If the Senior Pastor of Word of Life Bible, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, needs an introduction in a public event, he certainly doesn’t need any in Christendom. He was the former President of two highly respected Christian bodies – Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
In celebrating 24th anniversary of his marriage to his heartthrob, the Warri-based cleric used the opportunity to shower praises on his wife, Helen Oritsejafor.
Oritsejafor wrote: “My darling wife, a woman of substance, a virtuous woman. I thank God for the day I met you. You did not only make me a better person, you turned my world around for good. You gave me the most amazing children anyone could ever wish for. I celebrate our union on this day of our 24th wedding anniversary…”
Pastor Oritsejafor and his beautiful wife got married in 1997 and the union is blessed with three lovely children.
Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t enjoying the best season of his career and neither are his club, Juventus.
The 36-year-old has scored 25 goals in 29 Serie A games, and four in six Champions League matches, but the Bianconeri have struggled this campaign.
Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport have reported that Cristiano Ronaldo has changed recently and is behaving quite differently to how he was when he first arrived in Turin.
They say that he isn’t trying to lift his teammates on the pitch like he used to, and he doesn’t seem to be enjoying his football at all.
“He’s nervous, irritable and very distant from his teammates,” La Gazzetta dello Sport claim.
“He seems to have given up and he’s not got as much fight as he usually does.
“He seemed very different against Fiorentina, which is a worrying sign.
“Ronaldo is no longer trying to hide these feelings.”
This perception of how Cristiano Ronaldo is feeling at the club has added to the rumours that he may be on his way out.
“He’s isolated away from the pitch,” the paper added.
“It seems that he’s getting closer and closer to leaving Juventus.
“It’s always been a little but like that, but it’s gotten worse recently after their elimination in the Champions League.”
Cristiano Ronaldo’s mood also isn’t helping him perform on the pitch, and he’s now gone three games without scoring.
This is his longest dry spell since picking up an injury in his first season in Italy, with his last goal coming against Napoli on April 7.
Juventus, who have won the last nine Serie A titles, find themselves in fourth place and are battling to secure Champions League football for next season.
Ronaldo stirred some controversy yet again recently after throwing his jersey to the ground in anger despite Juventus’ 3-1 win over Genoa.
The Portuguese attacker has remained the leading scorer in the current Bianconeri team and always wants to score.
Because football is a team sport, we expected the attacker to be happy that his team won even though he didn’t score a goal.
But Ronaldo wasn’t and couldn’t hide his frustration at the end of the game.
La Gazzetta dello Sport via Football Italia reports that Ronaldo didn’t just throw his jersey to the ground after the game.
He was still angry while making his way into the dressing room and kept punching the wall.
The attacker also took his bath and left the stadium without saying a word to anyone.
This is the latest in the series of reactions from the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man and might be an indication that he isn’t happy in Turin.
He would enter the last year of his current deal next season and the Bianconeri might sell him in the summer if they want to make any money from his transfer.
Ideally, the phrase beautiful bride is commonly used for women but Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi currently fits the definition perfectly, considering that he has become highly in demand since he separated from his Jamaican wife, Chanel Chin, in a rather controversial manner.
It was shocking and rather funny when the monarch had to alert women never to fall prey to fake social media accounts. The scam alert came after the palace received several complaints, calls and text messages that they had been scammed on social media! Scammers had opened a number of social media accounts in the name of Oluwo to perpetrate the fraudulent acts and discredit the palace’s image.
Oluwo also emphasised that he was not looking for a wife in public domain and security operatives had been briefed to take necessary actions against the fraudsters.
The reason any young lady will want the king is understandable. As a king, he possesses a large degree of influence and affluence, which is what most women desire in a man. In Yoruba land, the role of a queen in the palace is as important as that of the king.
A lasting solution to this, many have argued, would be when the colourful monarch finally announces his new queen.
•Mass cremations begin as India’s capital faces deluge of COVID-19 deaths
Palpable fear rules the camp of more than 55,000 Nigerians resident in India following the exponential spike in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 and dying from it in the Asian country.
India, home of some notable manufacturers and exporters of COVID-19 vaccines, has been recording more than 200,000 cases daily since April 15, well past its peak last year when it averaged about 93,000 cases daily. The country has consequently overtaken Brazil and other nations to become the second worst hit country globally.
Following the rate at which the pandemic was spreading, curfews were initially announced in some areas but when the plague would not abate, many states went into lockdown.
The ugly development, according to findings made by our correspondent, is making Nigerians and other Africans resident in the country to panic. And they face ugly prospects because they are not entitled to palliatives and also cannot go out to earn a living.
Malik Ali Paul, a Nigerian resident in India, said: “The major challenge now is that there has been a total lockdown for two to three weeks in Delhi, which is the capital of India, and also in Pune City of Maharashtra state, and there is no movement.
“The implementation of the directive is very, very strict. We don’t even have the ability to move out of our homes. People are always indoors, and if you need anything, it has to be brought to you.
“The whole situation is disturbing. A lot of Indians are dying like fowls. The death rate has gone up tremendously. I have some brothers here who have also gone for the COVID-19 test and came out positive.
“They just went for check-up, got tested and came out positive. As a result of that, a lot of them are scared. In all this, we thank God that there is no African that has been reported to have died of the pandemic.”
•Inside India’s Covid-19 hospital
Mrs Janefrances Fortune, who operates a restaurant in India, bemoaned the ravaging effects of the pandemic on their businesses, saying: “This COVID-19 is on the verge of disorganising our businesses and life here in India. It has not been easy for us as business owners. The number of infected people keeps increasing every day. We no longer go out the way we used to, business is very dull.”
She added: “Some of us who are with kids no longer feel safe again going out with our kids. These days, I leave my kids with their dad at home to take care of them while I run around to get things done in my shop.
“Sometimes, most of our customers prefer home delivery because they don’t also feel safe coming out to a public place. We all pray that with time, this too will pass and things will be normal again.
“We know that people back home are worried about us. They are really worried about us. But about returning home to Nigeria this time, I can’t risk that. We are also concerned about our loved ones over there. We always call to check up on them.
“The Indian government is trying their best to control it. I really commend their efforts. Indian citizens respect their government and always abide by the rules and regulations, unlike we Nigerians.”
Faustina Ebube, a Nursing student, decried the effects of the pandemic on her education.
She said: “We are only doing online classes for now. We don’t have to go to the hospital or school, and because of this, we are not doing practicals; we are only doing theories.
“But they say practice makes perfect. Without the practical aspect, you cannot learn and perfect what you have been taught.
“I am worried about my mum and my dad and siblings. People here at a point took COVID-19 for granted as if it had already gone, but it came back with so much force.
“Nigerians are putting up the same attitude. If the same thing happens in Nigeria, I don’t think the government will be able to do anything to save the people.
“In spite of the fact that the hospitals here are very big and well equipped, beds are no longer available for patients. I am really worried for my people back at home.”
Also lamenting the effects of the lockdown on the cost of living in India, Ebube said: “Prices of goods have increased because of the pandemic and it is not all the shops that are allowed to open. Only businesses that are into essential services are allowed to operate, and their prices have been very high.
“I don’t eat Indian food and have to buy things from African market to make things for myself. But most of the things are not coming again from Nigeria because of the surge in the pandemic. The ones available here are very expensive because of the increase in demand, and it is not fair to us as students here in India,
“I am not willing to return home because of the security challenges at home. The only thing that can make me want to come home is my family. Seriously, Nigeria is not safe. I have been reading the news lately. Nigeria is not safe at all.
“I am always checking up on my family to know if they are safe. If I have the power, I will do everything to take them out of Nigeria. Seriously, I am not willing to return to Nigeria.”
Fears spread
A former Public Relations Officer of All India Nigerian Students and Community Association (AINSCA), Samuel Dickson, said the COVID-19 pandemic in India has been a very horrific experience.
“We fear for our lives each passing day,” he said. “There is huge fear among Nigerians here in India. Our parents are waiting for us back home. So we fear for our lives. We have been following the guidelines in order not to contract the deadly virus.
“As things stand now in India, this second wave has spread very fast. It is spreading wide, but we keep praying that God will help the government to combat the pandemic, because they have been working tirelessly together with their researchers, doctors, scientists, including law enforcement agencies, to stem the tide.
“Here the citizens obey instructions and the law.”
Going down memory lane, he said: “In March 2020, there was a lockdown which lasted for six months before the government started relaxing it. When the second wave started, the government imposed a curfew from 10 pm to 5am.
“Later on, they introduced a fresh lockdown for 10 days starting from April 26. But when the cases kept rising in thousands, they extended the lockdown till May 2 with a probability that there may be complete lockdown subsequently. Now there are a huge number of deaths and new cases coming up every day. For me, I fear for my life, those of my friends, and others. The experience is very horrific.
“Social and economic life has not been the same again. Imagine yourself staying at home during this lockdown. We have bills to pay. This is not our fatherland. Here we live in rented apartments. We buy food and water and pay for electricity.
“It hasn’t been easy. It has been a very tough one. As Nigerians, we can no longer socialise as we used to. As it stands now, not more than 58 people are expected to be in any gathering. For now, there is no gathering of Nigerians.
“We don’t even go to church or go out for the purpose of earning livelihood. It has affected us enormously. There is a shortage of beds and oxygen because of the large number of cases they are having every day.”
Like other respondents before him, Dickson said: “There is possibly no way for us to come back home. We also fear for our families back home because of insecurity. There is also the problem of high cost of living in Nigeria, which is highly uncalled for. It stresses the citizens. It is just so frustrating for us.
“In terms of the vaccines, they are made available to everyone by the Indian government. Last year, our association gave palliatives to Africans in different states in India. The Nigeria High Commission also gave out palliatives with few individuals making contributions to that effect.”
One of the leaders of the Nigerian community in India, who identified himself simply as Bakare, said they didn’t expect what is happening in the Asian country now.
Bakare said: “This second wave of the pandemic here in India was unexpected. It is spreading like wildfire and people are dying.
“It is really affecting the Indians because of their population and because of the way they gather together during their festivals. In our own case, we have stopped going to church or mosque and even meetings.
“Our people back home are worried and we are also worried. Because of the situation back at home, we are scared of coming.
“In spite of the situation here, this place is more peaceful. Nigeria is not worth coming back to for now with the unpleasant stories we are hearing about insecurity and scarcity of food, among others.”
Nigerians shun hospitals, fear they could be injected with virus
For many Africans resident in India, particularly Nigerians, going to hospital to complain about any kind of ailment is out of it for now. Some of them fear that any African that goes to the hospital may be injected with the virus as they have grown envious that the black communities are not affected by the pandemic.
Licoln, a business man said: “We are scared of going to some hospitals because they are not happy that blacks are not contracting the virus. No black person, from my findings, has contracted it. It is just that any black person that is sick should just be careful because they can be labeled as carriers of the virus.
“Anybody that dies right now of either kidney failure or whatever, they see them as Coronavirus patients and would have their bodies cremated. It is a dicey situation. We are all at a standstill.
“We are calling on the Nigerian government to see what they can do. Our embassy is not working properly. The new ambassador that has been posted here is still in London because of the pandemic. We are just in the hands of God.”
He further said: “When the second wave started, you would see people walking on the street and falling down. The opposition party is saying that they should go on full lockdown but the prime minister is begging and asking that they should see how they can administer the vaccines which they have been selling to other parts of the world to enable their economy to thrive.
“Their economy was badly affected in 2020. Now the pandemic is growing at an alarming rate.
“Our family members and friends back at home and other places are calling to check on us. But there is no case of a black person or Nigerian contracting the virus. The Nigerian government has to look into the area of getting its citizens protected.”
Asked if he would be willing to return to the country, which has a very low record of the pandemic, Lincoln shared pictures and videos of killings and news of kidnappers asking for ransom in Nigerian with our reporter and asked: “Is this where you want us to return to? If we are asked to return home, I don’t think any Nigerian will be willing to go back.
“I have been seeing some gory pictures, some horrible videos from Nigeria. The situation in our country is so pathetic. Nigeria is not safe, my brother. People are not willing to come; I will not lie to you.”
Another respondent, Ann, also nurses the fear of being infected with the virus if she goes to any hospital over there.
“I am also scared of going to the hospital because I don’t want them to infect me with coronavirus. They restrict us from doing so many things here because we are Africans. I have financial problems because it is not easy getting money from Nigeria.”
Nigerians shun vaccines, resort to local measures
Africans in India, aside from adhering to the COVID-19 preventive protocols, are said to be depending more on local preventive measures to avoid the deadly virus.
Malik, a resident, said: “We are actually taking preventive measures as African communities here. We are always enlightening ourselves on what to do whenever we feel any symptom.
“If we decide to go to the hospital, you know what it means. We are also applying our local measures. We use dogoyaro leaves with ginger and garlic. We boil them together and consume them for prevention purposes.
“Pune City has a high rate of COVID-19 infection rate, yet they are the ones producing the vaccines. Many are actually taking the vaccines but they are still dying. I don’t think the vaccines are working.
“Meanwhile some Africans are not taking it.”
Maik added: “What we are hearing in the news is that beginning from May, they will embark on a strategic plan to make sure that everybody takes it. So many people have taken it already.
“The pandemic wiped out three Indian families in just one week in the same Pune City where the vaccine is produced. The safety of the vaccine is minus 100 per cent in my own view.
“I don’t know what the plan is now for May 1 when they will be embarking on a very serious vaccination exercise.
“Many Africans are not going to take it; I am sure of that. If that would be the case, many would just have to go back to their country.”
As part of Nigerians’ strategy for staying safe, Bakare, a leader of the Nigerian community in India, said: The elders and the executive of Nigerian communalities always caution our people against going out anyhow. We have stopped meetings in all our communities. I don’t think any African community is having problems with the pandemic. It is only the Indians that are facing it.”
Why we can’t evacuate citizens yet – FG
The Nigerian authorities said they cannot evacuate the citizens until there is a request to that effect.
The spokesman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Rahman Balogun, said: “Evacuation of Nigerians is a policy matter. You have to ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is when it is decided that Nigerians are under threat that the ministry would direct us to work out the modalities for evacuation.”
Contacted, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwoye, said: “Evacuation is done on request. It is when the people there indicate that they are helpless in most cases. It is not like the federal government goes out to evacuate; we just coordinate it.
“They will pay for their tickets and, through the embassy, we profile them. I don’t think there is any request, to my knowledge.”
Bandits’ attacks in Niger State have escalated in recent months with deadly cases recorded almost on a daily basis. The bandits attack and ransack villages, abducting the inhabitants for ransoms and subjecting even the women and children to untold horror. The security apparatus appears to be overwhelmed by all this and seems to be losing the battle. JUSTINA ASISHANA visited Munya, one of the most affected local government areas, and reports on the plight of its inhabitants
• An IDP camp in Sarkin Pawa
Asabe Mathew, a middle-aged woman sat in a pensive mood in front of a classroom at the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp at Central Primary School, Sarkin Pawa, Munya Local Government Area, Niger State gazing intensely at something that only her own eyes could see. She was brooding over the horror she had passed through since the bandits that hold a significant part of Niger State to ransom abducted her daughter and son, forcing her to sell everything she owned to pay for their release.
“They have finished me, as I am now,” she said as her eyes glistened with tears. “I have sold all my farm produce and I have loans to pay because I had to borrow money to pay the ransom for my children abducted by bandits. Now I have absolutely nothing left.”
Recalling how her two children were kidnapped by bandits and how she had to raise money as ransom to redeem them, she said: “My son was kidnapped when he was returning from school, and we were asked to pay one million naira to rescue him. What can I do? I had to pay because if I didn’t, they would kill him. I sold my farm produce, added my salary to the proceeds and also obtain a loan to raise the sum demanded as ransom.
“My daughter was also kidnapped. But that happened before they kidnapped my son. We also had to pay a ransom to rescue her. Right now, I don’t have anything left. It has not been easy for us in Munya.”
But Asabe was not alone in her plight. Mohammed Isah currently has two of his sons in the den of the bandits while he currently stays at the IDP camp at the Central Primary School, Sarkin Pawa. His two sons were taken in a recent attack on his Dangunu community in Munya Local Government Area.
• Another IDP camp in Central Primary School, Sarkin Pawa
He said: “Yesterday, before I ran to this camp, two of my sons were taken on motorcycles when the thieves came to our village. They have not been released because we do not have money to pay for their release. What they asked for is in millions. Where will I get it from? I cannot go back to the village to take my farm produce and sell because that will be equal to dying.”
The Vice-Chairman of Munya Local Government Council, Hon. Luka Garba, is not left out of the ordeal. Two months ago, he lost his younger brother to the bandits. According to him, his younger brother was a member of the local vigilantes in Kachu village and was killed during an ambush.
Rising spate of insecurity in Munya LG
Munya is a local government area on the border between Niger and Kaduna states. Because it shares border with Kaduna State, many inhabitants of the local government area believe that most of the bandits come from Kaduna to carry out their attacks.
Banditry attacks in Munya Local Government Area began about six years ago and have literally turned the area into a terror zone everyone avoids like leprosy. The bandits make sporadic attacks in villages, maiming, killing and abducting people with reckless abandon.
The situation has crippled socio-economic activities in the local government as the farmers can no longer go to their farms for fear of being attacked. Traders who used to go to the local government area to buy farm produce are no longer turning up, causing revenue generation in the local government to reduce drastically.
On April 21, bandits invaded a military camp in Zazzaga community in the local government area barely two weeks after they attacked the military base in Allawa, Shiroro Local Government Area, killing five soldiers and a mobile policeman and burning down the base before they moved into the communities where they also killed seven people and abducted several others.
The majority of bandit attacks occurring in Munya Local Government Area go unreported because much of the focus is on Shiroro Local Government Area of the state probably because of the latter’s economic importance as the host of one of the country’s major power stations.
The attacks are usually carried out with the aid of motorcycles.
When the reporter visited Munya Local Government’s headquarters two days after the attack in the military camp in Zazzaga community, some women were seen running back from their farms. Asked what the matter was, they said some bandits had invaded their farms and they had to run for dear lives.
One of the women, who identified herself as Louis, said: “We were working on the farm when we saw them coming. We had no option but to run. We had harvested some of the crops, but we could not carry them because we had to run.”
Other Munya residents who spoke with the reporter said that is the way they live now because they can no longer farm in peace in an area where the majority of the people are farmers.
A youth leader, who asked not to be named for security reasons, said that the invaders move like breeze and usually carry out their attacks on new motorcycles.
He said: “They all ride on new motorcycles. That is why before you have the time to react to their invasion, they are by your side. They move like breeze.”
•Garba
The Vice-Chairman of Munya Local Government Council, Hon. Luka Garba, said that the people in the communities are currently running away from their homes and they are either entering Sarkin Pawa, Gwada and Kuta or running to Minna, Niger State capital, for safety.
“At Kuchi two weeks ago, bandits killed three mobile policemen. They slaughtered one of them with a knife. That is why security has moved from Kuchi to Sarkin Pawa. Even yesterday, they killed one man called Jacob in Zazzagi, then they went to the military camp and burnt the army vehicles and properties,” Garba said.
‘Does government still care about us?’
One question that is constant on the lips of Munya Local Government residents is whether the government is unaware of what is happening to them or simply does not care since there has been no visible effort made by the government to safeguard their lives and properties.
Garba said whenever the chairman of the council takes their complaint to the government they pay deaf ears, adding that the council was overwhelmed with the spate of insecurity.
He asked: “What is the government waiting for? We don’t know what is happening. Does that mean that there is no government or what? As a local government, we are trying our best. As the vice-chairman, I sleep here with my people to know what they are facing. This is more than us. The governments at state and federal levels need to look into this issue.
“Another question we are asking is where are they getting the weapons they use from? Who is providing these guns for them? Is it that the government cannot retrieve these weapons and give them to the security people?”
Asabe Mathew noted that since the insecurity problems began in the council, the people had not felt the presence of government in any way, adding that the government seemed to have abandoned them to their fate.
She said: “Government should look into this security challenge for us. We are suffering and they are supposed to be there for us. Why can’t they help us? If the bandits kill us all, who will they govern? We are the ones who elected them, why are they treating us like this? Why have they abandoned us?
“People are no longer coming here to trade. Government is not helping us to solve this insecurity problem. Are we not human beings? Can’t the government do something to help us?”
Ransom payments have rendered us bankrupt, say residents
Many families in the Munya Local Government Area are currently bankrupt as they have had to sell their farm produce, lands and other forms of property and even obtain loans to pay the ransom for kidnapped loved ones.
Kidnapping incidents in the area have become so rampant that the people no longer ask when the next kidnapping will occur but whose family would be affected. It was learnt that the residents have now hit on the idea of contributing money for anyone whose family member is kidnapped.
The youth leader said: “If they kidnap anyone, we contribute money for those that are kidnapped to enable their families pay for their ransoms and secure the release. If I don’t do it, when it is my turn, no one will join hands to help me. I must help others so that when it is my turn, they will help me.
“You don’t usually hear about small amounts but large ones between one and five million naira. Just one family cannot pay it. A lot of people don’t have any farm produce anymore because they sold them to raise ransoms.”
Garba said that there were currently about 20 women with the bandits and they were asking for N20 million as ransom.
“Presently, we have about 20 women with the bandits and they are asking for N20 million for their release. We are trying our best to raise money for their release,” he said.
Youths to government: Give us the weapons, we’ll face them
The youths in the area expressed their readiness to battle the bandits if they are given weapons. Mathew John, one of the youth leaders, said that the youths do not have the weapon to face the bandits, but if given the weapons, they can defend the council.
He said: “Our youths can take action against these bandits, but they are afraid because we have no weapon to face them. However, if given the weapon, we are ready to defend ourselves. But we cannot go there with catapults. We can’t face them with sticks or cutlasses. This suffering is too much.”
Garba is in support of the idea that security agencies equip the youths in the council to help in securing it, saying: “I will support the youths if they want to defend the council because I am telling you that this suffering is too much. Anyone who is not here cannot feel what we are feeling.
“I can tell you sincerely that if we have weapons, we would face these criminals. But the security agencies always have a problem with us mentioning rifle or guns, and the moment you hold a rifles or gun in public, they will start challenging you.
“That is why they are killing us anyhow because we have no weapon to face them.”
Churches, mosques deserted
In the past four months, it was learnt that four churches in the local government area have been burnt while Christians and Muslims have become scared to gather for worship in the villages. According to Garba, the Christians suffer it more as the bandits attack churches on Sundays, pursue and shoot at worshippers.
He said: “At Dongulu, they burnt a church to ashes. They also burnt the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church in Kampana. They destroyed another church in Tantana. In all, they have burnt about three churches.
“Anytime these bandits see people worshipping on Sunday, they will come and surround the church, pursue the people and shoot at them. How can we worship God when there is no peace in Munya?
“In terms of religion, they are disturbing us because most of these people in the communities affected cannot worship God properly.”
Musa Luka, another youth leader, said that the churches burnt were up to five.
Munya is known to be one of the top producers of yam, corn and rice in Niger State and its markets were highly patronised before the banditry attacks. However, this has changed as the markets are no longer full like before while the majority of the farmers no longer have farm produce to sell. Others have to take their produce to Minna, the state capital.
A female farmer, Martha Egbe, recalled that people used to come to their farms in the past to buy crops even before they were harvested, but now, it is hard to get a buyer as everyone cites insecurity as the reason why they cannot go to Munya.
Asabe, stating the difficulty in selling her crops, said: “I have to take my goods to Minna because people have refused to come because of insecurity. It has affected the sales of our goods. Sometimes, getting transportation to Minna is a problem because some of the vehicles will refuse to carry your goods or they will charge extravagant fees.
“People are no longer coming here. They are scared of being caught up in bandit attacks. But we that are here are human beings. We have goods to sell and need people to come. We cannot go anywhere because this is our fatherland.”
IDPs seek government’s help to return home
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the Central Primary School in Sarkin Pawa have cried out for hunger and are seeking government’s help to return home. They are also seeking help for their children and relatives who have been kidnapped by the bandits who are demanding ransoms they cannot afford.
Ladi Shehu, a farmer from Geshu, said that they left their village for Zazzaga, and after the Zazzaga attack, they had to move to Sarkin Pawa.
Shehu said: “The bandits chased us out of our homes and we cannot return home because going back is like inviting death. We are not happy to be here. We have no food here, and in our home where there is food, we cannot go there to get the food. Our children are not feeding well.”
Another IDP said the bandits kidnapped their children and killed their young men and husbands, adding that they did not know what to do since the government has refused to come to their aid.
He said: “If the government would come and end this problem, we will be okay. If these bandits are no more here, we will be able to stay in our communities and live normally.
“It is sad that we have not got anything from the government apart from this building we are given to stay in. The government has not done anything for us, and we want them to act.”
Isah Mohammed, a native of Dangunu community, said that all they need is security as their community has been repeatedly attacked by bandits.
“We are managing here. We have food problem here whereas in our homes, we have no such problem. We are not enjoying ourselves here. We need security to return to our homes.”
Calls heighten for declaration of state of emergency
Various people across Niger State have called on the state government to declare a state of emergency in the Niger East Senatorial Zone which has been taken over by bandits. Top among the voices is the lawmaker representing Bosso Constituency in the state House of Assembly, Hon. Madaki Malik Boss.
Boss said the declaration of a state of emergency will enable the government to tackle the insecurity problem bedeviling the zone. Bosso, who visited the IDP camps, explained that insecurity in the zone was getting worse by the day and had spread to most of the local government areas in the zone.
He noted that all the schools in the zone had been turned into camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs), lamenting that the people could no longer sleep with their eyes closed.
Who has Nigeria offended? The country is fretting over a strange security challenge. There is suspense. Nobody knows what will happen next minute. The apprehension cuts across.
Is Nigeria not becoming a failed nation-state? Is the tribulation also a manifestation of forced cohabitation? Is the prediction of disintegration by some foreign agencies about to come to pass? When will the giant of Africa know peace?
The country is now remarkable for bloodletting. Killings have become a pastime. Gunmen are on the prowl daily. Anybody is a target. Everybody is a victim. No geo-political zone is insulated from terror. Nowhere is safe. Lamentations fill the air.
At home, there is panic. On the road, there is fear. Many are now afraid of intra and inter-state travelling. Many people are lost. They are yet to be found by their loved ones.
Killer-herdsmen are not relenting in their trespassing. Farmers and crops are victims of their misdemeanours. They remain lawless; untamed and perhaps, they are being inadvertently aided, abeted, motivated and rewarded.
What is the difference between a terrorist and a bandit? Who is a bandit who is not a killer-herder? Who is a destructive herdsman who is not a kidnapper? Who is a kidnapper who is not a rapist?
Private residences of big shots are being torched by arsonists. Where would commoners run to? Even, sojourners in Internally Displaced Camps,(IDPs) are being slaughtered, threatened, intimidated and oppressed, in their lowly state.
Towns and villages are being ransacked. Villagers are running helter-skelter, but to uncertain locations. Socio-economic activities are disrupted. Children cannot fathom what is happening. Their grief-stricken parents cannot really explain the grim reality of unprovoked tragedy and disaster.
Schools are victims. In captivity, abducted students cry for elusive help. Their captors are demanding for millions to stock more arms and terrorise society. Few had been deliberately killed to show that the captors meant business. They went to school to become great. Now, they are agonising in an unknown forest.
Palaces are not spared. Monarchs are being abducted and killed. Their bereaved communities are bewildered. In the past, people ran to palaces, which they perceived as safe haven. Now, some members of the royal household seek refuge in hideouts.
Why assailants are burning down police stations and courts is baffling. Can the country exist or survive without the police? The police appear to have lost institutional esteem since the EndSARS protest. Policemen are being killed in the North and South. Their weapons are being carted away. The new Police Inspector General cried out that the police was empty; policemen are too few to police the country and there is shortage of weapons.
Citizens are vulnerable to a series of attacks.
Governors are in a state of despair. They are enveloped by the subsisting contradiction. They are camouflage chief security officers of their states. They are daydreaming. A governor’s private building was torched by yet to be identified criminals. What should an ordinary person not expect?
Some governors and senators cannot risk visiting their states. Highways have become death traps.
The states surrounding Abuja are gradually surrendering to terrorists, who are hoisting flags and holding prayer of mockery. Chiroro, Niger State, is a stone throw to Abuja. It is about a three hour-drive. How safe is the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)? What is the source of their strength? Who is funding the terrorists?
The cost of insecurity is taking its tolls on the beleaguered country. Gallant soldiers are falling on the battlefield, leaving behind aged parents, widows, children and other dependants.
Then, a bombshell. A top security officer was said to have, in a fit of frustration and anger, decried the disappearance of money meant for arms. It is a rare form of corruption at this moment of national grief.
Nigeria is now a laughing stock. In the Federal Government are sympathisers and supporters of terrorists. These elements are custodian of the data of every Nigerian. They confessed that they were in league. Government said it was in the realm of the past, adding that they had repented. Previous inflammatory statements were essentially damaging to religious harmony and peaceful coexistence. Yet, these lovers of terror managed to scale the multiple screening hurdles and took pre-eminent seats among core decision makers.
The crux of the matter is whether a leopard can change its skin. An armed robber was caught. He confessed. He was pardoned. But, is it wise to ask him to guard the house or the treasury. The consequence is better imagined.
Nigerians had compelled the president to sack his beloved service chiefs. The appointment of new ones has not changed the situation. Will a state of emergency on security change the tide? It is debatable. Some rights crusaders will complain about a systematic regression to militarism. If it is not declared, they will also blame the Commander-In-Chief for aloofness.
The home situation is worrisome to Nigerians abroad. Tales of woes are echoed in the western world about Nigeria. They are also exaggerated to portray the country in bad light, to the discomfort of Nigerians in the Diaspora. Also, the number of citizens nursing the intention of leaving the country, which is a theatre of war, for safer haven,has increased geometrically. There is a new wave of brain drain as professionals are leaving for Europe, America and Asia for real and imagined greener pastures.
Is a war zone also an environment that is conducive to investment? Who is that investor that will like to put his money in a chaotic and confused environment where law and order have broken down? What had previously scared investors was the power outage. Generating sets filled the void. But, does peace have duplicate?
If the trend of inexplicable war continues, will future electioneering not be in jeopardy? Can voting take place in a state of anarchy? This too has implications for democratic transfer of legitimate power.
As the Federal Government’s efforts have not sufficiently achieved the desired results, states that have some things in common went to the drawing board to strategise. The result, in the Southwest, was Amotekun. But, the outfit was nearly crippled at inception by federal authorities, which perceived it as a regional agenda for devolution through the back door. Amotekun, as conceived, would have been more effective if it is allowed to operate as a regional security outfit.
Fears are rife that the proposed Ebube Agu will not take the shape of a regional outfit. Therefore, it may, like Amotekun, become a glorified vigilance group; restricted to states and unable to draw from collective regional resources.
As the centralised police have proved grossly ineffective for local or community policing, the agitation for decentralised policing, or a multi-layer policing structure, will continue to gain prominence.
Is the government running out of ideas? The challenge has overwhelmed the authorities. May they have the will to seek the right help.
But, the help from home should be the foundation. Those elite keeping quiet should halt their silence.
Security is a collective duty. If Nigerians decide that terrorism should come to an end, it will come to an end.
Without security, there will be no peace. Without peace, there will be no development. May Nigeria triumph.
Over 2000 communities in five local government areas in Ondo South senatorial district would soon be connected to the national grid after 12 years of blackout.
The five local government areas are Ilaje, Ese-Odo, Okitipupa, Odigbo and Irele.
Ondo South senatorial district had been without electricity for many years and Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu intervened in some communities through the use of mini-grids and solar power.
A reprieve is however underway for the communities following the near completion of the 132/33kv sub-station being constructed by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in Okitipupa, headquarters of Okitipupa local government.
Interim Administrator of the NDDC, Mr. Efiong Akwa, who spoke in Okitipupa during an inspection tour of the power project said, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio were interested in seeing the completion of the project before December 2021.
Akwa assured that the commission would inject needed fund to complete the project within the next two months as well as assist the contractor to tackle the challenges of sourcing foreign exchange for the procurement of equipment needed to be imported.
According to him, “From what is on the ground here, this is a massive electricity project and a lot of money have been sunk in here.
”We have gotten to a point of no return. For this project, I can tell you that there is no retreat, no surrender. We have to complete this project and put it to use as soon as possible. As it is now, we have done about 85 percent of the job.”
”We will be a bit practical to address the issue of getting foreign exchange for the importation of some of the equipment. We will authorize the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to debit our dollar account, so that we don’t have an issue of foreign exchange shortfalls.’’
Governor Akeredolu said the project was dear to the people and urged the NDDC not to relent in the efforts until the project was completed.
Akeredolu said: “The southern senatorial district of Ondo State represents the core economic base of the state, as it was the oil-producing area. He observed that the absence of public power supply in the area had affected the state economy.”
The chairman of the Badagry Local Government, Hon. Olusegun Onilude has called on well-meaning Lagosians and corporate organisations in Lagos State to come to the aid of the less privileged in the society by contributing meaningfully to their well-being.
He made this call during the distribution of free Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination forms to 150 indigent students in the council areas.
Onilude pointed out that with the prevailing economic situation in the country, all hands must be on deck to give a helping hand to the needy in the society.
“Government alone cannot do it all hence, those who are richly blessed in the society must partner with the government to make life more meaningful for the less privileged citizens in our society. The distribution of free JAMB forms to 150 indigent students by our administration today in Badagry is part of our yearly culture to enhance the standard of education in the council area since we assumed office almost four years ago.”
The staff of Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos were yesterday chased out of the premises by officials of Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
The staff were asked by JUSUN unionists to suspend court activities and vacate the premises.
Some staff of the court were seen hanging around the premises while others left for their homes.
One of the workers who spoke on condition of anonymity said: “the courts were initially opened on Thursday but the Magistrates did not show up; today again in the morning we resumed activities but we were told to halt all activities and vacate the premises and wait for further instructions.
“Although we have been coming every other day, we always hang around because they deny us access to the court premises; hopefully the strike yields a positive result soonest, we are tired of being idle,” he said.
The Lagos State chapter of JUSUN had directed members to report to work every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
This was contained in a memo on April 22 directed by the Lagos State chapter of JUSUN Chairman, Mr. Kehinde Shobowale, owing to the claim that the state had attained 75 percent financial autonomy.
JUSUN, however, reportedly vowed to re-seal all courts in Lagos State following information that the state chapter had partially resumed operation.
