Can this be true?
Toyin Falola
Farooq A. Kperogi
School of Communication & Media
Kennesaw State University
Cell: (+1) 404-573-9697
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com
"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
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Toyin Falola
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Okechukwu Ukaga
Sorry, part of the last sent should have been ....diverted into private pockets...
Please excuse this and other typos.
OU
Prof,See link below ..... 4 days is too much! Rochas is planning a 3 days work week (not 4 days). He wants workers to use the other days to farm or trade so they can take care of their needs as the government is currently unwilling/unable to pay workers salaries. (What do you expect when most of the current political leaders in the country are certified con men?. I do not blame the corrupt politicians. They people I blame are the intellectuals (including some on this list) who keep telling us that all is well. No, the situation is horrible at the federal, state and local government levels. We have mostly crooks and jokers in power across various political parties. No party is clean in this regard. And until/unless the people stop making excuses for corrupt and/or in-effective leaders, there will never be a positive change in the country, regardless of which party is in power. That is why I appreciate honest contributions from folks like Faroog and Moses, and others even though they get "heckled" for being critical. As a Buhari supporter, my major disappointment with Buhari so far is that all of these are still happening under his watch. I honestly expected things to change. Perhaps, I was being unrealistic. Perhaps, I underestimated the ability of a corrupt system and (those it benefits) to render ineffective even someone like Buhari of which much (perhaps too much) was expected. Nevertheless, I still feel he has not done all he can and should do to deal with corruption in the land. For instance, if I was the president, I would encourage the EFCC to investigate the fiances of any state government/governor that is unable to pay workers, pensioners, and contractors, etc as nothing can a more obvious sign of mismanagement and corruption than that. If it turns out that that all is well that is fine. But if on the other hand it turns out that money that could and should have used to pay government bills have been illegally diverted into public pockets, is is most likely to be the case, then such funds should be recovered and the perpetrators punished..3-day Working Week Policy: Okorocha scraps annual leave - Vanguard
Aug 4, 2016 - 3-day Working Week Policy: Okorocha scraps annual leave. On August 4 .... Rochas Okorocha can destroy Owerri to ground zero. Owerri will
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--Okechukwu Ukaga, MBA, PhD
Executive Director, Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development PartnershipExtension Professor, University of Minnesota ExtensionAdjunct Professor, Geography Department, University of Minnesota - Duluth114 Chester Park, 31 W. College Street, Duluth, MN 55812Website: www.rsdp.umn.edu Phone: 218-341-6029Book Review Editor, Environment, Development and Sustainability (www.springer.com/10668),
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." - Richard Buckminster Fuller
Okechukwu Ukaga
3-day Working Week Policy: Okorocha scraps annual leave - Vanguard
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Segun Ogungbemi
Sent from my iPhone
K. Gozie Ifesinachukwu
If based on productivity as a measure for remuneration, Nigerian workers (especially the public workers) are the highest paid workforce in the world. And off course, we already know that Nigeria National Legislators are the highest paid in the world with the equivalent of $1.4B/year if the actual $4M/year is measured relative to respective GDP of Nigeria and USA. Nigerian National legislator pay scale is destroying Nigeria and there are very few within the National Congress with conscience to object to such outrageous pay. Former governors and legislators, get to keep houses built by public money that they lived in while serving, and extra-ordinary “pension” for serving the “people” even after the hefty pays while in office. I see the legal pay for these legislators and governors as “official” corruption. A typical American federal legislator makes approximately 3 times the average income of average American, while a Nigeria legislator makes more than 2000 times the average Nigerian. If this outsized pay for Nigeria legislators and governors is not official corruption, I am not sure what corruption should be. With the “honorable” legislators, governors, former governors and former legislators as “good” examples, why should the ASUU or any other government worker not seek to get more pay for less work? Heck, 3day work week for the same salary may not be good enough to get to the example set by the “honorable” legislators. Nigeria is not serious. Very frustrating.
Gozie
From: usaafric...@googlegroups.com [mailto:usaafric...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Okechukwu Ukaga
Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2016 11:29 AM
To: usaafric...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Can this be true?
Prof,
See link below ..... 4 days is too much! Rochas is planning a 3 days work week (not 4 days). He wants workers to use the other days to farm or trade so they can take care of their needs as the government is currently unwilling/unable to pay workers salaries. (What do you expect when most of the current political leaders in the country are certified con men?. I do not blame the corrupt politicians. They people I blame are the intellectuals (including some on this list) who keep telling us that all is well. No, the situation is horrible at the federal, state and local government levels. We have mostly crooks and jokers in power across various political parties. No party is clean in this regard. And until/unless the people stop making excuses for corrupt and/or in-effective leaders, there will never be a positive change in the country, regardless of which party is in power. That is why I appreciate honest contributions from folks like Faroog and Moses, and others even though they get "heckled" for being critical. As a Buhari supporter, my major disappointment with Buhari so far is that all of these are still happening under his watch. I honestly expected things to change. Perhaps, I was being unrealistic. Perhaps, I underestimated the ability of a corrupt system and (those it benefits) to render ineffective even someone like Buhari of which much (perhaps too much) was expected. Nevertheless, I still feel he has not done all he can and should do to deal with corruption in the land. For instance, if I was the president, I would encourage the EFCC to investigate the fiances of any state government/governor that is unable to pay workers, pensioners, and contractors, etc as nothing can a more obvious sign of mismanagement and corruption than that. If it turns out that that all is well that is fine. But if on the other hand it turns out that money that could and should have used to pay government bills have been illegally diverted into public pockets, is is most likely to be the case, then such funds should be recovered and the perpetrators punished.
.
3-day Working Week Policy: Okorocha scraps annual leave - Vanguard
Aug 4, 2016 - 3-day Working Week Policy: Okorocha scraps annual leave. On August 4 .... Rochas Okorocha can destroy Owerri to ground zero. Owerri will
On Thu, Aug 18, 2016 at 10:45 AM, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
Can someone please confirm that a state in Nigeria, Benue, has decided to have a 4-day working week, saying that state workers should use Friday and weekend to farm?
And that Governor Okorocha is planning the same?
I want to think that the information is not correct.
If it is correct, how do we convince “power” that productivity is key to economic development?
TF
Toyin Falola
Department of History
The University of Texas at Austin
104 Inner Campus Drive
Austin, TX 78712-0220
USA
512 475 7222 (fax)
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Okechukwu Ukaga, MBA, PhD
Executive Director, Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership
Extension Professor, University of Minnesota Extension
Adjunct Professor, Geography Department, University of Minnesota - Duluth
114 Chester Park, 31 W. College Street, Duluth, MN 55812
Website: www.rsdp.umn.edu Phone: 218-341-6029
Book Review Editor, Environment, Development and Sustainability (www.springer.com/10668),
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." - Richard Buckminster Fuller
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Ibukunolu A Babajide
Dear Prof.,
The civil servants do nothing. They will be more productive on their farms.
The alternative is mass retrenchment in the public service which is worse than the current policy.
Cheers.
IBK
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Toyin Falola
Reply-To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, August 19, 2016 at 4:01 AM
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Can this be true?
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Mobolaji Aluko
Toyin Falola
Reply-To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Date: Friday, August 19, 2016 at 6:13 AM
To: dialogue <USAAfric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Can this be true?
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Michael Afolayan
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Toyin Falola
Soni Oyekan
Providing necessary security to protect its natural assets of its people, land, oil and gas,and other mineral resources, would lead to the overwhelming need to develop and maintain strong active military forces similar in time to what Israel has established to protects its national assets and land. Nigeria is blessed with fertile land and the country should have a multi-prong attack for re-vitalizing its economy. The country needs electric power to drive agriculture, industrial plants and homes. It needs to effect massive re-direction of Nigerians to the agricultural sector while also utilizing Nigeria's oil and gas for national consumption and for generating much needed foreign revenues. We could also learn from China as they are now poised to gain substantially and continue as a global economic power from major massive agricultural other economic initiatives that they placed in motion decades ago.
President
Prafis Energy Solutions
Mobile: 985-287-2837
Sonio...@gmail.com
Michael Afolayan
Akin Alao
Guest User
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During the recently concluded Fulbright orientation in DC., I listened to previous Fellows who were invited to narrate their experiences in order to educate others about things to watch out for in their respective African host countries. The goal of the exercise is to help the newbies learn how to make positive experiences and return alive.
Of course, no narrative about the continent will occur without Nigeria featuring prominently. The young European American lady who was stationed in Lagos recounted several negative experiences she had in Nigeria. Ranging from bribes by the police, soldiers with guns, and even by nurses in highly rated hospitals that lacked services. The stories are familiar and they are not the point of this posting.
Three of us Nigerians listened shame-faced as “she flogged our pains repeatedly with her words”. There was Abiodun, a big bald headed man. As soon as the lady finished her gory tales, Abiodun raised her hands in objection. Not recognized, he flared up to those of us sitting next to him. “This is not the purpose of the Fulbright. I have been to 73 countries and there is none without any negative story. There is no justification whatsoever to tarnish the image of another country,” he continued, very angrily.
Then there was Bella, a young Nigerian who works for the American Embassy in Nigeria. She was at the orientation to represent the US Embassy and to assure Fellows of the services, that she, on behalf of the American Embassy will provide for them in Nigeria. She said politely, “if you don’t like the narrative, then change it. People have the right to tell their experience as long as they are not lying.”
That was not all. In the afternoon session, people were posing practical questions pertaining to eventual donations to their host universities. A scholar-artist who was previously at the University of Ife as a Fulbright scholar and now going back to Nigeria, this time, to the University of Ibadan, produced another shocker. According to this man, whose sculptures are still to be seen in Ife, he had donated to the department his many heavy equipment, including welding machines and industrial generator for the use of students. No sooner has he left than the department sold all his donations. What should he now do to prevent the same from happening at UI? I looked around, luckily, Abiodun was not in the room.
Yoruba people say: “Agidi o ran, ija o ran” (strong head no do am, katakata no fix am). Is narrating any of our many gory tales from, and experiences in, Nigeria at any time damaging to the country?
Augustine
Segun Ogungbemi
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Ibukunolu A Babajide
Dear Prof. Brother and Mentor,
Thank you sir. You just reminded me of a discussion I had with Prof. Adebayo Adedeji ex Fed Minister, ex USG United Nations world acclaimed orifessir if development economist.
He told me how he started life as a DO District Officer in the 50s in Ilaro my home town. One of his first duties was to take baton wielding police men to arrest his maternal uncle from Ijebu Ode who was a cocoa dealer but was not paying taxes to government.
Later after all back taxes were paid the uncle went to his mother in Ijebu dialect, "Ye Bayo nse ni omo re Bayo ko Olopa wa la kondo mo oruwo mi!" Bayo's mum your son Bayo brought police men to hit my head with their batons.
The civil service you describe here is no more. The civil service that Pa. Simeon Adebo in 1955 built from scratch to the awesome admiration of colonial civil servants who thought it was impossible is no more.
That Western Region civil service was so successful that it was used as the model for the civil service in British East Africa - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. They came to understand and understudy it and technocrats were sent to help them with setting up theirs too.
From 15 January 1966 the ignorant soldiers have consistently eroded the civil service and have turned it into a very corrupt unmeritotious over bloated institution.
The reality on the ground is that the current civil service both at the centre and in the states are over bloated inefficient and a drain on resources. The oil boom is gone and the huge subsidy that subsidises our inefficiencies and unproductive lives is no longer available.
The reality is mass retrenchment of the bloated civil service. The first step is identifying the ghost workers and prosecuting the humans collecting the salary of the ghosts and mass retrenchment.
The Benue and Imo experiment will soon be copied by the over 20 states of Nigeria that are not viable because they can not sustain themselves without federal allocation or are too indebted to pay salaries.
The Governors of states have looted the treasuries of states brazenly especially under the PDP.
It is pay back time and we must all brace ourselves for the consequences of many years of bad governance.
Abo mi re o!
.
Cheers.
IBK
Abubakar Momoh
Farooq A. Kperogi
School of Communication & Media
Kennesaw State University
Cell: (+1) 404-573-9697
Personal website: www.farooqkperogi.com
"The nice thing about pessimism is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised." G. F. Will
Moses Ebe Ochonu
YOUR SAY: FG wants N90 from your N1,000 airtime – will you give it?
Would you be willing to give the federal government N90 of your N1,000 airtime? An incoming tax policy may force you to!
The federal government is planning a nine percent tax on SMS, MMS, phone calls, and pay TV bills in Africa’s largest telecommunications market Nigeria.
Adebayo Shittu, minister of communications, had initially said the plan would fetch as much as N20 billion for the federal government on a monthly basis, translating to N240 billion in a year.
“I have been reliably informed that the projected earnings from this effort is over N20 billion every month, which is an attraction to the government for funding our budget deficits,” Shittu had said.
He however added that the “this government has a human face twined around its decisions,” stating that it would consider the masses before implementing such.
Just while we were brooding over this, the Communication Service Tax (CST Bill 2015) had passed first reading at the house of representatives, and may soon scale its second hurdle into becoming a law.
Although the law has been criticised in some quarters, the government is doing all it can to get out of a recession, which may include Nigerians’ N9 on every N100 recharge.
“Our appetite as a government to increase revenue makes this bill worthy of our consideration,” Shittu also stated.
The minister acknowledged that Nigeria had achieved only 10 percent broadband penetration, as against the 30 percent mark set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for 2018.
“If we are to catch up with lost ground and meet up with the expectations of the global community in the area of affordable broadband service, we have to incentivise the populace by helping to aid access to low cost data service subscription,” he said.
The minister said that the government would provide an enabling environment for the ICT and telecommunication sector to thrive through the enactment of relevant legislation.
Nike Akande, president of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, weighed in on the policy, saying government must balance revenue generation against friendly tax policy.
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have also expressed opposition.
But N20 billion per month is a lot for the federal government at such challenging time as this. Do you stand with the government or with opponents of the policy?
Let us hear you: