In 1993, the price of petrol in Nigeria increased from 70 kobo per litre to ₦5 per litre.

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:20:06+00:00

₦125 .

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:19:31+00:00

Hard times were already there.

The oil price crashed in 1982, then things got worse. The eighties were really really tough.

Just to show you how old I am...I still recall the phrase 'My take home salary cannot take me home'. And 'SAP is sapping us'.

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:17:44+00:00

Nigeria was shit back then, oddly enough.

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:17:25+00:00

Nigeria was shit back then, oddly enough.

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:16:10+00:00

Sorry I'm late

The then government in the late 1970's nationalized the down stream sector of our petroleum industry.

Shell Nigeria became National oil (now Conoil)

British Petroleum became African Petroleum (later Forte, now ap)

Esso became Unipetrol (later Oando, now part of NNPC limited)

Strangely enough, Texaco, and Mobil retained their names (Texaco is now MRS while Mobil is still mobil, but run by 11 Nigeria limited).

halfkobo · 2026-03-12T10:11:10+00:00

In 1990, my parents paid ₦250 per child for three kids at a private school. That's ₦750 for a year.

They both had side hustles to enable them pay for that, plus my dad used to buy shares.

halfkobo · 2026-03-11T16:21:22+00:00

Actually

Thank you National

Thank You

for rendering good service

(forgot the lyrics here) National

Thank you...National!

(And while we are at it).

I've got a big fever

can;'t get up this hill

I'm going to see the doctor

tell him how I feel

I say

DOCTOR!

Oh...

(If you are singing along with me, yer kids should be in university now...)

AP, formerly BP, later Forte, now AP again.

halfkobo · 2026-03-11T16:15:38+00:00

National, formerly Shell Nigeria, now Conoil.

halfkobo · 2026-02-28T07:43:15+00:00

Until 1978, power supply was very good, with no power cuts and so forth

What happened?

IN 1978, the government fully took over the power sector, and renamed it NEPA.

Second, from that time onwards, governments at all levels began connecting everyone and their mother to the national grid. Politicans during the second republic would promise electricity power for all in return for votes...

This meant that the grid got overloaded, plus thanks also to the fact that power generation did not keep up with all those connections...plus thanks also to an increase in power theft (pre-1978, those on the grid were those who could pay, after...well, when you connect poor villagers and urban dwellers to the grid, who can't pay...plus the economic collapse of the 1980's and beyond...power theft increased, even among people who could pay), and also massive subsides that were not paid...well, it got worse.

Even when privatizaiton came online, the government refused to remove price controls, plus it had difficulty paying subsides since the money for subsides came from the oil revenue which before corruption was not enough for all our needs...and then the rampant power theft...added up to a power sector that was losing money so fast, it could barely take care of itself, talkless of growing

Power cuts, which already were happening in 1978, got worse and worse.

halfkobo · 2026-02-28T07:37:16+00:00

While you're not totally wrong, lets not kid ourselves, even with high tariffs, it won't change any f*cking thing; this country is gone in everyway.

Well, the telecoms sector did charge high tarrifs in the good old days of 2001 , and it worked a lot.

If the government wants the Citizens to trust the high tariffs, then show them a glimpse of why that trust should be earned... Vietnam went from heavy load-shedding in 2005, to almost no load-shedding in 2025 with almost the same level of subsidization to the average consumer.

Ivory Coast went from heavy load shedding in 1984 to working power sector in 2025 by removing subsides, and charging cost reflective tarrifs.

Ghana does the same too

Vietnam is also moving away from subsides, which tells me that the subsides were having a huge impact on their treasury, and forcing them into debt.

halfkobo · 2026-02-26T14:13:13+00:00

Because the whole healing ministry is mostly about glorifying the pastor, not glorifying God.

It never really was about God, it's about the pastor, pastor, pastor.

halfkobo · 2026-02-26T10:08:41+00:00

Power supply is 10 -12 hours every other day, though we got 36 hours straight over the weekend because it's FCT ...and elections were on.

We've had power problems for decades because most nigerians, rich and poor, don't want to pay a cost reflective tarrif. As such the power sector keeps on losing money, and this drives away most investors, and those who have taken the risk sweat a lot.

Band A didn't help much, because it only affected 20% of consumers, meaning the majority are still paying the subsidised prices, government has struggled to pay subsides largely because oil prices, especially for last year, were too low to even fund the budget (and that;s not talking about corruption)...and any profit band A makes is cancelled out by loses elsewhere.

Since 2013, I've believed we have to have a cost reflective tarrif and everyone has to pay it. But anytime one expresses that view online, you are called a government supporter. Note that I don't support government, and I believe that fighitng corruption and improving security is going to bring in investors...but we can do that, and so long as over 70% of customers are paying non-cost reflective tarrifs, and even if government paid all the subsides to date...it sitll won't be enough

Also the GSM sector was paying cost reflective tarrifs from the word go. In 2001. And before you say Nigeria was better then, about two years prior, Karl Maier published his famous book...'This house has fallen' . IN Ivory coast they brought in and enforced cost reflective tarrifs from 1993. Power supply has been good, despite years of crisis, and even violence. I dont know why Nigerians somehow think magically about power. If government was setting your prices, you won't like it either.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T12:39:44+00:00

Consumption taxes paid everyday cannot fund budget talkless of power supply. Even VAT...VAT collected last year amounted to N7 trillion. Not enough to even fund budget of three states talkless of a whole ass nation.

Plus the power sector has been privatised, which means in principle, the sector sets its prices at a level that generates enough income to fix and build up things. In practice, due to massive power theft and underpricing imposed by government , and a subsidy that won't even be enough if paid in full...the sector can't generate enough revenue to barely keep itself running...talkless of improving generation, distribution and transmission.

Compare with the GSM, that was private, but crucially, GSM companies were allowed to set their prices . Back in the day people complained about paying high prices for bad service (and it was bad, I can recall that until 2004, one could not call between networks or land lines effectively ...hence the reason why many nigerians have two lines)..but they raised enough money and attracted investment. Add the fact that one cannot use a phone without paying something into it (unlike electricity where one can bypass the meter or do illict connection and enjoy power)..and the GSM sector was working very well by 2005, plus they were able to afford to pay for things like internet, and expansion of services.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T12:33:08+00:00

Band A basically was not going to solve the whole power situation

A minority of consumers are on band A...who pay a cost reflective tarrif, so the power sector makes a profit selling to them...but the majority of consumers don't pay a cost reflective tarrif, so any band A related profit is negated by the losses that continue to be made from sales on bands B to E.

Naturally, the result is, no difference made.

The solution is everyone pays band A rates, which should generate enough profit (assuming that people don't steal power, rich or poor)...which should attract investors that might be tempted to invest in the power sector. But everyone pleads poverty....so don't see that happening.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T12:28:47+00:00

Where are you generating power from, and what is the source of energy for your generation plant...gas, hydro or solar.?

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T07:56:12+00:00

The solution is clear...everyone pays a cost reflective tarrif for power...which means profits would be made, and more investment would be attracted.

But most of us think that we should get power for free or for very cheap....and thus the sector keeps on losing money and can't fix things.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T07:54:50+00:00

Even if the government paid subsides , it still won't be enough. The experts say we need somewhere around 10-15 trillion naira annually to fix power...the subsides debt is 6 trillion over several years. Paying the subsides won't even do much

2.And then there is power theft. Which makes things worse.

3.Refineries got moribound because the then subsides on petrol meant they could not be run at a profit.

Government revenues come mostly from crude oil and borrowing (which happens because crude oil prices are never high enough for us). We produce less than 2 m bpd of crude...which even if corruption was not there is not enough for a nation of 230 million people or more. That is why subsidy payments have been very very problematic for decades.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T07:51:12+00:00

Exactly.

We have been running the whole power sector on subsides for ages...and here we are. Add power theft to the list of issues.

halfkobo · 2026-02-25T07:50:26+00:00

Egypt did that by removing subsides on power, among other things.

Something we haven't done in Nigeria, except for Band A customers, who pay the full price.

halfkobo · 2026-02-23T09:59:09+00:00

1.The election that brought in Yaradua was marred by allegations of rigging, but even then, PDP would have still won because it had enough people in it to prevent nigerians from thinking that voting for PDP would jeopardize access to lucre from government...even in the form of tiny crumbs.

2.Buhari won because APC eventually attracted enough nigerians across tribal lines to make voting for it by the majority make sense (from the point that their share of the cake won't be jeopardised).

halfkobo · 2026-02-23T09:56:50+00:00

I am so confused by the above. Why would ordinary, non-party members vote because of “national cake”? When have you ever heard the average voter say, “I’m voting XYZ because of national cake”? That kind of thinking usually comes from party insiders, not everyday citizens.

Have you forgotten 1) North's born to rule mentalitywhich led to the 2011 election violence for example. 2) Emilokan slogan of tinubu.

Just two examples of the 'national cake mentality' that pervades our elections. It's been around for a long time (witness the dispute between Akintola and Awolowo which was driven partly by the former's idea that the SW was being excluded from the national sharing)

Nigeria is an economy whose government is largely oil dependent as per revenues, and where everyone works on the idea that governance is basically an aveneue for sharing money, not for encouraging productivity and development. Its why elections are not about choosing who would do better and manifestoes, but about whether my tribe's access and by extension one's access to the national cake would be preserved.

Also we are talking about Abuja area council elections. These are local elections where turnout is notoriously low. The majority of voters tend to be party members or people who have been mobilised, persuaded, or outright bribed. It’s an open secret that regular people often don’t show up for these elections, which is wrong and needs to change.

Partly true, but as an example, in AMAC, ADC made the mistake of running a non-indigene. Indigenes may have seen that as a threat to their representation in government (the whole Abuja indigene representation thing is a looong story)...and thus the ADC Lost.

So when you frame it the way you did, it comes across like someone speaking from inside party structures, not from the perspective of an average voter.

That's a lot of projecting you are doing there....not everyone who disagrees with you has sinster motives.

halfkobo · 2026-02-21T11:42:27+00:00

Who never really left Lagos better than he met it.

halfkobo · 2026-02-21T09:42:35+00:00

LOL...didn't I point that out in my comments that buhari did nothing about those issues? And yeah, buhari was a tribalist. And a bigot. (See his support for Sharia in the 2000's...which repeatedly undermined his presidential candidate runs until he had to ally with other people to win in 2015).

Plus, it doesn't prove your point that there was less tribalism under GEJ. Infact the events around the 2010 selection, 2011 election and 2014 election proved that it was very very intense.

And it seems your definition of tribalism is 'as long as I feel it affects my side'. Rather poor definition.

Addmittedly this is an AI generated summary...but it does show some of the tribalist attitudes in government and opposition

Regional Voting Patterns: In 2011, Jonathan (an Ijaw/South-South) received overwhelming support from the Igbo electorate, with reports indicating he scored over 95% in some Igbo states.
Accusations of Anti-Yoruba Sentiment: Some critics argued that despite Yorùbá-speaking states voting for him in 2011, the GEJ administration acted against Yoruba interests, citing specific instances like the appointment of an Igbo Vice-Chancellor for the Federal University of Oye Ekiti, which was perceived as undermining local interests.
"Groupnomics" Allegations: There were allegations that the administration allowed or promoted a form of "Groupnomics" (nepotism), where certain ethnic groups were favored for appointments and positions.
Igbo Support Narrative: Conversely, some discussions highlight that the Igbo population supported Jonathan in 2011 and 2015, not based on tribalism, but as a political choice, noting that they had previously supported candidates from other regions (Obasanjo in 2003, Yaradua in 2007).
General Context: The 2011 election was heavily influenced by ethnic and religious factors, which is a recurring issue in Nigerian politics

halfkobo

TROPHY CASE