The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Re: Ndigbo and Jonathan

    SIR: I refer to comments published at page 21 of The Nation of Friday, September 26, written by C. Don Adinuba, wherein he wondered about the illogical, blind and uncommon support by Ndigbo to Goodluck Jonathan without reciprocal return by Jonathan and his brothers to Ndigbo.

    I wholly adopt the said write up by Adinuba and by way of amplification, I add that how can Jonathan take Ndigbo and their leaders seriously when leaders like Peter Obi, Sullivan Chime, T.A. Orji, Orji Uzor Kalu and others are outdoing each other in their struggle to mount canopies and beg Jonathan to run in 2015?

    When Jonathan finally accepts to run, who then will he go to in Igbo land to beg for votes and made to pledge what he will do for Ndigbo in return?

    It has not bothered these so-called Igbo leaders that except the civil war, the only thing Ndigbo did with one mind, in totality, commitment and as a block was voting for Jonathan in 2011.The percentage of votes Ndigbo gave to Jonathan in 2011, they have never given to any Igbo man either dead or alive. Not even the Great Zik of Africa or Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu. Yet, what do we have in return?

    Aba – Ikot- Ekpene (Federal Road) has been completely closed for three years now. Umuahia – Ikot – Ekpene road is as good as condemned. The Enugu- Port Harcourt Express road is today a death trap; ditto for Enugu- Onitsha Express road – condemned.

    Aside the general epileptic power supply situation, what about the abandonment of Isi- Ala-Ngwa dry port approved by former President Obasanjo?

    All travellers who used Port Harcourt-Enugu Express road who got near Osisioma portion of the road on Friday September 26, slept at Osisioma Junction because of the terrible state of the road yet, Ndigbo are supporting Jonathan blindly.

    The systematic neglect of all federal roads in Igbo land is deliberate by the Jonathan’s administration as an extension of abandoned property policy to frustrate the economic growth of Ndigbo which is predominantly based on movement of persons and goods in and out of Igbo land. When nobody comes into Igbo land to buy our goods, how then will Igbo land develop? When there are so access roads into Igbo land, who will invest there?

    The so-called Igbo leaders are only concerned about their stomach infrastructure rather than developmental projects that will open Ala- Igbo for an in-look from the outside world.

    • Victor C.Nwaugo. Esq.

    174 Hospital Road, Aba.

  • Nigeria @ 54: Waiting for the messiah

    IR: When British colonial administrators lowered the union jack on October 1st, 1960, Nigeria was Africa’s faith and hope for economic transformation. However, despite the vast wealth of the nation and those early promises, it has continued to struggle to provide basic necessities for its citizenry.

    In 1999, when President Obasanjo took office, Nigerians were told that with the massive investment in building generating plants, Nigeria by 2003 would have at least 10,000 megawatts installed capacity. Eleven years down the line, the available power some months back was a meagre 2,400 megawatts. This is in spite of the several billions of dollars spent; the new generating plants said to have been built and commissioned and renovation of old ones.

    Countries like China, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and others that have transformed their countries from backwaters of development to World class economies appreciate that corruption retards development and threaten their survival and sustainability; here in Nigeria, corruption has been allowed to eat deep into the fabric of the Nigerian system. Fifty-four years down the line, we celebrate independence and other anniversaries in an environment of impunity.

    A measure of the mismanagement of resources is the current situation in which less than 15 out of about 460 forest reserves are effectively functioning. The question is what has happened to the others?

    Employment which should be based on merit are now hijacked and shared by politicians among their cronies. In a country where youths are said to constitute 65-70% of the population, they are excluded from participation in decision-making including those that concerns their future; ironically, they are still regarded as the future of the nation.

    Insecurity and insurgency threatens to bring the country to its knees. If it is not Boko Haram, it is Fulani herdsmen on rampage.

    The only thing left for us to do  is to keep hoping for a messiah to emerge to save the country before it falls apart.

     

    • Temitayo Taylor

    Abeokuta.

  • Who is afraid of new Polling Units?

    SIR: I am compelled to pose the above query in the light of the controversies and barrage of criticisms trailing the proposed creation of additional 30, 000 Polling Units by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) bringing the number of Polling Units in the country to approximately 150, 000 . These criticisms are not constructive; they are deeply rooted in tribalism, religious bigotry and political sentiments. We need to rise above it.

    Leading the campaign against the commission’s proposal is the Southern Nigeria Peoples Assembly headed by the controversial Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark. Beyond flashing to our face the marginalisation claim, the group and its allies have not been able to support their assertions with verifiable facts or proofs. The group’s call for the removal of the INEC boss, Prof. Attahiru Jega over what they termed “promoting of northern agenda” is hollow, outrightly premature and cheap blackmail aimed at arm-twisting the INEC boss to dance to their tunes, to put it mildly. Unfortunately, none of these individuals criticising the initiative has been able to controvert the fact that the designated places in the northern region of the country, indeed, deserve the new Polling Units.

    Meanwhile, a glimpse at the planned exercise shows Lagos and Kano states taking the lion shares with 2,980 and 2,053 additional units respectively. While Bayelsa with the lowest registered voters in the country of 590,679 got 121 units. The truth, therefore, is that every state, as it were, is to be allotted polling units in equal proportion to the strength of its registered voters. The dust being raised by some of these groups that their regions are being short-changed in the exercise is nothing but a Nigerian factor where every national issue is brought on the table of politics and ethnicity.

    It is important to note that the electoral umpire has not acted ultra vires in the circumstance, especially,  in view of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2011 (As Amended). The said provision captures the power of the body to so act in the following words; “The Commission shall establish sufficient number of Polling stations in each ward and shall allot voters in such Polling Stations”. Assuming (without conceding) the critics of the proposed exercise had established their claim against the electoral body, the commission can still not be said to have violated the provisions of the law. The reason is that the Act does not stipulate the number of units to be allotted to each state. The discretion in doing so remains the exclusive power of the commission and it appeared to have exercised this discretion fairly and justly in the foregoing circumstance.

    Rather than pooh-pooh the proposed exercise, Nigerians should rally behind the commission in her quest towards finding a lasting solution to electoral ills in our system. The 2015 election is too crucial for us as a nation to be hijacked by some of these tribal and religious bigots in the garb of elder-statesmen and political analysts.

     

    • Barrister Okoro Gabriel,

     Ebonyi State.

  • That old Post Office at Ifon, Ondo State

    SIR: Three years ago the DSTV’s History Channel treated its Nigerian viewers to a fascinating science fiction series titled “Life After People”. The film imaginatively depicted what would happen to the world, as we presently know it, if all human life suddenly ceased to exist.

    Landmark locations such as New York Central Park, Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Space Needle (Seattle, USA) and other skyscrapers were shown being eventually overtaken by fungi, creeping plants, forests and animals. The degradation levels were shown at varying intervals of time up to 1000 years.

    In retrospect, if the producers of this film had known the Nigerian terrain, they could, before producing this film, have visited the old Post Office in Ifon town in Ondo State to have an idea of what a building would look like after 30 years of total abandonment to the elements.

    Historically, Ifon in Ondo State was a colonial administrative seat until 1925 when it lost the status to Owo. It reclaimed this status in 1972 when Owo Division was created and Ifon was made the administrative headquarters. During that time it had Osogbo, now capital of Osun State, among its peers. Ifon town is now the headquarters of Ose Local Government Area which was created in 1989.

    The Old Ifon Post Office was commissioned by the Queen of England, Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, in February 1956 during her first official visit to Nigeria. She was accompanied to Ifon by the then Governor-General Sir James Robertson. Ifon people vividly remember the Queen sleeping the night at Ifon at the residence of late Chief Asaboro. The post office building then was state-of-the-art, complete with a mini telephone (PABX) exchange, sorting room, an external letter box house and a postmaster residential quarter.

    As soon as a bigger post office was built at the outskirts of the town in the mid-80’s, the old post office was completely abandoned and is presently an eyesore in the town centre.

    NIPOST and other relevant federal authorities are please enjoined to put the old building into some form of commercial use or transform it into a National Heritage Site.

     

    • Dapo Fakorede

    Ijapo Estate, Akure, Ondo State.

     

  • Nigeria @ 54: The journey so far

    SIR: Upon our attainment of political sovereignty on October 1, 1960, Nigerians from diverse ethnic cum social backgrounds heaved a sign of relief and expected that Nigeria would become a better country as imperialists handed the baton of leadership to Nigerian leaders. Their belief was that the leaders were filled with nationalistic fervor and zeal, and that they would put the country’s interests above their selfish materialistic and ethnic interests.

    But, soon after our attainment of political freedom, our disunity that is traceable to ethnicity and religious intolerance became manifest with devastating implications. Political parties were formed along ethnic and religious lines. In the first republic, AG was to the western region what NPC was to the north; and, NCNC was believed to be an Igbo Party. Those parties were not nationalistic in outlook. So, clannishness and ethnic rivalry eroded the foundation of our country’s unity. Not surprisingly, the Nigeria-Biafra War erupted, which claimed the lives of millions of people, and caused the depredation of the south-east.

    Again, the June 12, 1993 presidential election imbroglio nearly caused another civil war in Nigeria. It took the deaths of Sani Abacha, a maximum military dictator, and MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election,for Nigeria to be brought back from the precipice. General Abdusalami Abubakar hurriedly conducted a general election, which brought Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to power, and ushered in the fourth republic.

    Nigeria has not become a truly peaceful and united country, although we have enjoyed 15 years of unbroken democratic governance. We still view one another with hatred and ethnic distrust. In order to allay the fears of the minority group about their being dominated, and to erase the feelings of marginalization among them, the ruling PDP introduced the political formula of rotation of power among the six geopolitical zones in the country. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo benefitted from that unwritten political arrangement and initiative. He ruled for eight years.

    His successor, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’adua, died while in power. The doctrine of necessity was invoked, and it facilitated and paved the way for the emergence of Dr. Good-Luck Jonathan as president in 2010.

    President Jonathan inherited most of the problems that are afflicting us, today. But, has he done much to tackle them, effectively and decisively?

    Our educational system is in tatters with millions of unemployable university graduates roaming the streets.  Power supply, which is the chief driver of industrial development in any country, is erratic, here. Some major federal roads in the country are so rutted that they bring back memories of dilapidated thorough-fares in war-ravaged countries like Afghanistan, Cambodia and others. Now, well-heeled Nigerians seek medical treatment for minor ailments like headache and malaria in Europe and America.

    Nigeria needs fixing. But achieving national integration and unity and having a competent and patriotic political leadership are keys that will unlock our potentials and take Nigeria to a great height.

    • Chiedu Uche Okoye,

    Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State

     

     

     

  • Pa Akinkunmi’s honour well deserved

    SIR: I wish to appreciate the Federal Government of Nigeria under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan for the well-deserved honour bestowed on Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi who designed the Nigeria flag. This is a sign that patriotism will be rewarded henceforth.

    The honour though belated, can be compared to the Biblical saying ‘When the Lord turn around the captivity of Zion, they were like they that dream’. With the salary for life package added to the honour, I know the younger generation will be encouraged to be more patriotic.

     

    • Adewumi, Tope Humble

    Omuooke Ekiti, Ekiti State.

  • Re: Why T.B. Joshua should be prosecuted

    SIR: After reading the letter to the editor titled “Why T.B Joshua Should Be Prosecuted,” featured on page 20 of The Nation of Monday, September 29, 2014, by one Olufemi Taiwo of Cornell University, Ithaca, New York and others, I came to the conclusion that theirs was freedom of speech and campaign of calumny taken too far. There was no doubt that the sudden collapse of that six-storey building-guest house on Friday September 12, was most unfortunate, devastating and a monumental national catastrophe. Depending on one’s sources of information foreign nationals were lost, while many sustained various degrees of injuries.

    T.B Joshua is one man of God well known worldwide to have utmost regard for the sanctity of human lives. Through SCOAN and Emmanuel TV many have found reasons to live again and live to the glory of God. So many lives have been positively touched and transformed across cultural and religious divides, troubled individuals, families and organisations were restored, liberated, uplifted, empowered and sicknesses cured. Nigerian economy has benefited immensely from improved religious tourism through the programmes of the man of God. The picture and video of the man of God weeping profusely when Governor Fashola called on him was not a gimmick and should not have exemplified “self-promotion and nothing short of callous.”

    Talking about being above the law, was there any time the man of God rebuffed invitation by security agencies? This particular incident of building collapse was most painful and unfortunate for the fact that it took place in a solemn environment well known and respected all over the world to have provided solace and succour to millions of people of different race, sex and colour in dire need of spiritual and material helps.

    One can imagine the pain and anguish the church and families of the injured and the deceased are going through at this trying moment most especially victims from other nations of the world. In as much as I agree with Taiwo et al that we cannot resurrect the dead … that the truth of this matter is not buried with them, it is equally expedient to add that as humans, the much we can ask presently in sublime faith and humility is for the all-knowing God to grant the dead eternal rest and the living the fortitude to bear the loss. Suffice it to say that long years of prosecution or even payment of money as compensation can never bring back lost lives?

    The alleged frustration of rescue efforts and barring of journalists from the site amounted to a shot at ones foot. This is a sensitive national matter, thus should be visibly placed at the public domain for their judgment despite where it swings to. The prophet and leadership of SCOAN should be ready, willing and humble enough to acknowledge inherent omissions. This was because the church is likened to a city built on the hill which cannot be hidden. She must endeavour at all times to show the way and live above board and should not be seen to have assumed the nature and character of men.

    Taiwo et al, should have interrogated the circumstance(s) behind this unfortunate tragedy before taking up the gauntlet of prosecution against the man of God. First, could there be any correlation between the strange aircraft which hovered over the building before it collapsed? Second, will it not be at the nation’s peril to ignore the theory of terrorism alleged by SCOAN? This is the right time for the Lagos State government, security operatives and the federal government panel to swing into action in order to unravel the mystery behind this calamity. The result of this inquiry, not personal opinions, should then serve as the basis for any action to be taken.

     

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

     

  • The rush to judgment on NYSC fee

    SIR: Like many Nigerians, I was on the verge of joining protests against what I had erroneously thought were exploitative steps being taken by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) over the online registration of prospective corps members. My thoughts were shaped and fuelled by the outrage expressed by others who queried why graduates should pay N4000 to serve their fatherland. The eagerness to join the bandwagon was fired by preponderance of opinion that outrightly condemns the move.

    Fortunately for me I decided to do a little fact finding before weighing in or adding my voice to the outcry. The NYSC official portal happened to be one of the sources for this research and alas I discovered I was on the verge of barking up the wrong tree.

    As I discovered from the statement on the site, the N4000 for printing of call up letter was not mandatory for all prospective corps members of Batch C 2014 even though all intending corps members must register online. I had to severally re-read the portion of the statement that said “those who wish to collect their call-up letters from their institution need not pay the Four Thousand Naira (¦ 4,000.00) after the online registration” just to be sure I am not getting the message mixed up. There were options, choices that allow graduates to return to their schools and pick up their call-up letters the old school way or to access and print the letter online.

    This discovery from reading the original version of the statement announcing the introduction of the fee for those wishing to access and print out their call-up letters completely disarmed me and with that the desire to join the fray completely evaporated. This for me is an eye opener to what is fast becoming an entrenched culture of rushing to join issues without properly understanding what is at stake.

    Hopefully, the experience that would result from the 2014 Batch C would highlight the inherent benefits in the computerisation of the call-up process such that it would have gained widespread acceptance for the 2015 Batch A. Anyone who has passed through the NYSC scheme will admit that the manual process is at best chaotic and could do with this innovation.

    It is noteworthy that the NYSC has reassured that those who elect not to use this service will not be victimised or punished in any way. This is a promise that the organisation must live up to. It should make the operation of the platform as seamless as possible so that prospective corps members have incentives to adopt it.

     

    • Ayinde Kareem,

    Abeokuta, Ogun State

     

  • Don’t kill the army mutineers

    SIR: THE life of a soldier can be troubling and stormy from time to time – like at this moment – when 12 combatants were court-martialed and sentenced to death for acts of rebellion against a superior officer and the state.

    It is swiftly becoming a case of officers versus non-commissioned officers as this entanglement rages on.  As grave and paining as the acts of these soldiers were, justice must not only be served but it should be served well. My friend in the United States Army had this to say about the soldiers: “As a soldier you are not permitted to speak ill of your superior officer, and to attempt to kill any is the height of insubordination. It can’t be condoned. I understand that the Nigerian system is a mess but you can’t fight ill with ill.”

    A soldier is obsessive about safety of the life of his comrade and vice versa for he is aware that they all could die by a hairs breath if they are inconsiderate in battle and a true soldier does not rejoice when he comes home alive from war, he grieves over the loss of many who passed on and, painfully if such deaths were caused by the carelessness of commanding officers or by the generals that plan wars in the war room.

    Many have died elsewhere due to the procurements of bad helmets that bullets can penetrate, others as a result of tactless commands from generals. Soldiers die for many reasons and many are unforgiveable reasons.

    But why would staff members of the Army react the way they did against a high ranking general officer commanding in public leading to shots being fired at him as reported? It goes beyond the ramblings of moaners. They were probably moved by the soldierly-spirit binding them: they saw their comrades die without reason and it could have been them; they saw the ‘order’ of their detached commander in the field (their god in battle) sidestepped by a commanding officer in the war room. When generals by-pass the decision of unit commanders in the field who are taking the bullets, you get uproar to the types reported.

    That general broke the army strict code: lack of respect for critical decision reached by a chain of command, he second-guessed and overruled the decision of a younger officer who said it was risky to come back that night and – as it turned out, that officer was right because had they stayed, they might not have been bushwhacked by ‘the haramist’ leading to deaths of many soldiers – preventable losses – that the sentenced soldiers mutinied over.

    Yet again, they railed not for themselves but for the corps and dead staff members; also because the Nigerian Army does not have an appropriate channel for the rank and file to express their grievances against a general; and he put the lives of his men under danger even if the top brass says innocuously.

    If he truly considered their safety: why was there no Plan B as a backup to frustrate a repelling attack from the enemy since they must come back same day against another officer’s suggestion?

    The army needs to know that there are distresses within it members which lingers on staff welfare – lack of motivation- and for them to reexamine its main concerns and ensure that staffs are not only happy but the tool required for work are provided for them.

    The army must not only be quick to  invoke its principles, despite the fact that it is necessary to reprove inappropriate behavior, it should go beyond that by treating all its members with dignity and respect.

    It must continually inspect members that – need to be discharged from the force and – should not leave it to chance as in this case – to embarrass its own – for it is evidently clear in the eyes of the mutineers, that the discharged general officer commanding is not a soldier of unimpeachable character who motivated his troops.  Motivation is fundamental to a soldier’s life; they thrive in battle when they know you have brotherly love for them and die for the lack of it.

    The Army may become another sleeping giant: if the senior officers assume wrongly that they alone can run affairs without the supportive efforts of the down line? Those convicted soldiers do not deserve to die and must not die. They should be dishonorably discharged from the force without benefits.

    • Simon Abah

    Port Harcourt.

  • Beatrice Jedy-Agba: Honour so deserved

    SIR: There are some names worth mentioning just for the sake of it. There are also some names equally worth mentioning for their strength of character, disposition to issues and generally the well-being of others.  Such persons are hard to find.

    When I flipped through the pages of the newspaper on September 18,  I didn’t have an inkling of what to expect because I was already fed-up with the usual stories on either depressing issues or how many more territories the Boko Haram sect have captured. Somehow as I flipped through, I halted at a long list of names to be conferred with National Honours awards. My heart leapt for joy when my eyes struck a name – a name that is synonymous with hard work, diligence and humility. That name is Beatrice Jedy-Agba, Executive Secretary of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP). It is indeed an honour well-deserved.

    As a background, human trafficking is generally viewed as a means to improve socio-economic circumstances, making a significant part of the population vulnerable. This was a huge challenge for Nigeria that required urgent and proactive steps, not until Mrs. Jedy-Agba was appointed Executive Secretary of NAPTIP in 2011. She has since then taken the lead in Nigeria’s effort to eradicate human trafficking, as well as ensure justice for trafficked persons. So her nomination didn’t come as a surprise. As a fact it was long overdue.

    She also has in her kitty countless laurels and awards in recognition of her invaluable services. One of such is the recently conferred 2014 trafficking in persons hero by the government of the United States of America, and by no other person that the United Secretary of State, John Kerry. During the award ceremony, she was described as “one of the 10 notable persons globally who despite resistance, opposition and threats to their lives protect victims, punish offenders and raise awareness of ongoing criminal practices in their countries and beyond.”

    The uncommon zeal and passion she exudes is unprecedented. Her mien is that of a servant than a leader. For her what matters most is getting the job done and in truth, her disposition to work should serve as charge to other women both in govermnet and outside to put in their best in their endeavours.

    In all of this, it is worthy of mention the calibre of support she has received from her husband Prince Godwin Jedy-Agba.

    A consummate Nigerian, Beatrice Jedy-Agba has no tribal or regional leanings. She pursues the best and all-embracing policies, not what will be beneficial only to people from her state of origin. It is easy to see that her appointment was not because of her tribe either, but her qualifications.  So far, she is unblemished by any allegation of corruption and she is held in high esteem among her colleagues, respected by her critics, with personal and professional ethics that transcend the Nigerian polity.

    Beatrice, is blessed with an incandescent beauty no doubt, but beneath the natural blessing is a mind galvanished with raw intelligence, brilliance and political sagacity that have added an aura of mystique to her personality as an agent of positive change in our society. Her brand of leadership has bridged the grassroot expectations of governance and the sophistication and the nitty gritty of contemporary leadership.

    As the honour is conferred on her alongside others, she would be spurred to greater heights. This honour should also ignite in her another round of enthusiasm and energy that she is known for. I celebrate her and her family as well as those that were so honoured. Mrs Jedy-Agba deserves all the accolades that she can get in this very important phase of her life as she continues to render her services to humanity.

    Her story teaches two things; one is that no matter what, when you put the interest of others above yours, you will be so honoured. And two: when you are given an assignment, you put in your best and nothing but the best.

    • Phrank Shaibu,