₦airaland Forum

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment has said it has concluded plans to ensure that Nigerians in Diaspora and foreigners planning to register their businesses in the country can do so online from any part of the world in the next two months.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said this during the 2013 Ministerial Platform by his ministry in Abuja on Tuesday.

The minister explained that the Corporate Affairs Commission had begun the process of ensuring that the 24-hour business registration was achieved in all states across the country, adding that more states had been covered since the commencement of the initiative in July last year.

He said, “Since the inauguration of the 24-hour business registration in July 2012; 35,902 companies have been registered within 24 hours. So, far we have achieved a 10 per cent increase in the number of companies registered, and an increase of 33 per cent in business names registered and 42 per cent increase in incorporated trustees

“Currently, the 24-hour business registration process is attainable in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Kaduna, with Port Harcourt and Enugu following shortly. Also, the global online business registration is to take off in two months’ time. This will ensure that anyone can register their businesses in Nigeria from any part of the world, and also make payment without necessarily coming to Nigeria.”

Aganga noted that in line with the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, the ministry was exploring new ways of unlocking domestic and international capital to boost local and foreign direct investment across all sectors of the economy, adding that the move would create more jobs and generate wealth for the country.

Attracted by this favourable investment climate and the high returns on investment that Nigeria offers, investors from Canada and the US were among those that visited the country this year to further explore investment opportunities that abound. The Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, who led a trade delegation to Nigeria in January, stressed the need for the government to protect these growing investments in order to attract more FDI into the country. He gave this advice at a meeting with top Nigerian government officials headed by the Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, under the auspices of the Nigeria-Canada Bi-National Commission
http://africanbusinessmagazine.com/special-reports/country-reports/spotlight-nigeria/nigeria-is-top-fdi-destination-in-africa

Developing countries take the lead in 2012 – for the first time ever – developing economies absorbed more FDI than developed countries, accounting for 52 per cent of global FDI flows. This is partly because the biggest fall in FDI inflows occurred in developed countries, which now account for only 42 per cent of global flows.”

In 2011, Nigeria was ranked Africa’s biggest destination FDI, with total FDI inflows of $8.92 billion. South Africa was ranked next with total FDI inflows of $5.81 billion, while other African countries such as Ghana received $3.22 billion; Congo, $2.93 billion; and Algeria, $2.57 billion worth of FDIs respectively.

Experts argued that the FDI trend had been encouraging, though Nigeria needed to continue to address its security and political challenges to improve on the trend.
Only last Tuesday, President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the General Electric’s $1billion service and manufacturing facility in Calabar.

The ground breaking ceremony followed the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga; and the Global Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of GE, Mr. Jeff Emmelt, in January.
Procter & Gamble has also commenced a $250million investment in Nigeria. The ground breaking for investment in Agbara Ogun state was held in July 2012.

Tags: Business, Nigeria, Featured, UNCTAD, Africa

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/unctad-nigeria-remains-number-one-investment-destination-in-africa/151664/

In it’s 2013 World Investment Report, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) revealed that Nigeria has again emerged number one destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa.

The report titled “Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade for Development,” noted that FDI inflows to Nigeria stood at $7.03billion. South Africa recorded $4.572 billion, Ghana ($3.295 billion), Egypt ($2.798 billion), and Angola (-6.898 billion), among others.

A breakdown of the Global FDI report, released yesterday, showed that Foreign Direct Investment flows to African countries increased by five per cent to $50billion in 2012, even as global FDI fell by 18 per cent.

According to the report, global FDI fell by 18 per cent to $1.35 trillion, while FDI is expected to increase to $1.45 trillion in 2013, $1.6 trillion in 2014 and $1.8 trillion in 2015.

UNCTAD said: “The road to FDI recovery is thus proving bumpy and may take longer than expected. UNCTAD forecasts FDI in 2013 to remain close to the 2012 level, with an upper range of $1.45 trillion – a level comparable to the pre-crisis average of 2005 to 2007.

- See more at: http://bizwatchnigeria.com/again-nigeria-emerges-no-1-destination-for-fdi-in-africa/#sthash.r5giowxw.dpuf
http://bizwatchnigeria.com/again-nigeria-emerges-no-1-destination-for-fdi-in-africa/

Symphony007: which is?

that you dont know what you are talking about.

Julieccentric: God bless you for this...I am appalled @ the level of medicrity displayed here, cos someone post some very photo-shopped pix we are clapping..

They lack the necessary equipements et al..Suswan's acheivemenr includes building boreholes..That state is so blessed with all kinda fruits yet no single reasonable factory even the cement factory is hugely owned by dangote.

Shame on una benue pple n pdp power people..I served in that particular place not too long so I knw a bit or two about them esp the wasteful Suswan!

Is this agro company not in benue? this is a transcorp investment in markurdi to tap into the agribusiness. this is a good business thats been attracted to the state and thats good. learn to criticise constructively, Acknowledge what has been done and then say what more need to be done.Do not deny or undermine what any govt has done.

So if dangote owns the cement factory whats the problem with that? is he not paying taxes to the state or is he not employing benue citizens?
Are u suggesting that despite evidence to the contrary, govt. should remain in the business of doing business in these era of PPP?

can you point one picture posted on this thread that is photo shopped?

susam is working

tellwisdom: Very poor standard ...I cant even treat a bruise there,let alone sleeping there for admission.

and what fact do you base your assertion on? can you expantiate ?

Symphony007: the rivers state university of science and technology is a tech and science school, they don't offer medicine so a teaching hospital is'nt required...but there is a federal teaching hospital at choba and there is no basis for comparism witj this.

exactly my point.

amaham: a good look at the theatre showed a table and just a head lamp. no anaesthetic machine, no gas cylinder or pipeline gas supply. I just wish the patient going to enter that theatre a safe trip to the beyond

did you visit the UBTH website to ascertain its capabilities and services before making your assertion or your just jumping to conclusion based on a single picture?

Symphony007: That is a teaching hospital?....this is a mere rivers state government dental clinic.

i thought you were going to post pictures of the rivers state university teaching hospital for comparism .Comparing apple to oranges tells me all i need to know about you. You dont know what a teaching hospital is.

[quote author=EllyBrainy™]And the Medicine is still not accredited..... [/quote]Next time do some research before running your mouth. some of you guys are unbelievable commenting on stuff you dont know squat about. FYI heres the accreditation status of the school.

BSUTH Accreditation
The nightmare of pioneering students of the College of health Sciences, Benue State University Makurdi, is now over following the granting of full accreditation to the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

All is now set for the students to take the practical exams which will pave way for their graduation. The examinations, expected to come up in January 2013, would be taken by both the pioneering students set and the class next to them, to make up 50 students.

Consequently, the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Prof. Abraham Orkurga Malu has expressed gratitude to the state government for the Teaching Hospital which, he said has started yielding benefits. A statement by the Hospital's Head of Public Relations Mr. Cephas Hough, also conveyed the appreciation of the Medical Director to the Management Board and the entire staff of the hospital for working tirelessly towards the successful accreditation of the hospital by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.


Prof. Malu, who stated that the accreditation followed a recent visit by the Nigeria Medical and Dental Council, also stated that the Council expressed satisfaction with the quality of manpower, equipment and facility at the hospital, research and provision of healthcare services to patients.

He expressed delight that, the accreditation had put behind the problem of stagnation of medical students of the Benue State University due to lack of a teaching hospital required for their training.

The first set of medical students was matriculated into the College of Health Sciences, Benue State University, Makurdi in the 2003/2004 academic session.

From this date, the students had put in at least nine years for a course that has a duration of six years.

billante: Abeg help me ask them!
Even my fathers private hospital is more equipped and better looking than this!

Can you show a picture of your fathers hospital here for all to see?
I dare you to post your fathers hospital or you r just here to run your mouth.

just look at the area where the hospital is sited! breath taking.

look at the lay of the land, very nice site,great concept and execution kudos to benue state govt.

more

benue state is getting it right.
http://www.bsuth.org.ng/

how come stupid folks are always full of confidience?

On August 28th a Greek-owned oil tanker carrying 50,000 tonnes of diesel and petrol fuel was attacked off the West African coast of Togo. Pirates seized control of the vessel, took its 23 Russian crew-members hostage and sailed towards Nigeria. It was the eighth such incident or attempted incident off the coast of Togo since January this year.

“For pirates to attack a vessel under anchor really shows that they are getting audacious—it is very worrying,” said Pottengal Mukundan, director of the non-profit International Maritime Bureau (IMB), a division of the International Chamber of Commerce. “Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is now a serious problem. It is now the second most important high risk area [in Africa], after Somalia.”

Concern about piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has been mounting since the late 1990s, when armed robbers first began targeting high-value assets at sea, particularly shipments of crude oil.

Experts say 2010 was a turning point, however, with the Gulf of Guinea leap- frogging to second position in Africa and sixth place in the world’s top piracy hotspots, according to the UN International Maritime Organisation’s 2010 annual report.

In 2010, 45 incidents were reported across the Gulf of Guinea, followed by 58 attacks in 2011, according to a UN report on piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Of those, 21 were reported off the coast of Benin, 14 off the coast of Nigeria, seven off the coast of Togo, four each off the coasts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo and Guinea, two off the coast of Ghana and one off the coasts of Angola and Côte d’Ivoire.

The growth in piracy off the West African coast is even more marked when contrasted with the declining number of incidents in other notorious piracy hotspots, such as the Bay of Bengal near Bangladesh and the Strait of Malacca, a stretch of water between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Somalia—still the world’s most prolific source of piracy attacks—has also seen incidents decline, from 176 in 2011 to 33 in the first eight months of 2012, according to the European Union Naval Force, which patrols the Indian Ocean.

The history of Somali piracy has led to comparisons with the emerging trend in West Africa, but experts say there are a number of points that distinguish Gulf of Guinea pirates from their Somali counterparts.

“The big danger in the Gulf of Guinea is against loaded product tankers, which are hijacked by criminals and taken to a location where the cargo is illegally discharged into a smaller vessel,” Mr Mukundan said. “Usually the ship and crew are released— although violence is often used against them during the period under [pirate] control. But the ultimate purpose is to steal the cargo, not to kidnap the crew, as is the tendency in Somalia.”

The causes of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea centre on Nigeria—Africa’s most populous nation—whose history of criminal activity around the troubled Niger Delta has proved fertile ground for breeding pirates. But Nigeria has a strong navy and its response to criminal activity off its own coast has been increasingly successful. The UN reported that the number of piracy incidents off the Nigerian coast decreased from 48 in 2007 to 14 in 2011, pushing pirates to waters further along the coast.

On September 5th, pirates hijacked a Singapore-owned oil tanker, the Abu Dhabi Star, off the coast of Nigeria with 23 Indian sailors on board, according to the BBC. Soon after, the Nigerian navy sprang into action and rescued the vessel.

Benin, on Nigeria’s western border, has also been particularly vulnerable, according to the UN’s report. The increase in piracy incidents off its coasts has led the Joint War Committee, a London-based marine insurers’ group, to add Benin to its list of high-risk countries. The result has been increased insurance rates for vessels operating in Benin’s waters, a 70% decrease in ships entering the port of Cotonou, the country’s economic capital, and a 1m tonne drop in tonnage—an estimated loss of $81m in customs revenue per year.

But the implications for the West African sub-region spread far beyond its coastal economies. Piracy also affects trade with neighbouring countries, including the impoverished landlocked states of the Sahel—Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger—which rely on their coastal southern neighbours for vital imported goods.

Some action has been taken by the affected nations. “Operation Prosperity”—a joint patrol programme between the governments of Benin and Nigeria—has harnessed logistical support from Nigeria, including two helicopters, two maritime vessels and two interceptor boats, while Benin uses two ships donated by the United States (US) government.

But the operation confronts considerable challenges, according to a UN report. “The joint operation faces major constraints, including the absence of logistical support facilities for vessels being used to conduct patrols. As a result, the Nigerian vessels participating in the operation must sail to Lagos for refuelling and repairs,” the UN report says.

“To ensure the sustainability of these joint patrols, adequate facilities will need to be constructed in Cotonou to support refuelling, maintenance and storage of supplies used in the joint operations.”

The report also found that the Gulf of Guinea states lack a joint surveillance system, a sustainable process for equipping and funding maritime security, and a formal system for information sharing.

Last year the UN Security Council issued resolution 2018 “expressing its deep concern about the threat that piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea pose to international navigation, security and the economic development of states in the region”. The Security Council also called for “a comprehensive solution to the problem of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea”.

The resolution, however, falls short of authorising other states to enter territorial waters to repress piracy. Experts say that the response has been inadequate. To combat piracy off Somalia the UN Security Council called upon states and regional organisations to fight piracy with naval vessels, arms and military aircraft, but “resolution 2018 only expresses concern,” said Tullio Treves, a judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and a professor at the University of Milan.

“This may be an indication that [the] Security Council considers the Somalia situation exceptional and not to be taken as a precedent for other situations,” he added. “It seems to me that the main powers are already very much engaged in the situation there and are hesitant to commit further resources in another theatre.”

The US has increased its involvement in recent weeks—with the US navy secretary, Ray Mabus, holding talks with senior military commanders on the training of armed forces for maritime security. France, China and the broader European Union programme on maritime security have also extended help to countries in the Gulf of Guinea.

And unlike Somalia—which is without an effective government—piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects functioning states, who can draw on the, albeit limited, resources of their own national security agencies.

“Somalia is an exception because of the lack of an effective, recognised sovereign state,” Mr Teves said. “In the Gulf of Guinea, the states could exercise their own power on the territory.”

States affected by piracy have sweeping legal powers to deal with the problem under international law. The law of piracy—set out in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas—gives states that intercept acts of piracy on the high seas the right to arrest and detain pirates, seize property,and decide upon penalties.

But experts say that the Gulf of Guinea states need to reform their domestic legal frameworks, which include inconsistent and outdated definitions of piracy and lack offences such as conspiracy and other accessorial liability. There is also a wide variation in the type and seriousness of offences in different countries.

“Research has shown that the penalty for piracy varies very much from state to state, from a few months to long prison terms,” Mr Teves said. “The experience from other regions, like that [in the] Strait of Malacca, that have successfully suppressed piracy in the past is that there needs to be coordinated action and some legal harmonisation to deal with the problem.”

Although Gulf of Guinea states have demonstrated their willingness to act at a governmental level, there is a growing sense that piracy on the high seas often involves the complicity of officials on land, according to the UN report. Pilfered goods —usually fuel—resurface on the black market and are then stolen and distributed with the collusion of officials at the ports.

Whilst internal complicity and corruption is a major issue within their jurisdictions, perhaps the biggest challenge for the Gulf of Guinea states in combatting the growing piracy threat will be coordination with each other. But in a region with so many states, radically differing legal systems and four languages—French, English, Spanish and Portuguese—the task is a daunting one.

“This is a crime, which easily spills over across borders,” said IMB director Mr Mukundan. “Therefore the need for cooperation and information sharing between the countries is great. I can’t overstate its importance.”
http://gga.org/analysis/piracy-sweeps-west-african-seas

Inside Nigeria’s cacophonous public buses, spontaneous and passionate state-of-the-nation debates are common. Consensus, however, is rare. Of all the views readily expressed, only one always seems to enjoy majority support: the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is more of an albatross than a national asset. This sentiment is as prevalent on the streets as it is in the country’s internet and media watering holes.

“Nigerians would be very glad to kick out the PDP and pave the way for a new government that will take care of their basic needs and move the country forward,” said Lai Mohammed, spokesman for Nigeria’s biggest opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

At a recent lecture, Kassim Shettima, a governor for the opposition All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), described the PDP’s decade-long hold on power as full of “lethal hunger, brutal insecurity, fatal unemployment, crippled education, substandard healthcare ... ”.

Figures from the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) bear out his claims. The government-funded bureau’s annual report for 2010 is the latest in a series of documents that show the majority of Nigerians are in dire straits despite strong economic growth, which averaged 6.7% between 2000 and 2010 according to the World Bank. The NBS states that in 2010, 60.9% of the country’s estimated 158m people lived in “absolute poverty” compared to 54.7% in 2004. The World Bank defines “absolute poverty” as living on $1.25 or less a day at 2005 prices.

This increase in poverty is mirrored by the NBS’s 2011 unemployment report, which states that the national unemployment rate in Nigeria had increased from 19.7% in 2009 and 21.1% in 2010 to 23.7% in 2011.

“It remains a paradox ... that despite the fact that the Nigerian economy is growing, the proportion of Nigerians living in poverty is increasing every year,” said Yemi Kale, director-general of the NBS, at the presentation of the report in early 2012.

These statistics have long served as handy talking points for opposition parties pointing to Nigeria’s obvious lack of progress under the PDP and Goodluck Jonathan, the president. They are used as a good reason for the party to be voted out of power.

But in all of the four elections held since the advent of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in 1999, the opposition has consistently failed to parlay public discontent into victory over the PDP in presidential elections.

History and image partly explain this conundrum. The PDP’s roots are deeply embedded in Nigeria’s complex civil-military power structure, which predates its formation in 1998. Within the ranks of the ruling party are senior conservative politicians and ex-military generals who have ruled Nigeria, on and off, for over 50 years. Their influence and wealth help the party to sustain a countrywide network of grassroots party bosses, corrupt policemen and toughs responsible for the party’s victories in successive elections.

Currently the PDP is in power in 22 of Nigeria’s 36 states. It also controls Abuja, the federal capital, whose head is appointed by the ruling party. In the country’s bicameral legislature it has 71 of 109 Senators and 202 of the 352 seats in the House of Representatives.

Beyond the PDP, the other hurdle that the opposition has struggled to scale is its negative public image. The common notion is that the leading opposition parties are only a shade better than the much-vilified PDP.

Dele Momodu, popular columnist and National Conscience Party (NCP) presidential candidate in the 2007 general elections, elaborated on this popular view in a recent column on the Nigerian opposition.

“The tragedy of the opposition in Nigeria presently is that there is no difference in party ideology and structure between the PDP and the so-called opposition,” he writes. “By all intents and purposes they are the same and therefore considered as really not having much to offer.”

Pat Utomi, public intellectual and senior lecturer at the Lagos Business School, posits that Nigerian political parties are no more than a “combination of electoral machines, cults of personality and private estates”.

The Independent National Electoral Commission authorised an external auditors report on all the 56 registered political parties in Nigeria early in 2012. The report concluded that parties neither maintain proper accounts nor obey their own constitutions. The parties, the report appears to say, are run like sole proprietorships.

Party bosses whose images loom larger than their parties are the leaders of Nigeria’s two leading opposition parties, the ACN and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

Bola Tinubu, a veteran of Nigeria’s anti-military battles in the 1990s, leads the ACN, which controls six states. A former two-term governor of Lagos, Mr Tinubu earned the admiration of many Nigerians when, as the sole opposition governor in western Nigeria, he won a lengthy revenue court battle against the PDP-controlled federal government.

Muhammadu Buhari, a former military head of state and perennial presidential candidate, is the leader of the CPC. Mr Buhari and his party have a huge, almost fanatical following in the north of the country. The retired general has contested presidential elections thrice, losing each time, but still holds on to his almost cult-like following in the north.

Analysts say a successful alliance between the two parties, warts and all, is the opposition’s only chance of defeating the PDP presidential candidate in 2015. Despite their failings, the ACN and CPC have rattled the PDP behemoth at state, legislative and local government elections.

In the 2011 legislative elections, the opposition parties made inroads into the ruling party’s substantial majority in Nigeria’s legislature. The ACN took 66 seats in the House of Representatives in 2011, just over double the 32 seats won in 2007. In the Senate, the ACN won 18 seats in 2011, a substantial increase from six seats in 2007.

The question is: can the Nigerian opposition replicate its successes in regional elections at the national level? The opposition says “yes”. In May this year, the CPC held exploratory talks with other parties. Afterwards, one of the party spokesmen, Rotimi Fashakin, said the opposition parties would come up with a “rainbow coalition” that will defeat the PDP in the 2015 presidential poll. He added that “any party is a potential partner” save the PDP.

But the devil lies in the history. In 2003, 2007 and 2011, opposition alliances either floundered or failed to meet expectations. Ego clashes, poor coordination and squabbling over the selection of candidates unravelled the alliance.

The failure of the 2011 ACN/CPC alliance is instructive. The alliance, heralded with much fanfare, fell apart a few days before the poll after both parties failed to agree on a vice-presidential candidate.

While opposition leaders acknowledge this problematic past, they insist that enough lessons have been learnt to forestall a repeat of history. A former information minister and stalwart of the CPC, Prince Tony Momoh, is one such optimist: “In the past, [bad] timing contributed immensely to the failure of the merger plans. Now, we have enough time and better understanding of the challenges facing this country,” he said. “Fortunately, this election is in 2015 and that’s still some time away. We have sufficient time to perfect our act.”

Is Mr Momoh’s optimism misplaced? Columnist Momodu hopes not. “Nigeria is haemorrhaging to death,” he says, “and the opposition really needs to sit up.”
http://gga.org/analysis/party-politics-in-nigeria-the-same-as-it-ever-was

enugu airport terminal finished as at may 2013

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8Gombe United2131
9Enugu Rangers2030
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[quote author=Okija_juju][b]Well, if the problem is that he is not paying salaries, then thats bad..

Job opportuinities are not created by government opening up more businesses and offices which only increases the states recurrent expenditure leaving little for infrastructural development, but by creating an enebling environment where business can thrive.

Akwa Ibom State government has invested in good quality roads: This opens up the entire state to ease of movement of goods and services.

Schools/Education: This is for the future.,

Electricity: To help small and medium scale businesses.

Security: To create an enabling environment for investors to come in.



Instead of waiting on government to create jobs and pay you people salaries, why not tap into the development going on in your state. I was at the Ibom resort in Uyo the whole of last week and spent over 350,000 naira. That resort is generating income for the state. If He can give Uyo 24hrs light, many industries would leave Aba and Rivers State and enter Uyo.


I am really shocked to hear that you people are unhappy with Apkabio.. But you people were happy under Obong Victor Attah, whose government did absolutely nothing worthy of note in Akwa Ibom state for 8 years.. [/b][/quote]just curious what did you spend N350,000 on?

nil double post

Sincere 9gerian: Maybe you need to move from one public office to another to preach that message. Do you know that the first generation public federal universities receive twice or thrice as much funds as standard private universities? But go to a standard private university and compare the state of facilities and attitude of workers with that of first generation public universities. Why do you think govt is selling off all PHCN facilities?

My guy, the attitude of Nigerians to govt work is NEGATIVE and no amount of funds you pour into it will change anything. No amount of training can change that. Whatever funds you pour into a govt run service in this country, just give it 6months, everything will go down the drain. Nigerians are not Chinese who give 100% at all times, whether at govt or private work.

See I've read several of the complaints of poor services at the Nigeria Railways, and you know what, MOST of them are caused by attitudinal problems of workers and dereliction of duty. Things like simple courtesy by the railway workers, information dissemination, faster way of issueing tickets that'll prevent unnecessary queues, simple checks by relevant technicians before take-off, taking along routine things that may be needed along the journey, proper cleaning of the trains, providing enough water in the trains, fixing electrical faults here and there before embarking on a journey(eg air-conditioners and lighting system),etc. Most of these problems would have been solved if most railway workers give 100%. But if you ask them now about these problems, they'll reel out their own catalogue of demands, including maybe demand for govt to hire more workers. But transfer this same system to private sector, you'll see that even as we speak, the Nigeria Railways is over-populated with redundant work-force. I've not even mentioned the problem of corruption, railway workers selling tickets and putting the money in their pockets.

The Railways have to be concessioned to private hands while a regulator must be created for the sector. Until we do that, not much can change. Have you even asked why the system was run aground initially? I mean, run down to ground zero? The problem is with us. We have to change our ways

i agree with u on Nigerians attitude to work. could that be because there is no consequence for their actions? If u start firing people based on their bad performance they might sit up especially now that jobs are not easy to come by.
The university profersors eg you provided is an exception as it is very difficult to get rid of those guys due to their union contract so FG hands are tied in this regard.once the are made faculty members its almost impossible to fire them.

jonathan will be president again in 2015.

Sincere 9gerian: Exactly, people just hide under their computers and spew thrash. The railways they'r trying to rubbish here is currently facing CONGESTION because of huge patronage. Yet some idiotas tell us its a waste of funds.

Like you said, the challenge now is how to make it more reliable and improve the services. But I seriously doubt if that can be achieved with the mentality of the average Nigerian to govt work. Until it is concessioned to private hands, the services may not improve to the level we expect. I know the govt has plans to concession the railways after they've been fully rehabilitated but that may not take place any time soon.

Not necessary true.Govt can, an do manage transportation services like trains efficiently in other countries without concession. its a means of generating income for the govt. all they need is to retrain their staff after all NRC has been out of service for 20 yrs hence all the experienced hands must have retired by now.
Besides requisite training,when you are a civil servant and you know that your job is tied to your performance you are bound to perform if you want to keep your job. And no place is that performance easy to measure as in the transportation sector like rail where your duty is simple move people from point A to B, without excuses.

Danhumprey: And yet,some people would come here,screaming that Akpabio is working. I'm an Akwa Ibom indigene,and I can authoritatively tell you that most of what you hear in the media about Akpabio working in every nook and cranny of the state are just media hype. All the developmental projects he is praised for,are mainly situated in the state capital,Uyo. Is that where majority of the masses is? How can they experience the dividend of democracy that they are hyping Gov.Akpabio about?

The fact that some roads are not tarred does not mean akpabio is not working. If you ask me i will tell you Akpabio is the best Governor Akwa ibom has ever had interms of infrastructure development in the state and he has built more roads than any governor in nigeria today fact.
but because you are good at something does not mean that you dont have room for improvment. there are yet many roads in Akwa Ibom that needs attention and this is one of them.

while some nigerians look down on the caliber of trains/service that are currently running the lagos to kano line,the truth is that you are not the target audience for such means of transport as you can afford to fly to and from lagos/kano or pay for air-conditioned ABC buses to take you.
But the ordinary nigerian like me are happy for the oppurtunity to pay about 1/2the price that buses charge to travel that route and i know a lot of traders/business people on that route share my sentiment.the only down side is that it breaksdown a lot and extend travel time.

many country still run a combination of both the narrow and standard guage rail. Nigeria did well by renovating its narrow guage rails. all they need to do is to make sure that reliable rail motor/engine are used on the rail to avoid the frequent breakdown that commuter experience.
Jonathan is to be commended for his commitment to revamp rail transport in nigeria. the abuja rail and its addendum is a good project.