Shola Ameobi, Victor Moses And The Rest Make Up Siasia's Squad For Guatemala Friendly

By Lolade Adewuyi(goal.com)

Nigeria have called up Newcastle striker Shola Ameobi and Wigan forward Victor Moses among a squad of 20 players to face Guatemala in a friendly match on February 9.

Also expected to make their debut in the senior side are Inter midfielder Obiora Nwankwo, Siena defender Michael Odibe and Karabukspor top striker Emmanuel Emenike.

The game will be Samson Siasia’s first in charge and he has named a strong squad comprising of two home-based players in the team, Chibuzor Okonkwo and Bartholomew Ibenegbu both of Heartland. 

Siasia will be reuniting with his former Olympic team players Ayodele Adeleye, Olubayo Adefemi and Olufemi Ajilore, the latter duo had been frozen out of the team before his appointment.

Mikel Obi is expected to make a return after missing out on the last AFCON qualifier against Guinea while the coach has dropped strikers Obafemi Martins and Michael Eneramo.

GOALKEEPERS: Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv, Israel), Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda, Israel)

DEFENDERS: Chibuzor Okonkwo (Heartland), Ayodele Adeleye (Metallurh Donetsk, Ukraine),Taye Taiwo (Olympic Marseille, France), Michael Odibe (A. C. Siena, Italy), Olubayo Adefemi(Skoda Xanthi, Greece), Elderson Echiejile (Sporting Braga, Portugal), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbahce, Turkey)

MIDFIELDERS: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea, England), Obiora Nwankwo (Inter Milan, Italy),Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic, England), Bartholomew Ibenegbu (Heartland), Olufemi Ajilore (FC Groningen, The Netherlands)

FORWARDS: Ahmed Musa (V.V.V. Venlo, The Netherlands), Osaze Odemwingie (West Brom, England), Obinna Nsofor (West Ham, England), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle, England), Emmanuel Emenike (Karaburkspor, Turkey), Peter Utaka (Odense Boldklub, Denmark)

Nigerian Stocks Rise to Eight-Month High As Pres. Goodluck Won His Party’s Presidential Nomination

By Vincent Nwanma (Bloomberg) --

Nigerian stocks, the world’s best performers this year, rose to an eight-month high as President Goodluck Jonathan won the ruling party’s nomination to compete in an election this year, easing concern that infighting would destabilize the nation.

The 215-member Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index added 0.9 percent to close at 27,267.17 by 2:30 p.m. in Lagos, according to an e-mailed statement from the bourse, the highest since May 19. The measure has gained 10 percent this year, making it the best-performing equity index among 91 tracked by Bloomberg. Nigeria Breweries Plc, the second-biggest company by market value, led gains, surging 5 percent to 91.43 naira, the highest since 2002.

Jonathan, 53, won more than 70 percent of the votes cast by delegates today at the ruling People’s Democratic Party’s convention in Abuja, the capital, defeating former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. Africa’s most populous nation will hold presidential elections on April 9.

The nomination “reduces the political risk and enhances the stability of the current bull run in the market,” David Adonri, chief executive officer of Lambeth Trust and Investment Co., a Lagos-based brokerage, said by phone today.

Jonathan, a Christian from the oil-rich Niger Delta, became president last year after the death of President Umaru Yar’Adua, a Muslim from the north. His candidacy for a full term as president is contrary to an unwritten party rule to rotate the top office between the mainly Muslim north and the predominantly Christian south for two four-year terms. The PDP has held power in Nigeria, the fifth-largest source of U.S. oil imports, since a return to civilian rule in 1999.

‘Compelling’ Investment

His emergence “may not cause stock prices to jump, but it means that investors will not have fear of violent changes,” Chinenyem Anyanwu, chief executive of Dependable Securities Ltd., a Lagos-based brokerage, said by phone today.

Nigeria’s stock index gained 19 percent last year after falling 64 percent in two previous years as the nation took steps to stem a debt crisis that resulted from loans by banks to speculators. The Central Bank of Nigeria fired eight bank executives in 2009, bailed out the industry with 620 billion naira ($4 billion) and set up Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria, a company that is buying bad debt from lenders.

Nigeria’s equity-market is “compelling,”, Renaissance Capital said yesterday. “Concerns over the political landscape have been slightly exaggerated and may present buying opportunities,” Olaleye Adekeye, a Lagos-based analyst with the company, wrote in an e-mailed note to clients dated yesterday. “Excessive caution may prove expensive.”

--With assistance from Paul Okolo and Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Abuja and Nasreen Seria in Johannesburg. Editors: Ana Monteiro, Antony Sguazzin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos at vnwanma@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net

Nigerian Cocoa Exports Declined by 35% in October

Jan. 14 (Bloomberg) --

Cocoa exports from Nigeria, the world’s fourth-biggest producer, fell 35 percent in October, the Federal Produce Inspection Service said.

Shipments fell to 12,935 metric tons from 19,830 tons a year earlier, spokesman Adekunle Adebambo said by phone today from Lagos, the commercial capital. Total cocoa-bean exports in the first 10 months of last year rose 13 percent to 140,537.5 tons from 124,663 tons a year earlier, he said.

Nigeria’s cocoa year is divided into two harvests. The main-crop harvest begins in October and ends in January, while the light-crop season, the smaller of the two, usually begins in March and ends in June.

The chocolate ingredient is Nigeria’s second-biggest foreign-exchange earner after crude oil, according to government statistics. Only the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Indonesia produce more cocoa, according to the International Cocoa Organization.

--Editors: John Deane, Alastair Reed

To contact the reporter on this story: Vincent Nwanma in Lagos via Accra at vnwanma@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin in Johannesburg at asguazzin@bloomberg.net.

Arms Shipment - UN Team Arrives Nigeria, Sunday

Thetidenewsonline


A United Nations team will arrive Nigeria on Sunday for a weeklong fact-finding mission on the arms shipment from Iran intercepted last October in Lagos, officials said.

A senior Nigerian official told our correspondent in New York that an eight-man UN panel of experts on arrival in Nigeria would get a first-hand look at the arms shipment from Iran which our security authorities intercepted last October.

Some personnel of the Nigerian mission to the UN, conversant with arrangements for the trip, have already left New York for Abuja.

They told correspondents that the fact-finding visit would see the experts meeting with inter-governmental agencies, visit Apapa Port in Lagos, where the cache of arms was intercepted and have been kept “safely” since then.

The panel was appointed in November by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon, to monitor states’ implementation of sanctions against Iran.

Members of the panel include retired Nigeria military officer, Maj.-Gen. Ishola Williams, and Ms Salomé Zourabichvili of France, who is the coordinator.

Others are Mr Jonathan Brewer (United Kingdom), Mr Kenichiro Matsubayashi (Japan), Ms Jacqueline W. Shire (United States), Ms Elena G. Vodopolova (Russian Federation), Mr Christof Wegner (Germany) and Mr Wenlei Xu (China).

The panel of experts, which monitors states’ implementation of the sanctions, will report on whether the weapons seized in Nigeria breached the sanction.

Nigeria reported Iran to the UN in November after its authorities intercepted the weapons hidden among building materials in 13 containers on a ship docked in Lagos.

An Iranian man and three Nigerians have been accused of attempting to import the arms and send them to The Gambia, which cut ties with Iran in November.

The Iranian, Azim Aghajani, identified by court documents as a Tehran-based businessman and member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, was granted bail last month by a High Court in Abuja.

The arms shipment has set off a diplomatic row between some countries in the region and Tehran.

Senegal recalled its ambassador to Iran, saying that Tehran had failed to provide a “satisfactory” explanation for the arms shipment seized in Nigeria.

Iranian Foreign Minister Monouchehr Mottaki was sacked last month while on an official trip to Senegal and no reasons were given for his ouster.

Gambia had earlier severed all economic ties with Iran after it was mentioned that the arms’ final destination was the tiny West African country.

Iran has come under four UN Security Council sanctions, including an arms embargo, over its nuclear programme.

Kidnappers Free Mr Ibu's Wife and Son

Bayo Adetu

Mr. Ibu’s wife, Stella-Maris and his one year old son, Emmanuel Mandella Okafor, were released by kidnappers late last night.

Confirming the development to an online new media-pmnews on phone this morning, Mr Ibu expressed his joy over the release of his wife and son, but refused to disclose the ransom he paid.

In his words – “Obviously i’m very happy that my wife and son have been released, but I will not disclose the ransom. However, I want to thank my friends, colleagues and Nigerians in general who stood by me during this trying period,”.

Stella- Maris and Emmanuel were kidnapped in Enugu on Tuesday last week.

Their kidnappers initially demanded for a N50 million ransom, but later slashed it to N6 million when the Nollywood actor pleaded that he cannot afford to pay such amount of money.

Nigeria To Release Details of Iran's Arms Smuggling In Africa

Telegraph

A trial due to open in Nigeria at the end of the month is set to disclose embarrassing details of an extensive arms smuggling operation run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to supply guerrillas in West Africa.

A key defendant in the trial, which is due to start in Abuja on January 31, is Azim Aghajani, an Iranian national who has been identified by intelligence officials as a senior officer serving in the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Aghajani faces charges relating to the seizure of a cargo of weapons hidden in 13 shipping containers at the Nigerian port of Apapa, in Lagos, in October.

The weapons, which included rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and assault rifles, had been concealed in a cargo of construction materials and were discovered following a tip-off by the CIA to Nigerian security officials.

Nigerian officials claim the containers were dispatched by the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the unit responsible for supporting overseas Islamist militant groups.

The Iranians used a French based shipping group to transport the weapons cargo, which was intended for distribution among a number of Islamist militias in Nigeria and other rebel groups in West Africa.

They included the "Hisbah" Islamist militia, which is seeking to impose Sharia law in the north Nigerian province of Kano, and rebel groups fighting for control of Nigeria's lucratic oil revenues in the Nile Delta. Nigerian officials claim some of the weapons were also destined for rebel groups based in Senegal and Gambia.

"This was a sophisticated operation undertaken by Iran's Revolutionary Guards to destabilise a number of governments in West Africa," said a Western security official who has been closely involved in the case. "It is a major diplomatic embarrassment for Tehran at a time when Iran claims it seeks to improve relations with countries in the region."

Two Iranian citizens claiming to be businessmen sought refuge in the Iranian embassy immediately following the seizure of the weapons, sparking a tense diplomatic stand-off between Iran and Nigeria.

Intelligence officials in Nigeria established that the two Iranians were senior officers serving in the Qods Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, who were named as Azim Aghajani and Ali Akbar Tabatabaei, who is described as the commander of Qods Force operations in Africa.

Iran made secret representations to the Nigerian government to allow the arms shipment to be returned to Iran, together with the two Revolutionary Guards officers. When the Nigerians refused Manoucher Mottaki, who was then serving as Iran's Foreign Minister, made an emergency visit to Abuja in November during which he persuaded Nigerian officials to release Tabatabaei, who was allowed to fly back to Tehran on the Foreign Minister's private jet. Tabatabaei is now understood to have been redeployed to Venezuela to oversee Iran's intelligence operations in Latin America.

But the Nigerian authorities insisted that Aghajani must remain in Abuja and face trial on arms smuggling charges.

Prosecution officials predict all the details relating to Iran's involvement in the arms shipment will be revealed during the trial of Aghajani, who was earlier this week granted bail by the trial judge until the end of the month.
Nigeria has also demonstrated its displeasure at Iran's attempts to arm anti-government rebel groups by providing the UN committee with responsibility for monitoring sanctions against Iran with full details of the arms shipment. Under UN Security Council Resolution 1747, which was passed in 2007, Iran is banned from the purchase or export of weapons.

An eight-member UN team, including representative from all five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is due to visit Nigeria to investigate the shipment shortly before the trial begins.

Championship - Leicester seal Yakubu loan

Eurosport

The Nigeria international's move to Sven-Goran Eriksson's side could be made permanent at the end of the season.

The 28-year-old had struggled for form and fitness at Goodison Park in the past two seasons, but this term has seen an upturn in both despite only scoring one league goal.

He told Everton's official website: "It means a lot to me to be joining Leicester City and to be given this chance.

"When I had the option to come here, I didn't think twice. The manager is one of the greats in football history and to work with him presents a special opportunity for me."

Yakubu is the third player Eriksson has brought to the Walkers Stadium on loan this month, following the arrival of Manchester City's Ben Mee on loan and the permanent signing of former Hibernian defender Sol Bamba.

Eriksson said: "Yakubu is a tremendous signing for Leicester City. He will bring pace, power and experience to the club.

"He has captained his country, played in major competitions and is a first-class footballer, who I am certain will help us to achieve our aims of moving up the Championship.

"We are delighted that he is joining us until the end of the season and I'm sure that the supporters will enjoy watching him in action."

Child Beggars On Nigerian Streets

By Cyril Onoja


We see them in major bus stops all around Nigeria,  3years old and above, hanging to your hand, trouser or skirt, pleading for money, saying something, like “abeg give me money i never chop” sometimes you hand them a 10naira note or just simply ignore them, or totally avoid them. What we fail to understand is that, we have a society that has totally damaged the physic or emotional state of the little child.

1. The child is pushed out by his mother to fend for him/herself, refusing the child love and protection, even mother hens fend for their little ones, not to talk of human beings.

2. When the child gets 10naira note from you, he feels he cannot get anything in life, only by begging for it (mental slavery)

3. When the child gets refused by you, he/she gets embarrassed and suffers emotional breakdown, feeling to him/herself that he/she is not wanted, and feels less human, that’s why some develop habits of rudeness to block such feeling.

The very foundation of this child is already traumatized, not to talk of  female child beggars who get violated, molested and kidnapped for ritual purposes. As a nation we must question our conscience and humanity to see such things and turn a blind eye, as if we were not once kids. Most of us were pampered, spoiled and protected as a child, shielded from such hardships.

Today, i don’t want to  blame the parent of the child, nor the government of the day, i want to focus on you and I, what we have done in adding or reducing to this dis-humanization. Oh , we may say whats my business, am I the parent, but are we that callous not to have human feelings for another human being, have we totally lost our sense of pride and love as a nation.

The fact remains that the parents of those children have failed, the government too has failed in their duties, must we also fail too as a person. Must we fold our hands and pray that all will be well, go to church or mosque and raise holy hands to God, asking him to bless us. The joy of living is to help another human being to live. In our little way we are capable of helping this children. If he/she were your blood child, sister or brother, would you really be happy to see those children  go through that,? The truth is that they are not our blood relatives, but they are our children, because God has placed them in our care.

This nation will never move forward if we leave our problems in the hands of Government, or turn a blind eye to our problems, and saying that it does not concern me, then we are a nation of jokers who day dream of a better nation, when the people of the nation are not willing to be better persons.  Nations can only be built when Citizens come together collectively and tackle their community problems.

Don’t just sit there and fold your hands, we can do something no matter how small, if 10 people come together and donate just 500naira a month, to keep a child in school and also feed him/her, with that act of kindness, you would have saved the life of that child from a terrible way of life.

We are the future leaders of tomorrow, lets make a better leader than our current leaders

The Myth of Nollywood and the Rise of Nigerian Cinema

By Rob Aft, (Guest) 

 Rob H. Aft is President of Compliance Consulting, an LA-based firm specialized in international film finance, banking and distribution management.  He works closely with the U.N.’s World Intellectual Property Organization and has spoken at conferences for them in Nigeria, Indonesia, Jamaica, Thailand and Mexico.

Nigeria should be proud of the quality of their new crop of theatrical filmmakers. I have visited Nigeria as a guest of their film community several times and maintain close contact with many of the practitioners there. The Nigerian film industry is moving past Nollywood.  Nigerian filmmakers are currently producing a limited but growing number of high quality films for theatrical audiences.  Directors like Kunle Afolayan (The Figurine), Jeta Amata (the musical Inale)

Chineze Anyaene (Ije), Izu Ojukwu (The Child), Jeta Amata (Black Gold)...

and others are making films with budgets between $250,000 and $750,000, often with international casts and locations.  It is predicted that at some point in 2011 a Nigerian film will be budgeted at over $1,000,000.  In 2010 there were perhaps only 5-6 films made in this range but that number is growing along with the screen count. 

The number of screens in Nigeria is increasing at an incredible rate (by some reports it is doubling every year though there are still fewer than fifty high quality screens in about ten venues in Lagos, Abuja and a few other cities), and Nigerians are filling cinemas at $6-10 a ticket to watch home-grown films.

Nigerians have proven their leadership in writing (Nobel Prize winner Wole Soyinke and internationally acclaimed novelist, Chinua Achebe), music (Fela, , King Sunny Ade) and the visual arts (from Benin Bronzes to Ben Enwonwu and a thriving contemporary art scene) and now they are proving their potential in film.  Much has been written over the past several years of the status of “Nollywood”  (Nigeria’s direct-to-video industry) as the #2 film producer in the world based on a very flawed UNESCO report comparing the number of extreme low budget films produced by Nigeria’s producer/director/star/marketers to the films theatrically released in the U.S., U.K. and other countries.  This has done a disservice to the emerging theatrical Nigerian film industry by emphasizing quantity over quality. I was prompted to write this piece because of a recent article in The Economist, “Lights, Camera, Africa”, December 10, 2010 (http://www.economist.com/node/17723124) again citing this production figure with no thought to whether it even made sense that Nigeria produced more films than the U.S. or letting readers know that the figure dates from 2006.  As this excerpt makes clear, the report is clearly flawed in comparing major films to direct-to-video films:

According to the [2006] survey, Bollywood produced 1,091 feature-length films in 2006 compared to 872 productions (in video format) from Nigeria’s film industry, which is commonly referred to as Nollywood. In contrast, the United States produced 485 major films.

To cite such a report in late 2010 is ridiculous, particularly since my sources in Nigeria tell me that the number of films produced peaked in 2008 and has been in steep decline ever since due to piracy and changing consumer tastes.  The article presents a neo-colonial vision of African film (damning with faint praise) that does not do justice to what is really happening in Nigeria any more than analyzing straight-to-DVD features in the U.S. would tell you anything about the quality of U.S. films.  I hope this is the last article focusing on how many low-budget films were produced in 2006 and that serious magazines like “The Economist” will start to recognize the emerging, high-quality theatrical film industry quickly growing there.  The theatrical filmmakers owe a debt to their Nollywood forefathers but the future of Nigeria’s film industry is clearly in their hands.

Changing Nollywood Business Models

University of Wisconsin-Madison PhD student Matthew Brown has just spent a year in Nigeria looking at Nollywood. He talks about piracy, changing business models, the new Nollywood and whether Nollywood film-makers will be seen more widely outside of the continent.

Nigeria To Tackle Guatemala in friendly

AFP, Wednesday 12 Jan 2011

"Nigeria will play against Guatemala on February 9. That will begin the rebuilding process of the team," disclosed general secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu.

  Nigeria are ranked 32nd in the world, while Guatemala are a lowly 118. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two countries at this level.

  The match will also be Siasia's first in charge since he was appointed Nigeria coach in December on a four-year contract.

  The Super Eagles will also use the game to prepare for a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier at home to Ethiopia at the end of March.

  Nigeria are three points behind Group B leaders Guinea in the qualifying series, which also has Madagascar with only the overall group winners guaranteed a ticket to the final tournament next year.

Double wahala for Kanayo O Kanayo

Vanguard Entertainment

Nollywood actor Kanayo .O. Kanayo a.k.a KOK (real names Onyekwere Modestus Anayo) is  really a sad man at the moment.

After he lost the ticket to represent Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency in Imo State, in the National Assembly, under the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) during the party’s recently primaries in the state, the actor-turned politician is yet visited with another tragedy as he has lost his beloved mother, Ezinne Isabella Onyekwere to the cold hands of death.

KOK confirmed this sad development in a text message he sent to HVP.

The text message reads thus: “this is to notify you in respect of the passing on to glory of my beloved  mother, Mrs. Ezinne Isabella Onyekwere. Her burial arrangements will be communicated to you  as soon as possible.”

On his scuttled political ambition, the actor cried  foul, blaming his defeat on lack of financial means as well irregularities that trailed the accreditation of delegates that cast their votes during the primaries.

KOK said, while the accreditation exercise could not commence until 10 pm on that fateful day, voting properly was delayed till 12 mid-night, as  most of his supporters who could not stand the coldness of the night left the venue disappointedly, adding that “I think, my election to politics.” The amiable actor once said he decided to seek elective post because of the need for a change in his area.

According to him,  “Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Federal Constituency has suffered from the scourge of under  representation and misrepresentation for some years now.

My candidacy is borne out  of an inner realisation that men of conscience don’t have to keep quiet when  everything seems to be going wrong.”

“All over Ahiazu/Ezinihitte Mbaise Federal Constituency, infrastructure is either  non-existent or dilapidated.  Schools, roads are all in terrible state.”

KOK however promised to create jobs for youths, empower the artisans, women and the elderly  in his  constituency and also attract Federal Government
  projects that will benefit  the people if elected.  But with his recent defeat at the primaries,  all those promises had gone with the wind.

Publish Post

Nigeria returns to 32nd spot In Football World Ranking

 thenationonlineng

  

According to the latest FIFA World Ranking released yesterday, Nigeria moved two steps from the 34th place to 32nd position on the log.

In the recent past, the country has had to fluctuate between the two positions, especially after the World Cup 2010 flop in South Africa when the Super Eagles got eliminated in the preliminary stage, finishing at the bottom of Group D.

The shift in position on the global log did not however affect Nigeria's spot in Africa as the country maintained its 4th position behind rivals, Cote d' Ivoire, Ghana and Egypt.

As the Super Egales prepare for the proposed match against Guatemala in the next FIFA window for friendly matches, pundits will only hope that the Eagles will later in the New Year move to an appreciable position on the log.

Meanwhile, World Champions Spain continue to hold on to the top spot on the table, with the only change in the top 20 seeing Croatia (9th) and Egypt (10th) swap places.

The Pharaohs may have had a slight demotion, but they are still Africa’s top ranked team and remain inside the top ten for a third successive month. Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Algeria make up the remainder of the continent’s top five ranked sides.

 

With little international action having taken place since the 15th of December 2010 (the last release date of the rankings) it is unsurprising that there is minimal movement. Only 12 teams within the top 50 changed positions.

Nigeria may beat SA economy by 2050

By 2050 the global economy will be very different from what it is today.

Some economies of the biggest seven emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, Russia, Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey – the E7), as well as South Africa, Nigeria, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and Vietnam will by that time be bigger than those of the G7 (the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada).

During this process Nigeria and Vietnam will replace South Africa and Australia’s positions on the list of the 20 biggest economies in the world simply because their economies will show faster growth. And, contrary to general expectation, over the next four decades the strongest economic growth is expected in India and not in China.

According to PwC’s The World in 2050 report, the financial crisis has been the major cause of the shift of power to the E7.

From an analysis of global economies’ growing gross domestic product (GDP) to 2050 it would appear that the E7 will bypass the G7 before 2020 if GDP is measured in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

PPP provides for price differences between the various countries, and in terms of PPP the Chinese economy will be bigger than that of the U.S. by 2018.

If GDP is calculated on market exchange rate (MER), the shift in economic power will take longer but is still inevitable, said PwC.

According to the PwC forecast, by 2050 the E7 economies will be 64% larger than those of the current G7, if measured in terms of MER. The E7 economies are currently only 36% the size of those of the G7.

If PPP is used, by 2050 the E7 will be twice the size of the current G7, compared to its present 72%.

E7 growth will be driven by the growth in China and India. China’s economic growth is expected to slow down as a result of the past 30 years’ policy of one child per family. The workforce has consequently become older and the number of consumers has shrunk.

Nevertheless China’s economy, measured in terms of PPP, will bypass that of the U.S. before 2020.

By 2050 the Chinese and Indian economies will exceed those of the U.S., and Britain will barely hold onto its position as one of the ten major world economies.

By that time Brazil will be the fourth-biggest economy, followed by Japan, Russia, Mexico, Indonesia and Germany.

(Source:fin24.com)

CAPTION: The oil industry is the backbone of the Nigerian economy.

Foreigners Volunteering In Abuja And Giving Aid To The Less Privileged

 Deborah Robin Croft, a member of U.S. Africa Command’s Public Affairs Office, is on temporary assignment in Abuja, Nigeria working at the U.S. Embassy.

Only about 50 meters beyond the sprawling mansions owned by a handful of Nigerian Government officials–in the southeastern section of Abuja, Nigeria known as Asokoro–lies a dusty, tiny, forgotten village called Kaduma.

Kaduma Village has no well or bore hole, so the people who live there must lug water from a muddy stream that meanders between their mud huts and the mansions looming above them on a steep grade. The water they cook with is the same water they bathe in and wash with. This is the way much of Nigeria is in the cities, with a stark contrast between the ruling class and those who struggle daily to survive in this hardscrabble land. 

On Christmas Eve, 2010 a small band of volunteers from several embassies in Abuja drove a van to the village to contribute clothes, food and toys for the people of Kaduma Village in time for the holidays. The volunteers included diplomats from the Canadian Embassy, the U.S. Embassy and several from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). There were U.S. Marines and U.S. Army officers in the group of volunteers who carried the heavy boxes of canned foods to the thatch-roofed hut where the villagers would line up later that evening to receive their gifts.  During my TDY here at the US Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, I am reminded again and again how our servicemen and women–posted at embassies all over the world–continuously display their volunteering spirit and generosity in many unseen ways.

Visit us at www.africom.mil

Nigeria’s Nollywood Strives to Improve ...

CNN.

“Nollywood”, Nigerian film industry is the second biggest in the world, eclipsing Hollywood. Some directors are hoping to attract new audiences with better production values and stories. Also new generation of film makers want to keep “quintessential African voice”.

Kudos: Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Wins Two International Banking Awards

By Elizabeth Obih-Frank
Mirth and Motivation
Positive Kismet

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” John Quincy Adams

For Winning Two International Banking Awards: Kudos to Central Bank of Nigeria Governor… Mallam Lamido Aminu Sanusi

Given the financial fiasco we have seen or read about in the last couple of years; housing crash, Madoff, Wall Street, Banking issues and such, it’s a wonder anyone pays attention to those who make great effort to correct systemic problems. I was quite glad to read today on the BBC News site that one of my own, Nigerian Banker and Governor of the Central Bank, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, had won two international banking awards.

According to the BBC News article, he was “named Central Bank Governor of 2010 for both the African continent and the entire world, by the prestigious  The Banker magazine.” The Banker magazine covers international financial affairs and is owned and published monthly by The Financial Times Ltd.  Mallam Sanusi was appointed to his position in June of 2009 and has received kudos for implementing reforms in the Nigerian banking system. Since assuming office, Mallam Sanusi has initiated a radical anti-corruption campaign aimed at saving 24 banks, embarked on the bailout of several banks and dismissed their chief executives, limited the tenure of bank bosses to a maximum of 10 years and insisted on greater transparency by instituting a stricter disclosure policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria. He is highly regarded in the banking world  as a risk management expert.

Mallam Sanusi comes from an esteemed Northern Nigerian family. His father was a top level administrator in the Ministry of Foreign Affair and his grandfather was the Emir of Kano. He studied economics at both the undergrad and graduate levels and taught the subject at his Alma mater; Ahmadu Bello University. Mallam Sanusi’s steady rise in the banking field began in 1985 when he joined a subsidiary of Morgan Guaranty Trust Bank of New York, and Baring Brothers of London. He later joined the United Bank of Africa and, by 2005, moved to the Board of First Bank of Nigeria as an Executive Director. First Bank is the oldest bank in Nigeria and one of Africa’s biggest financial institutions. In January 2009, he became First Bank’s Group Managing Director and by June 2009, he was appointed Governor of the Central Bank.

This is terrific news especially as many nations, including this one, continue to find ways to recover from the economic downshifts of the last several years. It is not lost on me that this is important because of the negative press that Nigeria has gotten in the past with 419 scams, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab’s the attempted bombing on a flight from Amsterdam, and a slew of other pernicious pr nightmares that have been that great nation’s lot… It is also not lost on me that outside of the BBC News, I have not read about this award to an African national elsewhere…. For a change, let’s applaud something positive that happens on the African continent.

What are your thoughts on the subject?  Why do other international media channels limit the type of  news they share on Africa? Do share! Thank you…

Positive Motivation Tip: When we look for the good in others, we honor the good in ourselves…

Akombo hits camp for US President's Celebration Soccer I.V Tournament

by George Akpayen, of Super sports

 

One of the top scorers in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), Ukeyima Akombo, appears to have earned a late call up to the camp of Nigeria's B team in Abuja ahead of the United States president’s celebration soccer invitational tournament in the USA.

Following the inability of Enugu Rangers' striker, Fred Okwara, to honour the invitation of the Nigerian selectors due to an injury, Akombo was handed the chance of joining the B team at its Bolton White Apartments in Abuja. 

Apart from Akombo, 26 players from different clubs in the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) are understood to have trained on Wednesday morning under the supervision of head coach, Samson Siasia, at the the artificial turf of the Fifa technical Centre in Abuja. 

However, three players - John Agbawu, Bartholomew Akakem and Uche Kalu - are still expected by Siasia and his backroom staff. 

Premier League clubs in Nigeria in the past days refused to release their players to the national teams due to the games still ongoing this season. 

Shooting Stars' technical director and general manager, Mutiu Adepoju, told SuperSport.com that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should have sent out invitations to the players via their clubs rather than rely on newspaper publication. 

Adepoju pointed that Shooting Stars did not receive any formal letter from the Nigerian FA calling up attacking winger, Gbolahan Salami, though the Premier League side released the player on Monday.

"I think the Nigeria FA should endeavour to send out invitations like they do to players abroad to avoid disagreements between them and clubs. 

Shooting Stars didn't get any letter from the NFF inviting our player. We only read about the invitation on the pages of the newspapers," said Adepoju.

Players in camp:

Bassey Akpan, Chigozie Agbim, Chinedu Agwu, Valentine Nwabili, Chibuzor Okonkwo, Abdulwasiu Sowemimo, Kenneth Omeruo, ThankGod Ike, Gege Soriola, Ikechukwu Ibenegbu, Julius Ubido, Rabiu Ali, ThankGod Amaefule, Daniel Mende, Cletus Itodo, Gbolahan Salami, Osas Okoro, Moses Ogaga, Ekigho Ehiosun, John Huan, Ejike Uzoenyi, Kabiru Waziri, Femi Balogun, Lazarus Chukwu, Stanley Okoronkwo, AbdulJelil Ajagun and Ukeyima Akombo.

Problems line up for Nigerian election

By Christian Purefoy, CNN

January 11, 201166 -- Updated 1715 GMT 

No voting equipment, no election officials, no security and an election chairman indicating events are out of his control.

"No one is voting because in many areas people are taking the law in to their own hands. Many of our officials have been attacked, many of our voting materials have been diverted in many of these places you are talking about so it cannot be our fault," said Attahiru Jega, Chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.

It is a disturbing admission about a small state election re-run in Nigeria's southern Delta state, but it could also be an indicator of problems ahead for the upcoming national election.

If Jega can't control elections in this one small state, then it could have serious consequences for promises of free and fair national elections across 36 states in April.

A crowd of voters gathered at one voting place soon became angry as they realized they were being denied their right to vote. "No ballot box! No ballot box!" they yelled. "We want to vote! We want to vote!" they chanted.

There was no polling booth, no election officials, no security and no explanation.

Earlier that morning, minibuses left the local distribution center under military guard carrying voting materials. It was the last we saw of it.

"We thought this election was going to be a very good one and hence we came," shouted one man from the crowd. "No accreditation, no voting, nobody."

Just a few hundred meters from where he was standing stood the local offices for the local government, police station and INEC.

Less than a kilometer down the road was the distribution center from where voting materials were transported.

Despite promises for more than 20,000 security officers to be drafted into the state, the curfew was openly flaunted by what were mostly young men criss-crossing Ughelli town in cars and on motorbikes.

At one street corner another crowd searched vainly through a voter accreditation list with some names cut out.

There was no voting equipment, voting officials or security here either.

As we searched for at least one operational polling station, a military helicopter circled overhead. The chairman of INEC had come to make a surprise inspection.

Jega, a widely respected man in Nigeria, was brought in to give some credibility to INEC -- a commission widely disparaged for overseeing what is considered Nigeria's most corrupt elections in 2007. The Delta's 2007 state election was annulled because of fraud and violence.

Jega's most ambitious program is a new, national voter registration plan to be done in February. But as he acknowledged, without voting equipment, voter registration is of little use.

We asked him if he could give a guarantee that these problems will not happen in April's nationwide election.

"I cannot give absolute guarantees," he explained. "But I know that the problems will be remarkably reduced such that we can't have this kind of rowdiness."

He added: "These problems you are seeing are associated with the old voters register - but we have to use it because we have been ordered by the courts to do the election with it, so by April we will have done our own voters register and things will be remarkably better."

In other areas of Delta state, voting did take place peacefully. But, say observers, just because people voted, it doesn't mean they were counted. "The processes were riddled with a lot of irregularities and fraud," said Patrick Naagbanton, coordinator for the Center for Environment, Human Rights and Development. Throughout the day, he and colleagues had criss-crossed the state as observers.

"The same mistake we made in 1999, 2003, 2007 is the same mistake we have done in this election and this is a litmus test for the credibility of INEC. And they have failed."

Nigeria now only has three months left to organize elections for 150 million people across its 36 states

Hollywood Vivica Fox & Hakeem Kae Kazim, Feature In Nollywood Film, Black Gold’.

Nigeria: In search of a Lula

by Suleiman's blog

 

When Nigeria’s former military president Ibrahim Babangida was forced to ‘step aside’ in 1993 after eight years in office, he retired to his palatial hilltop mansion in Minna. He left office as one of the most unpopular personalities in the country. Similarly, when former president Olusegun Obasanjo left office after eight years in 2007, he retired to another hilltop palace in Abeokuta, also highly unpopular. By contrast, when Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva or “Lula” left office after eight years with approval ratings of 80 percent, he retired to a nondescript apartment.

At the time Babangida left office, the country was in serious political and economic turmoil after the longest political transition anywhere in the world. It is true that his administration initiated some positive reforms, but the toga of corruption that hung over his government left a shadow of doubt about the efficacy and sustainability of some of those reforms. Whatever vestige of a legacy he had left was eroded by his annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections.

Similarly, credit (if grudgingly) must be given to some of the initiatives of the Obasanjo administration. However, the massive corruption that also characterized his administration and failure to improve infrastructure, particularly roads and power left serious credibility gaps. The major undoing of Obasanjo, as with Babangida, was his desire to hang on to power at all cost. And like Babangida before him, history will not judge them by what little they achieved, but by their failed bids to remain in power against popular sentiment and the damage they both inflicted on our democracy. At least, they both have their huge hilltop (if largely empty) mansions to console them.

Compare these two leaders to Brazil’s Lula and one can only reiterate what Chinua Achebe said: Nigeria’s problem is that of leadership. Before Lula became president, Brazil was known for its world-class footballers, beautiful beaches and as the biggest debtor nation in the world. Beneath these facts also lay the truth that the country had one of the widest economic apartheids in the world: less than five percent of the country’s elite owned or controlled over 95 percent of Brazil’s wealth.

Incidentally, Nigeria and Brazil share certain similarities. (Brazil and Nigeria were joined before being torn apart by primordial geologic forces). Brazil has the largest population in South America while Nigeria has the largest population in Africa; both estimated to hit 200 million soon. Both countries suffered military intervention in politics. Both countries also have cultural and ethnic diversities and with huge swathes of the population living in poverty. Then God gave Brazil Lula. Or put another way, they discarded primeval instincts and elected a patriot.

Lula created many highly successful anti-poverty programs, such as Bolsa Família (Family Allowance) and Fome Zero (Zero Hunger). Financial aid was given to more than 12 million poor Brazilian families on condition that their children attend school and get vaccinated. This has become the largest conditional cash transfer program in the world, and has reduced poverty in Brazil by more than 27%. Lula has transformed Brazil from one of the world’s largest foreign debtor nations to a net creditor.

Brazil is set to overtake France and the United Kingdom as the world’s fifth-largest economy as early as 2025. And with Rio de Janeiro having won the right to host the football World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, more development will take place. With transparent leadership, Brazil is firing on all cylinders and is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the world. And that is just the beginning for a country that has vast tourism and industrial potential. The economy is not dependent on crude oil alone. Embraer (ERJ) is Brazilian company and is now the world’s third-largest manufacturer of passenger jets after Boeing and Airbus.

Once the most debt-ridden country in the world, Brazil’s fiscal budget is now in surplus- she is a net creditor. Brazil boasts large-trade surpluses and foreign reserves of about $300 billion. Brazil today is the world’s largest exporter of coffee, sugar, chicken, beef and orange juice. In recent years, the country has become the second-biggest destination for foreign direct investment into developing countries after China.

The message is simple: as the elections approach, we must elect the candidate that is closest to Lula in terms of honesty, patriotism and simplicity. Religion and ethnicity must not befuddle our thinking. One inspired leader can make all the difference.

Obasango leaves Ivory Coast after mediating

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

ABIDJAN — Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo left Ivory Coast on Monday after two days mediating the crisis pitting embattled strongman Laurent Gbagbo against his internationally recognised rival.

Obasanjo "left this morning," a Nigerian diplomatic source told AFP, after a discreet mission aimed at resolving the increasingly tense stand-off that has gripped the west African nation since a November 28 presidential vote.

He was the latest regional leader to try to bridge the yawning gap between Gbagbo and the man deemed to have won the vote, Alassane Ouattara. West African bloc ECOWAS has said it could use force to get rid of Gbagbo if talks fail.

The former Nigerian leader was sent by the current head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan, an African diplomatic source said.

Obasanjo explained to Gbagbo "the inevitability of the change over of power" for Ivory Coast's head of state, and expressed "Africa's determination to achieve this objective", the African source added.

Obasanjo expressed to Ouattara "the international community's strong support" and its attachment to "respecting the results" of the election, "as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission".

The commission proclaimed Ouattara the winner of the vote, while the Constitutional Council alleged vote irregularities and said Gbagbo had won.

Gbagbo's foreign minister, Alcide Djedje, said Obasanjo was "prospecting... unofficially".

The United Nations and virtually all of the international community have said that Ouattara is the west African nation's president.

The latest bid by three ECOWAS heads of state and the African Union to mediate the crisis that has seen at least 210 people killed floundered last week. The bloc has said it will soon send another mission to Abidjan.

Ouattara is protected at the besieged Golf Hotel by around 800 UN peacekeepers as well as the ex-rebel New Forces allied with his camp since troops shot dead several of his supporters on December 16.

FG to Crash Electricity Tariff

As Reported by  Ejiofor Alike

10 January 2011

---

The Federal Government said it plans to crash the "real cost" of electricity tariffs by 65 per cent, as part of the measures to check the present trend whereby exorbitant real cost of electricity being incurred by Nigerians has jerked up the cost of other goods and services in the economy.

 

Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP), which confirmed this development in a report released yesterday, stated that though this new tariffs to be announced in April 2011, would increase "nominally" to between N21 and N23 per kilowatt hour (kwh), the figure is just one-third of what Nigerians actually pay for electricity.

Nigerians currently pay between N8 and N14 per kilowatt hour to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), but the Chairman of the Communications Committee of PTFP, Dr. Abimbola Agboluaje said in the report that independent studies had shown that in real terms, the poorest Nigerians currently pay more than N80/kWh burning candles, kerosene and firewood.

According to him, independent and informed analysis also indicate that while the majority of Nigerians pay between N50 and N70/kwh on self-generation, manufacturers pay between N45 and N60/kWh on diesel or Low Pour Fuel Oil ( LPFO), using larger generators.

 

"Analysis of the reduction in the price Nigerians pay for electricity does not use the universally subsidised tariff as a reference; this is regarded as a "nominal" price. Rather it is based on the "real cost" which a majority of Nigerians really pay to consumer electric power during the 60-70 per cent of the time when public power supply is unavailable at the subsidised tariff," he said.

He said the Federal Government decided to reform the tariff structure because the &"nominal tariff" was seriously blocking investment not only into the power sector but also the larger economy.

 

The PTFP Sub-Committee Chairman said the new tariffs to be announced in April 2011 by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) "will attract new capacity to the power sector, thus significantly reducing the electricity cost of businesses and individuals, prices of goods and the rate of inflation in the country".

Agboluaje said rather than protecting consumers, the present subsidised nominal tariff has imposed a crushing cost of electricity on Nigerians, making it one of the highest in the world.

He acknowledged that while Nigeria's current "nominal tariff" is about one-third of the African average, the "real cost" Nigerians pay for electricity is four times the regional average.

According to him, for most of other countries, electricity tariffs are the real and effective cost of electric power; that is, 100 per cent of their electricity consumption is based on their electricity tariffs.

He noted that the present high cost of "real cost" of electricity in the country has jerked up the cost of goods and services.

 

"For instance, mobile telephone costs are high because operators have to invest billions of naira in buying, operating and maintaining generators. It also significantly adds to the cost of a host of services like dry cleaning, drugs retailing, hairdressing, catering, hotels etc. The ability of these businesses to attract more customers, grow their businesses and employ more staff is severely constrained. Many manufacturing businesses which are energy-intensive e.g. textile factories have closed down because the high real cost of electricity in Nigeria makes their products too expensive and imported ones much more attractive," he explained.

 

He stated that as the reform of the power sector proceeds, only NERC, a fully independent agency can determine electricity tariffs, stressing that neither the Federal Government nor electric power companies has the powers to fix tariffs.

Agboluaje, who noted that NERC's independence would be critical to the success of a reformed electricity sector, also assured investors that the regulatory agency would not set politically popular rates of tariffs but rates that are based on the fair costs of producing and distributing power.

He said NERC's main function was to create enabling conditions that would stimulate investment and competition required to deliver the greatest value to consumers.

Nollywood Actor, Nkem Owoh's Mother Dies

 

Nollywood multi-talented super star Mr.Nkem Owoh popularly known as Osuofia who hails from Udi in Enugu State joins the league of the motherless on Friday, the 7th day of January 2011.

'' my mother died after a brife illness in her late 80's, She lived a good life and will forever be rememberered'' says Osuofia

Eagles’ camp bubbles as Siasia takes charge

By Tunde Eludini January 10, 2011 04:23AM

Super Eagles coach, Samson Siasia, is expected to handle his first training session as Eagles’ boss as he takes charge of the team’s activities at the National Stadium, Abuja later today.

The Beijing Olympic silver winning coach had called up 30 players from the Nigeria Premier League in preparation for the United States President’s Day Celebration Soccer Invitational Tournament, the Green Soccer Bowl. The tournament takes place between February 12 and February 20, 2011, and will feature eight teams from around the world. The other teams are Egypt, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kenya Bahrain, Iraq, Poland and Malaysia.

The competition in honour of United States President, Barack Obama will take place at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, venue of Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup finals match, which ended in a 3-0 victory for the Eagles’ against first round opponents, Bulgaria in June 1994.

Siasia flew into the country last night to settle down to work after celebrating the yuletide period with his family in the United States while also having a stopover in London where he met with some of the Super Eagles players.

Helping hands

Assistant coach, Simon Kalika also arrived from the Netherland yesterday and will be on hand to help Siasia alongside the newly appointed duo of second assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf and goalkeeping coach, Ike Shorounmu.

While players were actually expected to report to camp on Monday, three players of Premier League side Warri Wolves got to Abuja on Sunday, 24 hours ahead of schedule. They immediately joined other technical crew members including goalkeepers’ trainer Shorounmu.

The Super Eagles will play the national teams of Iraq, Malaysia and Poland in Group A of the tournament in the USA next month, and on February 9, the Eagles are expected to play an international friendly game with a yet to be named opponent.

Though Siasia has promised to take the invitational tournament serious, his first competitive assignment will come up on March 27 when Nigeria hosts Ethiopia in a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier.

The Eagles are currently behind Guinea in the group standings and only the top finishers are guaranteed a place in the Nations Cup to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012.

I am a Nigerian

BY Lumi

 

I am one in 5 Africans.
I am one in 8 black people, anywhere in the world.[say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!]
I am a Nobel Prize winner.
An Olympic Gold Medalist.
A Grammy Award Winner.
A Soccer Champion.
A Prince of the Vatican.
An Oscar Nominee.
A Giant of Literature.
A Distinguished Scientist.
A Musical Icon.
My roots lie in the dusty Sahel of the North; in the rich rainforest of the East;
In the Savannah plains of the West; in the oil-filled swamps of the Delta;
In the warmth of our villages and the vibrance of our cities.
My strength flows from the waters of the Niger and the Benue.
My joy springs from the rush of the Gurara Falls and the natural wonders of Yankari.
Nigeria is my rock.
Nigeria is my hope.
Nigeria is my home.
I am the voice of two hundred tribes, speaking three hundred languages.
I am the dance of the circle of life.
I am the laughter of the world’s happiest people.
I am nourished by the crop of the soil, fed by the bounty of the rivers.
I am your neighbor.
I am your friend.
I am a warrior, priest, king
I am a mother, teacher, queen.
I am my brother’s keeper.
I am a sage from an ancient civilization
I am a child in the youngest nation on earth.
I am the beauty,
I am the sound,
I am the vision,
I am the spirit,
I am the passion,
I am the soul of a continent.
I am Nigerian.

One Man's Very Pessimistic View On Nigerian System

By Adeola Aderounmu

The just concluded fraudulent elections in Delta State confirmed my fears and argument that Nigeria is not ready for new elections. Change is not coming soon. In a previous article posted on my blog and on NVS I have stated that there are several fundamental issues that needed to be addressed before conducting new or rerun elections in Nigeria.

Until those issues are addressed Nigerians will never know what it means to have a free and fair electoral process. It will never happen in our life time unless the fundamental issues are addressed. As far as I am concerned Nigeria and Nigerians will never have free and fair elections in 2011 and not even in 2012. We are not just ready! We can’t keep expecting positive results or outcomes for things we are ill prepared for. It will not happen.

It is so sad because it appears that the third generations of Nigerians are already wasting away. We don’t seem to realise the seriousness of the issues at stake. When it comes to governance and our perception of politics Nigeria is a nation stuck in prehistoric time. We are so backward it is almost impossible to know where we belong to in the time machine.

The rerun election in Delta state, if used as an indicator of human intelligence, showed that majority of Nigerians are disorientated. The thing is people are counting on Jega. Jega is one man and he has no control over the stupidity of the general populace. Jega is a person and not an institution. INEC as an institution lacks the foundation and the majority of the Nigerian people are completely disorientated and malformed in their mentalities. So this gives you a tragedy that is convoluted. Nigeria is a rolling dilemma. 

Several institutions are programmed to fail to suit the status quo of the useless and senseless Nigerian political class. The ignorance of the people doesn’t help in any way. Check out the celebration, parties and the drums beating all night in Delta State. Some millions of dollars that should have been used to develop the state and to provide essential services were wasted in one night for parties and stupid celebrations. The next day the people return to their lives of hopelessness and extreme poverty and penury. 

A few beneficiaries of the controversial mandate will return to the state treasury and continue the looting process. Every four years different types of fools and sometimes the same incumbent nonentities return to power and keep the status quo. In general the states remain underdeveloped and the country at large gets closer to disintegration. 

I am not afraid of disintegration. This country has never been united. A group of tropical gangsters have kept this country together for their own selfish gains. It pains that the rest of us have not been able to fathom how to break the chain of events. A few among us went in and joined the wagon. They promised to change things but they soon get mixed up in the entire dirty game.

Hope may be lost now because it appears that the rest of us are just waiting for our own opportunities to get crunches of the national cake. Nigerian young men who are in their 20s and 30s and even early 40s who have managed to become something in politics have not had any impact on the polity. What I know and heard is that they are also looting the treasuries wherever they find themselves. They do little and steal so much.

So the problems in Nigeria today are not only due to old and bad leadership. It has infected everything and everyone. Make I no chop my own? If na you you no go chop? Abeg I go support the man o, maybe something fit drop for me? We have all kinds of slogans and national disorientation that has left this country as a complete jungle where anything and everything is possible.

Nigeria is a completely lawless society where political thieves and looters get away. They live among us and they are our brothers and sisters. They are our uncles and aunts. It is Nigerians who destroyed Nigeria. We don’t question those who get rich overnight because “he don hit”. If we do, they say “you be bad belle”. 

In general people live anyhow and do anything. The government does not function as the regulator of things. The government and the people are entirely disconnected. It is what I saw and something I’ve always known.

Anyone who is expressing disappointment about the rerun election in Delta State is either a fool or an idiot. And if anyone expects that the other elections in 2011 will get better, that person needs to go for a quick medical examination. Delta State is one state, Nigeria is 36 states plus Abuja, the scale of violence and rigging will be unimaginable when the time comes. Sporadic shootings will turn to massive shootings and bombings. The signs are ripe and too obvious to disregard.

The Nigerian government has closed all schools because of voters’ registration. Every time this type of anomaly occurs, my mind races to the intelligent question. Seriously you can’t get to the bottom of the abnormal mentalities of Nigerian rulers. What has the nearly extinct public schools and the [rich-parents, privileged-children private schools] got to do with registration of voters? Have they looked at all the options and that is the best solution? But don’t forget that the children of these useless politicians are not in Nigeria. They are abroad getting the best of education that they denied you and me. 

I stand firm on my argument that Nigerians do not need any elections in 2011. We have been a laughing stock among comity of nations. We are the country that doesn’t know how to count and add numbers. It’s so tragic. Nigerians can’t line up to be counted on a simple electoral queue. And we know why. It is partly because the winner takes it all, as in the loot and the money to be stolen from government.

Until the fundamental issue of census is taken care of, we are wasting our time. They say Kano residents are more than Lagos residents and one of my best friends concluded that by implication, Lagos residents are probably about 30m. Seriously you get confused in this fooling game. 

Forensic and computing technologies must be up and running before any successful elections can hold in Nigeria. These are among the suggestions I made in previous essays that are available on the Nigeria Village square. (How to count Nigerians and Nigerians don’t need elections in 2011).

 

There are more voters in riverine delta than urban delta in Nigeria. This simple but crazy deduction by INEC would have been checked by proper census and forensic evidence. Let’s go on with our foolishness as a country and we will always return to square one. Nonsense!

Let us not also forget that proper election is one thing, accountability and seriously sending looters to jail is another thing that can be used to check the nonsense called Nigerian politics. It’s hard to find a starting or turning point since all the key players in Nigerian politics have been and remain thieves and looters. Start from the presidency and take it down, in a normal country these people will be answering for crimes against humanity because of their involvement in politics that has destroyed Nigeria and Nigerian lives.

Again, it’s always hard to discuss Nigeria and I never know where and how to cut the arguments. Nigerian children are at home because of election matters; this is what the incompetent Jonathan administration wants people to believe. But we know that Jos is boiling and in fact boiling over, -a revelation of Nigeria as a failed country and a society on the brink of collapse.

Foreign influences are now in control in Nigeria. Since we couldn’t get our acts together, we have allowed terror groups and counter groups to find niches in our territory. We ordered the mayhem and it has been given to us in dozen-folds. One day they will tell us the truth-that our children are at home, not because of electoral matters but because of the massive bomb threats across the nation.

This is where public looting, useless elections, useless anticorruption agencies, useless government, extremely bad rulership, senseless followership, corruption itself and useless national character has landed us. 

What a failed country..!

Who will save our souls?