Re: ||NaijaObserver|| Re: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: NigerianID | Jonathans FAILED management of OIL crisis GEJ airport and Niger bridge work are too little, but much more than the Igbo can expect from Buhari. And then Buhari has this albatross on his neck that not only was he there killing Biafrans during the war that ignored the Aburi understanding, but was representing APC that is perceived to be the Boko Haram party. And I am Ezeana Igirigi AchusimOdi-IsaaNwa Dim Orioha Ụmụ nneAbrahamụọgụ Aṅụsịobi Madụ. Ka osinadị. Anaghị ahụ ụzọbawa ọhịa,HO! HA! Ihe ana agban’ntị anaghị agba ya n’anya,cha cha! Nwa Ebile akọsị na sọsọ ofu mgbe ka ihe ga eme ya yaamụrụ akọ,HO! HA! Aṅụ gbaraNwa Nkịta, ya hụ okporo Ujiji/Ijiji kporo ọsọ ka ụkwụ ya ra. Enyi mụagwakwara mụ gị. Na enyi mụakara mụ agwa gị, kedu nke ka gị mma? Ngara marana ekpe azụ. Okpoko ntịgburu ntị chiri ya,kpọm kwem! Ya kpọtụba! Ya gazie Ụmụ nneAbrahamụọgụ Aṅụsịobi Madụ. On Saturday, December 13, 2014 7:07 PM, Ezeana Igirigi Achusim pachusim@yahoo [NaijaObserver] wrote: Nwanna Waki: I never wrote that GEJ is for Igbo and Buhari for the rest of the country. I wrote repeatedly that Igbo have to choose the lesser of two evils when they vote in 2015. In many folks books, both have done nothing for the Igbo. GEJ airport and Niger bridge work are too little, but much more than the Igbo can expect from Buhari. And then Buhari has this albatross on his neck that not only was he there killing Biafrans during the war that ignored the Aburi understanding, but was representing APC that is perceived to be the Boko Haram party. And I am Ezeana Igirigi AchusimOdi-IsaaNwa Dim Orioha Sent from my iPhone On Dec 13, 2014, at 12:20 PM, wakilawal@aol [NIgerianWorldForum] wrote: Joe Attueyi: The wise man Igirigi has rightlycounselled that we have all made up our minds! The question is: Can Igirigi let hisfish business managed the way GEJ governed Nigeria? However I like political andeconomic debates-- even if they are academic. From that perspective I can keepengaging you: First, you cannot handlethe truth in any debate. You will spin, spin, and spin. You are like one in ateam that is changing goalpost anytime for your team to win. Igirigi made uphis mind on a wrong premise (GEJ for Igbo and Buhari for the rest of Nigeria) 1) those not so blinded bypartisanship will recall that the whole idea of first Excess Crude Account andthen the SWF was exactly a preparation for the day when oil will be $50. But guess what? Your folks have been in court challenging the constitutionalityof both and demanding the money be shared. I guess politics makes for shortmemories By your assertions, you areexposing GEJ unpreparedness even though he had enough time to set prioritiesfor his first term, given the opportunity to complete YarAduas administrationfor the whole two years. But his lack of vision and organizational skillsrendered his administration tractable. An aggressive President will stand onhis feet firmly on the ground and organize well against all challengesconstitutionally and ideologically, but he was credulous enough for those folksthat took advantage of his insensitivity. 2) you keep talking about leading bypersonal example. I keep showing you that Buhari does not lead by personalexample. He knew that IBB was going to overthrow him; he knew IBB was corrupt;yet with all the coercive powers available to a military dictator he could notstop IBB. He knew Abacha was a thief. Yet he not only served Abacha but hecontinues to say Abacha did not steal Nigerias money despite countries allover the world returning bits and pieces of Abachas loot! As I said in my responseabove, you are shifting from valid points of argument to invalid points ofargument. A debate on political and economic issues are valid, but trackingBuhari down to his knowledge of IBB treasuries and corruptions, andparticipation in Abacha’s administration are invalid. Finally I keep asking the question:where are the alternative policies? 60 days to the election? 60 days you said above,let’s hit the grounds for debate on policies. There are plenty ammunitions toshoot down tactless offensives. What makes you think this administration hascredible achievements for defense? Buhari has more advantage in debates thanGEJ because there are many collateral damages already sitting on the grounddamaged. All those manufactured frivolous accusations against Buhari would bedegraded to laymen conviction and understanding for the way they will bedownplayed. Like Igirigi said I am not writingto convince you------- but facts are facts. You guys are marketing snake oilnostalgia as the messiah Your writing is too weakand cannot convince even gullible audience. Igirigi that lacked where the shoespinched the Biafra soldiers would be the last person to know the facts about howdesperate people will like to get rid of this administration. The way thisadministration is breeding hoodlums and compulsive criminals Igirigi will haveto use Somalia-way to trace his ancestry land. Joe Wakilawal -----Original Message----- From: Joe Attueyi topcrestt@yahoo [NIgerianWorldForum] To: Omoluabi ; NaijaPolitics ; NIgerianWorldForum ; NaijaObserver ; africanworldforum Cc: NigerianID ; Raayiriga ; yanarewa Sent: Sat, Dec 13, 2014 9:59 am Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] Re: NigerianID | Jonathans FAILED management of OIL crisis VSThe wise man Igirigi has rightly counselled that we have all made up our minds! However I like political and economic debates-- even if they are academic. From that perspective I can keep engaging you: 1) those not so blinded by partisanship will recall that the whole idea of first Excess Crude Account and then the SWF was exactly a preparation for the day when oil will be $50. But guess what? Your folks have been in court challenging the constitutionality of both and demanding the money be shared. I guess politics makes for short memories 2) you keep talking about leading by personal example. I keep showing you that Buhari does not lead by personal example. He knew that IBB was going to overthrow him ; he knew IBB was corrupt; yet with all the coercive powers available to a military dictator he could not stop IBB. He knew Abacha was a thief. Yet he not only served Abacha but he continues to say Abacha did not steal Nigerias money despite countries all over the world returning bits and pieces of Abachas loot! Finally I keep asking the question: where are the alternative policies? 60 days to the election? Like Igirigi said I am not writing to convince you------- but facts are facts. You guys are marketing snake oil nostalgia as the messiah Joe Sent from my Iphone On Dec 13, 2014, at 1:43 AM, Omoluabi viscount_slim@yahoo [NigerianID] wrote: Pastor Joe, On Oct 30, below is the conversation we had. I am quoting the relevant sections: QUOTE For now, I think it is important that you address the dislocation to the economy caused by the unprecedented oil theft going on in Nigeria. Big data and the smart money (T Boone Pickens) was on NPR yesterday morning and said by his analysis, $70 per barrel oil is in the offing. Is Goodluck ready? Does he have what it takes? You do know that the anchor (much maligned - It turns out, he gave out the same billions to all regions of the country) of the previous crisis, Sanusi, is no longer there. UNQUOTE T Boone Pickens, and the Big Data (Quant) guys are who we compete with as a Nation. They were able to see the trends and predict that Crude OIL was heading to $70 per barrel at a time when it was still selling for $88! Yet, Okonjo-Iweala on Nov 15th was still submitting a budget of $73 dollars to the NASS! Comon! These guys just had our lunch, and left us holding the bag! Only God knows what kind of SWAP deals they would have struck with our deer-in-caught-in-the-headlight economic team! We are now at $61 per barrel. QUOTE What Nigeria needs, today, is a leader, a president, who would lead by PERSONAL EXAMPLE! Jonathan, in 6+ years has shown that he is not capable of leading by example. It is as simple as that. ...... But the leader that will save and move Nigeria along the path of progress is going to have to do it through PERSONAL EXAMPLE. Austere living, ferocious fight against corruption and, a mien and carriage that can ginger nationalism! ish.... UNQUOTE These were the things, on Oct. 30th, I stated BUHARI would offer, which you disagreed with then. Okonjo-Iweala has since come out to announce AUSTERITY MEASURES for NIGERIANS but we are yet to hear how they would tighten their belts! The problem now, of course, is that they want to close the barn door now that the horse has bolted! Jonathan has FAILED in managing the economy, and in managing the economic crisis which his mismanagement of the economy has caused! Please, daalu, na beg we dey beg....make him go back to village go rest for now.....e don do....e jooooor! We know do gra-gra, na beg we dey beg ooooooooo! Diaris God uuuuuuuuuuooooooooooh! Viscount -------------------------------------------- On Thu, 10/30/14, Omoluabi wrote: Subject: Re: 123786Re: {Yan Arewa} Re: [OmoOdua] Analysing Engr Kwankwasos declaration speech To: Nigerian World Forum , Bring Your Baseball Bat , Politics Naija , Raayi Riga , Yan Arewa , African GM , Okonkwonetworks , Truth As My Weapon , Omo Oodua , Mgbajala Eziokwu , topcrest topcrest Date: Thursday, October 30, 2014, 2:24 PM Pastor Joe, Ehn, because like Fela, you get plenty agidi! And I say that lovingly, of course! I will concede that vilify may have been too strong a word, but I confess that that was what came to my mind recently after reading your post about Buhari and the nomination fee. But it is a small enough matter that I am willing to APOLOGIZE so that it does not muddy up the conversation. Ndo, nor vex! (1) I read through the article you referenced below, re: Revamping Osun economy through agriculture, and while it gives the necessary credit to the Federal Government for its role in the Tractor Acquisition Scheme, it EMPHATICALLY condemns it on its fertilizer distribution. But, because I am a data junkie, I wanted to understand both the Tractor Acquisition Scheme and the fertilizer policy....so I asked google. Here is what I found about the Tractor Acquisition Scheme: It was a Yar Adua program, started at least as far back as Feb 2010, under the ministership of Adamu Bello. So, it would seem, from evidence, that this tractor policy was NOT introduced by Jonathan. He/His administration deserves credit, I suppose, for not discontinuing the program. I suppose, it is safe to assume that a Buhari presidency will not only continue the program but find ways to improve (see #3 for why below) it since it has been adjudged successful. But, please, understand, that in the case of Osun, it is successful because your favorite fridge repairer has a good enough sense to make it work for his own state by putting up 1. 5 billion naira as the states contribution! Now, that is leadership you can depend on! O-tractor! LOL...The question that readily comes to mind is why other PDP states are not participating in the scheme?!? (2) It seems also that Adamu Bello fought some fertilizer wars (see: gamji/article4000/NEWS4715.htm) . The current minister for Agricultures success, not to take anything from his own brilliance, is perhaps predicated on those wars and victories, which his predecessor fought. Me, I like full attribution..... But, slender issue. (3) Pastor Joe, $2 Billion, that is Two Billion U.S. Dollars (Greenbacks! Benjamins) is being stolen monthly - OIL THEFT! That is 340 Billion Naira a month - More than the provisions for health and education (combined) in the budget. That is 4.08 Trillion Naira a year - Exact amount of Nigerias total budget for the year! Again, Okonjo-Iweala, who is the Minister of Finance and Minister Coordinating (or something like that) has said openly that this is the highest RATE of oil theft in Nigeria! Ever! And this is happening at a time when the President has decided to safeguard the oil pipelines with his friends! We know there are other leakages....but this particular one is the most EGREGIOUS of the lot! And that is money that CANNOT be recovered. But the theft can and must be stopped! As long as Nigeria continues to exist as a country anyway. Okonjo-Iweala seems to have spoken the governments mind when she threw her hands up in surrender to the oil thieves! A Buhari presidency, I am sure, will end it with dispatch! That would mean money to buy more tractors to improve agriculture; it will mean more available money to train fabricators so that the tractors can be manufactured in Nigeria; it will mean more money available to create massive employment through infrastructure development like Utomi has been advocating; it will mean more money for more opon imo......ttc ttc. So, I ask you, do you know what Jonathan and his administration are doing about this OIL THEFT that has caused such a massive dislocation to the NIGERIAN ECONOMY?!? This contest, is after all, about who can be the best steward of Nigerias resources? No? In a separate discussion, I will be glad to expound on why I think, weighted, PERSONAL EXAMPLE is what is needed most, at this critical juncture, by the next Nigerian President. For now, I think it is important that you address the dislocation to the economy caused by the unprecedented oil theft going on in Nigeria. Big data and the smart money (T Boone Pickens) was on NPR yesterday morning and said by his analysis, $70 per barrel oil is in the offing. Is Goodluck ready? Does he have what it takes? You do know that the anchor (much maligned - It turns out, he gave out the same billions to all regions of the country) of the previous crisis, Sanusi, is no longer there. I await your response to: QUOTE (3) Pastor Joe, $2 Billion, that is Two Billion U.S. Dollars (Greenbacks! Benjamins) is being stolen monthly - OIL THEFT! That is 340 Billion Naira a month - More than the provisions for health and education in the budget. That is 4.08 Trillion Naira a year - Exact amount of Nigerias total budget for the year! Again, Okonjo-Iweala, who is the Minister of Finance and Minister Coordinating (or something like that) has said openly that this is the highest RATE of oil theft in Nigeria! Ever! And this is happening at a time when the President has decided to safeguard the oil pipelines with his friends! We know there are other leakages....but this particular one is the most EGREGIOUS of the lot! And that is money that CANNOT be recovered. But the theft can and must be stopped! As long as Nigeria continues to exist as a country anyway. Okonjo-Iweala seems to have spoken the governments mind when she threw her hands up in surrender to the oil thieves! A Buhari presidency, I am sure, will end it with dispatch! That would mean money to buy more tractors to improve agriculture; it will mean more available money to train fabricators so that the tractors can be manufactured in Nigeria; it will mean more money available to create massive employment through infrastructure development like Utomi has been advocating; it will mean more money for more opon imo......ttc ttc. So, I ask you, do you know what Jonathan and his administration are doing about this OIL THEFT that has caused such a massive dislocation to the NIGERIAN ECONOMY?!? This contest, is after all, about who can be the best steward of Nigerias resources? No? UNQUOTE As Prof. will say, I salute you. Viscount -------------------------------------------- On Thu, 10/30/14, topcrest topcrest via OkonkwoNetworks wrote: Subject: 123786Re: {Yan Arewa} Re: [OmoOdua] Analysing Engr Kwankwasos declaration speech To: Nigerian World Forum , Bring Your Baseball Bat , Politics Naija , Raayi Riga , Yan Arewa , African GM , Okonkwonetworks , Truth As My Weapon , Omo Oodua , Mgbajala Eziokwu Date: Thursday, October 30, 2014, 7:47 AM VS / Aliyu,Below please find my comments in RED ---In YanArewa@yahoogroups, wrote : Good stuff Viscount! Good Stuff! I hope your questions will be thus answered. I am interested in the answers to these poignant questions. Aliyu Bala Aliyu A man whose time has come is unstoppable. #Buhari2015 From: Omoluabi viscount_slim@... [YanArewa] Sender: YanArewa@yahoogroupsDate: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 11:01:46 -0700To: ; ; ; ReplyTo: YanArewa@yahoogroupsCc: Subject: {Yan Arewa} Re: [OmoOdua] Analysing Engr Kwankwasos declaration speech Pastor Joe, You don come again o! I be Fela? (1) In 2011, when Jonathan was freshly running to be president on his on steam, did he not duck the presidential debates? Against this very Buhari that you vilify? Vilify Buhari? As in speak or write about Buhari in abusive or derogatory manner? Can you repost where I did this? There is a strain of intolerance that runs in most of you Buhari supporters that I wonder whether you guys remember this is a democracy and the old man is running for public office. That I say that in my opinion he has neither the competence nor the temperament to manage a modern economy cannot be abusive surely. If Jonathan ducked debates and Nigerians elected him to the presidency then clearly Nigerians did not think it was an important factor in their decision making process. My asking Buhari to tell us WHAT he is going to do different and HOW he will do it may or may not actually make any difference in the election. That it is important to me does not mean it is important to the majority of the voting public (2) And, since then, can you please point to any video interview where Jonathan himself articulated any broad set of economic policies or framework. The one interview with Amanpour from Davos is best forgotten. No? An incumbent does NOT need to articulate to you what he PLANS to do. His 4 years in office should speak for him. If he is still articulating right now then no resonable person should be listening to him. On the other hand, a challenger has to articulate WHAT he plans to do and HOW he plans to do it and then show how we will be better off giving him the chance to make that future he is painting happen. That is why it is hard to defeat an incumbent. Compared to his reality, the challenger is offering hope. Voters have to believe that the hope being offered is better than the present reality and more importantly that the challenger has the CAPACITY to make that hope happen. Difficult but not impossible. Reagan and Clinton did it. But it cannot be done If the challenger cannot even articulate the HOPE talkless of showing his capacity to deliver on the promises. (3) Further, since I know you cannot produce any evidence that Jonathan himself has articulated anything close to policy, can you then share with us this administrations overaching economic policy. Or Jonathans Manifesto when he contested in 2011 so we can grade him on how much he has kept the faith. abi iyen o necessary ni ke? 1. Well I like the fact that GEJ has finally broken the back of the cabal of generator importers, fuel importers and their enablers in Govt and privatised NEPA/ PHCN. Successive govts since IBB have tried but failed. Those guys that used to sell NEPA/PHCN local purchase orders worth millions in the lobby of NICON Hilton hotel Abuja have disappeared! In 5 years one expects the power industry to be larger than the telecom industry not to talk of the impact stable electricity will have on the rest of the economy. 2) I like the fact that fertiliser subsidy has disappeared and grants are now going direct to farmers. Pre Adesina Nigeria was spending N25 billion a year importing fertilizers that never reached the farmers. Today lets hear what opposition state governments have to say about the GEJs agric policies:Revamping Osun economy through agriculture Revamping Osun economy through agriculture Breaking News, information and opinion in NigeriaView on punchngPreview by Yahoo Also, because of the lack of maintenance culture, the state government has been able to buy into the Federal Government Tractors Acquisition Scheme, under a private sector operating arrangement whereby the Federal Government would give a subsidy of 25 per cent and the state, 15 per cent and the farmers, a drop down payment of 10 per cent. The balance would be paid over a period of 36 months by the farmers, and the farmers own the tractors. The government of the state of Osun has paid a sum of N104 million as subsidy for 100 units of tractors and the tractors are now being expected anytime from now. âKano farmers benefited from FGâs agric loanâ âKano farmers benefited from FGâs agric loanâThe Kano State Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Nasiru Gawuna, said farmers in the state benefited from federal governmentâs agricultural interventions in three fold since 2011.View on dailytrust.ngPreview by Yahoo So these debates maybe academic to you but there are people whose lives depend on the program of the candidates. They want to know whether your candidate wants to continue these policies or go back to the old policies? And it is not an unreasonable request. (4) We know, for instance, that they have spent billions on Turn around maintenance of refineries, which has yielded absolutely nothing. They promised that four new refineries would be online in 2014. Has not happened. They have removed subsidy, but put it back. They have stopped importation of rice but imported the most in the month of July. (5) Okonjo-Iweala says that OIL-THEFT is at its highest ever! Nigeria is losing 400,000 barrels of oil a day. That is equal to $2 billion a month! $2 billion, according to the dailies, is allegedly more than what is in the budget for education and health - combined! And, Okonjo-Iweala is OK with this massive leakage....since, according to her, it is OK for this goverment to continue to ignore that grave injury to the Nigerian economy because oil prices are yet high. And, all of this is coming at a time that Jonathan hired militants to safeguard the pipelines! Na you sabi statistics and logic, so maybe you can help us with causation and/or correlation! LOL...... (6) Available power has decreased by 1000mw in recent times, largely because of disruptions to gas pipelines that are being safeguarded by Jonathans supporters. Yet, these gas-guards get paid handsomely! Instead of the army and police to be securing pipe networks, they are stealing votes (I mean securing votes) in Ekiti! All your above make my point. Lets hear the alternatives. Do you plan for the Govt to build more refineries? Sell the existing refineries? Remove the subsidy on petroleum? increase the subsidy on petroleum? How do you plan to tackle these problems differently? military tribunals to try corrupt officials? or use the current justice system? I dont understand why you guys get hot under the collar when a candidate for public office is asked the WHAT and HOW of his plans Pastor Joe, there are many more, but you get the point. What Nigeria needs, today, is a leader, a president, who would lead by PERSONAL EXAMPLE! Jonathan, in 6+ years has shown that he is not capable of leading by example. It is as simple as that. What exactly does lead by personal example mean? Did Gowon lead by personal example? Did Shagari lead by personal example? These were the best 2 gentlemen who led Nigeria by personal example and probably the worst 2 leaders we have had. We want a leader who has a clear understanding of what he wants to do and how he will do it. If you dont have those plans 4 months to an election when will you have it. Buhari can have an economic team of policy wonks. True. But doe he? What are their proposals? Which proposals does he agree with? He does not need to be an economist, just like Jonathan is clearly not one! True. But he must have the leadership quality to build a team that will address what he does not have, have the ability to assess their recommendation and take decisions on which of their recommendations he will implement. So I ask again, months to the election what have the experts recommended to Buhari, which ones did he accept and HOW is he going to implement these ideas? But the leader that will save and move Nigeria along the path of progress is going to have to do it through PERSONAL EXAMPLE. Austere living, ferocious fight against corruption and, a mien and carriage that can ginger nationalism! ish.... You are funny VS. I know you are smarter than what you just wrote! Viscount -------------------------------------------- On Wed, 10/29/14, topcrest topcrest topcrestt@... [OmoOdua] wrote: Subject: [OmoOdua] Analysing Engr Kwankwasos declaration speech To: OmoOdua@yahoogroups Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2014, 9:47 AM Folks,Ibrahim Musa asked what I thought about Kwankwasos speech and I thank him for making me spend time on this--for whatever it is worth. On a general note this was a pretty good speech as political speeches go. Great on sound bites but minimal on the HOW. Since we all know Nigerias problems what we need is a leader that can solve them. Therefore anyone that wishes to replace the incumbent leader should be as specific as possible on what he will do differently from the incumbent that will bring about greater positive change to our lives. On specifics: He wrote:The first priority of this country at this moment is restoring peace and security in every corner of the land. Lives and properties of our citizens must be protected and secured. Boko Haram and all forms of insurgency must be defeated. As a government, we cannot afford to live in denial. Insecurity is escalating at an alarming rate. Little wonder rag-tag insurgents are taking over cities and towns in the Northeast. My experiences as Nigeriaâs Defence Minister and as Special Adviser on war-torn Darfur and Somalia have shown me that securing a nation and fighting and defeating armed insurgents is only achievable if the forces are professionally mobilized, properly kitted and equipped, highly spirited, and correctly armed with intelligence and munitions. My experiences have shown me that technology must be deployed in addition to mobilizing and cultivating the support of local communities. Cross-border intelligence is a veritable ingredient necessary to defeat armed insurgents. Relegating the welfare of the Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police Force to the background only helps in compounding the phenomenon. And where low morals meet poor quality equipment and kits, no doubt the insurgents will have an edge. Any responsible government must take these issues seriously if protection of life and property of its citizens is its primary responsibility Kpom Kwem as Abraham Madu would say. The Nigerian armed forces has been a rag tag army of anything goes since the civil war days as the Biafrans showed (are you aware that OBJ has a bullet in his buttocks while running away from the war front?). I agree with his reading of the problem and the suggested solution. The second priority of this country, my compatriots, is killing the cancer of corruption that has eaten so deeply into the very fabric of our value system. The impunity with which corruption is being perpetrated, promoted, and protected by the present PDP administration leaves no patriotic Nigerian in doubt that the government is working deliberately and with determination to impoverish Nigerians.. We must stop them. We must save our country. Yes, we must. Effective fight against corruption requires strong institutions, political will of the leadership, as well as cooperation of the citizenry. This, we are determined to do. Our antecedent testifies that we have the capacity and political will to do so. The transparency with which we are running the affairs of Kano State and the results that the entire country is seeing are a testimony to our doggedness in fighting corruption No I dont believe fighting corruption is the second highest priority of this country. IMHO It is growing the economy. Russia and India , two of the BRIC countries, are more corrupt than Nigeria and are yet making strong economic strides towards first world economic status. Fighting corruption is important but must be put in perspective. The candidate has been a top PDP player until a few months ago when he lost an internal party power play. So he knows how PDP has been playing the corruption game. If this is his second priority he needs to share with us HOW he will fight corruption. The next priority Mr. Chairman is the economy. Nations do not build sound economies on insecurity, brigandage and mayhem. Nations do not build responsive economies on a foundation of scandalous corruption and impunity. Nations do not build strong economies on lies and half-truths. We cannot be different. All sorts of colourful yet deceptive statistics are being churned out by the PDP administration to give Nigeriaâs economy a clean bill of health. They are all conjectures. The reality on the ground is at sharp contrast with the cooked up statistics. The fiscal policy of the present administration is more than disastrous. Its micro and macroeconomic policies are as vacuous as they are deceptive. Budget performance is more than qualified to be in the Guinnessâ Book of World Records of fiscal indiscipline and poor performance. How can we attain development when only a tiny percentage of our budget is allocated for Capital Project and even that is not properly implemented? How can we grow when the wealth of the nation is being stolen by the very trustees to the wealth? Where on this planet do we have a nation so endowed and yet again so impoverished. That is why we must rally around and replace this present PDP Government with a progressive and responsive APC administration under my stewardship. In Kano State, we have one of the best records of fiscal discipline in the country. This has been acknowledged severally by reputable institutions and numerous credible professional bodies and civil society organizations, several of whom have honoured the State at different occasions. This is our vision for Nigeria. Our plan for Nigeria is to gradually achieve a budget Capital to Recurrent ratio of at least 70 to 30 per cent within our first three years in office. We will cut cost of running government and eliminate all forms of wastages like we have done in Kano The federal Government budget is approximately N5 trillion. Of this circa 75% is recurrent expenditure and 25% capital budget. Kwankwaso believes that this should be reversed with Capital budget of 70% and recurrent budget of 30%. Which is nice on paper until we look into the make up of the recurrent budget. Recurrent BUDGET ( 3 high level big ticket items)1. Salaries and pension of civil servants N1.4 trillion 2. Subsidy payments N1 trillion 3. Debt service N600 Billion How does he plan to achieve his goal? Will he sack civil servants to reduce the wage and pension bill? Will he reduce the wages of public servants without sacking anyone? Will he remove subsidy payments? Will he stop servicing debts he inherits? Talk is cheap. It is thinking through issues like this , and taking a position on them, that indicate that someone is planning to replace an incumbent. there are no easy answers but a leader must take a position, defend it and hope the voters buy his position. The strength of any economy, distinguished compatriots, depends on the quality, competence, fitness and morale of the available human resources that drive it. Nigeriaâs education and health sectors are facing multi-throng crises of quality, quantity, infrastructure, equipment, and brain drain. At the heart of these crises are policy and sincerity. We must remake our National Education and Health Policies to provide for sustainable lifeline of funding for these very critical sectors of our national life. Toying with the education of our children and youth is akin to passing a death sentence to an entire generation. A generation killed, a future mortgaged, and a country destroyed. That is the result of playing insincere politics with education. We cannot afford to sacrifice the future of Nigeria. I want to thank the people who worked with me to revitalize the education system in Kano State. We have constructed more and more physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, distributed more learning resources including electronic teaching facilities, increased primary school enrolment and expanded access to education at all levels. We have improved the teachersâ conditions of service and welfare, and pursued a vigorous high-level manpower development policy including the training of all categories of professionals locally and abroad.. We have established numerous vocational institutes and training schools to give our youth skills and training that will make them more useful contributors to the growth of our economy. In pursuance of our belief that knowledge is Power and knowledge is Wealth we have made education free at all levels in Kano State. Mr Chairman, we cannot brag of having a sound economy when our universities are sick. A strong, competitive economy is only possible in countries with strong and world class universities. We have no excuse for keeping our universities and other tertiary institutions in the present sorry state. We must rebuild our universities and make them the world class institutions that they once were. This was my best part of the speech. If he has truly done a marvellous job with education in Kano as articulated above his media team needs to advertise those achievements more. Overall I welcome Kwankwaso to the field. He has at least raised the discussions to a higher level. As he becomes more specific as to his policy preferences we can have a lively debate about the desirability or otherwise of these policies. Joe ENGR. RABIâU MUSA KWANKWASOâS SPEECH ON THE OCCASSION OF HIS DECLARATION TO RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, UNDER THE BANNER OF THE APC IN THE 2015 GENEREAL ELECTIONSTUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2014 Protocols Mr Chairman, permit me to begin by expressing my profound gratitude to the multitude of compatriots that have travelled from across the length and breadth of this Great Country to attend this historic event. The size and composition of this august gathering has further confirmed my conviction that a peaceful, united and more prosperous Nigeria is possible. The immense sacrifice made by this large throng of Nigerians to come to Abuja, in spite of the scandalous conditions of our highways; in spite of the biting insecurity all over the country as manifested in insurgency, armed robbery, kidnapping, and ethno-religious unrest; in spite of the very high risk of, and persistent disappointments in our local aviation industry; and in spite of the general mood of unease deliberately created and being fuelled by the incompetent PDP-led administration, is a testimony to what I have always believed about this country - Change, positive change, is possible. Change, progressive change, is doable. And we are the agents of this Change. We are the Change! We should not only make it possible, we must make it achievable. Yes, we must. Mr Chairman distinguished Party Leaders, and Fellow APC members. It is only our Great Party, the All Progressive Congress, APC that has what it takes not only to stop this misrule of the PDP but also to reverse the stinking rot and decay that is suffocating our Country. Our Party is the only Party that is built with Nigeria and Nigerians in focus. This is expressed succinctly in the Ten Commitments of the APC and also encapsulated concisely in the Mission Statement of our Party. We are the only party that practice internal democracy that believes in equal rights that value our cultural diversities that respect our religious varieties that abides by the rule of law, and that believe in free and fair election as the only lifeline for sustaining democratic legitimacy. Mr Chairman, we have a huge burden of responsibility to mobilize Nigerians to come out en-masse come February 2015 to sack the PDP out of power and save our dear country. Yes we must! Distinguished Compatriots, my crave to serve and save our country drove me, twenty four years ago, to resign from the Kano State Civil Service as Principal Engineer in 1991 to join partisan politics and contested election as a member of the House of Representatives, where I was also elected as Deputy Speaker. The detailed workings of our legislative assembly, the intricacies, complexities and delicate politicking in our legislative chambers are experiences that I lived. Mr. Chairman and fellow APC members, the call to save our dear Country has never been louder, clearer and more unambiguous than now. Every facet of our national life is deteriorating: governance has been reduced to mediocrity; incompetence and impunity. I have no doubt in my mind that this journey is difficult and arduous. I have no illusion about the enormity of the challenges. But to save our country, we must walk the journey, however difficult. And we must confront and defeat all the challenges, however monstrous. Yes, we must! The first priority of this country at this moment is restoring peace and security in every corner of the land. Lives and properties of our citizens must be protected and secured. Boko Haram and all forms of insurgency must be defeated. As a government, we cannot afford to live in denial. Insecurity is escalating at an alarming rate. Little wonder rag-tag insurgents are taking over cities and towns in the Northeast. My experiences as Nigeriaâs Defence Minister and as Special Adviser on war-torn Darfur and Somalia have shown me that securing a nation and fighting and defeating armed insurgents is only achievable if the forces are professionally mobilized, properly kitted and equipped, highly spirited, and correctly armed with intelligence and munitions. My experiences have shown me that technology must be deployed in addition to mobilizing and cultivating the support of local communities. Cross-border intelligence is a veritable ingredient necessary to defeat armed insurgents. Relegating the welfare of the Armed Forces and the Nigerian Police Force to the background only helps in compounding the phenomenon. And where low morals meet poor quality equipment and kits, no doubt the insurgents will have an edge. Any responsible government must take these issues seriously if protection of life and property of its citizens is its primary responsibility. These, we understand very well. We must work together, compatriots, in a new APC government to achieve this. Yes, we must! Our journey to economic prosperity will always be imperilled if the peace and security of movements of persons and goods cannot be guaranteed. Stopping these menaces does not require rocket science. Good surveillance equipment deployed appropriately and manned by well-groomed and well motivated enforcement agents will do the magic. Ensuring that the culprits are apprehended and brought to justice is imperative. The second priority of this country, my compatriots, is killing the cancer of corruption that has eaten so deeply into the very fabric of our value system. The impunity with which corruption is being perpetrated, promoted, and protected by the present PDP administration leaves no patriotic Nigerian in doubt that the government is working deliberately and with determination to impoverish Nigerians.. We must stop them. We must save our country. Yes, we must. Effective fight against corruption requires strong institutions, political will of the leadership, as well as cooperation of the citizenry. This, we are determined to do. Our antecedent testifies that we have the capacity and political will to do so. The transparency with which we are running the affairs of Kano State and the results that the entire country is seeing are a testimony to our doggedness in fighting corruption. Corruption is one of the veritable nutrients of insecurity. The strategy of the present PDP administration to perpetuate itself in Power is divisive. It is most unfortunate that this administration uses religious, ethnic, sectional and other primordialSentiments to cover protect and promote corruption in public life. These same sentiments are being used to polarise and divide the country in order to perpetually remain in Power. We must stand up together as one people to fight against corruption, impunity and division. Yes, we must. The next priority Mr. Chairman is the economy. Nations do not build sound economies on insecurity, brigandage and mayhem. Nations do not build responsive economies on a foundation of scandalous corruption and impunity. Nations do not build strong economies on lies and half-truths. We cannot be different. All sorts of colourful yet deceptive statistics are being churned out by the PDP administration to give Nigeriaâs economy a clean bill of health. They are all conjectures. The reality on the ground is at sharp contrast with the cooked up statistics. The fiscal policy of the present administration is more than disastrous. Its micro and macroeconomic policies are as vacuous as they are deceptive. Budget performance is more than qualified to be in the Guinnessâ Book of World Records of fiscal indiscipline and poor performance. How can we attain development when only a tiny percentage of our budget is allocated for Capital Project and even that is not properly implemented? How can we grow when the wealth of the nation is being stolen by the very trustees to the wealth? Where on this planet do we have a nation so endowed and yet again so impoverished. That is why we must rally around and replace this present PDP Government with a progressive and responsive APC administration under my stewardship. In Kano State, we have one of the best records of fiscal discipline in the country. This has been acknowledged severally by reputable institutions and numerous credible professional bodies and civil society organizations, several of whom have honoured the State at different occasions. This is our vision for Nigeria. Our plan for Nigeria is to gradually achieve a budget Capital to Recurrent ratio of at least 70 to 30 per cent within our first three years in office. We will cut cost of running government and eliminate all forms of wastages like we have done in Kano. It is possible. It is achievable. With the support of all we can be there. Yes, we must. We cannot have a functional economy without the active participation of the private sector and the collaboration of our international partners and friends. Cutting cost of business is one of the instruments we must use to provide a conducive environment for both local and foreign investors. Our import and export policies shall be re-examined to make business easier and less expensive. several other issues that make private sector operation difficult and expensive will be reviewed. The gains achieved in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors will be improved. We cannot build a formidable economy without a sustainable energy source. Our countryâs investments in power and the corresponding output is, to say the least, embarrassing. The independent power project we initiated in Kano State which is expected to be completed in March 2015 will be generating 35 Megawatts of electricity. This volume of energy will re-launch Kano to its position as a leading industrial and commercial centre. The strength of any economy, distinguished compatriots, depends on the quality, competence, fitness and morale of the available human resources that drive it. Nigeriaâs education and health sectors are facing multi-throng crises of quality, quantity, infrastructure, equipment, and brain drain. At the heart of these crises are policy and sincerity. We must remake our National Education and Health Policies to provide for sustainable lifeline of funding for these very critical sectors of our national life. Toying with the education of our children and youth is akin to passing a death sentence to an entire generation. A generation killed, a future mortgaged, and a country destroyed. That is the result of playing insincere politics with education. We cannot afford to sacrifice the future of Nigeria. I want to thank the people who worked with me to revitalize the education system in Kano State. We have constructed more and more physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, distributed more learning resources including electronic teaching f -- OkonkwoNetworks..........Building NIGERIA of our DREAM --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups OkonkwoNetworks group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to okonkwonetworks+unsubscribe@googlegroups. For more options, visit https://groups.google/d/optout. __._,_.___ Posted by: Ezeana Igirigi Achusim | Reply via web post | • | Reply to sender | • | Reply to group | • | Start a New Topic | • | Messages in this topic (1) | Visit Your Group - New Members 4 • Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use .
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 02:01:33 +0000
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