The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • Saving a Lagos suburb from environmental decay

    SIR: Concerned authorities, including both the federal government and the Lagos State government, should consider, urgently, the plight of residents of Ajido, Agemowo, Imeke and Oko-Afo in Badagry area of the state and save them from the deadly pollution, heat, noise and vibration coming from gas being flared by the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO) in their neighbourhood.

    These hapless communities had made several efforts to vet their grievances but their voices seemed too faint to be heard. The presence of heavily armed security personnel, a large contingent of policemen at the gate of the company who usually would not allow anybody get close to the company made it almost impossible for residents of these communities to complain to the management of the company.

    As an indigene of this historic town, I find it incredible to believe that an organisation of such repute exists in that locale considering the rate of infrastructural decay, neglect and unemployment in that axis. All over the world, organisations similar to this always put in place, palliative measures that would suppress the adverse effects which the activity of such establishment poses to their host communities.

    For instance, the provision of free and standard health-care service within the communities could help reduce the health risk which the gas flaring would have on the populace; provision of power supply. More worrisome is the deplorable state of the access road to the company located at Ajido, that is, Aradagun-Iworo-Ajido Road.

    The present state of these communities negates the agreement reached and the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2007 when the company was about to begin operation. Perhaps what the hapless communities could lay claim to since WAPCO began its operations is the construction of sub-standard boreholes in a few communities, non-functioning clinic, and two separate blocks of schools’ classrooms (six rooms each). In what measure are these commensurate with the millions of dollars made at the detriment of these people?

    This piece is not meant to juxtapose government’s responsibility for a corporate organisation but to re-establish the fact that corporate organisations are always responsible to their host communities everywhere in the world. Through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), organisations often assist in the provision of some basic amenities because in most cases, the activities of these organisations impact the life span of all the amenities put in place by government. This is also in line with the call by the Babatunde Fashola-led administration to all corporate institutions and organisations.

    Saying that the activities of WAPCO is negatively affecting the health of these residents is to say the least, the impact of underwater pipes on the water bodies, especially the lagoons bearing the famous coconut plantations is also of great concern. This, in no small measure, suppresses the people’s major means of livelihood .i.e. fishing and coconut sales.

    In a broader view, the impact of gas flare is the enormous amounts of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere that further heighten global warming and in a long term affect the climate change.

    This is a renewed call on the state government not to relent in its promise to sanction the company if the deadline given to halt the flaring is not honoured. The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the State Safety Commission should also see this as a reawakening call to rescue the metropolis from total degradation.

    • Afuwape Ayo Oluwatosin

    Iworo, Badagry

  • Gov Aliyu and his ‘one-term’ agreement

    SIR: I do not know whether Thomas Hobbes was right or wrong when he said, “Man is essentially selfish, he is urged to action not by his reason or intellect but by his greed, desires and appetite”. But I can submit with certainty that Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, the Governor of Niger State was moved by unspeakable desire and unquenchable appetite for presidential power come 2015, when he said that the president can only serve one term of four years. The servant-governor based his assertion on an agreement which negates the letters and spirit of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    I daresay that the constitution is the only document that can be relied upon in this matter. If the constitution allows the President to vie for a second term in office, then where do we stand: with the constitution or Babangida’s letter of agreement?

    I would be right to submit that the servant-governor has no copy of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Nigerians should be ready to resist him if he attempts to transmute into the constitution for the sole purpose of determining the term of the president.

    Can the so-called agreement abrogate the provision of the constitution on the terms of a sitting president? Only eligible voters and the constitution can determine whether or not President Jonathan returns. Not him.

    Let us ask Babangida Aliyu how he would have felt if he was denied a second term on the basis of an agreement. The man is serving his term as stipulated by the constitution, yet he wants to deny his fellow citizen the opportunity to serve his complete tenure.

    Now, I know why Ambrose Bices opined that “Politics is nothing but strife of interest masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage”.

    I concede to the servant-governor the right to vie for 2015 but he must do so without heating up the polity. Let me admonish him with the words of Nelson Mandela: “I have cherished the ideas of a democratic and free society where people lie in harmony and equal opportunity…”

    Governor Aliyu should respect the supremacy of the constitution over his so-called agreement. If he thinks that he or the North holds the right to become or produce the next president, then he must also concede such rights and opportunity to other eligible Nigerians and region.

    •Godfrey Ehi

    Benin City

  • SURE-P and the peril of shamelessness

    SURE-P and the peril of shamelessness

    SIR: Racial chauvinism aside, have you noticed that the average black man does not have shame? I however, remember with a sense of shame, sometime last year when African heads of states gathered in Addis Ababa to commission the newly built AU building donated by China for ‘just’ $200 million (N30 billion then)—it was said to have been facilitated by the then Chairman of the AU Commission Jean Ping who is of Chinese descent.

    Apart from the haunting ignominy that the headquarter of such a revered Pan-African organisation would be a handout donation from the rapacious Asian giant—an amount a single Nigerian like James Onanefe Ibori or pension-gate’s John Yakubu Yusuf could have paid for without batting an eyelid—I’d thought that our President would try to gain an Orwellian political capital by bragging that Nigeria would foot the bill.

    Given the size of the impressive edifice, I am pretty sure that such a project would not cost anything less than $1 to 2 billion or even more, on our home soil. How did I know? The prodigal administration of Yar’Adua-Jonathan in 2009/10 awarded contract to Julius Berger to construct a 4.5 km runway at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja for the sum of N64 billion ($425 million). That is about the total amount spent by the states of Akwa Ibom , Delta (N27.7 billion), Gombe (N7 billion) and Bauchi (N7.9 billion) to build new airports from scratch, with the latter having a similar sized runway capable of taking the all-new Airbus A380.

    As if our national pride has not been despoiled enough, the de facto rulers, Economic Management Team; a sobriquet synonymous with grand larceny and elitist disconnect, have now floated a new shibboleth: SURE-P.

    I just pity Pa Chris Kolade. Given his track records, I admire the old man; I expect that a man of his calibre would know what shame is all about, and I pray he would know when to resign and salvage all that is left of his integrity…

     

    • Asiwaju Linus Onime

    Lagos

  • APC, hope of the nation

    APC, hope of the nation

    SIR: Until recently, I almost lost hope as to whether there was anything the progressives could do to revive this country from total economic and political collapse.

    It was on this premise I wrote a piece titled, “Open challenge to the progressives” published by this newspaper on April 7, 2012. It was a thing of joy when the progressives took the bull by the horns as they decided to work together and came up with “All Progressives Congress” (APC) to challenge the PDP. In my own opinion, what will differentiate APC from the PDP are its manifesto which all future governors and leaders of the party should adopt. As a Nigerian adult, I cannot mention PDP programme because the party has no clear-cut programme for Nigeria.

    I will like to suggest the following reforms to the committee in charge of manifesto for APC. Employment generation through agriculture should be given a place of pride. Since PDP took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria in 1999, agriculture has gone into extinction. Agriculture, they say, is the bed rock of country’s economy.

    Education reform that will encourage qualitative output should be in focus. As a corollary, Advanced Level education should be re-introduced as a means of entry into our universities. More colleges of education should be established while the existing ones be properly financed. More Technical Colleges should be established to run courses such as carpentry, electrical installation, fisheries, refrigerator and air-conditioning etc: These of courses will encourage the graduates of these colleges to be self-reliant. Instead of the current three years spent in the technical colleges, the reform can make it four years. The Polytechnic education should be strengthened while relevant technological programmes should be mounted.

    Discipline should be entrenched into the country’s curriculum. If there is discipline in the land, individuals will not embezzle the pension and gratuity of those who had served their fatherland meritoriously. If there is discipline, a governor of state will not divert the resources meant to develop the state for his personal purse.

    Health is wealth, says the popular adage. More than 14 years PDP administration in Nigeria, top government officials and the wife of the President past and present still seek medical services outside the country. I personally feel ashamed of this. The manifesto of APC should accommodate functional health services at all levels.

    Electricity should be privatized to make it functional like that of Ghana and Togo. The party should introduce new things to Nigerians and let them have taste of what our leaders enjoy when they travel outside the country such as metro line, good security services etc.

    Once again, I salute the courage of the leaders of those political parties who have agreed to work together to liberate the country from the current economic and political bondage. It takes courage to do this, and God will see them through. They should not allow sharing of positions and personal interest to work against the smooth take off of the party. God will naturally arrest the enemies of this country, especially those who are determined to work against the merger.

    • Gabriel Enialola Ayimoro

    Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko

  • Protecting the environment

    Protecting the environment

    SIR: The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process is all about new capital projects being evaluated for potential environmental, social and health impacts. This assessment is used to anticipate and plan for the avoidance, minimization and mitigation of potentially significant negative impacts, as well as for the enhancement of potential benefits during the planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of various projects.

    The effort to protect the environment is based on people’s awareness of the value of the complexity of the natural world. Stakeholders ought to recognize the importance of conserving biological diversity—the rich variety of life on earth: its ecosystems and species, and the ecological processes that support them.

    In this aspect, recognizing the value of fresh water as a fundamental social, environmental and economic resource ought to be of paramount importance to government agencies saddled with the responsibility of maintaining an healthy environment such as Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission ( LAWRC)both organs of the Lagos State Government.

    Water is life; waters in the state should be made safe to social life as well as for business purpose. As a stakeholder, these agencies of the state government should ginger their efforts towards knowing that access to sufficient sources of wholesome water is essential for the communities in the state, especially those close to the riverside areas as the state is aquatic in nature. These agencies should strive to develop an integrated corporate freshwater management strategy to enhance any current process that might be in operation including tools and guidance on water stewardship and management throughout the state. In addition, they should try as much as possible to develop a global position statement on fresh water, which could stand as a blue print for the world. Both LASEPA and LAWRC should try as much as possible to upgrade their laboratories to a world class in order to achieve this feat.

    The world is experiencing a great climatic change presently, there is therefore a widespread view that increase in the releasing of Carbon Dioxide to the atmosphere is leading to climate change, with adverse effects on the environment. There is a need in this aspect for Lagos State government to contribute to climate change policy discussions. This discussion should reflect a balanced approach to addressing climate change through short- and long-term measures and the challenge should be to proffer solutions that protect the environment without undermining the growth of the state economy. I strongly believe that a successful climate change policy will be one in which the reduction of non environmental friendly elements vis a vis carbon dioxide is accomplished equitably by the government through long-term and coordinated State frameworks.

    The major primary sources of non-environmental friendly elements in our society is combustion of fuels during various operations and, in some cases, flaring of the natural gas that is extracted along with crude oil( this more peculiar to the South-south region of the country). The long-term commitment should be to improve energy efficiency in our day-to-day operations, which will diminish carbon emissions in the society. With all these factors being put in place and monitored genuinely, the environment surely will be protected with lives getting better.

     

    • Ogbe Kayode Richard

    Lagos

  • The killing of health workers in Kano

    The killing of health workers in Kano

    SIR: A man’s house is on fire and a concerned neighbour ran with a bucket of water to quench the fire. The man whose house is on fire turned and stabbed the neighbour with a bucket of water to death. The above scenario pictured the recent killings of health workers in Kano and Yobe states. How can one explain the madness behind the killings of those health workers who came to save lives of brothers and sisters of these unknown gun men?

    To exonerate the dreaded Islamic fundamentalist organisation “Ahlan Sunnah Lid Da’ Waati Wal Jihad Yaanaa”, also known as Boko Haram from this nefarious act is like exonerating anterior placenta from the survival of a foetus in a woman’s womb.

    This insane act reminded me of a recent report from a journalist from Somalia. The journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad in Mogadishu reported that a procession of famished mothers with their skeletal children burdened further with outsized bellies travelling many miles on foot across the desert to get food were driven back home by al-Shabaab: “They told us it was better to wait for God’s mercy than to beg for food from the unbelievers.” Why? Because Western aid is a sin and so is western knowledge of routine immunization, and the polio eradication programme in Northern Nigeria.

    Boko Haram is wielding the same guns and bombs (the only instruments in which western education is not a sin) and spreading hate and insecurities in Nigeria.

    Boko Haram, how do you want poverty and high rate of illiteracy to be eradicated in your area? When you are causing local and foreign investors to flee? The Yorubas will say: ‘ronu’ meaning think. Please, Boko Haram members, you should think deeper so to heal the past wounds instead of inflicting deeper wounds.May the souls of those innocent health workers killed in Kano and Yobe states rest in peace, Amen.

     

    • Eyeke Solomon Eyeke.

    Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

     

  • APC: The hurdles ahead

    APC: The hurdles ahead

    SIR: The deluge of reactions and comments that have greeted the recent announcement of the merger of the country’s major opposition parties- All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), All Nigerian Political Party (ANPP), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)-which has given birth to the mega alliance: All Progressives Congress (APC), are not by any mean surprising. These reactions stemmed from the fact that the electorates are tired of the present “come and chop” political arrangement as symbolised by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre.

    It is a notorious fact that the nation’s 13-year old democracy has been battered and bastardised beyond description by no less persons than our corrupt politicians, who keep amassing stupendous wealth to themselves at the detriment of the larger populace. Indeed, the PDP has largely contributed to these 13 years of misrule and squandering of our collective wealth. Again, there is no gain saying the fact that the so-called dividends of democracy have become as elusive as the thin air. The level of disconnect between the masses and their leaders has never been this glaring since the country’s independence!

    To further aggravate the injuries, the culprit of this hopelessness, the ruling PDP, has severally bragged to remain in the saddle for the next 60 years!

    It is in view of the above gloomy picture that the need for a strong and virile opposition, that will offer a better alternative to the already disillusioned people, has become imperative. It is, therefore, gratifying that the All Progressive Congress (APC) is offering this alternative. However, how the new party is able to do this depends largely on its ability to overcome certain hurdles which have been widely acknowledged as obstacles in our politicking. These “symptoms”, include (1) god-fatherism (2) dearth of internal democracy (3) selfish interest of the leaders, amongst others.

    Reading the comments expressed so far by the leaders of the new party, it does appear they are merely interested in kicking out the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Aso Rock come 2015, not minding what happens thereafter. It will turnout the biggest political mistake the new party would make if, indeed, it is only concentrating all its resources at “grabbing” power at the centre without a corresponding action plan that will salvage the nation’s political and economic miseries. History is replete with such political blunder. This was what happened, in 2002, in Kenya when in their bid to wrestle power from the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) at all cost, the politicians formed a merger- National Alliance of Rainbow Coalition (NARC). But because the merger was power-grabbing driven, it was later to suffer internal bickering, few years after winning the election. In other to avoid this mistake, APC must work out a people-oriented action plan that will not just be limited at “capturing” the coveted Aso Rock seat but will add joy and smiles to the populace.

    It needs also be stated here that the new party should make internal democracy its guiding principle. Candidates should be allowed to emerge through a more open democratic process that is devoid of whims and caprices of its leadership.

    It is not in doubt that this initiative will, in the long run, deepen our “nascent” democracy (a fact the leadership of the ruling PDP has magnanimously accepted) to the benefits of the already impoverished masses, the new party must take a step further to convince Nigerians that it is not just going to be business as usual after assuming power.

     

    • Barrister Okoro Gabriel

    Lagos

  • What I saw at Nassarawa varsity, Keffi

    What I saw at Nassarawa varsity, Keffi

    SIR: From the handful of universities we had in different parts of Nigeria barely a decade ago, the number has soared significantly over the years. The result is that wherever you go across Nigeria these days, a private or federal or state university is bound to be located somewhere nearby. It is, however, one thing to have a varsity; having a university that stands out in terms of good governance, infrastructure, laboratory, and high academic standard is a different ball game.

    It was against this backdrop that I travelled to the Nasarawa State University, Keffi in Nasarawa State, recently to visit my daughter-in-law. Although I had been to the school once or twice before now for sundry reasons, I hadn’t paid much attention to the place.

    Located along the Keffi –Akwanga highway, Nasarawa State University (NSU) occupies a relatively wide expanse of land on the outskirts of Keffi town.

    In terms of size, NSU is, in my view, not all that impressive. Particularly when compared with a number of other universities that one has been privileged to visit in recent years. But when you realize that the institution is relatively young, even as it grows in leaps and bounds, it becomes obvious that it needs time to develop according to expectations.

    Like any parent or student, however, want concerns me most is the quality of academic work available (or otherwise) here. When I sought her opinion, my girl said, in her usual melodramatic manner, that: “they are killing us o.” To which I inquired:” Killing you? How?” Her response: “The lectures are too much; there is hardly any space to breath or time to rest; it’s lecture, lecture, all the time.” What about strikes, riots, cultists and the like, I prodded. She shrugged. “So far, at least, I haven’t witnessed any such things here; I heard that the Vice Chancellor is a no-nonsense man who doesn’t allow such things happen here.”

    That, to those who know the NSU helmsman, Prof. Shamsudeen Amali, is hardly surprising, given that he had conjured a similar feat at his old duty post – the University of Ilorin. Prof. Amali had, through a dint of visionary leadership, exemplary human relations and deft shuffles, ensured that Unilorin remained largely unaffected by the chaos and madness of these seasons. Maintaining an open-door policy and acting like a father to both students and staff alike, he was said to have effectively tamed the monster of industrial crises in the hitherto restive school.

    Indeed, based on what I witnessed at the university that day, one dares say without fear of contradiction that Prof. Amali, the renowned administrator, scholar, leader and acclaimed professor of Theatre and Drama, has “transferred” his inimitable leadership and administrative acumen to NSU.

     

    • Hajia Jamila Mohammed

    Abuja

     

  • Amnesty for Boko Haram?

    Amnesty for Boko Haram?

    SIR: When I read about what is happening in Nigeria, I feel sorry for the country. Recently I read that northern leaders are canvassing that the terrorists murderers, and rapists should be granted amnesty so that there can be peace in the country.

    This type of arguments sounds foolish and runs contrary to common wisdom. The truth is where is the justice in granting amnesty to terrorists, murderers and rapist (Boko Haram)? There can never be peace in Nigeria until justice is done and seen to be done by everybody.

    These people who are canvassing for amnesty for the terrorists do not understand the extent of the damage they are doing to the country. If the government out of cowardice accedes to this, it will be a doom for the country.

     

    • Martin

    South Africa.

  • No hope for an African Pope?

    No hope for an African Pope?

    SIR: I do not know whether religion is a reflection of Man’s dream to become god. But I do know that Rev. Georg Ratzinger (elder brother of Pope Benedict) is playing god in the affairs of who becomes the new Pope.

    According to him, “In Europe we have many very able people and the Africans are still not so well known and maybe do not have the experience yet”.

    Certainly Rev. Georg Ratzinger belongs to the class of men who seek to further the excessive segregation in the church. To submit that Africans are still not so well known is not only mendacious but a reflection of incurable ignorance and unforgivable spiritual criminality. Since the Bible contain stories of Africans and Africa, then who is Rev. Georg Ratzinger to say that we are still not so well known? Sincerely the Bible makes him a pathological liar. I suggest that the man should refer to his Bible for details.

    In his reasoning, African’s do not have the experience to lead the Catholic Church. I ask what; experience does Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana and Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria need again after serving the church for donkey years? Is it that our African Cardinals cannot officiate mass with theological impeccability, pray the rosary with spiritual efficacy, give communion and perform other public functions with uncommon dexterity? The man would have won my admiration if he had said that the pope is an exclusive reserve for the whites.

    However, I urge the catholic faithful of African extraction to remain strong in faith despite the attempt to make the issue of who becomes the next Pope a matter of white versus black. But let’s not forget to thank our God because God is neither white nor black. Those who know Rev. George Ratzinger should not forget to let him know that in America, his types stood against African-Americans on the basis of colour. But today, history has shown that they can’t be defeated any time. If he does not understand, he should go ask President Barack Obama.

    I call on lovers of God and humanity to resist those who seek to build the church on the pillars of black and white dichotomy. Racism has no place in the church.

    Godfrey Ehi O.

    Benin City