Why India matters

Two weeks from now, India will celebrate 68 years of independence from the British rule. Indeed, these are exciting times for India! Because for instance, even though very few economies were projected by the IMF to grow at rates above 6% this year, India was tipped to grow at 7.5%! The country is projected to beat China for the second year running as the fastest-growing economy in the world.

Okowa’s prospect of a Delta beyond oil

by Obodo Ejiro

“We still love James Ibori. He did a lot to help our people,” my father, a clergy man said to me, as he pointed to roads within the Warri metropolis constructed by the former Delta State governor, now incarcerated for fraud.

“As for Emmanuel Uduaghan, we are not so impressed. People all over Delta, from Agbor to Ugborikoko, are complaining. We don’t know where he is taking us,” he added.

Who moved our cheese?

by Obodo Ejiro

Decline in oil price (and subsequently, government budgets) often predates economic decline in Nigeria. Proposed states and federal budgets for 2015 confirmed this position earlier this year.

In 2014, 33 of Nigeria’s 36 states budgeted higher than what they spent in 2013. But in 2015, only 9 states had higher budgets compared to what they spent in 2014. (Twenty-seven states budgeted considerably less than what they spent in 2014 for 2015.)

While state budgets rose by 13% in 2014, they dropped by 5.3% in 2015. The federal budget for 2015 rose by only 4.3% over what was spent in 2014, which amounted to a considerable drop compared to the 2013/2014 period.