The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Media should be wary of Omisore

    Media should be wary of Omisore

    SIR: While it is generally agreed that no medium exists without its own bias, the greater truth is that the media is a public trust and its hallmark is integrity established by truth. When a medium publishes falsehood, either deliberately or inadvertently, it undermines the basis of its credibility.

    This is the trap that the defeated candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyiola Omisore, set for the media before, during and after the August 9, governorship election in Osun State.

    Omisore asked for the removal of the State Resident Electoral Commission, Ambassador Rufus Akeju, alleging that Akeju is a card-carrying member of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which later metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress (APC).  He did not offer any evidence. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Akeju’s employer, asked him to substantiate his claim, since he who asserts must prove. Almost four years down the line, he is yet to come up with anything. The media, regrettably, has been amplifying this false allegation for him.

    Again, he has been fulminating that INEC conducted the 2011 general election against a subsisting court order. He trumpeted this lie with a demonic frenzy, regrettably with the help of the media.

    The truth however is that the PDP went to court asking for an interlocutory injunction preventing Akeju from conducting the 2011 election. INEC agreed and was preparing to replace Akeju when PDP went back to the same court and asked for a ‘stay of execution’.

    The judge, Babs Kuewumi, was scandalised. He told them that their demand defied logic since it’s the loser that asks for an injunction, not the winner, who should be savouring the fruits of his victory. He then granted the stay of execution of the injunction he had earlier granted.

    It is inconceivable that Omisore will now turn round to accuse INEC of flouting court order. The media reported this falsehood with reckless abandon, without cross-checking the facts.

    Then again, the media on September 2, were awash with an interesting news item – a report that INEC had suspended two Electoral Officers (EO) for Obokun and Osogbo Local Governments. The report gleefully and recklessly claimed they were suspended for helping APC to rig the August 9, governorship election in Osun State.

    The next day INEC came out to rebut the story. INEC was categorical in denying that the two EOs were suspended for helping APC rig the election. Indeed, the EO for Obokun was suspended for diverting election materials and arrested by the police while doing so. What INEC did not mention was that the news actually broke on the eve of the election, how vigilant youths in Otan-Ile had apprehended the EO while taking the materials to the residence of a PDP chief in Ilase, and how he was released by police to a PDP national officer from the state.

    The second EO for Osogbo was actually suspended following the petition written against him for attempting to manipulate the election against APC. He hid the accreditation tags of APC party agents and did not release them until after accreditation had taken place. He also hid form EC8C in a waste bin and caused the delay in compiling the result for Osogbo until about 2.00 am the next day.

    How then could the two EOs have rigged for APC? Interestingly, the same media had reported these events when they occurred. All they needed to do was crosscheck with their own record.

    The irony is that each time the public read a report in the media that is patently false, instead of Omisore, it is the media that gets discredited. Believability is the media’s daily bread and once it is lost, nothing is left.

    Omisore is a mere bird of passage, he should not be allowed to destroy the media that have been built over time with the sweat and blood of our patriots and heroes of the profession.

     

    • Tunji Ayandele,

     Osogbo, Osun State

     

  • Rubbishing Ribadu

    Rubbishing Ribadu

    SIR: Have you seen the deceit that Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP have come to personify?

    Nuhu Ribadu is their latest trophy. They promised him the party’s ticket, and by extension, the Governor’s Lodge. Now they have thoroughly rubbished him, they have exposed Ribadu as an opportunist, how he’ll live with that is left for him to fashion out.

    But one thing is certain, he has been wounded and from now on, very few will attach any importance to whatever he says or does. Anyone investing any trust in President Goodluck Jonathan and his co travellers in the PDP does so at his or her own risk.

     

    • Simon Oladapo,

  • Kudos to Nigeria Police

    SIR: On behalf of the Nnewi community in Nigeria and in the Diaspora, I wish to commend the quick response of the Nigeria Police in apprehending one Kelechi Williams Eze who allegedly murdered our sister Njideka Lizzy Nzewi at her residence in Amuwo-Odofin area of Festac town in Lagos on July 21.

    It is testimony to the improvement in the efficiency of the Nigeria Police under the immediate past Inspector General of Police M.D Abubakar and the incumbent IGP Suleiman Abba.  It did not come as a surprise to me that the alleged killer was apprehended within one week of IGP Abba’s coming into office.

    I will not fail to mention the astuteness of DIG Mamman Tsafe, then AIG in charge of Zone 2 who created an enabling environment and vested trust in the abilities of the Area E Command to handle the case. He insisted that individual commands within Zone 2 take responsibilities and acquire capacity for solving challenges/crime within their jurisdiction. Our appreciation also goes to AIG Umar Manko whose stay in Lagos as Commissioner of Police birthed a massive improvement in the security situation within the metropolis.

    We pray that God will strengthen the current IGP so that he can continue his good work which will then consistently reflect in the rank and file.

    Most Nigerians who did not get to hear the full story or have the opportunity to follow the same story may not appreciate the kind of hardwork which went into tracking and the eventual arrest of the murder suspect.

    I must applaud the swiftness and passion with which the Area E Commander, ACP Dan Okoro got on the job using a special tracking technology to monitor and track the young man who was driving the victim’s car across four countries on the West Coast.

    From the narrative, the young man bolted to Ghana in the victim’s Range Rover Sports Utility Van after committing the crime. He eventually ended up in Cote d’voire where he was arrested by the Interpol in conjunction with crack detectives from Area E Command. I am aware that for the one week plus that this tracking and forensic investigation was going on, the Area Commander never went home but stayed on the case till the suspect was arrested.

    We are very grateful and delighted that under this present dispensation, the Police can be said to have come of age. We are certain that if it had not been for the proactive steps taken by the Nigeria Police, this case would have gone down in history as one of those unresolved murders and the pain would have lingered in our memory forever.

    • Dr Godwin Okonkwo,

    Lagos

     

  • Still on 2014 WAEC result

    SIR: The just released 2014 West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination has elicited various comments from various quarters. People have also condemned in unmistakable terms the mass failure which is a clear pointer to our ever increasing falling standard of education.

    While the children are gnashing their teeth because of their poor performance, parents also are counting their losses in terms of wasted school fees, pocket money and what have you.

    The government, the schools and the parents are now trading tackles but the damage has already been done. What next is the way out of the quagmire in which we have found ourselves? We have all been caught in a spider’s web and it is too late to cry when the head is off.

    A critical re-appraisal of the secondary educational system calls for urgent action to be taken by both the state and the federal government if we must have to arrest the present abysmal drift. A system where students are promoted en-masse from one class to another must stop. There must be a standard set by the relevant authority so that only the best is promoted from one class to another. Since a desperate disease requires a desperate remedy, it will not be out of place if Senior Secondary (SS) two students must have to write qualifying examination to SS III. Such a qualifying examination must be set by the state Ministry of Education and only those who score 40% and above including English and Mathematics should be promoted.

    The moral decadence now permeating among the youths and across the length and breadth of the country must be addressed and necessary steps taken to curtail them. This is why the return of schools to their original owners must be quickened at the various levels.

    One thing the West African Examination Council has not come up with is statistics of passes recorded by both the private and the public sectors respectively. The need to know this is important so as to know how to take the bull by the horn. One important contagious disease today which no one has even focused on is the issue of home video. A situation whereby you find parents and children preparing for their West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination glued to the television watching home video until the dead of the night does not help issue.

    The politicization of the WAEC fees paid by the various state governments under the guise of free education does not make the parents to be alive to their responsibility since they do not feel the pinch hence they do not bother to monitor the level of preparation of their wards for the examination.

    Our mass education policy is becoming counter-productive. It is affecting the quality of our present day graduates shunned out by the various universities and this is a direct product of our Senior Secondary Schools.

    I have heard people argue for the re-introduction of the Higher School Certificate system. Fine, if it will be a panacea for the dwindling standard of education at the university level. But what is going to be the parameter or the modus-operandi for the admission to study at Higher School Certificate levels? Special schools should be given approval or designated to run the syllabus for the duration it will last. This is one area our educational policy makers should now start looking into before further devastating blow is done to our education.

     

    • Muyiwa Idowu

    Lagos

     

  • GT Bank and First Bank should refund my money

    SIR: This is calling on the Guarantee Trust Bank (GT Bank) Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Plc to refund my money lost to the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) of First Bank in Ile-Ife. I have a bank account with GT Bank. On Wednesday, August 18, I made a withdrawal from the First Bank ATM at Lagere, Ile-Ife, due to inaccessibility to GT Bank ATM, where my account is domiciled. Unfortunately, the ATM did not dispense cash for me, on two attempts. Meanwhile, my account was immediately debited with N40, 000 cash I did not get; even before I could retrieve my Debit Card from the bank ATM.

    This happened on a Public Holiday (Isese Day – Traditionalists’ Day) declared by Osun State government. This made in impossible to immediately lodge a complaint to either GT Bank or First Bank.

    I have since lodged complaint with my bank, GT Bank, but the response is worrying. While, on the basis of constant pressure and after much delay, half of the money was remitted, the delay tactics being used by the GT Bank and First Bank, over the remaining N20, 000 (twenty thousand naira) shows desperate attempt to rip me off of the remaining money. Moreover, the caveat given by the staff that if my money is not refunded within eight working days, it will take eternity to correct the error is discomforting for me. It is already over three weeks since the issue occurred, with my bank not showing any further interest in remitting my money. I have lodged several complaint at the local branch of the bank, and through the customer service channels of the bank, meeting only cold responses.

    I find it very disturbing that a bank that is supposed to protect my account, but failed to do so, will feel uninterested in correcting its lapses, rather, will allow my hard-earned money to be played with anyhow. I suppose as a corporate organization, banks have responsibility towards customers and clients. Unfortunately, they seem to relish the pains customers go through. What if the only money I have is the money these banks are trying to rip me off of?

    This development, which of course many Nigerians face daily, has cast a serious doubt over the feasibility of the cashless policy. If big banks can be found wanting in protecting customers’ accounts in only ATMs, what will happen when there is proliferation of POS machines, where there will be higher volumes of transactions.

    I call on GT Bank and First Bank to immediately refund my money without delay.

     

    • Ibraheem Kolawole

    Ile-Ife, Osun State.

     

  • Stephen Davis: Gaps in narratives

    SIR: Since that statement by the Australia-based Boko Haram negotiator Stephen Davis, a whole lot of information has surfaced to call the veracity of his claims to question.  While some people see him as a rabble-rouser who benefits from causing chaos, others believe he has since been compromised in his dealings with Boko Haram.

    Some of his revelations are interesting indeed while others are downright suspicious.  He said some of the things we already knew, like telling us that the sect had ‘political sponsors’ and that the insurgency was being supported by opposition elements.

    The true picture of his ‘revelation’ started unravelling with the claim that former Borno State governor, Ali Modu Sheriff, is a sponsor of the violent Islamic sect, a story that simply feeds into a popular rumour mill.

    The mention of the former Chief of Army Staff, Azubuike Ihejirika as a Boko Haram sponsor is ridiculous. It calls to strong question, the whole purpose of Dr. Davis’ activities. As some Nigerians commented, he was simply being mischievous in his effort to link the President with the violence which he has done all in his power to stop.

    Surely there is a gap in the narratives; it is a gap the so-called negotiator needs to fill, or forever hold his peace. To throw incredulous narratives into the mix is to cause unnecessary distraction from government efforts to unmask the real sponsors of this sect that has taken the lives of thousands of Nigerians.

    Johnson Momodu

    Benin City.

  • Corruption: Let’s call a spade by its name

    SIR:“I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet”

    Mahatma Ghandhi

    Let’s call a spade a spade; the level of corruption in Nigeria is astronomical. Corruption runs in the blood of most Nigerians and most are ready to participate in corruption at the earliest blast of the whistle.

    Nigeria is a house built on the sand of corruption, but regrettably its people expect it to withstand the calamities and afflictions that go with such quest.

    Many Nigerians will profess several verbiages to convince themselves that they are not part of the Nigerian corruption. They convince themselves that things are not what they are and expouse fallacious claims to support every corrupt practise. The fact remains that Nigeria is corrupt by default.

    Irrespective of what you convince yourself to believe, the fact cannot be erased.

    Nigerians live, dine and wine in corruption and these corruptions run from the leaders to the common man on the streets. The leaders steal and share the big money, while the rest steal and share the money left.

    You can hide the fire that is burning, but you can’t hide the smoke. The smoke is everywhere, nothing gets done except bribe change hands. Ask for a little favour without throwing a bribe, then consider the job best ignored.

    Everywhere you go, it is the same from public sectors to private institutions, everyone readily participate in bribery.

    I cannot overemphasis the facts that we all need a radical change in our ways. Let’s call a spade a spade, we cannot continue to live this way and expect to get a sudden transformation.Life is only a miracle to those who obey the rules. You cannot live your life anyhow and expect to get a worthwhile result out of it.

    Until we all stamp out corruption, yes every one of us, Nigeria may not yet be ready.

    We need determination and discipline to live corrupt free life.Bribery and corruption has become part of our culture and way of life, we are so much enmeshed in it that it ceases to make any difference to us anymore.

    Corruption is now normal. If you can’t beat them, you better join them, but must we live our lives this way?

    Nigeria has reached the climax of corruption; you either play by the rule or get sucked in forever.You are not allowed to say no to bribery and corruption, if you do, you may get cut down in their wheel of scandals. This unfortunate predicament has got to a very dangerous level, it now runs in every sector of the economy, from judiciary to legislature, executive to business, religion to education, health to power generation and many more. Nothing works on merit in Nigeria; you either pay for it or lose out on it.

    Sad, really sad, how can we continue to live our lives this way?

    Let’s join hands to say no to corruption. Play your part in stamping out this deadly practice. We cannot be free if we continue to sell our conscience for money. Edmund Burke wrote; “among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.”

    We need to come together and say no to corruption in Nigeria, which is the only way forward.

    • Oni Oluwatobi David,

    Lagos

  • Putting out the fire of Ebola

    SIR: Since February, death toll from the recent Ebola epidemic has soared over 1, 000, making it the most deadly outbreak of Ebola in history since the discovery of the disease in 1976 with simultaneous cases in Sudan and the Congo.

    Common symptoms of Ebola are fever, headache, weakness, cramps, aching in the muscles and joints, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach pain, sore throat. As the disease progresses, additional symptoms may include rash, internal and external bleeding from the nose, mouth, ears and eyes, reduced liver and kidney function, trouble breathing, bruising.

    The working hypothesis for curtailing Ebola until the Liberian Patrick Sawyer came into the picture was that Ebola would more or less stay put, affecting only neighbouring countries.  The time from infection to severe illness is typically so fast that it is unlikely that a person would be able to get it together enough to go to airport– or else would be so obviously unwell as to draw attention to himself.

    Sawyer’s flight has changed all that. Until Sawyer’s death, all reported cases of Ebola had occurred in one of the three adjacent West Africa countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

    Public health approaches remain the viable solution to Ebola curtailment. These are to be driven by government institutions and machineries but must be supported by responsible citizenship. With 198 Ebola cases in a nation of 150 million people, there is no need to panic but time for responsible citizenship by all. Public responsibility is paramount in curtailing this outbreak since it takes a man to infect a community.

    The President, the health minister, federal and state governments have shown commendable leadership towards curtailment of the outbreak. Highest level political meetings were held to devise effective strategies to manage the outbreak, rigorous screening at entry points were embarked upon, special funds provided, and several treatment and information centres established.

    Of special mention are the commendable efforts by Lagos State government to stem the spread.

    Despite the seriousness and notoriously incurable nature of the disease, preventing it spreading is relatively simple since only those who are symptomatic are contagious. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, it is important to wash one’s hands thoroughly with warm water and soap, or, if that is not available, a hand sanitizer.

    As advised by Stephen Monroe, deputy director of the Natural Centre for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, we should all be geared up for a ‘marathon than a sprint’ in curtailing the disease. Until we identify and interrupt every chain of transmission, we won’t be able to interrupt the outbreak. Until we get all the fires put out, there’s still a possibility that it will re-ignite.

    • Oluwaseun Oguntuase

    Ibereko, Badagry, Lagos

     

  • Attention, Governor Obiano

    SIR: Former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi did all he could as governor to promote the spirit of equity and fairness in his relations with the people in Anambra State. In spite of his commendable efforts, there remains a lot to be done for the people of Inoma community.

    who are eager to benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    Inoma is a town situated at the bank of River Niger tributary, rich in agricultural produce. People of this community are predominantly farmers, and cultivate varieties of crops. These yields are produced in commercial quantities but due to lack of storage facilities and access road, most of these are sold at cheap prices while others get damaged.

    We appeal to you, to use your good office to fast-track the construction of Oroma Anam –Nzam –Inoma access road or Mmiata Anam –Nzam –Inoma access road to enable all the communities within these regions transport their agricultural produce to the cities. These communities are the most abandoned areas in Anambra State.

    There are no basic amenities in Inoma, Nzam and its environs. Could you also ask the chairman and all councillors elected in Anambra West LGA to copy the developmental stride of former Governor Peter Obi and the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan? They should be told to embark on familiarization tour to all the communities in the LGA, to enable them know and prioritise the needs of the people.

    Anambra West LGA is the poorest developed council in the state and needs your attention in the areas of sustainable healthcare care, provision of pipe-borne water, functional rural-electrification as well as good road networks.

    Generations to come will celebrate you if you can deliver electoral promises to Inoma community, in many other areas, not only limited, to those cited above.

     

    • Ogugua David Azubuike

    Port Harcourt   

     

  • Cleaning the mess in Glass House  

    SIR: The imbroglio that engulfed the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) after the national team’s poor outing at the last World Cup appears to be assuming an embarrassing magnitude that should no longer be allowed to continue. Before now, there have been litigations, court injunctions, dissolution of the federation board, suspension by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the ouster of Aminu Maigari as the NFF President.

    Rather than take stock, learn from our performance and plan ahead, our football administrators are engrossed in power tussle while little attention is being accorded effective football administration in the country.

    The NFF crisis has taken much toll on our volatile football administration as virtually all the tiers of the league are being suspended at a critical period when our national team, the Super Eagles, has only just begun its title defence for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations. Currently, the nation’s football league comprising the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) also known as the Glo Premier League, the Nigeria Nation Wide League (NNWL), Nigeria Women’s League and the Nigeria National League (NNL), have also suspended their activities indefinitely as a result of referees’ boycott.

    The Ministry of Sports, under Dr. Tammy Danagogo appears to be incapable of overseeing the operations of NFF effectively. Rather, it has deployed overbearing and divide-and-rule tactics that have been counter-productive. While the Maigari group is enjoying the goodwill of FIFA, the Chris Giwa team on the other hand has the backing of the Nigerian government. It is expected that with the series and grievous allegations leveled against the body, the ministry should have demanded accountability from the NFF. But whenever this happens, the impression that is given is that FIFA would sanction the nation because of government intervention. Up till now, the inferno at the NFF secretariat in Abuja is yet to be investigated, especially in the face of information that the fire extinguishers at the secretariat expired since 2012 without any attempt to replace them.

    The on-going stalemate is nothing but a clear manifestation of the absence of the genuine passion for service by those that are benefitting from the situation and would rather prefer that the status quo ante be maintained.

    What the nation neds now is a sound administrative structure where those saddled with responsibility would consider national interest foremost; instead of leaving the game to a few vested interests that appear to be after their private pockets. From what we have seen so far, we can safely say that those involved in football administration in Nigeria have no real interest in developing the game. This could be due to the ‘free’ money that comes from the government that makes the NFF secretariat the toast of politicians. Unfortunately, we have failed to tap into the immense opportunities in the football business for national development.

    We cannot afford to be banned again by FIFA. This should be the ultimate concern of our football administrators. They should stop throwing stones in the Glass House!

     

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta