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Showing posts from May, 2022

National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP): Nigeria's Quest and Setbacks in becoming a Vehicle Manufacturing Hub

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In July 2015, the automotive industry in Nigeria witnessed an epoch event. It was the reopening of the Volkswagen car assembly plant after 20 long years! The plant located along the Badagry expressway received a new lease of life through a partnership agreement between the German car manufacturer and the Stallion group, a private auto company. According to the Chairman of the company, Sunil Vaswani, the plant had already started the assembling of trucks, buses, pick-ups, and passenger vehicles. IVM G5 by Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Co. Ltd. For many observers, this was the result of the National automotive industry development plan announced in 2014. The policy aims to encourage local manufacturing of vehicles by local and foreign manufacturers and also seeks to reduce the importation of used cars into the country. The policy, which embodies the country's hope to become Africa's auto manufacturing hub, has not been without setbacks. In September 2019, the Minister of Industry...

The Nigerian Electorate and 2023: Maintaining the Status Quo or Seeking Good Governance?

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  With the 2023 elections barely one year away, this is a very busy time for politicians with different declarations, consultations and alignment all over the country. Like the biblical maxim which states that a day is like a thousand years before God and a thousand years like a day, every politician knows one year to election day is not a long time at all, and at the same time, nothing is certain till it's all over. The Nigerian electorate is not left in the euphoria of the current climate. All over social media and in different places, Nigerians are eagerly analyzing the chances of different political parties and politicians who have declared, and even those suspected of nursing different ambitions. As usual, the presidential elections take center stage. Everyone is eager to know who may steer the ship of the country in the next four years, moreso with the different challenges facing the country. The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has seen peculiar times, and based ...

Nigerians Don't Resign

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We just don't! Maybe it's because they say we are a resilient bunch, so we've taken resigning to mean giving up, admitting guilt. So no matter the scandal, whether in public or religious life, resigning is not our portion. We must fight every evil propaganda against us to the end....even when we may be guilty. Yes, even if we were guilty!  Never give them a chance to get you. Keep a straight face and talk about how you are too committed to your job to care about what your detractors are saying. Sprinkle one or two mediocre achievements and claim these achievements are what riles up your enemies They are just haters. No attention should be paid to them. And if this does not cut it, deflect attention. Don't just leave it at general "detractors". Mention one or two names and accuse them of being behind your current travails.  It does not matter if there is any connection between them and what you are being accused of. After all they are enemies, and e...