The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Amnesty or bribe for peace?

    SIR: The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines amnesty as ‘an official statement that allows people who have been put in prison for crimes against the state to go free’ or ‘a period of time during which people can admit to a crime or give up weapons without being punished’. From the above definitions, it follows that we have been misapplying the word.

    Amnesty as it has been used here largely means giving money and other material benefits to troublemakers in exchange for cessation of violence. In other words, a euphemism for ‘bribe for peace’. In a place where injustice and impunity reigns supreme and nearly everything is measured in naira and kobo, this disingenuous tactic is gaining acceptance as the most pragmatic means to appease individuals or groups who seriously threaten to upset the apple cart.

    It is not at all surprising that some persons recently came out boldly to advocate amnesty for the Boko Haram Islamic sect. There have been muted calls for that all along. The advocates mostly from the North have often tried to draw a parallel between the group and the Niger Delta militants. According to some, if the boys from the creeks could be granted amnesty, why not those from the Sahel; what is good for the goose is equally good for gander. For most of them, it matters little what atrocities the sect has perpetrated against fellow citizens; the most important thing is that if other people were paid to halt violence, then there own people must also be paid.

    However, only a mischievous fellow will claim not to see a difference between the two movements. There may not be any need to make that differentiation here for the group seems set to make it themselves. The advocates of ‘monetized amnesty’ must be really naïve if they really thought that that is the solution to the recurring violence in the north. Of course the reality is that the idea is as seething with ulterior motives as it is devoid of any sense of justice. Whenever amnesty is declared, millionaires and perhaps billionaires are bound to emerge.

    Did those calling for amnesty for Boko Haram actually consider their aims? Did the group tell anyone that they’ve done any wrong talk more of being penitent? What the advocates perhaps did not realize is that they in a way imply that the North has been deliberately murdering other Nigerians for over three years either to embarrass the government or extort money from it. Well, Boko Haram seems to have made it clear that they are far from similar to the Niger Delta militants.

    Recent information have it that the group has rejected the proposed amnesty even going on to tell government that it is it not they that is in need of pardon. Their stance should not be surprising to the perceptive. Only a man grossly lacking in insight does not appreciate the ideological cum religious bent of Boko Haram’s agitation and indeed many of the violence in the North. Poverty is not just the problem!

    An unprincipled man believes everyone has a (monetary) price. Boko Haram seems to be saying that they cannot be bought that cheaply. If indeed they have rejected the bribe for peace which amnesty actually represents here, then it shows that they are perhaps more honourable than those advocating pardon for them. Let’s search for a honourable and enduring solution to the problem –that’s if key stakeholders really desire to see an end to it.

     

    • Nnoli Chidiebere

    Aba, Abia State.

  • Ding-dong over Boko Haram

    Ding-dong over Boko Haram

    After exulting for over a week on its decision to grant the Islamist sect, Boko Haram, amnesty, as if it were a great discovery, the Federal Government has had its hopes dashed and expectations cut short. Responding to the President Goodluck Jonathan government offer of amnesty, the sect’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, has insisted the one in need of amnesty is the government. The French news agency, AFP quoted the sect’s leader as saying “Boko Haram has not committed any wrong to deserve amnesty…Surprisingly, the Nigerian government is talking about granting us amnesty. What wrong have we done? On the contrary, it is we that should grant you (government) pardon.” It was an unexpectedly blunt repudiation of the last hope the government seems to have in bringing the insurgency in the northern parts of the country to an end.The government offer followed the strident calls by notable northern personalities suggesting that the only way to resolve the crisis was to extend amnesty to Boko Haram militants in the same way Niger Delta militants were pacified under the President Umaru Yar’Adua government. As soon as the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, suggested Jonathan should embrace the idea of amnesty, many other northern leaders were quick to jump on the bandwagon. The near unanimity of opinion in the North on amnesty obviously encouraged Jonathan to give ear to the suggestion. Of course the fact that the Boko Haram violence was spiraling out of control also added urgency to the amnesty idea, notwithstanding the huge opposition to it from the south and from mainly Christian community.Though the government has shamefacedly stuck to pursuing the amnesty idea, last week’s announcement that amnesty was on the cards was not the first time the Jonathan government would flirt with the controversial option of entering into dialogue with the violent sect. The war against the sect was not going on well, especially with allegations of extra-judicial killings and use of excessive force by security forces. It was, therefore, no surprise that when the heat became too unbearable at a point, the government moaned that if only it knew the faces of Boko Haram commanders, it would be willing to enter into dialogue with them. That in itself was an admission of helplessness. Along the line, dialogue broke down, and many in government, including security officers, felt once again that the campaign could be resolved militarily.Now that Boko Haram leaders have rebuffed amnesty, what will Jonathan do next? It is hard to tell. Nor, judging from his flip-flops over the months, does he himself know. He is, however, pressing ahead with the search for a workable modality for administering amnesty, he said bravely, perhaps for the benefit of frustrated Nigerians. But privately, there is no proof he is not deeply troubled by the turn of events, especially the increasing violence in the north and the seeming hopelessness of the crisis. The president will probably be wondering just when the ding-dong with the intransigent sect will end. Since a military victory appears increasingly remote, he may in fact not be as confident today as he was when the war against terrorism began under his watch. Indeed, it can be said that he is struggling not to succumb to his worst fears, for the longer it takes to pacify the sect the greater the danger of one small, reckless action triggering a rapid descent to chaos.

  • Reuben Abati, I beg to disagree

    In a treatise friday on the LEADERSHIP newspaper saga, Reuben Abati, the presidential spokesperson, laboured on to justify the police arrest and detention of the journalists, stating that nobody is above the law. To that extent, l agree with him that nobody is above the law. However, for him to try to criminalise an otherwise civil matter, to say the least, is quite preposterous. Abati said what was published was capable of leading to a civil unrest. Really? That the presidency is allegedly trying to undermine the opposition political parties can lead to a break down of law and order? What is politics if not to undermine your opponents?

    Perhaps l should go into memory lane. Late 1975, when General Murtala Mohammed was the Head of State, a journalist, Mr Ohanbamu, who owned a magazine, published in his magazine that Murtala was corrupt. Typical of a military dictator, one would have expected Murtala to arrest and lock up Ohanbamu without trial. Rather, Murtala decided to sue Ohanbamu for defamation, insisting that he wanted to enter the witness box to defend himself because he felt what was published about him was not true. Ohanbamu later found out that what he published was false, and he apologized to the Head of State. That was the height of Statesmanship, maturity and decency on the part of Murtala Mohammed, not like the sordid show of power that we just witnessed on the LEADERSHIP saga.

    In September 2004, the INSIDER magazine published a cover story title :”Condemn Biafra Now, no says Ohaneze.” The story reported that the government was mounting pressure on the pan-Igbo group, Ohaneze to denounce the MASSOP. Typical of someone inebriated with power, then president Obasanjo let his goons loose, swooped on the magazine, turning the place upside down and literally sealing up the place.

    In its edition of September 20, 2004, TELL interviewed the Chairman of the Editorial Board of Guardian, Reuben Abati on the development and l quote-” Abati takes a more profound look at the development. According to him, the assault on INSIDER WEEKLY magazine represents an attempt to close the space for free expression in Nigeria. He argues that the SSS action was a gross violation of due process”. How time flies.

    I ask Reuben, what of our president who misinformed the whole country after the October 1 bombing, that he knew who the bombers were , even after MEND had claimed responsibility? Was that misleading information not splashed on all newspapers? Was Raymond Dopkesi, then Director-General of Babangida campaign, not mischievously arrested to get at Babangida? Has the president apologized for this faux pas? And has the government apologized to Dokpesi, even after Henry Okah has been convicted?

    I subscribe to the fact that press freedom comes with it, its responsibility. However, if anyone feels aggrieved about anything published in the media, the person has the right to write a rejoinder or send a complaint to the Nigerian press council, created by the act of parliament or institute defamation suit like late Murtala Mohammed did. Making allusions to the Levenson panel in UK defeats his argument. It was set up following the phone hacking scandal by the NEWS OF THE WORLD, which was a criminal action. So, the fact the some journalists were questioned in the scandal bears no relevance in the present circumstance. It further strengthens my argument that if the government feels sufficiently aggrieved, it should have reported to the Nigerian Press Council instead of resorting to police harassment, which has never worked in this country.

    I find it strange that the police are asking for the source of the information of the journalists and Abati is gloating that the police are doing their job! I can’t believe this. Even a cub reporter knows that a strong, cardinal principle in journalism is the protection of your source of information, even at the point of death. In the case of British Steel Corporation v. Grenada Television(1981) 1 AER 417, inimitable Lord Denning held on the issue of disclosure of information:

    “Investigative journalism has proved itself as a valuable adjunct of the freedom of the press, notably in Watergate exposure in the united States and the Poulson exposure in this country. It should not be unduly hampered or restricted by the law. Much of the information gathered by the press has been imparted by the informant in confidence. He is guilty of a breach of confidence in telling it to the press. But this is not the reason why his name should be disclosed. Otherwise, much information that ought to be made public will never be made known. Likewise with documents. They may infringe on copyright. But that is no reason for compelling their disclosure, if by so doing it would mean disclosing the name of the informant”. I rest my case.

    •Akinnola is of the MEDIA LAW CENTRE

  • Bello-Kano missed it on Achebe

    The write-up by your guest columnist, Professor Ibrahim Bello-Kano, on the above subject, in the Sunday 31st March issue of The Nation refers. I would have ignored some of his illogical logic, but for the fact that he is a professor.

    Firstly, he wrote from a sense of hurt ego. His angry reaction to some statements in Achebe’s books was palpable. So, there was no way his write-up could have been intellectually objective. Therefore, I do not regard his comments as scholarly arguments, but mere vituperative outbursts.

    Secondly, his conception of leadership constraints is anything but imaginative. After reading his comments on leadership constraints, I understood why Nigeria, after over half a century of political independence, has remained backward, especially the northern part.

    My thinking was further reinforced by the fact that for a preponderant part of this period, Nigeria was ruled by northern leaders. Every leader must of necessity choose some of the intellectual elite as advisers. And it is these northern intellectuals of Bello-Kano’s ilk who “mis-advised” these northern leaders, thereby orchestrating their misrule for so long.

    Professor Bello-Kano does not believe that a nation stands or falls on leadership. He does not believe that a leader can rise above his circumstances to do something imaginative in content and transformational in context. His unintellectual analysis of leadership constraints is feudalistic.

    Thirdly and finally, I do not want to believe that a person of Professor Bello-Kano’s academic standing does not read widely. Of course, there are professors who are narrow-minded, just focusing on their area of specialisation and ignorant of the wider world. Otherwise, how can I explain the professor’s lack of sense of history? Does he not know the almost impossible constraints Otto Von Bismarck, the father of the modern German nation faced? Has he not heard what it took Ataturk to construct a secular Turkey? He should read “From the third world to first” The Singapore story: 1965-2000 by Lee Kuan Yew. There are many other examples. I believe what Professor Bello-Kano needs is a tutorial on “Creative Imagination.”

     

    Rev Osita Obed Onyema,

    email:ositaobed2002@yahoo.co.uk

  • Nigeria, No”Geria

    My Nigeria, your Nigeria, every Nigerian’s Nigeria! At time t, Nigeria was born and has been under the spell of amalgamation (1914-2013). Now, at time t2, on the eve of 100 years of cursed amalgamation, things have begun to fall apart (apology to the literary icon, Professor Chinue Achebe). We see our amalgamated Nigeria now as “No Nigeria” or “Nogeria” for short. Ironically, it is also the eve of time t2, the 100th insipid anniversary celebration of this amalgamation of cursed memory.

    At this stage I should look back and recall my honest assessment of Nigeria in my inaugural lecture (No 167) at the Obafemi Awolowo University on March 9, 2004, entitled “ Political Scepticism: Nigeria and the Outside World”. The substance of a part of this lecture (with some embellishments) contains, in my judgment, some germs of truth.

    Contradictions and absurdities:

    In 1914, two monsters were cloned into the Nigerian society by our colonial masters. These monsters, which we may call a monstrous couple” contradiction and absurdity” later gave birth to two sets of twins: first, indiscipline and lawlessness and second, greed and corruption, with the second set of twins coming barely one year after the first. In this case, you could hardly differentiate amongst their ages, heights and appearances. They were identical twins and all of them were males. So close were these sets of twins that whenever you saw Taiye of the first set of twins (indiscipline), you saw his Kehinde (lawlessness), and whenever you saw the second set of twins and saw the second Taiye (greed), you saw his Kehinde (corruption). Then the two sets of twins agreed to work and run together in a relay race. As soon as indiscipline (1st Taiye) picked up the race, he passed the baton to lawlessness (1st Kehinde) who then passed it on to greed (2nd Taiye) and, finally, to corruption (2nd Kehinde) whose job was to finish the race. Thus, indiscipline (1st Taiye) and corruption (2nd Kehinde) became the alpha and omega of the mighty relay race. As the alpha, indiscipline, (the eldest child), had the single honour of starting the race while corruption (the youngest child), as the omega, finished the race in a grand style and thus became the most famous of these monsters of cloned parentage (colonial masters). By the circumstances of their amalgamated births, so entrenched were these monsters that they have completely taken over Nigeria and governed her through their ministers in charge of graft, embezzlement, bribery, lack of accountability, inflation of contracts, gangsterism, armed robbery, serial bombings, ritual killings, lies, and everything that is bad under the sun and moon! I therefore see Nigeria as a cloned nation right from amalgamation. It is probably because of this artificial origin that the Nigerian social, economic and political maladies have defied human comprehension while her numerous problems have become permanently insoluble, including the problem of underdevelopment by which the largest country in Africa remains a gigantic dwarf. Perhaps we need a cloned solution to a cloned problem!

    Nigeria is a country full of contradictions and absurdities. When Levy Bruhl wrote many years ago that Africans were incapable of second order thought, he meant that African thoughts and cultures were pre-scientific and pre-logical, using the term pre-logical to describe a kind of thought that is not free from inner contradictions or inconsistencies. Although I had criticized Levy Bruhl’s audacious position somewhere else, I have since pitiably come to the realization that there might be some truth in the brutally frank assertion from a colonial anthropologist and ethnographer of repute. In so far as a people’s actions and behaviours are products of their thoughts, we can safely say that their actions and behaviours are reflections of their thought system. So, if Nigeria is a land of contradictions and absurdities, then, it is not unreasonable to argue that their thoughts are not free from inner contradictions and absurdities. Therefore, my scepticism about Nigerian democracy is based on the perceived contradictions and absurdities in our social, political, economic and even religious behaviours, and the manifestation of these contradictions and absurdities in the forms of indiscipline, lawlessness, greed and corruption – the offspring of amalgamation. Contradictions and absurdities may actually be seen as the defining characteristics of our social, political, economic and religious behaviours as highlighted by the two sets of twins that gave maximum effect to the natures of contradictions and absurdities in the Nigerian state.

    Nigeria is such a big nation of contradictions and absurdities that it may have presented itself to the outside world as one big theatre of fraud, owing to these contradictions and absurdities. In logic, it is known that any statement (whether true, false, meaningless or absurd) follows from a contradiction like “Mr. Oke was in Lagos and not in Lagos at the same time”, i.e. p and not p. From this contradictory statement, any statement whatsoever follows, like “my dog is a rabbit” or “the moon is made of green cheese”! This is to say that, from a contradiction, anything or any statement follows. Perhaps this is why, without knowing the reason, it has often been said that Nigeria is a country where anything goes or happens (apology to a former Chief of Army Staff, General Salihu Ibrahim). It is trivially true that “a country of anything goes” is a country full of contradictions and permanently in a state of flux or anarchy where life is (because of lawlessness) in the Hobbesean sense, “nasty, brutish and short!”

    From the contradictory nature of our society thieves, including pension and oil thieves (pardoned or unpardoned), villains and nonentities can become anything under the Nigeria sun. High society criminals who should be under the bar or permanently put away can become celebrities, senators, governors, ambassadors and captains of industry as rewards for their criminalities activities and inhumanity to man. Taking contradictions along with absurdities as the roots of our problems and the Field Marshall of our social, political and economic maladies, we no ticed that its two sets of twins which are more vicious maladies have seized our nation with ferocious intensity and spread their tentacles over Nigeria and the outside world. Indiscipline, lawlessness, greed and corruption have displaced God by which we have substituted MONEY as an object of ferocious worship in our society, to the extent that we are neither accountable to God, our creator, nor to humanity at large. How close are we to Sodom and Gomorrah!

    The amalgamation of different nationalities in Nigeria by our colonial masters, whether deliberate or not, has put together strange bed fellows, an amalgamated people of assorted and different terrain, weather, cultures, languages, social habits, religions, educational interest, world views, moral and value systems. Thus, since amalgamation, the different nationalities have fought to outdo one another in the sharing of the national cake baked from oil, various taxes and other sources of wealth like sports and educational achievements not evenly baked by all the nationalities. Since independence we have witnessed acrimonious fight for just or unjust resource allocations that eventually went into private pockets. It has been every nationality to itself with the sole ambition to grab and grab for each nationality as much as you could from the national cake, even if it means rigging of population census and grabbing by cheating. This cheating has led to people’s indiscipline, lawlessness, greed and corruption in which we now find ourselves as a result of the contradictions and absurdities inherent in amalgamation, and the contradictory situations and behaviours that have prevented Nigeria from growth and development over the ages. This ugly event is what we are celebrating next year. What a contradiction in thought and perception!

    It is in Nigeria that you witness various contradictory situations and behaviours. Nigeria, an oil rich country, is one of the richest in the world and yet it remains a country where there is perennial shortage and exorbitant cost of fuel products. It is a country where less than 5% of her people are stinkingly rich but 95% live in abject poverty as wretched of the earth. Surely, if fresh air were not given free by God to both the rich and poor alike, 95% of Nigerians would have died of lack of oxygen which they could not afford because it would have been hoarded by the 5% wealthy Nigerians. It is a country which sells electricity to neighbouring countries but suffers from epileptic supply of electricity at home. It is a country where 95% of her people do not have access to potable water. It is a country where her leaders, including religious leaders, preach morality in the morning but break it at noon! It is a country which has about 2000 religious denominations of assorted kinds and descriptions, always conducting aggressive prayers at revivals and vigils in many churches and mosques on a daily or weekly basis, but full of ungodly and wicked people. It is a country where people rig elections and then go to churches or mosques to give thanks to God for successful rigging, as if God was behind the act. It is a country which badly craves for economic recovery but her leaders engage in economic sabotage such as systematic looting of the treasury and money laundering. It is a country which professes love for education, sports, economic, political, scientific and technological progress but worships mediocrity that is antithetical to any progress whatsoever. It is a country where federal character means unitary character in allocation of key appointments (as in INEC, ministry of aviation and all the ministries, parastatals, departments and other agencies)

    In Nigeria there is no enforcement of laws because those who are to enforce these laws are themselves lawless and corrupt people. It is in Nigeria that we use corruption to fight corruption, and it is where justice denied at home is granted abroad. Nigeria is a country which has no concept of time and its direction. Nigeria is where people do not keep to time or plan for tomorrow because there is no tomorrow. It is a country where there exists a federal system of government that is at the same time unitary in style and practice. It is in Nigeria that patriotism is at zero level, where people hate their country and prefer to migrate to foreign lands in desperate search for the Golden Fleece. It is a country where parents prefer their children to acquire their thought systems early in life in a foreign language (English) instead of their natural languages known as the mother tongue. It is also in Nigeria that suffering and smiling take place simultaneously (apology to Fela Anikulapo”Kuti). It is a country that is craving for democracy yet her leaders are trying to prevent strong opposition from emerging as a political party after a well researched and internationally publicized acronym. And there are many more of these contradictions and absurdities in our society. But from those I have mentioned, it is easy to see why we can derive a basket full of maladies from contradictions and absurdities that have made Nigeria a laughing stock in the international community, and a country where anything goes and nothing works, including our democratic experiments that have turned out to be everlasting experiments in political, social and economic failures.

    From the foregoing, the word Nigeria is perhaps too deceptive a name to use for a country as bad as ours. From the activities and behaviours of her leaderships and governments Nigeria is becoming such a no-go area for decent people, especially for the international community, that a change of its name from Nigeria to No”Nigeria or No-geria (Nogeria) may have become inevitable. But this name (a not too good one) may be changed for a better one (after the rescue mission at the 2015 elections) that would relieve us of the pains and hell we had gone through from being identified with the name “Nigeria” in the international community. The truth must be told.

    Professor Makinde is the DG/CEO of Awolowo Center for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance of the State of Osun, Osogbo.

  • When death sneaked into Ekiti Government House

    As Peter Tosh said in one of his songs “Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die”. Yes truly, nobody wants to die; we always do everything possible to prevent death from visiting us.

    Unfortunately, this monster sneaked into the Ekiti Government House on April 6, and took away our treasured, dependable, dedicated and loyal Adunni Olfunmilayo Olayinka, the deputy governor. Immediately, this sad news spread across the state, demoralisation, disillusionment and sorrow took over the Government House.

    I have known the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, closely since our student activism days at the University of Lagos (UNILAG. He is very courageous, strong-hearted, and a fearless warrior; but all these qualities failed him this time around. His Excellency broke down and cried like a baby. That was the first time I would see Dr. Fayemi weep uncontrollably. Even when he lost his mother last year, I don’t think he cried like that.

    On the second day, when the governor was making a state-wide broadcast, it got to a point that he could no longer control his emotion. Once again he burst into tears. One can understand why. As he said in his broadcast “I am pained by the exit of our deputy governor who was my ready partner in our collective quest to develop our state. As my dependable ally in the struggle to free Ekiti, she was a consistent bulwark of support, especially through the period of the judicial struggle to reclaim our mandate”.

    Erelu Bisi Fayemi, the first lady of Ekiti State was also devastated and demoralised. In fact she has not been herself since this sad occurrence because they were so close. They did most things in common. Indeed, my wife pointed out when we saw the First Lady and the late Deputy Governor together at the thanksgiving service held in honour of the Chief of Staff to the governor, Chief Yemi Adaramodu, at the pro-cathedral Catholic Church Ilawe-Ekiti late 2010, that she was becoming more interested in politics because of the activities of the duo. They encouraged women in politics and women empowerment.

    The late Deputy Governor even pointed out in one of the interviews she granted the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES) during their struggle that it was Erelu Fayemi who made female Deputy Governor a condition to support her husband. Throughout the period of campaigns, legal battles up till Saturday when the Deputy Governor died, the duo worked as partners. One can then understand why Erelu Fayemi is devastated. It is just like losing a twin sister.

    Coming to the Chief of Staff, anyone who is close to the government knows that Adaramodu was the closest person in government to the late Deputy Governor. She always jokingly referred to Adaramodu as “The chief of all staffs, including herself and the Governor”. So, one cannot be flabbergasted to see the Chief of Staff crying the way he did.

    It got to a point that somebody whispered to me that “so man yi o tie le” meaning that so this man is not tough or strong. The belief in many quarters in Ekiti State is that Adaramodu is very tough and unapproachable. Far from it, the Chief of Staff, a brother is compassionate, caring and friendly. That much became evident with the Deputy Governor’s death.

    The death of our beautiful, intelligent and hardworking Deputy Governor is a great loss to the bereaved family, the Fayemi administration, the people of the state and the nation as a whole. Though we have lost a brave and committed Deputy Governor, her work, her message and spirit still live.

    Those of us that she left behind must know that death is an inevitable debt that we must all pay one day. May her soul rest in perfect peace.

    Good night, her Excellency Adunni Olufunmilayo Olayinka.

     

    – Sina Awelewa, Director-General, Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State (BSES)

     

  • Amnesty for Boko Haram

    SIR: The plan by the Federal Government to grant amnesty to members of the notorious group, Boko Haram has continued to generate ripples in the polity. This should be expected.

    This call, for comprehensive amnesty for the insurgent group – reputed for engaging in deadly bombings and killings of innocent people in Northern Nigeria – has become more pronounced after it was raised by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.

    The idea for the amnesty programme was mooted to encourage the group to halt the on-going insurgency and save the country and Nigerians the recurring agony of insecurity that had almost taken over the nation.

    Unfortunately, the poor and uncoordinated response of our security agencies to the activities of the Boko Haram group has done little to stop the attacks, reduce the anxiety and sufferings by Nigerians.

    President Goodluck Jonathan had previously rejected the idea during his recent visit to the North East region saying that the notion of amnesty would only apply to people who are known and are ready to engage and enter into meaningful dialogue with the Federal Government – not to those who operate as ghosts.

    Why the u-turn? Why is the government now flying the kite of amnesty? First, it has been argued that politicians, especially those from the North-West and North-West may not be able to carry out their campaigns in the 2015 general elections if the lawlessness continued. Second, apart from the President’s ambition to recontest in 2015 – even though he has not openly made known his intention known – members of the National Assembly from the north, traditional rulers and other very influential politicians from the North and other parts of the country, were said to be mounting pressures on the President to grant amnesty, to restore peace.

    Again, is the alarming figure of the total number of security operatives on Internal Security Operation (ISO) in the region, who have already been murdered by the sect may also have prompted the President to consider the amnesty option.

    Due to the complex nature of the Boko Haram issue, what I think is rational to do at this juncture is to go into deeper, honest, careful dialoguing and comprehensive crisis management.

    Nonetheless, engaging in dialogue has to be contingent on all the parties coming to a realization of the need for it. A sincere appraisal indicates that this pre-condition has certainly not been met by the Boko Haram as the leadership of the group appears to be more interested in violence and insurgency – to cow the government – rather than to cease-fire and engage in frank talks.

    In short, offering amnesty will unlikely to make any positive impact on the peace process because there is no existing framework for engagement or meeting of minds between the group and the government.

    In the mean time, government should take urgent steps to compensate and resettle victims of Boko Haram carnage, as they seem to have been completely forgotten in the scheme of things.

    Granting amnesty to the sect now would amount to injustice and encouragement to other criminally-minded groups to cause trouble and seek undeserved reward from the government.

    It would be suicidal to appease the sect members without their readiness to surrender arms and unreservedly seek peace.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

  • Now that the rainy season is here

    SIR: Several predictions have been made by different authorities about the intensity of rainfall to be experienced in various states across the country and the likely hazards that the downpour may cause if necessary measures are not put in place to curtail its devastating effects. Director-General of NIMET, Anthony Anuforom, had predicted that based on prevalent conditions, what happened last year might just be a child’s play compared to what lies ahead. But this can very well be mitigated if the right steps are taken to avoid being caught unawares.

    Also, Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Tunji Bello, warned residents of the state to prepare for at least 236 days of heavy rainfall this year. It behoves on farmers and citizens at large to plan their lives based on the available information. While much emphasis had been on the need for governments at all levels to ensure an all year drainage clearing programme and de-silting of existing canals to tackle this perennial surge, little or no mention has been made on the expected behaviour on the part of the citizenry that are capable of exacerbating the efforts of governments.

    Many parts of the world have experienced flooding and a rising level of water in oceans and rivers. The climate change has led to rising temperatures or global warming, resulting in the melting of the Polar Regions, Nigeria not being an exemption.

    Nigerians must change their careless habits of erecting structures without due concern about the safety of their environment (.i.e. compliance with building regulations), desisting from the habit of turning drainage into dumps and building houses in places where they end up disrupting the natural course of water, (.i.e. proper waste disposal), embracing alternative energy use and paying necessary attention to sanitation issues.

    Besides, the presence of manholes on roads which are meant to provide access to underground pipes and wires, when left uncovered, could pose a serious danger to pedestrians when roads are flooded during the rainy season. People have been known to drown after falling through those holes. It is therefore important to have them covered, especially for the safety of this season.

    The unprecedented flooding of last year, following an unusually high volume of rainfall, took many by surprise, not because there were no forecasts about the nature of what was to come, but essentially because the forecasts were not heeded. A repeat of this gory experience could be avoided if government on its part play its role and Nigerians on the other hand complement government’s efforts.

    Most importantly, all stakeholders must ensure that all man-induced activities that aid flooding are stopped because any effort from the government would remain futile and a mirage if the desired behavioural pattern is not inculcated by its citizenry. This is a clarion call to all and sundry.

    • Ayo Afuwape

    Iworo, Badagry

  • Attention, Nigerian Baptist Convention

    SIR: The rumour about the crisis rocking the First Baptist Church, Oke-elerin, Ogbomoso has been making the round for some time before it blew open. One thing about the crisis resolution process of the Baptist Convention is that it is too slow and cumbersome. The process needs to be reviewed to make way for a more pragmatic crisis resolution process. Not being a member of the Church, although a Baptist, I will not like to speculate on the causes of the crisis let alone apportion blame based on hearsay or one sided press release. As a matter of fact, one does not expect the crisis to have been allowed to reach this critical stage in view of the resourceful men and women that abound in that church.

    Oke-elerin Baptist Church, probably, the third Baptist church in Nigeria has been a source of pride, role model and example for all Baptist churches in Ogbomoso and beyond, due to relative peace and stability being enjoyed in that church over the years. While her twin church, Ijeru Baptist church witnessed an upheaval, in the late 50s, which dismembered it, Oke-elerin church has been free from such crisis. Today, Ijeru Baptist church’s members could hardly filled half of the pews of the church, ditto for Ori-Oke Baptist church and few others that have experienced crisis at one time or the other. This has retarded the progress of these churches and equally denied them their rightful positions in the convention.

    In terms of evangelization, educational efforts, financial commitment to the association, conference and convention, Oke-elerin Baptist church has never been found wanting. Obviously, its contributions to the expansion of the Baptist work in Nigeria are legendary. Consequently, I am appealing to the President of the Convention, Dr. Supo Ayokunle to as a matter of urgency, wade into the crisis because First Baptist church Oke-elerin is too strategic in the Convention to allow it to be dismembered. Convention resolution process which made it mandatory for association and conference to wade in before convention needs to be set aside in this case. A stitch in time saves nine.

    • Adewuyi Adegbite

    Apake, Ogbomoso.

  • As Aba’s Geometric Power takes off

    As Aba’s Geometric Power takes off

    When President Umaru Musa Yar Adua on November 1, 2007 laid the foundation stone for the construction of the 140 megawatts Aba power plant to be constructed by a private power company, Geometric Power Systems Limited at the plant site in Osisioma-Ngwa, Abia State, not many Nigerians believed that the project would materialize at all. This was due to the persistent and perennial failure and crisis that had accompanied power sector reforms in the country that had thrown vast part of the country into perpetual darkness for years now. A development which had grounded many industries and discouraged foreign investors from investing in the country.

    The project according to its designs was expected to be commissioned in April 2009, but will be now commission next month as deadlines were shifted to accommodate contingencies and tackle challenges. ( GPSL company which was owned by former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji initiated and commenced the construction of the model power plant with an intention to serve the industrial hub within the Aba-Port Harcourt axis.

    Most industries in the areas have gone into extinction owing to poor power supply system of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and so constructing of a model integrated power plant like the Aba plant was not only a good business initiative, but also good move to save the economy of the South-east region from total collapse.

    As the power plant is set to take off operation any moment from now, kudos and praises must go to the brain behind this noble project, an illustrious son of Igbo land, Prof. Barth Nnaji for believing in Nigeria, despite the disappointment and humiliations he has suffered in it. Also to be commended for making the project a reality is the Abia State Government under the leadership of Governor Theodore Ahamuefuna Orji whose government provided enabling and secured environment for the project to be executed.

    The company encountered a lot of challenges while constructing the project. Top among the challenges was the problem of insecurity which was occasioned by the kidnapping menace that crept into the state then. A menace that compelled workers of the company at the site to flee then for fear of being kidnapped. This was at a time notorious and politically motivated kidnappers took over the commercial city of Aba and its environs in a desperate bid to ground governance in the state for selfish reasons. Works were brought to a halt at the site, while commercial activities were grounded and residents fled for safety. There were calls for the state of emergency to be declared in the state by some people which include opposition politicians in the state and the then President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Mr Joseph Daudu (SAN).

    Orji’s government was never deterred with the kidnapping challenge then, rather it tackled the challenges headlong by providing all the needed logistics for the security agencies in the state to dislodge the rampaging kidnappers and restore normalcy in the area. This the security agents achieved when they gunned down the leader of the kidnapping gang in the area, Obioma Nwankwo aka Osisikankwu in a gun battle and flushed out his co-kidnappers in the state. That was how normalcy was restored to the area and the power company continued their project. A feat the few cynical political enemies of the state governor did not believe his government could overcome.

    Obviously, if normalcy and security were not restored in the area by the state government then, there is no way the power plant could be executed and the idea of Aba returning to its lost glory would be a thing of the past by now. Ahead of the commissioning of the power plant, the state government has already completed the Osisioma Ngwa-Geometric road making access to the project site easy for the company workers and other communities around the area.

    Fulfilling her promise during the rainy season last year, the state government had since the ending of last year commenced massive rehabilitation and reconstruction of many federal and state roads in Aba. The roads include Azikiwe road, Cemetery road, Milverton Avenue, Eziukwu/ Okigwe round about, Ama Ogbonnaya, Nwala by Faulks road to brass junction, linking Aba Owerri road, Ngwa road, Ohanku road, Eemelogu road (completed awaiting drainage) Ehere road, Omoba road, Umuola road, Ikot-Ekpene road from Opobo junction to Bata, Omuma by ACCN, Nwigwe by Nwagba Avenue, geometric access road, and Aba-Port Harcourt road. The development is already boosting commercial activities in the city with massive influx of business projects ahead of the Geometric power plant take off.

    Beside, it could be recalled that the present government in Abia State had last year partnered the Federal Government to evacuate power from the 132 Power station in Ohiya Umuahia. Since the commissioning of the project, there has been steady power supply in Umuahia and its environs.

    A situation that has made the state government’s rehabilitation of the Umuopara Regional Water Scheme a possibility, as the Water Scheme has since commenced operation, providing clean water for the residents of the state capital and its surrounding communities. Since then also, the medium and small-scale industries and several artisans in the state capital who were before now off business due to epileptic power supply have re-opened shops and business is booming.

    With the take off the Geometric power plant any moment from now, Aba will surely become a haven of investment in the country as all the ailing industries in the commercial city will be revived and employment opportunities would created. It is a credit to the Orji administration that these achievements were being made possible at this point he is taking the state to the next level in the area of infrastructural developments, security and peaceful co-existence. With steady power supply in Umuahia, Aba and its environs, Abia state will go down in history as the first state in the country with steady power supply since the return of democracy in the country in 1999.

    • Dr. Uwa, a medical practitioner wrote from Aba, Abia State