50 Reasons Why Nigeria Should Celebrate Her 50th Birthday

This is the compilation of my Facebook status updates over the past 5 days.

1. Seven out of ten of her citizens live on less than N150 per day
2. otorcycles have become its major form of transportation.
3. Nigeria bagged the award for the highest mortality rate in the world.
4. Kidnap & Ransom business has expanded beyond the shores of the Niger Delta.
5. Almost every Nigerian has a diesel or petrol generator.
6. Kidnappers have been granted amnesty.
7. PHCN rules with the power of darkness
8. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.
9. IBB has returned to finish what he started.
10. Guiness book of records for the largest cake in the world.
11. It marks our freedom from colonial rule.
12. It is another public holiday.
13. Nigeria is the 2nd largest oil producer in Africa.
14. Stable petrol price of N65.
15. Our yahoo boys have gained vast international reputation.
16. Our house of assembly is vibrant & (physically) active.
17. Ribadu is back from exile.
18. Super Eagles participated in the last world cup.
19. Universities are no longer to charge for Post jamb.
20. The budget for independence day has been 'slashed' from N16bn to N6.6bn.
21. Police checkpoints have more than doubled nationwide.
22. Third term threat was averted.
23. 70% of students who cannot speak good English have been screened out by NECO.
24. The city of Ibadan is competing with God for the title of: Same Yesterday, Today and Forever.
25. NTA is Africa's first television station.
26. Ghana's economy has benefited from the migration of Nigerian companies to Ghana.
27. Railway service has been efficiently replaced by tankers/trailers.
28. Nollywood has become world's 2nd largest film industry.
29. Nigeria has d 10th largest proven reserves of oil in d world.
30. Senator Yerima marries a 13yr old Egyptian for 100000 dollars.
31. Gas flaring continues thereby providing d only source of light in Nigeria visible from the sky.
32. Bagged water is the mainstay of potable water
33. George Weah was born on October 1.
34. Nigeria is Africa's largest importer of rice.
35. The refineries have been repaired and are ready to operate.
36. Nigerian senators are d highest paid legislators in d world. ($1.7million compared to $17400 for US senators)
37. Traffic Wardens now stop cars and ask for drivers licence and vehicle particulars.
38. Jonathan has agreed to run for president.
39. 246336 people like Jonathan on Facebook.
40. The GSM networks in Nigeria are now 3G compliant.
41. Minimum wage has been increased from N7500 to N18000.(on paper)
42. The presidency is to acquire three new jets.
43. Dora Akunyili is the minister of information(no more importation of fake news).
44. Surgery can now be performed in the dark (in the absence of electricity).
45. You have no choice(the decision was already made for you).
46. The two-year ban on super eagles has been lifted.
47. The Roll Back Malaria initiative and mosquitoes have negotiated a truce.
48. There is internet connection to browse this page.
49. We are alive.
50. There is hope!

Happy Independence day!

On a serious note, I think this country needs prayers. We've grumbled enough (with little to show for it). I think it's high time we tried something else. Even if we cannot struggle for our rights, then let's pray for Nigeria. That's the least we can contribute. Once again, Happy Independence Day.

Ifeoluwapo Odedere is a young Nigerian Medical student who believes that Nigeria can change for the best if only we can stop complaining and come together take positive action.

To learn more about Ifeoluwapo, connect with him on Facebook or visit his blog page at: http://www.ifeodedere.wordpress.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ife_Odeder

I Chose Nigeria

Every country has people who immigrate for certain periods of time for various reasons such as expat assignments, experience the country and return home but in this episode, Mo speaks to those who decided to stay. She speaks to Felicia, an American who decided to come live in Nigeria with 5 children after she divorced her African-American husband.

Automobile Brakes: Slowing Your Way To Safety

Just imagine speeding down the highway in your Chevrolet Silverado. Just imagine the sun on your face and the wind on your hair. Just imagine the feeling of being one with your car and the road as well. Feels great, doesn’t it? This time, imagine trying to slow down your descent however finding out that your brakes do not work. Now that would be a great misfortune and possibly an expensive brake job.

An automobile’s brake system has been continually refined and redefined for over a century. Automobiles without brakes would not a great thing for drivers and passengers would be very much prone to accidents, collisions, and crashes. The modern automotive brakes system has now become extremely independent, dependable, indispensable, and very efficient. All these are due to the experiences of drivers and innovations of automobile experts.

The brake system of an automobile generally consists of disk brakes. They are mounted and installed in the front and rear ends of the automobile. The disk brakes, or also known as drum brakes, installed in the rear is connected by a system of tubes and hoses. These then link the brake at each wheel and connect them to the master cylinder. If a person looks more closely into an automobile’s brake system, he would be able to discover that there are other systems that are connected to this system. These other systems include the parking brakes, the power brake booster, and the anti-lock system.

If a person steps on the brake pedal what actually happens is that he is actually pushing against the plunger found in the master cylinder. By doing such action, it forces the hydraulic oil or brake fluid to go through a series of tubes and hoses to the braking unit at each wheel. The concept behind this is that hydraulic fluid, or any other kind of fluid, cannot be compressed. By pushing the fluid through the pipe, this produces the same action and reaction of like pushing a steel bar through a pipe.

However, the main difference between the hydraulic fluid and a steel bar is that the hydraulic fluid has the capacity to be directed through many twists and turns on its way to its destination while a steel bar has no capacity to do so. Upon going through its own maze, it arrives back to its original location and state so that it could be used once again. What is essential, though, is to keep the liquid free from air bubbles. If there are air bubbles in the liquid this actually slows down and reduces the vehicle’s braking system’s efficiency. If this actually happens, the entire braking system must undergo a bleeding where the air can be removed. Each wheel cylinder and caliper has “bleeder screws” that facilitate the release of any air in the fluid.

A great place to get any auto repair work carried out on your car is Dallas Auto Repair part of the larger RepairPal company. RepairPal gives you independent and unbiased repair estimates, userratings and reviews, plus advice you can't get anywhere else.

Nigeria, Are The Reforms Working?

Until roughly two years ago, the breakneck speed with which Nigeria’s banking industry and capital market were growing was nothing short of spectacular. Investors, domestic and foreign, scrambled to get a share in the golden-eggs-laying goose.

Full article: http://www.africasia.com/africanbanker/afbnk.php?ID=3032

Opportunities For The Business Savvy In Nigeria

However, infrastructure deficits, a lamentable security situation and inclement policies have combined to deter overseas companies from venturing into Africa's second largest economy. The installation of a democratically elected government in 1999 paved the way for radical reforms calculated to reverse this trend and boost both domestic and international investment in the country. For the business savvy though, Nigeria is a country teeming with business opportunity and potential.

According to TradeInvest Nigeria, a non-government agency that provides access to business opportunities in the country, the extent of its trade potential is unparalleled in the entire African continent. Lucrative investment opportunities exist across multiple sectors, including healthcare, tourism and leisure, agricultural and agro-processing, banking and infrastructure. The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission Decree of 1995 allows foreign companies unrestricted ownership of businesses except in the petroleum sector, where investment is limited to production-sharing or joint-venture arrangements.

The range of prospects that Nigeria holds out for global investors is significant, especially considering the nation's long-term goals of accelerated economic development and inclusive growth.

Health Care

One of the most profitable business opportunities Nigeria offers is in the healthcare services industry. TradeInvest Nigeria especially highlights the private-sector investment potential in secondary and tertiary healthcare services involving research, capacity building, health management and information technology, all of which are currently lacking. The industry offers the added benefit of serving a social cause, which is significantly relevant in a country with deplorable human development indices. In this context, Nigeria's economic capital Lagos, a city of 17 million people, is a veritable gold mine of unexplored dimensions.

For the business savvy, Lagos is as close to a dream investment destination as any in the continent. Home to some of Nigeria's richest and strategically located on the coast, it is serviced by a large seaport and international airport that offer easy access to the entire West African region. The Lagos state government is well aware of the city's business potential and offers investors attractive trade incentives and tax exemptions. Relative political stability over the last decade and progressive policies have resulted in a boom for private enterprises in Lagos, most of which operate outside the ambit of government regulation and as part of the informal economy. Together with the fact that Nigeria is home to 148 million people, according to revised World Bank estimates for 2009, the scope for profitable foreign investment in Lagos and elsewhere across the country are immense.

Information Technology Opportunities

One of Nigeria principal infrastructure lacking is in the field of communications and information technology, which contributes in large part to its underachieved economic potential. While the poor telecommunications network is a serious bar to business expansion and proliferation for local and foreign businesses alike, it is also a high-growth sector for potential investment by global players. A case in point is VOIX Networks Limited, a Nigerian IT and communications technology products and services provider that is looking to expand with the help of overseas investors.

The company's mission of creating a more connected Nigeria has translated to a wide variety of products and services, including prepaid calling cards, wireless internet and cellular telephony. Despite the large-scale success of its operations, VOIX has managed to achieve only a fraction of its full potential in the absence of private investment to bankroll its expansion plans. Considering Nigeria's ambitious plans to generate sustainable economic growth through industry-wide development, telecommunications comprise a potential boom sector for private investment with uncharted growth potential.

Solar Power

Nigeria's most fundamental infrastructure deficit is in the field of power generation. Earlier this year, the government announced it is looking to attract $100 billion in investments for the power sector over the next five years1. Power supply is erratic and insufficient in most areas across rural and urban Nigeria, forcing businesses to operate on generators and face security concerns during frequent outages. The Lagos state government is once against at the forefront of efforts to rope in overseas investment in solar-power generation by announcing attractive terms of operation. Because of its tropical climate and equatorial location, Nigeria has tremendous potential not only to meet but overshoot its current electricity requirements through solar power generation.

For a country that has historically depended almost exclusively on non-renewable resources for revenue, this marks a substantial shift in attitude. Nigeria's hot climate and wide plains make it the perfect location to achieve massive solar power generation. The added benefit comes by way of employment generation for hundreds of skilled and unskilled workers required for the construction and maintenance of such power plants. There is little doubt that solar power, potentially, is Nigeria's sunshine sector.

Others

From fertilisers to agricultural equipment leasing services, steel production to catfish farming, chemical supplies to waste recycling - Nigeria holds within its borders a virtual cornucopia of investment opportunities for global players. The country's tumultuous history and record of outdated policies are slowly but certainly being overcome in the spirit of economic reforms and deregulation. There are still clear and present dangers that thwart substantial foreign investment from landing on its shores, the most prominent emerging out of militancy and terrorism in the Niger Delta region and civilian unrest elsewhere. Trade barriers, an investor-unfriendly tax regime and large-scale bureaucratic and political corruption still present massive challenges to any sustained effort for inclusive growth. Abuja's ambitious 2020 plans, initiated by former president O Obsanjo to take the nation to the top twenty world economies by that year, are contingent on acquiring massive private sector investment.

The fate of Nigeria's economic and human development goals rests primarily on its ability to create an environment that sustains foreign investment in diverse sectors. The real test of savvy, from this point of view, applies as much to the Nigerian regime as it does to the investors it desperately seeks to attract.

By Peter Osalor FCCA, CTA Partner Peter Osalor and Co Chartered Certified Accountants and President Successinyourbusiness.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_O_Osalor

Parties Seek March/April Dates For 2011 Elections

Political parties backing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the request for more time for the election went a step further yesterday, asking the commission to consider shifting the January 2011 poll to March/April 2011.

Full article: http://allafrica.com/stories/201009220569.html

ExPat Tax Tips - The Death Of Foreign Earned Income Exclusions?

This article is from 2009 but will give any US readers an interesting read. On the other hand this may well have happened by now.

President Obama is tagging your Foreign Earned Income Exemption to help pay for huge federal budget deficits. He thinks to hide this motive behind recent White House announcements about U.S. companies, providing smokescreens such as: "I want to see our companies remain the most competitive in the world," and "...the way to make sure that happens is not to reward our companies for moving jobs off our shores or transferring profits to overseas tax havens."

The reality is that with tax gaps estimated in the $400 billion range, this administration is hard-pressed to come up with new sources of revenues to fill the deficit. It is estimated that offshore tax abuses cause the United States to lose approximately $100 billion each year in tax revenues. Recovering these funds represent a substantial portion of the annual U.S. tax gap, which is why President Obama has authorized an additional $128 million for the 2010 IRS budget, which includes the addition of 800 new IRS agents. Do not be fooled, they have declared war on YOU and are coming after YOUR money.

First, they are going after the companies you work for because they see companies operating abroad as a viable source of additional revenues. Currently, companies with overseas operations pay U.S. taxes only if they bring the profits back to the United States. They can defer paying U.S. taxes indefinitely if they keep the profits offshore. Obama's plan, which would take effect in 2011, cracks down on these loopholes so that companies would no longer be able to write off domestic expenses for generating profits abroad. It is estimated that this change alone would generate $210 billion in new taxes over the next 10 years, making a modest dent in the forecasted $1.8 trillion federal deficit. Rest assured, this administration will encourage any possible avenue to be able to bring these monies back into the U.S.

And, they are coming after YOU. The recently released IRS report on the 2006 tax year indicates that the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion might be another modest source for helping to fill the tax gap. In tax year 2006, about U.S. taxpayers living abroad reported approximately $36.7 billion in foreign-earned income and claimed nearly $18.4 billion in income exclusions. And that was three years ago. There are more Americans living and working abroad now than ever. Can't you just see the wheels turning in the minds of our government leaders? Removing the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion could add billions to U.S. tax coffers.

Perhaps you think they won't find YOU. The historic legal struggle that has cracked Switzerland's renowned reputation for banking secrecy is part of an on-going IRS quest to identify nearly 52,000 suspect offshore bank accounts. When the IRS increases their workforce by 800 new agents, they won't be hiring new college recruits. They have announced that they will be hiring the fancy attorneys and investment advisors that have helped hide those assets offshore. Now, multiply the number of suspected offshore accounts by the $10,000 or possibly $20,000 in allowable fines for non-reporting, and you come up with another modest number toward the filling of the U.S. tax gap. If you have been one of those 'tax evaders' thinking they can hide assets in offshore bank accounts, think again. The IRS is already searching for you, cracking the international bank privacy policies and gearing up to hire professionals to find you.

All of these items add up to making the American Expatriate look like a great big piggy bank to the current administration. While there will likely be a huge fight in Congress regarding closing the corporate loopholes, it is even more likely that the tax benefits associated with your Foreign Earned Income Exclusion will be taken from you. Fines for unreported bank accounts will soon become automatic bills. This means that for you, the individual American Expatriate, the stakes are high and getting higher if you seek to hide your income off-shore or evade paying U.S. taxes on that income.

What action do you need to take as an expatriate? Stay abreast of the latest information that develops about the foreign earned income exclusion. The best way to accomplish this is to work with a reputable advisor who will focus on keeping you out of the scrutiny of the IRS by keeping your activities well above board and within the law. Your advisor must be well-versed in the nuances of expatriate tax law, so check with your advisor about his/her expertise in this arena and be ensure you've chosen your advisor wisely.

Copyright (c) 2009 Nick Hodges

Nick Hodges, President of NCH Wealth Advisors, provides US expatriates with the best tools, strategies and planning techniques to help expats manage their tax and financial goals and dreams on a day-to-day basis regardless of their location. To claim your free gift, ExPat Life Portfolio Kit, visit his site at
=======> ExPatCFO.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Hodges