the money runs out?

We are not a rich nation.