Wednesday, July 11, 2012
LAST LAUGH (PLAYBOY)
LAST LAUGH (PLAYBOY)
He called.
She
snubbed.
He stalked,
She booed.
He dogged,
She coyed.
He touched
She
indulged.
He wantoned,
She lauded.
He’s got all,
She wants more.
He’s gone,
She’s stunned!
He won,
She wept.
@iamkingsiju on twitter
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Goldfish Grace
Goldfish Grace
The word is everywhere. My friend named his daughter Grace. A singer sang Amazing Grace in a talent show last week. I read about a politician who fell from grace. The name of my wife’s new shampoo? You got it: Grace.
In sermons, in songs, in slogans. Grace, everywhere!
But do we get it?
When our daughter Sara was four years old, she burst into the house carrying a water-filled baggie in which swam a wide-eyed burst of sunshine. “Look what they gave us at the birthday party!” (Gee, thanks.) We dumped the pet into a fishbowl and gathered around to select a name. Sebastian won. He was the star of the family. We actually set the bowl on the dinner table so we could watch him swim while we ate. The ultimate fish dinner.
But then we got bored. Can’t fault Sebastian. He did everything expected of a family fish. He swam in circles and surfaced on cue to gobble fish food. He never jumped out of the bowl into the sink or demanded a seat on the couch. He spent his nights nestled amidst a green plant. Quiet. Novel. Contained.
Like grace? Small enough to fit on the cabinet, contain in the aquarium. Package it up and send it home with the kids. Dump it in a bowl and watch it swim. Never causes trouble or demands attention. Everyone wants a goldfish bowl of grace, right?
If you do, steer clear of Jesus Christ. He brings a wild grace. It comes at you like a fire hose: blasting, purging, cleansing. It can flush every last clod of doubt and death and infuse us with wonder and hope.
Grace does not promise to stop your snoring, turn your kids into valedictorians, or guarantee the correct lottery number. Grace doesn’t make you sexy, skinny, or clever. It doesn’t change what you see in the mirror. It changes how you see what you see.
Grace is everything Jesus. It uses five letters to describe six hours in which one carpenter hung on two timbers by three nails. Grace lives because he does, works because he works, and matters because he matters. To be saved by grace is to be saved by him; not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives him the nod.
Grace is God:
as Heart Surgeon, cracking open chests and extracting our crud and the desire to create it.
as Grand Marshall, leading his ever-swelling parade of has-beens and never-weres out of halfway houses and prisons into His palace.
as the Master who loves you enough to grab the nape of your neck and drag you out of blind alleys and deadend streets
as Chief Engineer, burrowing a tunnel through stone and sediment, unwilling to leave one soul in the cavern.
Grace placed a term limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard and pledges to do the same in yours, if you ask him.
Goldfish grace? Not on your life.
Goldfish grace happens on Sundays. God’s grace claims every tick of the clock.
Goldfish grace is only as good as you are. God’s grace is as good as he is.
Goldfish grace winks at sin. God’s grace nukes it.
Goldfish grace is a lucky charm crucifix on a necklace. God’s grace is a tiger in your heart.
Here’s a prayer that you and I discover God’s greatest news: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared…” (Titus 2:11). May it appear to you!
5/15/2012 copyrighted material
Goldfish Grace
I’ve been thinking about grace lately.The word is everywhere. My friend named his daughter Grace. A singer sang Amazing Grace in a talent show last week. I read about a politician who fell from grace. The name of my wife’s new shampoo? You got it: Grace.
In sermons, in songs, in slogans. Grace, everywhere!
But do we get it?
When our daughter Sara was four years old, she burst into the house carrying a water-filled baggie in which swam a wide-eyed burst of sunshine. “Look what they gave us at the birthday party!” (Gee, thanks.) We dumped the pet into a fishbowl and gathered around to select a name. Sebastian won. He was the star of the family. We actually set the bowl on the dinner table so we could watch him swim while we ate. The ultimate fish dinner.
But then we got bored. Can’t fault Sebastian. He did everything expected of a family fish. He swam in circles and surfaced on cue to gobble fish food. He never jumped out of the bowl into the sink or demanded a seat on the couch. He spent his nights nestled amidst a green plant. Quiet. Novel. Contained.
Like grace? Small enough to fit on the cabinet, contain in the aquarium. Package it up and send it home with the kids. Dump it in a bowl and watch it swim. Never causes trouble or demands attention. Everyone wants a goldfish bowl of grace, right?
If you do, steer clear of Jesus Christ. He brings a wild grace. It comes at you like a fire hose: blasting, purging, cleansing. It can flush every last clod of doubt and death and infuse us with wonder and hope.
Grace does not promise to stop your snoring, turn your kids into valedictorians, or guarantee the correct lottery number. Grace doesn’t make you sexy, skinny, or clever. It doesn’t change what you see in the mirror. It changes how you see what you see.
Grace is everything Jesus. It uses five letters to describe six hours in which one carpenter hung on two timbers by three nails. Grace lives because he does, works because he works, and matters because he matters. To be saved by grace is to be saved by him; not by an idea, doctrine, creed, or church membership, but by Jesus himself who will sweep into heaven anyone who so much as gives him the nod.
Grace is God:
as Heart Surgeon, cracking open chests and extracting our crud and the desire to create it.
as Grand Marshall, leading his ever-swelling parade of has-beens and never-weres out of halfway houses and prisons into His palace.
as the Master who loves you enough to grab the nape of your neck and drag you out of blind alleys and deadend streets
as Chief Engineer, burrowing a tunnel through stone and sediment, unwilling to leave one soul in the cavern.
Grace placed a term limit on sin and danced a victory jig in a graveyard and pledges to do the same in yours, if you ask him.
Goldfish grace? Not on your life.
Goldfish grace happens on Sundays. God’s grace claims every tick of the clock.
Goldfish grace is only as good as you are. God’s grace is as good as he is.
Goldfish grace winks at sin. God’s grace nukes it.
Goldfish grace is a lucky charm crucifix on a necklace. God’s grace is a tiger in your heart.
Here’s a prayer that you and I discover God’s greatest news: “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared…” (Titus 2:11). May it appear to you!
5/15/2012 copyrighted material
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The New Nigeria Anthem
The New Nigeria Anthem: The New Nigeria Anthem
Have you heard of the new Nigeria?
A land flowing with milk and honey,
The envy of other lands, ...
Have you heard of the new Nigeria?
A land flowing with milk and honey,
The envy of other lands, ...
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ! (soulbaba)
BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ!
1) Secrets behind scoring goals by YAKUBU AIYEGBENI
(2) How to win trophies by ARSENE WENGER
(5) Efficacy of shaving powder by RICK ROSS
(6) Secrets to greater heights by M.I
(7) How to speak good english by DAME PATIENCE
(8) How to maintain good looks by OBJ
(9) How to live in peace and unity by Boko haram
(10) The value of family planning by Tuface Idibia
(11) How to conduct a free and fair election by Maurice Iwu
(12) Humility pays by Dbanj
(13) My love for America by Osama Bin Laden
(14) How to enjoy constant electricity supply by PHCN.
(15) Fighting homosexuality by Charlie boy and Denrele
Get ur copy now!!
1) Secrets behind scoring goals by YAKUBU AIYEGBENI
(2) How to win trophies by ARSENE WENGER
(5) Efficacy of shaving powder by RICK ROSS
(6) Secrets to greater heights by M.I
(7) How to speak good english by DAME PATIENCE
(8) How to maintain good looks by OBJ
(9) How to live in peace and unity by Boko haram
(10) The value of family planning by Tuface Idibia
(11) How to conduct a free and fair election by Maurice Iwu
(12) Humility pays by Dbanj
(13) My love for America by Osama Bin Laden
(14) How to enjoy constant electricity supply by PHCN.
(15) Fighting homosexuality by Charlie boy and Denrele
Get ur copy now!!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sometime In April,I Voted GEJ Not PDP – By Harry Slim Omoakhia
Sometime In April,I Voted GEJ Not PDP – By Harry Slim Omoakhia
… (Reminiscent of the song of Transformation). Humans, especially Nigerians are fond of shying away from failures they directly or indirectly created. President GEJ(Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) had over 24million votes in the last elections, but today only a few people still accept that they voted for him.
I am not a conventional Nigerian. My name is Harry Slim Omoakhia.I voted for GEJ and this is my story: Sometime in April 2011,in the beautiful and ancient city of Benin, the rainforest belt of the Nation, where the Oba is revered, the rain seemed to have gone on a sabbatical –quite unusual at that time of the year, or had the transformation cloud and wind of fresh air taken prominence over our normal climes?, I asked. Interestingly the song of transformation was the mantra then, so Benin should be in the mix of things. On that fateful day, I was woken up by the strong rays of the rich eastern sun coming through my window….Ooops! I had forgotten to shut it the previous night; I needed some air to be able to sleep. Kudos to PHCN for making power supply a scarce commodity.
I was consoled by the thoughts of the coming “fresh air” from Abuja when the loud Nokia tune from my phone interrupted my thoughts. Mum was calling to remind me for the umpteenth time about the need to be careful and vigilant at the polling centre. I couldn’t blame her for getting scared. Elections in Nigeria have been an epic tale of violence, intimidation and assassinations. As I sailed from my slumber into the corridors of reality, I realised it was the much talked about election day.I prayed to God to take control of the day, dashed to the bathroom and in 30 minutes i was ready to exercise my franchise. Stepping out of my room, Eric, a carefree next door neighbour, greeted me and in a sarcastic tone told me to vote for Buhari. Another of his pranks I thought. I wanted him to convince me about why i should toe his line of reasoning, but he couldn’t give me a reason. I replayed the song of transformation for him, he was overwhelmed and I felt good.
However, on the bank of the stairs, my subconscious asked me: ”what’s wrong with Buhari been my choice?”.Well,he is Buhari, I thought, my General social studies teacher talked about him a lot. His time predates mine , so, I didn’t know much about him other than what I picked from hearsay and what I have read, I opined. I also knew some people, including those from his region didn’t want him to become president. There must be something special about him that makes the cabal uneasy, I surmised. But I didn’t care to find out.I believed in the songs of transformation. As Carl Sagan said ” you can’t convince a believer of anything; for his belief is not based on evidence. It is based on a deep seated need to believe”. It was like a carnival at the polling unit. It was really a date with destiny.
Soon it was time to cast our votes. The voting queue was long. I felt hunger pangs because I hadn’t eaten before leaving the house. The sun was hot like the furnace of Babylon. Yet the people persevered. An old man even collapsed. Obviously I wasn’t the only one moved by the song of transformation. Finally, it was my turn to vote–thank God. As I stepped into the INEC cubicle (the conscience chamber)with the ballot paper, I heaved a sigh of relief. But, I was disappointed when I x-rayed the ballot paper and found GEJ’s name was conspicuously missing. I actually came to vote for GEJ and not the PDP.(pause).
Nigeria today is a story of mankind’s betrayal by leaders whose speeches were idealistic and full of noble sentiments under the guise of reforms (the transformation),but whose policies were based less on principles of justice and uprightness than on expediency and compromise with the evil forces which confronted it. I am not a pessimist, but my optimism dwindles when I think of the high level of insecurity in the land, especially in the Northern part of my country. A phenomenon the National Security Adviser alluded to having its roots from the PDP brand of politics. My hope dwindles again when I see the level of unemployment, corruption, deception, injustice, poverty etc. and no concerted effort made to tackle all these; or wasn’t the transformation agenda supposed to fix these problems? GEJ’s lackadaisical approach in berating erring or non performing officials among his fold, means that the PDP affair takes pre-eminence over the yearnings of the masses. Hence he cannot disavow the fact that the masses voted him and not PDP therefore his loyalty should be to the people. He should be solicitous about the people rather than leaving them distraught. The song of transformation should not be repaid with pains of lamentation.
Moreover, there is still a glimmer of hope, which he has to rekindle. He should reconnect with the people. This is no longer time for rhetoric. He should roll up his sleeves and do a campaign tour round the country again, to identify with people’s needs. He said he had no shoes, now that he has, we shouldn’t walk barefooted; he said he trekked many kilometers to school, please we need good schools and cheap transportation; he read with lanterns, how about giving us stable power supply? The son of a poor canoe maker should help youths to get good jobs.
It’s a year now and we are terribly gasping for air and lamenting in agony. Where is the fresh air? As I reminiscence on the song of transformation this morning,I REMEMBER that SOME TIME IN APRIL, NIGERIANS VOTED GOODLUCK AND NOT PDP.
Follow me on twitter @Harryslim9
… (Reminiscent of the song of Transformation). Humans, especially Nigerians are fond of shying away from failures they directly or indirectly created. President GEJ(Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) had over 24million votes in the last elections, but today only a few people still accept that they voted for him.
I am not a conventional Nigerian. My name is Harry Slim Omoakhia.I voted for GEJ and this is my story: Sometime in April 2011,in the beautiful and ancient city of Benin, the rainforest belt of the Nation, where the Oba is revered, the rain seemed to have gone on a sabbatical –quite unusual at that time of the year, or had the transformation cloud and wind of fresh air taken prominence over our normal climes?, I asked. Interestingly the song of transformation was the mantra then, so Benin should be in the mix of things. On that fateful day, I was woken up by the strong rays of the rich eastern sun coming through my window….Ooops! I had forgotten to shut it the previous night; I needed some air to be able to sleep. Kudos to PHCN for making power supply a scarce commodity.
I was consoled by the thoughts of the coming “fresh air” from Abuja when the loud Nokia tune from my phone interrupted my thoughts. Mum was calling to remind me for the umpteenth time about the need to be careful and vigilant at the polling centre. I couldn’t blame her for getting scared. Elections in Nigeria have been an epic tale of violence, intimidation and assassinations. As I sailed from my slumber into the corridors of reality, I realised it was the much talked about election day.I prayed to God to take control of the day, dashed to the bathroom and in 30 minutes i was ready to exercise my franchise. Stepping out of my room, Eric, a carefree next door neighbour, greeted me and in a sarcastic tone told me to vote for Buhari. Another of his pranks I thought. I wanted him to convince me about why i should toe his line of reasoning, but he couldn’t give me a reason. I replayed the song of transformation for him, he was overwhelmed and I felt good.
However, on the bank of the stairs, my subconscious asked me: ”what’s wrong with Buhari been my choice?”.Well,he is Buhari, I thought, my General social studies teacher talked about him a lot. His time predates mine , so, I didn’t know much about him other than what I picked from hearsay and what I have read, I opined. I also knew some people, including those from his region didn’t want him to become president. There must be something special about him that makes the cabal uneasy, I surmised. But I didn’t care to find out.I believed in the songs of transformation. As Carl Sagan said ” you can’t convince a believer of anything; for his belief is not based on evidence. It is based on a deep seated need to believe”. It was like a carnival at the polling unit. It was really a date with destiny.
Nigeria today is a story of mankind’s betrayal by leaders whose speeches were idealistic and full of noble sentiments under the guise of reforms (the transformation),but whose policies were based less on principles of justice and uprightness than on expediency and compromise with the evil forces which confronted it. I am not a pessimist, but my optimism dwindles when I think of the high level of insecurity in the land, especially in the Northern part of my country. A phenomenon the National Security Adviser alluded to having its roots from the PDP brand of politics. My hope dwindles again when I see the level of unemployment, corruption, deception, injustice, poverty etc. and no concerted effort made to tackle all these; or wasn’t the transformation agenda supposed to fix these problems? GEJ’s lackadaisical approach in berating erring or non performing officials among his fold, means that the PDP affair takes pre-eminence over the yearnings of the masses. Hence he cannot disavow the fact that the masses voted him and not PDP therefore his loyalty should be to the people. He should be solicitous about the people rather than leaving them distraught. The song of transformation should not be repaid with pains of lamentation.
Moreover, there is still a glimmer of hope, which he has to rekindle. He should reconnect with the people. This is no longer time for rhetoric. He should roll up his sleeves and do a campaign tour round the country again, to identify with people’s needs. He said he had no shoes, now that he has, we shouldn’t walk barefooted; he said he trekked many kilometers to school, please we need good schools and cheap transportation; he read with lanterns, how about giving us stable power supply? The son of a poor canoe maker should help youths to get good jobs.
It’s a year now and we are terribly gasping for air and lamenting in agony. Where is the fresh air? As I reminiscence on the song of transformation this morning,I REMEMBER that SOME TIME IN APRIL, NIGERIANS VOTED GOODLUCK AND NOT PDP.
Follow me on twitter @Harryslim9
Monday, May 07, 2012
Friday, May 04, 2012
WAITING FOR THAT GOOD NIGERIAN-Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, it is with ultimate sadness that I write to you barely 48 hours after the Thisday offices were mercilessly shattered by bombs in Abuja and Kaduna. Only last week, and on this very page, I devoted ample space and time to the critical issue of Boko Haram as if I had a premonition of what was coming. In fact, a few readers had told me that the way I argued feverishly about the need to dialogue with Boko Haram may be misconstrued as being sympathetic to whatever cause they represent. Also, my attention was drawn to a full-page advert in The Punch newspapers in which the advertiser opened and closed his letter with copious quotes from an earlier article I had written about this Boko Haram menace. No matter how my Boko Haram interventions have been interpreted or misconstrued, I’m a realist.Terrorism survives on propaganda and its main propeller is the media. The attack on the Nigerian media two days ago was therefore a tactical error.
Let me reiterate the fact that I’m very convinced that our government lacks the capacity to handle Boko Haram. There’s no point pretending to be a King Kong when it is obvious that you are nothing but a Lilliputian. It is not a shame to admit your limitations before the whole world. Our case is like that of a boxer who has been pummelled to a corner refusing to raise up his hands in submission to a superior fire-power. I insist that where we have failed to tackle Boko Haram militarily, just like we failed to conquer the Niger Delta militants, the time has come to seek the path of dialogue, no matter what it takes. Those who are being slaughtered, with unbelievable regularity, are Nigerians like the rest of us. They suffer from the same injustice that most of us have encountered at different times and places. We must do everything humanly possible to end this terrible saga. Too many lives have been wasted to this carnage. Now that the attacks have been extended to journalists, who are usually protected even in war situations, something has to be done urgently to rescue this nation from total mayhem. I know Thisday too well and can confidently attest to its major contribution to the growth of Nigerian media.
I have been a regular reader of Thisday newspapers, and was the founding Editor of Leaders & Company at its inception in 1992. I have come to respect Thisday as the most liberal and well-respected newspaper you can find anywhere. Its influence has gone beyond the shores of Nigeria. Of course, there would always be certain misgivings about certain conducts of all human activities but Thisday has maintained a strict code of professionalism and effervescent presentation that has endeared it to fans and critics alike. A cursory look at its editorial composition would reveal a fair representation of all shades of opinion across political, religious and ideological divides. This is why you would find contributors like Eddie Iroh, Chidi Amuta, Femi Falana, Nasir el Rufai, and yours truly, all writing for Thisday’s Backpage. Any media organisation that can tolerate, and accommodate, some of the hottest anti-government critics should be embraced and applauded because what the publication has achieved is a very delicate marriage of ideas.
God is my witness; Nduka Obaigbena has never called to tell us what to write and what not to write. He may have his personal foibles, like all of us human beings, but he’s committed to the best tenets of journalism, and has struggled hard to build a humongous newspaper conglomerate which would be difficult to replicate in this difficult terrain. I respect his creativity and dare-devilry. He has erected, and provided us, with one of the most formidable platforms for information dissemination in Africa. It is not a platform that we must take for granted or seek to destroy. No matter its imperfections, Thisday is one of the best things to happen to Nigerian journalism. We all need a good conduit for our views. Without the media publicising Al Qaeda, no one would have known Osama bin Laden. I never heard that he ordered that journalists should be killed. In fact, he cultivated friendship with the media, and managed to send his secret tapes to Al Jazeera and a few Arab television channels. Osama became a quintessential newsmaker who forced himself into headlines and breaking news all over the world. Terrorism survives on propaganda and its main propeller is the media. The attack on the Nigerian media two days ago was therefore a tactical error.
I say without any fear of contradiction that an average Nigerian is angrier than Boko Haram on the state of our backwardness. Our level of corruption and recklessness has become totally idiotic and unjustifiable. There’s no nation that is governed by Saints but ours has become over-populated by demonic politicians and civil servants. And to make matters worse is the nonchalance of our leaders to the groans concerned citizens. There’s no sign of remorse or any fear of retribution.
Unfortunately, our society expects the journalist to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the earth. People sit in the comfort of their homes and instruct the journalist to take the kamikaze jump and fight its war for them while they continue to run their own business. They tell you what journalists do in Europe and America but forget the journalist and his publisher are amply rewarded by their society with millions of print-run while it is impossible for any Nigerian daily to sell up to 50,000 copies in a country of 160 million people! The man who wants you to fight his battle is unaware that it is easier for an elephant to pass through the eye of a needle than for a Nigerian paper to generate enough revenue from advertisement. At the end of the day, when the few bolekaja (come-let’s fight) publications die, as they must ultimately, there are no mourners seen. Rather the experts in every business step forward to propound hundreds of theories on why the publication died without ever proposing how it can be resurrected.
The Nigerian journalist is nothing but a meat in an American burger, big but cheap. He’s at the mercy, whims and caprices of everyone, just like a junk food. Government is angry that it is being criticised. Readers are complaining that government is being offered a platform. He’s turned into a sandwich to be munched by all with his left-over trashed in a jiffy. That is the sad story of the Nigerian journalist. We need to paint this lurid picture in order to appeal to those who have an axe to grind with government to spare these attacks against the media like the recent one against Thisday, The Sun and Moment.
The journalist is as angry if not angrier than Boko Haram. But the journalist only has his pen and no bombs to detonate. As angry as he may be, he still has his bills to pay like the rest of society. He would not tell his children he cannot pay their school fees because he’s anti-government. The few foolish ones like us who criticise government know the toll it takes on us and our financial condition and we are not too different from suicide bombers because it is suicidal not to be in the good books of government in Nigeria. But a few of us have chosen a different path and strategy for specific reasons. It is based on the knowledge that money alone can never guarantee happiness and fulfilment. We desire a good country for ourselves and our children, and we know it would take a huge sacrifice on the part of a few people to ever achieve that elusive dream.
At the end of it all, it all boils down to searching for that good Nigerian at the very top. We don’t need a multitude to change a society. I still hold on to the theory that a tree can make a forest in political Leadership. What Nigeria is lacking is that strong and visionary leader. For a leader to be strong, he must be known to have the knowledge and vision for his mission in power. He needs that ingredient of trust for his people to agree to follow him through rain and fire. He has to be sound intellectually, and have a vast knowledge of world affairs. He must have been exposed to how particular leaders helped to reshape the destiny of their nation from penury to prosperity. He must possess the heart of a lion and the determination of a David to defeat the political Goliaths who make it difficult for most leaders to succeed in power.
The good Nigerian we crave must be charismatic and urbane. He must have enjoyed a bit of life in his private capacity in order not to be overwhelmed or intimidated by the allure and paraphernalia of office. Most of those who misuse and abuse the privilege of power are usually those who had waited for their turn to attain power and seize the chance to flaunt their newly-acquired status. That is why a woman who could not afford expensive fashion suddenly becomes a fashion icon who spends more money on shoes and jewellery than Imelda Marcos. It matters not if the new style fits her or not. The good Nigerian must be able to hold his family in check and let them know they were not elected with him. His children cannot become emergency contractors and the wife must never grab the power that makes it possible for her to run riots on the streets. We need that good man who can inspire the new generation of Nigerians and not one to depress them further.
The good Nigerian must be selfless and ready to leave power poorer than he came. He must be satisfied with prayers of the people and wait on God to continually bless him and his family. There’s no honour that can be greater than being called upon to lead a country out of 160 million people. To whom much is given, much is expected. I wonder why any leader would choose to serve the selfish interests of a few parasites when he can satisfy the yearnings of the majority and become an hero for all times.
It is strange what comes over men of power that makes it impossible for them to see the difference between being a Statesman like Mandela and ending up as a poor footnote of history like Mobutu.
Follow Dele Momodu on ThisDay HERE.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Kumuyi: Away from the brink
Kumuyi: Away from the brink
IT has become imperative for all Nigerians to join hands in quickly moving the nation away from the precarious knife-edge on which she is now seemingly placed and rein-in dispositions that are dysfunctional to our well-being. The endless debates and energy-sapping controversies over restructuring, resource control, revenue allocation formula, ethnic nationalities and so on must not be allowed to imperil the posterity of this great nation. Any inadvertent or deliberate recourse to dismember the nation is an option that must be shelved. True, the prevailing situation of inertia, dashed expectations and misapplication of resources are as daunting as they are frustrating. Yet, the solution cannot lie in despair or in a resort to a bellicose option.
Every society seeks to resolve crises and conflicts usually through dialogue. And wherever this fails, or where contesting parties refuse this option, the portents have always been very dire. It led to wars and bloodshed, which have merely served to expose the savagery of the depraved human nature. I have always been intrigued by the action of combatants who eventually revert to the negotiating table, after a needless and clearly avoidable bloodletting.
The rather over–heated debates in our country will challenge anyone’s sensitivity. Except that we have seen this cycle time and again, you might conclude that the nation will evaporate the next day. The re-assuring thing is that the aggressive and seemingly separatist posturing in the media, fly in the face of the relatively peaceful atmosphere, which substantially governs our co-existence across the land. Incontrovertibly, the need to re-structure not just our politics, but indeed our psyche, has been long overdue. I am glad to note that a consensus seems to have emerged from across the nation of the need to re-configure our federal arrangement. As I keenly follow the debate, what has not been resolved, or what might prove knotty to resolve, is the modus operandi for the re-structuring process without jeopardising our peaceful co-existence and without offending the sensibilities of any segment of the federation. I therefore urge for maximum restraint and caution as we all contribute to the discussion on re-structuring or re-jigging the political make-up of the country.
By my background and worldview, I do not always accept negative conclusions about the country. Yes, the country is in a worse state than it should have been, especially viewed alongside other nations with whom we shared same indices of development decades ago but, who ironically, have soared away to measured greatness. Yet, we must never write-off the fortunes of Nigeria. We must accept that it will take a few more years to remedy the dislocations that prolonged military rule caused in every facet of our national life. The obviously skewed political arrangement about which we are all complaining, is a product of elongated military rule. We can say the same in every other aspect of our national life. But our country still enjoys a degree of leverage in the comity of nations. Our human resource is a massive strength if properly utilised. Together with the abundant natural resources, they place us on a higher pedestal, all other things being equal. Even if this is not popular with many, the level of integration in our country across ethnic, regional and religious frontiers is by far higher than many are willing to admit.
We must avoid allowing contemporary irritants in the landscape such as terrorism, intense religious disputes or over-arching political dislocations to imperil our co-existence. Let’s for a moment stretch our imagination to consider a scenario in which we all say as it were, “to thy tents O Israel”. Will that bring to an end the push-pull tendencies of all forces in each ethnic nationality? Will the dialectical differences in each ethnic group not come to an upsurge again? Pray, will the clamour for change and self-determination inherent in the human make-up not come to the fore if even in a minute form? These no doubt, are hypothetical issues to which no one can proffer ready answers. But we must avoid the path of least resistance. We must walk away from the brink of national collapse, unending tension and perennial feuds. There is nothing we have passed through, or nothing we have experienced that cannot be resolved through constructive dialogue.
President Goodluck Jonathan was right when he observed recently that the prevailing instability is worse than the conditions that led to the civil war. Now, that’s the cliff edge overlooking a bottomless abyss! Staying longer at that tip is perilous, and as deadly as plunging into the pit! We must hastily walk away from the brink, considering that our generation has a great chance of erecting the atmosphere for a better and more united, peaceful and just Nigeria. The foremost prerequisite for this is equity and fairness, while striking a better and more enduring balance between the states (and ethnic groups).
To do so, we need the Federal Government to initiate a summit of well-meaning and committed citizens to discuss our future. I believe strongly that only dispassionate and detached stakeholders must come together to resolve the growing crisis of confidence in our country. Such stakeholders are still available in this country. The time has finally come to address the loose ends of our political environment and produce an enduring solution on how we all can peacefully coexist, our diverse backgrounds notwithstanding.
Our challenges, as they were in the past, have arisen from the reality and demands of our natural diversities. We see them as negative and divisive factors. So we fear them. However, as a pastor with the background of a mathematician, I know there is enormous strength in numbers and their variables! China and India are using their vast human resources to redraw the economic map of the world. Even Brazil from South American has recently displaced Britain in the league of global industrial powers. So, why would Nigeria seek to draw down this potential? Let us hold a national conference or a summit or whatever concept we adopt, to celebrate our coat of many colours, to discuss our strength of diversities and numbers. We are not meeting to weaken our vitality. We should meet to outlaw poverty and corruption, to establish constitutional justice, to give the citizens a feeling of participation in formulation, articulation and execution of their hopes of deprivation and alienation from Nigeria’s common wealth. We should meet to cut off the tendencies that drive our people to acts of self-help, manifesting in murderous violence. Dialogue will take care of this state of despondency, so that we can, as a famous Chinese writer once said, that to overcome others’ armies without fighting is the best of skills.
What about the modality for choosing those to participate at the conference without attracting the disquiet of the National Assembly or other entrenched interests? Let’s look back and consider what was done at grave periods of Nigeria’s history. Leaders of thought were carefully chosen then to discuss the sensitive challenges of those times. Although a civil war still ensued, yet we cannot forget the contributions of those leaders in stemming the tide of what could have led to the total obliteration of the country.
I urge the Federal Government, therefore, to carefully compile the names of truly distinguished and dispassionate Nigerians who still believe in the Nigerian dream. The main theme should be the re-structuring of our socio-political and economic landscape without subverting our co-existence.
• Pastor Kumuyi is General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
IT has become imperative for all Nigerians to join hands in quickly moving the nation away from the precarious knife-edge on which she is now seemingly placed and rein-in dispositions that are dysfunctional to our well-being. The endless debates and energy-sapping controversies over restructuring, resource control, revenue allocation formula, ethnic nationalities and so on must not be allowed to imperil the posterity of this great nation. Any inadvertent or deliberate recourse to dismember the nation is an option that must be shelved. True, the prevailing situation of inertia, dashed expectations and misapplication of resources are as daunting as they are frustrating. Yet, the solution cannot lie in despair or in a resort to a bellicose option.
Every society seeks to resolve crises and conflicts usually through dialogue. And wherever this fails, or where contesting parties refuse this option, the portents have always been very dire. It led to wars and bloodshed, which have merely served to expose the savagery of the depraved human nature. I have always been intrigued by the action of combatants who eventually revert to the negotiating table, after a needless and clearly avoidable bloodletting.
The rather over–heated debates in our country will challenge anyone’s sensitivity. Except that we have seen this cycle time and again, you might conclude that the nation will evaporate the next day. The re-assuring thing is that the aggressive and seemingly separatist posturing in the media, fly in the face of the relatively peaceful atmosphere, which substantially governs our co-existence across the land. Incontrovertibly, the need to re-structure not just our politics, but indeed our psyche, has been long overdue. I am glad to note that a consensus seems to have emerged from across the nation of the need to re-configure our federal arrangement. As I keenly follow the debate, what has not been resolved, or what might prove knotty to resolve, is the modus operandi for the re-structuring process without jeopardising our peaceful co-existence and without offending the sensibilities of any segment of the federation. I therefore urge for maximum restraint and caution as we all contribute to the discussion on re-structuring or re-jigging the political make-up of the country.
By my background and worldview, I do not always accept negative conclusions about the country. Yes, the country is in a worse state than it should have been, especially viewed alongside other nations with whom we shared same indices of development decades ago but, who ironically, have soared away to measured greatness. Yet, we must never write-off the fortunes of Nigeria. We must accept that it will take a few more years to remedy the dislocations that prolonged military rule caused in every facet of our national life. The obviously skewed political arrangement about which we are all complaining, is a product of elongated military rule. We can say the same in every other aspect of our national life. But our country still enjoys a degree of leverage in the comity of nations. Our human resource is a massive strength if properly utilised. Together with the abundant natural resources, they place us on a higher pedestal, all other things being equal. Even if this is not popular with many, the level of integration in our country across ethnic, regional and religious frontiers is by far higher than many are willing to admit.
We must avoid allowing contemporary irritants in the landscape such as terrorism, intense religious disputes or over-arching political dislocations to imperil our co-existence. Let’s for a moment stretch our imagination to consider a scenario in which we all say as it were, “to thy tents O Israel”. Will that bring to an end the push-pull tendencies of all forces in each ethnic nationality? Will the dialectical differences in each ethnic group not come to an upsurge again? Pray, will the clamour for change and self-determination inherent in the human make-up not come to the fore if even in a minute form? These no doubt, are hypothetical issues to which no one can proffer ready answers. But we must avoid the path of least resistance. We must walk away from the brink of national collapse, unending tension and perennial feuds. There is nothing we have passed through, or nothing we have experienced that cannot be resolved through constructive dialogue.
President Goodluck Jonathan was right when he observed recently that the prevailing instability is worse than the conditions that led to the civil war. Now, that’s the cliff edge overlooking a bottomless abyss! Staying longer at that tip is perilous, and as deadly as plunging into the pit! We must hastily walk away from the brink, considering that our generation has a great chance of erecting the atmosphere for a better and more united, peaceful and just Nigeria. The foremost prerequisite for this is equity and fairness, while striking a better and more enduring balance between the states (and ethnic groups).
To do so, we need the Federal Government to initiate a summit of well-meaning and committed citizens to discuss our future. I believe strongly that only dispassionate and detached stakeholders must come together to resolve the growing crisis of confidence in our country. Such stakeholders are still available in this country. The time has finally come to address the loose ends of our political environment and produce an enduring solution on how we all can peacefully coexist, our diverse backgrounds notwithstanding.
Our challenges, as they were in the past, have arisen from the reality and demands of our natural diversities. We see them as negative and divisive factors. So we fear them. However, as a pastor with the background of a mathematician, I know there is enormous strength in numbers and their variables! China and India are using their vast human resources to redraw the economic map of the world. Even Brazil from South American has recently displaced Britain in the league of global industrial powers. So, why would Nigeria seek to draw down this potential? Let us hold a national conference or a summit or whatever concept we adopt, to celebrate our coat of many colours, to discuss our strength of diversities and numbers. We are not meeting to weaken our vitality. We should meet to outlaw poverty and corruption, to establish constitutional justice, to give the citizens a feeling of participation in formulation, articulation and execution of their hopes of deprivation and alienation from Nigeria’s common wealth. We should meet to cut off the tendencies that drive our people to acts of self-help, manifesting in murderous violence. Dialogue will take care of this state of despondency, so that we can, as a famous Chinese writer once said, that to overcome others’ armies without fighting is the best of skills.
What about the modality for choosing those to participate at the conference without attracting the disquiet of the National Assembly or other entrenched interests? Let’s look back and consider what was done at grave periods of Nigeria’s history. Leaders of thought were carefully chosen then to discuss the sensitive challenges of those times. Although a civil war still ensued, yet we cannot forget the contributions of those leaders in stemming the tide of what could have led to the total obliteration of the country.
I urge the Federal Government, therefore, to carefully compile the names of truly distinguished and dispassionate Nigerians who still believe in the Nigerian dream. The main theme should be the re-structuring of our socio-political and economic landscape without subverting our co-existence.
• Pastor Kumuyi is General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Saturday, March 31, 2012
UGOMETRICS - Finance, Economics & Business Blog: Why Nigerians may never have self made millionaire...
UGOMETRICS - Finance, Economics & Business Blog: Why Nigerians may never have self made millionaire...: You must have heard of billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg (28), Sean Parker (31yrs), Chase Coleman (36). They have changed the world we live ...
Friday, March 30, 2012
WE ARE PAYING MORE
A few years back we heard the argument that African countries pay three dollars for every one dollar borrowed from the Western nations. This is true not only for sovereign debts but even for individuals.
Think of housing for example, if I pay 1500000 naira (about 10000 dollars) pay annum (now this is for the so called privileged middle class) as rent, I have no value after one year of living in the house. My counterpart overseas can use the same amount to pay for his mortgage for a better house. If I want to be as smart as smart as my guy, I go for the same mortgage but at what price? 16 to 20%?, he gets his own at below 5%. The reality is that the interest for me at that high mortgage rate will discourage me! And mind you am assuming that you have a good job for the banks to look at you in the first place. What about the duration of the so called mortgage here, 15 years!, implication is that the yearly or monthly payment will be so high that when you look at the cash flows and compare the amount you use to service the loan to the actual amount that pays off the principle amount your conclusion will easily discourage you. So why is my guy over there able to get his mortgage at less than 5%? Because my fathers and grand fathers in government have stolen all the money, dumped them in their overseas bank accounts where it offers cheap source of funding for their mortgages!! As if that is not enough my present and past governments also thinks its wise to put our foreign reserves in overseas banks thereby increasing the ability for those governments to give their guys cheap mortgage and other subsidies like agriculture which we cry for in this part of the world. At the last count, I thought we were getting smarter when Soludo said Nigeria was going to give some local banks opportunity to manage our foreign reserves. I haven’t heard much about that lately even though I wonder whether if the local banks would have opted to retain the funds in-country and simply manage the money in their offshore accounts. Can somebody tell me why we cant take out destiny into our own hands, if we cant prosecute and repatriate our stolen wealth, we can at least repartriate our foreign reserves and let it be a source of cheap funds for our economy! Talking about interest free banking, Sanusi, this can be your source of funding!
Now let nobody tell me I don’t have economic background because even those that have, did not know the meltdown was coming or even they knew did not know what to do to stop it or how to recover when it happened, so we are all guessing here! Spain today is rescheduling there debths and heaven have not falling. They have far better infrastructure than us, yet we paid over 18 billion dollars! to exit world bank debth at a time I heard debt servicing cost us less than 300 billion naira yearly, today we have about 372 billion naira to service both internal and external debt in 2012 revised budget. I have heard argument that it would have been better if we had invested that amount in infrastructure that will generate jobs than pay back in one fell swoop! I tend to agree we them.
Think of the security, access to low interest rate mortgage will give our government workers. If a civil servant knows he is investing by paying for mortgage for his housing he will be more disciplined (at least in theory) than if he knows that if his landlord kicks him out today he has nothing left. The mortgage he can cash out any day and can even make profit! We can then focus on other areas for reasons why corruption thrives in our society.
Automobiles is another area that pains me as we are left to use tokunbo’s that damage out environment and sap our pockets in the name of frequent and high cost maintenance. A guy over their gets a brand new car, again on “note” at very low interest rates (they never pay cash for anything!!), uses it for four to five years or even ten years when the value is almost zero for the insurance companies, my guy here then imports the car to Naija. My brother buys this same old but nice looking car for say 1700000 naira (10000 dollars) and goes for thanksgiving service that God has blessed him with a “kpocha kpocha”. The guy the car was bought from overseas meanwhile uses the money for down-payment of his new replacement car. Give my guy in Naija two years and he is back for another thanksgiving, this time for God saving his life from a gastly motor accident. If its not his tire that got burst, then its the other oncoming tokenbo! Meanwhile he may have spent say a quarter of what he bought the car on maintenance and lost thousands of man hours in a mechanic workshop. The guy overseas will not have any need to visit mechanic for the 4 to ten years he will use the car except for routine servicing. Now who is paying more! We have not even talked of the amount spent on fuel the highly inefficient tokenbo!
Even though the amount involved in purchasing a car is modest compared to that of house, our mediocre culture has so much impoverished us that we think so small. We rather go for the cheap tokenbo than adding just a little more to buy a new car. That is assuming we do not have access to loans. Added to that, is the culture of our driving rather large cars to announce our arrival than small ones that are functional. By the way, I just bought one tokenbo SUV as I write, not out of ignorance but out of fear of being seen as rich if I have to drive in a brand new car in an environment that is struggling and thus becoming a target for kidnapers! Agreed there are cultural and societal peculiarities that must be respected but the bottom line is that some kind of thought on economics should play a part in our choices.
Just like automobiles, all electronics we use come at very high premium compared to other parts of the developed worlds. Why do I have to pay three times for a flat TV than it is sold in the USA even when this product is not manufactured in the USA just as it is not manufactured in Nigeria. Refrigerators, household items, etc all cost three or more than their costs abroad. Is it the shylock business man, or the heavy duty the government imposes without any alternatives to these products that is causing this disparity in price between US and Nigeria, after all Nigeria is close to Asia where these things are manufactured (even if under US patents) than US. The 100% duty on new cars has helped to hick the cost of new cars when the alternative like Peugeot is not competitive. So like tokunbo cars, Nigeria becomes a dumping ground for cheap electronic and other consumer goods.
To reverse the trend, I will begin with the monetary policy handlers. Our foreign reserves have to be repatriated back to the country. Let the right framework be put in place to ensure we manage the funds properly. Sanusi is already doing well in this direction. The overseas countries where we domiciled these funds have shown they are not better in their handling of the global meltdown. These funds will drive this economy and we will not need any foreign investor to invest in our stock markets before they can pick up. With these funds here, the foreign investor will follow the funds down here like ants follow sugar! Today we talk of Nigerian content fund to enable indigenous companies execute the highly capitalized investment in the oil industry. How much is in this fund? I don’t have the figures but am sure it may not be enough to drill one deep offshore well that will cost over 100 million dollars.
We have the capacity and people to drive these mega box businesses, be it oil and gas, agriculture, construction. Thank God for the Dangote’s so we can’t say we don’t have the entrepreneurs that can drive big business. Another of such gurus needs to be encouraged and if possible patronized to drive mega construction to compete and learn from Julius Berger, and another to go into petroleum refining. Even the numerous refining families in Bayelsa can be encouraged to perfect their home grown refining technology; all the government needs to do is to regulate their source of crude and spec of the production, and collect tax. After all there was no reported fuel scarcity in Biafra.
As we build up to adequate power supply for the country, other enabling business climate needs to be in place. Tax holidays may be necessary. Even if the government does not gain immediately from tax, the fact that its people are employed will be a necessary incentive. The federal might needs to be channeled towards projects that have good potentials, irrespective of who originated such a project. Tinapa must be encouraged to work, the trade free zone can attract manufacturers to reduce costs of otherwise imported goods. Calabar and other ports must be upgraded and patronized to attract activities to drive the coastal areas instead of concentrating everything in Lagos.
Finally our orientation as a people must also change, so that we can think big, be it in our conceiving developmental projects or in personal finance. The era of a sitting governor or president only thinking of projects that can be completed in his four year term should be over. Mega, sustainable projects take time, resources and courage from great big-thinking men! I dear Nigeria to arise from mediocrity, think and dream big like other nations!
Peter Obidike wrote from p_obidike@yahoo.com
18TH March 2012
08037155454
Think of housing for example, if I pay 1500000 naira (about 10000 dollars) pay annum (now this is for the so called privileged middle class) as rent, I have no value after one year of living in the house. My counterpart overseas can use the same amount to pay for his mortgage for a better house. If I want to be as smart as smart as my guy, I go for the same mortgage but at what price? 16 to 20%?, he gets his own at below 5%. The reality is that the interest for me at that high mortgage rate will discourage me! And mind you am assuming that you have a good job for the banks to look at you in the first place. What about the duration of the so called mortgage here, 15 years!, implication is that the yearly or monthly payment will be so high that when you look at the cash flows and compare the amount you use to service the loan to the actual amount that pays off the principle amount your conclusion will easily discourage you. So why is my guy over there able to get his mortgage at less than 5%? Because my fathers and grand fathers in government have stolen all the money, dumped them in their overseas bank accounts where it offers cheap source of funding for their mortgages!! As if that is not enough my present and past governments also thinks its wise to put our foreign reserves in overseas banks thereby increasing the ability for those governments to give their guys cheap mortgage and other subsidies like agriculture which we cry for in this part of the world. At the last count, I thought we were getting smarter when Soludo said Nigeria was going to give some local banks opportunity to manage our foreign reserves. I haven’t heard much about that lately even though I wonder whether if the local banks would have opted to retain the funds in-country and simply manage the money in their offshore accounts. Can somebody tell me why we cant take out destiny into our own hands, if we cant prosecute and repatriate our stolen wealth, we can at least repartriate our foreign reserves and let it be a source of cheap funds for our economy! Talking about interest free banking, Sanusi, this can be your source of funding!
Now let nobody tell me I don’t have economic background because even those that have, did not know the meltdown was coming or even they knew did not know what to do to stop it or how to recover when it happened, so we are all guessing here! Spain today is rescheduling there debths and heaven have not falling. They have far better infrastructure than us, yet we paid over 18 billion dollars! to exit world bank debth at a time I heard debt servicing cost us less than 300 billion naira yearly, today we have about 372 billion naira to service both internal and external debt in 2012 revised budget. I have heard argument that it would have been better if we had invested that amount in infrastructure that will generate jobs than pay back in one fell swoop! I tend to agree we them.
Think of the security, access to low interest rate mortgage will give our government workers. If a civil servant knows he is investing by paying for mortgage for his housing he will be more disciplined (at least in theory) than if he knows that if his landlord kicks him out today he has nothing left. The mortgage he can cash out any day and can even make profit! We can then focus on other areas for reasons why corruption thrives in our society.
Automobiles is another area that pains me as we are left to use tokunbo’s that damage out environment and sap our pockets in the name of frequent and high cost maintenance. A guy over their gets a brand new car, again on “note” at very low interest rates (they never pay cash for anything!!), uses it for four to five years or even ten years when the value is almost zero for the insurance companies, my guy here then imports the car to Naija. My brother buys this same old but nice looking car for say 1700000 naira (10000 dollars) and goes for thanksgiving service that God has blessed him with a “kpocha kpocha”. The guy the car was bought from overseas meanwhile uses the money for down-payment of his new replacement car. Give my guy in Naija two years and he is back for another thanksgiving, this time for God saving his life from a gastly motor accident. If its not his tire that got burst, then its the other oncoming tokenbo! Meanwhile he may have spent say a quarter of what he bought the car on maintenance and lost thousands of man hours in a mechanic workshop. The guy overseas will not have any need to visit mechanic for the 4 to ten years he will use the car except for routine servicing. Now who is paying more! We have not even talked of the amount spent on fuel the highly inefficient tokenbo!
Even though the amount involved in purchasing a car is modest compared to that of house, our mediocre culture has so much impoverished us that we think so small. We rather go for the cheap tokenbo than adding just a little more to buy a new car. That is assuming we do not have access to loans. Added to that, is the culture of our driving rather large cars to announce our arrival than small ones that are functional. By the way, I just bought one tokenbo SUV as I write, not out of ignorance but out of fear of being seen as rich if I have to drive in a brand new car in an environment that is struggling and thus becoming a target for kidnapers! Agreed there are cultural and societal peculiarities that must be respected but the bottom line is that some kind of thought on economics should play a part in our choices.
Just like automobiles, all electronics we use come at very high premium compared to other parts of the developed worlds. Why do I have to pay three times for a flat TV than it is sold in the USA even when this product is not manufactured in the USA just as it is not manufactured in Nigeria. Refrigerators, household items, etc all cost three or more than their costs abroad. Is it the shylock business man, or the heavy duty the government imposes without any alternatives to these products that is causing this disparity in price between US and Nigeria, after all Nigeria is close to Asia where these things are manufactured (even if under US patents) than US. The 100% duty on new cars has helped to hick the cost of new cars when the alternative like Peugeot is not competitive. So like tokunbo cars, Nigeria becomes a dumping ground for cheap electronic and other consumer goods.
To reverse the trend, I will begin with the monetary policy handlers. Our foreign reserves have to be repatriated back to the country. Let the right framework be put in place to ensure we manage the funds properly. Sanusi is already doing well in this direction. The overseas countries where we domiciled these funds have shown they are not better in their handling of the global meltdown. These funds will drive this economy and we will not need any foreign investor to invest in our stock markets before they can pick up. With these funds here, the foreign investor will follow the funds down here like ants follow sugar! Today we talk of Nigerian content fund to enable indigenous companies execute the highly capitalized investment in the oil industry. How much is in this fund? I don’t have the figures but am sure it may not be enough to drill one deep offshore well that will cost over 100 million dollars.
We have the capacity and people to drive these mega box businesses, be it oil and gas, agriculture, construction. Thank God for the Dangote’s so we can’t say we don’t have the entrepreneurs that can drive big business. Another of such gurus needs to be encouraged and if possible patronized to drive mega construction to compete and learn from Julius Berger, and another to go into petroleum refining. Even the numerous refining families in Bayelsa can be encouraged to perfect their home grown refining technology; all the government needs to do is to regulate their source of crude and spec of the production, and collect tax. After all there was no reported fuel scarcity in Biafra.
As we build up to adequate power supply for the country, other enabling business climate needs to be in place. Tax holidays may be necessary. Even if the government does not gain immediately from tax, the fact that its people are employed will be a necessary incentive. The federal might needs to be channeled towards projects that have good potentials, irrespective of who originated such a project. Tinapa must be encouraged to work, the trade free zone can attract manufacturers to reduce costs of otherwise imported goods. Calabar and other ports must be upgraded and patronized to attract activities to drive the coastal areas instead of concentrating everything in Lagos.
Finally our orientation as a people must also change, so that we can think big, be it in our conceiving developmental projects or in personal finance. The era of a sitting governor or president only thinking of projects that can be completed in his four year term should be over. Mega, sustainable projects take time, resources and courage from great big-thinking men! I dear Nigeria to arise from mediocrity, think and dream big like other nations!
Peter Obidike wrote from p_obidike@yahoo.com
18TH March 2012
08037155454
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
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