The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • London, queen and a journalist

    London, queen and a journalist

    When the transworld Airbus began its final descent, trepidation trailed human expectancy.

    Then the Luxury Qartar Plane en-route Doha, Landed safely at Heathrow Airport, ending the second trunk of a 14-hour flight that started in Lagos on a warm bright Saturday, 7:45pm.

    Tired but excited, I seized the moment in my first step on British soil.

    The mind wandered in random thoughts. London and the Queen. Ancient history and ethereal Royalty. Two phenomena Interlaced in mythic destiny.

    I remembered colonialism, that eerie word that sounds like a poem. I first heard of it from my village headmaster. As little pupils fascinated by moonlight tales and nursery rhymes, our teacher’s story of British colonialism was always awe inspiring.

    He thought us to sing at special occasions like independence anniversary or visit of a VIP from the city:

    “1960 Nigeria Nwelu Independence (x2). Ada Oyibo ana, Ochi chi oyibo ana.

    Anyi Ekene Azikiwe” This translates in English:

    “1960 Nigeria gained independence (x2) The Queen has gone. Colonialism has gone. We salute Azikiwe”

    Some times when our bespectacled head teacher disappeared from school, he would return days later to announce to a captive audience. “I travelled to London to see the Queen.”

    Fourty years after I left Ikeke Primary School in my Idumuje-Unor homeland, here I am in London! Will I see the Queen? I mused, recalling in evergreen memory, the earthy fun of Oyibundu, my good old elementary teacher (God bless his soul).

    Samuel, a calm Indian mini bus driver was our guide on my first day in London.

    As he ferried me along with some of my colleagues from Delta State, he appeared too busy on the wheels of his gleaming Roomy Volkswagen.

    All through our over half an hour drive from the Airport, he was generally taciturn to my restive enquiries.

    We stayed at Britannia International Hotel, an iconic resort that stood shoulders high beside JP Morgan Towers, controversial financial firm touted to be the managers of Nigeria’s foreign reserves.

    Ten minutes walk from Britannia sat O2 Arena, a magnificent theatre, where legendary Michael Jackson was billed to have his last dance. But death cancelled all that. A shouting distance from the Hotel lies Canary Wharf Train station, London’s busiest underground terminal, conveying over one million commuters to various destinations daily. Directly opposite Canary Wharf Train Station stand in majestic splendour, the object of my London trip. Welcome to Reuters!

    The Reuters building is shaped like SilverBird Galleria, in Victoria Island, Lagos but far bigger in size and grandeur.

    Reuters is a tall beautiful dome of polished steel and the finest of glass architecture, almost kissing the skyline.

    With its stunning outlook, Reuters London headquarters sat delicately by the scenic courtyard of Docklands Canary Wharf Station, like the Egyptian goddess Cleopatra on the doting embrace of Roman Emperor, Julius Ceaser. When I eventually set my foot one cold Monday morning on the largest news room in the world, with 12 other Nigerian journalists, a life long feeling of fulfillment welled up my entire being. With all modesty, I have travelled the world as a Journalist and pageant connoisseur; Norway, Cayman Island, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Kenya, Ghana, Gambia…

    Save for South Africa, where I had nurtured enduring acquaintances and deep personal attachment to inimitable Madiba (Nelson Mandela), no journey would fascinate me like the Reuters experience. Established by a British entrepreneur, Paul Julius Reuter, it has a 160 year history trailed by land- marks.

    With age old reputation for excellent journalism, most of the defining moments in global news break came through Reuters. The Titanic shipwreck of 1912, assassination of America’s Abraham Lincoln and America in Orbit, 1968 were delivered first to the world by Reuters.

    Also it broke the news of 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, capture of Saddan Hussein in 2003 and killing of Libya’s Muamah Gadaffi in 2011, among other more recent events.

    Every news story that shook the world since the past 100 years had the signature of Reuters.

    In a briefing by Belinda Goldsmith, Reuters editorial Training Director, we were told that the organisation is the biggest news media in the world employing “over 60,000 with 2, 900 Journalists reporting from over 200 countries”.

    Two veteran journalists who had worked for Reuters, Mathieu Robbins and Andrew Dobbie led us as programme instructors into the “trust principles” of the world famous news agency.

    The one week engagement was open, frank and interactive as the duo joined us to share revealing individual experiences in the world of journalism. While we proudly informed our London hosts about the vibrant character of the Nigerian press, even in the face of socio-economic and political odds, their lessons on ethical journalism was a bitter pill to swallow.

    A Reuters Reporter is not permitted to take favours in whatever guise not even a bag of Christmas rice. Brown Envelope is a non issue.

    Pecuniary benefits no matter the intention of the giver could spell compromise with the consequence of dismissal for a Reuters journalist. A story laced with falsehood or mischief can send you to jail. News must be presented with balance and dispassionate objectivity. Ethics is everything. A Reuters Reporter has no reason to cut corners. The salary is comparable to the pay of a Bank executive or a legislator in Nigeria. But every one works hard to earn a living in the organization typical of London. The work culture has zero tolerance for indiscipline of any sort. Fortune brought us to London.I met Belen Baccera, (Reuters Staff who facilitated the training) via cyber space. After about 70 email exchanges, spanning almost a year, the caring and attentive lady pulled the course through.

    We learnt useful but different lessons in England.

    London is too cosmopolitan and less communal. The residents generally do not have time for greetings or pleasantries. Everyone is in a cocoon. The bohemian spirit and humanity back home are rare here.

    You are on your own. No brother’s keeper. Your closest neighbor is a distant stranger. He does not exist. But there is an exception to every human circumstance. Everyone at Britannia Hotels: manger, porter and waiter proved quite hospitable. Like every capitalist setting, they were strictly business minded without being impolite.

    They complimented the warm courtesies of Reuters staff who were always willing to guide us in and out of the office. If you love tea or coffee, you will indulge yourself with abandon at Reuters. We drank buckets. Maybe because of the cold weather or sheer appetite for the beverage, which was tempting. At break intervals between hours, no one guzzled less than 3 cups, an average of 15 cups a day.

    Perhaps too tired from the rigours of class work and random shopping in London, not many of my fellow journalists were ready to visit key places of interest. I had to persuade Michael Ikeogwu and his co Pointer reporter Dennis Otu, Chido Okafor (The Guardian) Shola O Neil (The Nation) and the only female journalist on the trip, Mercy Muemufo of DBS Asaba to come with me to popular sites in London, especially Buckingham Palace. I saw Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus Olympic City in Stratford, River Thames and the famed London Tower Bridge among others.

    But did I see the queen? We arrived there to meet thousands of tourists from across the world.

    We came right on time to watch the royal sentries change guard in a solemn but lavish parade. The atmosphere was glorious in the sprawling Buckingham Palace arena. The amazingly colourful spectacle I saw on TV years back during the elaborate wedding of Lady Diana to Prince Charles was unfolding before my very eyes. A dense sea of human heads swarmed the surroundings. I had to stretch my neck to catch a glimpse of the proceedings with animated concentration. Every now and then, my camera was clicking away. Oh no!. I was disappointed to learn shortly that Queen Elizabeth II had retired into her royal chambers and would not be coming out any longer for that day.

    Then it suddenly dawned on me that I had to move on briskly, to prepare for a long flight home ward bound.

     

    Chiazor is the chairman

    Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ

    Delta State Council.

     

  • Fed Govt shifts goal post and glib talk again

    Four years ago, Nigeria had hoped it could catapult itself into membership of the G-20 (Group of twenty) major economies by the year 2020. That ambition was not only imprecise and misleading, it was rather too grand for both the competence of Nigeria’s political leadership and the structure of its economy. When Nigeria enunciated its developmental ambition in 2009 and christened it Vision 20:2020, the ordinary man on the street believed it implied that Nigeria could squeeze at least one country off the G-20 list and ensconce itself in their midst. But the G-20 is actually 19 major economies plus the European Union (EU) which is represented by President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank. Precisely, the EU is a group of 27 countries in Europe generating about 20 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) measured in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). “The G-20,” according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), “account for 82.2 percent of the world’s economic growth by GDP (PPP).

    In effect, four years ago, Nigeria had hoped to displace in real terms some 27 countries, wherever they come from out of the 46 countries that are, by and large, in the G-20. But even if the EU is one country in the group, as it is statistically represented, why would Nigeria hope it could carry out that strange feat of joining the elite economic group in 11 years? The president who could answer that question, and the one under whose watch the target was set in 2009, Umaru Yar’Adua, is no longer with us. But mercifully, according to the National Planning minister, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, the 2020 date is no longer realistic for Nigeria to become a member of the G-20. We should look at perhaps joining the G-25 as the more realistic group our economic output merits, the minister said wistfully.

    His consolation, however, is that we have made much more progress than we give ourselves credit for. Hear him: “Where were we in 2009? We were number 44. By the end of 2011, we were number 39, by the end of 2012, we were 36.This is progress. We made quite a lot of progress. In other areas we are not. I don’t want any of you to meet me in 2020 and say you are the one telling us that we are going to be among the top 20. But what I am saying is that even if we are not among the 20 by that time, we were number 44 in 2009. If by 2020 we are number 25, I will be a very proud man. The reason is because we are consciously moving and doing all the necessary things to move up there. It’s not saying we must be there. What I am saying is if we get there then these are the actions we must need to take as a country. We must do this and that in governance, in human development, in infrastructure…”

    Setting aside the absolute lack of realism in our economic planning, as evidenced by failed expectations over the decades, is it not possible that Nigerian leaders are simply too besotted to sloganeering for their own good? Do we not remember how magical it sounded in the early 1990s when our leaders ululated over Year 2000, when, they hoped, everything from poverty to malnutrition, lack of housing and eradication of all forms of injustices and health problems would be banished? Were we too young to remember that once the magical Year 2000 became unrealistic, our leaders began to whoop for Vision 2010, from whence their irrepressible souls soared on the wings of imagination to the sweet-sounding Vision 20:2020? What next? Might Vision G-8:2080 not be appropriate, even poetic?

    It is uncertain our national fecundity for coining socio-economic catch phrases can be mollified by disappointments, but now that Nigeria’s enduring flight of fancy has proved repeatedly and spectacularly unreal, even surreal, if we consider the chasm between goals and ability, would we now embrace reality and moderation with the simplicity and innocence of a boy? It is good, of course, to dream, but how does the hopeful idealist draw a line between dream and daydream? The answer should not prove too arcane for our gifted and imaginative economic planners.

  • Still on the APC merger

    SIR: When the G-34 was formed to challenge Late General Sani Abacha, it was hailed as one of the most progressive groups in the nation’s chequered history. It took a rare form of courage for defenceless civilians to stand up to the country’s number one goon.

    Sadly with the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party which the group metamorphosed, it turned out to be the case of the hunted becoming the hunter. Since 1999, the nation has watched with despair how the behemoth mismanaged the resources which nature in her kindness bequeathed to the Giant of Africa.

    The lack of vision is so comical that the Boko Haram insurgents are now dictating the terms and conditions for peace to the hapless Federal Government.

    Mergers of political parties are not a novel trend in Nigeria. In the First Republic, two dominant alliances – the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) and the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) were formed in 1964. The NNA had the ruling Northern Peoples Congress leading the pack of other less influential parties which included the Nigerian National Democratic Party, Mid-West Democratic Front, Niger Delta Congress, Dynamic Party. UPGA had the National Council for Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group, Northern Elements Progressive Union, United Middle Belt Congress in a futile attempt to wrestle power from the NPC.

    In the Second Republic, the National Peoples Party led by Zik of Africa and Peoples Redemption Party led by Mallam Aminu Kano had a strategic alliance.

    It is no surprise that the ACN is leading a group of other like minded political parties which include the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) amongst other groups to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A look at some of the key arrowheads shows that indeed there is some hope when their antecedents are taken into consideration. Former Lagos State Governor and ACN National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played a key role in the struggle for the actualisation of democracy as a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). Major-General Muhammadu Buhari has proven to be an incorruptible leader from his days as Petroleum Minister, his stint as the Head of State and Chairman of the Petroleum Task Force where his hands were not soiled with filthy lucre.

    Fighting corruption should be the major focus of the APC. This should be its overriding ideology to give it a strong wave of focus. One reason why many of such noble mergers fail is that personal interest among some of the key players is put above the common good. The performance of some of the Governors under the APC, notably in Edo, Lagos and Ekiti is a clear indication that the welfare of Nigerians will be paramount. The lot of Nigerians has worsened under the mismanagement and greed of the ruling PDP. Nigerians have become poorer because of corruption. The Federal Government’s efforts at combating it have been so dismal that it is nothing short of a cruel joke. The APC has a lot of work to do here if it is to win the confidence and trust of Nigerians who are on the brink of despondency at the moment.

    No progress can be achieved in an atmosphere of insecurity. The Jonathan administration has been clueless on the way to tackle the Boko Haram insurgency. It is so bad that they are dictating the terms claiming that they are not criminals and so don’t need any form of amnesty.

    Did US President Barack Obama beg the bombers in the Boston massacre? He took decisive action in a manner that gave pride to the American presidency. The APC must fashion a clear cut agenda on how to tackle the security crisis that is threatening our very existence.

    • Tony Ademiluyi

    Lagos

  • Kudos to Chime on Enugu roads

    SIR: I want to commend Governor Sullivan Chime for building lot of roads in Enugu State, especially the political roads. That is roads that have been used by past governments to secure second term only to abandon them after being voted into power.

    A good example is Ugwuogo-Nike-Ikem road. When I was told that contract for the road has been awarded, I thought it was another political gimmick. But Chime proved me wrong. This road is nearing completion. Let me point out one remarkable thing about roads built by the present government in Enugu State: they are of high quality, more durable than two federal road contracts being built in the same Enugu State presently.

    One of such roads is the Amansea-ninth mile segement along Enugu-Onitsha expressway. Another one is the road which traversed Ikem to Obollo Afor. These federal roads have pot-holes despite the fact that they were ashpalted just months ago. But roads built by Governor Chime usually last for a long time because they are properly supervised and well built with drainages.

    Building many kilometres of roads as democracy dividend is one thing, another most important thing is the quality and durability of the roads. For a state government to use Arab Contractors who are reputable shows that it meant well for the people of the state.

    However, I must draw the attention of His Excellency to a road so dear to the good people of Enugu state which is the Ugwuogo-Nike-Neke-Ikem road. Work on that road was stopped abruptly in October last year and as this year’s rainy season is about to set in, if the road is not re-visited, it will wait till another dry season.

    This is a road a lot of people never believed will ever be built in this our generation due to the ruggedness of the terrain and the bridges that it contains. A man once whispered to my hearing that the road is the best thing to happen for ages. Other roads are still under construction but work has stopped on this particular road. Nothing will gladden the heart of the road users than the completion of the road.

    The good Lord will guide and protect Governor Chime as he positively touches the lives of Enugu people. Since the creation of the present Enugu State in 1991, we have never had it so good and we know our governor will not be a governor of abandoned projects because the norm in other areas is that second tenure is a time of laxity.

     

    • Gozie John

    Ikem, Isi-uzo, LGA, Enugu State.

     

  • Frank Mba and tinted glasses

    SIR: I wish to commend CSP. Frank Mba for his recent illuminating write-up on the use of tinted glasses.
    The write up has educated the public about the use of tinted vehicle glasses. What is puzzling however is while the punishment for using tinted glasses is N2,000.00 the cost of obtaining a permit for it is said to be N25,000.00. This is astronomical and appears unreasonable. This high cost will discourage people from applying for or obtaining the said permit.
    It is also said that the permission can only be issued by Police Headquarters in Abuja. The issuance of the permit should be reduced to about N5,000 or less and vested in Police Commissioners at state level. It is should not be a basis for raising funds for the police.
    Permit for cars with factory made tinted glasses should not be made prohibitive as many of them are gifts from friends and relatives.
    • Yemi Olajide
    Akure
  • Varsity lecturers should supervise WAEC exams

    Varsity lecturers should supervise WAEC exams

    SIR: What transpired in various centres in the recent West African Senior School Certificate Examinations shows that examination malpractice in the country has snowballed into an unimaginable proportion. If the ugly trend is not drastically checked, the aim of making education a sublime phenomenon and affordable to every Nigerian by the year 2015 would be a mirage. The scenario is now depicting a different ball game as teachers and supervisors are grossly involved in the heinous act.

    Students pay for signing fee to supervisors and invigilators before they could sit for their exams, while the invigilators reciprocate by allowing the teachers assist their students in the hall. On most occasions, the invigilators supply the answers themselves.

    Secondary education plays a very important role in the lives of students for it is the only forum where their characters could be moulded in order to place them in the right perspective for further academic pursuit. Government should therefore source another means of arresting the situation if the target to attain the 20:2020 status is in their master plan.

    The story in our tertiary institutions is not different. Students are now tied to the apron strings of some unscrupulous lectures who compel them to read only the text books authored by them if they must sail through in their exams. In most cases, assignments are not submitted without money changing hands between student and lecturer. The practice of confining students to only pages of their self-authored books would drastically affect their reading culture as they would no longer have the zeal to make research to improve their educational standard.

    However, in order to bring the unwholesome act currently going on in WAEC examinations to an end, the authorities concerned should adopt Professor Attahiru Jega’s formula by engaging university professors in the supervision of WAEC exams.

    I believe this measure would help in no small measure to bring the trend to minimal.

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt

     

  • What future for Nigeria’s youths?

    What future for Nigeria’s youths?

    SIR: “The youths are the future of this nation.” This has been a popular saying that has been used on so many occasions to re-create the impression that the youths hold the key to not just the future but a bright one.

    No doubt, this popular saying has been abused by all including the youths who realistically know that the future is out of their hands and that darkness has already set on their chances to change their destiny and that of their nation.

    With the plethora of challenges, problems and issues facing the teeming youths, it is conspicuous that they are no longer the future of the nation. They have been relegated to the seat of redundant spectators in the administration of the country hence the maladministration that characterises the day.

    The situation Nigerian youths find themselves in is saddening and disturbing. Their current status has confirmed that the future of the nation is bleak. The big question begging for answer is where does the future lie? Or with whom does the much talked about future lie?

    The worst scenario is that most Nigerian graduates remain unemployed. This is because they are the reflection of the decayed Nigerian educational sector. Universities on yearly basis churn out graduates yet, employing them remain a mirage. These graduates now compete for the little poorly remunerated jobs available.

    Consequently, fraud, armed robbery, prostitution and other criminal activities have become the order of the day. So sad, government has always sang the song “be self employed” even when they create no environment to realise this. The same government further turns these youths into thugs to achieve their objectives.

    My questions to our leaders at all levels are: were they brought up this way? Have they forgotten that posterity will judge them? Are their children also facing the same problems with majority of other youths whose futures are dwindling seconds after seconds? Why have they turned issues affecting or regarding the youths into rhetorical jamboree? I wonder if they know that those who live in glass houses do not throw stones. They have forgotten that the neglect of the youths has resulted into the abundance of problems that afflicts this nation.

    The time is ripe for leaders at all levels to admit their incompetence in handling youths’ issues and most importantly failure to provide the poor youths the future they deserved. They should know that the country was not handed over to them by their founding fathers the way they have made it to be.

    With the current scenario in the lives of Nigerian youths, they are so frustrated to the extent that they are no longer dreaming of the future not to talk of a bright one.

     

    • Owolagba Blessing

    IBB University, Lapai, Niger State

     

  • Still on the bloodbath in Baga, Borno

    In spite of the controversy surrounding the Friday clash between Boko Haram militants and soldiers of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MJTF) in Baga, Borno State, enough is known to lead us to question the attitude of the federal government to the crisis. Though President Goodluck Jonathan has ordered a full-scale investigation, it is disturbing that four days after the clash, there is still no authentic list of casualties. If the Jonathan inquiry is to be relevant, it should grapple with more fundamental questions like the factors that triggered the clash, whether rules of engagement were breached or not, an assessment of the magnitude of force used, and how the militants deployed themselves in Baga.

    There are at least two other very important issues that require the attention of both the government and people of Nigeria. One is the issue of the operations of the MJTF itself. Nigerian military authorities had admitted shortly after the clash that Nigerien and Chadian troops were involved in the Baga operation. It is, therefore, important to probe the MJTF’s operations in order to get answers to the following puzzles: when was the multinational agreement signed, and what are its outlines? When did it take effect, and what has been the experience so far? Does the agreement empower multinational troops to enter one another’s territories? What role did Chadian and Nigerien troops play in the Baga invasion?

    The second issue involves the obnoxious and unacceptable lockdown of Baga after the invasion, thus preventing relief and medical help and supplies from reaching the ravaged town and its deeply traumatised victims. Is that behaviour consistent with the rules of war, especially in domestic crisis? Reports from Borno State indicate that by Tuesday, humanitarian agencies were still struggling to be allowed access into the town to offer succour to distressed residents. The fighting took place last Friday, but four days after, significant help was yet to reach the town. Perhaps the federal government needs to be educated afresh on the purpose of government.

    While it is necessary to ask all these questions and receive answers to them, it must be pointed out that the involvement of Nigerien and Chadian soldiers in the attack, if it is of any significance, does not absolve Nigerian troops of responsibility for extra-judicial killings and deployment of irrational force in the pacification of the town. While the investigation ordered by the government continues, it is important for the National Assembly to also inquire into the clash along the lines itemised above. They will find it imperative to censure the president for his unhelpful public utterances during his belated and angry visit to the twin states of Borno and Yobe. After all, those who used the media to incite the Rwandan genocide were later tried for crimes against humanity.

    The last has not been heard of the Baga battle. But the people and governments of Nigeria, and especially the National Assembly, must ensure that such killings never reoccur. While it may be necessary to use firm measures to combat insurgency, care must be taken to ensure that such measures do not become counterproductive nor aggravate the insurgency in the region. Meanwhile, the JTF should be compelled to allow relief into the town. The state government has a responsibility to urgently take the lead in the provision of that relief if we are not to become a cruel, barbarous and unfeeling people.

     

  • Jonathan, Shettima and Borno mass killings

    Jonathan, Shettima and Borno mass killings

    A pall of death on Monday descended over Baga town in Kukawa local government area of Borno State as the military Joint Task Force (JTF) combating terrorism in the north-eastern part of Nigeria clashed with suspected members of the Islamic sect, Boko Haram. Some residents of the town claimed an estimated 185 people, mainly women and children, were killed in the clash, and a market, and scores of houses and shops were said to have been torched. One soldier was also reportedly killed. There is, so far, no explanation for why the death toll in just one clash was so high while only one soldier was killed. The disproportionate toll may explain why many speculated it was mass killings deliberately orchestrated by the JTF.

    The JTF itself has not given a definitive account of the clash or of the death toll. But it claims that the figures were exaggerated. Officials of the Borno State government have also suggested that while the clash and killings were deeply troubling and the scale of destruction deplorable, it was too early to give a precise figure of the dead and wounded. The compilation was still ongoing, they said. But the early release of the unsubstantiated figure of 185 dead created such a panic that even the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, rushed out a press statement condemning the high death toll and advising that authorities had a responsibility to safeguard human rights even in the thick of the anti-terror war.

    For once, since the counterinsurgency operations by the JTF began in the Northeast, President Goodluck Jonathan has taken the salutary step of ordering a probe of the clash to establish whether there was indeed a slaughter of such proportions and whether the military rules of engagement were adhered to. This sensible step contrasted with the defiant and insensitive statement made by the president in the same Northeast early March when he warned ominously that he was no longer willing to hear of or tolerate the killing of even one security agent. That regrettable statement was widely interpreted at the time to offer security forces an unrestricted licence for human rights abuses and extra-judicial killings. Hopefully the probe will establish what went wrong, or whether, as a state official said, the locals exaggerated the death toll to curry sympathy and favour.

    Clearly, the JTF counterinsurgency operations are not being conducted with the skilfulness and restraint such operations call for. Whether the death toll is as high as initial reports suggest or not, the alarm raised by the early accounts of the Baga clash should serve as a wake-up call for both the Jonathan presidency and the military authorities. It is time everyone in government realised that the Boko Haram crisis is a domestic problem threatening the peace, development and unity of the entire country. Consequently, the death of security agents, innocent civilians, Boko Haram fundamentalists and any other victim should be regarded as a tragedy that diminishes all of us. No death is more regrettable than the other. While efforts are being intensified to pacify the sect and restore the affected region to normality, the JTF has a responsibility as a disciplined force to ensure scrupulous adherence of its men to the rules of engagement. It is unacceptable and undisciplined to embark on revenge missions whenever an officer is killed in combat.

    The response of Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State to the Baga killings has been heartwarming. He recognises his obligations to the troops fighting the insurgency, and has made statements showing his state appreciates their sacrifice. But he also clearly gives indication of the anguish he feels seeing the scale of destruction and killings everywhere a clash has taken place in his state. He probably gets more accurate but disturbing information than he has cared to release to the public. And by announcing his readiness to rebuild the destroyed and obviously traumatised fishing town of Baga, he has admirably discharged a part of his obligations as a responsible governor. Hopefully, Mr Jonathan will learn from Alhaji Shettima’s evenhandedness and dispassion.

     

  • FROM THE CELL PHONE

    For Dare Olatunji

    Brilliant article, more power to your elbow, sir! Anonymous

    Eh, did you refer to the governors in the photograph as a quartet? I see 3+1!

    Well done, sir. Anonymous

    Your piece Matters miscellaneous is quite interesting. But what is pertinent is that Boko Haram is not a faceless group as such. On the picture of governors Amaechi and others, and even the President’s visit, point to one fact: our leaders lack transparency, the hallmark of democracy. They should know that truth is constant. From Ojo A. Ayodele, Emure Ekiti

    Sorry to use your platform to cry foul at Labaran Maku, the chief propagandist of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s claim that IPI is providing Nigerians 18 hours of ‘constant’ power supply. I do not expect such a claim from a cabinet member of the Federal Government of Nigeria. From Y. K. Ojo, Idimu Lagos

    I disagree with you on granting of amnesty and rehabilitation for Boko Haram members. What are they fighting for? Is it not to Islamise this country? Are we going to agree with them that Nigeria will be Islamised for them to lay down their arms? Sir, is Islamising this country a right in our Constitution? Please think about all these. Thank you, sir! Anonymous

    Re: Matters miscellaneous. Both the 11 wise men of APC and Jonathan, the President, were guilty of late solidarity visit to Maiduguri! What were the ACN, ANPP and CPC doing before February 25, 2013? APC’s visit was more of a political show-off, political-jamboree. President’s was over commitment, misplaced. The Northern leaders know the Boko Haram members, otherwise, why seek amnesty for a purposeless militancy? It may be psychological relieving if Patience Jonathan also visits Borno and Yobe. Alas, that is not a fundamental solution against Boko Haram! You were courageous among your co-columnists to have praised President Jonathan for being undeterred by remaining focused while Patience’s sickness lasted. This is the objective critique I want to read in all columnists’ write-ups, not I must at all cost dissect the President and his party. Let us continue to pray for faster recuperation of the four sick governors, despite whatever might have been their deficiencies – Suntai, Chime, Imoke and Wada. From Lanre Oseni

    Re: Kaduna police assault on free speech. Why will some people want to go on a demonstration if a forming-political party is not registered or if a registered political party is de-registered? Can’t they join any other? And for those who were not registered or had been de-registered in the past, did they not join others? We should not condone thugery, we should not entertain incitement! From Lanre Oseni

    The President did not tell the type of ghost he was referring to, whether they are holy ghost or unholy ghost. He needs to go back to Borno and Yobe states to confirm the type of ghost they are. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Docyard Apapa Lagos

    Governor Chime should forgive and forget those that say ungodly things against him in his absence in governance, because of his health condition. From Gordon Chika Nnorom

    Thanks for your brilliance on Matters miscellaneous. This is also a lesson for those who are against amnesty for the ‘ghost’ Boko Haram. Since it seems our intelligence service and forces are failing to withstand the sect, what is next is to start to beg them, like their Niger Delta counterparts. From Alhaji ADEYCorsim, Osodi, Lagos

    To be a President you need to be intellectually ok. He called Bako Haram ghost, but he has forgotten that he once said that Boko Haram are in his government. He even said they are in the police, judiciary, military, Air force, etc. If actually they are ghosts, how come he discovered them in this government? The President should not allow his handlers to put words into his mouth; he should think before he speaks in public. The words from the mouth are very strong in interpretation. From Hamza Ozi Momoh Dockyard Apapa, Lagos

    Keep it up. Our system of government kills us the more. Is there any developed country in the world that used democracy to develop? Until we change our system, assault on human life will not stop. Anonymous

     

    For Segun Gbadegesin

    Thanks for your exhaustive clarification on this vexed issue; I think the President should give a posthumous pardon to Anini and Oyenusi so that we can know that Nigeria is really a failed state. Anonymous

    I want to state that man is not God and his thought for us is not the same. If through the Council of State God performed a miracle for Alamieyeseigha, why then are we murmuring. Does it mean that we can question God for pardoning us too, despite our grievous lies and sins? In other words, we should note that no one is righteous and we do not have any power to question God’s purpose for any individual. Hence, I will advise everyone to bury their hatchet and allow nature to prevail because we cannot fight nature. Finally, the dying thief rejoices to see the fountain of life in his days. From Sunny Igiri, Port Harcourt

    The President should not have pardoned a corrupt governor like Alamieyeseigha but there are several other ex-governors that stole more than Alamieyeseigha who still walk about freely. Show me a politician and the poor citizens of Nigeria will tell you that corruption is his middle name. Journalists should leave politicians to their loots. Write till eternity, all of them are corrupt. Anonymous

    The fact remains that Mr. President acted in favour of corrupt-tendency, most especially, on Alamieyeseigha who disgraced Nigeria, irredeemably! The President did a mix-pardon thinking it would be over. The family being a part of the state should have been thought of in our-would-be-reactions. The President should think less of blood/ethnic relation in giving pardons. On this one, my President acted below expectation. I pray that a tough man will in future, not reverse that! From Lanre Oseni

    Oh Allah! Behold our situation, give us faith that will lead to good conduct, avert calamities from us and also protect us from all evil. Ameen! From Jumma’at Kareem

    On ‘The state as family writ large’, I wish to state that the Nigerian state wronged Alamieyeseigha in the brazen manner he was impeached. His pardon should be seen as atonement for his unjust impeachment. What about the pardon of Salisu Buhari, the former speaker of the House of Representatives by the all knowing General Obasanjo? Notwithstanding my support for the pardon of Alamieyeseigha, I believe the President has not shown sufficient concern for the endemic and pervasive corruption in the land. From Dr. Emmanuel Irabor

    Alamieyeseigha is simply lucky to have his former deputy in a position to help. It is not his fault. From Isaac Agwaza, Central Area, Abuja

    With Alamieyeseigha’s pardon and the celebrations that followed, it means that there was something he was deprived of by being labelled a convict. For those against plea bargain, you do not know the stigma attached to being a convict and the freedom you are denied until you notice the way all the plea bargain ex-convicts live a less-visible life. Ironically, the only high profile corrupted ex-convict still visibly out there is the one who never admitted his guilt and spent two years in jail. Today, he has even claimed his innocence. But with plea bargain, part of the deal, is that you can never come back to say you did not do it. Plea bargaining is not a slap on the wrist but it should be done the way it is done abroad. Anonymous

    Alamieyeseigha’s presidential pardon is welcome because it is in the Constitution. Pardon is given for crime committed by offenders not saints, but what is the rationale behind the presidential pardon? Time will tell. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State

    The piece is interesting. I do not agree that the founding fathers were wise. They imposed a neo-colonial capitalist economy that has created two tribes: the exploiters and the exploited. The system has buried social justice and cashiered peace. Thanks! From Amos Ejimonye, Kaduna

    Why is it that Nigerians always conclude issues wrongly? Pardoning our leaders who have served the nation should not be a problem to us. Anonymous

    The President did a very good thing in granting state pardon to his formal boss and others. The president is a God fearing man and he finds out the truth behind this people Abacha and Obasanjo accused because of political problem. Nobody in government who made money more than what Obasanjo made. Please I will like to have president’s phone number to thank him directly. Anonymous

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Tunji, your write-up this morning (Sunday, March 17) titled “Ex-convict in our hearts” expressed the opinion of millions of Nigerians. This is one of the moments that one feels sad to be a Nigerian. Immediately the pardon was announced, my mind went to you straightaway; that you are going to dwell on this on Sunday and I got it right. As you have said, it is only Jonathan that can explain why he did it. But I am surprised that Reuben Abati can be defending the indefensible. How time changes! I hope you too don’t change when you are appointed as one of the presidential aides. Keep it up, my brother. Thanks. From Sina Awelewa.

    The state pardon by President Jonathan, the Federal Government and the National Council of State for Diepreye Alamieyeseigha remains a political economic, social and transparency hara-kiri. One advantage methinks, is that, that is a pointer that President Jonathan planned to run one term which ends April 2015, ending all doubts of whether he is going to run in 2015. No, he won’t! Alams dented Nigeria’s good image internationally then and Alams pardoned now, still denting the image. OBJ must be regretting now why he failed to ethnicise, fraternise with and pardon ex-IGP Tafa Balogun for his corruption conviction. From Lanre Oseni.

    One day death will come to all; then, all our intellect, power, wisdom; riches will not be enough to make heaven. The Alamieyeseigha we are judging today, if truly repentant of his sins and has given his life to Jesus Christ, might make heaven while people like you who have not given their lives to Jesus might end up in hell. If His creator has forgiven him, then who are we ordinary mortals? Have you given your life to Jesus? Please repent before it’s too late. From Isaac Jackson Isele.

    Tunji, it pains me so much that you picked on Chief Alamieyeseigha with so much hatred, just the way your power-drunk brother did to him. Alams meant well for the Niger Delta people and OBJ frustrated his efforts. The process that led to Alams’ impeachment was faulty and influenced by OBJ. Alams, as the leader of Izon nation would have gotten the state pardon from Yar’Adua if he were to be alive. Alams is held in high esteem. Jonathan’s state pardon for him is backed by the Izon people. So, leave Alams and Jonathan alone. From Chief Ebi Olotu, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

    A well deserved slap in the face. That was what Obasanjo got with Jonathan’s pardon for Alamieyeseigha. Nigerians should not blame Jonathan. Anonymous.

    We are all living witnesses to OBJ stopping the trial of his cousin, a former PS who allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of billions of naira. It was all sounds of silence from you hypocrites. From Ray.

    It is very unfortunate that whilst other countries are fighting corruption in governance, Nigeria is encouraging corruption and other vices by granting presidential pardon to Alams. Let’s not believe that the pardon granted Alams is not a politically motivated move against the 2015 general elections. If Alams could be granted presidential pardon, why can’t Bode George and others with the same issue of corruption be granted pardon too, to balance the equation? Let corruption fighting be our watchword in leadership so that Nigeria can move forward. From Gordon Chika Nnorom.

    Re: Kalu can try again (your column of March 10). Dear Tunji, instead of writing about the greed of a former chief of staff (Orji) who was nominated by Kalu and won election while in prison, you chose to support the former (Orji). Where was Orji when Kalu and others formed PDP? He even prevented Kalu’s readmission into PDP and sacked Kalu’s ward PDP chairman. Is this how a sitting governor should pay back his former boss? This kind of rascality can only happen in the PDP without the national executive making any response. Can it happen in any ACN-controlled state? Orji and Kalu’s case is a good example of what many Nigerians represent – greed! The same thing happened in Taraba between Governor Suntai and Rev. Jolly Nyame. From Owolabi Banji, Okota, Lagos.

    I refer to your article “Kalu can try again”. Theo Orji had a hand in the plot to humiliate Kalu. When Agagu was governor of Ondo State, he caused the name of Gani Fawehinmi to be deleted from the list of those to be honoured by the state university. When Kalu bounces back, the university senate will claim they took the decision in error and restore his certificate. Ribadu who was demoted and refused the certificate he earned at Jaji got all he lost in the end. How many lectures did Obasanjo attend before he graduated from the National Open University? If Jonathan wants to be mischievous, the university can withdraw the certificate from OBJ. Theo should leave Kalu and address the challenges of bad roads and infrastructure generally in the state. Anonymous.