Author: The Nation

  • Embracing our differences

    I deciphered that we all like colours. Why? The answer is based on the universal acknowledgement that colours are beautiful. I would say that Mother Nature secretes pleasure from colours. Mother Nature gets elated upon sighting colours. This is why she beatifies some with black; brown; white; yellow; and many more.

    Mother Nature has palaces, and it is in these palaces of hers that she has placed us. These palaces are what we now call Africa; Antarctica; Asia; Australia; Europe; South America; and North America.

    I need to tell the whole world that these palaces have been given to inhabitants in order to cause a change in it. It is like a family where parents are blessed with children. To make that family organised, the parents could allot different rooms to those children; and they expect that they all take care of their rooms.

    Juxtaposing this with my stance, I would like to tell the world that we are in the rooms of Mother Nature because she has allotted rooms to us and she has given us a truth; and by truth, I mean what we possess to redefine our minds and world.

    We all need to form a universal circle with the truths given to us so that the world would be beautiful. It is saddening to realise that the world has arrived at a port where one African individual is a xenophobe to another African individual.

    The South African crisis has stolen many growing lives that should serve as a cursor of change for the continent since we have all failed to accept the truth that we are to work together, as to repaint the ugly face of our common earth; instead we murder ourselves; we murder the beauty that should fill every heart.

    History is the eyes at the back of our head; and if should use these eyes to survey the past, we would outright notice how Nigeria helped pull the South African nation out of the grotesque manacle of Apartheid.

    It is also evidently proved that Nigeria has contributed to the growth and development of the South African nation, the same way the South African nation has fostered economic growth in Nigeria. We cannot exchange hate for hate. The only demon that can destroy the demon of hate is love. Love is the orbit of perfection that the universe desires.

    Boycotting South African industries in Nigeria—MTN, Shoprite, DSTV—will only worsen the status quo as many Nigerians are employees in these companies. What I see here is a productive relationship between two countries, about to be destroyed by fear.

    Fear is that obstacle in our heart that stops us from moving closer to another individual. That man or woman you neglect is your mirror; but if you neglect him/her you might not be convinced of who you really are or the qualities present in you.

    I remember a time at a garden, where I saw a bird. Tersely, I had this surgical thought that I wished the bird could draw closer to me, so we could mingle and exchange friendliness but I was afraid it would fly away. I realized also that the bird could have the same intention but it felt that I could harm it, too. I did not move; I was still fixated on that spot but the bird was frighteningly walking around. It drew closer a bit and sang its song. I whistled back; but the fixity of my strength was still on that sit.

    What I realized from this event was the fact that there is only one thing that quells us from relating with others: FEAR. That bird had the sensual feeling of harm. I had the feeling that it would fly. This is spawned by the collective unconscious. The collective thinking of birds is that the human being can harm them, whilst the collective thinking of the human being is that birds fly. This is what breeds fear.

    What entangled our minds that moment was fear (Xenophobia). But I want humanity to arrive at the knowledge that we are the mirror of ourselves. This is true, in the sense that we cannot see our own faces. We need a mirror to see our true reflections.

    This is why I would say that that neighbour and neglected friend of yours could be your mirror in that there is a part of you that is lost and that is why you were born naked; we cloth ourselves.  From time to time you need to check, through this mirror, if you have not been stained in the face.

    I think we all need to reconstruct our collective thinking by sending fear into eternal exile. We should stop thinking about the harm we can cause ourselves if we move closer to another individual; rather, we should think about the unending harm we would cause our planet; our continent; our lives; our common future, if we fail to unite and change the sick state of the world.

    We need to recognise that one nation is to another nation a woman. We mate with ourselves to procreate change. One nation would be barren without the presence of another. It is for this reason that I put, metaphorically, that we all come from one mother; and that is Nature. No one is superior to another.

    Mother Nature finds and/or seeks pleasure through colours. We dwell in her abodes; her palaces. Consequently, it is our duty to procreate change in the abodes she has found for us. How we outgrow underdevelopment is to plant, in our hearts and minds, the wisdom of Nature; and this wisdom is to make us embrace our differences and see ourselves as one world.

    When I examined the Christian religion or culture, I realised that they do not say “I am a white Christian or black or whatever.” They say “we are Christians.” Thus, if religion could connect us together as one world, if continental or intercontinental relationship could affix us, or if language could flow through us like the same blood, it means we are not different.

    Those colours are just there to please Nature. Therefore, I want the world to hold my words as a staff when I say that the future of humanity depends on our global interconnections. We all have dreams; imaginations that we need to conjoin, as one planet, and turn into reality for us to have a future that is more civilised than this present one.

    Nature is our teacher but she has her agents (we are all agents of Nature). I am one of these agents and I have decided to change the world through my words by apprising the living and the unborn that we need to embrace our differences because this is how we form the culture of peace. Peace is a culture that must be formed; one way to form it is through international cooperation. We need to heal ourselves of racial segregation; and these words are the antidotes. This is why I want every heart that reads these words to know that a single person cannot hold the world from falling and breaking apart.

    We are all pillars, created and placed in continents to hold the planet from destruction. It is high time we stopped gashing the latterly beautiful face of Earth. It’s high time we quelled warring against ourselves whether we are of the same colour or a different one. It is high time we know that the orbit of the human life is love; the orbit of human spirituality is love.

    Love is an energy that connects the human spirit together; and love lives in the heart. We can restore the dying energy of love in our hearts if we all peacefully come together to embrace our differences. Why must we always leave harsh, inhumane stories (like this deleterious xenophobic incident) in history book for coming generations to read?

    Humanity is sick but it seems we are comfortable with this sickness because we have failed to give ourselves the antidote to our sickness since the antidote is right there in our heart: Love.

    The dreams and hopes that we all have are camped in the belly of our minds, undigested, unbeknownst to our expectant eyes because we have failed to bring the world into a spherical point of contact—Oneness. Oneness is a way the human spirit merges to form a single individual, higher and larger than the planet itself, capable of holding the universe from falling asunder, as to reshape and repaint the planet until her beauty is profoundly found.

    We should take my words as a letter written to our hearts and reply with a change of thought and action when I put, metaphorically, that the world is a coin with different sides that cannot be separated. We are for complementariness.

    There is a nature that Mother Nature wants to culture in the nature of humanity. That nature is the nature of commensalism as one planet.   What I want humanity to know is that we are all equal in the eyes of Nature, that is, no one is superior to another.

    The Earth cannot neglect the presence of the Sun; they mate together to equip us with growth. We need ourselves to heal ourselves, to heal the world. Let us make the world (it is “the” world not two worlds) one planet and embrace our differences because embracing our differences is embracing peace (not war) that would spawn our desired beautiful world.

    John F. Kennedy says “Together we shall save our planet or together we shall perish in it” (p.38). When I read his words, I said to myself that what I want to do to change the world, not just myself, is to plant my words as seeds in the hearts and minds of every human being—living and unborn—until we all grow a tree of oneness in our hearts by embracing our differences and seeing ourselves as equal children of Nature. We have to stop wasting innocent lives, unfurling ugly histories. We must all embrace our differences.

    oluwaseyioso01@gmail.com

  • Zamfara to probe radio, television stations

    Zamfara State Ministry of Information Permanent Secretary Alhaji Yakubu Tsafe on Thursday said he had set up a committee to investigate financial transactions at the Zamfara Radio and Television stations.

    Tsafe spoke in Gusau when he visited the stations.

    “In the civil service system, policies and due process must be respectfully adhered to and any violation will have to be investigated in order to put the records straight.

    “I have already set up a committee that will come to this station and verify financial transactions that took place in recent times covering activities of the present management.

    Read Also: ‘Impersonator’ of Zamfara CP nabbed

    “We will reorganise this station but before that, the management will have to give account of the revenue generated from the inception of the present administration.

    “This is so that we can return same to the state government coffers,” he said.

    Earlier, Executive Chairman of the stations Malam Saidu Maishanu appealed to the ministry to be releasing funds for running the stations.

    Maishanu’s request followed the directive by Governor Bello Matawalle for the station to start generating revenue and make returns to the government.

  • Police shut down O’Pay Kano office

    The Kano branch of Opay office -an online payment outlet for commercial tricycle operators-  has been shut down by the police.

    The outlet was closed down during a raid  carried out by the Kano state police command over alleged non-compliance with the government rules and directives.

    The Nation reports that armed security personnel stormed the state office at Lodge road in Kano at about 11:00am on Thursday.

    The police officers also ordered all the staff and scores of commercial tricycle operators known as Adaidaita Sahu to immediately vacate the premises, threatening anyone who failed to comply with the order risked arrest.

    Read Also: Police arrest wanted Port Harcourt serial killer

    An eye witness told The Nation the commercial operators were planning to settle their balance for previous night’s work when the police arrived and dispersed them.

    The spokesman of the Police command,DSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, who confirmed incident,told this reporter  that, the command received an order from Kano state government to close the office.

    Haruna, said the Opay company didn’t comply with some rules set for it by the state government in order to operate

  • PDP urges INEC to warn Bello, APC against violence

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the need to ensure that violence does not mar the November 16 governorship election in Kogi State.

    It called on the electoral umpire to issue a “direct warning” to Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello and the All Progressives Congress (APC) to desist from any act of violence before, during and after the election.

    In a statement yesterday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said Kogi State people were prepared to confront the governor and his party on all fronts.

    It cautioned INEC not to attempt to use its extrapolations on violence as a cover and justification to manipulate the election, saying PDP was poised to win the poll.

    The electoral body had expressed apprehension about possible violence during the poll and had appealed to stakeholders to ensure a violence free election.

    But the PDP stressed that it was the responsibility of INEC to ensure a credible, free and fair poll devoid of orchestrated logistic failures that stoked agitations and violence in past elections.

    Read Also: INEC to officials: track election activities

    “Our party is already aware of the heinous plots by jittery Yahaya Bello to orchestrate violence, having realised that there is no way he can win in this election.

    “Our message to the sinking governor is that such cannot save him from a crushing defeat at the polls,” the party added.

    The PDP said while it would not support or preach violence, it must be noted that the party is standing behind Kogi State people in their determination never to allow anybody to intimidate or suppress them.

    It said: “The PDP wants INEC and Governor Bello to note that the November 16 election is a determined march by the people against a suppressive, cruel, chaotic, sadistic, acrimonious and inhuman administration.

    “It is a determined march against acute poverty, hunger and starvation, fear, general low life and despondency in the state, which Governor Bello and the APC represent.

    “The Kogi election will mark a definite and inevitable triumph of light over darkness, freedom over suppression, prosperity over poverty, justice over impunity, peace over violence, progress over stagnation, democracy over personality cult and self-centredness. No amount of intimidation can stop the people in this resolve.

    “The PDP, therefore, counsels INEC to desist from negative extrapolations and be ready to deliver a credible, free, fair, transparent election, devoid of deliberate logistic failures tailored to frustrate the will of the people.”

  • Gumi decries 2019 general election

    An Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has described the 2019 general election as the worst in the country, saying it has produced an incompetent government led by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Gumi, who blamed the southern political class for the outcome of the election, alleged that the Buhari administration has plunged Nigeria into poverty.

    He spoke yesterday in Kaduna when he hosted the President and Founder of Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International, Prophet Isah El-Buba.

    Gumi said the southern political class deliberately supported what he described as failure during the 2015 and 2019 elections for their personal gains.

    The Islamic scholar said the elections were characterised by irregularities, which, according to him, produced an incompetent government.

  • Army bans NGO for ‘aiding Boko Haram’

    For allegedly aiding terrorist group Boko Haram, a non-governmental organisation Action Against Hunger (AAH) has been blacklisted by the Nigerian Army (NA).

    AAH was declared persona nan grata for allegedly supplying food and drugs to Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a statement released by spokesman theatre command Operation Lafiya Dole Col Ado Isa on Thursday evening said.

    The Nigerian military had overtime raised alarm over activities of some NGOs in troubled northeastern states, accusing some of them of supplying food and medication to terrorists and criminals.

    Prior to the statement, there were reports that soldiers laid siege to the Maiduguri office of the AAH with military trucks blocking the entrance.

    Isa said the blacklisting of AAH was a result of its continuous subversive practices despite several warnings that it should desist from aiding and abetting terrorism.

    “The Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE (TC – OPLD)) has observed with utter disappointment and concern the notorious activities of some NGOs working in North East (NE) Nigeria.

    Read Also: Army accuses NGO of providing water, food to Boko Haram terrorists

    “The subversive actions of the NGO Action Against Hunger (AAH) persisted despite several warnings to desist from aiding and abetting terrorists and their atrocities  The TC – OPLD has on many occasions raised alarm over this unwholesome practices of some NGOs and expressed same position during  meetings with the NGOs operating in the NE Theater of Operation.

    “Consequently, the AAH has been declared persona nan grata for aiding Boko Haram Terrorists/ISWAP by supplying them food and drugs despite warning from the TC-OPLD.

    “The command has obtained several credible intelligence indicating AAH as one of  those NGOs operating in the NE that is notorious in supplying food and drugs to the criminals in the area.

    “The public is enjoined to continue to give credible information on the activities of the marauders/criminals and their supporters in the NE theatre of operation.

    “The OPLD wishes to assure  the public of its resolve and determination to always partner credible NGOs and CSOs to cushion the impact of  humanitarian crisis generated by the criminals in the NE in line with international best standards,” he said.

  • Police arrest wanted Port Harcourt serial killer

    The Police in Rivers State have arrested an ex-militant Gracious David West, 26, alleged to be responsible for the murder of about 13 women.

    West was declared wanted by the police on Wedneaday after a Close Circuit Television Camera (CCTV) footage showed he had booked into a hotel with a young woman who was found dead on Tuesday.

    It was gathered that the suspect confessed to have killed five women in similar manner in Imo State and seven in Port Harcourt City.

    The Nation gathered that he was arrested on Wednesday along East-West Road while he was fleeing to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State Capital.

    A native of Buguma LGA of Rivers State, West was alleged to be a renowned armed robber who was rehabilitated by a church and was assisted to secure a job at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri.

    But the suspect was said to have continued his criminal lifestyle and was declared wanted by the Police in June last year. He was said to have been on the run until the CCTV footage exposed him as a member of the syndicate that had been killing women in cold blood.

    Read Also: #ProtectPHGirls: Nigerians react over ‘Serial killer’ prowling in Port Harcourt

    West, it was gathered, told detectives that he was under a curse from his community and it was responsible for his actions.

    Narrating how he strangled his victims, he said: “We were inside the club then we discussed on how much I will pay her. After that we left the club to the hotel at Osas Road. When we got there, they took her up and I said let me look for a way to arrange for food that we will both eat.

    “After eating, we slept till the next morning around 5:30am. I brought out a knife. She was unaware there was a knife. So, I told her not to shout that if she does I will use the knife on her.

    “Out of fear she kept quite. During that time the television volume was loud. Then I used the wrapper to tie her hands her legs from the back and strangled her with pillow case.”

    Confirming his arrest through their official Twitter handle, the police said the suspect was a member of the Degbam cult group, adding that he had made useful statements.

    “Investigation is on with a view to ascertaining his motives and possible accomplices. The Commissioner of Police Rivers State, Mustapha Dandaura will be briefing the media on this significant police breakthrough on September 20,” the police said.

  • NIS unveils National Border Management Strategy 2019-2023

    The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) on Thursday unveiled its National Border Strategy 2019 to enhance national security.

    Its Comptroller-General, Muhammad Babandede, presented the document in Abuja at a forum with stakeholders.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project was funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

    He said the strategy would also help in contributing to national economic development, reinforcing social harmony and ensuring migrants’ human rights and the protection of vulnerable migrants.

    “The NIS National Boarder Management Strategy (NBMS) 2019 to 2023 articulates a renewed five-year vision and institutional approach to border management in Nigeria.

    “This is within the scope of the Nigeria Immigration Service,” Babandede said.

    The NIS boss explained that when the borders are safe, the nation would also be safe.

    “So, the document has addressed the issue of national security, border security and addressed border as a means of trade.”

    “It will ensure transparency, it will reduce corruption, it will help to ensure that human rights are protected and we will ensure that smugglers and traffickers are not allowed to leave or enter our country.”

    House Committee on Interior Chairman Nasir Daura said the committee would ensure that the NIS gets the necessary support to ensure smooth implementation of the policy.

    The lawmaker said the document would help to provide the requisite protection that could ensure the respect and dignity of human rights.

    “As a committee we will make the Nigeria Immigration Service more effective by providing the necessary budgetary support to better manage the borders,” he said.

    The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs Zainab Ahmed said the effective implementation of the strategy depended on dynamic institutional framework and robust political backing.

    The minister was represented by a staff of the Project Office (Migration), Mr Ekom Umoren.

    She said the surge in transnational crimes, irregular migration, trafficking and other illicit activities would be tackled in line with national development goals as contained in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERPG).

    A Federal Commissioner in the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Basheer Mohammed, also attended the meeting.

    Mohammed, who was represented by Charles Anaelo, said the document was a clear demonstration of Nigeria’s commitment to entrenching international best practices in border management through a coordinated approach.

    The Federal commissioner noted that effective and efficient border management contributed immensely to overall migration management.

    “We have no doubt that implementation will be all inclusive and coordinated to ensure coherence,” he said.

    IOM’s Chief of Mission Ms Ukamaka Osigwe said the document was developed through an intensive NIS and inter-agency consultations, which spanned from October last year to March 2019.

    She added that the rationale behind the development of the strategy was to articulate a better border management in Nigeria within the scope of the duties of the lead agency for border management which is the NIS.

  • Group to support govt with 16-point agenda

    A group of professionals and elders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the Southwest has said it is working to fine-tune a “16-point working agenda” to aid the Federal Government plans.

    The group, which met under the aegis of the “Nigeria Next-Level Forum (NNLF)”, comprised mostly loyalists, friends and political associates of the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

    It is led by its National Coordinator, Chief Oladosu Oladipo, with Dr. Olagoke Salami (Southwest coordinator); Akintayo Amere (Osun State coordinator); Ibrahim Bolomope and some serving APC lawmakers in the House of Representatives as members.

    Other leaders, who spoke at the meeting held at Watershed Events Centre, Old Ife Road, Ibadan, included the National Chairman, Dame Pauline Tallen and Asiwaju Tinubu’s daughter, Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, who is the national women leader of the group.

    Read Also: ‘There will be no Nigeria without restructuring’

    At the event tagged: ‘The Southwest meeting of the Forum’, the NNLF leaders said they were after the success of the APC-led Federal Government.

    Addressing reporters, Chief Oladipo said the aim of the forum was “to develop the correct template for Nigeria Next Level prosperity through a rapid, systematic and sustainable social economic growth and development.”

    Oladipo’s statement, which was corroborated by Dr. Salami, Amere and Bolomope, centred on evolving a workable blueprint in the area of education, health, infrastructure, among others to develop the country across the geopolitical zones.

    The national coordinator said when the 16-point programmes are ready; they will meet the leadership of both arms of the National Assembly to provide a legal backing for the document. The event attracted participants from the Southwest states.

  • Netanyahu, Gantz compete over Israel’s leadership

    ISRAELI Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz are jostling over the terms of a unity government, after the country’s second election in a year ended in deadlock.

    Local media said both men’s parties failed to win enough votes on Tuesday to build a coalition with a majority.

    Netanyahu urged Gantz to start negotiations on a joint administration.

    Gantz rebuffed the idea, calling it spin. He said he wanted a unity government – but only one led by him.

    His party has ruled out joining a coalition led by Netanyahu, who faces possible corruption charges.

    At a ceremony attended by both party leaders in Jerusalem, President Reuven Rivlin said he had heard “loud and clear the voices calling for a broad and stable national unity government” and praised the prime minister for “joining that call”.

    Rivlin will hold consultations with party representatives before nominating a candidate whom he believes has the best chance of forming a government.