₦airaland Forum

Okija_juju: Nwokem, you sound like an unstable character.. What has chinua achebe got to do with the topic we are discussing?!

Ngwakwe: Write to the President to also ban and dissolve any State you don't like.

He should even execute Chinua Achebe for writing "There was a Country" because the book is causing national divide.

GBAM!

elampiro: Sanusi is on point. He said these organizations are now more political than religious and honour politicians. I don't think they are guiding the leaders of these country aright, else things will be better. What he has said will bring the leaders of these bodies to their senses.

I beg to disagree with u Sir, SLS is not on point. Reason: banning these organisations is not a sure way of keeping them under. Besides we are talking of religious and political organisations. Religion has always been there even before SLS' fore-fathers knew how to cover up their unclothedness. Lets not forget that, "Man also is a political animal". Man has every right of association and will not take lightly to such ban that will affect his life, and this is sure to breed anarchy. Instead, these bodies should be regulated in such a way that they don't interfere with the system, if that's what SLS means. That's what happens in civilized countries of the world. Why not here? If govt fails to regulate the important organisations amongst them and they go AWOL, who is to blame?
But can one really blame SLS for this outburst? This is how the Emirs laud their rulership over their people.

berem: mumu it's pidgin not pigeon. pigeon ko! tolotolo ni! mtscheew

Behold my first casualty, "OFF WITH HER HEAD!" Thanks for the insultive correction though. Now submit ur head.

Ibn sultan: waw js dat sound mnh menz in combat face worst evn babes in uniform ..shes a joker

Easy, easy, speak English or pidgin and please don't rush.

Yomieluv: Defence minister indeed,isn't she familiar with artillery sound? So they must announce it on AIT before they fire it.

Definitely she's square peg in round hole.

I don't think the woman ever been to war before.

okpara ugo: And u copied the whole text to say rubbish. Chei

kpozite: Not funny, foolish and steupid

Re-trace ur footsteps back to ur origin, parasite!

truth4meal: ABUJA—Despite criticisms that have trailed the proposed purchase of cell phones for farmers in the country, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adeshina, yesterday reiterated that there was no going back on the policy as government was committed to enhancing the performance of Nigerian farmers.

Addressing newsmen, the minister said government would not commit itself to direct purchase of the cell phones for farmers but would only subsidise the phones through a partnership that would involve telephone service operators, Ministry of Communications Technology and other stakeholders.

According to him, the decision by government to subsidise the purchase of cell phones for farmers is tied to the distribution of fertilizers directly to the farmers without the involvement of third parties who had allegedly been ripping them off.

He said: “Government policy must always be based on evidence and well analyzed data. We carried out an analysis of our GES work based on a large sample of 426,000 farmers from various local government areas in 13 states.



“We found that 71 percent of farmers sampled did not have cell phones. This shows that many of our farmers in rural areas are quite poor and are excluded from the benefits of the mobile phone revolution going on in Nigeria.

“These farmers cannot access the GES scheme without cellphones and we must find a way to include them. They must not be left behind.”

The minister said the ministry planned to make phones available to farmers on a gradual basis, pointing out that government would not be involved in direct purchase of phones.

“Of course, we cannot get 10 million phones to all farmers who do not have phones this year. Our plan is a gradual scale up. We intend to get about 2 million phones to farmers who do not have phones this year”.

“How will these phones be paid for and how will they be distributed? We ended four decades of corruption in the fertilizer and seed sector by ending direct procurement and distribution of these inputs by the government.

“We also ended the ineffective and corrupt direct procurement and distribution of tractors by government. It will therefore be inconsistent for government to now start direct procurement and distribution of phones.

“There will be no direct procurement of phones by the Federal Government. We are also not going to give anyone contracts to import phones from China or anywhere else. Let me also state loud and clear.

“The Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Communications Technology are partnering together to implement this policy,” he emphasised.

On who will be eligible to benefit from the scheme, the minister said “we intend to use the GES scheme to distribute these phones. To be entitled to a phone, farmers must be registered on the e-wallet platform. Paper vouchers will be issued to farmers who do not have phones.

“The government will provide a subsidy to the farmer through the voucher to buy the phone. The farmer takes the voucher to the local mobile phone operator and pays the balance which is the difference between the value of the voucher and the cost of the phone.

“Once a farmer buys a phone and a SIM card, his new phone number will be updated on the e-wallet database and he will be able to receive his e-wallet voucher which will entitle him to purchase fertilizer and seeds at subsidized rates.

“Phones will be sold directly to farmers by local mobile phone service providers. The government simply subsidizes the cost of the phone directly to the farmer.

“We intend to start by first targeting farmers who live in areas where there is network coverage already but who do not have phones. We will then encourage phone companies to increase their coverage and as they do we will target farmers in those areas.

“By so doing phone companies will have the incentive to expand to rural areas because our programme will assure them of customers in those new areas. Cell phones in the hands of our farmers will do more than deliver government subsidized inputs.

“It will provide them access to market price information. They will be able to bargain better and save themselves from the middlemen who currently exploit them by paying them very low prices for their produce.

“Cellphones in the hands of our farmers will allow us to reach farmers with extension information such as what crops to plant, when to plant and other agronomic practices that will help them improve their productivity.

“It will allow farmers to better deal with shocks such as drought and floods in real time. Simple alerts to farmers’ phones can help them avoid catastrophes while saving lives.

“Majority of our farmers are excluded from financial services. 78.8 percent of Nigeria’s rural population are unbanked according to the report by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, EFInA. The cost of reaching them in rural areas is high for financial institutions.

“No bank can afford to build branches in every little village. Cellphones provide financial institutions with a low cost and efficient way of providing financial services to our farmers. The use of cellphones to provide financial services in rural areas is not new. It is already being used in several African countries.”

Dr Akinwunmi reiterated that despite the criticism, he would not be deterred in his determination to change the agricultural sector, noting that “as Minister, I cannot use hype to guide policies. I must use evidence to guide policies. When the floods occurred, there was panic in the land.

Some derided our efforts and said Nigeria would have famine; that there would be massive food shortage; and there would be food riots. Those who wanted to import food and get waivers from government sponsored such media hypes. I was not moved.

“We used modern technology to guide our decision. Using remote sensing and satellite imagery, we mapped out the extent of the flood and determined that no more than 1.17 percent of our total cultivated area was affected by the floods. Our detractors wanted the world to believe the opposite, that food crisis was imminent. They were wrong. Today, five months after the floods, we do not have a food crisis.

“The same way these detractors have misled the public about the relevance of cellphones in Nigerian agriculture. They do not know that we are already using cellphones to distribute fertilizer and seeds to even mitigate the impact of the flood. We are already using cellphones to reach 232,000 farmers for rice production in the dry season, each getting three bags, across 10 states of the north east, north west and north central regions.

To reach farmers affected by the flood, we are also using cellphones through the growth enhancement support. We are reaching 98,000 farmers affected by floods across the country with two bags of fertilizers per farmer, plus one bag of agrolyser micronutrient to replace some of the soil micronutrients that have been washed away by the flood. Such is the power of cellphones revolutionizing agriculture today in Nigeria.

“I will not be distracted. We will rebuild the broken walls of Nigeria’s agriculture and unlock wealth and opportunities for our farmers. For those calling for my crucifixion, let me say that when Jesus was before Pilate, they had accused him falsely.

Pilate, after listening to his case, found no cause for condemning him. Nonetheless, should anyone still want me crucified, let me say this, along my faith: “I am crucified with Christ already. Nevertheless, I live and the life that I live, I live by the grace of the son of God, who died for me,” he said.

Una go kill me with laugh abeg.

IYA NGBALI: At least 25 years

Seconded!

mmmustapha: Kill all d corrupt politicians, corrupt bankers, marketers, civil servant n securities

A senseless aboki, always a senseless aboki. MALUUU!!! BRAINS. Killing will solve everything, not so? Including u.

Ericomoto: I MADE THE FRONT PAGE AT LAST

Thanks all, I need people who have done this business before or still doing it to please advice me. I want to learn more before venturing.

Venture into hire purchase instead its much less strenuous and profitable.

Sincere 9gerian: Some mischief makers and propagandists have been telling us the SUPER STORY that corruption in Nigeria has reached a 'monumental' proportion in recent years. I call it SUPER STORY because we had witnessed this over and over again since independence. The SUPER STORY of "monumental corruption" has always been a ready-tool for those in the business of govt bashing and an excuse for those determined to bring down govt at ALL COST or coupists.

Two examples to buttress my point:

1) Nzeogwu (and his gang) told this same SUPER STORY (as reason for seeking political power) in his 1966 coup speech, partly reproduced below ( Note: the word corruption was repeated several times):

..."In the name of the Supreme Council of the Revolution of the Nigerian Armed Forces, I declare martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria....The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife....You are hereby warned that looting, arson, homosexuality, molestation, embezzlement, bribery or corruption, obstruction of the revolution, sabotage, subversion, false alarms and assistance to foreign invaders, are all offences punishable by death sentence....Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society"....Major Nzeogwu's Speech announcing Nigeria's first coup (circa noon, January 15, 1966, Radio Kaduna)

2) Buhari (and his gang) told his own SUPER STORY when they struck in 1983, as partly reproduced below:

...In pursuance of the primary objective of saving our great nation from total collapse, I, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari of the Nigerian army have, after due consultation amongst the services of the armed forces, been formally invested with the authority of the Head of the Federal Military Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria....The last general election was anything but free and fair. The only political parties that could complain of election rigging are those parties that lacked the resources to rig. There is ample evidence that rigging and thuggery were relative to the resources available to the parties....While corruption and indiscipline have been associated with our state of under-development, these two evils in our body politics have attained unprecedented height in the past few years. The corrupt, inept and insensitive leadership in the last four years has been the source of immorality and impropriety in our society....BUHARI’S FIRST SPEECH AFTER THE MILITARY COUP OF 31ST DECEMBER 1983.

With benefit of hindsight, it is OBVIOUS that these interventions, despite the beautifully crafted SUPER STORIES, ended in DISASTER. The Nzeogwu and co intervention pushed the country into a civil war while the Buhari intervention lead the country into another 16yrs of WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS under military dictatorship.

Consequently, every fair minded person would agree that the solution to corruption does not lie in the hands of mischief makers or hypocrites who scream about "monumental corruption" with an eye on grabbing political power.

Also corruption in Nigeria cannot be curbed by one man in Abuja or what some persons call "political will"

My suggestions for curbing corruption in Nigeria are as follows:

1) Consistent free and fair elections. Political leadership that are truely elected by the people at all levels will be most likely less corrupt.

2) Re-structuring of the country. Power to harness both human and material resources should revert back to the states. When the sharing of resources is reduced at Abuja, corruption at Abuja will also reduce.

3) Open up as much sectors as possible for private sector participation. The private sector is not as corrupt as the public sector

4) Leverage on technology to minimise corruption in certain sectors. By doing certain things electronically and minimising human involvement, corruption will be minimised. A perfect example is the use of mobile phones to distribute subsidized fertilizers

5) Vibrant media: the media must step up its game and investigate and report, with an open mind, every area of our national.

6) Citizens participation in governance. EVERY citizen must play his or her role in the fight against corruption. Whether by voting out a corrupt or bad govt, insisting that the right thing is done wherever we find ourselves, or by protesting or occupying when necessary.

Share with us how you think corruption can be curbed in Nigeria

Teejayphillip: Bros u had beta say no,cos nah crious hypertension u wan gif ursef....

Afta a while,its gonna b one issue to the oda... today LASTMAN issue,2mao tyre issue,radiator,agbero's mata etc...

Dnt jus embark on it...

I wuld ave advice HIGHER PURCHASE DEAL,bur u knw ow funny pple are. They'll pay parts n leta turn it anoda tin...

Jus put ur mind off,or beta stil save enuf money n buy a brand new bus and gif it 2 dis Transport company,all u nid du is 2 provide an insurance cover 4 it... It makes mor sense dan danfo biz...

molisk: “Age is nothing but a number… I feel younger now than I did 30 years ago.” Ernestine Shepherd


https://i45.tinypic.com/2up8gtt.jpg

https://i46.tinypic.com/9jpwly.jpg

Ernestine Shepherd had been a long time model in Baltimore but with the growing age when her figure went out of shape she, along with her sister Mildred Blackwell, joined weight lifting and aerobics classes immediately and competed in bodybuilding shows under pseudonym Velvet, and Ernie. In 1992, after the sudden demise of her sister in brain aneurysm, she felt depressed, quit exercising and started suffering from high blood pressure, acid reflux and frequent panic attacks. It was her close friend who initiated and encouraged her to start her career in bodybuilding to show the respect to her late sister. Her fresh start rewarded her not only with medals and bodybuilding titles but with a happy family that consists of her 80 year old loving husband, 53-year-old son, and 14-year-old grandson.

Source: http://www.successstories.co.in/75-year-old-body-builder-ernestine-shepherd-proves-its-never-too-late-to-get-in-shape/

"Her husband must really love her to allow her do this? or really hate her, to want her to die quickly. " All the same, u looking goooood, mami!

LeBaN: U ar laffin at ur stupidity

Sorry o, am not laughing at u, i am laughing with u. 4th position cry-baby! There's hardly any maturity these days. Even grand-father clocks are hustling for position.

LeBaN: Go hug transformer dude... Wetin concern u? aprokooooo

Shut-up looser!!! @ least ur sorry @ss is the one crying for 4th position.

SamConquer: I watch the clip and the comment,he made.it was hilarious and courageous.He was probably refering to the House of reps and their co-hort..BUT THIS NEWS WAS ABOUT 2 DAYS BACK..WHY POSTING IT NOW?

Guy, ask the Moderators well, well, its their fault. Topics takes ages before they are moved to the front page. Yes i said it, cos its true. Then again, the amount of topics that flood each section daily is overwhelming.

SamConquer: I watch the clip and the comment,he made.it was hilarious and courageous.He was probably refering to the House of reps and their co-hort..BUT THIS NEWS WAS ABOUT 2 DAYS BACK..WHY POSTING IT NOW?

U mean house of ra*pes!

LeBaN: 4TH

Look on the brighter side dude, u could have being 400th . Why is this sh!7 so important to u guyz anyway?