The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • The hijack of democracy

    Aftermath the election of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in which Governor Chibuike Amaechi of Rivers State was said to have won with 19 votes against 18 (some say 16) votes that Governor Jonah Jang won, the powers that felt they were greater than Amaechi have been beating him up and down. The annoying thing is that they do not want him to cry.

    Any attempts he makes to express himself, they award him with one penalty or the other, not minding the chagrin on the masses’ faces bemoaning that democracy that was supposed to be for democrats have been hijacked by traitors. Where has that happened before that a child was beaten and the beater does not want him or her to cry?

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), being the party that Amaechi is a member, is only concerned about its Constitution and, not the Constitution of the Federal Government (FG). The party has been abusing the Immunity Clause in the FG’s Constitution, which the governor was entitled to enjoy. In a conspiracy on April 26, the governor was molested at Akure, where his state’s aircraft that he sojourned with, was blatantly seized on an ‘order from above’.

    Since May 24 that the NGF had the election and Amaechi was elected to continue the piloting affairs of the forum, it has been one intimidation or the other meted out to him by his party. The party does not mind that he is a sitting governor. If anybody would say that this is not true, why was it reported that the National Working Committee (NWC) of his party has set up a committee to investigate the governor? Investigate him for what? Does he no longer enjoy the Immunity Clause or has PDP gone gaga with the prescription of Impunity Clause because of Amaechi?

    Regrettably, the cry that a smashed millipede was supposed to be crying, it was the person that smashed it that was crying. With what the PDP has been doing to Amaechi, it has now become very imperative to ask who the real violator of the PDP Constitution is. Is the constitution of the party supreme to what democracy entails? How come that an election said to have been won by the governor was hijacked?

    Yet, somebody is still calling Amaechi names and wants to send him to Golgotha. For what! If PDP continue like this, soonest, a sitting governor would be thrown into the prison, but let that person not be Amaechi.

    In a linear rear, it is not Amaechi that was caught in any anti-party activities, but those that do not want to uphold the tenets of Democracy. If there was any anti-party activities tag on Amaechi, from what that has been playing out of the party against him, it is a case of giving a dog a bad name in order to hang her.

    But what is this anti-party activity about Amaechi all about? Is it the rumour from the mischief-makers’ mill that he had a vice-president ambition with a northerner as president in 2015? And so what! Is he not a politician aspiring for a greater height in his political career? Although, he had ascribed the statement as a ruse from those who did not want him and his political career to grow.

    The height of violation of any Constitutions is the hijack of an election said to have been free and fair and won by Amaechi; for-this-reason PDP should abrogate the furtherance of its deceiving tactics where it had prescribed Amaechi in bad light before the unsuspecting and suspecting public that he was caught at a crossroad in an involvement in the violations and breaches of the party constitution. Hooey!

    With what the PDP is doing to Amaechi, it is no longer hidden that the PDP as a political party has not been setting any rightful precedence for the current democracy to have as its genuine base to spring from.

    Using the 2015 presidential election as defense, where some yesmen want to criminalize Amaechi for the incumbent president to contest, is an estrangement and, it is condemnable.

    How come that there is much desperation by the sitting president for the 2015, which has resulted in the PDP flogging Amaechi with an armoured cable, whereas in the past, the party was not intensively committed to consenting to the directorial and moral lapses on the part of its governors? The political hatefulness by the presidency against Amaechi is without doubt the return of totalitarianism in the country and it is creating opposition in the PDP, which is only beneficial to the opposition political parties if the later could make bet of the glaring opportunity.

    To Nigerians who are spiritual (not religious), it could be said that providence wanted to use Amaechi to expose the putrefaction that Nigerians have come to endure in the hands of this PDP for the past decade it has held power in Nigeria. What has been happening to Amaechi can be said is a life changing episode in the history of democracy in Nigeria. The bad news that PDP planned for Amaechi has made him to be relevant than ever.

    Odimegwu Onwumere

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State

  • Nigerians need God

    Upon the socio-political and economic crises Nigeria is witnessing, I have a prophetic message in this 2013 that the federal Government need to declare a national day of prayers and fasting in order to seek God’s face for favour and mercy.

    Sincere prayers and fasting will change bad things to good and prayers will also influence God to turn the hearts of those in authority from doing evil. The National Day Prayer and fasting would connect Nigeria and her people to the power of God.

    The prayers would influence God to look down on Nigerians and heal the nation. Prophetically, the prayers of the saints had been holding this country together, as, things would have fallen apart.

    Also, collective prayers would aid Nigeria to overcome her problems and rise again, as, God would deal with the Pharaohs and Egyptians of the country. For God’s intervention, redemption and deliverance to manifest in Nigeria, Nigerians must humble themselves, pray and seek God face and turn from their wicked ways, as, these would move God to forgive Nigerians their sins and heal the country (2 Chronicles 7 : 14)

    Also, the Bible teaches us that prayer and intercession be made for all men, including those in authority. If we do not pray for our government, the will of satan would be upon them.

    Prophetically too, our leaders should be warned that unfaithfulness and corruption will continue to make people frustrated and the more frustrated the people are, more problems should be expected in this nation. Our leaders in every sphere of any governance should read the handwriting on the wall and repent, hence, they should be expecting more problems for the nation, because – Proverbs 15 : 27 – “He who is greedy for gain, troubles his own house, but, he who hates bribe will live”. Also, Proverbs 14 : 34 says “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people”

    Therefore, let our leaders repent from their wickedness, selfish ways, so that, God can hear our prayers. When a country is well governed, there will be peace, prosperity and progress throughout the nation.

    Prophet Oladipupo Funmilade-Joel.

    The General Overseer, The Way of Reconciliation Evangelistic Ministries

  • Re: Pension debt

    SIR: The attention of the management of Military Pensions Board (MPB) was drawn to the Editorial of The Nation newspaper of Wednesday June 5, page 19 with the headline “Pension debt.” The MPB was more concerned with a part statement in paragraph 5 of the editorial that “Even retired military personnel across the nation are also reportedly being owed about seven months’ pensions.”

    The MPB management wishes to emphatically state that the board does not owe military pensioners even half month pension. All eligible pensioners have been paid up to date including their gratuities and other retirement benefits. A simple interview with some of our pensioners across the country can attest to the above. The only outstanding issue regarding military pensioners is the one of 53% pension arrears, which the Federal Government is currently addressing.

    The Board therefore, considers the aforementioned statement as misleading and capable of misinforming the public about the monthly payment of military pensioners. It is therefore imperative that The Nation correct this erroneous publication in its editorial giving it same prominence.

    • DS Audu

    Commodore

    Military Pensions Board,

    Abuja

  • Nollywood and nudity

    SIR: The movie/film industry of Nigeria has speedily grown to become a force to reckon with continentally and globally. The industry has grown from one that struggled to meet the local movie demands of Nigerians to one that comfortably meets both local and international demands for educative, informative and entertaining home-made movies.

    Nollywood which has celebrated about 20 years of its renowned existence, not only has thousands of movies to its credit, but has also been serving as one of the major employers of labour in the country and a veritable springboard for the discovery and nurturing of talents in the Nigerian entertainment industry.

    Nollywood, is supposed to symbolize the rich cultural, aesthetic cum ethical heritage of Nigeria, and indeed, Africa known to attach so much value to moral rectitude, sensibility and credibility.

    But what seems to have become of Nollywood in recent times, truly leaves much to be desired in this regard. There seems to be a total disregard for moral values and norms of Nigeria and the entire continent of Africa which Nollywood, through its movies, was meant to epitomize and/or symbolize.

    These days, one seldom finds a Nollywood movie that does not, in one way or the other, contain explicit sexual affairs of varying degrees and nature. Obscenity, particularly in the area of nudity, is now the order of the day.

    It seems most of our Nollywood actresses would not want to play a role in a movie that forbade them from wearing skimpy and sex arousing attires. They all want to show off their breasts and thighs to the detriment of their viewers, especially, our teen and youths (girls) who see most of them as role models. The case is not different for most of our actors who are wont to “sagging” or “low-waisting”, as local parlance terms it. They also will never fully button up their shirts without leaving the chest area open with their hairy chest visible.

    The attendant consequences of these explicit sexual immorality as often depicted by our Nollywood movies’ actors/actresses is the preponderance of our girls, including the teens, walking our streets quasi-naked in such a provocative manner that most men (young and old) who are emotionally and psychologically unguided are compelled to make unwholesome sexual advances/assaults on them. The continuous upsurge in the cases of rape in the country and the African continent in general, is a pointer to this fact.

    There is no arguing the fact that westernization and the continuous advancement in ICT have been blamed for the persistent nosedive in our moral standards. But the gospel truth is that this trend will continue and will even assume dangerous dimensions if Nollywood through it movies, which have been serving as the greatest of all the teachers most of our teens and youths have, does not take drastic measures to stop forthwith, the production of obscene and nude movies.

    The Censors Board and other regulatory bodies in the industry have got to live up to expectations. They’ve got to sit up and help salvage our moral values from total collapse. There’s no way we can all of a sudden become Americans or people of the western world abandoning the core values that creditably distinguish us from them overnight. Their lifestyles will always be theirs and vice versa. Let’s learn to treasure the core cultural and moral values we have as Nigerians/Africans upholding them regardless of the prevalent spate of westernization. Nollywood can flourish and maintain its global acclaims and integrity without necessarily producing movies that aggravate the act of nudity and/or obscenity amongst our teens and young ones, and the entire citizenry.

    • Daniel Ndukwe Ekea,

    Umuahia, Abia State.

  • Police and justice for Citizen Ibrahim

    SIR: Not long ago in Benin City, a team of policemen swooped on a mechanic workshop located near a shopping complex belonging to the state government and arrested a young man of about 30 years said to be a mechanic. His offence was not disclosed as his alleged accuser, another mechanic, had merely telephoned officers at the station to arrest, detain and release only when he was satisfied that the alleged offence had been sufficiently atoned for. The accuser never wrote a statement at the police station. The ‘’suspect” was released 24 hours after arrest as directed by the accuser without being asked to make a statement. He was happy to be alive to tell the story of his unlawful arrest and detention. He had enough reason to.

    The incident referred to above is but one of the many such incidents of mindless police impunity, brutality and mistreatment of fellow citizens recorded daily across the country.

    The latest incident is the killing and secret burial of a 22-year old said to be a final year student of the University of Benin, Ibrahim Momodu. He was allegedly shot dead on May 27, while on his way home riding on a commercial motor cycle at about 9pm. The Divisional Police Officer, DPO Carol Afegbai, and her men are alleged to have carried out the killing and burying the body without the knowledge of the family. The police have claimed that Ibrahim was stopped for search by the police in the process of which he allegedly drew a gun as a result of which he was shot. The Okada man, the police claim, escaped leaving the unregistered motor bike behind. Items said to have been recovered from a bag alleged to belong to Ibrahim include some live cartridges and two mobile phones.

    Expectedly, the extra judicial murder of has generated an outrage. On Monday, June 3, students of the University of Benin and family members of Ibrahim staged a protest in Benin City to draw attention to the gruesome murder and demand justice. The protest was also carried to the Government House. In the evening of the same day, the police came out with its story but did not offer any explanation as to why the corpse of Ibrahim was hurriedly buried without notice to anyone.

    Official reaction has also come from the authorities of the University of Benin. The University, through its Public Relations Officer, Harrison Osarieren has denied that the deceased was one of its students. Whatever the truth of the studentship status of Ibrahim may be, the fact of his extra judicial murder is not in dispute. Every Nigerian citizen is under the constitution guaranteed his/her right to life which cannot be denied except in exercise or execution of an order of court.

    The police high command has also placed the DPO on suspension ostensibly to ensure proper investigation of the murder. This is a welcome step on the part of the police authorities as it is indicative of its preparedness to ensure that justice is not only done but seen to have been manifestly done.

    Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has promised to set up a panel of enquiry to investigate the killing. This is a welcome development. Many extra judicial killings have occurred in the past which were swept under the carpet. The panel should provide citizens opportunity to confront the police with concrete evidence which will help unravel the motive behind the killing of citizen Ibrahim.

    • Nasamu Jacobson

    Benin City.

  • Gospel according to Segun Oni

    SIR: The PDP’s preparations for victory celebration had been very elaborate prior to the Supreme Court judgment in the case of former governor Segun Oni against the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi. Part of the elaborate preparation must have been the thanksgiving service that was arranged to hold at the Methodist Church, Tabernacle of Praise, Ifaki, on the judgment day, which had to hold, all the same, to offer a humbled Oni an opportunity to preach a gospel of the acts of God, except that he cited no verses of the Bible.

    He said he accepted the judgment as an act of God even though it was such a despicable loss on his part as the Supreme Court out-rightly struck his case out and described it as “frivolous and an abuse of court process “

    He proceeded to educate those who might not be close or familiar enough with the almighty God that He sometimes imposes His wish regardless of the direction of our prayers.

    “At times when God wants to favour you, He will refuse to hear your prayers,” he said, amidst a farcical self-justification speech which he must have needed urgently to overcome his shock.

    He had virtually denied that he went to the Supreme Court to win his case, insisting that his main purpose was to make a point against unscrupulous judges and restore sanity to the judiciary.

    He claimed he did not file the case out of desperation even as his boasts and flaming confidence since he filed the case had made his motive appear much worse than being desperate.

    There was this fear which he created that he and his party, the PDP, would not mind endangering the rule of law and cause a set-back to the nation’s democratic project.

    Filing the case at the Supreme Court at all was, in itself, a disregard to the Constitution of Nigeria or an attempt at re-writing the constitution by sheer misuse of political power.

    Because Justice Isa Ayo Salami, the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, was Oni’s main target of action, President Goodluck Jonathan had stayed action on his re-instatement despite having been investigated and exonerated, as if the president needed the out-come of Oni’s suit which had appeared to have been filed with a nod from the President ab initio .

    With the Supreme Court judgment, the president or the PDP is now exonerated from a charge of interference in the case but, far beyond this, the wrong of the non-reinstatement of Justice Isa Ayo Salami should now be righted.

    In the same vein, Oni and his Ekiti PDP should not just be humble temporarily but permanently, so that the current peace in Ekiti State can be sustained, so that desperation, in its other various violent dimensions in the past, can also cease.

    • Jide Oguntoye

    Oye Ekiti

  • That London arrest of Arik Air cabin crew

    SIR: Concerned about the negative image the arrest of two Arik Air cabin crew members at London Heathrow has brought to Nigeria and the frightening security implications of same, I brought a motion to the floor of the House of Representatives calling for an investigation on May 23. Unfortunately, my colleagues felt otherwise and the motion was not entertained.

    Of the two crew members, Olubunmi Daramola was arrested with 6kg of cocaine with a street value of N180m concealed in her hand luggage. The second, Delita Abibimgbi was arrested for being in possession of 60 packets of cigarette also in her hand luggage.

    While I abide totally with the democratic decision of the House, I still feel personally concerned that such an incident could happen.

    Here therefore, are my personal thoughts on the matter and it is my wish that the Nigerian public sees more in the incident than just the fact of the arrest of the crew members.

    First, there is the need and urgently too, in my opinion, to condemn the action of the crew members and reassure both the United Kingdom authorities and the wider international aviation community that Nigeria will render every support and co-operation in the course of their investigation into the incident. I consider this expedient in the face of the ease with which the western press labels an entire Third World country with the negative acts of even one of its citizens; and proceed to criminalize the entire population accordingly.

    Next, we have numerous security and related aviation officials saddled with the screening and clearance of all passengers, crew and luggage at our airports. We have also invested significantly in the acquisition and deployment of modern screening equipment. So how did the two girls beat all security screening to board the flight? What protocol does the airline operators have in place to ensure that their staff members do not bring banned items and substances into their airplanes? How much background checks and profiling are undertaken in the recruitment and deployment of staff? Are there collaborators, paid from our commonwealth, but criminally circumventing the screening and flight clearance process in our airports, who are they and how do we stop them to ensure the integrity of the system?

    If it was so easy for a young cabin crew to ferry 6kg of cocaine in a handbag into the plane and over to London, how difficult then is it to take guns, bombs(IEDs), etc into the same and other planes in the face of our deteriorated security situation and what’s the implication to a beleaguered nation?

    In a terror-stricken era such as we live in, I am deeply concerned that the incident portends mortal danger to our collective physical and psychological wellbeing as a nation; especially as our airport security remains predominantly based on access control and checkpoint screening. In other climes, there is a predominant reliance on intelligence gathering/sharing, passenger profiling and staff background checks. This way those who are considered threats to civil aviation are put on a “watch list” or “no fly lists”. This adds a qualitative impetus to airport security systems.

    Our case is also compounded by very porous perimeter fences around our airports that allow people with no business in the airports easy access to them; including miscreants and possibly anti-progress elements.

    I do also hope that public pressure would be brought to bear on the relevant aviation authorities to do all that is necessary to ensure that incidences as this do not repeat or better still make it impossible for them to occur.

    • Linus Okorie,

    Member of House of Representatives

    Abuja.

  • Re: El-Rufai and his unemployed daughters

    Re: El-Rufai and his unemployed daughters

    Sir: I refer to the comments of Uwalaka Temple in The Nation of Monday,June 3, on the issue of Mallam Nazir El-Rufai’s position concerning unemployment and its consequences which he embellished with his inability to get job for his daughters.

    Let the Mallam say that to the marines.Who is deceiving who? He has refused to tell us the truth which is probably that he is yet to get his desired job for his daughters or the daughters themselves are choosy due to the fact that they have a father who can feed them for as long as they decide to stay on.This reminds me of a benefactor who wrote a note to one of his friends thus:’Jide has finished his NYSC and in need of a job, not badly o’! It isa confirmation that the influentials discriminate and select the type of job for their wards.Mallam’s case is possibly no exception.I want to believe if his daughters apply to any of the higher institutions in the North with their Master’s degrees, they are sure to be given jobs as lecturers.

    One doubts if such a job is meant for such ladies/girls with silver spoon. Sincerely, the way things are going in this country is scary, and if care is not taken, if concerted efforts are not made by the leadership of this country for mass employment programme through strategic thinking by all stakeholders, the pending crises will be unstoppable and only God knows the end- result because it will cut across all the strata of leadership.

    One wonders about the essence of leadership if not to create job opportunities among other responsibilities. There is the need for a solemn assembly where basically the issue of unemployment would be discussed. A stitch in time saves nine.

     

    • Adeyemi Odedokun

    Lagos.

     

  • NGF: The parade of godlessness

    NGF: The parade of godlessness

    SIR: The recent outcome of the Nigerian Governors Forum chairmanship election is another revelation of sequential show of shame from the elected governors who preach and talk about values and ethics, yet would fail on the same count when it mattered most. Apparently, getting the result – either false or genuine to their patron, President Goodluck Jonathan was uppermost in the camp of group of 16 governors.

    Like the biblical story of the woman brought to King Solomon for judgment after overlaying her child, would rather had the child severed into parts two rather than allow the rightful mother to take possession of the child, the Goodluck Jonathan camp of governors have merely betrayed their if- I- can’t- have- it, -let’s-spoil- it attitude of their mentor President Olusegun Obasanjo who is of the generation of the Solomon woman. Their total disregard to democratic rules of engagement is an eloquent revelation to the fact that they lack the passion required for genuine and purposeful leadership; theirs is a passion motivated by gains.

    That they buried their consciences and came out with the effrontery to showcase Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State as the duly elected chairman of the Governors Forum when a video evidence declared otherwise is a monumental show of shame and a total ridicule of the Nigerian character. They are like the Pharaoh magicians Janess and jambress, who are ever learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

    Governor Jonah Jang’s show of success is like the proverbial mischievous thief who having stolen from the market place displays his booty as spoils of victory over his adversary (the rightful owner of the stolen item).

    Unfortunately, Jonathan will not be judged by the Governors’ Forum approval or disapproval, or even his so called transformation agenda, but on how much value his government has had on the average Nigerian and the manner which he has achieved that by his understanding of how to lead purposefully.

    The president needs to make significant moves to convince the electorate that he has the capability to lead by providing their very basic needs instead of spending so much time and resources to advertise his little achievements and using loyal state governors to launder his second term agenda. The loosing governors should tender their unreserved apology to the people of Nigeria and then ask God for mercy.

    Ambition is right, but ambitions that negate the rules of engagement are assault on our collective integrity, sense of purpose and the rule of law. They need to assure Nigerians that they can be trusted in words and action. The parade of godlessness may just be another delicate integrity joggling act. Their action could spell disaster to Nigeria.

     

    •Smart Osazuwa Osagiede,

    Benin City.

  • Freedom Park and Osun’s changing landscape

    Freedom Park and Osun’s changing landscape

    SIR: Having lived in Osogbo in the past seven years and I can attest to the massive government projects going on in last one and a half year or so. Although these projects, especially the road dualisation starting from Old-Garage, have had a disruptive impact on the life we have been used to in Osogbo, but I’m taking it in my stride as well as many others. However, I am particularly impressed by the development of the rail terminal at Old-Garage because I am very familiar with that area, which is my major route of operations.

    The Old-Garage rail terminus, like many others around the country, had for long been allowed to lapse into a state of disrepair. But just a little over a year ago the place started witnessing resuscitation which culminated in the launch of the Aregbesola train sometime in April last year. I had thought that would be the end of the story. I was wrong. Few months later, the bulldozers came calling on the mini-shanty settlement that had developed in and around the rail terminal; and as if one was in a dream the slum had simply disappeared and the placed had been swept clean.

    As if that was not enough new sets of earth-movers, popularly called caterpillars in these parts, came on site with workers who began clearing, digging, shovelling, levelling and paving. The result is that, today, from the ashes of the old sum, a new landscape has risen, called Freedom Park. I find its sheer beauty stunning, to say the least. This is probably because I’m still finding it hard to erase from my memory the ugliness of the dead slum that had given way to the new park. The rail terminal is now a carefully paved and macadamised platform with clearly marked-out parking spaces, complemented by a giant electronic screen where residents can be entertained by satellite TV programmes such as the more comfortable enjoy in the cosiness of their sitting rooms.

    The park’s real beauty comes out at night when the bluish-white flood lights beam down on the vast space. Another impressive side attraction for me is the seal of the state government and the phrase, ‘Osun a dara’, that are beautifully and clearly engraved in stone on one side of the park. The park also serves the additional purpose of separating vehicular traffic coming from Okefia and heading towards Olaiya intersection away from that heading towards Aiyetoro and Igbono, thereby reducing the bottleneck that builds up at the rail crossing.

    The new park is now the talk of the town and it’s a compelling site for those seeing it for the first time. To my mind, if this is what this government is all about, then I think the people of Osun State are in for a new era of positive development.

     

    • Titi Ajayi (Mrs)

    Ilesa, Osun State