The Nation Newspaper

Category: Commentaries

  • Northern leaders should seek for peace first

    Northern leaders should seek for peace first

    SIR: I refer to the lead caption of the Sunday edition of The Nation of January 6, 2015: Babangida, Buhari others begin consultations.

    I concede to these elder-state men of northern extraction the unquestionable right to associate peacefully and confabulate politically. But I do not know whelther these men fall within the class of men cardinal Ottaviani wrote of when he said “nearly everyone can read but only few can think”. If they belong to the class of men who can think their priority will be on how to work for peace, security and unity.

    At this time, some despicable species of Homo sapiens are on the verge of “Afghanistanising “the Nigerian state. Yet these men called elder-statesmen see no need to consult with those merchants of sudden death to lay down their weapon and embrace dialogue in the interest of peace and security. Their sole ambition like men with incurable monomania and irredeemable idée fixe are busy consulting for 2015 presidency.

    If those growing army of Canes Venatici (hunting dogs) succeed in there unthinkable quest to sink this geographical ship called Nigeria in the ocean of disintegration, then which country will Babangida and his associates rule in 2015?

    Sincerely I wish to appeal to them to join hands with the federal government to restore peace back to the northern part of Nigeria. The transformation of places of worship into cemetery by those who kill in the name of religion and education should worry them and not 2015. The killing of fellow men like dogs should be condemned by these elder-statesmen in the interest of security of life and properties. I expect these leaders to push for the end of the on-going groundless hostility.

    I think its imperative to admonish northern leaders with the words of Robert Green that “give to every human being every right you claim for yourself”. If the northern leaders think the presidency is their birth right, then they must be able to concede such right to the Ijaws, Igbos, Yorubas, Benin’s and other tribes which make up Nigeria.

    Finally, those who know General Obasanjo should advice him that he cannot northernise his ethnicity. It is immaterial if he relocates to Kaduna or the North in search of 2015 presidential candidate. The people will decide who governs them. The Ota farmer has just one vote.

     

    • Ehi G.O.

    Benin-City

     

  • Two cultures and low self-esteem

    Two cultures and low self-esteem

    The two photographs reprinted in this column were published co-incidentally on the same day, yesterday, and they tell graphic stories of two disparate cultures that lead the reader to one unenviable and unflattering conclusion. Picture 1 (top right) shows some of the 60 suspects arrested on Monday by men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) somewhere near Ikorodu, Lagos State, for alleged pipeline vandalism. That is not a problem, for Nigerians no longer flinch at indiscriminate arrests, a habit their law enforcement agents have perfected over the decades. The real problem for Nigerians who still retain some cultural pride is the treatment given the suspects. They were made to sit on the ground, their shirts removed, and their dignity, which is worth little in these parts, trampled on the ground. The photograph shows the suspects looking forlornly at the weapons they allegedly used against the NSCDC officials.

    Move over to Picture 2 (bottom right) and see the treatment given some 15 Russian suspects alleged to have sailed into Nigerian waters illegally. They were seized, together with their ship and a cache of weapons, and handed over to the police for further investigations. But here again the problem is not whether the allegations against the white men are plausible or not, though it strains credulity a little; or whether they would soon be released to Russian embassy officials in Nigeria, for this also seems very likely. The problem for the culturally finicky is that all the Russian suspects were photographed standing, not sitting degradingly on the ground. None of the Russians was stripped of his clothes, and their weapons, which they claimed was for their defence on pirate-infested high seas, were not spread mockingly before them.

    The judicious will find it hard to understand this self-deprecating Nigerian mentality. Indeed, it’s no use trying. Many analysts suspect there is a fundamental behavioural dysfunction afflicting Nigerian officials, whether in high places or in the law enforcement agencies. It is perhaps time we challenged our psychologists and sociologists to attempt an explanation of the malady. Or, maybe, a leader with enough chutzpah and self-esteem would one day rise and put an end to this disgraceful affliction.

     

     

  • National Bureau of Statistics wrong on Sokoto

    National Bureau of Statistics wrong on Sokoto

    SIR: The National Bureau of Statistics publication ranking Sokoto State at the bottom of development in Nigeria is far from true reflection of the state. The indices of development include state of critical infrastructure and the living standard of the population.

    At the inception of Wamakko administration, aggressive efforts were geared towards renovation and construction of schools across the state which resulted in increase in enrollment of boys and girls into schools. The abolition of discriminatory school fees encouraged more pupils into all schools up to tertiary levels. Governor Wamakko’s administration established a State University that has started admitting students in various faculties completed. The institution has not operated from any temporary site, but stands on its foundation site. Education is a veritable tool of fighting poverty. The youth are now empowered through education. The state has scored high in this direction.

    On the area of health care delivery services, the administration provided necessary facilities and equipment to existing hospitals, motivated the health care workforce. The drug revolving scheme was introduced to afford citizens access to free medical care. New hospitals have been constructed across the state that medical services are now available to the masses. There are free medical services for children 1-5 years and pregnant mothers. More medical personnel have been recruited. More indigenes have been trained or are being trained to meet the manpower needs in the health sub-sector. The state paid fully its counterpart funding to international donor agencies in the health sector.

    Sokoto State is in the front runner of providing grassroots mobile medical surveillance system where well equipped medical vans penetrate every nook and cranny of the state to treat patients free, detect outbreak of diseases and are ready hands to transport critical cases to tertiary institutions in the State capital, Sokoto for adequate treatment.

    Moreover, the first phase of the School of Midwifery at Tambuwal is at advanced stage of completion. This is to complement the efforts of the College of Nursing , Sokoto and School of Health Technology , Gwadabawa to provide manpower needs of the health sub-sector.

    Over 600 roads have been constructed across the state. These roads have opened inter and intra community intercourse which helps in evacuation of farm products to desired markets. The administration has constructed much irrigation farming system which benefits the farmers thereby increased their output. The farmers are busy all year round and so their earning capacity.

    Sokoto State is one of the major beef producers in the country. The administration has provided much grazing reserves for cattle herders. More veterinary hospitals have been constructed with adequate supply of drugs to take care of the health of the animals. The herders testify to relief from animal diseases and good health of their animals that are being transported to other parts of the country. The herders now make more money from their sales which stave off poverty.

    The administration has constructed over 2000 housing units which are being allocated on owner/occupier basis to civil servants. This is in addition to 30-40 houses constructed in each local government. More have been earmarked to be constructed against 2013 fiscal year.

    Through the department of rural roads, rural water and rural electrification so many rural areas are now opened up to modern amenities that cottage industries are springing up everywhere to benefit the youth who now combine farming with commercial activities in the rural areas. Life is much better for young men and women in the rural areas. These are signs of improvement in the standard of living.

    The state government through the Skills Acquisition Programme has trained over 12,000 youths across the state in various trades such as plumbing, electrical fittings, tailoring, carpentry, soap making, brick laying etc. They are equipped, on graduation, with tools and cash to set up their own trade.

    One wonders how the National Bureau of Statistics arrived at its conclusion.

    • Mohammed S. Umar

    Sokoto

  • Assad still unrepentant, murderous, chimerical

    Assad still unrepentant, murderous, chimerical

    The Syrian uprising, a subset of the Arab Spring that began in Tunisia in December 2010, is about 22 months old. So far, according to United Nations (UN) estimate, some 60,000 people have lost their lives in the civil war that is now raging all over Syria. After many months of disunited rebellion opposition groups have finally shed their Free Syrian Army toga and united under the umbrella of the Syrian National Coalition (SNC). Alarmingly, however, the rebellion is becoming an all-out sectarian war between Shiites and Sunnis. The economy of the country has all but collapsed, and untold suffering, massive destruction of infrastructure, and a fragmented and shattered society have resulted from the seemingly endless war. The world must, therefore, have been shocked two days ago to watch the beleaguered President Bashar Al-Assad mount the stage of the Damascus Opera House to give a television address lambasting the opposition and deigning to offer what he believed to be a solution to the crisis.

    Barely six months into the uprising that began in March 2011, Hardball had predicted that the uprising would progress into a civil war, especially given the hardening of government position and the antecedents of the senior Hafez al-Assad who brutally suppressed a Muslim Brotherhood uprising against his government in 1982. That suppression more than 30 years ago led to the death of an estimated 40,000 people in Hama, according to Syrian Human Rights Committee. If in 2011 it had seemed Hardball was unduly hardline, by the following year, however, he was predicting that the uprising could turn sectarian, given the fact that the al-Assads, who are Alawites, belong to the minority Shiites (13% of the population), as their Iranian supporters, while the opposition is largely Sunni (74% of the population), as their Wahhabi Saudi Arabian and Qatari supporters. Unfortunately for Syria, the war has all but become sectarian.

    But Hardball also predicted in 2012 that there was no way the rebels could lose, for history, demographics, the spirit of the Arab Spring, and popular international sentiments favoured them. Indeed, both the support for al-Assad and the reluctance of the West to commit completely to the cause of the rebels could be due to apprehension of how Sunni victory would redraw regional power structures. It is unlikely Western reluctance is caused by fear of Chinese, Russian and Iranian support for Syria’s Baathist government. The West in fact appears unsure that the Syrian variant of the Arab Spring is motivated by the hunger for democracy, especially in view of the recent controversy in Egypt that has led to the approval in a referendum of a new constitution with distinct Islamic overtones. The sectarian composition of Syria and the history of the Muslim Brotherhood revolt in Hama may also account for why the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood government under Mohammed Morsi intensely detest al-Assad. It will be recalled that Morsi on Sunday called for al-Assad to be tried for war crimes.

    In the final analysis, no matter how long-drawn the civil war in Syria becomes, the rebels will win. Al-Assad’s television address on Sunday tabling a condescending proposal for peace will be scorned. The offer, according to a news agency report, consists of the following:

    — Outside powers to stop arming “terrorist groups.”

    — The army would then halt military operations, while reserving the right to defend state interests.

    — The government would then contact “Syrian individuals and political parties” to engage in a conference of national dialogue.

    — The conference would try to establish a national charter that would be put to a referendum, leading to parliamentary elections and a new government.

    The West, with the unintended power shift in Iraq on their minds, will also reluctantly offer support to the rebels only because of the scale of the Syrian slaughter, and then wait with bated breath to see which way the sectarian and democratic pendulums would swing. Russia, China, and Iran will eventually come to terms with the reality of al-Assad’s deposition, no matter how galling. The unrepentant and chimerical al-Assad, who is still breathing murder and cruelty, will be lucky to escape with his life. However, sooner or later, the current stalemate will be broken; but it will be at a terrible cost to the country, even as many top officials, including ordinary Syrians, will pay a terrible and prohibitive price for freedom, of course, without the calming effect of knowing the shape of the future.

     

  • Abati’s concept of service

    Abati’s concept of service

    SIR: Just recently the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr.Reuben Abati was on a live programme on one of the popular TV channels, and for close to one hour he strove to defend the regime of his principal, Dr.Goodluck Jonathan. It wasn’t the first time Dr.Abati would be taking advantage of a popular media platform to do his job, however as it has always been the case, it was another episode of a government person helplessly trying to inspire the people to nowhere.

    Dr.Abati cut the image of a man finding answers to an empty jigsaw of a government he is now a part of. Throughout the length and breadth of the interview, it was one very confounding scenario, as he was either answering the questions asked him with questions or at best pretending to answer them. Matters got to its head when he was confronted with that very stubborn issue of corruption in the oil industry via the NNPC and the attendant oil subsidy scam, and all Abati could do, perhaps trying to be quick-witted, was an attempt to reduce such a burning national issue to a trivial jibe by responding that anyone with “hard evidence” against the NNPC and the petroleum ministry top-shots should come

    forward, claiming they are all baseless allegations.

    Maybe Dr.Abati forgot he wasn’t talking as lawyer to the Federal Government, but as a spokesperson who is expected to bear truthful information at all times.

    One must say that finding an answer to this riddle is however not far-fetched. That the payment of over N4trillion oil subsidy money to fraudulent marketers aided and abetted by top officials of government today appears differently to Abati can only be found in the jurisprudentially evoking words of the literary giant, Prof.Chinua Achebe who once said, “Of course, it is very impossible for a man to talk well, while eating”.

    It was very nauseating watching Abati turn very serious issues touching the heart of millions of Nigerians on its head, attempting to window-dress the profile of his master all in a fruitless frolic.

    Abati claims his government is fighting corruption at the institutional level, yet as a government spokesman he amazingly failed to remember how this government in close to two years has not found enough “hard evidence” to fight the institutional corruption called bureaucracy in the Civil Service that has since occasioned a catalogue of very many avoidable made-in-Nigeria disasters. He forgot to tell Nigerians how his government chose to ignore the “Hard evidence” that saturates the House of Representatives Report on the Oil Subsidy scam choosing to quickly come up with their own “soft report” to help soft-land the indicted friends of government. He forgot to inform Nigerians of the massive scam in the Pensions Fund and how one indicted Abdulrasheed Maina appointed by his government as Chairman of Pension Taskforce has since been acting out all manner of insulting scripts to prevent his appearance before the Senate. He chose to forget so many thing preferring the microscopic few which really goes to no issue.

    I say with all sense of modesty that service to the people is far bigger, inspiration laden, and more eternally rewarding than service to any government. So where would Abati signpost his concept of service as he opined on TV, is it service to the people or service to the government? Abati’s newfound line of thought simply suggest that were the sitting government to quietly descend into malevolence, he will still claim service and continue to speak as he does at the moment.

    Like it is said, today we are all on the side of history; tomorrow whether history will be on our side is only a matter of time.

    • Olusola Adegbite, Esq.

    Kubwa, Abuja

     

  • Lessons from the Indian gang rape

    Lessons from the Indian gang rape

    SIR: The recent case of gang rape in India brings to the fore the cruelty, wickedness, violence against women as well as the failure of the state to protect its citizens from abuse and danger.

    This woman, though unnamed, has become a symbol of all that Indian women had suffered for so long with no respite. IT has energiSed them to demand greater protection for women from sexual violence with series of mass demonstrations, candle-lit vigils, street protests with placards, chants and road blocks.

    This assault has increased the call for speedy trial of the five men charged for the alleged murder as Indian rape cases could drag on in courts for years, with hearings repeatedly postponed, which rape survivors say prolong their ordeals.

    Just like the story of the Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi, who was also publicly gang-raped and allegedly held captive for three weeks by higher-caste Hindus. To avenge the trauma, she became a bandit and was eventually able to exact some measure of revenge against her gang-rapists. At the end, Devi served 11 years in jail and was thereafter, elected into the Parliament from Utter Pradesh, the same region where the latest victim came from.

    Rape, a form of Gender Base Violence (GBV) against women, according to the Beijing Declaration, is defined as violence against women that results into or is likely to lead into physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

    In 1995, and for the first time in history, the United Nations-convened Hague Tribunal attempted to prosecute rape as a war crime but could still not stop the rape atrocities in Iran, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Kosovo, Congo, Rwanda and Sudan.

    For now, India imposes death penalty only in the ‘rarest of rare cases’, although, it recently executed a man convicted in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

    Congress has already put forward plans for chemical castration and 30-year jail terms for all rapists, as a draft Bill has been put together and will soon be handed to India’s chief justice.

    All legitimate efforts should be deployed that the five men apprehended and charged for murder were given the deserved punishment, to serve as deterrents to others.

    Law enforcement agents should be above board and be up and doing to apprehend criminals whenever they infringe upon the rights of law-abiding citizens by embarking on regular patrols and intelligent gathering – to fish-out perpetrators of rape. The Indian police were blamed for not doing enough to apprehend the culprits.

    The assault has already forced the country’s higher education regulatory body, the Indian University Grants Commission, to review the safety of women in higher education institutions.

    In a letter to 568 university vice-chancellors and directors of higher learning institutions, the UGC said institutions should ensure women’s security on campus and recommended that all universities and institutions should set up a task force to ensure women’s security and keep it informed of actions taken.

    This is a welcome development. Our girls and women must always be cherished and protected!

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta,

     

  • Rehabilitate old rail lines first

    Rehabilitate old rail lines first

    SIR: The federal government should discard the idea of building more 10 rail lines and concentrate on rehabilitating the existing ones. Rail transport contributed in no small measure to the development of the country and wellbeing of the citizenry. During the first republic it was the major means of transportation, especially in the area of conveying foodstuff and other goods across the country. Cost of living then was very low because people were not spending much on feeding as foodstuff and other goods were easily affordable and at very cheap price. People, especially the down-trodden were able to provide sufficient meal for themselves and their families. In short life was easy going for the masses.

    But unfortunately this cheapest and safest means of transportation collapsed after the Nigerian/Biafran war thereby truncating people’s opportunity of travelling by rail. Now the present government has succeeded in making some portions of the rail lines functional, a task their predecessors could not achieve after spending billions of naira on it, it therefore becomes absolutely necessary for her to rehabilitate the entire network before venturing into new ones. As flagging off of the Lagos/Kano line was greeted with excitement by Nigerians, people, especially the southerners look forward to seeing the Port Harcourt Maiduguri route follow suit.

    Building of rail lines is not the same thing as constructing a road. The promise to complete three new rail lines this year seems unrealistic if it is taking the country more than 30 years to labour on the already built rail lines, the probability of completing three new ones within a year is absolutely zero. So government should jettison the idea of embarking on a similar project and endeavour to restore the usual hustle and bustle that was characteristics of railway stations in the past.

    Moreover, it has become a tradition in the country that any project started and unfinished by the incumbent government would not be continued by their successors. So it would be foolhardy for the president to start a job he cannot finish while in office; insisting on the mission would definitely mean leaving a white elephant project legacy.

    Rather, the President should divert the fund to resuscitating myriad of moribund industries scattered all over the country. For instance, outfits like Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mill, Delta Steel Company, Nigerian Airways and many others whose workers are still left to their fate need immediate resuscitation in order to reinstate their workers.

    If railway transport and power become effective in the country, Nigerians would begin to see light at the end of the tunnel.

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt.

  • Nation-branding in nation-building: Celebrating a nation at 100

    Nation-branding in nation-building: Celebrating a nation at 100

    On January 01, 2014, Nigeria will be 100 years old as a nation but the pervasive question remains: who are we and where are we heading? Granted, the celebrations may have different meanings to different people; what with some saying there is no cause for celebration while others are saying that the celebration is not about accomplishments but the enactment of a ritual.

    The first school opines that the celebration is a waste of scarce resources, or at best a way of siphoning money. This school of thought is of the opinion that Nigeria still totters among the comity of nations and being a toddler at 100, the milestone should be spent taking stock and bemoaning the failed leadership that got us to this sorry-state.

    The second school sees the anniversary celebration more as an opportunity to celebrate our existence as a nation given all the rough paths we have travelled in the last 100 years. This school cites the two coup-d-tats of 1966, the Nigerian Civil War and the periods of Military interregnums and failed attempts at democracy that dogged the last 100 years while concluding that despite these great socio-political tremors, it is a miracle that we are still together as a nation. This school enthuses that nations that went through less of these trauma have disintegrated or are still at war. They cite Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, USSR, and Myanmar. Nearer home in Africa, they cite Somalia, Liberia, Sierra-Leone, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and a host of others.

    The first school, which I call the school of reflection, takes a birds-eye view of what obtains in other nations and the path nations have taken to greatness – sacrifice, knowledge, imagination, the will to act in the interest of the greater majority, the building of strong systems rather than strong individuals and god-fathers, the prevalence of justice, equity and fair-play – and sees very few good examples in Nigeria. Borrowing from man’s existential quest at conquering his environment, this school enthuses that Nigeria is off the mark as electricity is about individual generators here and not about a process that works, water is plenty here but none good enough to drink; land is abundant here but not enough is cultivated to guarantee food security; and the roads are available but not good enough for safe passage. This school therefore concludes that celebration should be about accomplishments and not survival.

    The second school, which I nick-named the ritualistic school, sees more a need to decree our greatness through role-playing as opposed to reality. Taking a cue from the early man’s penchant for rituals which seeks to conjure reality through stylised plays, as seasons and cycles come and go, while little or no explanation is given as to the reason for the difference  in seasons and cycles, and the celestial rather than the existential is appeased and faith become more about inertia than action.  To this group, everything falls or rises without human intervention but by a divine unction, akin to the big bang theory.  This group concludes that the path to greatness is in celebration.

    While the school of reflection and the school of rituals are at each other’s throat regarding Nigeria’s 100th anniversary, the nation Nigeria must yet prepare for the future and in preparing for the future use the opportunity of the 100th anniversary to begin to reposition our nation by rising up to the challenges of building a modern nation state, one which is audacious in its quest at greatness and competitive within the comity of nations.

    The second question then is what path are we taking in our second attempt at nation building? Because in 100 years of our existence, the world has moved on from the agrarian age that precipitated the exportation of slaves from Africa to the New World, the industrial age which led to the signing of treaties which ceded authorities of our erstwhile traditional institutions to the British Colonial powers, to the age of Crude Oil which came just before our independence, to the information age which came in the wake of globalisation.

    I am asking this question against the background of a constantly changing global order. What this implies is that our strategy must change in alignment with what is happening around us. This is where knowledge comes in. We need to observe global trends and ask questions as to our place in it. We need to develop our educational system and make it more oriented to our development needs as opposed to being just about certification. This is where imagination comes in, as without conception, there can be no accomplishments. This reminds me of the space-race. Starting with the United States and Soviet Union, with each acquiring the knowledge required at conquering the space and putting their imagination to work, it did not take long for success to come. Today, every ambitious nation has caught the space bug with each either sending men into the orbit or launching a satellite. Today, the world is different because of this out-of-the-world knowledge and imagination. So where does this leave our own dear Nigeria?

    Indeed, I have heard people say it will take centuries for us to catch up with the developed world, but my response is always that it does not take time, it takes will; the will to get on the road, the will to get our hands dirty, the will to act! But what defines will, if not imagination, what defines imagination, if not knowledge?

    Let’s look at the Asian Tigers, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and the others in comparison with Nigeria. In 1960, we were all classified as Third World nations but by the 1980’s the tide had started to turn what with the designation changing to emerging nations for the Asian Tigers and Nigeria still keeping the tag “Third World”. By the 1990’s the Asian nations had taken the path of sustainable growth and were in fact, almost at par with the developed world on the prosperity index and today, the talk is no more about the Asian Tigers but about Brazil, Russia, India and China – what has been rightly termed the BRIC states. Even with the current global recession, these states are still recording quarter-on-quarter growth and are fast catching up with the so-called developed world. What these examples point to is that it does not take centuries to catch-up, it takes a virile strategy based on knowledge and imagination and above all it takes collective will.

     

    The Path to Nation Building

    A friend once said to me that the path to greatness is arduous when a nation emerges outside of the consent of its constituent societies. The friend goes further to reveal that before 1776 there was an American society with affinity and engagements although under British rule unlike the Nigerian situation where a nation was decreed based on British administrative convenience rather than the agreement of the constituent societies. He enthuses that it was the collective agreement of the American society acting under the leadership of George Washington that led to the defeat of the British overlords and the adoption of a collectively created constitution in the quest at having an immutable union. In the Nigerian situation, there was first a Nigerian nation before attempts at forging a Nigerian society, hence the constant bickering about federal character and  fights over the sharing of the national cake as opposed to a collective agreement at baking a bigger and better cake as was the case in the American context.

    Although critics are quick to point out that despite the collective resolve at forging a nation in the American context, there was a near succession by the agrarian South from the Union leading to the war with the industrial North in what was known as the American Civil war from 1861 to 1865. Critics went further to assert that if this can happen about a 100 years after agreeing to come together, then Nigeria may be on the right path to nationhood. The risk at taking this standpoint is that it is always easy to cite the wrong examples. Back to my friends point, nations rise to greatness on the platform of a collective agreement. Again critics will point to diversity of cultures and religion, in the Nigerian context, as being the bane behind the failure of a collective agreement citing more homogeneous settings like China where a collective agreement was easy and national cohesion and development had moved apace. Again this appears    a wrong thesis as culturally heterogeneous communities too had also forged a collective agreement which has survived the test of time. America being a good example, the United Kingdom being another and under the current world order we see a further boost for diversity as a platform for progress in the coming together of disparate states to form the European Union with a single monetary union in mainland Europe. Back to my friend’s assertion that for progress to happen, societies in coming together to forge a nation, must have a collective agreement and this collective agreement can happen under a homogeneous or heterogeneous cultural and religious setting. All it takes is sincerity of purpose, a good sense of history and the will to agree to work together for the common good. What this essentially means is that in the Nigerian situation, development and progress can come through despite the heterogeneity but the constituent societies must, outside the whims and caprice of Lord Lugard, Sarah Shaw and their British masters, forge a collective agreement which will chart a way forward for a bigger and a better union.

    • Okusaga, a company executive writes from Lagos

  • Time to put out the fire of Boko Haram

    Time to put out the fire of Boko Haram

    If the report that Christians are killing Muslims in the north is true, it is most unfortunate. I hope it is not true; it can’t just be true for what we know. Only last week, the Kaduna Roman Catholic Arch-bishop told his congregation that Christians have no choice but to forgive these unprovoked Christian killers in the North and he is right. He even went further to declare that they are forgiven.

    I could even hear every Bible preaching Christian leaders all over the nation echo Amen. He spoke the mind of Jesus and the mind of all believers.

    The temptation to avenge oneself under the circumstances that northern christians meet themselves is real. It takes the grace of God, and restraint to refuse the temptation, and thank God, that Grace is ever sufficient even in this case.

    It is time for the government to do something for the displaced Christians in the northern part of Nigeria. It is time for other Christians from the south to do something for these brothers to ease their frustration. After all, we all are our brothers’ keepers.

    God will only fight for us if we let him. When we begin to fight for God, He hands off. We can no longer look the other way if we want God to intervene in Boko Haram case. He is about to intervene – I may add – but he expects us to do our part.

    President Goodluck Jonathan must do more for those displaced by the raging crisis now. Something similar to the campaign to all Nigerian to rally and help displaced persons by the flood needs to be done by the President for these Nigerians.

    He may choose not to say it’s for Christians but the Muslim community in the North is not suffering what the Christians are suffering. We have to be forthright; we must admit the sufferings of the Muslims in the north is largely, self-inflicted.

    The President must act now. It is better for a religious war not to start, for, when it starts it may never end. Religious wars are fought by fanatics who will not compromise on their belief. There is a limit to human patience and endurance in situations like we see in the north. The killers want this country to split, and the President must check the situation now.

    I am of the very strong opinion that all the Christian governors must come with a united front to ameliorate the pains of the displaced Christians in the North. They owe Nigeria this much, it is time like this that you reveal your Christian identity not when you round Christian leaders for prayers and donating huge sum of money which these leaders do not need. Give your substance for this course, it is the good ground.

    I also call all governors to donate just one month of their security vote for this purpose. It is a worthy sacrifice that every patriotic governor must make. It is an opportunity to spend a month of your security vote for the security of this country.

    Another step the president can take to end this Boko Haram menace is to declare a state of emergency in the affected states. If the president does not want to declare a state of emergency on these states for whatever reason, let all security votes for such state governors be diverted to settle displaced persons and combat terrorism in that state. If a state of emergency is declared in the states and a military officer is appointed to administer the state for six month with a mandate to do everything within his power to root out terrorism from the state, a lot of funds will be available to combat terrorism. For example, salaries of legislatures from the state, salaries of all the numerous commissioners, apersonal assistants, permanent secretaries, and other political appointees can be diverted to develop the state and empower the youth making Boko Haram less lucrative for recruits. Much excess will be eliminated in six months to justify the exercise at least in the eyes of ordinary citizen.

    Christian churches in the south must discover ways to assist the displaced brethren in the North now. We too can no longer look the other way. Special collections need to be collected in aid of our displaced brethren in the North. Christian organisations, denominations, charity organizations must contribute to help our brothers and sisters at this time. If the government won’t mobilise the nation to this cause, Christian leaders in collaboration with Red Cross, UNICEF, and other such bodies must rise up to this occasion before it becomes a genocide similar to the one of Rwanda.

    A refugee-like programme ought to be set up in safe states for displaced persons in the North to enable them start their life all over again. A robust budget to enable these people rebuild and start their life is needed and Nigeria has enough resources to do so. We must act now to save Nigeria from total collapse, more so when it is now apparent that God is about to put an end to these empty boasts of Boko Haram cowards and its allies.

     

    • Dr. Olukoladen is Prelate, Southern Nigeria Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, Yaba. Lagos.

  • The Indian rape case

    The Indian rape case

    The brutal rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in India mid-December has brought to the surface and to a climax decades of mistreatment of women in that country. Her death on December 28 in a Singaporean hospital may finally push India into taking more vigorous action against rape. But it is not clear to what extent the action will lead to a fundamental change in the attitude of law enforcement agents who seem to connive at the crime and, in some cases, even participate in the crime. Nor is it clear how soon the action will compel change in a culture that denigrates women. Indeed, but for the massive countrywide demonstrations that greeted the rape of the medical student in New Delhi, it is doubtful the Indian criminal justice system would have risen stoutly to the challenge of doing something concrete about the cancer eating up the country. The stories of rape in India, some too graphic to recount here, should shame the government into finally stiffening the laws against the menace.

    While justice is expected to be done in the Indian rape case, especially considering that forensic evidence has implicated the five suspects already charged in court over the crime, other countries with lax rape laws, such as Nigeria, must not wait to be shamed internationally before they take steps to curb the crime and make the society safe for women. Sadly, like India, rape sometimes occurs in police stations in Nigeria. The Nigeria police authorities must ensure its stations are completely sanitised of that crime. Unfortunately too, when sex crimes occur outside police stations, law enforcement agencies often take very conciliatory view towards offenders. This too must stop. While India takes steps to redeem its image, it is important that Nigeria should revisit the provisions in our laws dealing with that insufferable crime. It is also time law enforcement agencies got a new code of conduct concerning their response to reports of rape.

    Part of the Nigerian response to rape must doubtless include documenting every case of rape, creating a databank of sex offenders which can be accessed on request by educational institutions and potential employers, and imposing very stiff penalties for rape convictions. Rape is an indication of underlying psychiatric problems. It must not be treated with levity. Until Nigeria recognises the huge responsibility it has to make the society safe for females, child or adult, legislation and enforcement will not match the horrendousness of the crime.