Azumini Blue River Rose is located in Akwa Ibom State. It is a tourist resort which is visited by many tourists. This river has crystal-clear blue water and tourists here can enjoy canoe rides and sandy beaches where you can have barbeque grills. Arochukwu has a cave of famous long juju oracle. It is believed that this cave holds a long metal pipe through which gods speak to its people. It is basically a religious centre. Lake Chad is a beautiful lake situated at Chad. This lake is a source of water for four countries in Africa including Nigeria. Here you will find different species of wildlife such as ducks, crocodiles and hippopotamus. Nigeria tourist destinations will not disappoint tourists at all.

Birnin Kudu Rock Paintings are found in Birin Kudu town, which lies in the south of Jigawa State. It has presence of rocks with ancient paintings on them. Nok village in Kaduna State is famous for the culture of Nok people. Agbokim Waterfalls are situated at Cross River State. This waterfall is surrounded by green vegetation and forest. People can enjoy trekking, swimming and picnicking here.

Obudu Ranch situated in the northeast corner of Cross River State is famous among tourists who like to have some adventure exploring the remote corners of Nigeria. This place is full of waterfalls, rolling grasslands and deep wooded valleys. There are several attractive natural landmarks in the Municipality of Yola which is situated at Adamawa State. Here you can find Mandara Mountains and also the Dimlang Peak which is the highest peak of Nigeria. Wiki Warm Springs is another famous attraction in Nigeria situated at Yankai National Park. It is basically known for its warm water where tourists like to swim. These natural reserves were some of the important Nigeria tourist destinations which attract many tourists.

Nigerian cuisine has influences of countries like Persia, India, North Africa, Great Britain and Portugal. Some of the popular dishes of Nigeria are Dodo (Nigerian fried plantains), Plantain Porridge (Nigerian plantain and vegetable stew), Fufu (mashed yams), Ogbono Soup (Nigerian meat and vegetable stew thickened with ogbono seed), Jollof Rice (West African chicken with rice) and Zobo (Nigerian hibiscus flower beverage). Nigeria tourist destinations come up with different varieties of cuisines and it is always a better idea to relish on these local dishes.

Read about Nigeria Tour Packages. Also know affordable Netherlands Tour Packages. Read ways to find best Norway Tour Packages.
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                                                             By Ikechukwu A. Ogu

The following are incontrovertible facts about the Nigerian electricity sector: there is either no or epileptic electricity supply in about 90% of Nigerian homes and offices which, thus, depend on generators and spend fortunes fuelling same; Nigerians pay through the nose for electricity never supplied; the problem is more of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)'s penchant for denying Nigerians of electricity than the non-generation of  adequate megawatts of electricity; Nigeria supplies reliable electricity to some neighbouring countries while her citizens have blackout; the touted recent improvement in electricity supply by PHCN is untrue; and the periodic hike in electricity tariff by the government is regardless of these ugly facts and the plight of Nigerians.

The foregoing ugly facts are acknowledged by all well-meaning Nigerians, including foreigners who either reside in or visit Nigeria. However, some Nigerians play the ostrich by making false claims about electricity supply in the country. They do this to either create the bogus impression among outsiders that Nigeria is "working" or be branded "patriotic". I refuse to live in such a fool's paradise. Let us face and present the facts as they are, as therein lies the first step to the solution.

Another group of Nigerians and their foreign allies, either knowingly or unwittingly, wish or work for the shameful, recurring state of affairs in our electricity sector and the attendant blackout to persist. Here, you find PHCN management and staff, generator sellers, government officials who pay lip service to the resolution of the electricity logjam, and the sham "private sector investors" whose interest in the power sector is only selfish and fraudulent.

Additionally, the despicable activities of the institutions and personae [in the downstream
sector] of Nigeria's petroleum industry bring them under this second group. They include the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), filling stations, fuel tanker owners/drivers, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), National Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), importers of refined petroleum products, black marketers, etc.

Poor and unfortunate Nigerians, reeling under PHCN's incessant blackout or epileptic
electricity supply, queue up daily at filling stations for petrol, diesel and kerosene to fuel their generators and lanterns, in order to have light in the night. Sadly, however, the regulators and operators in the petroleum industry are indifferent to their plight, and rub salt in their wounds.

I have observed four ways in which the petroleum industry reinforces darkness in Nigeria. First is the failure of the Ministry and its parastatals to ensure the steady supply of adequate gas to the gas turbines which are supposed to generate electricity at the power stations. This, vandalism and (until now) Niger Delta militancy are always blamed for the non-performance of the power stations, although vandalism does  not seem to affect Nigeria's exportation of liquefied natural gas.

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Second is the recurring artificial scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria. This ugly incidence is caused by corrupt and greedy filling station owners, fuel tanker owners/drivers, PENGASSAN, NUPENG, importers of refined petroleum products, and officials of the Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC. Unfortunately, the NNPC mega/leased filling stations, supposedly established to "rescue" Nigerians from the malady of artificial fuel scarcity, are now part of the game. Related to the above is their failure to make cooking gas affordably available to Nigerians.

Except in the NNPC mega station at Wuse Zone 1, one hardly finds kerosene sold at any
of the filling stations operated by NNPC, Agip, Texaco, Total, Mobil, Conoil and Oando within Abuja. For a commodity that is very essential to more than 90% of Nigerians, this failure cannot be justified. And it is amusing that NNPC filling stations which are prided as "mega" each have only a single pump to dispense kerosene! Yet, NNPC is the sole importer of kerosene in Nigeria!

Thirdly, officials of the Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC are guilty of dereliction of their
duty to monitor and regulate filling stations. Even when they do so, it is rather perfunctory. Allegations are rife that they are easily compromised and turn a blind eye as greedy filling station proprietors rip poor Nigerians off through fraudulently adjusted meter readings and other underhand practices. Again, acting under the assumption that the NNPC mega/leased filling stations play by the rules, the said officials do not monitor them. Unfortunately, however, so much underhand practices go on there.

A visit to the NNPC mega station in Wuse Zone 1, Abuja reveals the inhuman treatment that is meted out to Nigerians by soldiers, mobile policemen and the station's personnel. Men and women who go there to buy kerosene are often flogged, beaten, dehumanized and even driven away. Many of them sleep there overnight to buy kerosene, only to be so heartlessly treated by the operators and security men. Yet, it is alleged that in the night vehicles with drums are driven in and filled to the brim with petroleum products.

The fourth way is the agonizing refusal by most filling stations, especially the ones owned by NNPC, Texaco, Total, Agip, Mobil, Oando and Conoil to dispense petrol and diesel in jericans and generators to Nigerians. They claim that there is a directive to that effect by NNPC and DPR, and that defaulters are heavily penalized. What an unjust and anti-people directive! It is lame to argue that it is meant to check black marketers, mindful that filling stations usually
arrange with black marketers to come in the night to make their illicit purchases. How does one who comes to buy 10 litres of petrol/diesel become a black marketer? Why should a man who comes to a filling station with his generator or its tank be refused fuel/diesel?

Furthermore, some filling stations dispense petrol/diesel to persons with generators but
refuse same for persons with jericans. Is it reasonable to expect every body to move his generator from the house/office to the filling station? How does one move heavy-duty generators to filling stations to buy petrol/diesel? For instance, how do I move my 12-litre generator to a filling station when my car's boot cannot take it? How does a poor Nigerian who owns a 4-litre generator ("I Pass My Neighbour") move it, say from Nyanya to Mpape, in order to buy fuel, mindful of the great inconvenience and cost? Often, Nigerians cover long distances in search of petroleum products, owing to their recurring artificial scarcity.

The result has been that the filling stations which sell fuel in jericans charge consumers extra money for doing so, depending on the size of the jerican. Should this be the case? Are NNPC, DPR officials and filling station proprietors unaware of the seemingly intractable electricity problem in Nigeria? Faced with this problem, how else will common Nigerians fuel their lanterns and generators to light their houses/offices if filling stations refuse to sell kerosene, petrol and diesel to them? What is wrong with us? Why do some Nigerians derive
pleasure from making life difficult for their compatriots?

The Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC should urgently rescind the wicked directive against the sale by filling stations of petrol and diesel in jericans and generators. Again, the inhuman treatment meted out to Nigerians at NNPC mega/leased filling stations across the country should stop. The NNPC mega/leased filling stations should have adequate supply of all petroleum products (including kerosene) at all times, and provide more pumps to dispense kerosene to poor Nigerians.

The monitoring and regulation of filling stations should be taken seriously by the Ministry, DPR and NNPC, while close attention should be paid to the NNPC mega/leased filling stations. Routine visits should be made to filling stations at nighttimes and weekends, in order to check illicit sale of petroleum products to black marketers. Efforts must be doubled to ensure that all filling stations, at all times, have and dispense all petroleum products to all
Nigerians at approved prices. Moreover, the Ministry and its parastatals should sit up and check policies and practices in the petroleum industry which are against the welfare of poor Nigerians.

Finally, I cautiously commend the recent NNPC/Capital Oil Kero-Direct initiative whereof kerosene is sold directly to consumers at N50 per litre. The scheme must not be a flash in the pan, but should be honestly sustained, intensified and spread to all nooks and crannies
in Nigeria. It confirms the failure of NNPC and its mega/leased stations in this regard. Why has the NNPC – the sole importer of kerosene in Nigeria - which supplies adequate kerosene to Capital Oil for the Kero-Direct scheme been unable to do the same to its mega/leased
filling stations?

Ikechukwu A. Ogu, a legal practitioner, writes from Central Business District, Abuja
(ikechukwuogu@yahoo.com).

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Nigerian leaders believe firmly that the citizens should genuflect before them every morning before our breakfast in acknowledgement of their superiority over us, they believe firmly that we deserve to go through hell before we can feed, they believe we ought to ask for their permission before we can go to bed without supper because we need their protection to survive till the following morning, to begin the same sickening routine all over again till we all quench and die.

It is very painful that Governance in Nigeria is a synonym of failure. In Nigeria, nothing about Government seems to work. The situation in Nigeria has degenerated to a point that anybody who wants to write a good thesis on the characteristics of a failed state should take Nigeria as a case study for wonderful and excellent performance.

Most prominent men in Nigeria today are political elites or military brass who gains their reputation or popularity from murdering their own people.

The giant of Africa in name but the ant of Africa in reality, after 50 years of independence has nothing to show but to bake the biggest cake in the world that is the highest level of intellectual torpidity and amnesia on the side of Nigeria leaders.

Nigeria is one of the richest countries in the world, the one with the least natural disasters; she has been reduced to penury by men who caused more havoc than hurricanes, earth quakes, volcanoes, and monsoons. That Nigeria is constantly in need of aid is an indictment of those who misled her over the years.

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Nigerian leaders cannot be categorized as socialist, capitalist, communist or social democrat, they careless for  the people, they  have no organic connection with the masses and despise their own citizens so much that they steal from them to develop the economies of Europe, America and Asia.

"Every action of Nigerian leaders violates the basic principles learnt in the area of logic and morality."

Since Nigerian state expends its wealth on building the cheeks and bellies of her political gluttons, the state has no future.

While European leaders still from others to enrich their countries, Nigerians steal from their people to make Europe and America richer and powerful, instead of murdering foreign enemies, Nigerian leaders slaughter their own citizens.

The billions secreted in foreign banks by Nigerian leaders is a colossal loss to the nation's impoverished population.

A country like ours where the entire business of governance is on how to share the oil money will be stagnated in decades to come if value orientation and national priorities are not changed.

Apparently, the military used the kindergarten irresponsibility of our political class to justify why the military brass took over governance.

In a situation in Nigeria where many unproductive political parasites and gluttons in government and business enjoy free housing, free access to official cars, free shopping frees abroad and illegitimate perquisites such as uncontrolled acquisition of state land, procurement of bank accounts with fake names, is a clear indication of making democracy absurdity. These show graphically that Nigerian political class consolidates and institutionalized robbery of the common people by their kleptomaniac act in governance.

The advocates of the proposed 6 years and one tenure by Good Luck Jonathan have not explained how that will bring good governance, rather they are more concerned on how to amend the constitution so that the president and his cohorts will stay long in the office. The Nigerian political brokers have been deafening on the need for power to be handed to them but silent in what it is to be used for as we have witnessed over the decades. There have been no programmes and procedures, on the attainment of the self acclaimed TRANSFORMATION AGENDA of President Jonathan. Instead incompetent pot-bellied civilians and military politicians, who have failed woefully in the past, demand the right to fail even more woefully in the present Jonathan administration. The little money they left in the treasury in their last period of political banditry to the nation, they demand their divine right to come back and complete their public burglary and render Nigerian state impotent perpetually.

The actions of the political class in Nigeria have shown axiomatically that the main tragedy that has befallen the nation is the incompetent and wicked leaders the nation has paraded over time and that goes to show why the nation cannot feed her people and this is the implication of this.

A country that cannot feed her people runs the risk of mass revolution. Thus, the ruling class should and must provide job for the teeming youth so that poverty and hunger in the land will reduce drastically. Unemployment, poverty, starvation, predicament and hunger have made the citizens victims of the society instead of being the beneficiaries of the society. Obviously, a society where the people are jobless and hungry cannot solve the problems of National Security.

Survival is the first law of every man, thus a man who is hungry can do anything to survive even it is robbery, prostitution and other social  vices that may disintegrate the society. There is an Ibo proverb that "a hungry man is an angry man".

If this trend of leadership failure continues to emerge in Nigeria, and the population explosion as being witnessed today and also the teaming population of youth without any paid job is not being addressed, the tendency is that this social inequality and social tragedy may make the nation and its miserable masses the incompetent political class has created to rise up against the state and this will inevitably cause a lot to the state and its people and may lead to the perpetual disintegration of the state.

Works at Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.com or libertydgreatman@yahoo.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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It was on the basis of this that I prioritized reading and in-depth research right from my embryo level (first year) in the university. Four months after, we wrote exams and in couple of weeks the result was released. The greatest surprise that threw many into unimaginable bewilderment was how those with intellectual amnesia (the non academic students) were those that made second class upper division and those who have intellectual dexterity and proficiency were found within the second class lower division and third class. This was a question which on the pursuit to unravel the mystery behind this pushed me to go into further probe of what some of the Nigerian lecturers do with student marks and grading of students at the end of every semester. What I found was so pathetic and pathological to any educational system in the world. On my feeling of dejected and crestfallen over this debacle happening which pushed me to intense investigation, I found that there is what is called plan "B" you may wish to ask what is plan "B"? Those of the students who have some of the lecturers as their conspirators and also serve as accomplice know what plan "B" means.

Just listen to this; some of the Nigerian lecturers facilitate examination malpractice among the students in exchange for money. They give out their questions to students before exam for exchange of money or sex as the case may be. A graphic example of this was the day our scheduled exam on international law and organization was cancelled because the paper leaked a day before the exam.

In some more ugly situations, two students had come to my house with empty answer script for me to help them write exams that have been written for the past few days. Then I became very curious to know why and how, in answering the question why one of them said I just have to pass this course by all means so that I can graduate with my mates and leave this frustrating environment called university. And also in answering the question how he said the lecturer who owns the course gave him the book let to rewrite and resubmit.

One of the things I cannot in any way explain to this date was the experience I had in my year two when I was writing one of my exams Nigerian politics. A female student who sat beside me became so frustrated in the exam hall because she did not know what to write. At a time she stood up and went and submitted blank answer sheet. It was a magic beyond any human explanation that when the result was released she made A (86) in that same course which she had submitted blank answer booklet. Guess what I made, despite the fact that I wrote perfectly well with extra sheet attached I made C (51).

Ladies had in some instances told by some shameless lecturers so long as they do not want to sleep with them they should forget their course because no matter what ever they write they will fail. Some will go as far as telling you that you will not graduate. Some guys have also been compelled to bring money if they must pass a course or some courses.

When one also looks at the ugly experiences that follow project research by final year students one is left with no option but to cascade tears. Some project supervisors will negotiate grades with students they are supervising their respective projects. Some will search for a well researched project approve the project topic and gives the project to the student to copy and submit. The well researched project given to one is should the external supervisor asks why given this kind of grade to the student the project supervisor will have something good to lay claim to. It will also interest you to know that there are some notable state universities in Nigeria that do not care to ask their final year students to defend their projects before awarding them grades.

In many occasions, the argument has been that the fallen standard of education in Nigeria can be attributed to the attitude of government treating the funding of education with disdain and triviality. Though there is every element of truth in this but that is not the only reason why education in Nigeria has decayed.  Some of the lecturers have also not lived up to expectation as academia and this has messed up educational standard in Nigeria.

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One wonders whether the claim of the emergence of private higher institutions in Nigeria has been substantiated. However, the falling standard of education in Nigeria can be seen as reason for the emergence of private higher institutions in Nigeria. The aphorism is that the emergence of private higher institutions in Nigeria is not as a result of fallen standard of education, it is as a result of negative consequences of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of polytechnics (ASUP) strikes that make students spend 8-9 years studying courses that are meant to be studied for 4 years. Also the desperate attitude among some Nigerians to get primitive capitalist accumulation without any justification. And most of the parents were not comfortable with this development, and because of that private higher institutions became a viable option.

The question is, have private higher institutions proven to be different from these malpractices found in public higher institutions I doubt. Though I didn't school in private higher institution but I do know that some of my contemporaries who schooled in private higher institutions do not have much difference when compared to those of public higher institutions.

It is axiomatic to assert that 90% of those who get enrolled in private universities and polytechnics in Nigeria are those who could not pass University Matriculation Exam (UME) and post UME exam and they resort to private universities and polytechnics as their last resort. Once you can pay the astronomical fees being charged by these schools you become a student and matriculation follows with immediate effect.

The more worrisome is that first class and second class upper division grades are being given to the graduates of these private institutions as a gift for paying astronomical fees which are not justifiable.

Grades are been bought with money in Nigerian higher institutions, the amount of money one pays determines the kind of grade one comes out with, and unfortunately some universities and polytechnics facilitate the sale of these grades to the prospective buyers.

I advocate that Nigeria state establishes institution that will be known as special human capital development institute that will give admission to all the Nigerian universities and polytechnics graduates who made first class and second class upper division as in the case of university and distinction and upper credit as in the case of polytechnics for a special training in their respective field of studies. And in doing that, one year in the school, exams should be administered and if any of the students fails the exam being set in his or her discipline, his or her certificate should be confiscated and the school that graduated such a candidate with such a grade has to be closed down for five years as a sanction. In that both private and public universities and polytechnics will make sure that anybody that graduates with any grade will be able to defend what he has as against parading first class and second class upper division who do not know anything in the course they studies despite the high grade certificate they carry about. And believe me this will make higher institutions to sit up and the standard of education in Nigeria will no doubt come back to what it used to be in the past and it may even become better in future.

The whole higher institution of learning in Nigeria is guilty of killing education in Nigeria by the weak nature of its regulation and the internal corruption going on in the institutions which some lectures facilitate.

In as much as the Nigerian government is blamed as being responsible for the falling standard of education in Nigeria, it should also be noted that some lectures in respective higher institutions in Nigeria have constituted to 70% of the falling standard of education in Nigeria.

If the lecturers are serious with education, the students have no option but follow suit and be serious with their studies.

This explains why any strict lecturer, students read and know his course since you cannot buy him over. How I wish some of the Nigerian higher institution lecturers will understand what the impact of their negative attitude has done to students moral and education in Nigeria as a whole.

Nigeria has become a society where much emphasis is being given to paper qualification and presentation. Once you present a paper duly signed, stamped and sealed by any institution of higher learning you are termed as a graduate in respect of the fact whether you are intellectually developed as a graduate or not. This goes to show why the students do not read and some of the lecturers do not lecture after all the end justifies the means.

Unfortunately, those who paid money to get these respective grades first class and second class upper division are more favored in the labour marked than those who sat down to study in the university and polytechnic as the case may be, but could not graduate with first class or second class upper division because they had no money to pay or they do not have god fathers in the department they graduated from. This solely makes it look as if Nigerian graduates are not good, no we are good is just that those who are good are not rewarded by their hard work just because they cannot do what some people did to get good grade.

In Nigeria, read hard in school and graduate with second class lower grade and spread the money among some corrupt lecturers and graduate with first class honors or second class upper division. This is the zenith of affront and debacle to Nigeria education as we have seen in the recent time.

Axiomatically, the Nigerian government has not lived up to expectation in the way it handles education. But it should not also be forgotten that the attitude of some Nigerian higher institution lecturers are contributing mainly to the fallen standard of education in Nigeria. This makes most of the students not to read as your result does not reflect the true quality of your hard work and dedication in research and study but the amount of money one is able to share among some corrupt lecturers particularly the exam officers, the level coordinators and some departmental godfathers.

As Nigerian higher institution lecturers push for better funding of education, they must look inward to sanitize the institution by making sure that those corrupt and incompetent lecturers that do not live by the ethics of academia must be discarded from the system. Otherwise, if government gives 20 billion naira to each school every month, the standard of education cannot improve in Nigeria if we continue to have this kind of corrupt lecturers who do not see any reason of encouraging their students to study but to bring money to them so that they will pass them.

The implication of this is that many people will go into higher institution just to get paper qualification which is not the most paramount in going into school, even though that is the only testament to show that one has gone to school.

If this trend is allowed to continue, Nigeria in the next ten years will produce graduates that will not be able to manage her economy and this will make it very possible for the economy of the state to crumble. And beyond that science and technology will be a mirage in Nigeria as the institutions will no longer be a place of learning but a place to do anything humanly possible and get a stamped, sealed and signed paper and brand it certificate. And also going to school in Nigeria will just be a mere formality instead of going to school to acquire knowledge.

 If some of the Nigerian lecturers can be very sincere with their job and the government complementing their efforts well, Nigeria will compete with other universities in the world.

Lecturers please save Nigerian education and save the future of the nation.

Works at Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.com or libertydgreatman@yahoo.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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The population explosion the Nigerian state is witnessing and the political class is doing nothing to manage this population outburst is the one the nation will not be able to handle in the shortest possible time. The local bourgeoisies have created artificial social inequality which they can no longer control. The aftermath of this is that in the struggle for survival, the masses will go at length to have a living as Karl Max said man must first of all eat and drink before he can pursue art or philosophy. The inherent contradiction between the local bourgeoisies in Nigeria and the miserable masses they have created will destroy the Nigerian state. The Nigerian political class does not exploit the Nigerian people they destroy the people and the people cannot continue this way and would want to break the chains of destruction which will inevitably lead to revolution.

The discovery of oil and natural gas are two leading factors that led to the uncontrollable corruption in Nigeria. Over the years, the citizens have seen their wealth withered and have nothing to show in living conditions of the majority of the populace. Obafemi Awolowo raised a salient issue when he said, since independence, our governments have been a matter of few holding the cow for the strongest and most cunning to milk, under those circumstances everybody runs over everybody to make good at the expense of others.

In Nigeria, wealthy elites resort to sleaze in order to gain power and protect their interest. Also, a political environment that do not see any reason for making the lives of its citizens better but rather concentrates on how to siphon the state resource and render the whole citizens hopeless and turn 98% of its populace to prayer warriors since they can't have any hope on the state any longer but look onto God for miracle is a monumental fraud to the society and a big disgrace to democracy. And in view of this the miserable masses who are prone to revolt may likely embrace revolution.

It is a known fact that extreme polarization of wealth in Nigeria state as we have today is unfair and even dangerous. In Nigeria, the governments in the past seemed to have recognized the need for an acceptable level of equity in sharing societal resources, the level of inequality in Nigeria has terribly increased, and in fact wealth is highly polarized in the Nation. In Nigeria today, we have a tiny "CABAL" extremely wealthy Nigerians on one side and a mass of poor people on the other side with nothing in between. The middle class that use to act as a buffer between the two has been destroyed. In the absence of social security system, the poor are left to their fate, which are hunger, homelessness, hopelessness and death. They stay by and watch few Nigerians amass the entire wealth of the country. Breaking the poverty cycle has become a difficult task for the poor Nigerians.

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Thus, it is a sad reality that most people who were born poor in Nigeria that eventually conquered poverty, were those who engaged in one crime or the other. Drug Trafficking, Embezzlement, Fraud and Advance Fee Fraud (419) etc is about some of the easiest ways of conquering poverty in Nigeria of today.  It appears that about 80% of Nigerian's wealth is owned by less than 3% of the population, while the least 20% of Nigerians is owned by the remaining 97% of the population, very bad.

The problem of inequality in Nigeria has a geographical dimension, urban/rural dichotomy in term of facilities also show in income levels and opportunities for self advancement. While majority of Nigerians are poor, without any opportunity to bettering their lives, except migrating to the urban areas where they constitute the army of unemployed, societal drop out and are faced with high chances of turning to criminals and probably violent ones for survival.

Advocating on the failure of government on the discharge of its responsibilities, Obasanjo and his Government had this to say.

While European leaders still from others to enrich their countries, Nigerians steal from their people to make Europe even richer and powerful, instead of murdering foreign enemies, Nigerian leaders slaughter their own citizens, justifying their racism of their conquerors.

The billions secreted in foreign banks by Nigerian leaders is a colossal loss to the nation's impoverished population. It could have been used to build industries, schools, hospital, roads, railways, houses, produce food to make famine thing of the past as leaders have done in the parts of Asia and America.

A country like ours where the entire business of governance is on how to share the oil money will be stagnated in decades to come if value orientation and national priorities are not changed.

It is highly axiomatic to assert that Nigerian leaders have failed the nation from 1960 to date; the Nigerians today are passing sojourners looking for where to run to.

The people are frustrated in Nigeria and democracy means nothing to them. Nigerian rulers must know that unemployment in Nigeria is a time bomb waiting to be exploded. The miserable masses that have nothing to lose rather than the chain of enslavement on their hands are quick to revolt.  The buffer loan that use to be the complement between the rich and the poor is no longer there.

There is nothing Nigerian politicians can do for the nation; this is because their actions have shown graphically that they do not have any plan for the people. Thus Nigerian state must witness colossal revolution in the shortest time because the frustrated citizens have no option than to carry up arms against the state. The Boko Haram, the Niger Delta militancy all came as a result of failure of governance in Nigeria, though the political class is denying this but this is the aphorism.

The most acclaimed free and fair election in Nigeria that brought in President Jonathan in the year 2011 has proven to be the most unfocused government. Though he has been singing the transformation agenda song but unfortunately his agenda has no plans on how it can be achieved. In my opinion this is a deceit to Nigerians; if Jonathan is so sincere to Nigerians, he should be bold enough to tell Nigerians what his administration wants to achieve at the end of his tenure not transformation agenda which he knows he cannot achieve. If it is light, unemployment, education, roads etc, he should tell Nigerians let us as citizens know where he is going and also know whether he got there at the end of his tenure.

I am not happy seeing Nigeria witness pogrom and immolate it will be bad, but the way the country is going, the Nigerian state cannot avoid revolution. The current trend where the politicians make promises to the people only to get to the office and turn alien to the people who voted them into office and enjoy seeing them suffering and instead of consolidating power they consolidate social inequality is the one that cannot avert revolution in Nigeria.

Until the political class sits up to the challenges facing the nation and forget primitive capitalist accumulation and making the local bourgeoisies to intensify the suffering of the miserable masses, am afraid one day the story will be deferent because the masses have lost confidential on the political class and may resort to revolution as the last option.

Works at Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.com or libertydgreatman@yahoo.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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With the recent realisation, therefore, by a good number of global economies, of the fact that the conventional education, predominantly hinged on basic reading, writing and arithmetic skills, usually as the starting point, are no longer enough for today's success in the workplace.

And one believes Nigeria and Nigerians ought to prepare, sit up, and get ready to catch up with the rest of the globe, if theirs is to attract the benefits of a knowledge-based economy and obviously remain competitive in this globalised world.

That is why analysts, versed in identifying the fundamental parameters of what actually makes modern economies tick, have stressed new or changing competencies which are now highly valued in the labour market.

In addition to the basic foundation or core skills garnered from formal education, experts have thus discovered that there is a need for what is currently described as "upskilling", in terms of the growth of white collar, high-skill jobs, now evident both within manufacturing and service sectors of certain advanced economies across the globe.

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), based in Paris, France, the term ‘knowledge-based economy' results from a fuller recognition of the role of knowledge and technology in economic growth. Therefore, with the fuller acknowledgment of the place of knowledge and technology in modern, digital economy by particularly the OECD countries, theirs are now largely and increasingly based on knowledge and information to attain new socio-economic heights.

In other words, knowledge is now recognised as "the driver of productivity and economic growth". Consequently, there is said to be a new focus on the role of information, technology and learning in economic performance in their economies.

Again, research reveals that the rise of knowledge-based industries in certain economies in the international system, including in areas as microelectronics, biotechnology, telecommunications, robotics, and computers, undeniably, has improved the lives of millions of people and brought enormous wealth to individuals, companies, and nations at large.

Peradventure taking a cue from the OECD economies, there is currently an implied attempt by Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan to enhance his Administration's expressed desire for change and transformation in the keys areas of the nation's economy. Recently, to underscore his sincerity of purpose in this regard, he distributed copies of the voluminous book entitled:  From Third World to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000, by  Lee Kuan Yew,to each of the ministers and a retinue of special advisers constituting his new Executive Cabinet, recently cleared and sworn-in, in Abuja, the nation's Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

One believes the copies, of course, are meant for these Government officials to read, internalise and apply the useful nuggets contained in the publication. This they actually need in the process of making a practical application of the lessons learnt while discharging their assigned responsibilities in their respective ministries.

Interestingly, the publication is highly recommended as one that has apparently chronicled and detailed the 35-year earnest efforts, sacrifice and hard work put into the socio-economic transformation of Singapore, one of the Asian tigers playing it big in the international system as of now. Research as well indicates that other countries fast transitioning to a knowledge-based economy include Romania, India, Qatar and Malaysia among others.

Granted, that the Federal Government must have obviously impressed it on its new ministers and presidential aides to hit the ground running and make good things happen in our struggling economy straightaway. Yet, how about the rest of the Nigerian citizenry? How would the powers-that be carry them along on its stated national transformation agenda? How, perhaps through massive value re-orientation and national renaissance, do the populace buy into this hypothetically promising transformation plan of the Administration?

In clear terms, there is no gainsaying the fact that there are supplementary workplace competencies needed in the knowledge economy that we so desire. For instance, we all need to pay more than the usual passing attention and interest in ensuring that we deliberately, inch up the Nigerian working population's communication skills, problem-solving skills, teamwork and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills.

All these are needed in the much expected socio-economic, political, educational and cultural transformations in the nation's economy. More so, as they are sometimes described by some as "non-academic skills", these are key areas of improvement which are becoming imperative and complementary to basic core or foundation skills that many Nigerians currently possess, both in public and private sectors. The era of overdependence on and oftentimes reported misapplication of oil wealth should no longer be an acceptable way of life in the land.

It should be realised that Singapore, a country hitherto said to be on the same page and economic pedestal with Nigeria some decades back, is now occupying a front seat in the league of economically viable nations with marked growth and improvement in its major development indices. This is promising in that, with genuine efforts, hard work, sacrifice and honesty of purpose on the part of the leadership and the followership, Nigeria can indeed, achieve its set Vision 20: 20-20.

Shedding more light on the incontrovertible significance of the need to evolve a knowledge-based economy is Nigerian-born Philip Emeagwali, once described by former United States President Bill Clinton as "one of the great minds of the Information Age".

In the former's recent article on the way forward after 50 years of "African Independence" from the Colonial Rule, in Africa Telecom & IT Magazine, he had opined that "looking forward 50 years, I foresee that nations delivering information and communication technologies will indirectly rule Africa," of course, including Nigeria, his homeland.

Emeagwali as well emphasised how discoveries and inventions that increase wealth and reduce poverty "are the ‘heroes' of science and technology...," adding, "the Internet is a technology that connects people and connects with people in a way that will forever remain deep and enduring."

The much-desired transition to a knowledge-based economy will require an honest and radical modification of government policies, spending habits, business practices, workforce training and compensation, and even cultural patterns and beliefs to attain this.

From now on, the nation's leadership consciously must formulate practical ICT policies and invest heavily in quality education towards encouraging modernisation, new thinking, processes, procedures and innovative concepts that herald sustainable development.

Nigeria should constantly be on the necessary voyage of discovery and search for new knowledge to resolve our devastating growth and development challenges and subsequently create wealth. The time to kick-start this all-important process is now.

Gbenga KAYODE is a Nigerian language, media and communication professional.  He has successfully coordinated the research, writing, editing, designing, proofreading, publishing, and strategic distribution of a number of English-medium newspapers, magazines, books, brochures, corporate newsletters, special reports, and helpful Web contents. Kayode, currently, is of Wordkraft Communications Limited, Lagos, Nigeria. He could be reached on: gbengakayode@wordkraftmedia.com  Web: www.wordkraftmedia.com  
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The approval of the miserable eighteen thousand naira minimum wage at the tail-end of last year was seen by many observers as elections gimmick, as many of the governors were then seeking re-elections. It is not suprising, now that elections have been put behind us, that the elected governors are coming out in their full colours and force, to renege from the approved minimum wage issue. Most annoying is the dragging in of the removal of fuel subsidy as the pre-requisite for granting workers the minimum wage. Removal of fuel subsidy had been the most sensitive and a sore point of workers ‘agitation all through ages. Governor Amechi of Rivers state's pronouncement on the removal of oil subsidy, before the governors can implement minimum wage of eighteen thousand naira is intriguing. This shows that the governor who was made a governor, courtesy of court's decision in his first term has so quickly forgotten the finger that has fed, and is still feeding him. In his weekly Television programme, "The giant stride", which he show-cases to sing his own praises, the workers lay the golden eggs. Neither Amechi nor any other governor can lay claims to any achievement without riding on the backs of the impoverished workers.

The hunger-stricken Nigerian workers have been made so miserable by the Nigerian political class (including the governors) so much so, that for them, to die will become a better option, than living on wages which can barely keep their body and soul together. As the political class publicly flaunts their ill-gotten wealth on the workers' faces, so also they oppress the workers with heavily tinted state-of-the- art jeep cars and superbly constructed mansions, which they call houses. This is why people do or die for elections in Nigeria. It is the only way in which some abjectly poor individuals from poverty-shriken homes can be shot into undeserved wealth overnight. It is unfortunate that when the political class including the Nigerian governors, get into such positions, they forget the workers who in all their years, consistently labour to keep the economy of the country above water. What do the workers receive in return? Mere pittance and threats of sack by political thugs who happen to find themselves in the positions of governance.

In my article "Governors' Forum: To be or not To be" dated 10th of November 2010, and published by Triond online, I challenged the governors to publish their own salaries, allowances to wives, children, housing, cars, touring, sleeping, personal assistants and other monetized and non monetized benefits they fraudulently add to their portfolios. These are the people, who shamelessly claim that the miserable eighteen thousand naira minimum wage per worker in this country is too high for them to pay. If they cut down drastically, their various allowances, elephant projects and wild goose chase, and stop playing to the gallery about phony achievements, they will have enough to pay the minimum wage for the minimum Nigerian worker.

I must give kudos to Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomole of Edo state who, though, a member of the discredited so-called "Governors' Forum" said that each governor has enough money to be able to pay the minimum wage to workers. He has been a worker and he truly knows the pains of the Nigerian workers in a competitive market-place like ours. Let us face facts. All the governors go to Abuja every month to share the nation's wealth. As at November 2010, when the usual sharing was done, Akwa Ibom state got the highest; taking home one hundred and four billion naira, while Ekiti and few other states took lowest shares amounting to sixteen billion naira each. At that, no state governor can pretend that he will not be able to pay a pittance of mere eighteen thousand naira to the workers who are really the labourers for the nation – the goose that lays the golden eggs which the governors swallow with reckless abandon. How many roads do governors build in a month with the minimum share of sixteen billion naira?. How much electrification, rural or urban, do they establish in a month with the minimum share of sixteen billion naira? How many villages, towns, and cities, do the governors give pipe-borne water with the minimum share of sixteen billion naira every month that they cannot pay the minimum wage to workers? How many schools, hospitals, social security services and other welfare developments do the governor give to the people monthly with the minimum share of sixteen billion naira each of them receive monthly? Who is fooling who? Stop deceiving the people and toying with workers' future.

If Nigerian governors are not ready to pay the minimum wage of eighteen thousand naira they should be ready for maximum chaos from workers. Their "no work, no pay" intrigues cannot help matters. Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomole was in it, and he has rightly given his colleagues a warning early enough. You can pay the maximum wage, go ahead paying it.

The Nigerian workers have given the nation a two-week notice for nation-wide industrial action. Be pro-active and do not allow the action to commence, so that the poor suffering masses may not be put in an untold hardship. Think of when electricity will be shut down, when schools and hospitals close down, when banks down-tools, when markets are unreachable, when public transportation is cut, and the entire country is at a stand still. The governors will board the next available flight and take a holiday in the luxuries of the western world and Asia. Who suffers? "The people". These are "the people" the governors claim to govern. The two- week notice given by the workers for a nation wide industrial action is more than enough for any well meaning leader with human-face to think wisely and retract his steps in order to avert anarchy and chaos in the entire nation. The masses are not happy about the situation in the country and it is my fervent prayer that our leaders can read the hand-writing on the wall all over the world, and avoid any situation that can trigger off crisis.

In his lack-luster and unimpressive speech, Governor Amechi of Rivers state speaking for "Governors' Forum" after its meeting, advocated for the removal of fuel subsidy before he can pay the minimum wage of a mere eighteen thousand naira. This, I consider neither brilliant nor thoughtful. Governor Amechi is not a stranger in this country. He knows how much chaos, the question of fuel increase has caused this country, even during the time when Adams Oshiomole was NLC's President. I wonder if Oshiomole was at that meeting . Do the governors realize that removing fuel subsidy will increase the prices of fuel and other allied products,that a litre of kerosene may jump to three hundred naira, a price too high for my mother in the village and the numerous other Nigerians to pay? Have they given the masses minimum wage? Instead they have, by their selfish action imposed maximum sufferings on Nigerian masses. One cannot really place the connection between minimum wage and the removal of fuel subsidy which is a very serious issue in Nigeria. All that our governors need to do is to lay pressure on the Federal Government and other stakeholders to seriously think of how our existing refineries can work, if possible build more, so that fuel and allied products can be made available all the year round and even export same. It is only a foolish and stupid farmer who will sell out all his yams, and then spend so much money in buying pounded yam from his neighbors to feed his family. That is the situation with Nigeria which export all her crude oil, only to turn around and import the finished product at very high costs. Should the workers suffer because of the unthoughtfulness and inefficiency of government? The truth about the matter is that there is a powerful cartel within the government circle both States and Federal which have vowed never to see the refineries and electricity work in Nigeria because of what they benefit from sabotaging them. This is true, and the people concern know it. Pump the whole nation's budget of over four trillion naira into electricity and refineries alone they will never work, and we will be in the same position of ever complaining, and like Fela Anikulapo Kuti of blessed memory has said, "suffering and smiling", we will be suffering and smiling. Governor Amechi and his likes should not touch the nation's sore spot in order not to trigger off unquenchable fire and chaos in the country. The governors can pay the eighteen thousand naira minimum wage, and they should go ahead doing just that so that they can nip-in-the-bud the intending national industrial action. If with the billions of naira the governors share from the Federation account every month, and they still insist that they cannot pay the workers' eighteen thousand naira minimum wage, then, they can all resign and pack out of government houses. Professor Atahiru Jega the Independent National Electoral Commission boss should be instructed to conduct by-elections for the vacant governorship positions. The Nigeria governors should not drag the poor masses into an untold suffering of having to face a national industrial action from the workers.

_________________________________________________________________________                                                                                   

Pat Asakome, a broadcaster, an author and an analyst in public affairs, writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

About me Pat Asakome obtained a B.A. degree in philosophy from the University of Louvain, Louvain Belgium, took a course in English Literature from the University of Texas, Arlington, USA, and an M.A. degree in Philosophy from the University of Lagos, (UNILAG) Lagos, Nigeria. He worked as a producer of Radio programme for seventeen years in the National station of the FEDERAL RADIO CORPORATION OF NIGERIA, (FRCN); the first Head and Manager of Programmes in the First Private Radio Station in Nigeria, RAY Power 100FM; a producer in the Entertainment Department of the SILVERBIRD TELEVISION, Lekki, Lagos; Head of the Department of News in GALAXY TELEVISION, Lagos; Managing Editor in the defunct New Vision magazine and Editor in also, the defunct Newsreel Magazine, Lagos, Nigeria. Pat Asakome has written a book entitled, Radio Broadcasting: The Nigeria Experience which is at its final stage of being published; a poetry book containing forty-nine poems on different subjects, six novels and five plays all at different stages of being published. An analyst in Public Affairs, Pat Asakome, who had lectured students in FRCN training school, Lagos, on Radio programmes Production has also written numerous articles on socio-economic, cultural and political issues some of which have been published in different Nigeria Daily newspapers and in the Catholic Church brochures and magazines. Pat Asakome who does not see writing as a mere hobby takes it as a very serious business. He is therefore ready to discuss with your organization the issue of constantly writing articles for you. Except you have specific topics on areas you may want him to write about, he writes mostly on the socio-economic, cultural and political situations in Nigeria and also in Africa. He also delves in to short stories, all at a price. He is therefore looking forward to doing business with you or your organization. Write soon to following the e-mail address for further discussions: patasak@yahoo.com or call him on:08033962857
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Nigerian People are very concerned about their culture and origin, and are very proud to speak their languages where ever we meet in any part of the world, although, that trait is inherent and mostly expressed by the Hausa and Yoruba (the two major Nigerian tribes, alongside Igbo). Nigerian is the largest country in African and apparently the most popular; hence there is no part of the world where you live in that you wouldn't likely run into Nigeria people.

In the mind of a Nigerian is the desire to move from one stage in life's pyramid to another, the desire to grow, to increase, and to enlarge. Nigeria people are always on the move to the forward; most times we do whatever it takes to change position.
In Nigerian, the man is the head of the family and he makes the final decision, he moves the family ahead and pay almost all the bill, while the women make sure the house is in order, this pattern of living dates back to several years ago when a Nigerian man can get married to as many as five wives and provide for them.

Women in Nigeria are used to staying at home, raising the kids, making sure that food is cooked and served and keeping the house clean, although this pattern of life is being washed away by modern civilization, today some women are even running their homes, driving posh cars and even getting political appointment, some women have even tasted the seat of the president in most African country, something Nigeria People think would never happen in their own country.

Young girls in Nigerian are expected to get married and leave their father's house at most by the age of thirty, it is believed that the woman belonged to a man and a women without a man is without honor, although, many pretty girls in Nigeria, movie stars and female musician have been applauded by many even without a man.

It is obvious that Nigeria people is not without a culture or some sort of "way of life"  but the ways of our fore-fathers have often be tagged as ancient and trodden upon, Nigerian people are known to be decent and respectful, a girl in Nigeria is not expected to put on trousers but today it is like they hardly go on the normal "old fashioned" (as they call it) skirt and blouse or wrapper.  It is like we are totally adapting the western culture.

All around the world you would likely run into a Nigerian, Nigerian people are easy going and loves the good things of life, the Igbos are very industrious, they can travel to any part of the world for business as long as there would be enough profit.

Nigerian is the most blessed country in African and the 8th amongst oil rich countries of the world, our only problem is that the managers of our resources are believed to be perfectly inefficient. Nigeria have enough resources that if properly manage would put our name on the G20 list in no time.

The earnest expectation of the Nigerian people is for a good leader, a leader with the interest of the general public at heart, a leader that would put the country first and think less of his personal bank accounts which are always numerous.

The April 2011 Nigeria General election was said to be credible and of course I think it is the best we've had in several years. We are hoping that within the next few years, Nigerian will have the freedom to choose who sits in government house and if the leaders are elected by the general public, it is believed that the people of Nigeria will soon have their own sigh of relief.

Dave Anan is the owner of Total facts about Nigeria.comwith lots of mind-blowing facts about Nigeria. Here is more information about Nigeria People
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The attractive sites for tourism in Nigeria include unique wildlife found in various parks and game reserves, rivers, lakes, a long coast line of about three hundred and fifty miles where coconut and mangrove are in plenty. There are also beaches such as Bar, Lekki, Eleko, Calabar, and Badagry which provide many water sports. In addition, there is a rich culture which represents the simplicity and lifestyle of the local people. Others include; beautiful waterfalls, tropical rain forest, savannah grassland and swamps. Most of Nigeria's visitors come from America, Japan, Western Europe and South East Asian.

The Yankari National Park opened in 1962. It is the most famous park in the country and has a lot of attractions. This park is located in the South-Eastern area of Bauchi which is the capital town of Bauchi State in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria. It has an area of two thousand and fifty eight square kilometers. This park offers a wide variety of animals which include elephants, water bucks, baboons, hippos, warthogs, crocodiles and duikers. The best time to tour this park is during the dry season. This is during the months of November and May when many animals converge around the Gaji River. The Wikki Warm springs is situated within this park and it is famous for its warm waters which are ideal for swimming.

The hills of Benue are located in the middle of the belt region of Nigeria. These hills include the Ikyogen hills which have mild weather all year round; this ensures a steady supply of green vegetation ideal for grazing. Other hills include Bassa, Swern, Ushogbo and Silicon Hills where silica is mined for the manufacture of glass. Azumini Blue River Rose located in Abia State towards its boundary with Akwa lbom State is another attractive site for tourists. The river has crystal-clear blue waters where you have canoe rides and sandy beaches. The tourism industry is regulated and promoted by the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Orientation.

Jackline Mwathe Is A Tour Operator And Has Been Organizing And Reporting On Kenya Vacation, Travel And Tours For Years. For more information on African Tourism, visit her site at TOURISM IN NIGERIA
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1) Large number of film producers. The industry is so active that many people have become film producers. Traditionally, producing films are meant for the rich because barriers to entry are high. Cost is the main concern. Primitive technologies meant high cost in producing, editing and distribution. That essentially kept many keen enthusiasts out of the industry. However, with the evolution of technology, many people are able to produce their own films while keeping costs low. This is all thanks to...

2) Availability of digital technology. As technology becomes more advanced, the cost of buying equipment and producing films comes down drastically. Widespread adoption of digital video equipment meant that such equipment are highly affordable and readily available. Computers also come cheap these days, and powerful machines are used for editing purposes. With such technology at their finger tips, Nigerian film producers are able to churn out movies at an amazing rate. Movies produced in Nigeria outsell those produced by Hollywood because...

3) Nigerian films mostly feature moral dilemmas. As these films are about the natives, the audience find that they are able to better connect with the story lines. In other words, they can identify with the content. For this reason, they tend to show stronger support for films that are produced in Nigeria. For example, in one film, the movie depicts a Muslim man trying to marry a Christian lady. But they have to go through many obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

4) Non studio productions. Many films are not filmed in the studio. They are usually filmed in common locations such as hotels, homes, rented offices, etc. As a result, the movies tend to portray realistic settings. Movie goers tend not to go for special effects but for content.

5) Off the shelf video editing equipment. Usually, movies are edited with expensive professional equipment that can't be bought off the shelf. However, Nigerian film producers are well known for being able to adapt. These tools are mostly targeted for home video producers. But film producers have also learned to use these inexpensive tools to edit their films.

It is interesting to note the way Nigerian films are being produced. Many critics in the film industry have praised Nigerian producers for their creative and enterprising filming techniques. They are able to work with a limited budget and produce movies of high value in a very short period of time.

View Nigerian Movies and Nigerian Videos.
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I refuse to admit the verbose excuses as tendered by the Federal Government’ John Odey that the current global financial crisis informed the government’s decision to shelve the hosting and that lack of resources also contributed to this decision of the Government to make a “365-day turn around.” We know in this country that it is always easy to blame situations for illogical events occasioned by bad leadership.

The excuse that N37bn estimate for the hosting of this even is unrealizable is a bad idea and a clear calculated attempt to deny the youth of the country joy. I dare question the origin of this amount, and ask if the government intends to build more stadiums in its bid to host the championship because whoever recommended this very amount in the first place should know that the amount is too much. If the government requires this outrageous sum of amount to host under-17 championship, then this government will surely require N217bn to host a senior world cup.

Since the Government gave FIFA an initial guarantee on the readiness to host the championship, it should go ahead and host it because the money is readily available, we know it. Everyday, we hear of endless probes without results about outrageous sums in the private pockets of our public officers, this money should be committed into the hosting of the championship and save us global embarrassment. After all, no common man in this country not even the vibrant press can report how the money recovered from the late Abacha used. Was it ever used to construct at least a stadium in any one state of the federation? Was it used to sponsor out team to any one Olympic Games?

Our government should do away with one step forward and three steps backward policy which will but return us to the former days of Abacha when Nigeria chose to experience set back in football courtesy of a trivial issue. The implication of sudden withdrawal of Nigeria from hosting the championship will be too harsh for the country to bear. If the nation will not be at the championship in Algeria, within the African level because it crashed out, fail to present itself as the defending champion and maybe banned from featuring in South Africa 2010 then, the nation must have caused itself untold damage.          

Emeka Esogbue hails from Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria. He is a Historian and International Relations Analyst with lots of tremendous published and unpublished works.
emekaesogbue@yahoo.com
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Today the Nigerian state that stated on a high note is poor. The piece will seek to point out the various factors that have combined to make the nation poor in the midst of plenty of indices of economic growth.

The first factor is corruption. Corruption is one reason that has left the nation deprived. It can be argued that only about 2% of its government officials have never stolen money from the government coffers to enrich their personal pockets. From federal, state to local government level, officials have one ambition in mind, an ambition aimed at acquiring an official position to make billions of money to the detriment of the ordinary masses. It is also a country where the laws are made for the ordinary masses. When for instance, Lamido Sanusi's central Bank issues newer laws, the rest of the citizens wonder where the big wigs bank their billions of stolen monies and whether such monies can be found in the Nigerian banks located in Agege, Ijora, Ikoyi, Festac or Badagry.

Bad leadership, in terms of improvement or development, the Nigerian nation has never had a good leader at the central level. The leaders of the nation, past or present only ascend the throne promising the impossible only to end up in disappoint. From Balewa, irosi, Gowon, Murtala, Obasanjo, Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Shonekan, Abdusalami, Obasanjo (again), Yar' Adua to Jonathan, Nigerians have never smiled because developments have come their way. It is shameful that within the state level, governors only deliver on donation of "Okada" (Motorcycles) bore-holes, reconstructions of roads in this 21st century. The Nigerian leaders have benefitted from the nation's finances more than the whole of ordinary citizens combined as a people. Every state governor leaves the state wallet poorer than his predecessor.

Frequent violent clashes especially from the northern parts of the country constitute threats to the peaceful co-existence of the nation. Hardly does a year go by without news on killings of people of other ethnic groups. This year, it has come because Jonathan, a southern was declared a winner of the presidential election by INEC. A new dimension added to it was the target of youth corpers posted to those parts of the nation. These clashes usually set the nation back economically as lives and properties are lost.

Political scientists after studying the Nigerian political system have emphasized that power and financial control are too concentrated in the hands of the Federal Government which is why there are frequent unhealthy struggle for the control of the centre. States must be made to generate its own resources but importantly, states must be made to control its own resources and give back certain percent of allocation to the centre. If this is done, the Nigerians politicians will visit their states try to generate resources and give back to the centre and in this way, the unnecessary rivalry between the north and south on who rules the nation will be reduced to a greater extent. The allocation of 52% of oil revenue to the federal government is too lopsided and encourages corruption.

Jumbo pays and allowances for political office holders leaves only a small fraction for capital intensive projects aimed at the development of states. There is too money in the centre which is why the Nigerian president is the richest in the world. The nation's lawmakers also earn more than lawmakers in the USA and Britain and everything comes free for them. Lamido Sanusi complained about this but came under heavy criticism and firepower from the lawmakers themselves but nothing has been done to correct this anomaly so that the ordinary citizens do not get stifled in the country.

Every Nigerian leader but perhaps Obasanjo has exhibited lack of will to try corrupt official. Although, Obasanjo was accused of witch-hunting his opponents, he nevertheless did sentence some big fish in the nation such that was never seen in the history of the country and should be applauded. If every leader takes after him, corruption will face its end.

The Nigerian leaders have never demonstrated good leader policies. The Abuja, Ajaokuta and creation of some particular states in the country were very bad policies that brought down its economy. The relocation of the nation's capital to Abuja which led to the duplication of the government facilities that existed in Lagos was accounted for the poor economic state that the country is facing today. There are many states in the north today in existence which are not viable but dependent on the centre for their day to day financial needs. Such states were only created to the give the region an undue edge over their southern counterpart.

Nigeria runs the most expensive democracy in the world. One president, 36 ministers, 36 governors excluding Abuja, 36 deputy governors, hundreds of lawmakers in at National Assembly and House of Representatives, aides, commissioners, hundreds of Local Government chairpersons, hundreds of Local Government councilors. Millions of naira is spent to cater for them salary wise. Maintenance of a large retinue of staff in 36 states and 774 Local Government Areas is also weighing down the nation.

The world has just seen a record most expensive election in which billions of naira was spent. Much more will be spent on inaugurations of winners at the centre and within the states. The citizens will feel it one way or the other because it will not go into the procurement of social facilities. Celebrants and guests will pass through bad roads to the venue and may not find water from the tap to drink.

States and Local government Areas should increase their internally generated revenue by allocation of matching funds by federal government depending on the amount generated. External audit control mechanisms should be established to monitor how funds are expended.

Emeka Esobue is a journalist, historian, researcher and Anioma Activist with wealth of article publications in newspapers, magazines and online.emekaesogbue@yahoo.comwww.emekaesogbue.nigeriablogspot.com
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In Nigeria, stew serve as a common denominator to different kind of food.

Let's talk about different Nigerian stew... stew in Nigeria goes along with white rice, beans, plantain, yam and Nigerian stew could also be eaten with bread. In Nigeria, there are two major stew recipes and both could go alongside different foods.

We have the regular stew that is made of tomatoes (either ground or sliced) and we also have another kind of stew that is made of palm fruit (Akwu).
it is popularly called "ofe akwu" by the Ibgos, one of the three major tribe and it is their favorite.
Nigerians stew takes a simple process to make and here is how to make tomato stew.

HOW TO MAKE TOMATO STEW.
The ingredients includes: tomatoes, pepper, onions, magi (seasoning), groundnut oil, meat(turkey, chicken, beef, or fish), spices (curry powder,
thyme) and any other stew spice you know of.

PREPARATION
Blend about one and half medium sized blender full of tomatoes/pepper and set aside, steam the meat with the spices/onions/salt and set aside, slice about two medium sized balls of onion and set aside.

Put your cooking pot on fire and add about five cooking spoon full of groundnut oil and allow to heat, add the sliced onions, cook and stir for about 1 minute then add the ground tomatoes. Cook and stir for the next 20 to 50 minutes until the sour taste is
eliminated.

Once the taste seem OK, you can add the meat, magi (seasoning), stir and taste for salt, OK? Now you are good to go!

The second most eaten Nigerian stew happens to be the "ofe akwu" which simple means palm fruit stew. Are you married to a Nigerian or just looking to find how to make delicious Nigerian foods, here is how to make "ofe akwu" used for eating rice, yam and beans.

HOW TO  MAKE OFE AKWU (BANGA SOUP)
The ingredients includes: palm fruit(akwu), Onions, maggi, dried fish (optional), crayfish, saint leaf, green leaf, magi (seasoning), meat(turkey, chicken, beef or fish), pepper and salt to taste.

PREPARATION.
Wash the meat with hot water and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes (more if it is very strong)
with meat spices, onion and salt and set aside. Boil the palm fruit for about 20 to 25 minute and pound with mortar and pestle, and then add
little water to thoroughly squeeze out the thick juice, filter and pour into the boiling meat on fire.

Stir and add onions, crayfish, maggi, saint leaf, cook for another 10 to 15 minute then taste for salt and add vegetable. Serve with white rice, beans, yam and a bottle of your choice juice.

Note: you can add the meat if it is the soft type (chicken or turkey) after adding crayfish and others.

Dave Anan gives more on - Foods Eaten in Nigeria and a lot more about Nigerian Stew
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What came into my mind was what the Nigerian political class thinking is about? The answer is simple; the insanity in their heads cannot allow them think well because an insane person is an insane person and cannot think beyond the capacity of an insane person.

The insanity in the head of the Nigerian political class do not allow them to think well, the Nigeria political class has one thing in common, their own concern is on how to get elected into the office and keep remaining in the office. They amend the law, kill the citizens they have made the Nigeria people face and kill each other just because they want to remain in the office. They have created big class inequality and do not see anything bad in taking up the whole resources that belong to the whole masses.

Nigeria of today is a country where nothing works. The failure of our leaders is over whelming. The leaders are not ready to put in their best, the aftermath effect is that the state and its people are at quake and political eclipse has taken over the state and its people. The prevailing situation in Nigeria where the richest people seem to be those who cannot be described as really hard working people but those who have looted money in public office or have connection with government, people's perception of hard work is that it does not pay since one does not need hard work to succeed but needs to succeed only when one loots. It is believed in Nigeria that career advancement and subsequent economic and social elevation do not depend on how hard you work but on whom you know, where you come from and the amount you loot in office. A country like Nigeria where mediocrity, nepotism, quota system, ethnicity, religious bigotry, have taken over the state cannot be identified as a country in the league of Nations that practice DEMOCRACY.

The looting of public funds and the wasteful spending among our leaders has made them to do anything to stay in office unless the constitution makes it impossible for them to run. The leaders who had enjoyed the looting of public funds had made several attempts to manipulate the constitution and to contest election again and continue stay in office. Politicians in Nigeria are mostly concerned in pursuing their political career instead of giving good governance to the people.

How often have we smiled at our leaders, while in our minds we wept for ourselves, reviewing all vagaries of life and broken pledges and faithlessness galore our leaders are known for? How can we believe government, DEMOCRACY and GOOD GOVERNACE in Nigeria when our leaders have denied us the right to exist as members of the society, without apologizing to us? One of the unfortunate things about DEMOCRACY in Nigeria and GOOD GOVERNANCE is not that the leaders and the politicians do not know what is right, but they always choose to do wrong thing.

Nigerian leaders and politicians should know that to regard politics as a demonic zone, free from God's influence is a distorted vision of a divine providence, an unwarranted infringement of divine sovereignty.

Democratic government which the ruling class oligarchy pretends to produce, claim that their legitimacy stems from the authority of the people and their rule is based on the consent of the masses. The political system benefits the ruling class oligarchy who is the microscopic few at the expense of larger population.  The application of force by the ruling class oligarchy on the masses to gain support (legitimacy) has become inevitable since they know they have failed the masses, and on the free will of the masses they will not be in the office and be regulating the government and the state.

If Nigeria is so democratic and the ruling class enjoys their support from the masses as they claim, why do they maintain fearsome crack units of the police and the armed forces for their protection?  Why is the larger proportion of the national wealth expended on bullets than bread? Why are the enemies which the security forces are paid to ferret out located among the people, within the civilian population? Why are the security forces devouring the society which created them? Why has it become imperative that military personnel in mufti must melt as much as they can in the crowd, forming the inner corps of a cordon between leaders and the led? Why are the leaders scared of those whom they govern, preferring the comfort of bullet proof vests to the pleasure of living among the people? Does a democratic leader need a long motorcade of dispatched riders in his movement from home to office and vice-versa?

The answer to these questions lies in what Professor Chinua Achebe says about power. Power does not only entice, intimidate, and subdue, it may also incite to resentment and rebellion. It is not the repression, torture, and brutality, which a government unleashes on the people that are democratic. It is the mass incitement to anger and rebellion against the savage administration of government by violence that enacts the first face of democratic development.

Nigeria is not a democratic society partly because the people themselves have not yet reciprocated elitist violence against the leaders. The false image of our nation which we in the  darkness hour  of our tribulations appropriate  unimaginatively from outside sources, does not abort the  reality of our existence as a nation where power is directed by miscreants, pirates and  adventurers to the accumulation of private fortunes. Nigeria is at present neither democratic nor great. It is one of the most disorderly nations in the world; she is one of the most corrupt, insensitive, inefficient places under the sun. She is one of the most expensive countries and one of those that give least value for money.

According to Achebe, tourists who intend to enjoy peace and leisure by visiting Nigeria must reconsider their decision for their own interest. Only a person seeking to know punishment and suffering at the first hand should choose Nigeria a tourist state. No, Nigeria may be a paradise for adventures and pirates, not for tourists.

The real explosive potential of social injustice in Nigeria does not reside in narrow jostling among the elites but in the gargantuan disparity of privilege they have created between their tiny class and the multitude of ordinary Nigerians.

Democracy scarcely exists in a situation where a minority of unproductive parasites in government and business enjoy subsidized housing, free access to official cars,  free shopping frees abroad and illegitimate  perquisites such  as  uncontrolled acquisition  of state land, procurement of market  stores  under a fictious names for  rental to genuine traders, procurement for the resale of government subsidized commodities. These invisible emoluments consolidate the institutionalized robbery of the common people of Nigeria by their ruling class.

Dele Giwa showed how the Nigeria situation of institutionalized robbery of the nation, by a tiny class of powerful elites, has degenerated to such anarchic proportions that nobody cares any more. To him, people seem to accept the unacceptable revelations of politicians sharing billions of naira belonging to the nation. The newspapers report them and the televisions speak about them, but people just laugh, they laugh because they have been shocked to the state of unshocability.

Nigerians in the main now regard themselves as passing sojourners on the geographical amalgam call Nigeria. It is like standing away at a distance and looking as spectators at the greatest inferno in the world. Nigeria is on fire and the citizens are amused. One hundred billion naira was shared and so what? Nigeria is perhaps the only country in the world where such revelation has lost the power to shock because the leaders do that often and on and the masses are no longer surprise hearing that.

Mass political apathy is not an inherent feature of human society, especially the democratic setting we are claiming. It is rather the outcome of prolonged effect of the destructive forces of socio-economic alienation, which has attained its peak in the militarized environment in the society. In Nigeria, militarism has transformed the citizens into obedience and docile Philistines who are not only apathetic but are arrogant of their difference and subservience. What else do we expect from the people, especially when it is remembered that those of them who dare to expose the secret channels and hidden connections with which those who govern guarantee their persistence of their pilfering culture, stand a good chance of being eliminated.

At this point, the issue is what is to be done to get the political elites and the ruling class to care, to show some little care to fatherland, to get a National consensus on what to do to those who pillage the fatherland.  What is to be done to get Nigerians to the terms with the country and not feel like passing sojourners who have other countries to turn to? How do we create a democratic society? Or how long can we remain infinitely patient in the face of unbearable conditions in Nigeria.

It is difficult to tell Nigerians that the ordinary novelty of the 1999 Constitution, the Democratic dummy of the Fourth Republic or American forceful bid to keep the world safe for DEMOCRACY will beat the ruling class into democratic shape, and transforms the people's quality of life. We must believe that Nigeria is not a democratic society as the political class has in so many occasions claimed we are. Though we are on a democratic journey, the only automobile that will take us to the promise land are the visionary leaders who will assume office through the help of the electorates who will choose the right leaders by power of their votes, especially this period some politicians have seen the need to change the society and the masses have woken up from their sleep and are agitating for another independence, which will give equal right and justice to all. Governance is not opportunity for primitive capitalist accumulation of wealth; governance is for the purpose of service to people. Those who vote you into office have the conviction that when you get into office, their lives will be transformed through the good things you promised them during your campaign. State politics is not a business enterprise where politicians invest money and expect returns. Those who do business with state resources in the disguise of playing politics cannot give dividends of democracy to the people of the state. Hence those who call themselves stake holders share the state allocation, contracts awards are nothing more than political patronage, those that could not get contract through the aid of political patronage to compensate the errand boys must pay huge sums of money to bribe their way to get the contract.

The major contradiction is that the state has privatized many of its public enterprises as a result of the reasons of corruption, inefficient, ineptitude, poor performance from the Nigerian BUREAUCRATS as claimed by the ruling class. But if these were the reasons given by the state for its privatization of some public enterprises, then the government and the political class should also be privatized because they have also failed and they are corrupt and inefficient too.

How many people have ever paused to consider what Nigerian politicians think DEMOCRACY is? They believe DEMOCRACY is the untold harm which is done to the art of government by the endless and continual speech making on the part of public office holders and government functionaries. This is political malaise and political pathology.

It is amazing when one comes to think of it, the amount of time, energy and human resources by Nigerian leaders, politicians and public functionaries on addressing audience. Showmanship appears to be a strong trait in Nigerian leaders. There appears to be an irresistible urge to impress and show everyone around the power and authority vested in the office held by every political functionary.

Every form of activity and every Programme of government provides an opportunity to assemble the populace and haranguing them at great length. The audience usually appears in their SUNDAY BEST, with drummers, acrobats and dancing girls specially arranged to thrill the audience and invoke pressure in the RULER. It is the usual practice for official invitation cards to be sent out. These are printed by several thousand by the Printing Department which often have to work round the clock in shifts to meet the deadline. It is an endless cycle of all night shifts since there is hardly a week in which the RULER or his AIDS are not out and around declaring open one thing or the other.

Let us examine the implication of these perpetual addressing of audiences. In the first place, it involves enormous use and wastage of manpower. To start with, a written speech is almost always required. This is prepared in the department by the department concerned with the subject matter of the ceremony. The initial task is passed on to an Assistant Secretary who labours on the Speech for quite some days. He then submits his handwork to a senior official who demolishes the whole piece and virtually prepares a fresh one that goes to the Head of Department. He in turn, recasts and touches up the draft before submitting it to the political master who is going to deliver the speech.

As the day draws near, elaborate arrangements have to be made to provide chairs, table and loudspeakers for the occasion. In some cases where the ceremonies are in the open air, canopies have to be erected; all these tasks are usually undertaken by the event Managers. The Minister of Information sees to the public address systems. In all an army officials are to be seen scuttling up and down at the scene of the ceremony. The department concerned must not forget to alert the police who have to send contingent of men to control the traffic, maintain law and order and ensure security. Of course the press and all public media have to be invited to cover the ceremony and they are expected to fill the air and the front pages of their newspapers with the activities of the central figures of the show.

When the day finally arrives, a long convoy of motor vehicles set out for the scene of the ceremony. The higher the status of a political functionary, the longer the convoy of vehicles, where the President, Senators and Governors are involved there will be vehicle conveying outriders, security, protocol, Ministers or state Commissioners, Government officials, political and private Secretaries Aides and Assistants, Members of Political parties and party officials, and a host of officials who think that they will incur the wrath of their master, or indeed that they will feel themselves slighted, if they were not included in the entourage. Of course a police vehicle with siren will lead the convoy, blasting out deafening noise to scatter and disperse all members of the public going about their lawful duties by foot, motor cycle or vehicle. Scattering the fowls too and astonishing the dogs, the police outriders put up the grim and hostile aspect to strike terror into the hearts of law abiding citizens, furiously charging them off the roads and often resulting to physical violence against the persons of innocent road users or passers-by. These are all parts of normal accompaniment of power and authority.

In the meanwhile, the scene of the ceremony is already filled up with invited guests who are always ordered to be on their seats at least thirty minutes before the arrival of the "BIG MAN". Sometimes, school children line the route to wave their hands and chant songs in praise of the "BIG MAN" This is regardless of the weather, and it is always pathetic to see young children sweating away in the sun, having been lined up for hours in advance, without anything to eat all day. It is also all part of normal accompaniment of power and authority.

Finally, the ruler arrives amidst the cloud of dust produced by the serpentine convoy of vehicles. The audience rise from their seats and a huge of silence pervades as the ruler "BIG MAN" matches up to take his place on the dais. The NATIONAL ANTHEM is played, during which everyone makes pretence at being serous while in fact they amuse themselves with eyeing the centre of attraction all those standing by him on the dais. Then everyone subsequently takes his seat. The ruler "BIG MAN" then scan the audience round and this is an opportunity for favor seekers and sycophants to try and catch his eyes and grin sheepishly at him in an attempt to convey their admiration of him.

A few introductory remark having been appropriately made to welcome the most august guest and to sing his praises for his most wondrous achievements, all in the attempt to please him, the speaker proceeds most humbly to invite the ruler "BIG MAN", if he will be graciously pleased to address the assembly. Thereupon the private secretary who had stationed himself at attention directly behind the ruler "BIG MAN" and holding a portfolio, produces the speech which the ruler "BIG MAN" is going to read, and hands it to him. As he makes to rise from his seat, the assembly does not need to be told that this is an applause time. Dutifully clapping therefore ensues which is terminated only by the sound of the ruler "BIG MAN" clearing his throat to commence his speech.

Then the speech opens with a long and sonorous recital in recognition of the various dignitaries present.

It is on a sad note that this is what DEMORACY AND GOVERNANCE means to Nigerian leaders, what an abuse to DEMOCRACY.

Works in Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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May 5th, 2010 when Yar'Adua died there was a heavy political fracas as to who succeeds him. The People's Democratic Party (PDP) stood its ground that the Zoning formula is a moribund issue and zoning is no longer attainable in the modern democracy of today. Solomon Lar said that Nigeria should not be talking of zoning when indeed she is supposed to be pursuing development. Most of the elites at this time were not happy for zoning, and most of them galvanized efforts to make sure that zoning is no longer attainable in Nigeria body of politics.

But what is happening now is the one that shows clearly that Nigerian political elites are not to be trusted as they are mere political sycophants and bandits who lie and deceive the Nigerian people for their own selfish reasons.

Elections have come and gone, the same PDP who had told Nigerians that it has nothing to do with zoning is the same PDP who is embracing zoning again. The president, the senate president, Smart Adeyemi was some of the prominent members who fought zoning in Nigeria, today what are we seeing in PDP?

Nigeria cannot see development in decades to come because our leaders are not sincere and some of the stake holders lie along with them as they are doing that for their benefit as against the benefit of the populace. It was because the political sycophants want JONATHAN as a president and they said no more zoning. Today there is zoning in PDP because some of persons are interested in the post of senate president.

What is the credibility of those who parade themselves as aspirants to the post of senate president and the speaker of House of Representatives? These are the same people who have been there for so long and never made any meaningful contribution to the lives of their own people let alone the country at large.

Nigerians voted JONATHAN in 2011 election, he is a good man no doubt, but we should also know that late Yar'Adua was a good man in the midst of PDP. My take is that there is nothing PDP can do for Nigerians. Nigerians voted Jonathon as an individual, but we were not able to have a good thought that he cannot work as individual, that he must work with the party that has defied all the developmental policies and programmes in Nigeria since the return of democracy in 1999.

Nigeria will not see development easily because we do not have leaders who know what development and growth are. I stand to say that so long as PDP as a party keeps piloting the affairs of Nigeria we should forget any anticipation of seeing any positive development. Those who have not contributed anything to the development of Nigeria are still those who are fighting to become the senate president. Then the question is do we still need any soothsayer to tell us that the future of the country is in a big doom.

Nigeria was at the front table to see the swearing in of Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and the news had it that the president was attacked. But the president spoke man Ima Niboro denied that the president was attacked. We do not know who advices Nigerian leader. With due respect to Ima Niboro, he should know that considering current trend in Africa where the sit tight president like that of Mubarak, of Egypt and Ghadafi of Lybia are facing serious legitimate crisis Nigeria who preaches democracy and occupies a vital position on the continent of Africa is not suppose to be seen attending such political debacle event.

We should not forget that Museveni was an ex-rebel commander who seized power at the head of guerilla army in 1986, Robert Mugabe of Zimbawe was in attendance, he has been in power as far back as 1980 and has refused to accept the 2008 election defeat, these were the caliber of persons Nigeria the giant of African claimant who parades itself as supporter of democracy identified with to swear in a dictator. Why didn't Ima Niboro ask why were Ghana and South African presidents not there? Has he forgotten so soon that Barrack Ubama US president was in Ghana in 2009 and refused to come to Nigeria and the reason he gave was that US cannot be seeing to be identifying with a country that does not promote democracy.

The fanfare of political power in Nigeria makes our leader not to be discipline in their action. Does Ima Niboro know the interpretation of Nigeria who occupies important stake in AU and ECOWAS to be seeing dinning and winning with other African countries who do not encourage democracy. Nigeria as a nation must know how to turn down offers that will make her look unreasonable in the eyes of comity of nation.

US Nigeria uses as reference point in all she does cannot in any way be seen in that kind of event that was a global disgrace to democracy.

We pray Nigeria leaders know what is good, but am afraid Nigeria will find it very difficult to develop because our leaders do not seem to know what is expected of them.

Works in Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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Lamuel Biambo and his cohorts, I believe, have genuine reasons for making the theme of the programme "My New Nigeria". For anything that that is new, it means it can get old; for anything old, it is deducible that sometime it has been new. There have been cravings for a new Nigeria. What do the old and the new Nigeria entail and why so much agitation for a new Nigeria and so much detestation for an old Nigeria?

The old Nigeria falls within the ambience of doing things the old ways. Nigerians are tired of an old Nigeria full of practices deleterious to human existence. A circuit and circus where merit and competence count to no gain while mediocrity and those who have godfathers benefit, dictate the tune and receive utmost recognition. Nigerians are weary of an old Nigeria whose leaders are unchallengeable and unaccountable when it comes to matters of state and the mandate entrusted to them. Nigerians in an unmistakable chorus are saying no and declaiming against a nation with decay in infrastructure, a nation whose standard of living of its people is not in anyway commensurable to the wealth of the nation.

Many things are wrong with this old Nigeria. Her people plundered into penury while her so-called leaders live in great affluence. Contractors, in the old Nigeria, connive with those awarding contracts, give payback and then abandon the project to the detriment of the masses. The old Nigeria is that where bribery and electoral malpractices are the order of the day – votes cast do not in any way correlate with votes thumb-printed and announced. Daylight robbery by armed robbers and extra-judicial killings by those saddled with the responsibility to provide security who, after getting hold of the butts they prime the gun and cut many lives before their prime.

All these illicit realities are a failure of our nationhood; they are more than meet the eyes. You and I know the problems with this old Nigeria. It has grown old with all its old practices. A new Nigeria begins with you and me. The rest of the world has marched into an era of best practices where only merit counts, where there is room enough to accommodate the brilliant and hard-working ones. Nigeria must join the march now as tomorrow may be too late.

Hear you this. Internal or individual regeneration will definitely lead to a national rebirth.

Fellow Nigerians, I can't wait to see the birth of a new Nigeria populated by the good people of a great nation.

MY NEW NIGERIA, LET'S WORK IT OUT!

NOTE: This write-up is the exact text written in the National Youth Service Corps, Sokoto Magazine in 2010 by the same author.

AKINJOBI OLAMIDE SAMUEL aka OLORI OKO is a Nigerian author who believes that a new Nigeria is not only possible but it is workable.
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Victor I. Lukpata (Ph.D)

Management Development Institute

Calabar - Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION

One of the basis for the pursuit and analysis of the Foreign Policy of any country including Nigeria is national interest. But national interest as a concept is associated with vagueness and impracticality that it can not provide adequate explanation for the analysis of foreign policy. Moreso, different nations have their distinct national interests. Therefore, to provide adequate grounds for the analysis of Foreign Policy, scholars in international relations as a field of study has come up with other explanatory paradigm for purpose of analyzing foreign policy behaviour of states such as systemic factors, national attribute factors and idiosyncratic factors. These factors constitute major trends in Nigeria's Foreign Policy; so in this paper we are focusing on the assessment of the factors in question.

NATIONAL INTEREST

The notion of national interest is vague and so it is difficult to give a precise definition of the term. In spite of that, national interest is defined as the general long term and continuing purpose which the states, nation and the government see themselves serving. The national interest of a state is rooted in the social consciousness and in the cultural identity of a people. In other words, the national interest of a state is a product of social values which the people have. In practice, the national interest of a country is synthesized and checked by political leaders or policy makers. That is why national interest is defined as "what policy makers say it is" The national interest of a country is the interest of its leaders. It may also be the interest of a group such as the bourgeoisie or proletariat depending on which class is in power. It may as well be the interest of the President. Ibrahim Badamosi Babagida (IBB) maintained that he would like to think of national interest as national security interest. This is because to him the concept of national interest has become so vague and elastic (Emma Odi 1991:18) We have been warned by social scientists that national security has many tangible ingredients which may be more menacing than external military threat. It can take subtle forms such as subversion of core values through economic sabotage, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, espionage, and cultural subversion. We are all aware of the damage which these elements can cause on a nation's psyche and survival. National security interests can be used to refer to such concepts as "self-preservation", self-defence", and even "survival". In short national security means that the state should survive. It means it should live without serious threat to all values that are regarded as important or vital (Emma 1991:19). As a result of its vagueness and impracticality, national interest has failed to serve as adequate explanatory measure for the analysis of foreign policy beahaviour of states. Therefore other parameters for the analysis of foreign policy evolved such as:

Systematic factors
National attribute factors
Idiosyncratic factors.

SYSTEMIC FACTORS

The following is subsume within the ambit of systemic factors:

INTERNATIONAL INTERACTION AND LINK:

Nation-state, it should be noted are actors within the international system; and that the attitude of one country to another country is a mere reaction. For example, Nigeria reacted to international event by intervening in the Liberian crisis through ECOMOG. By instituting peace in Liberia through ECOMOG Peace was invariable instituted in Nigeria by preventing the crisis from taking a dimension that would have involve the whole world. The activities of ECOMOG shall be used here as a measuring rod to assess the systemic factor. The intervention of ECOMOG in the Liberian crisis which stated in 1989 was primarily to sue for world peace. The ECOMOG which was made up of such countries as Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Togo and Mali operated in Liberia with the objective of:

a)              Imposing an cease-five in Liberia.

b)              Setting up an interim government

c)               Rehabilitation of destroyed essential services such as hospitals, electricity, water and food supplies etc.

Nigeria and of course other member of ECOMOG invested huge financial and human resources in Liberia to achieve the objective aforementioned. But one fact stood clear, the institution of Peace in Liberia through ECOMOG did not invariably bring peace in Nigeria or other nations of the world. Note that in spite of the fact that the Liberia crisis was resolved through ECOMOG, the Nigerian society itself is immerse in crisis as exemplify by the crises in Kaduna, Kano, Jos and the most recent bomb explosion in Lagos. The death rate recorded in the crisis that occurred in the aforementioned cities when put together far outweigh that of the Liberian crisis. Thus, systemic factor in itself is not a perfect explanatory model for the analysis of Foreign Policy.

NATIONAL ATTRIBUTE FACTOR

National attribute factor refers to those factors that are inherent within a nation-state. These factors are discussed below:

a)              DEMOGRAPHY: Such variables as population, skill, ethnic composition, etc. are inherent in demographic factor. Here, the analyst would be interested in knowing, what impact the population, skill and ethnic variables can be brought to bear on the foreign policy of a country. In focusing for example, on population as a variable, we should not fail to ask such pertinent questions as "How many fall within the labour force" and "How many constitute the dependent proportion in terms of the old and young. Note that if the labor force is high the country will be powerful because the labour force will contribute meaningfully, to the progress of a nation. Generally a large, quantitative and skillful population can act as a deterrent for a nation. A nation so endowed can not be easily attacked and defeated.

b)              ECONOMIC FACTOR: A vibrant economy is surely bound to pave way to a vibrant foreign policy. America for example is able to exercise global influence because she has a strong economy. Secondly, Nigeria was able to survive the civil war of 1967 – 1970 because of all the monies she spent for the execution of the war. To that extent, it could be asserted that Nigeria had a strong economy. But where the economy is weak a nation can not operate a vibrant foreign policy.

c)               MILITARY FACTOR: The military factor has to do with the quality and quantity of the armed forces: How are they educated, trained, equipped and what is the numerical strength of the armed forces? Where you have a large, well trained and equipped army such a nation is sure to pursue a vibrant foreign policy. But the reverse is the case where the army is weak.

d)              GOVERNMENT FACTOR: The type of government in operation suffice to influence the foreign policy of a nation. It could be that it is democratic or totalitarian or autocratic government that is in place, note should be taken of the fact that Autocratic government for instance does not attracts acceptability from the International Community. So, the type of government in operation can go a long way in influencing a nation's foreign policy.

e)              GEOGRAPHICAL FACTOR: Geographical factor can place a country in a privilege and advantageous position for the formulation of a vibrant foreign policy. For example, USA is surrounded by Pacific Ocean which give her security advantage, USSR is surrounded by Siberian Islands whose exceeding coolness give USSR security advantage. This privilege position is responsible for both USA and USSR embarking on expansionist foreign policy as major element in their foreign policy drive. If these security advantages were to be missing geographical factor would have impacted differently in the foreign policy of both USA and USSR.

IDIOSYNCRATIC FACTOR

This factor emphasizes national leadership-a group of decision makers. The decision makers to a great extend influence the behaviour of a state toward another state. According to the "great-man or woman's theory, single individuals"-"devils or saints" are capable of shaping events. Idiosyncratic factors emphasize the conduct of foreign policy in accordance with the whims and caprices of the individual decision maker. Great men of history such as Charles de Gaulle, Stalin, Churchill, Hitler, Mussoluni etc changed the course of history. In Nigeria, IBB was influenced by idiosyncratic factor to register a formal application for Nigeria membership of OIC in January, 1986. Secondly, President Shagari's response to Nigeria Cameroon Border crisis in 1981 was a function of idiosyncratic factor.

Nigeria-Cameroon Border Crisiswill be used to assess this factor. Nigeria's response to this crisis is a classic demonstration of idiosyncratic factor. According to G. Aforka Nweke, two Nigeria Patrol boats at Ikang a border town with a population of 15,000 in Cross River State, spotted non-Nigeria Patrol vessels inside Nigerian territory. Moving forward to identify, the vessels, the Cameroonian gendarmes in those vessels opened fire on one of Nigeria's Patrol boats, killing five Nigerian soldiers, wounding at least three others. The second Nigerian Patrol boat fought it way to retrieve the attacked boat and casualties. For some days after the shooting a Cameroon helicopter continued to fly over Ikang at a very low attitude. When the then Governor of Cross River State, Clement Isong, Paid his first visit to Ikang area after the incident, Lt Col. F. Ehigiator of the 13 Infantry Brigade in Calabar not only confirmed the episode but also told him that Cameroon gave Nigeria a surprise attack. This incident occurred on 16 May 1981 and in spite of several aggressive response from Politically conscious and articulate Nigerians, who perceived the incident as a threat to national security, the core or vital interest of Nigeria, President Shagari blatantly failed to take military action against Cameroon. The failure to take military action against Cameroon was due to idiosyncratic consideration as it was the decision of Shagari and his group of decision makers that Nigeria should respond that way to the crisis in question.

The military option could have been justified on at least two grounds namely, national interest and self-Defence. Since the attack by Cameroon was a direct threat to Nigeria's vital interest defined in terms of national security, it was justifiable for the Federal Government of Nigeria, in the Language of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Edwin Ume-Ezeoke to return fire for fire. However, on the prevalent of idiosyncratic consideration Nigeria did not return fire for fire.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the concept of national interest as a major trend for the analysis of foreign policy is so vague that it can not serve as an adequate analytical model. Thus, this inadequacy led to the emergence of other models such as systemic factors, national attribute factors, and idiosyncratic factors for analysis of foreign policy. However, it is worthy to maintain that the other trends: systemic, national attribute and idiosyncratic factors in spite of themselves can not offer adequate analysis of foreign policy because of the assessment made in this paper. However, it is worthy to conclude that while the four major trends in Nigeria's foreign policy -  national interest, systemic, national attribute and idiosyncratic factors, can not serve as a perfect analytical paradigm for the analysis of foreign policy, they can at least serve as a suitable and fair premise for analysis.

WORKS CITED

Bolaji Akinyemi: "Nigeria-Cameroon Dispute: Not Biafra's Reveng", The Punch, II June, 1981.

Gabriel O. Clusanya; R.A. Akindele (ed) (1990): The Structure and Process of Foreign Policy Making and Implementation in Nigeria 1960 – 1990. NIIA, Lagos.

L.N. Srivastva (1984): International Relations From 1914 TO PRESENT DAY, Surject Book Depot (Regd), Nai Serak, Delhi.

Medium Power Mixed-up Ambitions', The Guarding (Editorial), 26 March, 1987.

News-watch, August 27, 1990 "Gunboat Politics",

Stanley Macebuh: "Public Opinion and the Nigeria-Cameroon Crisis; Nigeria Forum (Sept/Oct., 1981).

Understanding Foreign Policy Initiatives', New Nigerian, Friday 8 May 1987.

DATEINSTITUTIONQUALIFICATION2003-2008University of  CalabarPh.D history2000-2003Imo State University,OwerriM.Sc int'l Affairs and Diplomacy1995-1999University of  CalabarB.Sc (Hons) Public Administration1994-1995University of  CalabarDiploma in Public Administration1987-1989S.B.S AkamkpaIJMB "A level"1978-1983Sec. Gram. Sch. WanokomWasc1972-1978Primary School, iwango IdahFSLC 
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As the 2003 election came, the process was worse than what took place in the previous elections. The graphic political epilepsy and traumatization that followed the election of 2003 made it apparently clear to the Nigerian people that politics is all about do or die affair, political god-fatherism, thug recruitment and effectively making use of them, the connection in the government either at the state or federal levels, how much you have to share to the poor people, ability to kill people and intimidate your opponents, assassination, kidnapping, arson etc. As the people cried out, nobody seemed to listen to them, and the believe that politics is a dirty game was intensified by the conduct of 2003 election. The umpire of the 2003 election Prof. Maurice Mmadu Akolam Iwu and his collaborator Olusegun Obasanjo never felt any remorse for the offence of political banditry committed against the Nigerian people, rather Iwu and his cohort saw that as the best election in the world which America and Europe must parody if they must conduct free and fair election. This made Nigerian political atmosphere to be full of political bandits who smuggled themselves into power to continue and complete their political burglary all in the name of politics. The hope for Nigerian democracy was seriously diminishing and the people believe that the politicians decide who rules and that the majority of the populace standing under the sun to vote is a futile endeavor as the result of the election has been pre-determined before the actual voting, thus there is no point staying under the harsh weather to vote when indeed the vote does not count. The future of Nigerian democracy became more hopeless as the people do not believe in the process any longer. As the citizens were complaining of the political maljo, the beneficiaries (the politicians) where so happy about the political illness that brought them in power and they were exploiting the opportunity.

Although we all believe that the Law of the land which is the constitution allows another election to take place in 2007, and everybody was prepared to change the status-quo by voting the right people during the 2007 election.

Obasanjo through the instrumentality of state machineries and mechanisms rigged the 2007 election in favor of People's Democratic Party PDP and that election produced Yar'Adua as the president elect. This was the zenith and apotheosis of election rigging in Nigeria, and funny enough, Iwu who was the umpire of the 2007 election was proud of the political evil perpetuated by him and he admonished America to come to Nigeria and learn how to conduct election. He never saw anything wrong in the political crime he committed in collaboration with his cohorts, and he was busy attended workshops and defending Inependent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it has done the best thing in the world and climbing down on anybody who dares to criticize (INEC) for doing a bad job as regards the conduct of 2007 election. One wonders why a professor like Iwu will be very happy for unleashing dastard and eccentric act towards his brothers and sisters (Nigerians), may be because he is a professor of pharmacology who understands the reaction of chemicals and does not understand human feelings. In confirmation of the eccentric election conducted by Iwu and his boss Obasanjo, Yar'Adua was bold enough to admit that election that brought him to power was a flaw and he will make sure that electoral Law in Nigeria is being reformed. He set up Uwaise Panel report that came up with recommendations on how to get it right as regards election in Nigeria, but unfortunately the intellectual encephalopathy who are found in (PDP) made all efforts to frustrate Yar'Adua in making sure he does not succeed in giving Nigeria good electoral Law. Rumor had it that the former Minister of Justice Aondo Aka master minded the move to make sure that Nigerian electoral Law was not reformed.

As Nigerians started complaining and pushing for the removal of Iwu before 2011 election if the 2011 election will be different from other elections we have had over time that instead of helping the growth and consolidation of Nigerian democracy, they complicated issues for us and made things more complex and quagmire for us. As Nigerians felt giddy, over the non removal of Iwu, and the 2011 election was approaching, Good Luck Ebele Jonathan removed Iwu and brought in Jega to take over the institution of INEC.

The April 20011 election which Jega was the Umpire has proven to Nigerians that there is still hope and we are getting somewhere. The people vote counted, the political manipulators lost out, the people who never won election but parade themselves as politicians lost election and they are disappearing from the scene. Obasanjo, Dimeji Bankole, Kwara state Saraki, Dora Akunyili, and lots of others lost because the peoples vote counted. Jega and his boss Jonathan have demonstrated to the world that Nigeria can get it right, that we never got it right before now just because of the physiological makeup of leaders Nigeria has paraded over time that never saw anything positive in doing what is right.

This is the most second free and fair election ever conducted in Nigeria, the June 12 1993 election and 2011 election.

Now that we have started the journey to democracy, and the anointing of political god-son by the god-father (god-fatherism) no longer work, the believe is that Nigeria will be a state to reckon with in few years to come as politics will not be business as usual, and it is going to be on the basis of what you put into the system is what you get. The politicians will be forced to deliver, as they know that if they do not deliver they will be voted out.

The dynamite that was buried in the Nigerian political foundation has been pulled out by Jega the (INEC) Chairman and Jonathan and the citizens complemented their efforts by doing what is right.

Today Nigeria has followed the good path other nations of the world have followed that took them where they are today. My joy is that, Iwu and Obasanjo are alive today to witness the dramatic turn around of election process and procedure in Nigeria which they had made us believe that it is impossible to attain. Will they rejoice with us or will they burry their faces in shame? God knows.

Jegamatic approach has restored what Iwumatic approach destroyed long ago, kudos to Jega, Jonathan, INEC and the entire Nigerians; thank God we are there at last.

Works in Center for Democracy and Development (CDD),Abuja,Nigeria, West Africa.Has published books on topical issues bothering on Nigeria Democracy and Governance.Has written many articles bothering on Nigeria politics and governance and other African states.Is a political and social analyst.email address libertydgreat@gmail.comphone numbers+23408030899992/+23408076501990
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Evidently Nigerian violence has specific characteristic features in respect of the place of occurrence and her perpetrators that makes its reoccurrence even cheaper and more possible. Mostly Nigerian violence are executed by poor unemployed Nigerian or foreign youths who after the crimes are either hidden in houses or bushes, rest in the waters or sneak out of the country. However the question is what triggers people to start violence? What factors in the Nigerian society makes violence insurmountable?

First, Unemployment is the fundamental factor responsible for smooth and recurring violence in Nigeria. With a large population of unemployed people, the idle hands cannot but be the devil's workshop. Interestingly, it is one of the ripple effects of power failure and mass illiteracy in Nigeria. Violence basically is carried out by idle Nigerian youths or insurgents from neighboring countries. I strongly believe also that Nigeria is the one of the greatest victims of a poor neighborhood. And I insist that illiteracy is the next greatest problem of Nigeria after power. The fact is many Nigeria's unemployed youths no matter the creed will work in Al Qaeda Nigeria limited if the pay is high.

Have you ever observed that children of financiers of violence in Nigeria are never around when the crises boomerangs? They send their children far away. Do you notice also they love loitering around the corridors of power for protection and as soon as they are about getting caught, they speedily put on the religion mask? Have you thought of the Motivation and Motivational lies they may need to share with the unemployed youths to persuade them to unleash violence and bomb blasts on innocent people?  The moneybags besides will not mind providing cash for importation or production of arms to equip themselves for violence.

The Nigerian customs are not thoroughly effecting the border security checks enough and this is why arms, far more lethal than that of Nigerian policemen, and its resources are still flowing into Nigeria daily. And the worst is that the Nigerian borders also have too many unofficial importation routes that make arms trafficking easy. Besides, items going up north via the states are never checked by anybody. In fact the drivers don't even stop! The Nigerian customs also have no recognized whistle blowing mechanism.

Nigeria has one of the weakest immigration systems in the world. Sometimes around 2008 for instance, over 150 motorbikes drove at once into Maiduguri from Chad carrying passengers and all drove into only a single premises to join their colleagues. Some months after, a sect called Boko Haram emerged causing violence in other places. The question is if Nigeria has an immigration service, how could people of this intent get into Nigeria? Do they have any means of identification? What is their occupation? What is their mission? The worst is that they are here to fight western education using some Nigerian elements. Many killings in Plateau and Borno are been attributed to these migrated insurgents who are financed by Nigerian moneybags to cause chaos and destabilize the polity. Definitely during elections or crises, these unidentified criminals without friends or foes around are more motivated to kill people, rape, rob, reap and run! I have emphatically criticized the speedy transition and proliferation of beggars emigrating from Niger and Chad republic even into far southern Nigerian cities like Lagos and Port Harcourt. These same beggars without disabilities who will never pick up an empty headpan to work at a bricklaying site will however not mind begging for N20 from a busy perspiring bricklayer. One day these same beggars who hate work but love having sex and making babies for the streets may one day start their kind of hunger riots even in down south Nigeria and at the point of getting caught quickly spice it up with religion. Nigeria does not need lazy and criminal foreigners with a faulty reward system!

Have you ever wondered why the Nigerian Police Force always gets to a crime scene 10 minutes after the incidence?  It is simply due to fundamental operational lapses of the NPF. It is either you are told vehicles are on patrol right now never to show up or they got to the address you are talking about late. There are even cases where security operatives don't even pick calls. Really A nation of 150 million people with less than 500,000 policemen may not be able to exert the required security attention within the system. However when the security of a nation has some few tribalistic and religious bigots, there may be security failure. And the case can then only get worse without technologies such as CCTV and other monitoring devices. It was worrisome when Al Jazeera was playing videos concerning the Jos crises last year showing some biased officers involved in the Jos killings. There is also no popular whistle blowing facility traceable to the police.

To tackle the following problems, unemployment and illiteracy must be forced down in this nation! Campaigns and awareness programs should be set up educating people to abhor violence since the financiers never allow their own children to join violence but ensure safe habour for their children in Lagos or even developed nations. If the UN says one policeman should watch 400 civilians, then I think the Nigerian government has really tried but should seriously work on the recruitment, retraining and implementation processes in response to these challenges. Policing can be more professionalized to eliminate insecurity, boost public confidence and galvanize democracy.   There is also need for application of close circuit televisions and monitoring devices that will record details of daily activities in cities like Jos. It will also make faces of miscreants behind the acts more conspicuous. There is need for aerial and space recording of activities of cities like Jos. With this, we can find where these crises originated from and normally where they normally abscond to after the atrocity. Live satellite monitoring of crises-prone cities and crowded places will also work effectively for cities like Jos where there are minimal trees.

In as much as I believe in a detribalized Nigerian Armed Force, I believe and am worried at the strong comments of a military man of Major Gen Domkat Bali's stature on the Jos crises. I think strongly that the words of such a soldier should not be swept under the carpet. If one of the core functions of the Nigerian Army is to protect this nation from every form of external aggression, then the government should make it so. I am not saying we should not participate in international assignments but the walls of our country and her citizens too must also be protected. This could be achieved via military intelligence, strategic intervention and support to the customs, police and Nigerian Immigration Service. To tackle the problem of tribalism within security agencies, only southern policemen and soldiers should be sent to violence prone northern states while northern colleagues should be posted down south. The issue of police and military identification should also be taken more seriously.

When you have a country with very large boundaries and weak implementation of immigration laws, just expect one day that hungry and criminal immigrants will gradually settle in, integrate into the system and infact one day after several decades start fighting over land. Many Immigrants travel all across international borders with several indigenous cultures and tendencies that are against laws of natural justice or even equity. Nigerians need be educated that "a Fulani from Niger or a Hausa from Chad Is Not A Nigerian" no matter his eloquence! Hence must be made to have immigration documents and not covered up. The Nigerian immigration service should also set up a framework that will fast track the legitimization of work permits for employed Niger and Chad immigrants and deport these beggars. They should go and continue their baby-making business in their countries. Nigeria should design special jails for illegal immigrants like Boko Haram in northern Nigeria since they are terribly determined to proliferate. Foreigners that make our resources insufficient and yet kill our citizens must never go unpunished. The government should also appoint judges that will help hasten prosecution with special presidential interest. Even when you don't have your NIC, drivers license or international passport number handy, you must know your Personal number and other details (often written on the card) offhand which can be confirmed with card readers. This must be a sine qua non for every Nigerian citizen.

For perpetrators of this violence that are Nigerians, facts have shown that there is an interlinked correlation all between divorce or marital separation, lack of parental care, crime rates and imprisonments. Facts have shown from the Nigerian prisons that 70 percent of inmates grew up either with single parents or no parents at all. Hence they were forced to care for themselves at an earlier age. If this is so, then every little kid in Nigeria that has refused to go to school or acquire a skill can only become an armed robber, a prostitute or homosexual, an older beggar, or a thug. As a result, fundamental education must be consistently encouraged and street begging in any form must be outlawed in Nigeria.

Religious organizations should come together and form a 10-Point Unifying Creed that must be followed by their faithfuls strictly to foster peaceful coexistence and keep this country together. And such creeds must be binding!

Many Nigerians lose lives and properties worth millions of naira to violence and bomb blasts annually. Hence the issue of security of Nigerians and their property must be taken seriously to prevent further violence. Violence must be tackled in Nigeria for genuine development to really take place.

Tunde Adegbiteourwale@yahoo.com 
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The election of Goodluck Jonathan as president of this country signpost so much hopes for the country. It may be too early for analysts to go full length talking about the huge lot that hope offers us by this historic election. In this work we shall be looking at how this election gives hope to any qualified Nigerian to not only aspire to the presidency of Nigeria but to be able to sunder, as Jonathan did, all hitherto primordial imports into our national life and the skewed and deceptive appeal to some majority ethnic groups that some belong, and which have been used to serve self ends at the end of the day.

Since independence Nigeria has been in the hands of the majority tribes, and more specifically in the hands of the majority tribe. We have only seen situations were government in the main exchanges hands between few sections of the North and Olusegun Obasanjo, supposedly of the Yoruba stock. And the result is that our 51years of independence has only seen how our so-called leaders underdeveloped us. Because our search for leadership has hardly taken us outside those select parts of the North and Obasanjo we have remained a prostrated nation; and that for so long. But now the search – ostensibly by divine direction – has gone elsewhere, and the lenses all have captured one man: Goodluck Jonathan.  And the photograph has since come out clean, sparkling and larger than life. Never mind that Mohammadu Buhari thinks he sees himself in the negative; even when the finished product has gone global with celebrity status.

And this is the point. The time is gone when men rely on the demographic figures of their ethnic groups in the race to the presidency of this nation. The days are gone when some men will rightly or wrongly hope to amass votes of a section of the country they come from whether they deserve it or not, then look for one pawn section across the larger divide to form government with. No! People are now interested in a candidate that enthralls all Nigerians; for only such can drive the huge and gigantic machine called Nigeria; for only such can meet with the diverse needs of all Nigerians without discrimination. So, everyone is now beginning to think nationally because without this or without playing down drastically our primordial attachments we shall remain the regressive and toward the back country we have always been. But Nigerians think differently today.  Jonathan is the result of this new and fresh mindset; an about-face long overdue.

We are into a phase in our national life when a Middle-Belt man that can really perform and bring home the bacon to all our families will become the democratic president of this country. We are looking forward to seeing a southern Muslim man with enthralling credentials getting the votes from across board to become the president of the country. The moment has come when a Christian from the North West or North East with the needed qualities to govern this country that Lord Lugard almagamated in 1914 making it to Aso Rock; and to our utmost joy at the end of the day.  The Tiv man, the Isoko man, Igbira man, the Kalabari man too; and indeed, all that have the unquestionable ingress to make it to the number one position. We are now looking forward to seeing one of our many women evidently equipped to turn things around in this country becoming our president.

There are many Awolowos across Nigeria. We can no longer begin to frustrate them. We do that now to our final peril. The time has come for the best of us to step forward.  There should be no more barriers to excellence! Between now and 2015 we want to see a campaign that will encourage the likes of Sanusi Lamido, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili, Dora Akinyuli, Babatunde Fashola and performers like them stepping out for Aso Rock either as presidential or vice presidential candidates. We cannot leave our country for very un-political people with their questionable wealth. The people are seeking those that can sincerely and ably govern us. That is what matters now. With Jonathan they have told us this. And if he performs (and we hope he will) then the game would have been finally over for those who think they can continue to sit over our affairs because they have the wealth to squander in elections and or have ‘majority stake' in Nigeria even though they may know little or nothing about our real affairs. And, of course, if Jonathan performs, Sambo will also be wanted in the 2015 race. After all, Jonathan has said he will not be contesting in 2015; even though Ochereome Nnanna thinks that "If Jonathan is able to fix our power supply woes, give us a ‘people's constitution' as he promised as well as improve the economy with more of our people gainfully employed, Nigerians may not allow him to go after only one term" – Vanguard, Monday February 7, 2011. In that case the Nnannas may not only get ready to be stuffed with good persuasive power but get set to own some tools to swing to ‘recall the falcon'. Whatever is the outcome of that endeavor Nigerians will have many good alternatives to choose from in 2015. Call it the great new dawn! This is the hope the election of Jonathan present.

So, the point must be clear: The election of Jonathan changes for good the political ways of making it to Aso Rock from henceforth. It removes the pre-colonial tripod of Hausa/Fulani, Yoruba and Ibo which has since been inherited by post colonial Nigeria with the Hausa/Fulani stock leading that tripod. We see the so-called WAZOBIA altering to WAZOBIAPLUS. Do you hear me? That is nationhood. Though even this still undercuts or undermines us, but because of the need for some sort of compromise in the making of a nation, we can tolerate it at that. But not to totally undermine us! After all, all the so-called minority ethnic groups put together is about double the Hausa/Fulani group leading that superannuated tripod. The ethnic groups outside the tripod only need to be united and refused to be divided by the other groups to play dominant role in our polity. But this too will be against the spirit of nationhood which is herein canvassed and which has thrown up Jonathan.

Today Nigeria does not belong to any oligarchy. It now belongs to us all.  This is the truth that has transfused the nation. Nigerians, the entire nation, have just said so in the election of Jonathan. And to many of us meaning is beginning to be given to this contraption called Nigeria. And it is more heart-warming that Nigerians are poised from now to ensure that patriotism and nationalism moves ethnicity and personal and egotistic consideration to the far rear in our national politics as they (Nigerians) will now be going all out come any election season with their lenses to capture Nigerians truly qualified, fit, and capable enough to lead us from henceforth. They no longer want people who will be owners of universities, blue-chip companies and multi-nationals after governing or more appropriately, after misgoverning us. Henceforth the likes of Obasanjo, Atiku, IBB and others like them will always be screened out of the view of our lenses. And it is for good.  Up Nigeria!   

                                                                                  Igho writes in from Warri

 Eferovo Igho is a Nigerian political scientist and had postgraduate training in journalism. A media consultant, he is a secular and Christian writer. He has been extensively published by leading Nigerian dailies including the old Daily Times, The Guardian, Vanguard, Daily Independent and by regional and community papers, and had an op-ed column stint with Daily Independent. As a Christian writer he has also been equally widely published and had a Christian column stint with the National Daily Mirror and Niger Delta Inquirer (the latter now off the streets). Igho is member and contributing author to great media websites. His secular and Christian works have been greatly syndicated; just as his research work in science, astronomy, space science (with Bible illuminating the way) has been published by leading science groups such as NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (in Science), Scientist of the Year, SCIENCE BLOGG, Lois Bigham, Telescope, Galaxy Science/Magazine Back Issues Online Now, and many others. 
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Written By: Shafii Ndanusa,  Abuja. Nigeria.

Background

When crude oil was discovered in Oloibiri, Nigeria in 1956, not many envisaged that one day this resource will become the major source of foreign exchange earnings for the Nigerian economy. To date, no singular resource has had more fundamental impact on Nigeria for so many years and still counting.

Abundance of scarce and often-needed natural resources (such as crude oil, gas reserves and precious metals) is expected to lead to economic prosperity for the nation with such abundance. Paradoxically, experience and reality in a number of such countries with resource abundance have shown that sometimes these natural resources end up becoming the reason for imprudent management of financial resources as well as conflicts and hence economic mismanagement. Poverty, destitution, high levels of illiteracy, lack of adequate infrastructure then become some of the features of such economies.  This scenario ultimately led to the `Resource Curse` argument.

Unless a nation consciously and proactively take charge of the income derived from the exploitation of its natural resources in order to create wealth, it is quite easy to slip down the easy and quick road of economic mismanagement. Put simply, natural resources should translate to resource wealth failing which the option is to experience resource curse.

The consequent response for most countries is to establish Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF). The SWF's are then mandated by law to prudently take care of the windfall that usually follows from the exploitation of such natural resources. The first ever sovereign wealth fund was the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) that was established in 1953. The Kuwait Investment Authority is presently valued at about Three Hundred Billion (300 Billion) United States Dollars.

Today, the largest single sovereign wealth fund in terms of financial assets base is the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and is currently valued at approximately Six Hundred Billion (600 Billion) United States Dollars. The total assets under management of the Global Sovereign Wealth Funds is estimated to be over Four Trillion (4 Trillion) United States Dollars. All over the world, evidence abound that the support received from sovereign wealth funds was instrumental to the recovery for many nations following the recent global economic crisis.

Nigeria's rather weak response to the resource curse syndrome was to create the Excess Crude Account (ECA) in the year 2004. This was at best an administrative solution to provide for a situation that was glaring. The management of the ECA over the years has exposed its weaknesses and inefficiency, hence the need for a more organized approach.

Imagine what could have been achieved by now if Nigeria had set up its sovereign wealth fund right from the moment earnings from crude oil shot above the annual budgetary benchmark. Once again, simply imagine the possibilities.

THE PRESENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

Having carefully reviewed the opportunity cost of not establishing a Sovereign Wealth Fund earlier in the day, the current administration decided to push for the establishment of the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund. Following consultations with relevant stakeholders, the Federal Government finally sent an executive bill to the Nigerian Parliament for the establishment of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).

With this singular effort, the Nigerian Government has communicated to the whole world that it is willing, ready and serious about subscribing to global best practice in the management of its economic and financial resources. The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority is expected to replace the Excess Crude Account (ECA). The ECA has been widely held to be inappropriate in view of recent global trends. The ECA is also alleged to have fallen short of meeting the minimum basic standards for transparency and accountability. Going forward it is envisaged that excess income (income beyond the annual budgetary benchmark) from the exploitation of Nigeria's natural resources (mainly crude oil) will be channeled to the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.

The Nigerian Parliament held a public hearing on the proposed NSIA bill in the month of March 2011. The proposal was well defended by the Federal Minister of Finance; Dr. Olusegun Aganga. Questions raised at the public hearing were responded to and it is expected that before the end of this legislative calendar, the proposed bill would have been passed into law. Time is of essence and it is important to note that with each passing day that the bill is not passed, a lot of opportunity is lost.

The Reasons

Economic Competitiveness: The Nigerian economy will certainly become more attractive for Foreign Direct Investments (FDI). The high level seriousness which the establishment of the NSIA will signal will be a good yardstick for measuring Government's commitment to the global standards of transparency and accountability in the management of natural resources.
Improvement in Nigeria's Credit Worthiness: With Nigeria's re-entry into in the international debt capital market, access to international credit facilities by governments and Nigerian companies will be made easier. The establishment of the NSIA will facilitate an improved assessment of the nation's credit worthiness.
Significant Reduction in the Resource Curse Syndrome/Experience of Nigeria: The poor management of financial resources arising for crude oil windfalls will become a thing of the past. This is because the need to ensure transparency and accountability is at the heart of the idea for the Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund.
Significant Reduction in Conflicts between the different Tiers of Government in Nigeria over the distribution of incomes accruing in the Federation Account.
Enthronement of Global Best Practice in financial resource management: The Nigerian Government having decided to subscribe to the Santiago Principles in the management of the NSIA is charting a path that is representative of the highest management standards in principles and practice.
The proposed NSIA Bill is a mechanism for fighting wastage, arbitrariness and poorly coordinated spending in public expenditure management: The culture of unrestricted spending of unanticipated income will be curtailed. Investments will be based on sound, clear and beneficial economic/financial parameters.
Availability of a Pool of Savings or Back-up Funds for future generations: Because crude oil is a non-renewable resource, future generations of Nigerians will be provided for.
Availability of a Counter-Cyclical Economic Stabilization Fund: This will assist in smoothening budget variations in income over a period of time.
Availability of an Infrastructure Fund to provide intervention in critical areas of the Nigerian economy. The infrastructure deficit of Nigeria is a major challenge that requires massive investments of financial resources. This benefit will cut across different sectors due to the multidimensional nature of the likely interventions.  The multiplier effect this will have on the economy is assured.
Last but not the least is the potential that the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority holds in terms of creating multiple streams of income as well as capital growth for the entire people of Nigeria.

Mr. Shafii Ndanusa is a Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA, U.K.) and Fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management (FAAFM, U.S.A.). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration degree with specialization in Finance. He wrote from Abuja. Nigeria. shafii@accamail.com, Mobile: +2348033713910.

Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA, U.K.) and Fellow of the American Academy of Financial Management (FAAFM, U.S.A.). He is skilled in both public and private enterprise financial management, business analysis/management, projects management, consultancy and statistical analysis.
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