The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Subsidy removal is PDP agenda

    Subsidy removal is PDP agenda

    SIR: I believe the President does not learn from the past. Most of his actions are unpresidential but he is yet to admit that. Why does the president like to inflict pains on Nigerians deliberately? The subsidy he had promised to remove again is not really responsible for our backwardness but his negligence and nonchalant attitude towards corruption. His decision to remove subsidy again would rather cause unrest.

    The president should know that Nigerians are hungry and unhappy with his policies since he came into power. Nigerians voted for him because of the love they have for him and because of the name he bears. Why is the president now acting conversely to his name? It is surprising that the man who told Nigerians that he had no shoes and Nigerians bought one for him is now the one who pays deaf ears to the cries of the people.

    Removal of subsidy is not what is hindering our developmental process but corruption. There is intense corruption in the system. Our President should cleanse the system by bringing corrupt elements to book. Instead of seeking for ways to punish the subsidy cabals, the president is rather seeking for ways to impoverish Nigerians and enrich the PDP because I believe the subsidy removal is a PDP agenda.

    The party’s agenda has now become the country’s agenda. Nigerians must now be regretting voting President Jonathan into power. The promise he made to surprise his critics in 2013 has begun to manifest; it is written on the wall for Nigerians to read. I hope Nigerians won’t be gullible once again in 2015.

    Halima Hassana Abdulmalik

    IBB University, Lapai, Niger State.

  • The senseless murders

    The senseless murders

    Sir: Ever since the emergence of the Boko Haram Islamists, residents of many northern states have known no peace. It had been harvests of bombs, so much so that the deadly device is fast becoming as common as firecrackers. This utterly ruthless gang has struck almost at will and each time leave behind burnt and mangled flesh. On March 18, they were at their murderous best again.

    In the evening of that day, ordinary Nigerians went about their ordinary affairs at a motor park in Sabon-gari, Kano. Some were set to travel to other parts of the country while others were about to return to their families after another day of hustle. Little did they know that some enemies they neither knew nor done any wrong to have plotted their destruction. When eventually the angels of death struck, they violently dispatched dozens to the great beyond and left many more injured and traumatized. Now, why must these innocent Nigerians die and what do their murderers aim to thereby achieve?

    The wanton killing of innocent Nigerians can never be justified; it is completely indefensible. No man has the right to arbitrarily take the life of another, no matter the provocation. No grievance or perceived injustice is enough reason for the killing of innocent people. These killings are even more repugnant as it seems the killers presume that they are thereby doing the work of God. This is the height of blasphemy! How can one claim to be in the service of God while destroying His creature? Can one love God while hating his fellow man?

    That some people should claim to be committing murder in the name of God is insane enough but even utterly insane is the fact that some persons would blow themselves up to achieve this. I just don’t get it. The phenomenon of suicide bombing has been with the world for decades but very few would have believed that such thing is possible here. The average Nigerian loves his life. So, how did some suddenly become ready, even willing to throw theirs away in the pursuit of a worthless, nay devilish end? How could this be possible?

    Those who send others to blow themselves up could only have achieved that through systematic indoctrination; the zombies who march to their deaths could only have been completely brainwashed. And they were able to be brainwashed largely because they failed to make proper use of their minds. This again underscores why I can’t stop harping on the need for men to make more use of their ability to think; it is not for nothing that Almighty God bestowed such gift on us. Followers of every religion must cultivate the habit of asking questions, of critically examining whatever doctrine their leaders are preaching. This will go a long way in reducing the number of people that could be used to perpetrate atrocities.

    It is not enough to condemn the dastardly act whenever it happens, government must do more than that. There must be concerted effort to discourage or even clamp down on the propagation of intolerant and hateful doctrines. Government must demonstrate resolve in the fight against terrorism and impunity. The security agencies must be more proactive, they must invest more on intelligence gathering so as to stop the merchants of death before they have a chance to carry out their wicked trade. Citizens must also recognize the dangerous times in which they live and be more security conscious.

    Above these measures, however, is the need to preach and sow love. There is simply too much hate and hateful ideologies in the world today; it is almost choking humanity. A lasting solution to the present dangerous situation lies in love. As light disperses darkness, so does love disperse hate. Men of goodwill must intensify effort in the service of peace and love. This is a matter of utmost and urgent importance if the present dangerous trend is to be reversed.

    • Nnoli Chidiebere

    Aba, Abia State.

  • Re: Kudos to Ogun State NYSC

    Re: Kudos to Ogun State NYSC

    Sir: The series of events culminating in the expulsion of a corps member from the service by the Ogun State camp director is to say the least an unfortunate one. That the well read Dr Kingsley Ike O. could also lend his weight to this illegal and unconstitutional act is more demeaning.

    The Service was founded upon sound principles of humility and service to our fatherland. Service in line with national value and orientation is key here. Ike is supposed to understand the reason for the military approach to training these youths. The military and all paramilitary formations have dress codes which were not to offend either sex’s sensibilities and religion. Take it beyond Nigeria, this same principle applies to all nations.

    The corps member in question is saluted for standing tall to defend her faith despite her willingness to serve. She opted for skirt which is permitted in military formations. What is wrong in this? If the founding fathers at the beginning overlook this all-important aspect of our national life, why don’t we correct it? How many times have the hero director denied sending her out of camp in the night even when all evidences point to it!

    Service to fatherland at this time is a personal pride as the inherent value in itself has diminished. Let the fading scheme grants exemption to those who are willing to opt out without embarrassing them. Those who can compromise their faiths with those who are less concerned are free to continue with it.

    A note to our eminent scholar: the place of religion in man is deeper than what mental knowledge can fill. Religion is of the heart and it shapes and rules the total being, your philosophy is of the head and only tilts the mind. Doc, when others who were permitted have been found to be better ambassadors of the scheme, why are we fraying nerves and losing sleep over this?

    Let this be in the interest of fairness and justice.

    • Matthew Sunday

    Ibara Housing Estate, Abeokuta

  • Our unjust treatment by ABU authorities

    Our unjust treatment by ABU authorities

    Sir: I write to you as a last option to get the general public interested in what is going on in the Faculty of Engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, to avert a repetition of what happened in Nassarawa State University Lafia during which protesting students were shot and killed.

    We have always prided ourselves among the best of the best faculties in Ahmadu Bello University because we have always been taught by the same lecturers to stand by what we believe and never waiver until we get the desired result.

    I was admitted in the year 2001 to study mechanical engineering and after series of strikes both local and external, I graduated in 2010/2011 only to be told that my residency had expired.

    I was taken aback and wondered what residency meant, I was told that it was a stipulated period I was given to graduate if not then I was no longer a student of the institution. I went about trying to see what could be done to correct this and to my greatest surprise I found out that up to 50 students were also affected.

    We knew we had to take our case to the current vice-chancellor Prof. Mustapha Abdullahi who earlier approved a third semester for students to graduate upon which more than half of the spillover students eventually did. Thanks to him, many of our colleagues are now serving in the NYSC programme.

    We were advised to see the security coordinator of the university who promised to assist and he did by getting our names to the vice chancellor and we were told that our case will be looked into. Our names were compiled and submitted to him with the approval of the dean of the faculty of engineering.

    We even went to see the Royal Father of Zaria, (Emir of Zazzau) but couldn’t get audience with him but saw the Ciroma of Zazzau who promised that it will be looked into. While we were waiting for a response, the Department of Mechanical Engineering caught fire. Those of us who had written down our names later became prime suspects with the security department accusing us of setting fire to the department.

    The state SSS was invited to investigate and they detained three students in their cells in Kaduna.

    So, we are appealing to the Minister Of Education, the National Association Of Nigerian Students (NANS) civil society groups and the Vice chancellor to intervene in this matter before they wrongly dismiss students who all this while were paying the school fees even during the time their residency allegedly expired. The Federal Government already has its hands full with security challenges without additional threats from frustrated students. Please help before they become security threat to their own nation.

    • Abdullahi Aliu

    Garki, Abuja

  • Re: Centenary of Ibadan Grammar School

    SIR: The write-up with the above topic was a lucidly written one by Professor Akinjide Osuntokun, undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s fore-most historians, diplomat and international relation experts in The Nation of Thursday march 14. In his usual style, Professor Osuntokun went back on memory lane to the good old days of secondary education in western Nigeria, particularly in Ibadan and how years of inept leadership have ruined everything good about the educational institutions and perhaps Ibadan Grammar school, where he was a student in the early 1960s.

    As a matter of fact, I have never had any cause to dispute anything written by Professor Osuntokun because apart from being a most junior colleague to him, I have benefited immensely from his fountain of knowledge through his write-ups. However, in the above mentioned article, his submission that the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria-led governments’ in free education policy in the then western Nigeria was a disaster is debatable. Rather than free education policy, lack of continuity in government policies after the collapse of the second republic, lack of maintenance by schools authorities, negligence on the part of the old students’ associations, parents and teachers associations and communities were responsible for the collapse of infrastructures in our secondary schools in post UPN years. In fact, the facilities provided for all schools particularly in Oyo State in terms of class rooms, lockers and chairs, text books etc. could last a generation if well preserved and maintained. Aside, it was the free education policy that decentralised secondary education in western Nigeria. Only that time did communities that never thought of having separate secondary schools become proud owners. Equally, the fact that education was made free made it possible for many indigene students who would have had no opportunity of secondary education. This accounts for the edge that western Nigeria had over other regions in terms of school enrollment till date. Professor Osuntokun justified his postulation about the “ideologically driven program of free education at all levels as a disaster” with bad and untared road leading to Ibadan Grammar School, blown off roofs of some of the buildings of the school, abandoned boarding houses, absence of library and dilapidated classrooms.

    It is crystal clear that the aforementioned did not happen between 1979 and 1983; they were products of inept leadership since 1983. Nevertheless, I concur with Professor Osuntokun’s suggestions on the way out of the decline of facilities to some of our schools. Governments in the South-west, old students, parents and teachers and communities have a role to play in the rehabilitation and maintenance of the infrastructures in our schools.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • The rise of women in Ogun

    The rise of women in Ogun

    Sir: If the Athenians of the first century were around to day, they would surely be heading for Ogun State to observe at close quarters the Senator Ibikunle Amosun (SIA) model of governance.

    Secular and religious records bear witness that these ancient Greeks “spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or to hear some new things”. Visitors were mostly welcome only if they came along with strange ideas. It was a path dictated by Socrates who had lived centuries earlier.

    In this case, our friends, the Athenians, would particularly be interested in Ogun State because of Amosun’s most recent political innovation of allocating strategic seats in the judiciary of Ogun to women.

    In a coup d’état of sorts, Amosun swore in women to take charge of the commanding heights in the judiciary. At the historic event in Abeokuta, the capital, the governor himself admitted that what he was doing was quite novel in a patriarchal society such as ours.

    He swore in Mrs Abimbola Akeredolu as the first female Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Ogun State since the creation of state in 1976. Her appointment brought to 13 the number of women in the cabinet of Ogun State.

    That figure, in parenthesis, is the highest in the cabinet of any state government in Nigeria.

    On the same day and at the same event, the governor unveiled Mrs Patricia Oduniyi as the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary in the Justice Ministry. He equally had the honour to swear in the first female Chief Judge of Ogun State, Mrs Olatokunbo Olopade, who was present at the inauguration of the two women. What a triumphal triumvirate!

    The importance of the event wasn’t lost on Amosun, nor on all those who have since been mulling the latest achievement of his administration. He said what the world had witnessed was unprecedented in Ogun State.

    We all must see what Governor Amosun has done as a revolutionary move that goes beyond a fulfilment of the so-called principle of Affirmative Action. The point is that the world has moved beyond the frontiers of the Beijing Declaration of 1995 which called for 30% allocation of public or political office to women.

    The new thinking is no longer about sheer number of women in power. It is about qualitative representation of the fair sex in administration of politics, the economy, sports and indeed in all strata of society. It is about having women strutting in the corridors of power.

    For too long, we’ve run our society along male-centric lines that have only stunted full progress of our people and made nonsense of our huge expenditure on manpower and infrastructure.

    A wider involvement of women in the affairs of society especially at the apex as indicated by the step Amosun has taken means engaging a critical sector of society in nation-building. It’s a new thinking we must support if society must move on to new heights of advancement in the 21st century. The so-called Asian Tigers are making it because they have leveraged governance and politics for women over the years. No wonder the region has produced more female heads of state and government than any other area on Planet Earth!

    • Yetunde Oyefeso,

    Iperu Remo, Ogun State.

     

  • Kudos to Ogun State NYSC

    SIR: I read the report of the expulsion of a youth corps member from Ogun State NYSC orientation camp in The Nation newspaper of Wednesday March 13, with much satisfaction on the action taken by the brave and exemplary state coordinator Barrister Theresa Anosike and the camp director Mrs Franca Ifon.

    There are age-old stipulated guidelines for the NYSC camping programme that prospective corps members are made to append their signatures to without compulsion before the commencement of the orientation camp. Any prospective corps member who felt that he or she could not abide by the rules and regulations of the programme due to any reason should have quietly taken the easy option of applying for exemption from the service, thus saving some tax payers money than going to the camp to constitute a cog in the wheel of the smooth running of the camping programme.

    It is most unfortunate that some dubious and recalcitrant Nigerians hide under the banner of one faith or the other to manifest severe unpatriotic and questionable primitive tendencies to subvert laid down rules and regulations. Discerning Nigerians weep for our dear country when you see funny pictures of masquerade-like and other manner of attires coming from corps members that have been condoned by unserious and lily- livered NYSC state coordinators and camp directors on flimsy grounds that dressing in official NYSC garbs is against their faith! Some of these religious bigots neither sing the national anthem nor recite the pledge.

    The NYSC should as a matter of policy exempt from service any Nigerian who feels that his/her faith should come before the Nigerian nation. These are the same people who will later metamorphose into dissidents or their sponsors, mired in religious fundamentalism that has continued to take our dear country to retrogression.

     

    •Kingsley Ike Okeke-Agulu (Ph.D)

    Federal College of Forestry, Jos.

  • Achebe: There was a man

    SIR: He was arguably the doyen of fiction and prose writing in the Nigerian literary world; his name rang like a bell even to the ears of the deaf. Professor Chinua Achebe of blessed memory was no doubt an icon and a figure to be reckoned with in the African literary world of giants.

    From a bright career in the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBS) to a prosperous endeavour in the world of literature, Achebe unarguably saw and conquered.

    In his widely read ‘Things Fall Apart’, Chinua Achebe eruditely depicted his full grasp of the Igbo culture; his sonorous exposition of the Igbo oral tradition in that book was exceptional and pictorial. The book has continued to generate global acceptability and increased market value after over five decades of publication. Since publication of ‘Things fall Apart’ by Heinemann Publishers on June 17, 1958, the book has been reputed to sell over eight million copies and had been translated into over 45 languages. All these lend credence to the fact that the late professor and novelist transcended the limitations of geographical and generational constraints in his literary career.

    Achebe’s literary dexterity was further brought to bear on his subsequent works, some of which included No longer at Ease, Arrow of God, Man of the People and Chike at the River. The admirable thing about a good number of Achebe’s writings was that they tended to conceptualise the Igbo traditional culture in the midst of emerging modern life realities. Most of his works published in the fifties and sixties were directed to a pictorial appreciation of the cultural conflict that pervaded the Igbo society in the wake of the emerging religion of Christianity. No doubt, Achebe brought reality into fiction.

    With a combination of memoir, historical analysis and poetry, the foremost literary icon in ‘There was a Country’ relayed his personal experiences of the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970 which nearly saw the secession of the Igbo ethnic group of Nigeria under the leadership of Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu.

    Achebe lived for his people; he was an epitome of a true Igbo par excellence, despite his great learning, he never despised his culture, despite his long sojourn, he never sacrificed his Igbo originality on the altar of exposure.

    Professor Chinua Achebe may have succumbed to the cold hands of mortality; however, he lives on. His works are indelible, they outlive him. Achebe has gone to the land of the mortals but his works forever immortalise him. You live in our hearts. Adieu ‘Eagle on the Iroko’.

     

    • Vincent Adodo, Esq.

    Legal Aid Council Ilorin, Kwara State.

  • Still on Alamieyeseigha pardon

    SIR: I write in response to the issues raised by critics of the presidential pardon granted former Bayelsa State Governor, Diepreye Solomon Peter (DSP) Alamieyeseigha and others. While many drilled the issue mostly on sentiments, they failed to see the bigger picture.

    Presidential pardon is a constitutional provision, a prerogative of the President and Governors- in some cases, judicial officers. According to section 175 of the Nigerian Constitution “the President may grant any person concerned with or convicted of any offence created by an Act of the National Assembly a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions”.

    Pardon could also be seen in parole (for prisoners), plea bargain (for the accused), and amnesty (for insurgents). These are legal instruments used to either aid prosecution or reward offenders for good behavior. Pardons have been used all over the world as a political tool of unification or assimilation. This can be said of the pardon granted former Biafran warlord, Emeka Ojukwu, as well as other Biafran soldiers decades later. Pardons could also be used as conflict resolution tool through the use of amnesty for militants and being proposed for the Boko Haram sect. Contrary to the fear of critics, it is hardly ever an enabler of bad behavior no matter who grants it. No one commits a crime on a probability that he would be pardoned.

    Critics have condemned the pardon on the premonition that it will encourage others to engage in acts of corruption. This argument is misleading and cannot be proven by fact. An example is the case of former Speaker of the House of Representatives Salisu Buhari who was granted pardon by President Obasanjo after he forged certificates. Going by the reasoning of critics, this should have caused others to act similarly, but the reverse is the case. As a matter of fact, people are even more mindful of such acts. Buhari, I should point out, was later appointed chairman of the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council by President Obasanjo.

    Also adding to the debate was the US State Dept. which expressed concern over the pardon of Alamieyeseigha pointing out the issue of future fight on corruption. The position of the US Government can only be shocking, not to mention hypocritical. Will the US Government buy into the premise that by granting pardon to President Nixon, the US has seen a decline in presidential decency with regards to wiretapping, perjury or obstruction of justice by subsequent presidents? By granting pardon for drugs offence to his younger brother, Roger, has President Bill Clinton encouraged such actions on a broader scale?

    It is okay for citizens to be vigilante on fighting corruption, holding their leaders to account and standard, but to continually prosecute a man for a crime which he has been sentenced is ludicrous amounts to double jeopardy. Critics who condemn the pardon as immoral are failing to see where indeed morality lies. It lies in a justice system that doesn’t seek to condemn but correct; doesn’t destroy or direct; and doesn’t eliminate but elevates second chances.

    One thing is sure, no matter what Alamieyeseigha does now or in the future, the nation will always be reminded of the sad episode that characterized his public service. He will forever contend with his weakness and his actions, but that is for his pondering. He has been tried, he served in prison, he forfeited properties, and his reputation beaten. This pardon doesn’t return his properties, or undo his jail time already spent. It assures him and others to come that our nation is capable of forgiveness upon repentance.

    We need to shift the discussion to the fundamentals of how pardons are handed. And what standards should be met in handing out such. But to castigate the President for this action is missing the point. We need to ask questions of transparency. How the decision was reached, what statutes and government instruments were deployed, are questions deserving of advancement for constitutional gains. But to ask that the pardon be revoked in other not to compromise the fight against corruption creates a conundrum for a nation that seeks to discourage corruption and encourage repentance.

    • Teinye Akobo

    Queen Mary, University of London.

  • Open letter to Chime

    A statesman recuperating from a debilitating ailment hardly needs any unnecessary distractions let alone one that could snowball into a conflagration, an uncontrollable combustion enough to trigger of an internecine hostility nay war.

    Permit me, Your Excellency to have taken this thorny and sensitive issue to the public domain, but this is possibly the fastest means of communication, considering the urgency it deserves and more so, your gubernatorial authority and dispatch can only nip in the bud this injustice.

    A vibrant town called Umualo, landlocked but strategic in Isi-Uzo Local Government Area, has for long endured the provocation and overt display of intrigues by its neighboring town,Amankanu, of Nkanu East Local Government.

    About three decades ago, the farmlands and settlements of Umuezuboke Village that border Amanakanu people, became the centre of a communal war when the latter forcefully encroached on Umualo lands to usurp them. The Amankanus were repelled, thus suffering a bloody nose.

    Only last week, 31 years after, another surreptitious attempt was re-enacted. This time, with an alleged tacit government support of the Ministry of Lands in Enugu State. A surveyor emerged on the lands again with some Amankanu people and illegally began demarcation encompassing farmlands of Umuezuboke, their schools and the natives who had resided there since the days of Methuselah.

    Of course, the natives rushed out and seized the implements, chasing away the surveyor and his collaborators. How lucky they were. Our people, who have the greatest respect for the governor, have always remained peaceful, a hallmark of Isi-Uzo people in general. In other very hostile climes, the intruders would have disappeared from mother earth.

    Before this ugly incident, the news had been rife that the Amankanu people would be giving their land to government for various developmental projects. What a lofty news, but would they be consigning parcels of land they don’t own to government. Are they Umuezuboke people who own and had lived there ever since the ancient days? No one toys with his ancestral land.

    Umualo cannot be an impediment to development. It is most welcome but if government should be keen on the area, it is only proper and just that the genuine people who own the land are consulted directly because it is an autonomous community and not answerable to interlopers.

    Let’s humour the commissioner for Lands and give him the benefit of doubt that he is ignorant that the proposed ‘Greek gift’, by the Amankanus are parcel of lands of Umuezuboke people of Umualo Town viz Igbogobe, Ikagwu, Egerum and Odobido amongst others. The alarming permutations have call for your immediate action, more so when it is feared that the commissioner coming from Nkanuland is out to railroad a long-forgotten dispute in favour of Amankanu.

    This writer cannot forget in a hurry the wisdom you displayed in settling amicably a hot bed of 23 chairmanship candidates vying relentlessly to become the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last elections in Enugu State. So patient, so fatherly with firmness and fair play, you devised a methodology that eventually produced the PDP candidate after four-gruelling hours you gave to Isi-Uzo.

    Even when it was obvious other local governments lay in wait to have audience, you said inter alia: “I have all the time for Isi-Uzo people by so doing demonstrated a heart pure, untainted and love for my people.” You won my admiration that sunny day at the Enugu Government Lodge.

    It is on the strength and realising how decisive you resolved the burning issues of that time, that this letter becomes imperative to be channelled to you, to call the commissioner and his ilk to order.

    The Isi-Uzo people remain eternally grateful to you for doing the road from Enugu- Ugwogo-Ikem, making it easier for our people to get to the capital city. Some of us were born into seeing no such road since in the 50s. Although Umualo still awaits your promise of doing their road less than eight kilometres off the major Ugwogo-Neke-Ikem road, the community has borne the brunt of being the only community in Isi-Uzo without electricity, without a GSM service provider, it would be a telling blow if their ancestral lands would now be usurped through tyranny.

    This has fuelled the suspicion of our people that they have been wrongly lumped into Enugu East as yeomen instead of Nsukka which is their ancestral home and some of us who are unrepentant Nsukka people believe that the contraption was unjust and like a popular cart pusher plying the ever busy Ogbete market in Enugu with bold inscriptions on the body of his ‘car’ “Agaracha must return.”

    Our people must return to their kith and kin, it’s just time, just time!

    A good laugh, Mr. Governor.

    By Obinwa Nnaji