It all comes down to numbers and the balance sheets. Portsmouth is in the championship and will be there for some time but hey they won the FA cup in the past 3 years.

Wenger is a magician and a genius considering his policy and how he has integrated a business model that even Chelsea and Man City acknowledge is the way forward. One thing you can't argue is that the team is definitely not on a downward spiral. A club like Chelsea can't always depend on Roman cos at some point its not sustainable for them, they put themselves in a tight corner and would have to at least qualify for Champs league every season or risk huge losses adding to an already negative balance sheets. This is the fear behind signing Torres and Luiz even with bad losses.

Trophies? Yeah, they will come with this policy and added cash, the world is not ending so it will come. Remember Arsenal pays better wages for youth talents and that means loyalty to club and Arsene. My only concern is how does Arsenal replace Wenger? He is indeed special.

As per him calling on muslims to vote their fellows, if I had a penny for everytime I have heard "vote for christians only" in church, I would be a multi millionaire by now and that includes the catholic church.

Ileke-IdI:

Mr or Mrs. Iyabo

For this quote, Ileke you are really mean

I admire Ralph Uwazurike for his courage and prison visits, however its good for him to understand that the strategy for what he believes has to change. He is a pacifist but most of the hawks around him are violent minded. Nothing much can be achieved with that strategy. Well good luck to the struggle, I would donate to any cause that helps the society.

On a serious note, I have never heard of any homeless past President anywhere in the world

Nsiman:

Stop fooling urselves, stipens to ex rulers was just given a nod recently by NASS, where do buhari get earnings/income for consumption and campaign b4 NASS gave the nod? Some say from charity-meaning buhari is among the almajiris, others say from campaign appeal fund but i haven't heard him organise any fund raising in all his 4 time campaigns.

I doubt it, I think they always get something by being members of the Council of State. Its a common practice until he dies. Maybe NA asked it to be increased or reviewed. But again there is Military gratuity which is not as disorganized as civilian pension scheme. And for a Major General,it should feed him.

With this two, we will never understand the national budget broadcast

cold:

Stipends: A stipend is a form of salary, such as for an internship or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from a wage or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work performed, instead it represents a payment that enables somebody to be exempt partly or wholly from waged or salaried employment in order to undertake a role that is normally unpaid (, or voluntary, or which cannot be measured in terms of a task

You seriously need to brush up on your knowledge.A little education is a dangerous thing

Are we dealing with semantics now? . He does nothing except being a past HOS. I think you answered it with that definition, thanks!

cold:

I have yet to hear of a Buhari presidential campaign donation fund.If you have,pray tell

Well now you know, EVERY ex- presidents receive stipends from the government. Say thank you for the new knowledge.

GEJ and Anti-Buhari peeps, it would be easier to make your points on policies and not raise Buhari's integrity issue. Its simple, what you looking for is not there. The fact that we don't even know his children or wife speaks for itself. At least we know Madam Patience and where GEJ kids go to school

@Kobo even as a kid, as some point in my life I was tear-gased , that don't make me a hero but at least am a participant

Again you need leadership and fate timing for this things to happen in full scale, I doubt this is the first time protests have been made against Mubarak but the rest be it a coup or uprising did not elicit as much emotion as it has done today. Part of it technology, youths and of course people have had enough.

For Nigeria, during IBB or Abacha, when you start hearing or seeing headlines like "Don't hit up the polity", its a sign. I don't believe IBB thought he would live when he did or OBJ dropped third term cos of family emergencies. Like someone mentioned yesterday, we don't protest we riot!

We are not jealous of Egypt, its just that our struggles are different.

I actually feel its a dishonor to those who have lost their lives while protesting or rioting in Nigeria, for people to come here and say things like"Nigerians love life too much", am like are you a 2 yr old or what?
Even Egyptians and Tunisians woke up late to chase out this old folks, good thing is they woke up. Even OBJs third term agenda did not work or IBBs dream to contest elections, thanks to public outrage.

At the end it all comes down to holding government accountable, that struggle is continuous and its not over.

Why are people blaming the interviewee, I think the journalist is the incompetent one here. Don't they verify news stories any more?

That with unity of purpose one can achieve results. When the Christians chose to protect the Moslem's last Friday as they prayed, I was touched that Nigeria can learn that at the end what affects one (hunger, bad roads, corruption) affects all.

It's not bragging if you can back it up~Muhammad Ali

The anonymity of the web makes people lose all sense of manners. And even if you feel you need to make your point, know your rights for free speech and have a lawyer. I doubt this person has any.

No matter the tears, I believe the Governor should resign, he has not shown leadership and people are dying

Just so you don't know he runs a church, it deals with people
He was a convener of the SNG, try organizing a cancer walk and see how many people you can gather.


You have a right to support GEJ but don't just focus on individuals, use policies to make your arguments.

Just last year, a member of our Board, an amazing woman, Obiageli Ezekwesili called up a bank MD and said, look man, you have to support this, I have known them for five years, I have seen the numbers, I have seen the passionate young people they lead, support them. And he said, “Oh the young people are not our demographic”. So she asked “So who is your demographic – the aging, the geriatric?” Such irony, such disconnect, such a paradox.

This project – this event – is a gift of love, of passion. It comes from blood and the hardest of work. This project is not even where the income comes from. That comes from our business arm, our PR business, our management consulting, our project management, the magazines we edit for companies, our online media businesses. Any thing but The Future Awards… some of you here think we make millions from it?

Let me tell you… for all our Town Hall Meetings across Nigeria – visiting Abia, Benin, Yola, Ile-Ife, South Africa, the UK to listen to the issues and aspirations of Nigerian youths etc – we were not able to get even up to half of our budget and subsequently ran at a great loss just because we are determined to make this happen. The amount we received for sponsorship is not up to the amount some of you spend on “Omugwo”. The only way we are able to do this is because partners like Cool FM, Wazobia FM, Miccom, Yvent Kouture, Dtalkshop, Total Consult, Silverbid Tremor Perfect, MAI clothing, Saheeto, La Bash, Mass Media Partners and others you can see in the brochure say “yes you guys have no sponsorship but this is a national project and it’s changing lives, it cannot die” – and they join their hands together and tell us “We will give you sound, we will give you stage, we will give you this and that – premium high quality, you don’t have to pay, and here we are.

It shows you the kind of generation that we belong to. Some of us, even in this crisis of nationhood, still want to do things for legacy, for posterity, for history. Not because we are so special, but because we saw what our parents did with our country and we don’t like it. And we declare… ‘we cannot continue like this!’

It’s not about government. It’s a general collapse in values. Our problems are not hard we just refuse to engage them. We refuse to join hands and repair the road where you drive your jeep in Banana Island. It’s not hard. To give a couple of millions that you spend on random parties to mentors the children of the Dustbin Estate, it’s not hard. To come to us, beyond words – beyond “oh you’re doing so well, oh I’m so proud of you guys, oh I am so impressed” – to saying, which of your projects can I fund, how many of your young people can I support, how many award winners can I structure sustainable investment for… it’s not hard.  Is not hard to say one percent of my budget, as a company, will go to practically enriching the lives of young people. No, it’s not. Enough of lip service. Put your money where your mouth is.

Ladies and gentlemen, our country is not yet a great one. That’s the truth. How can you be great if your young people are so disillusioned, so angry, so tired? This nation can be great, it has its moments of greatness, but lets call this spade a spade; it is not yet even near greatness. And If we don’t acknowledge how urgent this problem is, Egypt and Tunisia are just a few hours away.

The good news is: Our revolution does not have to be bloody if we all combine the clinking of champagne glasses with the rolling up of our sleeves. Find a way to get involved. Stop sitting in your house and complaining – do something, put your hands on the plough, add your quota. If you don’t know how to do your part then ask the many people doing real work, making real impact, adding real value, who actually understand the issues, understand the youths, and own that future. Ask us. There is no longer any excuse. It is no longer cool to be disinterested.

All of us must work together and take active steps to safeguard this future in the NOW! We have no choice. We have no choice.

God bless Nigeria.

http://www.cp-africa.com/2011/01/31/excuses-save-nigeria-chude-jideonwo/

Being an Address by Chude Jideonwo, Managing Director of RedSTRAT/The Future Project at The Future Awards 2011, 30 January 2011, Lagos.

Sometimes Nigeria can confound and frustrate you. Just a few weeks ago, at a meeting our organization facilitated for the Presidency to engage them on the issues that affect young people nationwide, someone said: “people have no faith in themselves, people are pessimistic – that’s why our country is the way it is.” And I smiled.

I smiled because I used to think like that too. I was 13 when I wrote my first book, “In my father’s knickers” and the first publisher I sent it to published it, no issues whatsoever. So when I heard people complaining about the “system” not working, I wondered what on earth they were talking about, it had worked for me. Little did I know I was an exception to the disheartening general rule. Many years later I have learnt not to be so quick to judge.

So when I hear statements like that made, statements like “our country is the way it is because people are lazy and pessimistic”, It is enough to make you cry – this utter cluelessness that can sometimes pass for engagement or problem solving, not just by government, but by the generality of the people who have the task or the duty to ensure that our country is set upon that clichéd right track.

No, people are not pessimistic, people are realistic. And the reality is that our country is essentially… falling apart.

People are suffering . People are producing garri in the east and the South-South but have no one to sell it to because the transportation system has collapsed, textile and other industries are shutting down in the North, parents who earn N25000 to N30000 are expected to pay school fees of up to N250000. There is an overpowering sense of powerlessness, of hopelessness. And if anybody is saying anything different to President Jonathan and all of government, then they are lying.

Did you hear the first speaker, Aisha? People are homeless, people are jobless. People cannot afford meals, people live under the bridges – boys of 8, 7, 5. The guys that clean your windscreens, the girls you see still carrying bread and hawking it from 12pm to 1am. Suffering. Poverty. They are the generality and there are millions of them. And they are mad as hell.  Let’s not even talk about Jos, or the Niger Delta. These are the people who wonder – “how do you bring back the book for people who never had books in the first place?”

It is this frustration that led me to gather friends, associates, partners and youths – on my 25th birthday last year – to say EnoughisEnough, When we got to the National Assembly and had the senators running through back gates and we raised our voices saying “we are not activists, we are young professionals who want to tell you how we feel” , and that is “this is not the country we want!” It wasn’t just about whether President Yar’Adua was missing or that the promised 60000 megawatts was nowhere to be found, it was because we had had enough. The people on the other side are not listening! And they have to. Government,captains of industry, funding and international organisations engaged in this project called Nigeria, those who should facilitate the work of change.

Let me speak candidly. Because it is in the middle of these kinds of crisis that the governments of the Niger Delta seem to have come together and decided that the solution for this problem is to organize a Miss Niger Delta competition.

These are the people we go to meet to support our work to reach young people with skills, with knowledge, to build their capacity. We don’t want contracts, we have plans – proven to work – to train young people, we want to bring mentors for them, we want to bring this award to your state, this conference, let these young people meet the kinds of mentors that can change their lives.

Many are making effort and we are grateful. I thank you Access Bank, I thank you, I thank you Virgin Atlantic, I thank the Office of the Delta State Governor, I thank you MTN, I thank you Miccom Golf Resorts, I thank you HiTV, but it is not enough. If this country collapses, there will be no banks, there will be no telecoms companies, no Twitter, no Facebook. No clubs, no bowling alleys. No asoebis, no weddings. Look at Tunisia and Egypt, those tall buildings are tumbling down and tumbling fast.

And no, it’s not a role for government alone. We cannot be getting funding from international organizations like the World Bank, Omidyar Network, MacArthur Foundation and others and all our own organizations want to focus on are reality shows and concerts, pageants and raves. They say that is what young people want. Are you kidding me? On the 29th of January, we had more than 2000 youths at our pre-awards conference, same as last year. We go outside Lagos for our Town Hall Meetings to engage the youth nationally on entrepreneurship, value creation and governance and people are standing like it’s a crusade. On Facebook, on Twitter, thousands of followers. This hall ,full. Are they not youths? We have a database of thousands of volunteers – we cannot even accommodate all – begging to do something, to be part of something serious and impactful; so be part of projects like ours, or those of organisations like Rise Networks, LightUpNigeria, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, BLING – just to mention a few – firms that have gained such credibility and influence and a tremendous following of young people. Why do Marketing Managers, Marketing Directors, MDs think that creatively and intelligently engaging these young people is a waste of time and money?

I ask when I see them: why is it so difficult to find the budget to support our trainings for young people in entrepreneurship, creativity – our Young Writers Network, our The Future Enterprise Support Scheme, our Do Something Seminars, but so easy to have money out for… you know these things.

Well, yeah I thought that was obvious since he is running on Yar'adua ticket but again we never know.

Again, is it just me or am I seeing the word "diaspora" every where since Bianca was appointed?

jumobi1:

Don't we have police? Military is over-involved in internal security matters.

Well a police man started the whole drama, and it took the IG of Abuja to stop the situation. This happens quite often, trigger happy policeman always showing themselves but today was a bad day at the office

And people come here to say Nigerians don't protest like Egypt and Tunisia as if that is the issue.

When angry mobs burn down a bank, that there is hard core protest
When they lynch a petty thief, they are protesting at governments inability to secure them
When irrespective of a curfew, people still come out to fight their neighbors, that is a message to the government

etc
The question is, what is the government doing?

See pictures http://www.saharareporters.com/news-page/angry-mob-set-zenith-bank-abalze-over-police-shooting

If this are all the atrocities then he is an Islamic saint.  

Ermm how much did he steal/loot from Nigeria? Lets get those figures. Looting and corruption is the most atrocious act in this country. It deprives our kids a better education, healthcare and security

We will never know because we can't see the future. The most important thing is at 82 yrs old, Mubarak needs to go. Its just that simple!

Interestingly, BB is a good combination, its all left to you and I to vote. GEJ would not be having a laugh.

I really think Obiagu1 is from Fang, Gabon  

If we are relocating then lets relocate to Saint Kitts and Nevis, I hear there is a good Igbo descendant population there plus uts a beautiful location, not Gabon with all the African mosquito

Obiagu1:

Great ideas come from visionary leaders which I am.
The type Nigeria will hate to have as leaders and remain underdeveloped forever.

In this times, eve Raph Uwazurike is changing strategy by encouraging folks to register for 2011 elections

http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2011/jan/29/national-29-01-2011-0019.htm

What is visionary about relocating your people to a French speaking country?
Chei! the anonymity that the internet provides gives room for too much comedy

@OP

I guess thats why we have Bianca Ojukwu, GEJ needs her to organize the diaspora Nigerians.

Relocate to Gabon? How do people come up with ideas like this in this century? smh

jason123:

Chai!!! .

@ topic and Ezeuche
Its really not that serious. The presidency is just for bragging rights, thats all. How does it affect the average man from the president's ethic group? The answer is, it does not.Do not worry!!!

Yeah I agree with you, there is the thinking that with Presidency comes the bread but thats not true at least with the current state of Nigeria. I just believe rather than wait for the bread, the elders and people can do much more to harness our resources for development

He is strategising to run for President someday