Solomon's Column

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde has declared that Nigeria does not need its loan to give good health to the sickly economy. Rather, Lagarde recommended belt tightening measures to restore vibrancy and life to the economy. Lagarde also urges the Federal Government to be flexible in its foreign exchange policy. Indeed, the debt relief granted Nigeria by the Paris club during the tenure of former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, could be said to be the biggest debt write off for sub-Saharan Africa. $18 billion of debt written off. The Paris club agreed to write off Nigeria’s debt without an IMF economic programme. Of course, the country would not forget in a hurry, the harrowing experiences it had with the implementation of an IMF programme in the past, this is just as an idea of a national consensus for intensive reforms required to transform the ailing economy could not be woven around an IMF programme. The Nati

During the reign of President Milosevic of Old Yugoslavia, independent journalists were labelled traitors and foreign spies. Several; journalists were killed, put in jail or convicted in the law court. That particular period of Old Yugoslavia’s history, a clique ruled the country. Milosevic ensured that Serbs became the biggest pariah of the international community. The President also ensured that Serbs were guilty of everything, even as 23 per cent of Serbs were sent packing from their homes. Monthly salaries did not exceed $3. Indeed, the Judicial system was not independent and not strong enough to ensure justice for the citizenry. This resulted in Milosevic’s trial for war crimes outside his country. Sadly, the international community did not have confidence in the local courts. Situations like this abound in several countries around the world, still grappling with the hydra like problems of dwindling economic fortunes and corruption. In this countries, the un

                                                                                                                                                 Trade Richard and John Lander discovered  the direction  River Niger flowed. Both men explored the river for the purpose of enabling European traders reach out to Nigerians residing in remote parts of Nigeria. Before the Lander brothers' discovery, Europeans restricted trading to those residing near the coast. At this period, local Chiefs played a prominent role in trading activities. The Chiefs exchanged their goods, slaves inclusive, for those the Europeans had, after which they sold these goods to their own people at exorbitant prices. Then Europeans were unable to get to the remote parts of Nigeria, as a result of the personal interests of the Chiefs, which place them at the centre of economic activities. Although Britain passed a law in 1807, against  slave trade, Portugal continued this practice, with the support of some f

Travelers now spend almost the entire journey engaging in prayers for God’s protection while traveling in commercial vehicles and trucks along the Lagos\Ibadan expressway.They pray fervently not to be involved in  ghastly motor accidents that  have now characterized the expressway,among other tales of woe. Bashed vehicles,blood stains and personal belongings of accident victims littering the road,are now sign posts of the daily tragedy that occurs along the road. Not long ago,three occupants of a sleek new model black Honda Accord car with Lagos registration number had a collision with a truck.The car somersaulted several times before coming to a halt,while a middle aged man,clad in brown native attire survived the accident with serious bruises,the other two occupants,a lady and another man died instantly. On the same day,at another spot along the road,some hundreds of meters to Ogere,a town along the expressway,two towing trucks made spirited efforts to

The daily lives of Nigerians are woven around the various tribes and ethnic groups in the country.  Where an individual comes from, largely determines his or her fate on several issues bothering on social, political and  economic prospects. People of the same tribe have, overtime, established unions that would cater for their interests, wherever they find themselves, outside of  their home communities. These unions are functional in all the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.  Such unions have for long, embarked on developmental programmes, which originally is the responsibility of the Government. Sadly, Government has failed to live up to the expectations of the people, who are increasingly embarking on self help initiatives, through these unions. Most Nigerians attribute their difficulties in life to the tribal consciousness in all facets of National life. In an attempt to ensure equity, Government established the Federal Character Com