The Nation Newspaper

Category: Lawal Ogienagbon

  • In his element

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

    Whether in the battle against Boko Haram, standing up for his beloved people or recognising a woman diligent in her duty, Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has shown that he is nonpareil. He has within a few months in office written his name in gold. He acts naturally and his ways continue to amaze this reporter. This is not about him but it is also about him. Why? This article cannot be written without reference to him. It is all about his encounter with a school teacher and his reaction to Sunday night’s Boko Haram’s umpteenth attack in his state.

    I first came across the story of his meeting with 54-year-old teacher Obiageli Mazi on WhatsApp some days ago. It was a moving story of a teacher meeting another teacher. Zulum was teaching at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) from where his predecessor Senator Kashim Shettima picked him as a commissioner. Zulum, a professor, was an uncommon teacher who rode bicycle to school. He does not believe in material things and that is what makes him different from many of his peers.

    Some theorists argue that there is no man who does not like money. They may be right because it is in the nature of man to seek what can give him comfort. Money ensures comfort because, according to the Good Book, it is a defence. But man’s vaunting love for money has turned the world upside down. It has turned many into kidnappers, armed robbers and ritual killers.

    It takes the grace of God for many in top positions such as Zulum to stick to their principle despite the perquisites of office. His meeting with Mazi was not happenstance as I argued with a colleague in the office on Tuesday. It was not a chance meeting at all. Something tells me that the governor must have heard about the woman and went to her school to see things for himself. What is the story he must have heard about the teacher? It is that at Shehu Sanda Kyarimi Primary & Secondary School, Maiduguri, there is a woman that resumes at 6.30 am everyday without fail.

    Can that be true? In this present day Nigeria, do we still have such conscientious teachers? These and other related questions would have crossed the governor’s mind when he heard about this teacher who has been serving for 31 years in that her little corner in a part of our country ravaged by Boko Haram in the past 10 years. Not even the fear of falling into Boko Haram’s hands has stopped Mazi from leaving her home early daily in order to get to school promptly. To Mazi, her job comes first and come rain, come shine, she must be at work before any other person everyday.

    That is the path she has chosen and she has stayed true to the course all of 31 years. On January 7, the Lord who rewards all good smiled on her as her time finally came. It was the day Zulum paid a surprise visit to the school to verify all he has heard about this woman who is from Abia State, but has spent the greater part of her life in Borno. She settled in the state when it was a peaceful town and has remained there up till now even when things are so tense. For her, January 7 was payback time and it came in a big way.

    She got to school at 6.28 am that day and had hardly settled down when she saw a convoy of vehicles driving into the compound. In her story published by this paper yesterday, she said: ‘’As I was about to write my name in the time book, I saw them enter the school compound at 6.30 am; one of them walked towards me and I stood up and greeted him. Then he asked me ‘who I am, that whether I am the headmistress’. I said no, I am a class teacher for Primary One pupils. He said ‘ok. And you came early like this’. I said yes this is how I use to come… He told me that they came with the governor. He said he will report my case to the governor and he left.

    “Later, I saw the governor beckoning on me two times and I grabbed my purse and started running towards him but the governor said no, no, no just come gently. I then slowed down but moved very fast and greeted him and his entourage”. At that very moment, her life changed. For starters, the governor gave her money and promised that she would be rewarded. From class teacher, she has been made Assistant Headmistress. Certainly, we have not heard the last about this woman.

    As the Good Book says: ‘’Seest thou a man (woman) diligent in his (her) work, he (she) shall stand before kings; he (she) shall not stand before mean men’’. May Mazi live long to enjoy the fruits of her labour.

    Not one to keep quiet when he sees his people suffering, Zulum has consistently harped on the need for the army to buckle up in the anti-insurgency war. On Monday, he found himself speaking the truth again to the military over the Boko Haram attack in Auno near Maiduguri in which 30 were feared killed, houses and vehicles torched. ‘’We have to be brutal in telling the truth. I am pushed to the wall to say the truth. Since I was inaugurated as governor of Borno State, Boko Haram has attacked Auno six times. Another thing is that the military has withdrawn from Auno town.

    “I am not undermining the capacity of the military but we have made repeated appeals for the military to establish their unit in Auno. They are here but as soon as it is 5 pm, they close the gate and lock the people and go back to Maiduguri. This is not right’’. Seeing that Auno is vulnerable, why has the military not considered the governor’s appeal to set up a unit there? It cannot cover the place from Maiduguri and it cannot continue to shut out overnight people coming into the capital from there, leaving them at the risk of being mauled by Boko Haram. There should be a middle way out and that is what should be explored in this case.

    Angelic spirit

    Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi

    Mothers are gold. They are gems of a being. I cherish my mother and why won’t I considering her role in my life. I still remember how she backed me a grown secondary school boy (Form 2, 1974) who was rushed home from the boarding house because I could not walk after a nail pierced my right foot.

    She carried me on her back to and from the hospital for days until I could walk again. Ekiti State First Lady Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi rekindled my love for my mother in her moving piece: The forgotten princess – Rachael Jolaade Osho (1910 – 2020) in the Daily Sun of Friday, February 7.

    It was an article in celebration of womanhood, more particularly women like the late Mama Osho whose children died before them. Did she die without children when she had a daughter like Erelu Fayemi to celebrate her? In life and in death, the Erelu stood by the centenarian. She ensured that Mama Osho lived a worthy life and got a befitting burial.

    What more could Mama Osho’s own biological children had done if they had survived her? Truly, whether a woman is survived by children or not, she will be buried by a child. Erelu, may God reward you amply.

  • A sight to behold

    Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    MINISTERS of God do not have troops in the real sense of the word, but they command an army of worshippers. If you like you can refer to those worshippers as soldiers.

    Indeed, Charles Wesley whose brother John founded the Methodist faith, referred to them as such in his hymn titled: ‘’Soldiers of Christ, Arise’’, which is drawn from Ephesians 6: 10-18. Verse 13 thereof urges Christians to put on the ‘’whole armour of Christ that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand’’.

    Though Nigeria is a secular state, it is peopled by men and women of faith. There are atheists too. That is the beauty of our country.

    A nation where parents and their children may not share the same faith. Even couples too do belong to different religions.

    The man may be a Muslim and the wife a Christian or vice versa. Yet, they live in peace, raising their children, who also of their volition, may decide not to toe either parent’s religion.

    Our religious differences have never been an issue. We have always been tolerant of one another’s religion whether as members of the same family or community.

    When the Muslims are celebrating the end of Ramadan or the Greater Bairam festival popularly known as Ileya, the Christians join them and when Christians are celebrating Easter or Christmas, the Muslims also celebrate with them. They wine and dine together without a third party knowing that they are not members of the same family.

    We did not choose our friends on the basis of our faith. We related with others because of our love for them. What bound us was not our religion, but our friendship and the strength of character of the other person.

    We had friends who stuck to us closer than brothers. Many of us still have such friends despite the ruin laid upon the country by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Since 2009, the sect has laid siege to the Northeast killing, maiming, kidnapping and looting. Why is it doing all these? The truth is even the sect itself does not have a plausible answer for its wilful actions.

    In one breathe, it says it is against western education which it tags as ‘’sin’’ and in another, it  claims that it is all in its propagation of Islam.

    Its actions have torn societal fabric. The country is in the grips of an ‘’evil day’’ amid the prevailing insecurity over which President Muhammadu Buhari, Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila met in Abuja on Monday.

    The meeting followed the National Assembly’s rancorous sessions last week on the burning national issue during which many lawmakers called for the sacking of the Service chiefs. Yesterday, the National Assembly held a joint session on the vexed issue.

    Read Also: Adeboye leads march as Christians protest killings

     

    As Boko Haram is doing its own thing, so are kidnappers, robbers, bandits, militants and ritual killers wreaking havoc on the country.

    Things have come to a head, leaving renowned Pastor E. A. Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) with no choice than to hearken to the call of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) to protest the killings in the land last Sunday.

    Of recent, Rev Lawan Andimi, CAN Chairman in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State;  a mother of two Mrs Bunmi Ataga and a seminarian were killed after their abduction.

    The bodies of Mrs Ataga and the seminarian were dumped by the roadside and their families told where to find them.

    The late Mrs Ataga’s daughters are still being held by the abductors who are demanding a N20million ransom from their medical doctor father.  CAN was particularly flustered by the death of Andimi, who was beheaded by his abductors.

    In a green colour French suit, shirt and his trademark bow tie, Daddy G.O as Adeboye is fondly called, led worshippers from the RCCG National Headquarters in Ebute Meta, Lagos on the ‘’Prayer Walk’’ against insecurity.

    Raising a placard with the inscription: ‘’All souls are precious to God’’, Adeboye, a reserved pastor not giving to the frivolities some priests are known for, was surrounded by the ‘’soldiers of Christ’’.

    Even the late Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator, who once asked: ‘’The Pope? How many divisions has he got?’’ would have been envious of the Adeboye road work in his grave.

    The Adeboye march was a bold statement on the state of the nation. It is sad that we have sunk into such a mess that Adeboye, who is usually guarded in his actions, was moved to publicly identify with a protest against these inanities.

    The protest is a call on the government to wake up from its slumber and address the security challenge frontally. The main job of any government is to secure its citizens against internal and external aggression.

    The people can only pray for their leaders, they cannot do the government’s job for it, so the resolution of this thorny issue lies in its hands.

     

     

    ‘Will these officers’ removal make a difference in the ongoing war to redeem our country from the rampaging marauders? Well, it is time up for them having been in office since 2015’

     

    Will their exit change anything?

    THERE is a clamour for the removal of the Service chiefs because of the prevailing insecurity in the land. Those demanding the sack of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen Abayomi Olonishakin, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Marshal Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar believe that these military brass have overstayed in office.

    These officers, they claimed, no longer have what it takes to prosecute the anti-terrorism war. Only President Muhammadu Buhari knows why he is still keeping them.

    No doubt, with what is happening in the country today, fresh hands and ideas are needed to combat insurgency and other crimes.

    My fear is will these officers’ removal make a difference in the ongoing war to redeem our country from the rampaging marauders? Well, it is time up for them having been in office since 2015.

  • Against her will

    Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    WITH HER abduction two years ago, fate dealt Leah Sharibu, the girl from the rustic community in Dapchi, Yobe State, a cruel blow.

    She and 104 other girls did not bargain for what happened to them that fateful February 19, 2018, about four years after a similar incident in Chibok, Borno State. Leah was in school with the other girls when the Boko Haram insurgents struck in their characteristic manner.

    It was something the nation had thought would never happen again following the April 14, 2014 abduction of 112 pupils from  the Chibok Girls Secondary School.

    The 2014 incident should have prepared the government for any eventuality by Boko Haram and everything done to nip whatever the sect’s plan is before it is executed. It never did and Boko Haram successfully struck in Yobe four years later.

    Since then, Boko Haram has continued to strike here and there, abducting aid workers, clerics, farmers, women, pupils, undergraduates and even policemen and soldiers. Nobody is safe from the clutches of Boko Haram, except those who are far away from the epicentre of its operation in the Northeast, especially Borno.

    The sect remains determined as ever to continue with its bestial act. Just last week, it beheaded Rev Lawan Andimi, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Chairman in Michika Local Government Area of Adamawa State. His offence: he allegedly refused to renounce his faith after he was kidnapped.

    Boko Haram is waxing stronger despite the government’s claim that the group has been ‘’technically defeated’’. How can the group still be wreaking havoc on some parts of the country despite the government’s claim, many are wondering.

    The military keeps reassuring all that it is on top of  the insurgency war but the results indicate otherwise. Leah’s case keeps haunting the nation because of the undercurrents surrounding her continued captivity.

    She was said to have rejected freedom on the condition of renouncing Christianity. By her action, she was only living her faith as Jesus says in the Bible: ‘’whoever denies me before men, I will deny before my father in heaven’’.

    Read Also: Leah Sharibu’s father: we’ve surrendered our fate to God

     

    To show her who is in control, the abductors released others, but held on to her. This same Leah has become a mother. Surely, that too, just as her abduction, cannot be according to her wish.

    As she is being forcibly held against her wish, so has she been forced into early marriage by her abductors. News that she gave birth to a baby boy shook the nation last weekend. The father of the baby is described as a Boko Haram leader in Niger Republic.

    Nothing can be changed now after Boko Haram has had its way with the poor girl. Fate could not be more cruel to her and her family than this.

    With the underground negotiations said to be going on for her release, the nation was looking forward to her returning home and not the shattering news of her giving birth to a baby.

    Will her abductors allow her to go now? What more do they want from her? Another baby so that their evil tribe may continue to increase? The fault is not Boko Haram’s, but that of the government which allowed this matter faster.

    Ahmed Salkida, who is said to be close to the group, put it aptly: ‘’why, I wonder, do we pretend that leaving Leah behind won’t result in pregnancy? Since the terror group announced condemning her to slavery is there any step or collective focus on preventing similar occurrences?

    She is a mother, but I do not know the gender of the baby’’.  Leah would have looked forward to being a mother one day, but nothing in her wildest dreams would have prepared her for what fate has now thrust on her.

  • These times

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    THESE are interesting times. You could describe them as either the best or worst of times, depending on where you stand on the issues confronting us as a nation. What are the issues? They are the Federal Government’s declaration of the Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) popularly known as Amotekun as illegal and the Supreme Court’s sacking of Emeka Ihedioha as Imo State governor.

    The Southwest governors who initiated the Amotekun security outfit are not happy that the government through its Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation Abubakar Malami (SAN) stabbed them in the back, as it were.

    The government, they said, was carried along in all the arrangements to set up Amotekun. Nothing, they added, was done behind the government. Moreover, the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, was involved in the talks to raise the ethnic militia because of the security challenge in the region.

    This challenge is not peculiar to the Southwest. The other regions are also facing a similar problem. In the Northeast, Northwest, Northcentral, Southsouth and Southeast, people are at the mercy of bandits, kidnappers and insurgents. The Northeast, especially, has been under Boko Haram siege for over 10 years.

    It was the Boko Haram insurgency and the need to assist the military to fight it that gave birth to the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) in Borno State. The CJTF has not been a push over in that war. Though, it has lost many men, it has kept at the job because to give up will be a triumph for evil.

    We must all come together to fight evil. Whether through CJTF, Hisbah (the Islamic police used in some parts of the Northwest to enforce Sharia laws) or Amotekun, the war against evil must be fought on all fronts.

    The military and para-military organisations are doing all they can to tackle the problem and we must commend them for that. But there is still much to be done and they cannot do it alone. If they can see the CJTF and Hisbah as complementary, why can they not also accept Amotekun as such? Who is afraid of Amotekun?

    The fear of Amotekun may have stemmed from the fact that it can be used to deal with herdsmen who have been terrorising some parts of the Southwest. There is no hidden agenda behind the setting up of Amotekun than to address the security challenge in the region.

    It should not be seen as the modern day Agbekoya set up to fight what some people perceive as the Yoruba war. Amotekun will protect all that reside in the Southwest no matter where they come from.

    As long as people are law abiding, they have nothing to fear about Amotekun. The government should not through its action demonise Amotekun; it should not give it a bad name in order to hang it.

    If the government knew it was not comfortable with the Amotekun idea, it should have told the governors so from the outset, instead of leading them on, only to denounce their efforts after the baby’s birth.

    What is illegal in an outfit which is to help the police and related organisations in maintaining law and order? What is bad in Amotekun giving the police information about hoodlums and vandals in certain areas?

    Read Also: Soyinka knocks Balarabe for anti-Amotekun remarks

     

    Amotekun was not set up to compete with the police or to do police job. The police have nothing to fear about Amotekun. They were created to fight crime just as Amotekun was born because of the prevailing depressing security situation in the region, with kidnappers taking over major roads in broad daylight and escaping with their victims into the surrounding forests.

    What is the point of having a government if it cannot address the security needs of the governed? Before the people of the Southwest take their complaints to the President in Abuja, they would first table them before their governors, who are closer to them.

    The governors risk the people’s anger if they do not live up to their expectations. Security is key to human existence and any government which cannot guarantee the safety of life and property has failed in its paramount duty to the people. So, for the Southwest governors not to fail their people in this most important task, Amotekun was born.

    For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the loss of Imo to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Supreme Court is painful. To make its anger known, the top hierarchy of the party staged a protest in Abuja on Monday.

    Led by its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, the party believes that justice was miscarried. The apex court declared APC’s Hope Uzodinma winner of the election after adding his cancelled votes in 388 polling units to his earlier score in the March 9, 2019 governorship poll.

    No one will be happy to lose an election in court after being declared winner by the electoral umpire. The PDP has all the right in the world to protest the court’s verdict, but will that action resolve anything? No, it won’t.

    The best thing is for the party to return to the apex court and ask it to review itself after having heard the reasons for the verdict. It is a long shot though whether the court will reverse itself in this circumstance.

    The only way out of this perennial problem is for the Independent Naional Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free and fair elections,which will be acceptable to all.

    It will cost INEC nothing to do that, but instead it continues to compound our electoral woes with rash and illogical actions, leaving the courts, in most cases, with no choice than to correct its anomalies.

  • A seer’s act

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    FOR many pastors, prophesying is the main thing. They thrive on predictions and do not bother whether what they claimed to have heard actually came from God or not.  As long as their predictions put food on the table, it is okay by them.

    Indeed, they engage in prophesying because of filthy lucre; they spew out what they claim to be from God in order to milk their hapless flock. They see prophesying as business and they do everything to make the most out of it.

    These so-called prophets can do anything for money. They shun the Lord’s warning not to use His name in vain. But  they call on the Lord’s name because it profits them. Many believers are easily deceived because of their gullibility. This makes them to fall easy prey of these false prophets, who at a glance, know what they want: a miracle.

    Miracles do happen, I agree, but not at the rate some pastors dish them out. In a 30-minute ministration, a hungry pastor can come out with tons of predictions on all aspects of life, which he knows will certainly relate to the challenges facing his sheep.

    By so doing, he is preparing the ground for them to see him after service so that he can extort money from them. There are genuine pastors alright, but the workers of iniquity among them have given the whole bunch a bad name. Their punishment, says the Lord, is waiting for them.

    Hear Him: ‘’many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name have done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity’’.

    Despite God’s admonition, the tribe of these evil pastors keeps growing. It is, however, refreshing when you see those among them really doing Kingdom work. They speak when they hear from God and make it known without embellishment.

    Although, it is human nature for people, including some highly revered ministers, to show off, when that happens, you can still see the Spirit of God in them. Reverend Father Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry, Enugu, is a minister who courts controversy like no other man of God.

    Mbaka speaks as the Spirit leads him and he is never afraid to come out with what he hears from God. One forum which has served this purpose is the yearly watch night service which holds at the Adoration Ground in Enugu every December 31.

    Mbaka’s calling seems to be political in nature because his predictions which have put him in trouble with highly placed people in the past are mostly political. He can also easily take offence if political leaders do not contribute to his cause of improving the lot of the poor.

    He has clashed with former Governors Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu) and Peter Obi (Anambra) for not being on the same page with him on certain matters. Some of his predictions are usually controversial.

    Read Also: Mbaka – the man and his prophecies

     

    Check: his prediction that President Muhammadu Buhari will beat former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 election. Check: his prediction that Senator Hope Uzodinma will become Imo State governor.

    His prediction about Uzodinma came last December 31 and since then, he has been the butt of criticisms by some politicians and some of his colleagues, who felt that he was dabbling in political matters.

    Mbaka did not start doing that today and he is not going to stop now, no matter how much other ministers criticise him. You may not like Mbaka, but you cannot ignore him, especially when he reels out his political predictions. It took 14 days for his prediction on Uzodinma to come to pass.

    ‘’No prophesy has ever been declared on this prayer ground without coming to pass…in spite of all that would happen this 2020, there is hope. In Imo State, there is hope. Hope, hope, hope…hope in Imo State! Imo people have suffered (but) God is raising a new hope that would be an agent of salvation for them.

    He is coming with a new flag to restore the dignity of that noble land…lift your candles as I bless Hope Uzodinma; and I empower him to, spiritually, take over…’’ Mbaka said he did not know how this was going to happen, warning those that would be offended by his prediction not to come after him since he was only conveying the message of the Holy Spirit.

    Truly, as he said, the prediction came to pass on Tuesday, as the Supreme Court catapulted Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC)  from a loser in the March 9, 2019 Imo State governorship election to the winner.

    The verdict automatically removed Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from office. According to Mbaka’s prediction, ‘’he (Uzodinma) is coming with a new flag to restore the dignity of that noble land. A new leadership that will break barriers and there would be joy in the land of Imo’’.

    For Uzodinma, there cannot be a better gift to mark the new year. His own gift to the people will be to fulfil the promise of his coming as contained in Mbaka’s prediction.  As his name, Uzodinma implies, may the road be good as he embarks on this journey.

  • Profile in courage

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    HIS mien is deceptive. It does no justice to his tough character. Merely looking at him, you will not know that Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State packs a lot of punch.

    He does not brook nonsense and it is not in his character not to call a spade a spade. He is ready to take on people, no matter their status, as long as the cause is right.

    The governor has time and again proved that he is not in power for the sake of it but to see to the well-being of his people.

    He is not your archetypal politician who believes only in self. Zulum has consistently shown that he is there for the people, come rain, come shine.

    When his people are in pain, he is in pain. Truly, when the righteous are in power, the people rejoice. The people of Borno have been rejoicing since Zulum came to power last May 29 because he feels for them. They know that they have their governor’s back.

    So far, Zulum has not disappointed them. Each passing day, his popularity continues to soar because of his readiness to do anything for his people. If the need arises, he is ready to confront Boko Haram for them.

    It sounds incredible, but it is true. If you have been wondering why his predecessor, Kashim Shetima, described him as the best man for the job, you now know why.

    As a commissioner under Shetima, Zulum proved his mettle as a public officer who is ready to lay down his life for a worthy cause.

    Unlike many of his peers, he has never forgotten where he is coming from. A man from humble background, he has not allowed his present station in life to get into his head. He is not carried away by the executive powers he wields as governor, rather he has remained humble and true to himself.

    How would it have been if other governors were like him. How will they when all many of them want is to use their high office to intimidate others, especially their opponents.

    They forget that power is transient and that, as the inimitable Nnamdi Azikiwe told Ukpabi Asika many years ago: ”no condition is permanent”.

    In life, there are no permanent champions but current champions, who give way to others when their time is up. But what they will be remembered for is the impact they had on others in their own time.

    Do our politicians really care about how they are remembered after office? If you do not remember where you are coming from and do not give a hoot about others while in office, how will you be bothered by the legacy you leave behind? Zulum is of a different hue.

    A man who rode bicycle to work as a professor has shown that having a common touch does not remove anything from being a governor. Rather, it enhances the governor’s image and endears him to the people.

    In some high places, Zulum may not be their beloved because he ruffles feathers. He does not do it to show off but because he is pained by what he sees.

    Read Also: Boko Haram attacks communities

     

    When the military introduced what it called Super Camps in some Boko Haram ravaged parts of his state, he quickly cried out that the camps were not serving the purpose meant for.

    The camps, he explained, were too far from the people they were to protect. The military disagreed, but he made his point and today, we can see who is right and who is wrong.

    To some, a governor must not buck the system of which he is a part. But is speaking the truth to your colleagues in power bucking the system? Zulum has charted a path for himself as governor and that is to protect the people who voted him into power.

    On Monday, he was miffed when he saw hundreds of people at a checkpoint on the Maiduguri/Damaturu road kept under the scorching sun by some soldiers and policemen because they had no national identity card.

    The military claimed that it introduced ”Operation Show Your ID Card” in order to rearrest fleeing Boko Haram insurgents.

    But Zulum was shocked to see the soldiers and policemen ”extorting money” from the people because they had no identity cards.

    How many Nigerians have these national identity cards which the military is asking people to produce on demand? Is it that easy to get this ID? Many who registered for the national identity card years ago are yet to get it. All they have are slips to prove that they have been registered.

    When will their cards be ready? The government will do well to answer this question rather than allow some soldiers to use this to extort money from people who due to no fault of theirs have not been able to get their national identity cards.

    Disgusted by what he saw at the checkpoint, Zulum flared up: ”This is unacceptable. How can you subject people to this kind of torture all in the name of National ID Card? And you are all here collecting N500 and N1000 from poor travellers who do not have a national ID card? Rebuffing the entreaties of a soldier, Zulum went on: ”This is not right.

    The Federal Government has not created an enabling environment for our people to get their National ID Cards and you are here collecting N500 and N1000 as a fine for not having what the Federal Government has not provided for all”.

    Reporting the soldiers to the Theatre Commander, Maj-Gen. Olusegun Adeniyi on his arrival at the scene, Zulum, who wondered why money was being collected  from the travellers, said: ”I saw them with my eyes. I spoke with people that were asked to give money!

    You must know that the government and people of Borno State are behind you and your men. But you must call call your soldiers to order; you must check their excesses”. Adeniyi promised to investigate the matter. I pray that something will come out of that investigation.

    The military should not see Zulum as an enemy because of the way he spoke. It should see him as a concerned person because the security of the state is in his hands. If the people should turn against the military for subjecting them to such treatment, the consequences will be dire.

    The Army Operations Media Coordinator, Col Aminu Iliyasu’s statement that the governor’s ”outburst was capable of reversing the gains recorded so far in the ongoing fight against insurgents and other criminal elements across the nation” is uncalled for.

    The governor’s criticism was for the military to put its house in order before soldiers turn the war against insurgency into a money making enterprise. Their duty is to protect the people and not to extort money from them.

  • The love of money

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    IT IS a new year, but we are carrying certain things, especially the craze for wealth from past years, into it. We are all involved in the rat race for money. We want to make it big because of the respect associated with wealth. People respect the wealthy; they adore him and fawn all over him because of the crumbs they will get from the master’s table.

    Only a lucky few get to benefit from the rich whose source of wealth, in most cases, is shrouded in secrecy. Many covet wealth and respect, but are not ready to do an honest job to become rich. All they are out for is the money; how they make it does not matter. ”As long as I am rich who cares about how the wealth comes about”, they are wont to say.

    This is the kind of attitude that has pushed many, especially our youths, who are in higher institutions, into seeking wealth at all costs. Because of this ”I must be rich” mentality, they have dipped their hands into all sorts of things.

    They are into cyber crime, which is better known as Yahoo, Yahoo, drug trafficking, kidnapping, armed robbery and money rituals. They want the respect that comes with being rich, but they do not want to earn their wealth respectably.

    Our society is at a very low point today because of this sheer wealth craze. Everywhere you turn to, it is the same old song of money. It has become a refrain, just as the late Hubert Ogunde sang about it some 50 years ago: ”Owo, owo sha ni, ka ma ra moto, ka ma kole, owo, owo sha ni…” Even a boy born yesterday wants to become a billionaire overnight. Schooling no longer has any attraction for them.

    The easy way out is making it big through illicit means and because society showers appreciation on the rich, no matter the source of their wealth, these people get away with anything, including murder.

    Our society is the worse for what is happening. For too long, we have kept quiet and allowed the indolent to flourish where they do not have any means of livelihood.

    Those in their neighbourhood know that they do not have a job, yet they keep quiet when these guys start to ride exotic vehicles and build mansions which people who have worked for donkey years cannot afford. Yes, I know, it is not how far, but how well.

    But that altruism is predicated on the fact that the one so blessed must be seen to have toiled like others before making it big.

    You do not just wake up one morning and start living it big and expect people to say: ”it is not how far, but how well” when the source of your wealth is doubtful. Wealth smiles on who it will, but the lucky person must be hardworking.

    It was out of frustration that Owolabi Adeeko decided to take his destiny in his hands in order to become rich overnight. At 23, the young man should be thinking of what to do with his life after school. But he chose the easy way out: money ritual, because, according to him, he could no longer bear seeing his family being poor.

    He said things were no longer going well with his parents economically, most especially, his mother who used to be the family’s breadwinner. Instead of him to look for a menial job and earn a honest living, what did he do? He sought assistance from Pastor Segun Philip who asked him to bring a human being for money ritual. So, he took his girlfriend Favour Daley-Oladele, a student of Lagos State University (LASU), to the pastor

    Read Also: Police to prosecute suspected killers of LASU student in Osun

     

    The girl was killed and the pastor harvested her vital parts for ritual for a contract sum of N250,000. Owolabi said he and his mother ate the girl’s heart.

    The Adeekos and the pastor are in police custody. If we blame our youths for their waywardness, what will we say of pastors, alfas and their ilk who indulge these youngsters?  Men of God are expected to be teachers and counsellors guiding others about the way of life.

    As ministers in the temple of God, be it a church or mosque, they are expected to live holy and lead by example. They are not expected to preach one thing and do another.

    Things have gone bad in our land today because our so-called men of God do not have the fear of God. All they believe in is the perk of their office, which is contrary to the dictate of their calling. ”Freely, you have received, freely give”, says the scripture.

    Sadly, many of these pastors do not believe in those words. Before they do anything for their flock, they ask for money. How can things work in a society where money rules? As we begin another year of grace, may God touch our pastors, youths and their ilk for the betterment of our society.

     

    Jonathan’s justified anger

     

    ONLY a suicide case will go on such a venture. To attack the home of a former president is not a tea party. Those thinking of such mission must be ready for the worst. And they got it last December 24 during their nocturnal attack on the Otuoke country home of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Bayelsa State.

    Despite knowing that the place will be highly fortified, the marauders still embarked on the deadly mission. They got more than they bargained for.

    But who are these marauders? Were they on a sponsored mission? Who is after Jonathan? Was it politically motivated? Or is it the usual attack by militants in the Niger Delta?

    An attack on the home of a former president is an attack on the state. So, this matter must not be treated lightly. As Jonathan said when he hosted the Navy and the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Otuoke on Monday,  the attack must be investigated to prevent a recurrence. ”Be thorough`as you seek to bring the perpetrators to book and ensure that such mindless attack does not happen again in any part of the country”.

     

  • Nigeria and Vision 2020

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    VISION is not all about the ability to see the future and tell people which seeds will grow and which ones will not. But where people talk about vision these days what comes to mind is what the future holds for them.

    The Bible talks about vision so that we can have a direction in life. ”Without a vision”, it says,”the people perish”. The difference between the successful and the slothful is the ability to dream big.

    They go further to think of how to achieve their dreams. The vision is to achieve the goal they set for themselves. Few years ago, Nigeria set a goal for itself to be among the first 20 economies in the world by the year 2020.

    In six days, we will be in 2020,  but are we near achieving that vision? As good as the 20:2020 dream is, it has not been pursued with the seriousness it deserves. It was a lofty idea borrowed from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

    IFPRI launched the 2020 initiative in 1993 at a time of growing worldwide complacency about international food security issues.

    Twenty-six years down the line, food security remains an issue across the world, especially in Africa, where poverty has become a way of life.

    When the Federal Government came up with its Vision 2020, it set dates for attaining this dream. It also raised some organs to work towards making the dream a reality.

    Just as our leaders  set 2000 as the magical year for ”housing for all”, 2020 also has that magical halo around it as the year Nigeria will join the world’s top 20 economies

    These organs are National Council on Vision 2020 headed by the President; National Steering Committee comprising 70 persons from the public and private sectors; National Technical Working Group made up of 20 – 25 experts in specific thematic areas from the public and private sectors; Stakeholder Development Committee consisting of state governments, federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and other key institutions and the Economic Management Team which constitutes the think-tank to drive the process.

    A solid foundation was expected to be laid for 20:2020 under stage one of the scheme between 2008 and 2010. Under stage two, the millennium development goals (MDGs) were to be achieved between 2011 and 2015 en route to Vision 2020 and Nigeria is expected to become a top 20 economy by 2020 between 2015 and 2020 under stage three. 2020 is at hand.

    Will Nigeria join the top 20 economy club in 2020? Nigerians will know in the next 12 months how much their leaders have put in, in the past five years to attain this height.

    Politically, 2020 promises to be interesting. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are battling with internal crises.

    APC National Chairman Adams Oshiomhole and the governor of his home state Godwin Obaseki who he anointed to succeed him are no longer seeing face to face.

    Obaseki wants Oshiomhole out of office. There are words that Oshiomhole too may not support his ‘wayward’ political son for second term in the forthcoming election in the state. Will Oshiomhole survive the onslaught from Obaseki, Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), amomg others? Will Obaseki get a second term ticket? Will the Ahmad Lawan committee reconcile them before much damage is done to the party? We will know in the new year.

    As it is in Edo, so it is in Ondo where Governor Rotimi Akeredolu and his deputy Agboola Ajayi are engaged in a battle of wits. Ajayi plans to challenge his boss for the top job in the forthcoming election.

    Read Also: Govt to scale up implementation of Vision 2020 ‘Right to Sight’

     

    Will he have his way or will his governor beat him to the ticket? Will the infighting in APC not cost the party Edo and Ondo in the forthcoming governorship polls? Does PDP, which also has its own palaver, have what it takes to take both states from APC? Can PDP Chairman Uche Secondus lead his party to take over these states or will he fall to the forces pushing for his ouster?

    Some other things expected to be done in the magical year 2020 are eradication of polio, measles and other childhood-killer diseases.

    Then, the first landing ship tank in 40 years will berth in Nigeria. What will make the people happy most in 2020 will be the rescue of Leah Sharibu, the girl, who was abducted from her school along with 109 others on February 19, 2018. Others have since been released.

    But she is still being held because she refused to renounce her Christian faith. Will government get her out in 2020? It will be the greatest news of the year if it does. Happy New Year Nigeria.

  • The hatemongers

    By Lawal Ogienagbon

     

    THE National Assembly is to make laws for the general well-being of the people and also act as a check on the executive. As the most important arm of government, the legislature is the hope of any nation.

    It feels the people’s pulse and makes laws to make life comfortable for them. Legislators are not called the people’s representatives for nothing.

    They are so called because they are closer to the people. This closeness should be an advantage in law making, but it is not in our clime.

    Rather, the lawmakers abuse this closeness and become law unto themselves once they get into office. The constituents who they courted before their election suddenly become their foes that they shut their doors against.

    The lawmaking process has not been what it should be because legislators are far removed from their people to really know what they want.

    A lawmaker who wishes to make his mark will live and work for his constituents and not against them. Lawmaking is not all about buying grinding machines, motorcycles, generators, JAMB, WAEC and NECO forms for indigent pupils. No, lawmaking is much more than that.s

    Lawmaking is to ensure that laws are in place to enable the executive do its job of providing all these and other social amenities for the people.

    But many of our legislators now see themselves more as members of the executive than the legislature. So, they want to compete with the executive in providing social amenities for the people.

    Do not get me wrong. I am not saying that a legislator should not help the needy in his constituency.

    The point being made is that they should not turn this to their main job at the expense of making laws that will make life more meaningful for the people.

    Yes, there may be pressure from their constituents, which in many instances they brought upon themselves ab initio.

    They do most of these things because of their promise to the electorate during campaign. They forget that running for a seat in the legislature is different from aspiring to be in the executive.

    Read Also: Senate and Hate-speech Bill

     

    We do not only need voter education, but also tutorials on democracy for many of those aspiring to lead us. If you ask many of our lawmakers the purpose of their being in the legislature, they do not know.

    So, if a man does not know why he is in the legislature, how will he know the kind of laws to work on for the benefit of his constituents.

    What then is the need of the Hate-Speech Bill now before the National Assembly? Of what benefit will it be to the people, if passed into law? The National Assembly is just being afraid of its shadow.

    We do not need a hate-speech law. How will it better the lives of people in Kaura Namoda, Daura, Michika, Ada, Jagbe, Nsukka, Etinan and such other places that may not be found on the map?

    The National Assembly is interested in this bill for selfish reasons. It wants to use it to protect itself from criticisms.

    But can you occupy public office and run away from criticism? It is not possible. Unfortunately, it is being helped in this adventure by the executive.

    What is hate speech in saying that ‘’my representative is not serving me well’’ and then mobilise others to recall him.We are faced with this situation because our lawmakers do not like to hear the truth.

    To them, the truth is hate speech. I am pained that a law like this was initiated under an administration which the people believed would be tolerant of all views, no matter how harsh.

    Senate President Ahmad Lawan was not saying anything new when he said the people will decide whether or not they want the hate-speech law.

    The people have long decided that they do not want such a law and you will soon be confronted with the cold, hard fact at the public hearing, if it is not stage managed to achieve a predetermined purpose.

    Criminalising hate speech when there are laws in the statute books to take care of such matters does not portray our lawmakers as serious. Why are they more interested in protecting themselves and other high up instead of the commoners?

    The sponsor of the bill, Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, having seen the groundswell of opposition against his proposal for the death penalty for offenders, has promised to remove that harsh punishment.

    The best thing for him to do is to simply withdraw the bill. But he will not. He and his ilk are planning to have their way at the public hearing on the bill, which may be organised to shut out those opposed to it.

    For sure, they will plant their own men at the hearing to argue why the bill should be passed.

    A warning though. The Senate should not test the people’s will by holding a sham public hearing in order to have its way on this bill.

    Getting people from some ministries, departments and agencies to speak in support of the bill, without allowing the civil society organisations and rights activists to have their say will not augur well for the polity.

    To get as many people as possible to speak against the bill is not a problem. The issue, Mr Senate President, is will they be allowed to present their case?

    Those behind this bill, I daresay, are actually hatemongers. What they are doing now, if they do not know is hate-mongering.

    They cannot deny people their constitutional right to freedom of expression by slapping them with a law that even in closed nations does not have a place.

    What the people want now is more openness and freedom, and not to be pigeon-holed by those they voted into office.

  • A time to speak out

     

    HERE is a time for everything under the sun. A time it was we were born and the time will come when we will be no more. So, whether we live or we die, we must fulfill that purpose of time and this can only be done when we are alive. It is when we are alive that we can commend or condemn. We praise those who are good; we condemn the bad.

    But whatever we do, one thing is constant: what is good is good and what is bad is bad. This is why the public rises as one to condemn what it considers bad and also praises what it considers good.

    On such occasions, it does not bode well for those known to be outspoken to keep quiet. In our society, we have men and women that are ready to confront those who misuse power.

    These people can be found in all walks of life. They are the ones who put those in power in check. Without them, many of our leaders would become dictators.

    At times, these people stray, but some of them quickly retrace their steps and remain relevant. Many of us know the story of the late Dr Olu Onagoruwa (SAN), who parted way with his friends in the human rights community in 1993 to serve in the Abacha junta.

    He shunned all entreaties not to serve in that regime, saying he was going there on a ‘’reform mission’’. Onagoruwa lived up to his promise. In 1994, he disowned the eight decrees issued by Abacha, saying he would not be a party to laws that ousted the courts’ powers.

    Not many of his colleagues, including those who condemned him for taking up the job of attorney-general and minister of justice under Abacha would have done what he did.

    It is now obvious that not many rights activists are in the mould of Onagoruwa. What happened at the Federal High Court in Abuja last Friday has shown that Onagoruwa towered above many of his associates who took him to the cleaners for serving in the Abacha regime.

    If Onagoruwa could risk his life and that of his family by repudiating the Abacha decrees, what will some so-called activists serving in the Buhari administration say is holding them back from condemning what happened last week at the Abuja court?

    Times like this separate the activists from the pretenders. You are not an activist just by shouting aluta! Anybody can do that. You are an activist when you rise to the occasion to condemn what is unjust and inequitable.

    An activist should know no friends or foes. His only focus should be justice and equity. What happened in Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu’s court was terrible and every rational person must condemn it and demand that those behind it be brought to justice.

    Was the invasion of Justice Ojukwu’s court the proper way for the Directorate of State Service (DSS) to rearrest Omoyele Sowore barely 24 hours after he was released on her ladyship’s order? Was the invasion organised?

    Who orchestrated it? Sowore and his lawyers are pointing fingers at the DSS, but the agency denies having anything to do with the invasion.

    It is hard to believe the DSS in this matter. Everything points to the fact that it knew about the incident. As the Yoruba will say, the baby died today, the witch cried yesterday, who does not know that the hag is behind the child’s death.

    There is a running battle of sorts between Sowore and DSS which arose over his RevolutionNow Campaign. The agency held on to Sowore for 140 days despite a court order that he should be released.

    It finally complied with that order last Thursday after Justice Ojukwu gave it 24 hours to release the online publisher or face her wrath.

    So, if Sowore and his lawyers are accusing the DSS of invading the court to get him, they are justified. Denying the claim, the DSS alleged that Sowore’s supporters mobbed him when he ran back into the court in a bid to shield him from ‘’an imaginary arrest’’.

    The agency added: ‘’A critical look at the videos in circulation would convince any objective viewer that there was no DSS personnel during the entire period the Sowore crowd acted out its orchestrated drama… and from the latest development, it has become obvious that it was meant…to serve a propagandist purpose as well as bring the Service to disrepute’’.

    The DSS boxed itself into a corner on this matter. It talked of ‘’an imaginary arrest’’. Was the agency not in the court to rearrest Sowore? If it was not there to rearrest him, what then was it doing in the court’s vicinity?

    Its story is hard to believe and that is why those who naturally would have supported it are condemning it for playing into the hands of the enemy as it were.

    The law is the law and you do not need to be aggressive to enforce it. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said as law enforcement agents, the DSS operatives are not above the law.

    Read Also: Reps to probe Sowore’s re-arrest

    It called for the prosecution of those involved in the incident. Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) said Sowore’s rearrest looked bad on the surface because he was released a day earlier, adding: ‘’I feel Nigerians are entitled to an explanation. It’s not something you can do and keep quiet. It’s not alright. There’s something wrong in that…”

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has also spoken his mind. Giving reasons for not attending the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism ceremony where he was to be conferred with an award, he said, among others, ‘’in view of of the development on Friday in the Sowore case, I think it will be insensitive and inappropriate to attend the ceremony’’.

    To Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, ‘’the bar must be terror to demagogues. It is when our voice of the bar is heard consistently that it will earn respect. Will people go and desecrate our courtrooms and we keep quiet? The bar must condemn it. There is no explanation anybody can give’’.

    Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka urged the government to rein in the DSS operatives before they do more harm. As expected, presidential spokesman Femi Adesina said the ‘’invasion was not a desecration of the temple of justice because the DSS has explained how things played out’’.

    So, we should take the DSS’ explanation hook, line and sinker. That cannot be the gospel truth because there are two sides to a story.

    Surprisingly, Festus Keyamo (SAN), Minister of State (Labour), a vociferous voice in the rights community before his appointment, has not found it necessary to comment on the incident. It is not in Keyamo’s character to keep quiet over matters like this.

    He will come out forcefully to side with the victim and condemn the aggressor. May be that is now in the past. A true activist, just as Onagoruwa did, must not keep quiet in the face of tyranny because he is holding political office. Anyway, not every activist can be like Onagoruwa and the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN), who will not see evil and keep quiet.