The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Beware of Aso Villa!

    SIR: The journey to Aso Villa, a figurative nomenclature for the number one seat of power in the Federal Republic of Nigeria started way back in 1975 when the decision was taken by the then Federal Military Government of Nigeria to set up a committee to examine the suitability of the dual role of Lagos as a state and Federal Capital. The government under General Murtala Mohammed accepted the recommendation that the capital city of Nigeria be relocated to a new Federal Capital Territory in the geographic centre of the country at Abuja.

    The struggle to occupy the villa has always been attended by fierce competition that throws up regime tendencies of devious proportions. The realities that have reared their monstrous heads on the heels of our returns to democracy attest to this unhealthy competitions.

    Another period of fierce competition is around the corner. The drum for the macabre dance has long started beating. The tempo of the beat increases in crescendo as innuendos from opposing actors and groups heat the polity. Innuendos, statements laced with hidden assumptions in its varied forms as propaganda fly disguised as messianic messengers sent to set the people free from bondage.

    Democracy has come to define the boundaries of powers sought by modern men. However, it came with its challenges as men had to compete for power through electoral processes. These processes which encompass interest articulation, motivation, participation and mobilization provide man all he needed to resort to treachery and all evil machinations at his disposal to undermine the process for selfish end.

    When the chips are down and power is gained, attained by hook or crook, they allow power to intoxicate instead of invigorate them.   In our recent history as a nation, how many heads of government ascended the exalted seat, took occupancy of Aso Villa and came out with their partners? So, why can’t people thread with caution when chasing an ephemeral object, position or ambition in life?

    • Com. Ogbu Alexander Ameh,

     Abuja

  • Open letter to Asari Dokubo

    SIR: This letter in not unconnected with your recent media conference following a bomb blast in  Kaduna in which two of our adorable elders and fathers escaped unhurt by the grace of God and so many other innocent friends and brothers lost their lives. As believers, we find solace that they died in the holy month of Ramadan; most of them who were pursuing a worthy cause. May Allah forgive them their trespasses and admit them into the highest place of abode, Amen.

    I would ordinary not respond to idle talk from ignorant men, but because of my perceived impression that you ought not to fall within these categories of people, I am tempted to respond to your outburst. I am also not unmindful of the fact that, while your outburst attracted the media and made some headlines, my response may not equally get the same to warrant same treatment for some reasons. You are more a public figure than me by virtue of your pedigree in the history of this nation, the interest of whom you seem to be protecting and the fact that you have all the funds to invite all that you want to invite to be heard.

    You accused General Muhammed Buhari (Rtd) as a conspirator and a liar, a situation that prompted me to question where you got your “Tarbiya) from? (I mean your home training). I know as a fact that, no matter the provocation and our political and religious inclination, some words are heavy words that we will hardly use on elders, most especially on a person old enough to be our father (to be modest). The event in this nation over the last one year is enough for the northerners to start name-callings and raining insults on some individuals from the part of the country you come from, but because we are disciplined and are always admonished to restrain ourselves from the ugly consequences of anger, we have kept our lips shut and watching albeit with keen interest on all the happenings around.

    God forbid, do you think even if the Nigerian armoury and soldiers are mobilized to the North, they can stop anything from happening if these two men were killed? Please Mujahid, do not be led by empty confidence that you have stashed enough weapons to fight anybody; even if you do; we are inclined to believe that no one lives forever. I believe we are at best as one Nigeria.

    Is it not funny to consider a man who fought to preserve the unity of a country a liar? A former minister and Head of State; a man with a genuine followership, a man with a clue on how a country should be run. Let us pray to remain consequential like the general even at this our youth-full like age because many at his age have lost track of the history and prospect of this nation.

    You will agree with me that the prospect of democracy hinges on the viability of opposition. General Buhari’s pedigree has given impetus and meaning to the Nigeria opposition parties. I am sure if General Buhari and the opposition do not exist, the image launderers and the likes will have less patronage by the ruling party.

    I know we represent an important segment of the population (youth?). Our utterances should be guarded. Why should you and I forsake our future of being Nigeria President because we have toed the path of ethnic jingoists?

    Yours truly in the Nigeria project,

     

    • Dr Abdullahi Baba Abdul,

  • Kogi guber: Case not exactly over

    SIR: The last might not have been heard on the legal controversies which have continued to trail  the February 20, judgment of the Supreme Court which put in abeyance  the challenge posed to Idris Wada’s candidacy by the winner of the ‘first’ PDP primaries held on January 9, 2011  in the state, Alhaji Jibrin Isa Echocho. New issues  as to the legality of Wada’s continued stay in the Government House, Lokoja  on the judgement of the apex court have again been brought to the fore.

    Although Nigerians were bound by all judgments of the Supreme Court, the judgment by itself was not beyond criticism and or a review.  The Supreme Court was   in serious error when it held that the appellant in Jibrin Isah v INEC was not a party in Marwa v Nyako and as such could not derive any benefit from the judgement.

    With much respect to their Lordships decision, the Supreme Court, by the decision in Marwa v Nyako invalidated the decisions of the two lower courts, set aside and nullified all rights or interest that may have accrued from the decisions and of course restored whatever and whichever interest that was suspended or put in abeyance during the subsistence of the decisions of the lower courts.

    Against the foregoing background, we submit that it was the decisions of the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal (that were set aside by the Supreme Court in Marwa v Nyako) that stalled and hindered Appellant’s already restored rights to contest election as governor of Kogi State since his name had already been forwarded to INEC (the 1st Respondent) as its candidate for the said election. Legally and logically, if it was the decision of the Court of Appeal and Federal High Court that hindered the Appellant from contesting; the setting aside of those decisions by the Supreme Court revived his already vested right. It will amount with all due respect, to standing logic on its head to argue that a setting aside of those decisions would not confer any benefit on the Appellant irrespective of whether he was a party to the proceedings or not.

    It is elementary law that, the appellant ( Jibrin Isah) was a  direct party in Marwa V Nyako, as his primary election which the Supreme Court claimed was cancelled, was the central issue in Marwa Vs Nyako contrary to the position of the esteemed justices of the Supreme Court. Let us not forget too that, Marwa Vs Nyako was based on the lower courts judgment in Ibrahim Idris Vs INEC. So, if  Marwa Vs Nyako did not affect the appellant, how then did Ibrahim Idris of Kogi State leave office?.

     

    • Ekpeyong James Esq.

    Lagos

  • Open letter to Governor Amosun

    SIR: I want to, first of all, commend you for your unparalleled dedication in providing social amenities – in Ogun State since assuming office – despite the paucity of funds. Whilst working as a Residence Verification Officer for one of the major banks in our country, I was opportune to scout around Ogun State, amongst other states. And having juxtaposed the rates of infrastructural development, I must confess that your government is doing excellently well to improve the living conditions of her people.

    However, after exercising ample forbearance, it has become necessary to draw your attention to the sufferings of your people residing in Ibafo as I think Ibafo to be one of the prominent towns in Ogun State since it is a suburb.

    The inhabitants of Ibafo feel alienated from the on-going development process in the state, as they can hardly boast of enjoying a single basic amenity in their environ. Ranging from the lack of good roads, to the unavailability of pipe borne water and electricity, it appears that the attention of Your Excellency may have been diverted from the Ibafo region; following the good works at Magboro and other neighbouring towns.

    In the wake of the recent intensive rainfall, the issue of bad road has become a pertinent matter – requiring urgent lasting solution – as floods threaten to destroy our homes and properties. The sound of a rushing rainfall remains an impediment to the well-being of your people – who call on your help.

    As per electricity, the term already sounds abstruse to Ibafo residents, particularly the kids. Since the beginning of this year, 2014, we’ve only seen electricity once; and that was sometime in early January. Nigerian citizens, living in Ibafo, generate power for themselves on daily basis.

    The residents of Ibafo crave for your mercy, should they have offended your government in any way. They plead for Your Excellency’s leniency and desire you provide them with some basic amenities, with special regards to good road and electricity.

    I earnestly appeal to the development-oriented governor to remember the people of Ibafo.

    May God continue to grant you the vision for prosperity, even as you act in equity.

    • Prince C. Ifoh,

    Ibafo, Ogun State

     

  • Buhari: The price of greatness

    SIR: Condemnation trailing the attempted assassination of the former head of state, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari by the yet to be known persons in Kaduna on Wednesday July 23, shows that that the man is really appreciated for his lofty contribution to nation building in Nigeria. As should be expected, the issue has led to a blame game among the leading political parties in Nigeria, PDP and APC. To the opposition APC, the attack on the general was orchestrated by the PDP due to his rising profile and threat he poses to the second term ambition of the incumbent president. In response, PDP directed the APC to look inward for the culprit. The blame game continues but what is important is that Buhari was not killed and the nation is saved from violent reactions that might have greeted his assassination from his teeming supporters, particularly in the northern part of the country. Equally important is the fact that, the culprit may never be found and with time the attempted murder would join the number of unresolved murder and attempted murder cases in Nigeria.

    Beyond that however, Buhari has greatness entrusted upon him, therefore, the attempted assassination was a price he had to pay for greatness. As of today, he is an issue in Nigerian politics. When he sneezes, many people catch cold. He is the arrow head of the opposition and among the few who can speak truth to power and be impactful. His denouncement of Boko Haram insurgents, in spite of threat to his life is a sign of greatness and who knows whether the attempt was from the insurgents. All this are signs of greatness in a country where almost everybody was after what he could grab from the resources of the country. Nevertheless, the attempt is a wicked and cowardly act either from the Boko Haram or whosoever.    Escaping death was an act of God but most importantly, it shows that Buhari has not fulfilled its destiny. Consequently, Buhari is advised not to relent in his effort to see that this nation attains greatness politically, economically and democratically.

    Obviously, for the sustenance of our nascent democracy, ruling party and presidency should stem the rate at which opposition governors are being targeted for impeachment by PDP dominated houses of assembly purely on political motives. Targeting Buhari, the arrowhead of opposition in this circumstance would force one to believe that opposition is being stifled and this would do the nation no good. Therefore, adequate security should be provided for all citizens irrespective of party affiliation. Let democracy be practiced according to the rule as this is the only way to entrench peace and stability in the country.

    •Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

     

  • Of cement and building collapse

    SIR: The spate of building collapse in the country and the attendant devastation that comes with it is not only worrisome but also calls for urgent national attention. The rate at which they happen and the shabby attention accorded them by those supposedly in-charge has compelled one to ask if there exists any building code or regulatory agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring standards in the construction/building sector.

    It took a petition by a coalition of civil society and professional groups in the construction industry for the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON)to rise up to their responsibilities. The petitioners alleged that the use of 32.5 cement grade in construction works was responsible for incessant building collapse across the country. The SON quickly set up a technical committee to look at the existing grades of cement and to recommend the best for the overall good of the nation. The committee had members drawn from relevant stakeholders in the cement business chain, construction and building industry. In the end, the committee recommended the use of 42.5 cement grade.

    One wonders why it is the case of cement grade that has caught the fancy of the SON and the House of Representatives. As a matter of fact, neither cement nor its grade causes building collapse because it is a minute component in the entire building construction process. The committee set up by SON and the House of Representatives ought to have painstakingly taken a holistic view and factor in other variables responsible for building collapse before arriving at its recommendations. The Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) were of the position that cement as a water based binder and common ingredient in building construction does not stand in isolation or independent of other materials for they are jointly mixed together to form vital components of a building structure. Standing at different strategic locations in Nigeria and elsewhere in the world are many historical edifices built over decades and centuries ago with 32.5 cement grade.

    In fact, a whole lot of ignored factors have brought the building industry down on its knees. First, is the issue of quackery in the building industry. Many incompetent individuals who have no business in the construction industry are actively in the lead. Second is the flagrant abuse of building code, ethics and standards. End users of building products for reasons connected with lets’ make do with what we have syndrome and personal gains compromise standards. Third, the nation lacks standard laboratories for testing and appraising locally produced and imported building materials. In fact, CORENhasinformed the nation that;”SON, which is the regulatory agency for setting standard for cement in Nigeria, has no competent and functional laboratory for determining cement quality”. Some companies have taken advantage of this lacuna with the collaboration of unscrupulous individuals to import sub-standard products at the expense of the nation.

    Fourth, there is little or no awareness and enlightenment of Nigerians as to the kinds of cement grades we have, their suitable usages and how to identify them. Presently, most Nigerians cannot differentiate between 32.5 and 42.5 cement grade.

    This is a clarion call to SON, stakeholders in the construction and building industry, and indeed all Nigerians to as a matter of urgency step up action against building collapse before it consumes all of us. The ongoing effort at revamp the building sector should not be segmented. Rather a comprehensive approach to addressing them should be evolved.

     

    • Sunday Onyemaechi Eze

     Samaru Unit, Zaria

  • Reflections from World Hepatitis Day

    SIR: Initially, the World Hepatitis Day was celebrated on May 19 each year but in 2010 the World Health Assembly changed the date to July 28 in honour of the birthday of the Nobel laureate Professor Baruch Samuel Blumberg who discovered Hepatitis B.

    About 23 million Nigerians are infected with Hepatitis B, making Nigeria one of the countries with the highest Hepatitis infection in the world.  About 500 million people globally are said to be living with either Hepatitis B or C. It is pathetic that many people worry more about contracting AIDS than Hepatitis even when in reality in each year about 1.4 million people worldwide die faster with viral hepatitis than they would with AIDS.

    Globally, HIV- AIDS  slowly kills close to 1.6 million people yearly. And more unfortunate is the fact that just only Hepatitis B virus is about 50 to 100 times more infectious than HIV. Despite this mind-boggling data, the disease has attracted very little attention from both the government and the people of Nigeria.

    Hepatitis is a medical condition characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissues of the liver. It can be self-limiting (healing on its own) or can simply progress to fibrosis (scarring), Cirrhosis,liver failure or liver cancer. Hepatitis can be acute when it lasts for less than six months or chronic when it lasts for more than six months.

    The viral hepatitis infections have almost common features which can be asymptomatic (no symptoms) but often lead to jaundice, loss of appetite, and malaise.

    In children,the features are usually asymptomatic while in older individuals,there may be nonspecific flu-like symptoms,common to almost all acute viral infections which include: malaise; muscle and joint aches; fever; nausea or vomiting; diarrhoea; headache.

    The more specific acute features include: loss of appetite; aversion to smoking (among smokers); dark urine; yellowing of the eyes and the skin; enlargement of the liver; enlarged lymph nodes in about 5%; enlargement of the spleen.

    Hepatitis A can be prevented by adequate supplies of safe drinking water; proper disposal of sewage within the communities; personal hygiene such as regular hand washing with safe water and soap; getting immunized with Hepatitis A vaccine.

    Hepatitis B can be prevented by quality-assured screening of all donated blood and blood components used for transfusion; safe injection practices; safe sex practices, including minimizing the number of partners and using barrier protective measures (condom). Moreover, Hepatitis B vaccine is the mainstay of prevention, no wonder it is part of  our National Programme on Immunization. However, adults who were not immunized at childhood and who are among the high risk groups should meet their doctors to ascertain if they are eligible for the vaccination.

    Hepatitis C and D infections have almost the same preventive measures as Hepatitis B except that Hepatitis C vaccine is currently unavailable globally though research is still ongoing.

    Hepatitis E can be prevented by maintaining quality standards for public water supplies; establishing proper disposal systems to eliminate sanitary wastes; maintaining hygienic practices such as hand washing with safe water, particularly before handling food; avoiding water/or ice of unknown purity; adhering to WHO safe food practices.  Hepatitis E vaccine is still not available in the global market, though it has been produced and licensed in China.

    It is about time the federal government mapped out comprehensive national plans to tackle this silent killer called (viral) hepatitis.

    • Dr Paul John

    Port Harcourt

  • Doctors and crisis in health sector

    SIR: It is no longer news that there is serious crisis lingering in the health sector. This is as a result of constant threat by various professionals that constitute the core professions in this sector. Unlike judiciary, which enjoys the monopoly of lawyers as professionals trained to interpret and guide the constitution, the health sector is different; it is a sector where many professions team up and work as a team for the overall benefit of every patient.

    In 70s and early 80sin the health sector, there was little or no internal bickering among health professionals until the coming of the then minister of health, the late Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti under the military regime who changed the entire administrative system and policies in the sector, mandating physicians (medical doctors) to take absolute control of the sector. Since then, the health sector has been passing  through one crisis or the other, making Nigerian citizens including physicians  to seek better health care elsewhere outside the country.

    Presently, all the juicy positions in the health sector are being held by doctors starting from head of clinical services (CMAC), medical directors, commissioners, directors of public health to minister of health with jumbo salary packages more than other health workers, yet they not satisfied. It should be noted that every worker’s aim and desire is to reach the peak of his or her career wherever he or she works. Why is the health sector different? One profession has made it so difficult for others in the sector to progress despite being a government-owned institution. This is because physicians hold most of the vital positions in this sector, and so he who is given yam and knife at the same time needs no stress to decide how many pieces he will cut. It is disheartening and painstaking to see other health professionals with Masters/PhD in line with their professions, yet one professional with first degree (MBBS) automatically is being imposed as the head. It is unreasonable for an MBBS holder with a post-graduate qualification (consultants) be rated higher than a PhD holder who spent roughly not less than eight years, as the case may be for other health professionals.

    The role of clinical pathologists in the hospital is to interpret laboratory results to their colleagues (physicians) for proper understanding and treatment of patients and not to partake in running the test on the bench. The clamour by doctors to replace medical laboratory science practice with laboratory medicine (laboratory physicians) is needless. Medical laboratory science is known all over the world to be the practitioners of medical laboratory services. Besides, there are already trained medical laboratory professionals with an established act and license to control, regulate and practice. It is therefore unlawful for duplication of duties and profession, which will amount to nothing but waste of resources and energy. No wonder health sector is indeed in crisis and government seems not to understand where the problem is emanating from.

    Working in the hospital is quite risky for contagious diseases. All health professionals face equal risk hazard in the hospital since needle prick is common during surgery in the theatre and bleeding in the laboratory. For any hazard allowance to be paid, it must be across board. For physicians to demand separate hazard allowance for themselves alone is greedy and selfish.

    All the professionals working in the health sector are health workers. For physicians to brand other health professionals as health workers to the exclusion of themselves is wrong. Government should as matter of urgency put an end to this unnecessary discrimination and disparity between health workers. Equal opportunity should be given to every profession in the health sector to rise to the peak of their career. A seasoned administrator should be appointed to head our hospitals where all health professionals will be confined to their respective departments and units. This is only way sanity can be restored in health sector.

     

    • Emeka Opara,  

    Calabar, Cross River State

     

  • Still on the Lagos bomb blast

    SIR: That a lady suicide-bomber was able to drive a Toyota Sienna to Folawiyo fuel depot on Creek road, Apapa, on June 25, to detonate a bomb, despite the security measures put in place by Lagos State government shows how vulnerable Lagos residents are to potential insurgents attacks.

    Though the Lagos State government made frantic efforts to manage the information when it initially claimed that it was an industrial accident, the die has been cast; now, the government had better accept the reality and start to face the challenges to prevent any future attacks. To avoid another incident, all hands must be on deck to pull the country back from the brink. It will be catastrophic to allow the terrorists to have free access to operate in Lagos considering its population, economic and strategic position to the economic survival of the nation.

    The federal government should as matter of urgency spread their security networks to Lagos State. Though the Murtala Mohammed International Airport has been put under tight security, this is not the time for politicking but for patriotic steps to be taken to nip terrorism in the bud in the state. The federal government should put the military and paramilitary institutions in Lagos State on red alert.  Lagos must not be allowed to witness any attack again, being the economic hub of Nigeria, nay West Africa, and Africa at large. All the celebrations of being the largest economy in Africa, claims of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) that make Nigeria an investment destination will fizzle out if Lagos is allowed to suffer any further terrorists attack.

    The imperative of close circuit television cameras (CCTV) in major strategic places cannot be over emphasized. The citizens themselves have to wake up and smell the coffee in ensuring neighbour to neighbour intimacy for sound intelligence gathering, so as to fish out any marauder in their midst and report any strange character or suspicious movement to security personnel for prompt investigation or possible arrest.

    The security officers should strive to earn the respect and confidence of the masses by being civil in their conduct and disposition to the civilians in Lagos, by treating all vital information received with highest level of confidentiality. The time has come to tell the world that we are our brother’s keepers and that in the South-west, we place premium on sanctity of human lives and our existential humanity. We are not saboteurs who will collude with the ruthless blood suckers. Every landlord/landlady should know the profile of his/her tenants, community associations should be vigilant without compromise.

    I want to commend the efforts of the state government, for being proactive by ordering tight security at major fuel installations, putting the state fire fighters on standby, expanding the capacity of state hospitals to be able to handle any emergency with mass casualty. The immediate increase of blood stocks and the purchase of new ambulances for any unforeseen eventualities and causalities at the hospitals and health centres are signs of a caring government.

    Finally, it will be apposite for fuel tank farms in Apapa to relocate and decongest the area of trucks and articulated vehicles that use the road as park. The news that federal government has issued 24hrs ultimatum for the shippers and truckers at Apapa to remove their vehicles is a welcome development.

    • Pastor Mark Debo Taiwo,

    Takie, Ogbomoso.

  • That bombing of Buhari’s convoy

    SIR: The recent attack on the convoy of General Muhammadu Buhari, former Head of State and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by a suicide bomber in Kaduna is a wakeup call to all politicians that the time has come to close ranks and stop playing politics with the issue of terrorism.  The incident, which was part of a coordinated attack involving two explosions about two hours apart, bore the trademarks of the dreaded terror group, Boko Haram.  Although Buhari and popular Islamic cleric, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who was also purportedly targeted, survived the two separate explosions, scores of persons lost their lives.

    Even without a statement from Boko Haram claiming responsibility for the acts of terror in Kaduna, what is fairly obvious is that such heinous crimes are typical of the handiwork of the group.  It should also be fairly obvious to any discerning observer that creating distrust and disunity among Nigerians is a strategy that Boko Haram has been pursuing since it began its campaign of terror.  Thankfully, the strategy continues to fail.

    It is telling that, after a recent Boko Haram bomb attack in Abuja, Buhari himself said: “My heart breaks every time I take to this platform to offer condolences in this tormenting season of seemingly endless violence.  I understand that it is difficult for the government to prevent every terrorist attack, but we can always do more to protect our defenceless citizens by boosting our intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities.”

    According to the former Head of State, “Our security and stability cannot be conditioned on any ideology or partisan agenda.  Every Nigerian reserves the right to his own security, to his own freedom and dignity, and no amount of terrorist blackmail can make us surrender these.  May God unite our hearts as we confront this evil.”  These words of sympathy from Buhari underscore the need for Nigerians of all political ideology or partisan agenda to stand united in the fight against terror.

    As Nigerians of all faiths and regions join General Buhari in thanking the Almighty God for sparing his life against the machinations of terrorists, the point must be reiterated that the attack on him (the former Head of State) is a pointer that no Nigerian is safe from terrorism.  As such, the last thing the country’s political class should do is continue to politick with the issue of terrorism.  It is a pastime that will not bring any good to the polity.

    • Sufuyan Ojeifo,

    Abuja