Category: Letters

Sir: As the BRT Bus collision with a train which led to the irreplaceable loss of lives is still fresh in the minds of Nigerians, there is a need for us to ponder on some salient issues to prevent such disastrous incidents in the future.

As a reminder, it was reported that the driver of a BRT bus refused to give way to a moving train at a level crossing around Oshodi area of Lagos State. Though the driver has been charged to court, many lives and destinies have been wasted. There are however some questions to answer.

Has the driver been regularly trained by his employer, Lagos State government?  It was obvious that the driver did not display a good hazard perception skill. Drivers are expected to gather information with their eyes, ears and nose, interpret the information with their brain and take safe actions promptly to prevent hazards on the road.

The incident reports by bystanders and some survivors said that the BRT driver ignored the signal from the NRC traffic officer. He did not also display respect for the right of way at the level crossing. Ordinarily, the train has the right of way at a level crossing. 

If the driver has not been regularly exposed to regular training  on the above, then the driver might be adjudged as guilty of manslaughter for failing in Duty of Care while his employer should also have a rebuke or fine for not training the driver as provided for in the National  Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR 2012 and 2016 Amendments).

Research reports reveal that some drivers of government vehicles usually manifest arrogance, pride and gross disregard of Road Traffic Regulations because they erroneously believe that government vehicles and their drivers are above the laws and that other road users are subordinates on the government roads. This attitude can also be seen in the drivers of convoy vehicles whether their principals are in the vehicles or not.

Some ignore traffic lights, signals and other regulations when they’re in haste. This why journey planning should be embraced and practised by the drivers and their employers or principals.

The ongoing trial of the driver should enable us learn from his pitfalls and take steps to right all the wrongs he committed most especially in the areas of driver education, regular retraining, compliance to traffic signs and signals, mood management and self-motivation, journey planning,  hazard perception and accident avoidance techniques. 

To ensure sanity and safety on the roads, the right things must be done always by all the road users and governments at all levels.

• Jide Owatunmise,

roadsafetytrainers@yahoo.com 

Sir : Our attention has been drawn to an article titled “Taiwan, WHO/WHA in post-pandemic era”, written by Taipei representative/ Head of Mission in Nigeria and published in The Nation newspaper of May 17, which calls for the so-called “Taiwan region’s participation to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Health Assembly(WHA)”. Against the misleading information contained in the article, the Embassy has to bring up the facts and full picture of the true story, and also to reiterate China’s basic and consistent position.

WHO is an international organization in which only sovereign states are entitled to join. The Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China, but not a sovereign country, which is globally recognized and generalized as the one-China principle. The Resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in October 1971 and the Resolution 25.1 of WHA in May 1972 had endorsed the one-China principle, which provided solid legal basis for the WHO to abide by the one-China principle. In a word, Taiwan region has no qualification to participate in the WHO or any other intergovernmental organizations and agencies.

Taiwan region’s participation in the WHA must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle and through cross-strait consultations. The incumbent authorities in the Taiwan region since 2016 obstinately adhered to the separatist position of “Taiwan independence” and refused to recognize that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. As a result, the political foundation for the Taiwan region’s participation in WHA has ceased to exist.

However, based on the one-China principle, the Central Government of China has made appropriate arrangements for the Taiwan region’s participation in global health affairs. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Central Government of China has sent 260 notifications on COVID-19 to Taiwan region. Health experts in Taiwan region have participated in 16 WHO technical activities. The WHO Secretariat briefed health experts in Taiwan region several times on pandemic information. Consequently, the so-called “international epidemic prevention gap” does not exist, nor do experts of Taiwan region lack channels or platforms to share response and control practices with others.

We highly appreciate the long-term understanding and support to the one-China principle by the government and dear people of Nigeria. The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair that concerns China’s core interests and the Chinese People’s national sentiments. The Chinese government will never allow any activity by any force or any country to use the WHO/WHA, or any other intergovernmental arena, to harm China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

•Embassy of the People’s Republic of China,

 Abuja.

Sir : After the intense political battle of the 2023 general elections, the nation’s attention has now shifted to the National Assembly. With Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila apparently out of the race, contenders have begun jostling to replace them.

The National Working Committee of the ruling APC had reeled out its zoning formula and anointed their preferred candidates for the President and Deputy President of the Senate and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

At least six senators are running for the seat of the President of the 10th Senate. The contestants are from four of the nation’s six geo-political zones: the Northwest, Southeast, South-south and North-central.

As we inch towards the transition, the politicking rages on. Political opinions and considerations may vary, and the assessment of an individual’s suitability for such a position is subjective and can be influenced by diverse factors, including political affiliations and personal perspectives, the fact remains that Yari is the best among the hexad.

Whoever is familiar with National Assembly politics knows that imposition does not stand. Obasanjo’s imposition of Evan Enwerem as President of the Senate did not last more than five months. Jonathan’s attempts to impose Mulikat Adeola-Akande as Speaker of the House of Representatives failed. Buhari’s attempt to impose Ahmad Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila in 2015 also failed. The duo later succeeded in 2019 not because they were imposed but because the lawmakers accepted them.

While not underating the qualification of Godswill Akpabio, Barau Jibrin, Sani Musa and Orji Kalu, former Governor of Zamfara state, Abdulaziz Yari’s pedigree in terms of political and administrative experience and capacity displaces that of all the other candidates. Yari as a former party chairman, former member of the House of Representatives and former governor, has seen both sides of legislative and executive coins.

Yari’s interest in becoming the next Senate President is a game changer not only in the permutations surrounding the aspiration but also in the promise of what his leadership of the Senate portends. 

Yari’s political trajectory is replete with notable successes and significant contributions in their respective contexts. His infrastructural development initiative in Zamfara including roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and rural electrification are aimed at improving the state’s socio economic development, his educational strides initiated policies that enhanced access to quality education in the state as he established new schools and renovated existing one, his agricultural programmes encouraged drives to boost good production and improve livelihood in rural areas. 

Yari’s aspiration reminds me of Thomas P O’Neill who served as speaker of the United States House of representative from 1977 to 1987. He was widely respected for his ability to build consensus, negotiate across party lines and pass significant legislation. His leadership style emphasised finding common ground and working collaboratively to achieve legislative goals. 

Like O’Neill, Yari is poised to demonstrate exceptional leadership skills in mobilising the country and its legislature to face the challenges of Nigeria’s “Renewed Hope” of the incoming government of Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the aim of bringing about political stability and social transformation. 

His experience will help in shaping significant legislation and fostering a more cooperative atmosphere between the executive, judiciary and legislative arms of government. 

Ultimately, the decision regarding who becomes the Senate President rests with the legislators themselves and the political dynamics within the legislative body. It involves consultations, negotiations, and voting among the members of the Senate to determine their preferred candidate for the position. 

Yari as Nigeria’s next Senate President is no doubt a game changer! 

•Kabir Akintayo, 

Abuja. 

SIR: “In a few weeks from now, we shall be done with the junior secondary school certificate examination, and from then on, I am done with Western education.” The foregoing was uttered to my hearing in the Hausa language by some junior secondary school students in the Bauchi metropolis recently.

 I found the statement to be disturbing. It affirms what is generally known about Bauchi State as being one of the states in the country with a high rate of out-of-school children.

Of course, some critics blame the situation on the decade-long insurgency in the Northeast. Others locate the root cause in parents’ lackadaisical attitude in enrolling the children in school just as political opponents of the government accuse it of not providing the needed atmosphere for learning.  Whatever the situation is, the state government must be at its feet to make sure things are done well. More than that, the government must feel, not only duty bound to encourage our children to stay in school, but reward them when they excel.

Take the recent case of the students who represented the state in a national competition and came top among the participating states.  Whereas the students have been celebrated by many concerned individuals in Bauchi State and beyond, the state government is yet to either acknowledge or reward the lads.

These students from Government College (Special School) Toro who participated in the recent National Inter-secondary Schools Quiz competition organized by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council and came out first deserves to be recognized and celebrated, especially as they are products of public schools as against the elitist private schools.

 Currently, Bauchi State is in a dangerous situation as its youth routinely quit education for such anti-social acts like Sara Suka. The state government must be reminded that giving recognition and even awarding scholarships is crucial to encouraging children to see the light in the path of their education. Rewarding them with scholarships stands to draw the attention of the wayward to education and encourage those already in the system to put in more effort.

Gone are the days in Bauchi when international scholarships were given to the best brains many of whom are now professionals in their respective careers.

•Umar Sani Yakubu,

saniumaryakubu@gmail.com.

Sir: Drug trafficking and abuse are deadly monsters and as well a threat to peace, security and stability of a nation. As a global problem, it has eaten deep into the security and moral fabrics of many nations of the world. There’s hardly any country in the world that doesn’t battle one drug related issue or the other. 

Drug trafficking and abuse are Siamese twins. If drug trafficking can be nipped in the bud, drug abuse will as well be reduced to the barest minimum. In Nigeria, drug abuse has remained a dangerous enabler of many crimes and vices. 

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has been doing wonderfully well. They have been on top of the game most especially since Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) assumed office as the helmsman. There have been tremendous transformation of the operational architecture of the agency and hence mind boggling successes recorded. 

The re- jigged operational procedure where numerous arrests and seizures have become the order of the day has no doubt sent many traffickers packing while the hard-hearted ones have continued even while nursing their wounds as a result of multi- billion naira losses.

Despite the achievements recorded in the area of arrests and seizures, there still remain more grounds to be covered against drugs. Such places like palaces, churches, market places, labour unions, schools should be explored for an elaborate sensitisation with the aim of collaborating with heads of the various institutions mentioned above.

Traditional rulers should be actively involved in the fight against drug enlightenment in their domains. It will go a long way to reduce the way hard drugs and other substances of abuse are tackled in their communities.

Religious institutions must be encouraged to live up to their expectation as the moral compass of the society. As such they can take part in drug preventive programmes.

In the same vein, organizations have roles to play in reducing the rising drug demand. They can incorporate drug use policies and drug prevention programs into their operational procedures while schools can equally make drug education part of their curriculum.

It is my belief that with collective efforts of the various stakeholders and synergy among sister agencies, a safe and sane society devoid of huge substance abuse will be realized in Nigeria.

•Ijeoma Okeme,

Ejigbo, Lagos State.

SIR: On the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Independence of the State of Israel, it is important to pay tribute to a country that is one of history’s most spectacular miracles.

In 1948 as the world picked up its pieces from the ashes of WW2, the Jews who were dealt a particularly heavy hand established the independent state of Israel.

As the war had raged on exposing man’s darkest side, Jews were disproportionately targeted. By the time the war ended with the decisive defeat of the Nazis, some six million Jews had been killed.

As with any new beginning, Israel encountered steep challenges from the onset. From its establishment, the new state of found itself besieged by formidable enemies and beleaguered by monumental internal challenges. Wars were fought in 1967, 1973 and 2006. Even until this day, Israel remains a state in a constant state of war.

Israel remains surrounded by hostile Arab countries and has had to fight just to exist.

But it has not all been bombs, bullets, and bayonet for Israel. Its adversity-driven culture has also resulted in a boom, producing battlefield entrepreneurs that have worked stupendous economic and technological miracles which belie its tiny size and population of fewer than ten million people. For a country this small and hounded, its spectacular achievements are some of modern history’s most impressive feats.

In their seminal book, “The Start-up Nation: The story of Israel’s economic miracle” authors Dan Senor and Saul Singer examined in luminous detail how a community of penniless refugees transformed a land described by Mark Twain as ‘a desolate country …a silent mournful expanse,” into one of the most dynamic entrepreneurial economies in the world one which produces more startups than Japan, China, India, Korea, Canada and the UK,

According to Senor and Singer, in 2008, for each person venture capital investments in Israel were 2.5 times greater than in the United States, more than 30 times greater than in Europe, 80 times greater than in China, and 350 times greater than in India. Comparing absolute numbers, Israel—a country of just 7.1 million people—attracted close to $2 billion in venture capital, as much as flowed to the United Kingdom’s 61 million citizens or to the 145 million people living in Germany and France combined. And Israel is the only country to experience a meaningful increase in venture capital from 2007 to 2008.

Even the wars Israel has repeatedly fought have not slowed the country down. During the six years following 2000, Israel was hit not just by the bursting of the global tech bubble but by the most intense period of terrorist attacks in its history and by the second Lebanon war. Yet, Israel’s share of the global venture capital market did not drop—it doubled, from 15 percent to 31 percent. And the Tel Aviv stock exchange was higher on the last day of the Lebanon war than on the first, as it was after the three-week military operation in the Gaza Strip in 2009.”

As a country, Israel has also remained wonderfully open to migrants. At its founding, Israel became the only country in history to explicitly address in its founding documents the need for a liberal immigration policy. In 1950, Israel’s new government made good on that declaration with the Law of Return, which until now guarantees that “every Jew is entitled to come to this country.

Israel’s economic miracle is due as much to immigration as to anything. At Israel’s founding in 1948, its population was 806,000. Today, numbering over 9.364 million people, the country has grown more than nine-fold in seventy-five years.

Israel is also no diplomatic shrinking violet. The wars the country has had to fight have congealed into age-long enmity between Israel and its Arab neighbours. However, over the years, as a result of Israel’s rapid economic and technological advancements, many countries who were formerly hostile to it have sought the improvement of diplomatic ties.

Israel’s burgeoning reputation as a diplomatic and democratic heavyweight underpinned by its considered economic and technological status has made it a key player in diplomatic relations.

What more can be said of this country which produces more water than it needs despite more than half of the country being a desert? Can anything more laudatory said of a country whose startups and technological inventions have gone on to redefine irrigation, pharmaceuticals, weapon technologies and even warfare?

What more can be said of a country that was given zero percent chance of surviving at its founding but has today become a model for how to thrive in the face of adversity.

In a world riddled by conflicts and crisis, Israel points the way in how to transform adversity into advancement.

•Ike Willy,

 <ikewilly9@gmail.com>

SIR: The Senate committee chairman on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswam, during an interactive session with the Minister of State for Power, Abubakar Aliyu, disclosed that state governments, military formations, and educational institutions, owe huge debts to electricity distribution companies (DISCOs). Though he didn’t disclose the exact amount, it is on record that as at July 2021, federal, state, and local governments, as well as Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) reportedly owed DISCOs up to N202 billion.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. It has been building up over the years and has become the norm for government institutions and MDAs to owe electricity bills. It is sad that the average Nigerian craves for uninterrupted power but doesn’t want to pay for it. However, it is disheartening when government agencies that should know better, and act better so as to serve as role models to the citizenry, do the same.

Read Also: How to rescue Nigeria’s power sector

The power sector has long been privatised and so generation companies (GENCOs), transmission companies, and DISCOs need money to deliver on their mandate of making steady power supply available to Nigerians. The power sector is capital intensive and they need money to run their equipment as well as pay staff. Refusal to pay electricity bills by government agencies would impact on their ability to function optimally.

While this is reminiscent of what was prevalent during the time of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), there is a need to imbibe a new culture of accountability because the DISCOs are now private entities and do not rely on government resources for their sustenance. The alternative to power from the DISCOs is power generators. The use of generators will raise the cost of production which will in turn lead to an increase in the price of goods and services. That is a luxury that we cannot afford.

The incoming administration should sort out the issue of government indebtedness to the DISCOs. Going forward, the government must insist on DISCOs metering all their customers to avoid issues of crazy bills which many use as an alibi to avoid paying their bills.

•Peter Ovie Akus,

 New Jersey, USA.

SIR: The people of Kaduna State have been dealt an incredibly difficult hand in the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s presidency.

As President Muhammadu Buhari prepares to leave office on May 29, a defining legacy of his eight-year-long rule is the extent to which insecurity has pummeled Nigerians.

From within the Federal Capital Territory to Buhari’s native state of Katsina to Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Benue and Niger states, determined killers have defiantly exposed how soft Nigeria’s underbelly is.

In leaving vulnerable communities criminally exposed to ruthless killers, the Nigerian State under Buhari has continued to take a rather bizarre gamble on the lives and properties of those it is expected to protect.

Under Buhari’s watch, Kaduna, one of the states which flank the Federal Capital Territory has been left horribly exposed to insecurity.

On March 28, 2022, just a day before Nigeria was to host Ghana in an ultimately failed bid to qualify for the World Cup, daredevil terrorists fell upon a passenger train travelling from Abuja to Kaduna. At the end of the attack, nine travelers lay dead. More than 60 others were captured, and held for six months, in one of the most humiliating assaults on Nigeria’s sovereignty.

The March 28 attack was not an isolated event. Long before then, Kaduna State had become a magnet for deadly terrorist attacks. As the 2023 election approached, the killers seemed to pause their lethal campaign. However, they have since resumed.

Read Also: Bandits free 14 kidnapped Kaduna worshippers

Recently, terrorists attacked two churches in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State and kidnapped over 30 worshipers. Three worshipers were killed in the process, while one was injured.

Also reportedly killed were seven persons in Warkan village Atyap land in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State. 

These recent attacks continue the tragic trend of deadly attacks which have turned a once stable state into a hotbed of crisis.

In a state where many rely on agriculture to feed and foot their bills, the criminals who wag a finger in Nigeria’s face have continued to go about their activities of death with little problems.

While the attacks in Kaduna have continued with relentless ferocity, between the federal government led by Buhari and the Kaduna State State government of Nasir El-Rufai, the kind of confusion which borders on complicity has reigned supreme.

It beats many Nigerians that while many of Nigeria’s most prominent military institutions are located in Kaduna, the state has become a prime target for terrorists.

It is a sign of just how spectacularly the government of the day has failed that under its watch, a state that is just a stone throw away from the Federal Capital Territory has become a hunting ground for killers.

As Buhari and El-Rufai prepare to slither away into a post-power night, it is a jarring mark of just how much he failed in office that many communities in Kaduna lie in smoldering ruins.

For Nigerians, hard and harsh lessons must be learned that in choosing those to occupy public offices, those who would fold their arms and do nothing in times of crisis must be eschewed for proactive leaders.

•Kene Obiezu,

keneobiezu@gmail.com

Sir : While the social media was awash in the past few days with the viral video of Seun Kuti, the popular Afrobeat musician and son of the “Godfather” of afro beat, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, a common thread emerged was that a lot of people were outraged by the act and rightly so.

But a more disturbing trend was the self-serving hypocrisy by a few middle class Nigerians usually loud on social media the same class that talk and abuse without decorum, anyone with an opposing political ideology.

In their mind Seun Kuti had committed the crime of the century. Where was this outcry when about five police officers were killed by the EndSARS protesters?

Where was this outcry when unknown gunmen were killing police officers and bombing police stations across the country?

Righteousness they say exalts a nation but we live in a country riddled with hypocrisy. 

The same outrage was seen with the Ike Ekweremadu saga. While Ekweremadu has rightly faced justice for his actions, I worry that the loud outcry against Ekweremadu had more to do with his ill-timed interview with a TV reporter shortly before he embarked on the trip to England that would lead to his eventually arrest on charges of organ trafficking. That interview where he stated that his “people” would vote for the PDP all but sealed his fate with the social media mob.

The outcry amongst Nigerians, these same Nigerians who employ underage “slaves” from neighbouring Togo and Benin Republic to work as house helps, with some paid through dubious third party agents and definitely below the national minimum wage.

Some inherit blood relatives who may have lost one or both parents from the village only to bring them to big cities like Lagos and subject these relatives to substandard treatment compared to their own children.

Stories abound of these kids eating with plastic spoons, unable to go to similar schools with the children of their benefactors while generally subjected to second class treatment in such homes. 

These are ingrained in the Nigerian society. Yet we cry “murder” while not looking and examining the very acts in our immediate environment. 

Yes violence in any form should be decried and more so against uniformed personnel. 

We should apply outrage against ALL forms of wrong doing and introspect.

For in the bigger picture, the underlying principle that will make one individual import another human from Togo or Benin to work in Lekki is not much different from the mind-set that will make another ferry a street boy from Lagos to harvest his kidney in London. 

Righteousness they say exalts a nation; there’s a reason the country is where it is despite the multiplication of religious houses.

•Lagundoye Ayo,

ayolagzy@yahoo.com