KnowAll:


3. Build large cooperative stores that would sell groceries at rock bottom price. That means government would buy fruit and vegetables from farmers and subsidies them. Including meat rice& fish.

budaatum:


In order to subsidise to feed you, government will buy cheap from farmers, who will then find it unprofitable to plant food so food gets imported at inflated prices.

Trust me. You are worth far more than 30k a month or you at least ought to be.

Blue3k:
Let's just become communist already. Forget the wages they can decide what we eat, where we live, where we work and how many kids we have. The state has proven to be good at running schools, the electrical grid and other industries like oil refineries. Revolution now comrades.

KnowAll:


Not communist but a welfarist state like Sweden and co.

budaatum:


In order to subsidise to feed you, government will buy cheap from farmers, who will then find it unprofitable to plant food so food gets imported at inflated prices.

Trust me. You are worth far more than 30k a month or you at least ought to be.

KnowAll:


There is what is called deflation. When prices starts tumbling downwards. Look if we look inwards produce what we eat, build our little houses with our own products and have free transport. Naira would not only gain value the 30,000 Naira of today may actually fall to the equivalent of $1,000.00

KnowAll:


They buy it at market rate from farmers. Farmers are not losing. The government would now subsidise it or even deduct N5000.00 from your pay for you use the cooperatives.

KnowAll:
point.

There is nothing communist about 2 of his suggestions. The one about groceries is unlikely to be practicable.

But the Groceries suggestion is what Lagos state is trying to do but needs a little tweeking to get it right.

budaatum:


Government will not buy at market rate, but will instead set the market rate, which will be much lower than is profitable for the farmer who might not have an alternative market.

A smart farmer would of course not sell to the government and export to Timbuktu instead where prices are much better. And government will have to import to feed you which will inflate the cost of food and deflate the value of the Naira.

The end point would be that after government deducts administration fee and bribe for purchasing from particular farmers (who would not be your small farmers but large industrial farmers), the food you get for N5000.00 would be worth less than N2000.00.

DeLaRue:


I understand, but to do it nationwide in a way that brings it within the reach of majority of the population is near impossible. The bureaucracy needed to get it going across the country and maintain it will be the equivalent of running a national census or elections on a daily basis. The paper work involved will be crippling. The inevitable corruption that will bedevil it will ultimately break it.

KnowAll:



Do know the farmers that feeds the whole of South Africa and Namibia are not more 30.

KnowAll:


They buy it at market rate from farmers. Farmers are not losing. The government would now subsidise it or even deduct N5000.00 from your pay for you use the cooperatives.

ivandragon:
Hmm...

The socio-economic damage bubu and bulaba have done to this country would be so difficult to reverse.

The country had entered into a very bad corner which would be very difficult to get out from.

The fact is a minimum wage above N70k would be a struggle to pay for majority of small & medium businesses.

What government needs to urgently do is to bring about stability first in the economy, then introduce measures to bring down prices of goods & services. Tackle corruption... hmm...

Then ensure income is tied to productivity (work) which in turn must be tied to taxes. The way some people spend money is ridiculous but it is because they easily dodge taxes and no one questions thier source of income.

Unfortunately we have a government that prioritises White elephant projects, propaganda & sycophants over genuine socio-economic development.

DrTee1:


I agree with you to a large extent - but I'm afraid you may not be considering the political side of state.

To win most elections in Nigeria as of today, you have to splurge i.e dash money, fritter resources, be seen as a "spender" etc. All these reduce the possibility of being frugal in administration and strategic in development.

To recoup the money ahead of the next elections or to retain your party in office after you, all colours of big animal projects are entertained as Special Purpose Vehicles.

I wouldn't blame the Presidents or Governors ALONE. We, the people, must also partake in the blame. There are no short cuts. The reorientation must start from the grassroots, ourselves. We must realise that our current style of politicking wouldn't help our country. If would incapacitate anybody who wins elections - regardless of intention.

A country where we celebrate people for Federal appointments. What that tells is that we think such person now has access to the fabled 'national cake', isn't it? And we want our country to work. How?

We have to change the way we think, as a people.
We have to prioritise education: not the miracle centres we bandy everywhere but our graduates cannot pass IELTS.

I wouldn't excuse the President(s), but the problems are more than a single persone who is President.

KnowAll:
1. Free transport to work

2. Subsidised homes. Like the ones built by shagari in the 80’s . Little one two & 3 bedroom houses. They would pay N5000.00 per month

3. Build large cooperative stores that would sell groceries at rock bottom price. That means government would buy fruit and vegetables from farmers and subsidies them. Including meat rice& fish.


It can be done. There would be know reasons to increase wages which would eventually lead to a runaway inflation. The 650,000 labour is asking for would lead to runaway inflation just like in Zimbabwe.

ivandragon:


If the president can unilaterally make pronouncements that impoverish the people, then a sincere leader can do same in the opposite direction.

Though I agree that it is a vicious circle because the society breeds the politicians and the politicians run the society, so its basically garbage in, garbage out. Our sociopolitical culture and values are at its lowest ebb in decades.

But some people have to break that mold or else the country is doomed.

Blue3k:
Let's just become communist already. Forget the wages they can decide what we eat, where we live, where we work and how many kids we have. The state has proven to be good at running schools, the electrical grid and other industries like oil refineries. Revolution now comrades.

DrTee1:


Thank you very much, Brother/Sister.

The big question is: how do those "mold-breakers" get into power?

Let's not talk about anything undemocratic. As far as I know, democracy breeds the best form of participatory governance and I am entirely against anything that suggests otherwise.

So in such depraved society as this, the originating question persists: how do the change agents get into power?

Mind you, it is not getting into power at the Federal level like Obi's style o? No. They have to get into power across board i.e 50+1% of elective offices all over the country in order to have the democratic number required to make the changes necessary in public administration.

Mind you, the Industrialised Countries of the world are really uninterested in Nigeria and Southern Hemispheric countries economic independence and sustainability. The IMF and WTO, for example, are institutions to maintain the global economic imbalance. There are already great challenges in Europe and America over the Chinese and Russian economic might.

They are never going to be interested in such in Africa, and would in turn influence our capacity to think by giving our corrupt leaders free money that is in turn multiplied by the exchange rate - which would help them win every election conducted in this 'line up at polling booth' style. That's where people can easily, or readily 'buy' votes.

I'm unimpressed by the noise in the media: all the three major parties essentially rigged or suppressed/incapacitated opposition votes in their areas of strength.

So we must dig deep to bring ourselves out of our political and socio-economic quagmire. I think that educating the people is one of the important tools to achieve that.

I thank you for your positive contributions this morning.

KnowAll:


There is what is called deflation. When prices starts tumbling downwards. Look if we look inwards produce what we eat, build our little houses with our own products and have free transport. Naira would not only gain value the 30,000 Naira of today may actually fall to the equivalent of $1,000.00

ivandragon:
Everyday, we hear about our massive natural resources, yet we don't know those who exploit them. Today they say foreigners, tomorrow they say bandits... yet, no one is arrested and prosecuted.

KnowAll:
1. Free transport to work

2. Subsidised homes. Like the ones built by shagari in the 80’s . Little one two & 3 bedroom houses. They would pay N5000.00 per month

3. Build large cooperative stores that would sell groceries at rock bottom price. That means government would buy fruit and vegetables from farmers and subsidies them. Including meat rice& fish.


It can be done. There would be know reasons to increase wages which would eventually lead to a runaway inflation. The 650,000 labour is asking for would lead to runaway inflation just like in Zimbabwe.

ivandragon:


How to get out of the quagmire is to get the generality of the population to push in the same direction and hold leaders at all levels to account (easier said than done though).

I don't really subscribe to the East-West debate about the East being less explotative than the west. Any industrialised nation would always seek to do what's best for its own economy. In fact, our own politicians are far more explotative than any foreign government.

Nigeria has failed to follow tried and trusted patterns of transitioning from a traditional society to a developed one because we place more value on parochial affiliations than productivity and I say this down to intra state levels. We have very narrow outlooks on issues.

We are trying to modernise without evolving our traditions, perceptions and values. It can't work. Even China, as traditional as it is, has had to evolve itself to become what it is today.

Everyday, we hear about our massive natural resources, yet we don't know those who exploit them. Today they say foreigners, tomorrow they say bandits... yet, no one is arrested and prosecuted.

Also, there is need to review our electoral system. There is a proposal some of us have been trying to sell, but of course, a lot of resistance to it. It would make elections performance based and is unlike any other electoral system in the world. Hopefully one day, it would come to fruition.