The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Enough of prayers, time for action

    SIR: Human society is dynamic, hence, the need to take into cognizance changes that have one way or the other impacted on social life. Advance in communications, decentralization of cities, globalization changes in family life, transformation of work, increasing inequality and many others have created the imperative for government to understand and tackle the impact of changes on the people. It seems the height of hypocrisy when people in power resort to prayers by recruiting retinue of prayer merchants to finding solutions to social problems. When government funds are wasted on pilgrimages to offer special supplications and prayers for national crisis, it calls for self-re-examination on the true essence of intellectualism in human societies. How ironic that a nation prays to God who admonishes the love of fellow men, yet hate and injustice are pervasive among the people? God, the most high cannot be bamboozled by man. Any attempt by hypocrites reaps deluge of crisis beyond man’s capacity to contain. This is the reality on ground today, the boomerang effects of years of deceit and high level national hypocrisy. This age long conspiracy of prayer galore in high places only makes mockery of a people. How can one rationalize a statement credited to Doyin Okupe that ‘the APC boat is destined for the Red Sea…. We went to Israel, we pray for God to remove all the people troubling Nigeria. I believe that God is working quietly to gather these people for destruction’! This prayer sample is just one notable recent one among the deluge of such hypocritical ones. How dare, people within the corridors of power have the shameless audacity to pray such prayers when the capacity of aggrieved masses to endure have been overstretched? Boko Haram Sect today may not be the only group aggrieved. Many people, groups are pushed to the wall in different parts of Nigeria. One may not know when any of these groups may cross the threshold of perseverance. When we analyze the factors that led to the emergence of Boko Haram, there are still here massive youth unemployment, disillusionment with the system, loss of value, loss of faith in the judicial system; these issues are beyond partisan politics, requires a holistic sociopolitical re-engineering to assuage the aggrieved groups in societies. Today, Boko Haram finds religion on which to hang their grievance. Other groups can find ideology, injustice, inequality, poverty or the hypocrisies of people in government to hang theirs. My submission is that prayer merchants are not relevant to us now. We need proactive solution providers who have the needed integrity to proffer integrated sociopolitical solutions to what are basically social crises in societies. Analyzing the political events and developments with the ruling party and the nascent formidable opposition party as main actors, it seems the same old partisan rhetoric. We have become used to mantras and campaigns of calumny on the pages of newspapers. Our redemption cannot come from political parties that believed ideology died long ago in the western world. Nigerian Politicians can port at will like porting from one GSM Service Provider to another, no stress. Our redemption can only come from the class of socialpreneurs we have today. This is the class that have reservoir of brains who have the needed knowledge base and demonstrated practical skills to redeem the country from the political ditch that politicians have plunged it. No harvest of prayer galore can redeem any human social problems. God in his infinite mercy has bestowed man with the intelligence to take charge of His affairs.

    • Ogbu Alexander Ameh

    Abuja

  • On the National Conference

    SIR: Between March 30 and May 20, Nigerians would be treated to another bizarre drama of a national conference that must be seen for what it is: an ominous blitheness that leads only to blind alley. A lot of banal gimmicks have been infused into the political space since President Jonathan’s body language indicated his readiness to cling on to power. The national conference is one of them. Those who will fall for the booby trap will have a date with history as less discerning, who decidedly turned a blind eye to the antics of a political actor and opportunist, who suddenly found an escape route in a clumsy political road. The trouble with Nigeria from colonial days to date is that its leadership have never allowed the citizenry to privately or collectively express their desire to live together. We are not so sure how the federal government came to the conclusion that the 492 delegates to the National Conference is a true reflection and sacrosanct representation of over 160 million Nigerians. The questions on the lips of many Nigerians are, why is the Presidency involved in a national frivolity whose outcome will not be subjected to, and validated by referendum? Who can can vouch for President Jonathan and the manipulative PDP machine to guarantee restriction of a rampaging presidency from stealing and appropriating the people’s voices in the national conference? President Jonathan does not need to restrict Nigerians if he is truly committed to charting a course for true nationhood. His modalities for nationhood does not include the people’s rights to validate – through referendum – that will not be subjected to the PDP manipulative machines. Moreover, that the outcome of the so-called “National Conference” will be ratified through consensus or by 75 per cent of the selected 492 delegates; therein lies the affront and impunity on Nigerians. No matter what, President Jonathan’s good intentions is not good enough for us. What does it cost a determined leadership to conduct an acceptable referendum in the interests of the populace and the nation’s being? Why waste humongous sum in billions on a frivolous outing whose out coming will be derided by future governments? The nation’s survival is far greater than the President’s vaunting ambition and the PDP’s everlasting claims to raw political power.

    • Erasmus Ikhide

    Lagos

  • The Mbu legacy in Rivers

    SIR: The police is suposed to be the friend of the people partly because they are saddled with the responsiblities of maintaining laws and orders, and also ensuring the protection of lives and properties of citizens. When Mbu J. Mbu was transfered to Rivers State in Feb, 2013 as the state Comissioner of Police. the people must have thought that an end had come to the security challenges facing the state.e reverse turned out to be the case as impunity had free rein under him.There was absolute lawlessness in Rivers between Feb,2013 until his recent redeployment to Abuja. It was under Mbu’s watch that the Rivers State House of Assembly was desecrated when honourable members fought and injured themselves like thugs.Also properties were destroyed in the course of the fight and nothing was done by the police to prevent it. Futhermore, it was during his administration that a serving senator was shot and injured with a rubber bullet by the police during the Save Rivers Movement rally, thus , adding more stains to the already battered image of the Nigerian police and thereby reducing the confidence of the people in the police. With his redeployment to Abuja, the people of Rivers hope and pray that the deployment of Tunde Ogunsakin to the state by the Police Service Commission would restore the confidence of the people in the police a as friend in need and indeed.

    • Clarke E. Edwin ,

    University of Lagos.

  • Ogun: Much ado about another term

    Ogun: Much ado about another term

    SIR: Anyone who resides outside Ogun State is likely to get worried about the media coverage of the political activities in the state in recent times.

    Political watchers and those that are familiar with the issues involved are however better informed. The truth is that the so-called political misunderstanding among members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state is overblown for obvious reasons.

    It is very clear that politicking is here with us and every minor issue is blown out of proportion. Furthermore, there is the issue of elected officials wishing to secure another term. These people, who were simply anointed to contest the 2011 general election on the platform of the defunct ACN,  seemingly want a repeat of the 2011 selection procedure.

    Having had an easy entry the other time, they obviously will not want to go through the democratic selection process but will rather prefer that they are handed the tickets to contest the 2015 election as it was in 2011.

    The realities of today however would not support a blanket directive allowing those already serving not to test their popularity among the party members. It is only fair that they and others that are so interested be given the opportunity to come forward and showcase what they have to offer to the party members, who will ultimately determine who contests for which position.

    Governor Amosun has said many times that whoever is interested in any elective position should come forward and  be part of the transparent democratic processes that will produce credible candidates as the party’s  flag bearers. This is a path of honour every aspirant should take instead of crying wolf in order to have the sympathy of traditional rulers, elders and leaders across the society, who may call for “an amicable solution in the spirit of peace”.

    Those who were voted for in 2011 general election now have the opportunity to return to the people and give an account of their stewardship.

    In democracy, power resides with the people. A true democrat should not be afraid of  elections.

     

    • Bola Adeyemi Oyero,

    Ifo local government.

     

  • Let’s criticise constructively 

    Let’s criticise constructively 

    SIR: Finally, seven senators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) may have ignored the order by their party asking them to block the screening of service chiefs recently appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan by fully participating in the screening exercise.  The opposition party had initially issued a directive to its members in the house to frustrate the passage of the 2014 budget and the screening of ministerial nominees, alongside the confirmation of the new service chiefs.

    The opposition claimed that their action borne on the perceived persecution of its member, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state alongside other security issues in the state which have element of partisan ideology.

    First and foremost, Rivers state is just a state out of the 36 states of the federation. Thus political issues within a state should not serve as yardstick in truncating major national issues. Just within the period of waiting for the confirmation of the new service chiefs many lives had been lost through insurgent attacks in the volatile North-east region of the country. So, why on earth will a political party fighting for national interest try to frustrate the confirmation of the new service chiefs just because of an issue affecting a state governed by their member? This action will not only jeopardize our ailing democracy but will also compromise national security.

    The lawmakers have the power to summon and interrogate the commissioner of police alongside his boss, the inspector general of police for the misdemeanor in Rivers State rather than holding the nation and its citizens to ransom. The commissioner can be questioned about incessant disruption of opposition gatherings and other partisan security activities. In this case, the party can use its numerical advantage and I also believe that well-meaning lawmakers will support their decision either to seek for the redeployment or the sack of the commissioner.

    The first month of the year has come to an end; there is no better time to pass the year’s budget than now.  But it is so unfortunate that the opposition who is supposed to put the ruling party on its feet is trying to frustrate a sensitive issue like the national budget. There is no gainsaying that this year is a defining year for the present administration to finalize its transformation agenda and the budget is the only way to achieve that mission. Derailing the passage of the budget and hence its implementation will not only affect the economy but dehumanize the Nigerian populace.

    While every right thinking Nigerian is aware of the impunity going on in some states, especially River State, there is need to use our discretion to ensure ensure stability in the polity rather than promote party politics.

     

    • Moshood Isah

    Garki II, Abuja

     

  • Whither my petition to NHRC, House Committee on Human Rights?

    SIR: I wish to appeal to the chairman, House Committee on Human Rights and the National Human Rights Commission to officially acknowledge the receipt of the petition I mailed separately to the two bodies. I did call the House Committee Secretary, Ado Abdul Sule earlier to inquire about the processes involved in submitting public petitions to the committee. He asked me to mail the petition to the National Human Rights Commission and also mailed the same petition to the committee.

    I have duly mailed the petition along with all relevant documents to the House Committee and the Zonal South West Office of the National Human Rights Commission via DHL express. The Sworn Affidavit was accompanied with a cover letter in each case explaining my complaints and prayers. The mails were appropriately delivered. I called the phone number provided on the Zonal South West Office of the National Human Rights Commission and I was told verbally that the mail was received. He did ask about my prayers in the petition to which I clearly explained that they were already provided in the petition.  Similarly, I sent a text message and also called Mr Sule and he confirmed verbally that the mail was received. I did appeal to him that I would appreciate if the receipt of the mail is officially acknowledged.

    The official acknowledgement of a public petition makes it clear to the petitioner that the presented case would be looked into. Similarly, the petitioner should be provided with information on progress being made on the petition. We must begin to show our citizens that they are duly respected and counted worthy by agencies established to protect their rights. This is the only way other nationals would begin to respect us and the culture of impunity would gradually become a thing of the past in our polity.

    I have lived in the United States of America for few years and my rights were never violated even as an international student. However, right in my homeland, my fundamental human rights were not only trampled upon but grossly violated and sustained with an orchestrated blackmail. The observed anomalies have continued without being resolved. This is the basis for appealing to the House Committee on Human Rights and the National Human Rights Commission to come to my aid and help protect my rights as a Nigerian citizen. Once again, I appeal to the two bodies to officially acknowledge the receipt of my petition and also act appropriately to investigate my complaints.

    • Akinlolu, Abdulazeez Adelaja

    University of Ilorin

     

  • Appraising Uduaghan’s Delta beyond Oil

    Appraising Uduaghan’s Delta beyond Oil

    SIR: As the global search for shale gas and other forms of energy intensifies, global demand for crude, as we know it, keeps dropping. The effects on our economies–at macro and micro levels—are expected to be negative. It is on this premise that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s drive to grow Delta state’s economy, in a way that there will be minimal disruption to its revenue sources when oil finishes or loses its global relevance, can be fully appreciated.

    Critics who saw the policy as mere sloganeering, had a field day when it was unfolded. Today, thanks to Uduaghan’s clear vision and the tenacity that propelled it, the idea is increasingly catching on across the Niger Delta and at the national level.

    In building a Delta that will prosper beyond oil, Uduaghan reckoned with the need for certain critical infrastructure-both human and physical-that will support diversification of the economy. Among the physical infrastructure he embarked upon that are in different stages of realisation are the Oghareki power plant, the Asaba International Airport, upgrade of Osubi Airport to international standards and the establishment of industrial clusters like the Koko Industrial Park, the Warri Industrial and Business Park as well as the Asaba ICT Park.

    His administration has also substantially harnessed the people’s entrepreneurial skills through the highly successful micro credit scheme. Not only has this scheme nurtured small and medium enterprises with over 100,000 beneficiaries, it has also won for Uduaghan’s government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) awards, three times consecutively.

    The administration’s determination to change the landscape of the riverine and oil producing areas is, perhaps, the singular reason it has kept faith in heavily funding the Delta State Oil Mineral Development Commission (DESOPADEC) with 50 per cent of the 13 per cent derivation it receives from the federal government. It may yet be the only state with this level of commitment.

    Its investment in massive infrastructure renewal has resulted in the dualisation of major roads that include the 148 km Asaba-Ughelli road, the 33 km Ugbenu-Koko road, the Effurun-Osubi-Eku road, the 7.2 km Ughelli Artery, the PTI/Jakpa road and the Old Lagos/Asaba road, among others.

    New public schools and health-care facilities are being constructed or upgraded, but equally significantly is the progress of Oghara Teaching Hospital as a centre of excellence.

    However, easily the most profound outcome from the policy is the redirection of the youth who are growing up in expectation of an easy life from oil. Though oil has brought so much wealth to the multinational oil companies and the Nigerian state whose economy functions on 85% earnings from crude sales, it has over time become like nemesis for many Niger Deltans who are fixated on oil money. This attitude is gradually changing as the policy has succeeded in orientating them towards hard work.

    The picture of Delta State that is emerging is one that gives hope for the future and belief in the drive towards a new economy.

     

    • Sufuyan Ojeifo

    Abuja

     

  • Ogunsakin as Rivers Police Commissioner

    Ogunsakin as Rivers Police Commissioner

    SIR: Many Ikere-Ekiti sons and daughters have greeted with a generous outpouring of congratulatory messages the just-announced posting of Tunde Ogunsakin as Commissioner of Police to Rivers State.

    That’s how it should be.

    But many of these messages, in the main, have been full of hackneyed prayers and sentimental greetings. These are not enough.

    Let us all wake up to the fact that Ogunsakin’s posting is not just another routine arrangement. He is being sent to a virtual battleground in a state where a costly but absolutely unnecessary war has been waged for the past many months, a senseless war that has shown no signs of abating.

    You don’t require a soothsayer to tell you that, from the way things are going, the fate of Nigeria’s present democracy may well depend upon how the delicate war in Rivers State is handled. We are seeing in this state the acts of arrant stupidity, intolerance, and misuse of the so-called federal might that have been the bane of Nigeria’s several unsuccessful attempts at democracy. Once again, the monster is at our door. But as usual, we do not seem to see it.

    People of our land, shine your eyes…

    Ogunsakin will need all the courage, wisdom, hindsight and foresight he can muster to succeed in his new assignment. He must display a vital measure of that virtue that is in short supply in contemporary Nigeria: Integrity. A healthy dose of the proverbial positive stubbornness and moral nerve that typified Ekiti character in the past will be an absolute must in the new assignment.

    So, compatriots, I say: mushy felicitations and ethnic back-slapping will not do for the new Rivers Commissioner of Police. He will need the benefit of our wise counsel, honest admonition, candid comments, and objective appraisal. And, yes, our goodwill too – which he cannot afford to take for granted.

    So to Ogunsakin, our new Commissioner of Police to Rivers State, I say: please be careful of the incubus called the Nigerian Factor. Never forget to think about life after power/ after office. Remember the town from which you come.

    May your baton be brave but kind. May your medals shine without blinding the people. May your gun only respond to the extermination of evil. May you prove a true descendant of AJOLAGUN (the Ikere Hero who danced through battle and emerged unscathed).

     

    Niyi Osundare

    New Orleans, USA

     

  • Maku’s unguarded outburst

    Maku’s unguarded outburst

    SIR: Information management is about creating understanding in a society and between various interests. The responsibility of a minister of information should be to market aggregate values of a country to the audience that should include those within the country and outside. It becomes tragic and bizarre when the instrument of communication falls into the hand of those who see it as opportunity to disparage a section of the country.

    Every reasonable Nigerian should condemn the recent outburst of the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku. It is evident that the minister is becoming irascible in his attempt to cover up iniquities or disappointment of the PDP-led government. His tirade against governors Wamakko and Kwankwaso of Sokoto and Kano states respectively failed to address the burning issues confronting the nation today. Indeed, being a northerner, Maku is fully aware of the weight of his ranting and no amount of apology can attenuate a deliberate insult on a people.

    In describing the exit of the five governors from PDP to APC Labaran Maku said “they are like the Fulani nomads, they move from one party to another without shame.”

    One wonders how the Fulani stock in PDP would feel about a government that stoops so low to insensitively unleash inappropriate charade against their culture. In case the minister does not know, there is virtue in migration for legitimate business. It is exploration of new frontiers which helps in human evolution. A static people creates a dull, odious, nauseating and erratic environment where nothing moves – it nurtures a stock of irredeemable revelry that continually snores in hang-over while their house is on fire.

    The two governors that Maku singled out for vilification were very fundamental to PDP fortunes in 2011 general elections by their delivery of strategic votes that ensured the party’s victory. The recent change in the leadership of the party has justified the stance of the patriotic governors that had all along been drumming the necessity for that change in PDP in the interest of the country. It is unfortunate that the patriotic stance was described as “over-size ego” by Maku in a very strange context.

    PDP instigated its present fate, and now that there is strong opposition in APC, the party is at the brink of disintegration. It will be worse for it when APC takes over the mantle of leadership after 2015 general elections. People can be fooled for some time, but definitely not all the time. It is time for change and the train is meandering through every nook and cranny of this country to connect the masses that shall sweep off the debris scattered all over the political landscape of this country by PDP.

    APC is the party of the masses. It is a party that transcends every parochial sentiment. It is a party that provides platform for all those oppressed by the dictatorship of PDP. The fortunes of the party increase with every crass remark by likes of Labaran Maku.

     

    • Mohammed S. Umar

    Sokoto Liberal Democrats Media Foundation (SOLID)

    Sokoto

     

  • Our newsstand parliamentarians

    SIR: ‘Newspaper’, the oldest medium of modern mass communication was an exclusive reserve of the elites in urban towns and cities in the good old days. The role of newspaper in the nationalists’ agitations for self- rule in the pre-independence era was enormous with far reaching successes.Newspapers maintained their unrivaled enlightenment pedigree until the advent of radio and subsequently, the television in mass communication. Thus, the competition and other factors such as decline in reading culture, low advert revenue; technology innovations have dramatically signaled the convergence of media landscape.However, within the topsy-turvy existence of the newspaper, a renewed phenomenon emerged. Newsstands are ubiquitous sight in Nigerian’s urban towns and cities hence pockets of persons refer to as ‘Free Readers Association’. This group pays a token to read any daily or weekly publication.

    The realities of economic hardship resulting in low or lack of purchasing power, decline in elitist self-esteem, low reading culture, alternative access to information, general apathy to social, economic and political developmental information has necessitated the agreement of convenience between the vendors and readers.

    In the face of this avalanche of factors, newspaper patronage by today’s young and old literate Nigerians dwindles by the day. However, a reprieve hovers in the horizon for newspaper readership as soccer and its related activities supply ventilation for the urban and rural youths and adults alike.

    This later day re-awakening buoys newspaper patronage to sport pages and soccer based publication exclusively. The soccer news perhaps attracts this segment of society a great deal to newsstands to catch a glimpse of headlines and scores. The debates that ensure every day at these stands dwarf debates on the floors of both upper and lower houses of the national assemblies.

    The soccer publications and sport pages of daily publication become the saving grace for newspaper publishing enterprises in Nigeria today. Other catchy and screaming political or crime news are done justice to as snippets to enrich the parliament for the day.

    So heated and lively are the topics and patterns of discourse that there seems to be uniformity among the ubiquitous group of ‘Free Readers Association’ across the length and breadth of the country. Their sights at city centres and strategic locations in urban towns and cities give hope that Nigeria will never lack future parliamentarians. The only difference is the divide between soccer and politics; while one stirs intense passion, the other stirs passion and asserts control through the instrumentalities of power.

     

     

    •Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh,

    Abuja.