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Showing posts from January, 2018

OBJ RETURNS TO BEAT & HUMBLES PMB & APC

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Like him or hate him, Olusegun Obasanjo is an enigma. I am convinced that God has granted him a special grace to influence the course of events in this Nation for good or for bad, sometimes for a mixture of both. There is no living Nigerian Leader who is like him and I can not easily remember any past Nigerian leader who was quite like OBJ. He is unique in many respects. When you ask some Nigerians to give you a list of the bad political leaders Nigeria has or has had,you will find Obj's name prominent in the list sharing the podium with leaders like IBB, Sani Abacha, Shehu Shagari, Orji Uzor Kalu, DSP Alamesiagha, Bunu Sheriff, James Ibori, Rochas Okorocha, etc .When you ask what he did to merit such classification,they would readily reel out such actions: he plotted for a third term, he massacred Tivs in Zaki Biam, obliterated Odi Village, wasted so much money to give Nigeria darkness, introduced Ghana-must- go politics to the National Assembly, concessioned Nigeria to himsel

OPTIMIZING INCOME FROM THE EMERGING ROUND OF OIL BOOM

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When oil prices begin to rise as they have been doing in the last couple of months, particularly in the last few weeks, my heart begins to palpitate. Last week, oil prices crossed the $70 per barrel landmark in a steady recovery from $28 dollars low it hit in January 2016. Not because I play in the Industry and so could be getting excited that more cash and more profit will be flowing in. My trepidation comes from the fact that my Nation would soon get high on petro-dollar and head right back to its past practice of profligacy. From 1967 when the 6-day war between Israel and Egypt led to the first significant rise of oil price and the several rounds of oil boom since then and the inevitable corresponding bursts, Nigeria has shown a frightening inability to optimize the often un-budgeted income. In 1973 the Yum-Kippur war or the Arab-Israeli war ignited a major growth in oil prices, resulting in high levels of unanticipated income for the Nigerian Nation. This was just a few years

FGN: PERFECTING THE ART OF PURSUING SHADOWS

There is trouble in the land. Anywhere you look there is consternation. The people of Nigeria are unhappy. Government seems to be failing in its critical responsibilities to the citizens. Many Nigerians had very difficult Christmas and new year celebrations because of a suffocating fuel scarcity. President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) threatened to find out the so called saboteurs who caused the terrible fuel scarcity that disrupted the peace of most Nigerians over the Christmas / New year celebrations and to punish them severely. He made this threat in his new year address to the Nation on the 1st of January 2018. Firstly, I was not minded to take him seriously as it is common for government officials to manufacture " enemies" to explain away their failures. Sometimes the threats are merely empty threats, just made to give the citizens false comfort as nothing happens thereafter. For example, look at the several threats issued by government after each orgy of violence by maraudin

THE PORT HARCOURT VOLUNTEER: NIGERIA’S WAR OF UNITY

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I have often pondered if the Nigeria Civil war 1967-1970 was inevitable. Could we have done anything to prevent or avert it? Considering the colossal cost of that war in man and materials, arguments have continued to rage as to the inevitability of the war. It is estimated that up to 3 million people died during the war, most of whom were Biafrans and predominantly Igbo…the truth is that it was not only Biafrans that paid the price for the war. Several Nigerian soldiers died and the National government diverted resources which could have been used in developing the Nation to prosecuting the war… …Many of us who saw and experienced the sufferings and pains of Biafra and its aftermath would not wish for another civil war in Nigeria. Nobody will wish to relive some of the experiences…at several points in our n ational History, the foundations of Nigeria's unity have been tested. The "Kaiama Declaration" and the Niger Delta struggle with its militancy threatened our

FULANI HERDSMEN MILITANCY: INTERNATIONAL HELP NOW INDICATED

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That the militant Fulani herdsmen have become the greatest security challenge of this Nation must be obvious to all who wish this nation well. In fact many objective watchers have declared that the now regular raids by the militant Fulani herdsmen is the biggest security threat facing Nigeria after Boko Haram. Indeed in 2016, more people died in clashes with militant herdsmen than Boko haram attacks. Records emerging from 2017 indicate there were more casualties this past year than 2016, indicating a festering and intensifying menace.  Indeed in 2016, more people died in clashes with militant herdsmen than Boko haram attacks. True the Fulani herdsmen and Farmers clash did not start today. It has been long but was limited to parts of the North East and North Central states. Indeed between 1996 and 2006 (Ten full years) only about 121 farmers were killed by the Fulani herdsmen, largely in Bauchi, Plateau and Gombe States. But since late 2014 and early 2015 and ever since

NIGERIA AND THE BURDEN OF CHANGE IN 2018

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We must thank God for the gift of life to see a new year. To be fair 2017 was an improvement over 2016 in many respects, even if it is from a psychological point of view. It was a terrible thing to live through a recession, the first in 25 years, but from the 2nd quarter of 2017, Nigeria began the climb out of the black hole. Our exit from recession was propelled largely by the recovery of oil prices in the International market. While the price of crude came down as low as $ 28dollars per barrel in 2016, Nigeria's sweet crude was selling for about $60 dollars per barrel at the end of 2017. The second thing that helped our exit was the change of policy direction by the government. It stopped focusing on managing demand of the dollar to managing supply with the associated policy adjustments. Many Nigerians ended 2017 in some avoidable agony. Those who owned cars slept in filling stations because of acute refined fuel scarcity or bought PMS at inflated prices reaching 250 Naira p

FUEL SUPPLY SABOTEURS: THE ENEMY IS INSIDE

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President Muhammadu Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) threatened to find out the so called saboteurs who caused the terrible fuel scarcity that disrupted the peace of most Nigerians over the Christmas/New Year celebrations and to punish them severely. He made this threat in his new year address to the Nation on the 1st of January 2018. Firstly, I was not minded to take him seriously as it is common for government officials to manufacture "enemies" to explain away their failures. Sometimes the threats are merely empty threats, just made to give the citizens false comfort as nothing happens thereafter. For example, look at the several threats issued by government after each orgy of violence by marauding Fulani cattle herdsmen and practically nothing happens until the next round and then new threats are issued, just as happened last week, after new round of killings in the Benue 'valley of blood'. Rather than display integrity and accept blames for their f

MAKING NIGERIANS HAPPY IN 2018

   We must thank God for the gift of life to see a new year. 2017 was quite a year, where the best never happened but also the worst never happened. To be fair 2017 was an improvement over 2016 in many respects, even if it is from a psychological point of view. It was a terrible thing to live through a recession,the first in 25 years, but from the 2nd quarter of 2017, Nigeria began the climb out of the black hole. Our exit from recession was propelled largely by the recovery of oil prices in the International market. While the price of crude came down as low as $28 dollars per barrel in 2016, Nigeria's sweet crude was selling for about $60 dollars per barrel at the end of 2017. The second thing that helped our exit was the change of policy direction by the government. It stopped focusing on managing demand of the dollar to managing supply with the associated policy adjustments. Many Nigerians ended 2017 in some avoidable agony. Those who owned cars slept in filling station

MY WISHES FOR NIGERIA IN 2018

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   We must thank God for the gift of life to see a new year. 2017 was quite a year, where the best never happened but also the worst never happened. To be fair 2017 was an improvement over 2016 in many respects, even if it is from a psychological point of view. It was a terrible thing to live through a recession,the first in 25 years, but from the 2nd quarter of 2017, Nigeria began the climb out of the black hole. Our exit from recession was propelled largely by the recovery of oil prices in the International market. While the price of crude came down as low as $28 per barrel in 2016, Nigeria's sweet crude was selling for about $60 dollars per barrel at the end of 2017. The second thing that helped our exit was the change of policy direction by the government. It stopped focusing on managing demand of the dollar to managing supply with the associated policy adjustments. Many Nigerians ended 2017 in some avoidable agony. Those who owned cars slept in filling stations becau