Africa We Care

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, erstwhile contender for the World Bank Presidency, the Minister of Finance for Nigeria, the Minister responsible for the Nigerian Economy, and by the same token, to all the ministers responsible for the bad governance of Nigeria, the only “data base” you must “have”, and do “have”, for that matter, “to know who are the poor and what level of income in Nigeria”, is this video clip, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw-aaFPLOdw&sns=em., courtesy of Aljazeera, depicting the lot and plight of the poor in Benin City, Nigeria. It goes without saying that this is a microcosm of the rest of Nigeria.

I am troubled and dismayed as I read this article here below. What a crock! What a crap! What an arrant nonsense! Under what rock did this ranting idiot craw out of? What non-oil sector” of the Nigerian economy is this lunatic talking about? From which planet did this ostrich emerge? 

Despite mounting poverty, government claims Nigerians’ living standards have
improved
11/04/2012 21:23:00 Sani Tukur
FEC meetings are usually contract bazaar sessions
The claim is in sharp contrast with the realities on the ground
The Goodluck Jonathan administration is confident the living standard of
Nigerians immensely improved between December last year and now, despite a
devastating fuel price hike that skyrocketed living cost, and sparked street
protest early this year.
Since increasing petrol price from N65 to N97 in January, prices of goods
and services have soared by as much as 50 per cent or more, leaving
Nigerians to pay more while their earnings remained largely the same.
Four months into the new price regime, analysts have said the country’s
poverty level has leapt forward while the gap between the poor and the rich
has widened.
But citing a report of the Islamic Development Bank on Wednesday, Minister
of state for finance, Haruna Ngama, said Nigeria’s economy was performing
superbly and had translated to improved conditions of living for the
population.
“The standard of living of the people in Nigeria has actually improved as a
result of the GDP growth rate,” the minister said after the weekly federal
executive council meeting in Abuja.
“As at December, 2011,” he added, “with our income per capita growing from
$1,200 to $1,400, this has actually moved us from low income country to
Middle Lower income country, as per World Bank classification
The IDB rating placed Nigeria as the third fastest economy in the world
ahead of China and Mongolia, with gross domestic products (GDP) growing at 7
68 per cent, 8.4 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively.
The rating had been tabled before the council meeting which President
Jonathan chaired, the minister said.
Mr. Ngama said the rating was a “significant development” as it does not
only show the growing investors’ confidence in Nigeria, but also indicative
of Nigeria being on track to achieving its Vision 20:2020 aspirations to
emerge as one of the world’s top 20 economies in the next eight years.
He also said in line with the projections of the IDB, the rating is even
truer against the background that the economies of most of the 56-member
countries competing with Nigeria are not moving at a faster rate, meaning
that Nigeria is soon to become the fastest growing economy in the world.
“Today in council, I presented a report on the presentation made at the 37th
annual general meeting of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB),” he told
reporters at the end of the meeting in Abuja. “The bank has 56-member
countries and at its annual general meeting, each country is expected to
present a report on the economic development in the country.
“The aim is to educate ourselves about what is happening in our countries.
“In the case of Nigeria, our report was actually the best. For the year, for
the quarter, which ended on 31st December, 2011, only about 46 countries
have actually submitted their data, and Nigeria was third in terms of GDP
growth. We recorded a GDP growth of 7.68 per cent in real terms, and this is
largely due to growth in the non-oil sector.
“The previous year 2010, the GDP growth was 8.4 per cent, but last year, it
dropped to 7.68 per cent, because we had a negative growth in the oil sector
So, it means that the non- oil sector is actually resilient and strong
enough to carry the economy forward with or without the oil sector.
“This actually placed us as the third fastest growing economy in the world,
the first being Mongolia with 14.9 per cent real growth rate, then China
with 8.4 per cent in real GDP growth rate, followed by Nigeria with 7.68 per
cent
“But the more important story out of it is that as a nation, we have our
vision 202020. We have the objective of having one of the world’s strongest
economy by the year 20:2020. All the other countries apart from China that
are ahead of Nigeria are growing at a slower rate than Nigeria. When those
ahead of us are growing slower, it means that in the next eight years, we
will achieve our objective of being one of the strongest economies in the
world.
“As at last December, our total GDP was more that N10trillion and that is a growth that is unprecedented despite our challenges.”

What a blabber mouthed fool!

The Interact Club at Jasper Place is a service club that offers students the opportunity to develop leadership skills and personal integrity, by demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others and advancing international understanding and goodwill.

This school year, our main initiative is directed at providing financial support for Water for Life (a project of Africa We Care — for more information, visit www.africawecare.org).

In order to raise funds and awareness, we are holding a banquet and silent auction at Jasper Place High School on April 12, 2012, with all proceeds to be directed toward the Water for Life initiative.

If you would like to support us in our event or would like more information about this worthy cause, please call 780-399-0383 or contact Miss Ritchie, the leadership coordinator at the school.

The attached documents contain further information:

INTERACT Banquet Letter

INTERACT Poster

Thank you for your support!