Comments by "" (@orboakin8074) on "Nigeria, After America || Peter Zeihan" video.

Thanks for your take on my country. Very objective and correct. Our sociopolitical and economic situation is, as you described, tenuous but relatively stable. Our politics is democratic but riddled with corruption but also much more stable compared to several of our neighbors. Oil is the economic lichpin here but we have been desperately working to move away from sole dependence on it and have been making many economic reforms. Today, services and finance tend to bring more to our economy, with agriculture also growing. We need to do more. Plus, we recently removed our oil subsidy that was a drain on our economy.
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7:04 Thanks for this point. Many people assume we don't have good relations or ties with the west or Europe here but that is far from true. We have some of the best geopolitical and economic ties with the UK, Germany, USA (we buy billions in military equipment from them) and France (oir army frequently runs drills with France to combat terrorists and pirates) on trade and security. Also, while Nigeria may trade a lot with China, we are not a strong Chinese ally, as many assume. They rejected us for BRICS membership (mainly due to our stronger western ties) and when the USA and other G20 members offered us a more solid membership, we gladly took it. We are actually more aligned with the west than many people realize. We have stronger diplomatic, military and economic ties with the west. Heck! We also have a long-standing relationship with India. China is an major economic partner for us but not a strong geopolitical one.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously friend, if you want a country run by oligarchs, maybe relocate to Russia, Ukraine, or North Korea😞 We have corruption in Nigeria but to call us an oligarchs is just nonsense.
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@Rowlph8888 friend, America and much of Europe outsourced and offshore their manufacturing to China. Does that make them beholden to China? Japan also trades heavily with China. Are they beholden to China? Yes, during our former president, buhari's, time, my country borrowed a lot of money from China for infrastructure and general loans but that's just it. He needed cheaper loans for his legacy projects, many of which failed and just indebted us. That being said, we really aren't a Chinese ally; just a trading partner. Also, there is no real threat of China seizing our infrastructure like they did to Sri Lanka. This is cause our economy can actually service those debts, but at huge cost. At the end, we are more aligned with the west due to geography, history, economic and some sociocultural ties.
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@TheNightMan00 oh, thanks for sharing and glad you have such a positive opinion of us☺️ Also, you absolutely right. Our country is technically a federal democratic republic but true federalism has yet to be established yet but this is something we are getting close to achieving. Thankfully, a national identity and language has been more established with time and secularism is becoming more ingrained in our public affairs and institutions. Federalism is the likely next step. It is slow but much better once we get it.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously friend, same thing could be said for most places on earth. Heck! One party has consistently won democratic elections in Japan post WW2🤣 In any society, the elites, especially political ones, get more consolidated over time. Yes, this gets stagnant but also leads to more stability. It also leads to genuine but slow change improving society compared to radical change from authoritarianism. Also, I am Edo and no member of my tribe has ever held Presidential or VP power. Why don't I, or others in my state, feel underrepresented? Because that's democracy. The ones who have means and clout to become political elites get it but they still need my vote to win. We do have democracy here, friend. It's not perfect but that is the case for most of the world. It's also better than whatever they have in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Eritrea etc
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Many thanks. Honestly, what we mainly need are to fix our insecurity problem and electricity problem. Once these two are done, even corruption will be manageable. One thing my dad always told me as a kid was that Africa's problem is not corruption, but that our corruption doesn't work like that in modern developed countries. I.e. it cannibalizeds economic growth and development here.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously yeah, I can understand. Honestly, my personal view of Igbo political positioning in Nigeria is that while individual Igbos thrive here in political positions and economically as a group with your entrepreneurship skills, you guys need to do more collaboration to gain more political weight, like getting the presidency. Obi came close but his big mistake was abandoning the only established party he was in that had the clout and resources to help him win. He also unintentionally made his campaign more tribalist than nationalist. What makes the south west and north east (APC) win is that they have this collaboration, despite all the growing hardships and resentment they face. I hear many people say Obi should have been offered the ticket by PDP but he simply didn't have the clout to win on his own, especially in the North and South west, and he needed Atiku. Same with Tinubu. He only won because he supported Buhari and worked his way in APC. Obi should have done the same. This is how politics is played, with collaboration and compromise and some waiting. As it stands, Obi has popularity but Atiku is the only real opposition now.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously on a final note, you are also right that simply focusing on Presidential election is not what will help us. We need to focus on state and local elections more. The senators and governors are the ones who directly affect us.
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@sanjosemike3137 I fully agree. Believe me, the scam artists are a plague on our own country as well.
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@AnAn___ oh, I am very optimistic about it. Honestly, India's path to economic growth and development is geopolitical strength is what I, and quite a few others here, feel we need to emulate in Nigeria. China is mainly a trading partner for us but India looks to be a geopolitical ally for us.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously well said. Being in the middle has really helped India. We absolutely should adopt this. I, especially, admire how India manages to stay united nationally despite so much cultural and religious diversity.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously I see your point but the issue is that this kind of leadership of one ruler in charge for a long time only works for homogeneous places and it doesn't last, especially since it depends on the sole ruler instead of systems and institutions. I also agree that hot pocket leaders are frustrating since, as you point out, a new party or leader can simply undo all the progress. We learned that in Nigeria when PDP lost in 2015 and buhari and APC spent almost a decade undoing everything positive they did. Despite all this, it is still proven that democracy (even flawed ones) work better than anything else because, though slow, they lead to better institutions and systems for a country. Compare Botswana and Zimbabwe for instance. Even Ghadaffi that you mention was undone by this. He did some good things but he also oppressed a sizeable portion of his country and this led to rebellions and unrest that ultimately toppled him, with NATO's help. Also, the way I see to prevent the hotpocket leader issue is with stronger political parties with focused agendas and principles. After Obasanjo served his two terms and did a fantastic job improving Nigeria after military misrule, Yar'Adua took over and continued to improve/stabilize things despite his religious and tribal difference. This was because he actually believed in PDP's principles and in the democratic and economic system of our fourth Republic. Same thing continued with GEJ.
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@endyephraim1864 Oh, you think PDP did nothing for Nigeria?🤣 Tell me, which party was it that reduced and paid off our huge debt after military misrule? Which party/government was it that liberalized and privatized our economy and led to job creation and improved standard of living? Which party/government was it that reduced inflation and cost of living? Which party was it that brought huge foreign investments and companies to Nigeria via better economic policies and management? Which party was it that made our country the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest developing ones in the early 2000s? Please, tell me. Maybe in your eyes PDP did nothing but, in that case, were you asleep since 2000 to 2015? Compare their 18 years to APC's less than 10 years and tell me which was better for our country. I know PDP is flawed but even you can't deny how competent they were, and still are. Thank goodness we still have PDP in my state of Edo and they are doing things right here.
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@AnAn___ well said!
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@mr.takethingstooseriously honestly, it is really not as difficult as we think. India achieved their federal and democratic system mainly for a few reasons: They had the sociocultural and political foundation laid by the British during colonialism, same as we have. They even had previous instances of ethnic tensions and schisms like the Sikh-Hindu clashes similarly to our own civil war but due to the aforementioned sociocultural foundations, they worked to reestablish national unity rather than expunge the side that lost, same thing in our civil war happened. They also had a growing economy and increasingly young nationalist population that identifies more with India than their individual tribes. Finally, there is inertia and conscious effort to keep India united. The elites and populace there are to dependent on the economic security and political stability that a unified India brings and most want to maintain this. They might be problems but not enough to undermine the nation. They will simply work to improve their issues by necessity. This is the same that we also see in Nigeria. We already have a growing national identity and language. Many of our institutions, like the military, are becoming secular and avoiding divisive agendas. I mean, it is forbidden to classify our military as Muslim, Christian, or tribal. It is Nigerian. Most of us want to maintain our union, especially the elites. Even the secessionists in the North, South, West, East etc, don't have much weight anymore and most of us depend on the economic security and political stability Nigeria affords us.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously agreed with you there. The future I see for Nigeria and Africa is that there will be a lot of upheavals and some nations might either merge or dissolve but more democracy will be established and there will be more regional powers in various sphere of the continent and their growing influence will help stabilize their regions. These will mainly be in the coastal areas here like Kenya and Ethiopia for east Africa. Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory coast for west Africa. We will also see more bi-lateral diplomacy and deals with the west for industry, tech and manufacturing due to our cheaper labor, young demographics, proximity to Europe, and increasingly educated population. Basically, I see us following the same path that Mexico and India followed to development.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously oh, I forgot to add this bit: A huge factor in our development in Nigeria and parts of Africa will be our expat populations living/working abroad. Their remittance payments already play a huge role in funding businesses here but as time goes, they will also impart their know-how, wealth, and intellect to develop economies here. This was also how China, India, Mexico, and even Taiwan became developed.
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@mr.takethingstooseriously well, friend, I can't argue with that. Nigeria's success is indeed Africa's success. Also, the thing about democracy is that it is very malleable and can be modified in various ways but it tends to maintain some core aspects. Democracy in France, after their revolution and Napoleon, was and is still unitary i.e majority rule while in America, it is Republic democracy (the kind of democracy we are trying to establish here) which is not the kind of democracy that was in the west for a long time. Britain still has Parliamentary democracy. So, western democracy is not one simple thing and democracy can be applied to any place, not just the west. That is why when Botswana gained independence, they kept democracy and other things from Britain mainly because their culture had similar systems like consensus building, chiefs being elected, property rights etc. Democracy can, and has, worked in Africa because it can adapt and change easily.
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@israeliseoluwa6704 Oh, I know Nigeria is a serious mess now. The inflation, insecurity, power grid issues, food supply etc. But I am still optimistic mainly because I remember how things were during the 90s with military rule. It was equally as bad, if not worse. Well, all that changed when we became a democracy again in 99 and from then, our economy rapidly changed and improved because of competent leadership in PDP. So, there is good reason and precedent for my optimism.
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@stevenwilliams3015 Friend, how exactly am I lying? I know that APC's policies are negatively affecting us but how does that disprove anything in my comments? our GDP is still very high. Our economic prospects are also one of the better ones in Africa. This inflationary period will pass too. Also, please don't act as if I am responsible. I voted for PDP (the only party with a history of improving Nigeria) and my state is Edo, governed by PDP, where improvements are happening with infrastructure, education, and job creation. SO please, try and understand my perspective. I know things are bad, but I also know they have been much worse and once we get sensible federal government (PDP) back, our economy will be fixed.
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@emmanuelaliji3497 friend, kudos to you. You just summed up part of the reason for my optimism for Nigeria. These policies, as you state, are good and sound but came at the wrong time. Removing the subsidy was good cause our economy can't afford to pay for it anymore but it came at the wrong time and that is why I keep hating APC. In 2012, GEJ of PDP tried to remove the subsidy when our economy was strong but they stopped him. Then buhari overspent and indebted us. Now we are dealing with consequences. Things will get better but much harder before then.
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@adewalem5474 I can understand and sympathize but to say Nigeria will never get better is strange. You are older than me so you remember what this country was like under military dictatorship until 99, correct? Did things not improve after we returned to democracy and PDP liberalized our economy? Did our debt, inflation, cost of living not drop? Did our economy not become the largest in Africa and a fast developing one? Did our middle class not grow? Things have gotten better but what we need is good political leadership, which APC will never provide.
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@adewalem5474 oh, just one more thing. During the global recession of 2007/8, did we have serious hardships in Nigeria like many other developing countries? Or was our economy stable under PDP? Now, before and during COVID, how did our economy perform under APC?
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@barba928 many thanks
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@endyephraim1864 🤣🤣Omo, tribalist man! I didn't vote for any of the people you mentioned. I voted and have always voted for PDP. I voted Atiku but he sadly didn't win. Unlike you folks, I still support the only party with a history of improving Nigeria.
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@Babaonana556 Dangote has his issues and is trying to establish himself as a monopoly but he is no oligarch, especially since there are other competitors in his industry here. By that logic, Bill Gates is an oligarch too, right?
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@redeyed33333 um, we did apply for BRICS membership this year, friend.
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@redeyed33333 oh, wait. My mistake you are correct. The only real source that states my country was looking for membership was South Africa's foreign minister, Nalendi Pandora, who stayed that we were interested in membership but so far, only she has said this. After reading more, it turns out that while we were not invited officially to join during their 2023 conference in Johannesburg, we also were not actively seeking membership that year.
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@tadeajao3344 India once penetrated Nigeria? Interesting....When did this happen? we have had diplomacy and ties with India but not as much as we are currently having with them. So how did they penetrate us, as you claim? Also, yes, India has similar problems to us but also has a vastly larger economy, better management of resources, better infrastructure development (they literally have better electricity production despite not having much petroleum like us) and they are also global leaders in pharmaceuticals, IT, and light industry/manufacturing. Why wouldn't we want to have closer ties with them for our own development? Indian manufacturing may not be as cheap as China but it is more reliable. And on a final point, strange how you think India always takes over businesses in Africa when they are many examples of china operating illegal farms, mining operations, or smuggling resources out of Africa and even engaging with war lords and slavers here. Why are you not talking about this? Has India done any of this here? And you winder why our country wants more deals with them🤔🤔
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@uche-nx4tk um, that sentence makes no sense. What is " aliened with evil history" supposed to mean? Do you mean aligned?
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@blessedone4754 thank you, friend. It is truly baffling how our African politicians can be so foolish. America, Japan, Europe and elsewhere have corruption but they still provide for their citizens and ensure infrastructure and economy are well maintained. Here, it is the opposite.
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@jeffersonhassan4558 okay, how exactly? Can you provide any counters? Or are you just going to insult like a troll?
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@jeffersonhassan4558 did you not read my original comment or any of my replies where I acknowledged this? Of course I know we have high inflation, cost of living and unemployment. I know our economy has not been well since 2015 when APC took over and ruined things but you do also know that our GDP and economic forecast are among the best in Africa, right? Plus, as terrible as the effects of Tinubu's reforms are, the improvements they will bring down the line are undeniable. Also, here's a simple fact: A country's economic hardship doesn't mean they are not doing well. America, Canada, China, Brazil, etc all are facing high levels of inflation, cost of living, and unemployment but I doubt you are going to call them failed economies.
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@stevenwilliams3015 I will not deny that Nigeria is currently worse under APC but I doubt even you would prefer to go back to before PDP😂 I suppose you think Nigeria u der military rule was better? Look, scream all you want but you have not offered any counter. Am I wrong about our GDP increasing under PDP? Did inflation, cost of living, and debt not reduce? Hate PDP all you want but even you can't deny how better they managed Nigeria compared to APC or the military.
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