₦airaland Forum

I get your strategy, but that only makes Tinapa a seasonal success.

No it doesn't, it instead promotes its presence as a tourism resort and a trade center.  Chances are, more people will be drawn to spend time at Tinapa, not withstanding the time of the year it is.

Besides that, the Tinapa Summer Time will be an event to look forward to, families will save up for that time of the year, and Calabar's economy will rake in billions in trade.

Human beings love a bargain they would climb mountains and cross rives to get their hands on a bargain

erhmm, I disagree with this.

Actually, traders and retailers would rather move to a more expensive area with a large flow of human traffic than to a cheaper area with almost zero human presence.

That's why folks don't mind paying over 500,000 for a small shop in computer village in Lagos when they can easily hire a whole factory with the same amount in some other remote place.

So focus first on increasing human traffic in a location, the shops, no matter how expensive will be taken up in no time

Here's what i will do if i owned Tinapa:-

Come up with an annual event and develop aggressive marketing strategies for the event.

I'd call it Tinapa summer Time. where Africans can spend their summer holidays with Nollywood celebrities in a world of beautiful splendor. . I'd tag it Africa's biggest annual event, and of course, subsidies will be provided to all those who booked their flight ticket before a certain date. . .

"Celebrities like D'banj, Omotola, Genevive, etc etc will be there all week, water fountains, finest swimming pools, plush restaurants and an amazing culture in nature, time to get away from your work fellas, you don't want to miss the biggest holiday event ever!". . . .

then stand back and watch as folks grabbed their flight tickets to Tinapa like hot dodo!

The place is not making money now because it has been left to rot, they need to boost the place up, how do u boost it up, Rent - Free for 2 years , all import duties shold be suspended on certain items for 2 years, the Coastal Road and the East - West road projects should be priority projects that should be completed and the port in Calabar would be the prime port for all transactinal dealings with regards to Tinanpa.

If i owned Tinapa, i wouldn't give it out free of rent for 2 years, why should i? it doesn't make a good business model, the cost of management has to be on someone's balance sheet. Your assumption here is that people aren't occupying those shops because they are expensive, however, this might just be far from reality.

Their are far less attractive shops that probably charge far more than Tinapa does, the secret has always and will always be location, accessibility,  relevance and aggressive marketing. {none of which Tinappa has}  

Besides that, you can't suspend import duties without resulting to trade deficits, which will eventually harm local industries, suspending import duties will only see activities increase at the port, it doesn't necessarily guarantee the success of Tinapa.

A well structured transport system and assured security are fundamentals that must be addressed to improve business at Tinapa. Foreign tourist don't see Tinapa as a stand-alone entity, the see and judge Tinapa based on security reports on "Nigeria". . . Torusits from other state as well can't be bothered to drive long distance to the place, they will rather hang out in local pubs with friends, that leaves Tinapa with local residents, with a population of 1.2 million, half of which can't be bothered to even know what Tinapa stands for.

ikay88:
Thank you Violent.
The fact that people not directly involved still remember and care, gives me hope that they did not die in vain and Nigeria will get better.

we re all directly affected one way or the other, its a sad sad loss, a family friend of mine, the Irabors lost 3 kids in the ghastly incident. . .their dad was at the airport and he witnessed an inferno consume his 3 kids

Here is a relative's account. . . .

The day was just like any other day. I was home from school for the Christmas holidays. My brothers Ochai and Ogbe were coming home from their schools that day. Ochai was coming by road from Calabar and Ogbe by air from Abuja. We were all excited, but my mum was the most excited, ”My boys are coming home”, she kept saying throughout the week, she was so happy, we all were . We made chicken stew and Egusi soup which they both loved, we cleaned the house and looked forward to a blissful Christmas. We just couldn’t wait.

That afternoon, my Dad went to the airport to pick Ogbe and my sister was at a Christmas party at her school, so it was just my mum and I at home. I remember we were watching the Miss World competition. I remember that it was Omowunmi Akinnifesi that was representing us. I remember my mum ‘yabbing’ some of the contestants. She had also been feeling uneasy and she kept wondering what was keeping my dad. She called him and she couldn’t understand what he was saying, all she could make out was ‘I don’t know how to tell you’, he kept saying amidst his sobbing and wailing. Immediately she jumped up, ran to her room, wore her green bubu (she doesn’t wear it again), and drove out of the compound all the while saying, ‘God, let nothing happen to my boy, not my boy Ogbe’.

I was left alone. By now I knew something was wrong. I tried to pray but I couldn’t. I remember everything vividly. I put on the radio and by then the news was on. A plane carrying school children had crashed at Port-Harcourt International Airport. I called my father to confirm, ‘Daddy, is it true?’, I asked, hoping it was all a sick joke, ‘It’s true, my son Ogbe is no more in this world. Ogbe is gone’. He replied. hmmm… am not sure I can accurately describe what I felt, but i’ll try. My heart dropped. It was such a horrible terrible feeling.

What followed was denial, then shock, then the slow realization that all the people in your house were actually sympathisers, that the wailing and weeping wasn’t for nothing. Yup, someone had died. And death is as final as it gets.The days that followed were a blur, nothing seemed real except for the pain. The pain was and is still so real. It’s sharp, acute and physical. Nothing, absolutely nothing can hurt the way the death of a loved one can.

Ogbe Daniel Okpe was 13 (June 11, 1992-Dec. 10, 2005). Ogbe was a star. a genius. a clown. He was the light in our home and when he passed, the light went out. He was good at everything, sports, science, arts, clowning around and making people laugh, there was never a dull moment with him around. He wanted to be an aeronautical engineer from his childhood and he always told my mum he would build her a car that could fly because she always complained about traffic.

Sosoliso (the name should have warned us) flight 1145 crash landed at Port-Harcourt International Airport, burst into flames and there was no water at the airport. No water and no emergency services, that tragedy could have been avoided 100%. The plane crash killed 103 including 60 students of Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja,(some of the brightest minds of their generation), Pastor Mrs Bimbo Odukoya, Rev. Fr Aloysius Obi (who baptized my brother and 12 of his classmates) and so many others. Two people survived that crash, one of them the beautiful Kechi Okwuchi who remains an inspiration to all of us.

Its been 5 years since that horrible tragedy took place. In those 5 years, we have grown stronger and wiser. Death has a way of maturing you and also teaching you that nothing on this earth lasts forever. We have also grown deeper in our faith. A lot of people asked us why God would allow something like that, but God has not said we won’t face trials, He promised to be with us through the waters and through the fire (Isaiah 43:2) and He was with us. He brought us through and we are stronger than ever. 5 years on and I ask myself if anything has changed. Sadly, nothing has. Nigerians still die unnecessarily and there seems to be no solution. We haven’t learnt from the mistakes of the past and Nigeria’s future is paying heavily for that.

Even though the tears still flow and we still miss them, we will not spend our time thinking about what could have been. We will honour their memories by living life to the fullest and refusing to give up on this geographical mass called Nigeria for by giving up they would have died for nothing.

So this piece is dedicated to all those whose lives were changed that day, Families, friends, schoolmates, colleagues, teachers and even those who didn’t know anyone on that flight, but have faced some sort of tragedy because of our failed system, keep holding on, keep being strong and let’s honour their memories by fighting to make Nigeria a better place.

It just occurred to me that yesterday, it was exactly 5 years ago that the ghastly Sosoliso plane crash incident occurred which killed over 110 people, mostly kids. It's disturbing that i haven't found even the shortest poem on major Nigerian tabloids to honor this day.

To the families of those who lost their lives in the Dec 10th 2005 Sosoliso crash, I say may the peace and comfort of the Almighty God never leave you all.

Donmeca:
I like wikileaks page on facebook but DONOT PLEDGE support for Assange! It's just like being on GEJ/Atiku's page for criticism. It is strictly out of curriosity. . . i get regular update from wikileaks since they started leaking the info. I want to know more of the leaked wires not to support a man who may have sworn to see d third world war.

Yeah i understand that could be true, but just read through forums and you'd be amazed by the number of Americans pledging an arm and a leg for Julian.

Even Australian government is pledging support for him!

justwise:
That is like Osama bin laden giving a suicide bomber an award

The undeniable truth is, the justification of wikileaks will continue to be a debatable topic, not with governments such as Russia and South America  supporting him, many people need just a reason to hate America, and Julian is providing 250,000 of such reasons, you can hardly castigate such a man.

If he died of mysterious circumstances tomorrow, the US will witness a massive wave of criticisms and condemnation from across the world and in America.

justwise:
Goods can be tangiable or intangiable, information is an intangiable 'goods'

You will be prosecuted if you distribute stolen secret information. We are not talking about just any imformation, we are talking about classified secret diplomatic information.

where did you get this from?. . .if that's the case, then why is Guardian/BBC/Independent publishing these "stolen information"?. . .This is not China political information can't be classified as secrets

bidemi12:
come to think of it, for all those in support of Assange, why keep your identity on NL a secret? delete you ID's and input your real names for all to see. shebi you like openness and truth,  . . . .let's see how that works for you,

or what will happen?. . .search facebook for wikileaks, and you'd be amazed by the number of real people with real faces pledging support for Julian Assange.

Is it a surprise that he was nominated New York times "man of the year"?

justwise:
Really? Is handling a stolen goods a crime?

goods and information are as far from themselves as day is from night.

i believe the US government will have to tread carefully in this scenario. . . .you can't really prosecute me if i tell the world about an information i heard/got from someone. . .especially when Assange isn't a US citizen, he owes America no obligation.

bidemi12:
I knew that some moronic Nigerians on NL would be in support of Assange. As Nigerians we have two main problems; 1, we are the biggest hipocrite in the world. who among you would like anyone spilling your secrets for the whole world to hear about. There is a reason they call it secret you know. And 2, we never like to tell ourselves the truth. Fracking country. The fracking guy is threatening to plunge the world into chaos and morons are supporting his actions. Kail. . . . . . . .   You have never seen war thats why. . . . . . . .

Its very wrong of you to call folks who take an opposing point of view from yours "morons". . .we can't entirely condemn everything released by the whistle blower, the fact remains, that there are things in those documents that people of the world need to know about. . . .the collateral murder video lands a big punch on everything America preached against,. . . . Nigerians wouldn't have known about the pfizer and shell indictments of it hadn't been for Wikileaks---in these a scenarios, Julian scored a point with me.

stay on top of the news and stop peddling untruths, wikileaks wasn't responsible for the events that led to charges raised against Díck Cheney!

[quote author=~Bluetooth link=topic=566358.msg7315040#msg7315040 date=1292073030]Don't be too skeptical.
why is the US engaging secret diplomacy in the first instance ?[/quote]Secret diplomacy is unavoidable in the interest of a closely knit society engaged in competitive struggle with similar societies and obliged to defend itself and to safeguard its interest by all available means.

International relations are so intricate and have so many delicate siiadings that they elude the grasp of the common man, and can be held together and seen in their proper relations only by the comprehensive and experienced mind of the seasoned statesman.

[quote author=Indirah? link=topic=566358.msg7314855#msg7314855 date=1292070263]This is just nonsense. Julian Assange is a modern day hero[/quote]Modern day hero?

What good has his information done to the world since its release besides stifling enmity and hatred amongst nations and increasing potentials of driving world powers to the brink of war?

What does he stand to gain by releasing a document which provides clear details of United States strategic assets across the globe and specifically stating that these assets, if attacked will see the US coming down to its knees, thus providing more information than alqaeda or other terrorist groups could ever need. . . .is that heroism for you?. . . .should he be decorated for this?

The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission is the constitutionally empowered body with an autonomy to structure law makers pay, the body should start by suing the NASS leadership for fraud, for stealing taking more than its original wages allocation from the ministry of finance!

Pls NL, Nass salary is distopbing

This is disturbing!

Nsiman:
If assange is to be tried for espionage then his releases are true.  The GON shld also sue Shell for espionage as well and pfizer shld be tried for attempting to/bribery.

in naija? Nigeria?

What many fail to accept is that the American who was supposedly also involved in this case is already on his way to serving a 52 year jail term. No one seems to mention that. Even when an American steals classified american information, there is consequence, talk less of when a non-american steals the property of the US,

---- If the US government charged an individual who received and distributed classified information, rather than the person who[b] leaked[/b] it, mainstream media would express the concern that they could face prosecution for reporting information they routinely receive from government insiders, so essentially, Wikileaks in the eyes of the constitution is no less different from BBC or Guardian press. There were also evidences that Assange requested a consultation with Washington to discuss which documents are explicit and could jeopardize National security in the United States, however, the US government turned his request down.


----- The prosecution also has to get around the fact that the cables reveal confidential information surrounding foreign policy and diplomacy, rather than military secrets. Under the Espionage Act, the U.S. will need to prove that a particular cable is a threat to national security.  It will be really difficult for a US prosecutor to prove "gossips" between diplomats and foreign governments, revealed in mainstream media is a threat to the security of United States.

----Besides that, i doubt if any country will be willing to extradite him to the United States, most countries extradition treaties do not cover crimes viewed as political.

chei! see money!!!

Omenani:
And the sad part about this is that he actually paid the $5 million dollars back. The judge was harsh to give him 3 years in jail even after he paid his debt.

I think it is, because he was black. They did the same thing to Michael Vick.

stop it dammit!

he did what was wrong plain and simple!

It is very wrong for an economic and financial watchdog to be dependent on the executive to begin with. . .EFCC ought to ba an independent body with leadership appointed by a panel of Judges

ukpkareporters indeed.

I am betting he doesn't even have a work permit

1) The NBA does not have the power to declare anyone unelectable.

2) The Judiciary cannot force legislatures to pass a bill they don't wish to pass

the least NBA or any other association could do is to rally up Nigerians in protest

chei!

Apparently our President is the only individual who ever made a denial on claims and reports coming from the whistleblower, that ought to count for something i think.

Perhaps by fat chance, US happened to have allocated to us an ambassador that lies, or just maybe our humble and honest  president was quoted "out of context" yet again. . . .or maybe some Northern groups are behind this. . . perhaps Atiku collaborated with Julian Assange and the US ambassador. . . .funny stories are always coming out from the presidential quarters these days. . . . "Its not bribe, its transport money"

bocin500:
well, i hate to comment in this sentiment-hate-soaked type of thread.,lets face facts and be reasonable.He rightfully the next man to mount the saddle.his sincereity of heart is unbelievable in this our perversed generation.it takes a truly great man to admit some of the things he has talked about.he obviously is ill-equiped in terms of experience but like our nascent democracy,every1 and every thing is in a learning stage and what better person to take us through this ride than a sincere man?i would rather he does so than getting halliburton, siemens, shell,(i could go on), etc, as part of our national flag.

ah! i bet i can lead Nigeria as well, i am honest at heart. . .trust me I am!

The dude says he's not good enough to lead the country, and you are here arguing "he's honest to admit admit his weakness, let's give him a shot". . seriously?. . . .

We need decision makers not humble presidents!. . .i wonder how President Jonathan will protect 150 million lives in the face of impeding attacks from external forces.

Besides, being too honest could work against world leaders in diplomacy issues, Nigerians don't need a President who is unafraid to talk shyt in an attempt to impress counterparts across the globe. . . i bet the US president knows which days Jonathan copulates with the first lady. . . all you just have to do is ask.


Humble my fat árse. . .who cares about humble?

oh dear, Musiwa's coffee came late again

Beaf:
. . .By infants or those who think similarly? By those who supply shell with trancripts? Or those who are wanted in the US?

By people who have refused to be blinded by ethnic sensations and who actually want someone right enough to lead the country through its mediocre states.

By people who feel gutted at a President's inability to manage a country's resources effectively {1 billion waste bins comes to mind} and who doesn't have a clear developmental blue print.

By folks  who believe its not Presidential to make public remarks on issues without appropriate consultation.

by individuals who are deeply pissed to watch their president muddled in shitty waters of bribery and cohesion. . .Mr president is ready to lick árses to secure a presidential ticket. . .he dare not even address public's concern on the recent NASS-Sanusi saga----he wouldnt want to piss the likes of Demeji and Mark off.

I was just pointing out this gaffe in another thread.

we shouldn't be blinded by ludicrous sensations, if my surgeon told me he's not the best man for the job, i wouldn't let him perform a surgery on me simply because he's being honest.

Being honest is not enough, we want people who actually are the right fit for the job!

DapoBear:
Heh, better that than an arrogant dude who overestimates his capabilities. I don't mind a humble leader. He knows that he was just a wall ornament, but hopes to do better than that.

I prefer that sort of attitude to that of an arrogant buffoon who thinks too much of himself.

He leads over 150 million people,. . . in his desperate attempt at humility, he ought not sound like a 4 yr old with his díck in his hands saying "mummy, what am i going to do with this"?

His ability to lead a country has been weighted, measured and found wanting