The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Florence Ajimobi celebrates first birthday without hubby

    Florence Ajimobi celebrates first birthday without hubby

    By Olushola Ricketts

    Florence, the beautiful wife of former Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi, clocked 62 a few days ago and her children did their best to put a smile on her face.

    Monday, April 5, marks the first time she would be celebrating without her beloved husband who died on June 25 last year from COVID-19 complications. The couple married in 1980 and the union was blessed with five children – four girls and a boy.

    But despite the absence of husband, Florence didn’t have a dull day on Monday. Her daughter, Abisola Kola-Daisi, was at the centre of it all. She paid her a surprise visit, got her exciting gifts and made her dance to Afrobeats.

    In one of the photos shared, Abisola wrote: “Birthday present from daddy. We will always hold it down for you, Papa.”

    Although there was no elaborate party, family and friends visited the house. The late governor’s wife was showered with beautiful flowers, gifts and love.

  • Sanusi Lamido Sanusi makes another successful outing

    Sanusi Lamido Sanusi makes another successful outing

    By Oladapo Sofowora

    Royalty is indeed sweet, the respect, allure, and grand opulence that comes with it soothes the heart but royalty is innate. He might have been dethroned by the Governor of Kano State Dr. Abdulahai Ganduje but the blue blood in his veins still flows with much ado.

    Former Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi still commands much respect among all sundry. The reason he is being accorded that much respect even when he ceases to be the emir ancient Kano Emirate still raises concern as his influence keeps looming large like a wildfire. To some, his dethronement is politically motivated while some are indifferent but in all, he was a crusader for good governance and also spoke against the ills militating against the attainment of a just society.

    One year after his dethronement saga, his popularity has transcended the shores of Nigeria more and Nigerians accorded him more respect like the Emir. Any functions he graces, his entrance is always grande with a display of royal opulence. The royalty in him keeps oozing out at every point. His royal entourage and presence can hardly go unnoticed.

    Read Also: Why I sacked Sanusi as Emir of Kano – Ganduje

    Last Saturday at the installation of his close ally high Chief Kola Karim as the Agba Oye of Ibadan Land at the Popo Yemoja’s palace of the Olubadan of Ibadan Land, the Economics graduate from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaira made another successful outing with a grand reception at the Olubadan’s palace. When he arrived in a Black Benz in the company of his royal aides, decked in his regal white turban, white and yellow patterned inner-wear, and a black and white dotted robe, his presence changed the atmosphere. He calmly walked down into the palace to sit beside the Olubadan and Ooni of Ife Oba Ogunwusi Adeyeye as guests came to pay homage to him.

    “He will keep speaking against issues that affect the growth of the northern part of Nigeria. He would be 60 in the next few months; plans are already in place to give him a befitting 60th birthday celebration amidst pomp. He would forever be revered and respected for his giant strides in uplifting his people,” a source said.

  • Association of Nigerian beggars? Why not?

    Association of Nigerian beggars? Why not?

    By Vincent Akanmode

    If there is anything in dispute about Nigeria, it is certainly not its reputation as a country with endless possibilities in terms of the weird, the bizarre and the downright absurd. That much was evident in the march on Ibadan by more than 250 beggars penultimate Thursday, protesting low patronage from members of the public.

    Their protest came a few weeks after the video trended on the social media of a female beggar confessing that she was in the business of exchanging whatever money she collected as alms with two or three times the amount from marabouts, herbalists, other spiritualists and even some wealthy people who then use the sums she collected from unsuspecting members of the public for ritual purposes.

    The strange story became even more intriguing with the revelation that the woman in question was a landlady and car owner who would park her car at a distance and disguise as a beggar to collect alms she would later exchange with good money from those that would use her collections for money making rituals. Indeed, the game she had played for years was said to have come to an end when one of her tenants with whom she was not in good terms managed to recognise her in spite of the veil she wore to disguise her identity.

    Apparently taken in by the scary video in spite of its superstitious nature, the hitherto magnanimous givers around Ibadan decided that their generous disposition must come to an end. The result was the low patronage that sparked the protest embarked upon by the beggars in Africa’s second largest city penultimate Thursday.

    The spokesperson of the beggars and the Seriki (leader) of the Hausa community in Oja’ba, Ibadan, Imam Abubakar Abdullahi, believes that the video of the woman and the reports accompanying it had created deep hatred for his people, consequent upon which the alms were no longer coming.

    Abdullahi said: “The reports that some wealthy people are buying money from beggars, including the physically-challenged people, for money rituals is not true. As a result of the claim that some ritualists do buy money from these beggars, there has been public resentment against these innocent people. What we know is that traders, hawkers and commercial drivers do come to these beggars who are mainly blind and lame people to change money (into smaller denominations). We need to clear our names so that people will not be punishing us for offences we don’t know anything about.”

    While Abdullahi might have failed to disclose the daily, weekly or monthly income of the average beggar in Ibadan before the current slide in their economic fortune, he has succeeded, wittingly or unwittingly, in starting a movement that could culminate in the formation of an association by the nation’s beggars to resist the forces that seem determined to rob them of their fair share of the national cake. If the nation’s women of easy virtue could form an association, stridently protested absence of patronage during the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic earlier in the year and openly appealed to housewives to release their husbands so they could be patronised, then there is nothing preposterous about the nation’s beggars constituting themselves into a pressure group.

    A man of my acquaintance who saw things from the foregoing light had said that the beggars in Ibadan should not have stopped at protesting but should have taken a step further by going on strike. Before I could tell him it was the dumbest thing to do because they would die of hunger in their homes, he said: “You have no idea the number of highly placed public office holders whose lives rotate on the pivot of spirituality and superstition. They will not only find the beggars out from their hideaways on the instructions of their seers and marabouts, they will also facilitate the constitution of a panel to determine the immediate and remote causes of the beggars’ strike with a view to getting them back to the streets after paying them adequate compensation.”

    Case closed.

    From my mail box

    Re: Before hijab crisis destroys our beloved Kwara

    Dear Vincent, I read your piece on the above captioned on Page 9 of The Nation of 27th March, 2021 and felt obliged to share some lights.

    On two occasions, you referred to these schools as built and run by Christian missions. I’m thinking maybe you didn’t have a good grasp of the issues. These schools have been handed over to government since 1974, and since then, being financed, run and administered by state government with tax payers’ money. Most of d schools have been rebuilt, restructured and, at the least, developed with the people’s money.

    In another paragraph, you said granting aids to school does not transfer ownership. Like I said above, it’s outright takeover. Hence the funding and running of the schools is not shared with the government.

    From the above two, the owner of the schools, being the state government, has the right to decide the mode of dressing, especially to take care of all interests, which are the citizens of the state.

    You equally didn’t hide your sentiment when you said what happens if C&S comes to school in their robes. Please note that Muslims too have religious ceremonial wears like turban & other flowing gowns. But hijab is part of a Muslim girl’s dressing, without which she’s like naked.

    Your friends whose wives and daughters don’t don the hijab are not yet conscious of their religious duties and can’t be the yardstick. It’s like saying after all, some Christians or Muslims fornicate, therefore there’s nothing wrong in it.

    Also, you chastised the state government for treading the path of fairness and justice, more so when the same issue has been decided in their favour by two competent courts, even to the Court of Appeal.

    You didn’t see anything wrong in CAN that behaved maturely to seek interpretation of law ab initio, only to result to self help when d case didn’t favour them. Where then is “leadership by example”.

    On d same page, there’s another article titled “This Hijab Madness”, also by a Christian. I want to recommend that u read it, if you have not.

    May God almighty deliver this country from religious bigotry.

    • Ademola Munir

     

  • HOW OBASEKI’S BULLDOZERS RENDERED US HOMELESS: Relations of Odubu, other Oshiomhole’s associates count losses after demolition exercise

    HOW OBASEKI’S BULLDOZERS RENDERED US HOMELESS: Relations of Odubu, other Oshiomhole’s associates count losses after demolition exercise

    The demolition of Government Reservation Area (GRA) Benin homes of three frontline indigenes of Edo State while judgments were yet to be delivered on pending suits has heightened tension in the volatile state, writes South-south Bureau Chief, BISI OLANIYI.

    March 23 will remain etched in the memories of frontline All Progressives’ Congress (APC) chiefs, their family members and other supporters of the party whose houses were demolished by the bulldozers rolled out by the Godwin Obaseki-led PDP government in the state.

    Dr. Pius Odubu, the deputy to former National Chairman of APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole while the latter held sway as governor; a former Secretary to Edo State Government and the member representing Owan Constituency in the House of Representatives, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, and a sports enthusiast, Mr. Mike Itemuagbon, all had their houses demolished in an exercise that remains a shock to many residents of the city.

    The government had hinted at its decision to demolish the said houses when it published the revocation of the certificates of occupancy of a list of houses in the state government-owned Observer newspaper. The selective demolition of the houses belonging to APC members, however, sparked outrage among residents who interpreted the move as sheer political vendetta because other houses belonging to PDP members in the area were spared.

    Governor Obaseki had defected from APC to PDP in the build-up to the last governorship election in the state to pursue his re-election bid after failing to pick APC’s ticket over issues that bordered on his certificates.

    Critics of the demolition exercise wondered why Odubu’s house located directly opposite the guest house of the current SSG, Osarodion Ogie, was demolished while Ogie neither had his Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) revoked nor had his house demolished. Two of Odubu’s younger brothers, Joseph and Progress, were said to be the occupants of the house together with their wives and children at the time it was demolished.

    At the time the bulldozers began to demolish Odubu’s house, Joseph’s wife, Precious Odubu, was said to have gone to nearby Osadebe Avenue while her baby was asleep in the massive and tastefully-furnished building.  Rushing back home on learning about the demolition exercise, she was said to have gone down on her knees and pleaded desperately with the law enforcement agents that accompanied the bulldozers to allow her to retrieve her baby.

    While the security agents granted her permission to retrieve the infant, further pleading by Precious that they should give her 20 minutes to retrieve some valuable items in the house fell on deaf ears as she was reportedly pushed out by members of the demolition team who told her that they had Obaseki’s instruction to “crush” everything in the three affected houses.

    The demolition team from Government House, Benin, accompanied by fully armed soldiers, riot policemen and personnel of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), had gained entry into the compound through the back of the house after pulling down the high fence. Without allowing any of the occupants to remove any item from the massive building, the bulldozer immediately began to bring down the building from the back.

    Recalling her ugly experience, Precious said at about 4 pm on March 23, she had noticed some strange looking soldiers, policemen and NSCDC personnel in the neighbourhood, following which she politely approached them and demanded to know their mission only for her to later discover that they were there to demolish the house and render the two families that occupied the building homeless.

    Odubu’s cousin, Dennis Eribo, an engineer, who our correspondent met in the demolished house when he visited, said he was living in the building before he moved to his own house in another part of the city but had to rush down to the house to see things for himself after he was told that Obaseki’s bulldozers had moved against it.

    Eribo said he noticed that more than 20 riot policemen, 10 soldiers and many personnel of NSCDC accompanied the demolition team from Government House, Benin, contrary to claims earlier made by the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Edo State Police Command, Bello Kontongs, a Superintendent of Police (SP).

    Eribo said the demolished house contained fully-loaded wardrobes and expensive electronics, electrical appliances, kitchen utensils and other household items, in addition to the well furnished living rooms and bedrooms.

    He said: “Dr. Pius Odubu was the deputy to

    Comrade Adams Oshiomhole for eight years. Everybody knows that Comrade Oshiomhole will never freely allocate government’s plots or houses to anybody.

    “Dr. Odubu, as Edo deputy governor, bid for the then deputy governor’s guest house, got approval and it was gazette. He paid and got the C of O just like Ogie (current Edo SSG) and others.

    “Why will APC chieftains’ C of Os be revoked while those of the loyalists of Obaseki will be spared? Surprisingly, the alloactions were approved by Obaseki himself as the Chairman of the Economic Team in Oshiomhole’s administration for almost eight years.

    “The plots of land and houses of the APC’s chieftains were legally acquired and due process was followed. Ogie (SSG) and Edo deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, have their houses directly opposite Golf Course in the same GRA, which were acquired through the same process, but their own houses were not demolished and their C of Os were not revoked.

    “Obaseki or Edo State Government ought to have notified Dr. Odubu and others of the planned demolition in order for the former deputy governor to inform his younger brothers and their families to vacate the property rather than crushing the valuable items. That was a display of pure bitterness and brazen impunity.”

    Eribo also said at the time of the demolition, Progress Odubu’s wife was not at home but in her shop, only to be alerted and to quickly return home to see the huge destruction of their valuable property.

    Oshiomhole’s former deputy, Odubu, who was earlier screened and cleared as chairman of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) but was yet to be inaugurated along with other members of the board over intrigues and power play, said the action of the state government was really unfortunate and least expected because the matter was pending before a court of competent jurisdiction.

    Odubu said: “I read in the Edo State Government owned Nigerian Observer newspaper in January this year that the C of O of my property situated at Dennis Osadebe Avenue in GRA, Benin City has been revoked without prior notice given to me.

    “The information came to me in the afternoon of Tuesday, March 23, 2021 that my property situated at Dennis Osadebe Avenue, Benin City had been brought down by agents of Edo State Government on the directive of Governor Godwin Obaseki.

    “My younger brothers and members of their families were in the house when it was brought down and they did not give them notice or allow them to remove any of their property before destroying the house.”

    At the demolished residence of Ihonvbere, which was still under construction at No. 8, Omo-Osagie Avenue, beside Morshoria Residence (No. 10) and almost opposite the mansion of Austin Alegeh, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a security man, John Wilfred, expressed surprise that only the federal lawmaker’s house was singled out for demolition in the neighbourhood.

    Wilfred also said that stern looking soldiers, policemen and personnel of NSCDC accompanied the demolition team.

    Ihonvbere told our reporter on the telephone that he had left Obaseki’s matter to God over the March 23 demolition of his GRA, Benin house, stressing that it was not the end of the world.

    The federal lawmaker said: “The vindictive Governor Godwin Obaseki of the PDP is behind the demolition of my house in GRA, Benin City.

    “My demolished house has approved building plan, while the C of O was approved by Godwin Obaseki as the Chairman of the Economic Team in the administration of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.

    “When Governor Obaseki suddenly revoked the C of O of my house in January this year without giving any reason, I filed a suit to challenge the decision. The case is still pending in court but Obaseki opted to demolish my house. He will not be Edo governor forever.”

    Ihonvbere, an APC chieftain, also urged his supporters to remain calm in the face of provocation.

    The demolished well-furnished two-bedroom bungalow of Itemuagbon, also a chieftain of APC, is located behind Odubu’s house that was pulled down, separated by a fence. The bulldozer that demolished the house had entered through the gate of the sports enthusiast’s residence.

    At the time of the demolition, according to Eribo, the building was being occupied by the sports enthusiast’s personal assistant (P.A.), Mr. Sixtus Omokhagbor, who also lost all his property while Itemuagbon’s Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), a Montero Mitsubishi with registration number Lagos LSR 568 AY, would have been crushed by the demolition team but for the pleas made by the security man, whose gate-house apartment was looted by the accompanying thugs.

    Omokhagbor was not at the demolished house when our correspondent visited, while his security man declined to speak. Eribo revealed that Odubu’s two younger brothers, Itemuagbon’s P.A. and their families had been rendered homeless and were not allowed to retrieve any item from the demolished houses.

    The Edo State chapter of APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chris Azebamwan, condemned what it called the brazen demolition of the GRA, Benin houses of three of its frontline leaders, which it said should not be condoned in a democracy.

    The main opposition party said: “The APC in Edo State condemns the wanton, unwholesome and sacrilegious demolition of the houses belonging to citizens of Edo State by Obaseki-led PDP government.

    “Obaseki, about this same time last year, demolished the private property of another APC chieftain, Mr. Tony Kabaka Adun. Unchallenged, he has taken a step further all in a bid to intimidate, suppress, hound, crush and silence his perceived enemies.

    “No doubt, it is part of Obaseki’s ‘Make Edo State Great Again’ agenda to regularly and willfully demolish properties belonging to perceived opponents and dissenting or critical voices in the state, in the bid to foist a siege mentality on the citizenry.”

    APC in Edo also reiterated that Obaseki had earlier this year revoked the C of Os of the three demolished houses, stressing that the demolition was carried out while the cases were still in court, describing it as unacceptable and amounting to a subversion of the rule of law.

    It said: “The proper thing would have been for Edo State Government to wait for the outcome of the court processes. But apparently because it knew that it was pursuing an illegal agenda, it demolished the properties.

    “We urge Obaseki to perish the idea of trying to use false claims and propaganda to justify the wicked act, as such cannot hoodwink Edo people from the truth. We also reject this constant invasion of citizen’s privacy and demolition of their property, as it is not only wicked, but cowardly. It is a direct recipe for crisis in our state.

    “We caution against future action in this guise, because it is borne out of hatred and political intolerance, in furtherance of the larger plot by the PDP and its administration to destroy the fabric that binds Edo people and eventually overheat the polity.

    “Edo people know now that the PDP and its government are unduly hounding, harassing and demolishing property of citizens, for daring to be among compatriots at the forefront of the quest to rescue our state from misrule and strangleholds of a cabal that does not mean well for the people.”

    Obaseki, through Edo SSG Ogie, however, justified the demolition of the three houses, saying that the C of O of his plot of land in GRA, Benin, was also revoked.

    Ogie’s press statement was titled “Ejection of Illegal Occupants from Edo State Government Property.”

    He said: “On December 21, 2020, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, revoked the Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) of eleven government properties within the GRA (Benin), which were allotted to former political office holders, companies and private individuals, as parting gifts on the eve of the exit of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole from office.

    “One of the properties was allocated to Governor Obaseki and was also revoked.

    “The property have been revoked and recovered and therefore automatically belong to the original owner, which is the Government of Edo State. Therefore, the persons occupying the said property are doing so illegally and are trespassers.

    “The action taken by the Edo State Government on Tuesday, March 23, 2021, was to evict the trespassers and squatters from the property and effectively take possession of the assets. Therefore, the claims by the affected persons that their personal properties were demolished are false and baseless.”

    Edo SSG also stated that one of the properties in question, according to him, to which Odubu laid claim, was actually the official lodge of the SSG, claiming that all SSGs after Oshiomhole’s administration would not have an official residence.

    He said: “Some of those affected, including a former governor, have now resorted to media blackmail, when in fact they forcefully (sic) ejected senior academic staff of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) from the government property, only to convert them to their own private use.

    “Contrary to insinuations that government embarked on the recovery of the property out of vendetta, the truth is that these are the only remaining property in the GRA that belong to the state government. If they are allowed to be taken over by these private individuals, it means that when government wants to embark on any project within the GRA, it will have to resort to purchasing from the open market.”

  • ENDANGERED SPECIES (2): Natives rot in poverty as questions trail billions of naira budgeted for Niger Delta development

    ENDANGERED SPECIES (2): Natives rot in poverty as questions trail billions of naira budgeted for Niger Delta development

    Multinational oil companies have always been crucified for the deplorable state of Niger Delta and the horrible living standard of the people, but the failure of locals to judiciously utilise budgetary allocations to improve the region is equally alarming. In the last 20 years, over N800 billion is said to have been released for developmental projects aimed at improving living standard in the region through the Niger Delta Development Commission without a corresponding impact on the lives of the people. Security operatives saddled with securing the area are also accused of conspiracy in respect of the people’s plight, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    IFE in the three core Niger Delta states of Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta, Nigeria’s treasure base, presents a clear case of paradox. The region is stupendously blessed with crude oil which, according to studies, provides over 80 per cent of government revenue, 95 per cent of export receipts and 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings but the people live in deplorable conditions because of the massive degradation of the environment by oil spills occasioned by the activities of multinational oil companies operating in the region.

    According to an Amnesty International report, Eni has since 2014 reported 820 spills in the Niger Delta, with 26,286 barrels or 4.1 million litres lost.

    “Since 2011, Shell has reported 1,010 spills, with 110,535 barrels or 17.5 million litres lost. That’s about seven Olympic swimming pools.

    “These are huge numbers, but the reality may be even worse. The companies’ figures are vastly different to those of the Nigerian government, which recorded 1369 Shell spills and 1659 ENI spills in the same timeframes.

    “The spill volumes are also likely to be inaccurate as our research has shown how the companies underestimate the real amount,” AI said.

    The foregoing, according to the inhabitants, is compounded by the activities of people engaging in illegal bunkering. Security operatives who are expected to ward off criminal elements and ensure sanity in the region are allegedly involved in the act.

    “We cannot be talking about oil pollution caused by multinational oil companies without considering the level of devastation of the environment by those involved in illegal bunkering aided by the Nigerian security agents that have been assigned to protect  the environment. They have become the major stakeholders of illegal bunkering in the Niger Delta.

    “The security agents posted to this area, who are supposed to protect the Nigerian environment, are 75 per cent involved in illegal bunkering,”  Comrade Sheriff  Mulade, National Coordinator, Centre  for Peace and Environmental Justice and traditional chief in Gbaramatu area of Delta State, said.

    Continuing, he said: “That means that even the communities are afraid  to resist illegal bunkering in their territory because the security agents are fully involved in this act. I am talking authoritatively.

    “What I am telling you is across the entire Niger Delta. From Ondo State where illegal bunkering is taking place to River State. But this dwells more in Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers.

    “The only hope we had to curtail the level of illegal bunkering activities were the Nigerian security agents, but we later discovered that  they are involved to the tune of 75 per cent, therefore it is very difficult  to stop illegal bunkering.

    “That is one of the greatest causes of  the continuous pollution of the Niger Delta coupled with the multinational oil companies who continue to destroy the environment.

    “How do they continue to destroy the environment? They dictate the pace of any government in the country.

    “Nigeria as a nation has some of the best environmental laws in Africa if not the world. But as  the saying goes, he who pays the piper dictates the tune.

    “The multinationals dictate the tune of the government so they cannot enforce environmental policies on them.”

    The Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Navy, Suleiman Dahun, did not answer the calls made to his mobile phone. He, however, responded to  a text message demanding his  reaction, saying tersely: “Be specific, and provide facts and figures.”

    Our correspondent explained that he was supposed to react to the allegation. He also asked whether any officer had been arrested for engaging in illegal bunkering.

    “Am not aware,” he responded, declining response to another question sent to him.

    Aggrieved members of the region also blamed the NDDC  for the despicable  state of infrastructure and ecological development in the area.

    A Port Harcourt based senior lawyer, Chief Saro Pyagbara, described the huge investment on NDDC as a waste.

    He said: “NDDC should be scrapped. It is a waste of resources. They have only succeeded in empowering a few Niger Delta people based on graft and corruption.

    “Fifty per cent of contracts in NDDC  is actually owned by some people up north.

    “I did some research and presented it to the UN Permanent Forum in 2005. My findings were that NDDC was rooted in deep corruption.

    “In some places, you will see NDDC sign post on some contracts that the state government has claimed to have done. Then you ‘ll also see where the NDDC claimed to have awarded contracts in certain areas  particularly in the area of water supply, but when you get to that community, there is no water.

    “In some places they said they had done shore line but when you get there, there is no shoreline.

    “Just recently, we found that there is a particular person who established a private university and all the staff of the institution are being paid salaries through the NDDC.”

    Not comfortable with the performance of NDDC over the years, a  former  commissioner for the environment in Bayelsa State, Hon Inuruo Wills, said the mission of the NDDC needs to be restored.

    Wills said: “The two primary objectives of the NDDC  are to tackle the ecological challenges of the Niger Delta and to facilitate infrastructural and social economic develop ment of the region.

    “Unfortunately, they have failed woefully in tackling the ecological challenges.

    “There is a mis-match between the volume of money available to the NDDC  and the impact. NDDC is not performing very well but the statutory funding is not fully given to it.”

    Alarmed by the alleged  rot in the commission, BudgIT, a civic organization that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement to facilitate societal change rhetorically asked: “Why’s the oil-rich Niger Delta region so underdeveloped even after the creation of the Niger Delta Development Commission?

    “In 2016/2017 alone, this is how N174 billion was spent on misplaced priorities. N34 BILLION for JETTY PROJECTION. N1.7bn for HEALTH.

    “Since inception in 2000, NDDC has received at least $40bn (N15 trillion) for projects in oil-rich Niger Delta yet failed to achieve the Niger Delta Regional Development Masterplan to lay the foundation for transforming the region into Nigeria’s Dubai.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020 ordered a speedy and coordinated investigation into the corruption scandal in the commission. “ I  have ordered a forensic audit of the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC). With the amount of money the Federal Government has allocated, we’d like to see the results on the ground. Those that are responsible for that have to explain certain issues.

    “The projects that are said to have been done must be verifiable. One cannot just say billions have been spent and when the sites are visited, there is nothing to be seen as proof of work done.

    “The forensic audit will cover the NDDC’s operations from 2001 to 2019.”

    Devastated communities seek justice abroad

    In spite of abundance of well-structured courts in the country, communities devastated by oil spills are said to prefer going abroad to seek justice.

    Former Bayelsa State Commissioner for environment, Hon Inuruo Wills, said justice is not available in Nigeria for the communities and that is why some are going abroad to look for environmental justice.

    He said: “Apart from delay in our legal system, the regulatory structure is thousands of kilometres away from the theatre of pollution. NOSDRA, which is the main regulatory body in terms of the environment, is not well funded like DPR.

    “They cannot really operate. If you see them going for Joint Investigation Visit (JIV), they don’t have the logistics.

    “The NOSDRA Act mandates an oil spill control centre in the region but it has not been set up 15 years after. When a spill occurs, NOSDRA is forced to wait for the oil company for even transport. If you are the polluter, would you want to move immediately?

    “Oil companies always try to use divide and rule by looking for some elements within the community  they can compromise when they find the community is seeking for justice. “

    Amnesty International in a report shared information of how it helped a Rivers community get justice abroad.

    It said: “In 2008 and 2009, two massive oil spills in the fishing town of Bodo had a catastrophic impact. Thick black oil leaked into rivers and creeks for weeks, killing fish and robbing people of their livelihoods.

    “Shell, the operator of the leaking pipelines, repeatedly understated the volume of oil spilled and offered the community only a paltry amount of compensation ($4000).

    “With the help of Amnesty International, the Bodo community took legal action. Shell admitted it had made false statements about the size of the spills and settled out of court, paying the community £55 million in compensation.”

    The report added: “We wanted to help other communities get justice too, but we knew we couldn’t trust the oil companies’ version of events.

    “We needed to look through all the spill reports provided by oil companies and compare them with pictures of the pipelines, to understand what was really happening in the Niger Delta.

    “But we had a problem: there were thousands of documents and images, far too many even for Amnesty’s dedicated researchers to look through.”

    Delta considers taking blood samples of community members

    Following complaints of health challenges allegedly caused by the effects of oil spills, the Delta State Government has said it is planning to start taking blood samples of people in affected communities to determine the level of the damage done to their health.

    The Commissioner for Environment, Chris Onokpa, in a chat with our correspondent, said: “We take water sample whenever there is pollution. We are also planning to take the blood sample of the people because it affects their health. The people often complain of how much their health is affected and that forms part of what we discuss with the oil company.

    “The law provides that the polluter also pays. They are also made to tender palliatives. A lot of people depend on water from natural stream, and once there is oil pollution and the water is contaminated, it is only fair that we take the blood sample of the people too.

    “Going forward, we would take samples from fishes, the water body and blood sample of the people to determine the level of damage to their bodies.

    “Delta State Government always frowns at oil pollution because once there is oil pollution, it endangers the aquatic life. The entire ecosystem is usually destroyed and it is injurious to the health of the people.

    “Oil pollution is as a result of equipment failure most times or third party activity. When there is a spill, the law says that NOSDRA, the oil company and the state ministry of the environment would do a JIV.

    On the alleged involvement of security operatives in illegal bunkering, Onokpa said: “It is neither here nor there. I can’t say for sure that military officers are involved in illegal bunkering until anyone is caught.

    “I am also not exonerating them. But until we have proof beyond doubt, that is when we can say they are involved. But I do know along the line that there are usually activities of third party.”

    We’ve drastically reduced spills – Shell, Eni

    The two major multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta, Shell and Eni, said they have drastically reduced oil spills in the region.

    Eni’s External Communication/Media Relations, Sub Saharan Africa, Marilia Cioni, in a reponse to our request, shared a link of how the company is dealing with the challenge.

    Information on the link partly reads: “Asset integrity is central to our business. All Eni’s subsidiaries throughout the world comply with Company Standards, national legislation and applicable international standards in all their operations, and always apply serious preventive measures to contain incidents.

    “Over the past years, NAOC JV facilities (wells, flowlines and pipelines approximately covering 3.000 km) have been a target of criminal groups and militants with access to the area and knowledge of the territory, engaged in illegal activities resulting in significant losses. The company has developed an integrated strategy to prevent, reduce, contain and remediate these events and their impact.

    “Eni’s strategy for reducing operational oil spills and oil theft involves joint action across all the possible intervention plans, from the administrative to the technical prevention aspects, control initiatives, quality and speed of intervention, and also participation in several international initiatives.

    Media Relations Manager of Shell, Bamidele Odugbesan, in his reaction via email, said:

    “The SPDC JV continues its relentless focus to prevent spills from oil production in the Niger Delta. In 2019, the company reduced operational spills to their lowest levels, significantly reduced breaches from wellheads and cleaned up more spill sites than ever before.

    “There is still much work to do but through a solid strategy, active partnerships, closer community engagements, bold security and new surveillance equipment, the company is making good progress.

    “Shell has a global ambition to achieve no harm and no leaks across all its operations. This is known as Goal Zero. To reduce the number of operational spills in Nigeria, the SPDC JV is focused on implementing its ongoing work programme to appraise, maintain and replace key sections of pipelines and flow lines.”

    He added: “In 2019, SPDC completed another 30 kilometres of new pipelines, bringing the total laid over the last eight years to around 1,330 kilometres. These efforts have significantly reduced operational spills over 100 kilograms to seven incidents and 28 tonnes of crude in 2019, compared to 15 incidents and 413 tonnes in 2018. This represents a year-on-year reduction of more than 90% by volume, returning the joint venture to its trend of reducing operational spills.

    “Community engagement and the ongoing commitment from government agencies has also helped shorten response times to incidents. SPDC’s average8 time to complete the clean-up of free and/or residual spilled oil has halved from 13 days in 2016 to seven days in 2019. Closer engagement with communities has helped SPDC to access spill locations more quickly, meaning on average that joint investigations now commence within three days in 2019 compared to six days in 2016. However, the challenge of preventing spills relating to sabotage and theft by third parties remains. These illegal activities accounted for 95% of the SPDC JV spill incidents in 2019, a similar proportion to previous years.

    “In 2019, there were 1569 theft and sabotage-related spills over 100 kilograms, up from 109 in 2018. This is due to factors such as increased availability of production facilities after a major export line repair in 2017, crude theft activities in an election year when government security agents can be reassigned, and the price of crude oil and refined products that is seen as an opportunity for illegal refining. Despite preventive efforts, spilled volumes from illegal activities increased to around 2,000 tonnes of crude in 2019, compared with around 1,600 tonnes in 2018.”

    On the company’s response and investigation, he said: “When a leak is identified, production is suspended, and efforts made to contain any spilled oil. We regularly test our emergency spill response procedures and capability to ensure staff and contractors can respond rapidly to an incident. In line with government regulations, a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) team visits the spill site to establish the cause and volume of oil spilled. The team comprises representatives from SPDC, regulators, government security agencies, state governments and communities.

    “In addition to responding to recent spill incidents, the SPDC JV continues to identify and remediate legacy spill locations. In 2019, 130 sites were remediated and 123 certified by Nigerian government regulators, compared to 116 certified and 45 remediated in 2018. Regardless of the cause, SPDC cleans up and remediates areas impacted by spills that come from its operations. In the case of operational spills, SPDC also pays compensation to communities impacted by the spill. Once the clean-up and remediation are completed, the work is inspected and, if satisfactory, approved and certified by Nigerian government regulators.”

  • REIGN OF TERROR! Anxiety in Southeast states as gunmen unleash horror

    REIGN OF TERROR! Anxiety in Southeast states as gunmen unleash horror

    By Innocent DURU; Nwanosike ONU, Awka; Emma ELEKWA; Chris NJOKU, Owerri; Sunny NWANKWO, Umuahia and Ogochukwu ANIOKE, Abakaliki

    THE relative peace enjoyed by the inhabitants of the Southeast region of the country is fast fizzling out as attacks on security agents and their stations have assumed a worrisome dimension in the last three months.

    Many security agents, particularly policemen, have been brutally murdered in Abia, Imo, Anambra and Ebonyi states during attacks by gunmen who usually operate in large numbers.

    The development has become a cause for concern among the people who are now worried that it could degenerate into the  ugly situation in the Northeast where the pockets of attacks begun by the Boko Haram sect in 2009 has since degenerated into full scale war between the insurgents and federal troops.

    Besides, there is also the fear that the challenge could cripple the economic and social activities in the region.

    In Imo State, residents of Owerri, the state capital, woke up in the early hours of Monday to an atmosphere of war as dynamites were used to blow up the Police Command Headquarters and Owerri Correctional Centre. More than 600 detainees in police custody and more than 1,700 inmates of the correctional centre were released in the process.

    Gunmen numbering more than 100 reportedly stormed the two government institutions, destroying properties and files containing details of the criminal records of the detainees in both the police custody and the correctional centre.

    Two days later, two police stations at Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state were razed by the invaders, who also carted police ammunition away.

    The situation has given rise to tension and apprehension in the state as residents now live in perpetual fear of what could happen next. Shops and business centres in the city now close early as the incident reverberates round the state.

    Security experts have since been reacting to the incident with a view to proffering a solution to the problem. A former Commissioner of Police in the state, Taiwo Lakanu, told one of our correspondents that the government and other stakeholders need to sit down to seriously discuss  the issue of security not only in Imo but in the entire country, adding that the incidents in the state called for a total overhaul of the nation’s security architecture.

    Lakanu said: “The situation in Imo State is something that nobody had expected in terms of the humungous nature of the incident. Looking at it from that perspective, I think we need to overhaul our security system.

    “What happened in the state, if there were security intelligence, they would have detected that it was going to happen.

    “When I was in Imo, with due respect, I took the issue of community policing and the people very seriously. I had very serious relationship with them. They were always giving me information in advance in terms of crimes and criminal activities,” he said.

    The current CP, Lakanu noted, is very experienced, but unfortunately, he was caught unawares.

    “And I think the situation is becoming overwhelming not only to the police but to other security agencies. So, we need to sit down and have a deep talk on the issue.

    “Secondly, security is not something that can be over looked. When you talk about security, you need to pump money into it. Do we have the equipment? The welfare of the men, are they being taken care of?

    “Those are the major factors, because you do not expect a dog that has not eaten to protect you.”

    He noted that the issue of technology and weapons play important role in crime fighting, wondering how many policemen and stations have tear gas, vehicles and logistics.

    “Those are questions we need to ask ourselves and provide answers to, because if you think that without all these things you can succeed, we are deceiving ourselves. Let’s tell ourselves the home truth.”

    According to him, “countries are using drones all over the world, but how many do we have?

    “Even the military, in fighting Boko Haram, complain all the time about lack of ammunition and arms, and there is no gainsaying that Boko Haram has sophisticated weapons.”

    He said there are missing gaps which, if not filled, the problem of banditry would continue.

    He said: “It is a bad omen if brigands could come in like that and go scot-free because that will give them encouragement to move into other areas like the government house and perform.

    “In my time, I had the cooperation of the people and we were assiduously working together. I was having regular meetings with traditional rulers.

    “I had 12 vigilante groups with larger population than the police and I was making good use of them. They saw themselves as closer policemen. If anything was going to happen, they would quickly alert me. They helped to catch bandits.”

    In his own reaction to the problem, elder statesman And Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Mike Ahamba, appealed to Nigerians to go to the table and discuss instead of going into the field to fight.

    He said: “It is unfortunate that without a war, the nation is in a state of war. I am appealing to everybody in Nigeria, let’s go to the table and talk instead of allowing ourselves to go into the field and fight.

    “We need to sit down and discuss the problems of Nigeria, find out everybody’s anger, look at the constitution and decide whether to put it aside.

    “America had a confederal constitution before. They put it aside and adopted a federal constitution. We have a purported federal constitution. We can put it aside and put up a confederal constitution.

    “Let’s adjust this country in a manner that makes  the states more responsible to themselves.

    “We need to reduce the concentration of power at the centre and diffuse power to the states, so that the way you develop will depend on your own people.

    “What has happened shows the state of insecurity in the country. If those in charge of police stations and prisons are no longer capable of holding their grounds against bandits, then we have a serious situation in our hands, and whatever is causing this needs to be discussed.”

    He however does not believe that the solution lies in state police, noting that the present constitution would not allow that to be.

    “We need a complete review of the constitution. It is not a matter of amendment. Let the National Assembly organise a constitutional conference to review our constitution, otherwise innocent people will be dying and criminals will be taking advantage of it.”

    Reacting to the Owerri incident, the National President of Ohanaeze Youth Council, Comrade Igboayaka O Igboayaka described it as unfortunate and a failure of leadership

    He said: “There is no effective government in Nigeria anymore. The Owerri and Benin jailbreaks are evidence of colossal leadership failure from the political actors in Nigeria, the neglect of Nigeria youths on job creation which is speedily leading to youth restiveness and crisis.

    “Owerri, Benin jail break, burning of police stations all over Nigeria, banditry, gunmen are all signs that the Nigerian government has failed the youth and must quickly negotiate with them or wait for the worst day of Nigeria.

    “To attack the Imo State Police Command, which is less than 20 minutes drive to the location of the 34 artillery brigade in Obinze, is an indication that the former IGP has questions to answer as regards the operation.”

    He said the immediate past IGP should bury his head in shame rather than quickly come out to blame IPOB and messing up the security intelligence of Nigeria before the international community.

    He said: “It is quite unfortunate that FUNAM claimed responsibility for the attack on Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, yet the IGP and the Nigerian government did nothing about it.

    “From all indications, the Nigerian government and the security chiefs are part of the conspiracy in the recent insecurity in Nigeria, which includes banditry, kidnapping, Boko Haram terrorism, killing by herdsmen and the activities of unknown gunmen.

    “I therefore call on the National Assembly to summon former IGP Adamu for questioning and order his immediate arrest for jeopardising the security of Nigeria with high recklessness.

    “This government is joking with the lives and properties of Nigerians. When Boko Haram terrorists said they shot down the Air Force jet, the NAF said they lied. FUNAM claimed responsibility of the attempted assassination of Governor Samuel Ortom, the IGP kept quiet.

    “Through its actions, the present government is dividing the country more and more. Nigeria is now like a ship hit by a tornado.”

    Prior to the attacks that took place during the week, two police officers had lost their lives when hoodlums on February 5 attacked Umulowo Police Division in Obowo Local Government Area of the state. Three others sustained various degrees of injuries.

    Less than three weeks after the incident, another attack was recorded when gunmen, driving in four vehicles, attacked Aboh Mbaise Divisional Police Headquarters.  A police woman was shot during the gun duel with the hoodlums.

     

    ABIA

    Abia State has had an unpalatable share of the incessant attacks on police stations and police officers by gunmen.

    A total of six policemen have been killed in various attacks on uniformed men in the state while the armoury was blindly looted.

    Apart from the killing of 11 members of a group of gunmen who unsuccessfully attacked the Ariaria Junction military post on the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway, other operations carried out on various police stations across the three senatorial zones of the state were successful.

    Some of the police stations successfully attacked in Abia include Uratta Police Station, Isiala Ngwa Police Division; World Bank (popularly known as Abayi Police Station) and Ohafia Police Station, as well as the killing of police officers for the second time in Ohafia LGA recently, where their weapons were also carted away.

    During one of the attacks on the Omoba Police Station in Isiala Ngwa South council area, Abia State on February 1, the gunmen killed a policeman.

    Operating on motorcycles, they were said to have opened fire on approaching the station while the policemen on guard repelled the attack. It was alleged that the gunmen overpowered the police, gained access to the station and looted the arms and ammunition stored in the armoury.

    On February 23, two officers were killed while some rifles were stolen as gunmen attacked another police station in Aba.

    Last month, another three police officers were reportedly killed, bringing the number of murdered officers to six within a space of one month.

    The officers were reportedly ambushed and their patrol vehicle set ablaze by the gunmen who fled with the rifles belonging to the slain officers.

    Though business and economic activities have been going on in Aba, Umuahia, Isuikwuato, Ohaia and Arochukwu regardless of the security challenges in the state, Abians have expressed worries over the threats to lives and property in the state, especially with the recent attacks in Imo State and Wednesday’s report of heavy military presence in communities that share borders with the Abia end of Obingwa and Ukwa areas.

    Security experts and members of the civil society fear that the inability of the security agencies to come together to curb the growing security challenges in the zone from any group will impart negatively on the lives of the people of the zone who are predominantly traders.

    A security expert, Mr. Victor Chibueze, said: “What we are witnessing today in the Southeast resulted from negligence on the parts of state governors and the federal government. We (security experts) had long warned against whatever is happening today, but the government gave deaf ears to it.

    “What are the governors doing with the security votes that they get every month? They are meant to prepare their states against situations like this. How far have the governors of the southeast and the federal government gone to support security agencies in their states?

    “If the funds were released by the federal government, who among the security heads is with the money?

    “From what we have read and watched, it seems like the people perpetrating this act know more than the security agents do?

    “The successful invasion of the police stations and looting of their armouries have made us to begin to question the intelligence of our security agencies and raised the question of internal collaboration.

    “Of course, we all heard about the stealing of guns from the armoury of Mopol 28 located inside the Umuahia Police Command Headquarters.

    “It is a task that the IGP who has a lot already at hand should deal with. Nigerians are losing trust in our security agencies and they must act fast to regain the peoples’ trust.

    “We recently read about how the police refused to come to a crime scene at Obohia Road in Aba. They may not be entirely blamed, because what happened in Imo State on Monday morning and Tuesday called for caution, but then, the result is that two suspects that would have been saved were left at the mercy of an angry mob.”

    A police personnel, who spoke anonymously when asked how they are dealing with the insecurity in the state, said: “Is it not someone with a good gun that would pursue armed robber? Is it not one who is sure that government will take care of his family if he dies doing police work will die for the job?

    “You need to see what where we work and live looks like. If the people in power do what they are supposed to do, you will know that the police can even work better than Nigerians expect from them.”

    The Commissioner for Information in the state, John Okiyi Kalu, after one of the attacks, said the state government was offering N1 million reward to anyone with useful information that could lead to the arrest of the gunmen.

    The government announced an immediate ban on the use of tricycles and motorcycles from 7 pm to 7 am in “all major cities” in the state.

    “We wish to assure members of the public that the government is working with security agencies in the state to fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly crime and bring them to justice as quickly as possible,” Mr Kalu said in a statement.

    “No part of Abia land will be ceded to criminals operating under any guise and we will not spare any resource in ensuring that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are brought to book in no distant time and the stolen arms and ammunition recovered completely.

    “Sadly, the arms these hoodlums have carted away from law enforcement agents will most likely be used against innocent citizens.

    “Government, therefore, calls on citizens to avail law enforcement agencies with vital information that will lead to the arrest of the criminals and recovery of these arms.”

    The state government on Monday imposed a curfew in the state capital, Umuahia, and the state’s commercial city of Aba, hours after hoodlums launched daring attacks on police and correctional service headquarters in the neighbouring Imo State.

     

    ANAMBRA

    The security situation in Anambra State is said to have become a source of worry to every resident in the state, including the Governor Willie Obiano administration.

    In recent times, no fewer than 15 security personnel have been killed by yet to be identified gunmen in the state, who also confiscated their weapons. The gunmen invade communities to either kidnap or kill their targets.

    On March 18, some gunmen reportedly killed two policemen and three soldiers at different locations in Anambra State. While the policemen were said to have been killed at a checkpoint in Neni, Anaocha Local Government Area, the soldiers were killed at an outpost in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area, both in Anambra State.

    The gunmen also set a police van ablaze in Neni and carted away arms belonging to the deceased policemen, while in Awkuzu, the slain soldiers also lost their weapons to the attackers.

    Two days after the attack, hoodlums again attacked the rebuilt Ekwolobia Police Station after injuring some policemen. Another attack was launched on a prison vehicle conveying some suspects to court in the same area.

    Witnesses said two members of the staff of the Nigeria Correctional Services (NCS), Awka, escorting inmates to court in Ekwulobia were gunned down by the gunmen.

    The latest prove of insecurity in Anambra State was the attack on the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof Chukwuma Soludo, in Isuofia, Aguata Local Government Area . The State’s Commissioner for Public Utilities, Emeka Ezenwanne, was also kidnapped while three of his security details were killed in the process.

    Residents of the state have not been sleeping with both eyes closed as the state has moved from one security challenge to another on a daily basis.

    Before the attack on Soludo, gunmen had killed three military men in Awkuzu, Oyi Local Government Area and three policemen at Neni, Anaocha Local Government Area. They had also attacked and killed two members of the staff of Awka correctional service, who took the inmates to a court in Ekwulobia

    Speaking with our correspondent in Awka, the State capital, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said the command was not leaving anything to chance in the effort to nip the situation in the bud.

    Tochukwu said there was no cause for alarm, adding that finding a solution to the constant gridlock in parts of the state was part of the measures being taken to tackle the problem.

    The PPRO said the attacks by gunmen was a call for more work and surveillance, adding that some actions were being taken to checkmate the situation

    Tochukwu said: “We have increased the tactical commands. There is 24-hour surveillance and you can see more visibility on the part of our men now.

    “We have equally created what we call Police Campaign Against Cultism and other Vices (POCOCOV), a platform to engage the youth (awareness platform).”

    He said the command would not fold its hands and allow hoodlums to take over Anambra State.

    In his reaction, a community leader in the state, Chief Modestus Umenzekwe, told The Nation that the major cause of all the problems is unemployment

    He said the government at all levels should talk to political gladiators, adding that politics is not a do or die affair

    Umenzekwe , who described the situation as terrible, advocated that government should go into dialogue with the communities, adding that community policing is also key.

    “This is the only way to get it right and reduce tension in the state and Nigeria,” he said.

    For rights activist and Governor Obiano’s Special Assistant on Community Matters, Comrade Obi Ochije, the tension caused by miscreants in the state will never rubbish what governor Obiano has done in the state in terms of security.

    Besides, he said, Obiano had held a meeting with traditional rulers, Presidents-general of all the communities and the vigilance groups on the worsening security challenge in the state

    The meeting, according to him, also featured all the heads of security outfits, the military, the police and the Civil Defence Corps, among others.

    A security expert in Anambra State, Dr Jeff Okeke, described the security situation in Anambra State as more of politics. He said the ugly development left many questions to be answered, including how the miscreants found their ways to the state.

    The American-trained computer scientist regretted that necessary surveillance technology procured by the government were yet to be properly deployed, just as he canvassed the engagement of more experts to address the menace.

    According to him, “this could not be far from politics. Questions left unanswered are: where were the hoodlums coming from? How did these unknown gunmen enter the state? Government should find out how they entered the state.

    “I think the Anambra State Government acquired the necessary surveillance technology but they are not putting it into good use. The kind of equipment the governor rolled out the day he launched the digital security was supposed to cover the entire Anambra.

    “The movement and activities of people should be dictated and perpetrators of such crimes as happened recently can be arrested under 12 hours, not even 24. Government should have mounted the equipment to cover the entire state.

    “This is a security matter and more experts should be involved to get it right.”

     

    EBONYI

    Residents of Ebonyi State are expressing worries about the recent attacks on security agencies and installations in the Southeast.

    Gunmen on January 8, 2021, attacked Onueke Police Station in Ezza South Local Government Area of the state, killing three police officers and leaving two others with bullet wounds.

    The slain officers, according to reports, included two male inspectors and a policewoman. The attackers reportedly carted away two AK 47 rifles from the police station.

    On February 4, the Police Divisional Headquarters in Isu, Onicha Local Government Area was also burnt by hoodlums who also torched four patrol vans.

    The gunmen also carted away some arms and ammunition at the station.

    Another attack was recorded on March 1, 2021 when gunmen attacked Iboko Divisional Police Station in Izzi Local Government Area with fire bombs.

    Residents of the state who spoke with The Nation feared that the attacks, if not checked, could lead to total breakdown of law and order in the region.

    A lawyer and Chairman of Afikpo South Local Government Area, Eni Uduma Chima, said the attacks could lead to the disintegration of the country.

    “What it portends for the region is that the ember of discord and disunity will be fanned and if it is not arrested, it will lead to the disintegration of the country,” he said.

    Eni said the issue is a serious threat which is not being given the full treatment and attention it deserves.

    “A situation where security formations are attacked and they keep quiet and where they manage to fend off the attack they consider it as an achievement is not acceptable.

    “They should be proactive. Fight against crime and criminality should be preventive not defensive. What is the point in waiting at the police station for people to be attacked, only hoping that you will conquer them?

    “And when you stop them from burning down the police station or prison facility, you think you have recorded achievement.

    “What of going after them even before the formation of the group? Gathering intelligence about the group, their location and what they intend to do, especially against the backdrop of IPOB saying they are not responsible, because if they were responsible then there is no basis for arguing that they are not a terrorist organization.”

    “When you burn down prison and free the inmates, you are not fighting the government, you are fighting against the families that have legitimate grievances and sought redress in court and got the people imprisoned.

    “So what you are telling them is that they can seek those people and then do jungle justice to them. It is not even in the interest of the inmates.

    “The institutions of the state—police, army and, in fact, all the armed forces—should be the bastion of our existence as a country. Sovereignty is the ultimate power of a state to make laws and enforce them within a definite territory. And when we cannot enforce laws, we cannot say that we are governing that territory or that it is part of the state. That is part of the indices of a failed state.

    “We are in a war situation, and unless we realise it, we may have ourselves to blame.”

    A businessman, Mr Obiora Chibueze, said the situation portends a bleak future for the region.

    He said: “The situation portends a future that is no longer certain about our socio-economic development as a people. It portends threat to our survival as a people. It again indicates increasing race towards anarchy, civil strife or war. It looks as if certain persons or groups are preparing for something.

    “However, there have been diverse views from some groups who are accusing the state of sponsoring terrorism to incriminate and destablise the region so as to send forces to the region.

    “There are groups saying that some non-state actors are just taking these steps to show their grievances at the way the region is being marginalised in the governance of this country.

    “Personally, I don’t think the step being taken against the institutions of the state is necessary because whatever reason for the attacks there must be these institutions.

    “If it is to actualise self-determination, there must be institutions. If it has nothing to do with self-determination and maybe somebody is trying to show disaffection at the way the country is being run, it has nothing to do with these institutions being attacked.

    “There are other peaceful ways of engaging the government. This is not in the interest of the region. This is going to retard our development. It is going to bring about anarchy, it is going to endanger our people so that government forces will begin to profile and punish our people. So it portends a bleak future for our people.”

    Spokesperson of Alaigbo Development Foundation, Abia Onyike, believes the attacks were intended to create an excuse for invasion of the Southeast.

    “I don’t believe that those are coming from our people. They are the handiwork of agent provocateurs and other enemies who want to create an enabling environment for the invasion of the Southeast by the military operators because the zone has been relatively more peaceful than other zones in the country,” he said

    He charged governors of the region and the Federal government to rise up to their duties of protecting the people of the zone

    Some Police officers who spoke on condition of anonymity said they and their colleagues in the state now live in fear at all times.

    “We don’t leave our stations wearing our uniforms these days for fear of being attacked. Even when we are in the station we are always at alert as these people can strike at any time. Morale is very low among us right now.”

  • On the Igbo Presidency Project (2)

    On the Igbo Presidency Project (2)

    By Igboeli Arinze

    The rest is history and President Muhammadu Buhari went on to defeat Jonathan and even went further to defeat Atiku Abubakar in 2019, using up the two terms meant for the North. In the spirit of fairness and the need to foster that elusive oneness presently under siege by a coterie of pseudo ethnic nationalists as well as a number of events that have made the claims of a united Nigeria less tenable, it is imperative that there is a power shift from the North to the South, anything other than this will only gift the Nnamdi Kanus , Sunday Igbohos, Adeyinka Grandsons and Asari Dokubos more ammunition to carry on their activities which only seek to divide Nigeria when it suits them.

    Each region in the South may angle for the seat, but with the fact that SouthWest has had its shot at the presidency following the Obasanjo years and that its sister region in the South South had five years under Goodluck Jonathan , it is therefore in the interest of the country to zone the presidency to the SouthEast region of the country, the only zone within the South that is yet to produce a president.

    The talk of Igbo Presidency is aimed at healing and strengthening the nation’s bonds, since the end of the civil war, NdiIgbo as a people have repeatedly questioned the essence of the ‘One Nigeria’ they were forced back into, this is not because of their unbelief in Nigeria,as the Igbo man has repeatedly shown  faith in the country than any other region or ethnic group. NdiIgbo, have repeatedly invested all over the country,built homes and businesses, lived amongst other communities sharing in the ties that bind us as one people. Yes we fought a war but that war was for our survival as a people, that war was forced on us by a counter coup, two pogroms and the reneging on the Aburi Accord, NdiIgbo thus are not with guilt and have no business apologizing to anyone for the carnage that we witnessed. The talk of denying the region the presidency owing to the coup of January the 15th 1966 and the civil war which ended in 1970 is in bad faith and must be rebuffed by well meaning Nigerians. Let us ask then, was the counter coup of July the 29th a bloodless one? Are we not to also seek retribution for those who participated in such? What of the willful massacre of brother officers who had no hand in the coup or the killing of civilians in the North? When shall we also exact retribution by denying these regions a place under the Nigerian Sun?

    While I agree that an Igbo presidency will not be a fix all to the nation’s problems, it could be a start to dealing with all the problems that stare us in the face. For example, following the unfair annulment of the June 12 elections, the Northern elite at that time sought for a Yoruba general to lead the country and help placate the region for its misdeeds in 1993. The Obasanjo presidency as bad as it was somewhat reunited the nation, a nation many had pencilled down to disintegrate by 2015. But for Obasanjo’s greed, the nation would have benefitted immensely from the constitutional confab and the constitutional review processes, all these were lost because the man wanted a third term! The nation also witnessed the same spell when Jonathan took the reins of office, here for the first time in our nation’s history, was a minority at the fore of our nation’s leadership, it sent a message that any Nigerian, without the distinction of birth, fortune, region and religion could aspire to become the president of this country and that it was not the birthright of anybody. It is also on record that the Constitutional Conference of 2014 under the auspices of the Jonathan government made a lot of milestone achievements and proffered a number of recommendations, sadly this was not to be as a Jonathan much more interested in a second term, kept the report to gather dust while he himself went on to be humiliated at the polls.

    What exactly am I driving at? Simple, NdiIgbo, having invested heavily in the nation know where the show pinches when it comes to the elusive search for that  ‘One Nigeria’. A President of Igbo extraction will not only reunite the nation, it will also give the nation the opportunity to restructure itself along the path of that free and fair Nigeria we all crave for.

    It is therefore insulting to the tenets of fairness and equity by which nations are forged and held together to deny the Igbo nation the opportunity to produce a successor to Muhammadu Buhari, granted, no ethnic group or region on its own can solely ascend to the presidency on its own and thus must engage in the horse trading expected to win the votes and confidence of other people, but then we must attempt to heal this so fractured nation, in such a healing lies our redemption as a people and as the vanguard of the black nation.  Like we did in 1999, let us replicate in 2023.

    Nigeria Must Succeed!

     

  • A ‘conversation’ with Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma

    A ‘conversation’ with Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma

    By Nnedinso Ogaziechi

    Penultimate week, The RoundTable Conversation had a conversation about the Civil Society, the People and the Nigerian dire position in both the global poverty index and the lack of gender parity in the Nigerian political space.

    However, just days after the publication, in the conversational style of The RoundTable, we sought the voices of two of the most admired civil rights advocates in Nigeria, Comrade Yinka Odumakin and Innocent Chukwuma. They walked the talk in a country filled with political turncoats, pseudo civil rights advocates, tribal bigots, ethnic jingoists and religious irredentists most of who have brought the nation to its political and economic knees.

    First was Comrade Yinka Odumakin, a renowned civil rights and good governance, gender rights advocate, columnist, former Spokesman for  Southern and Middlebelt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) , National publicity Secretary  for the Pan-Yoruba Group, Afenifere. He was the spokesman for President Buhari in 2011 when he contested for the Presidency. He was with his wife, the only couple to have taken part in the 2014 National Confab.

    His voice rang through all media;  radio, television, newspapers, social media, village meetings, regional meetings, inter-regional and national discourses. In all he was a serious voice that sought for a Nigeria with true federalism, equity and justice.  He was strong voice for the restructuring of the country as a veritable option to a functional nation. He was an advocate for both  a people’s constitution and state police as panacea for a lot of systemic incongruities that have stalled the development of the country.

    The RoundTable (TRT): Hello Comrade Odumakin, You were barely out of school when you joined the National Democratic Coalition  (NADECO) fighting for the soul of the Nation during the days of the military junta of late Gen. Sanni Abacha was it not too soon for you to have jumped into political activism?

    Yinka: “I have always detested injustice from my younger days. If you recall, I was one of the eight students expelled from the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University  (OAU) Ile Ife Osun State as a student Union  Public Relations Officer  (PRO) for leading a protest against the then military regime of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. We went to court and the school was ordered to reinstate us”.

    TRT: Oh really? So you had your baptism of fire in those days when student unionism was very altruistic and the students were almost the voice of the people and fought on behalf of the citizens being the emerging elite. So what do you have to say about student Unionism post 1999?

    Yinka: “Like everything in Nigeria, the convictions continue to speak loudly about individual values. The political class emerges from the people and we can see the values of a people from some of its leadership and so student unionism too seems to be a victim of the societal descent to the abyss”.

    TRT: You were very prominent during the NADECO days and the fight for the actualization of the June 12 1993 election that was annulled by the IBB regime, do you think you people succeeded given that late Chief MKO Abiola eventually died in Prison? Do you regret the push back against the military regime of a Sanni Abacha then?

    Yinka: “We tried, we might not have succeeded in ways we fought for but the return of democracy in 1999 was made possible by all the fights of the pro-democracy activists in pushing out the military. We are thankful we have a democracy today even with all its flaws. We will not rest till the best tenets of democracy take roots in Nigeria and the people begin to reap the acclaimed dividends of democracy. It is work in progress”.

    TRT: But you were spokesman for President Buhari in 2011 when he contested for the Presidency under the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) party with Pastor Tunde Bakare as Running mate, did you not realize he too was a military man then? Did you feel he had totally removed the cloak of the military literally?

    Yinka: I saw him then as one who was determined enough to rid Nigeria of corruption given his history then and being a retired General would be in a position to put the country back on track. Again I was close to his running mate and I trusted their ticket and did the work pro bono.  I later learnt enough to change my mind politically and he too changed”.

    TRT: We remember the era of Save Nigeria Group that you served as Secretary and the struggle to have the then Vice President Jonathan inaugurated as President seeing that late President Umaru Yar’Adua was ill, it was somewhat curious that again you were critical of him too, why was that?

    Yinka: “My focus at all times was the good of Nigeria and Nigerians and as such there was no permanent friend or foe. I was all for the best man and best processes for the governance of our nation in ways that justice, equity , due process and good governance and gender equity are all entrenched in our country. I wanted strong and self-sustaining federating units forming the whole and making sure that we have a center that is not too oppressively powerful”.

    TRT: Ok, enough of political talk right now, you are married to Dr. Joe Okei- Odumakin, an equally renowned civil and gender rights advocate, quite an interesting union for you two given that you are both from different ethnic backgrounds in a country often known for its divisive ethno-political nuances?

    Yinka: Oh, we met as detainees during the military era in Nigeria and were introduced by the indefatigable legal icon and civil rights advocate, the late Gani Fawehinmi. We are a product of our shared humanity and values so we never saw tribe, we met and loved each other and we are united by our pursuit of justice and equity and the promotion of civil and gender rights”.

    TRT: So how did you feel being the only couple at the 2014 national Confab? Was there any pressure from family or other civil society groups?

    Yinka: In our union, we are partners in progress,  I assume you are asking this because we are in a culture where the wife is supposed to sit back while the husband takes on his jobs. No, we are leading our advocacies by examples. Joe is an individual with her own passion and pursuits as an individual. She has been a leader in her own right before we met so why should I cage her now just because we made the choice to live together?  You see, that is part of the things we are fighting, women must be treated with equity and fairness so they can contribute to national development. She is one of the most passionate and brilliant woman I know. Her leadership skills are in the public domain. We complement each other and that is what we want more couples to do for a better Nigeria”

    Innocent Chukwuma was the former regional director of Ford Foundation for West Africa and the former Executive Director of CLEEN foundation that promoted public safety, security and accessible justice in West Africa. He started his civil rights advocacy from his school days and went on to work with the Civil Liberties Organization (CLO) at a time the military governments in Nigeria were as brutal as ever, killing, jailing, maiming and forcing civil rights advocates into exile. He was a graduate  of both the Universities of Nigeria Nsukka and Leicester in the United Kingdom.

    Innocent is almost synonymous of  Civil Rights works in Nigeria and has a global recognition for his various advocacies. He served as visiting Lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government where he thought a course on the Management of Non-profits in the Global South.

    TRT: Mr. Chukwuma, you are almost a metaphor for the face of Civil Rights Advocacy in Nigeria starting from your Student Union days, what has been your motivation?

    Chukwuma: “The fight for justice and equity drives me at all times. I try to do my work with the greatest degree of empathy and humility because truly that is what the world needs. We must all be concerned about the security and safety of our communities and also care for the security agencies in ways to make them more committed to their jobs”.

    TRT: You have been very concerned and worked with international agencies to institute credible elections through your advocacy for more credible and transparent electoral processes driven by the people who are the mandate givers, can you say that you have succeeded?

    Chukwuma: “Every democracy is work in progress. However, Africans must begin to see good leadership as the only roadmap to development and that means making sure that elections are free, fair and credible and the duty of everyone to ensure they play their parts. Donor agencies have been very magnanimous in assisting west African countries through not only elections but other developmental projects. However, putting the funds to the best use will include every citizen playing their parts transparently and creditably. We would get there but we must all work hard and show a strong sense of patriotism.

    TRT: Your dear wife, Josephine Effa-Chukwuma is also a renowned civil rights and gender advocate, how do you manage work and home?

    Chukwuma: We met in the struggle and got married so a lot unites rather than separate us. She is a solid pillar in the human rights field. Her NGO Project Alert has been a strong support for victims of domestic violence and you must have read about my passion for gender equity.  Our marriage has been a blessing because we share the same concern for human flourishing. In fact, there are no gender issues in the house because we see ourselves as complimenting each other. We wish more couples can find that synergy to work for human development for the benefit of all humanity…”

    As I stretched out my hand to pick up my pen that dropped, I opened my eyes on the bip of my twitter handle on my phone…announcing the ‘twin deaths’ of two of Nigeria’s most credible and vocal civil rights advocates…

    Then I wondered, can citizens like these two win elections even if they contest?

    Oh DREAMS…

    Our dialogue will continue with the living…next week! Adieu to the duo of Yinka and Innocent.

  • Mbappe waiting game continues

    Mbappe waiting game continues

    During PSG’s 3-2 Champions League win over Bayern Munich, Jamie Carragher made the surprising claim on commentary that Kylian Mbappe had “never done it at the highest level”.

    In all seriousness, there is a growing sense in some quarters that the young Frenchman has outgrown his native top flight.

    Losing both Mbappe and Neymar in one summer would be catastrophic for Mauricio Pochettino, but it’s long been touted as a potential reality, with just one destination in mind for the Brazilian: his old haunt of Barcelona.

    Mbappe’s future is a little more uncertain, but two reports emerged which might shed some light on his intentions.

    According to The Telegraph, there’s now “genuine concern” that he’ll move on and it’s now only “50/50” that he’ll stay at Parc des Princes.

    He continues to resist signing a contract extension, despite sporting director Leonardo’s best efforts dating back more than a year.

    The report adds that some within the club think Mbappe has become “distracted” and while PSG don’t want to sell, it is possible they could accept a fee deterred over a number of years rather than a one-off transfer payment from one of Europe’s top clubs.

    It’s also emerged from Spain, specifically from Cadena Ser that Mbappe himself has decided on his next move, officially telling PSG he wants to leave.

    The 22-year-old has decided he wants to join Real Madrid – but here’s where the plot thickens.

    It’s stated Los Blancos also  want to sign Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund this summer – and this doesn’t sound like an ‘either, or’.

    “Mbappe isn’t the only marquee signing Madrid are eyeing ahead of the summer transfer window,” AS state. “Like Mbappe, the 20-year-old… has identified the Spanish capital as his destination of choice.”

  • Tuchel admits Abraham faces battle to win back Chelsea spot

    Tuchel admits Abraham faces battle to win back Chelsea spot

    Thomas Tuchel has admitted Tammy Abraham could find it tough to break back into a Chelsea side that gained massive momentum while the England striker was out injured.

    Abraham has only just shaken off a niggling ankle problem suffered in the 2-0 Premier League win over Newcastle on February 15.

    Chelsea have lost just once in Tuchel’s 15 matches in charge, with Abraham missing the bulk of those games.

    Academy graduate Abraham remains Chelsea’s top scorer in all competitions this term with 12 goals, though Mason Mount has topped the charts under new manager Tuchel.

    “Tammy had a bit of a rough time because twice he was substituted at half-time for tactical changes,” said Tuchel.

    “So he could not have the impact that he demands from himself, we wish from him and he can clearly give for us.