Comments on naijablog: Patterns..

More on Pat Utomi... on YouTube..http://www.youtub...

2007-01-08T16:30:00.000+01:00

More on Pat Utomi... on YouTube..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j518-GI4CSw

He needs our support.

Does anyone even remember that the Amina Lawal cas...

2006-12-24T04:09:00.000+01:00

Does anyone even remember that the Amina Lawal case (the woman a Sharia Court sentenced to death by stoning)which provoked so much outrage,especially in the west,occured in Katsina State-under Yar'Adua's watch and as an outcome of HIS sharia policy in the state? What was his response to the entire episode? What does it say about Yar'Adua's orientation? Would he have allowed the stoning to go ahead? Did he have any opinion on the entire episode? Did he express any? Unfortunately, the Nigerian "voters" will not get a chance to drill him on these issues-they have little say in this pre-determined selection process. This politically and socially reclusive individual who's shown little or no interest in issues outside his immediate domain and who cannot be quoted on any single issue suddenly wants to preside over the affairs of this complex construct called Nigeria? Everyone appears to be mindlessly parroting the PDP's Mantra that Yar'Adua's Katsina state has a reserve of 6 billion Naira or so(Less than $45 million). What exactly does it take to achieve that? Options are i.a natural frugal disposition (which Shagari also shared by the way) that's projected as State policy or ii)simply a lack of ideas! I see no reason why a state as backward as Katsina should save up all that money. His choice of a running mate leaves me less confident. We can only wait and see but I need someone to answer the Sharia questions in the meantime

I wish us all luck...

I also disagree that privatisation of institutions...

2006-12-23T16:03:00.000+01:00

I also disagree that privatisation of institutions is a bad idea. This is an issue grappled with all over the world and even the US and UK cannot find ways of making their public education systems work as more and more people turn to private schools for answers.

Jeremy,Interesting attempt at a long range predict...

2006-12-18T21:33:00.000+01:00

Jeremy,

Interesting attempt at a long range prediction. My comments:

1. Political reform. Not much will change here - power will continue to be concentrated in the centre, with very few states making any attempt to establish financial independence.

But don't make the mistake of thinking that Yar'Adua is Shagari Mark II. Yes, they are both reluctant candidates from the North - but whereas Shagari had limited political experience, Yar'Adua has at least managed a state for eight years. Also, he is reputed to be very much his own man - so I'm not sure how willing he will be to be teleguided by the party hierarchy. We'll see.

2. Economic reform. Yar'Adua may continue with the more obvious reforms started by Obasanjo, but I'm not sure that he really 'gets' the reform message. Oh well, who knows? After all, Obasanjo used to be a statist in an earlier incarnation. At the very least, he has no reason to sack the technocrats who have been behind the reforms up to date.

I think that the EFCC will still be around - perhaps it will be more vigorous, given Yar'Adua's reputation for financial transparency. On the other hand, since his candidacy has been bankrolled by many of the people who the EFCC should be prosecuting, I think it will stick to catching lesser fry, and the likes of Babangida can rest easy for a while.

The other stuff you mention - a credit bureau, e-payments will definitely happen in the next two to three years.

3. Infrastructure. I'm not sure whether the rail infrastructure projects being promised will yield much - I guess I've heard it all before. I agree that the power situation will change - the NERC has already commenced the groundwork that is needed before private companies start operation - but it will be slooooow.

I don't share your pessimism regarding IT infrastructure, because this is something that depends less on government and more on private sector initiatives. The only thing to sort out is regulating access to the SAT-3 gateway that hooks up Nigeria to the rest of the world via cable.

4. Education. Unfortunately, I think that you're right, and that the impact of education is simply not immediate enough for the government to give it the attention it needs. I don't agree with you that privatising institutions of learning is a bad idea, but that's another discussion for another day.