USA AVOIDS NIGERIA TO BUILD AIRFORCE BASE IN NIGER REPUBLIC

In a bid to get closer to the Boko haram ravaged Northern Nigeria, USA has budgeted  $50 Million for a new air base in Niger republic. This is money needed in Nigerian economy but going to Niger. Many Nigerians are now re examining the relationship between Nigeria and America. Not only did Barrack Obama avoid Nigeria for years but the decision to fight Boko Haram from Chad and Niger has shown lack of confidence in Nigeria. We recall that Buhari begged America to start buying crude oil again from Nigeria which was laughable because USA is in a position to sell their own oil today. Nigeria should work hard to put her acts together to win confidence of world powers and to survive. Areas of embarrassment include child health and education, rigging of elections, human rights, lack of merit, abuse of freedom, corrupt budgets, outrageous remuneration and many other areas. No wonder people are no longer interested in coming to invest in Nigeria .

PHILIPPINES PRESIDENT IDOLIZES ADOLF HITLER

The Philippines president Rodriguez Duterte has again made headlines for the wrong reason. He has likened the capital punishment meted on drug users and peddlers to Holocaust of Adolf Hitler and has promised to kill all of them in one big swoop if possible. This is the same Philippines where Islamic fundamentalists are claiming territory and threatening to form a caliphate and he has not stopped them. In some advanced countries drug users are treated as sick people, they are offered free syringes to avoid spread of disease and a sharp container is left in every bathroom for disposal of syringe. Mr. Duterte should realise that just the same way he thinks he is doing God's work by killing drug pushers, The terrorists in his territory are also thinking that they are doing God's work by fighting Jihad . Anybody who thinks he can solve all the problems of this world alone will soon become one of the major problems of the world.

DUE PROCESS ADVOCATE OR PERSECUTION INSURANCE

Desperate time they say, calls for desperate measures. A group of Nigerians both at home and in diaspora after observing the incessant intimidation, extra judicial killing and illegal detention of innocent Nigerians, have come together to float what they called due process advocate. You pay to become a member and whenever you are arrested by police illegally, they intervene on your behalf, publicize your incarceration, send a lawyer to help bail you and probably prevent maltreatment by police. This is the same police force that Vice president of Nigeria rated very high not long ago. This is a country claiming to practice democracy but any innocent person can be arrested and jailed for years without any recourse to law or government intervention. In my own assessment the due process advocate is doing a good job but that is something that can only arise in a malfunctioning environment. I believe Nigerian police should re-train and not become a terrorist against which Nigerians are now paying dues to be protected from. The proposed regional police should take off immediately let me see if a local police will maltreat their people the way the present police  maltreat Nigerians

AIRLINES REJECT NIGERIA'S NAIRA AS LEGAL TENDER

Emirate airlines have join other airlines plying the Nigerian air space to ask for payment of airfare in United States dollars rather than Naira. In fact pay with any other currency rather than Naira. This is not unrelated to the unpredictable exchange rate of Naira in the parallel exchange market. These airlines are operating with aeroplanes on lease and lease is paid in dollars. Therefore it makes sense that they should collect their fare in dollars. Another reason is that they lost a lot of money when they found it hard to purchase dollars from the government of Nigeria at the beginning of this present administration. This is a sensitive issue because other Nigerians who have their wealth stored in Naira are also losing value of their wealth that are hard earned. To make matters worse the government is now charging higher taxes on dollars sent to Nigeria from abroad. Nobody wants to send money anymore especially through Western Union. Some Nigerians now trade by bata in which case they give a fellow Nigerian abroad the dollar they want to send home and the person gives them Naira that is already in Nigeria and there is no need to send any money. I think free flow of dollars should be encouraged. Any Nigerian that wants to sell goods in dollars should be allowed until such a time we figure out how to arrest the steep decline in value of Naira. Otherwise, when importers sell in Naira and cannot buy dollars to replenish their stock due to the fall in value of naira, that will represent another job lost and another citizen in distress.

SAUDI ARABIA CUTS SALARY WHILE NIGERIANS PAD BUDGET

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia have the common problem of over dependence on crude oil for economic survival. Both countries are facing declining revenue, however whereas the population of Saudi Arabia is only a fraction of the population of Nigeria Saudi Arabia makes several times more money from crude oil sales than Nigeria. It has been demonstrated that Nigerian law makers and politicians are the best paid in the world. Meanwhile while Saudi is adjusting to reality, planning for post oil economy and cutting salary of ministers by 20%, Nigerian law makers are busy adding figures to budget for themselves, trying to sell all the remaining national assets and are still collecting huge amounts of money as security votes. It goes a long way to show that our leaders are not really appreciating the problem facing the country. We are still funding a big government with scarce resources. In any case Kudos to senator Ben Bruce who has suggested cutting of salary of politicians as a way of saving money. Whether the politicians will listen to him is another kettle of fish.