The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • Combating Ebola

    Combating Ebola

    Now that the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has manifested here, Nigerians must rise as one to fight the epidemic

    Just when we thought that the HIV/AIDS epidemic was the limit, the world is today scourged by a ‘bloody’ disease that seems to make all previous ones seem like child’s play. The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) can be said to take no prisoners – it creeps up its victim deceptively with a Malaria-like fever, soon it weakens the joints, causes vomiting, severe abdominal pain, bleeding from mouth, nose and ear, an outbreak of noxious skin rashes and death may follow if care is not given. All of these manifestations could happen in a matter of just one week. That is how deadly the EVD is.

    But this is just half the story. There is no known cure for the disease yet. The best that can be done is to give the patient immune boosting care to assuage its devastating effects. Again, there is no known preventive remedy yet, like a vaccine or an antidote and there are no significantly peculiar symptoms that mark it apart from other types of common fever. Indeed, it is this lack of clear-cut signs and its highly infectious nature that makes it perhaps the most deleterious disease to come upon mankind so far.

    According to experts, EVD in its early stage, would manifest like malaria and probably would be treated as such until the full-blown identifiable symptoms begin to present themselves, at which stage most of the victim’s care-givers may have been endangered. Considering that the disease is contagious and it can be contracted through body secretions like sweat, saliva, urine, blood, among others, it is indeed a stealth enemy which can easily creep into a family or any close-knit group of people and devastate it before they know what has come upon them.

    EVD was first detected in 1976 in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku, a village around the Ebola River area of the Congo Democratic Republic. It subsided for a long time only to re-appear early this year in the countries around the West Coast region of Africa, especially Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. As at the end of July, about 1,500 cases had been recorded with over 80 percent fatality. Infection was first transmitted through the handling of such animals as fruit bats, monkeys, antelopes, among other variants of wild game Africans relish as ‘bush meat’.

    As EVD raged in Nigeria’s neighbouring countries, it seemed so distant until that Sunday, July 20, 2014 when a Calabar-bound Liberian diplomat, Mr. Patrick Sawyer, took seriously ill in the aircraft and was rushed to a private hospital in Lagos upon arrival. He was diagnosed for EVD after two days and three days later, he died. His body was quickly cremated. This first case of the disease and its rather dramatic denouement jolted the Nigerian populace, making the reality of EVD sink in fast. While most of the people who had contact with Sawyer on and off the aircraft and all the care-givers were put under surveillance, one of the doctors and a matron were diagnosed to have shown EVD symptoms. The matron died last Wednesday. If anyone still had any doubt, the Ebola scourge is now assuredly on the march on our shores.

    To put it starkly, this really smells trouble for Nigeria and Nigerians alike for several reasons. First, Nigeria’s health sector, like most others is weak if not in dire straits. Apart from poor equipment and inadequacy of drugs and essential medical supplies, there is no better pointer to the malaise than the fact that medical doctors in government service across the country have been on strike since the beginning of July. What this implies is that government hospitals and health facilities across the country are in a state of partial shutdown. We urge the doctors to shelve their strike in the nation’s interest, to address this emergency.

    Second, in spite of the reassurances from health officials both at the federal and state levels, Nigeria had paid mere lip service to the preparation against this scourge these past few months. To buttress this point, until the Sawyer affair, there was no evidence that Nigeria’s government was ready to handle cases of EVD. There were no information centres, no awareness campaigns, no screening kits, no designated centres for isolating suspected carriers and no serious screenings at entry ports. Not even regulation masks and protective gears were available for health workers before July 20.

    Now that the EVD has come upon us by ‘surprise’, we urge the Federal Government to act more resolutely. Because of the deadly nature of the disease, there may be need to declare an emergency, set up a high-powered committee and vote funds for a comprehensive action against the disease. We must vigorously contain it and curtail its spread. The Federal Government must be in the forefront leading all the states in a coordinated national campaign.

    As it stands, only the Lagos State Government (LASG) seems to be upfront in the fight. We commend her efforts and implore all other states to mobilise fast and begin to act. As Lagos State has done, all the spiritualists and faith healers must be warned that EVD is not like any other epidemic to be trifled with; one victim not properly managed could wipe out an entire congregation. This is not the time for miracle or herbal healing. There is no cure yet and no prevention kit. Quick response by all to any sign of the disease is key to survival now.

    For the populace, maintaining basic hygiene procedures now more than ever before could be the greatest antidote. We must wash our hands more often; wash our fruits using a bit of salt; avoid crowded places and much of body contact. As much as possible, we must avoid handshakes, indiscriminate hugging, kissing and sex. Most important, the time calls for vigilance and bravery from all Nigerians. It is a time of national trauma; let’s avoid panic and hysteria and help each other without putting ourselves in jeopardy. Let us call the helpline anywhere we notice the signs of EVD: 0800-EBOLA-HELP.

  • Osun 2014

    Osun 2014

    •INEC, security forces and the political parties should employ global best practices

    Soon after the Ekiti governorship election held in June, another opportunity has come to test the credibility of the election process in the country. While the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been commended for introducing novel measures that reduced friction and boosted the acceptance of the result of that election by the voting public, there were concerns on the conduct by other critical stakeholders in the process leading to polling. In particular, the roles played by the police and the military men deployed  ostensibly to protect the people, have been widely condemned.

    We restate our position that the military has no role in the civil process of electioneering. It is fully up to the police to provide the necessary security cover. Leaders of a major political party involved in the election, the All Progressives Congress, APC, were barred from Ekiti State during the electioneering process, while representatives of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were given free access to identify with their party’s candidate.

    At a point, the Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and his supporters were harassed off the streets, thereby denied campaign opportunity. Those acts could have contributed to the eventual result posted.The Ekiti State election result is already a subject of litigation.

    But, Osun is here now. It is unfortunate that the same steps are being taken in the run-up to the poll tomorrow. There were initial reports that the candidate of the PDP was going about with hooded gunmen. It raised security concerns as the men could not be identified. Then, on Wednesday, the APC leaders and their supporters were denied access to the Mandela Freedom Park where Labour leaders were scheduled to declare support for the party. They were prevented by soldiers who claimed to be acting on “instructions from above”. This is a dangerous turn as it tends to suggest that the military men were sent to work in favour of a particular candidate and party. It detracts from the democratic norm and could lead to resistance by the other participating parties, thus compromising the process and eventually leading to a breakdown of law and order.

    It is even more frightening that, in this age and time when terrorism is searing at the soul of our troubled nation, some security men could be going about masked. This is not the standard practice and it raises issues about the authenticity of the men deployed to Osun State for electoral duty. What do they have to hide? Why is the Acting Inspector-General of Police sounding like one on a mission to ensure that a particular party is declared winner ever before the electorate is called to duty?

    An election is not deemed credible until it is conducted and the entire process adjudged free, fair and acceptable by the voters. Any steps taken in favour of one party to the detriment of the others could trigger actions leading to untoward consequences.

    We call on the candidates and their political parties to shun desperation and accept that the ultimate decision is the electorate’s. The security agencies are expected to serve the general interest of the people; not that of the ruling party. Given the high level of consciousness of the Osun people, it would be disastrous to take them for granted and seek to impose a candidate on them. Nigeria is already going through so much trauma that it could do without election crisis in any part of the country. Besides, it is time to announce to the world that Nigerians have learnt from the ugly events of the past, and is ready to join the league of decent countries where the voters are respected as judges in political contests.

    The electoral commission, too, should raise the bar of probity in the conduct of this all-important election.

  • Nigeria sweet and sour

    Nigeria sweet and sour

    •That is the mixed memory from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

    Nigeria came clear as sweet and sour at the just-concluded Glasgow Commonwealth Games, held in Scotland, complete with the symbolic hero and anti-hero.

    Hero: Blessing Okagbare, Africa’s fastest woman, who in her own words, “put on a show” to win the 100 metres dash, in a Commonwealth Games record of 10.85 seconds, thus becoming the fastest woman in the 71 countries of the Commonwealth. This was aside from annexing the 200 metres gold in a sprints double.

    Anti-Hero: 16-year-old Chika Amalaha, who ironically won the first medal — and a gold — at the Glasgow Games. She tested positive to banned diuretics (drugs that increase the frequency of urination) and masking agents. Might it be that even at the best of times Nigeria’s rot is never far away?

    The added pity is that the teenage Miss Amalaha, who probably is too young to even contemplate spiking her system with dope, is off to weightlifting Coventry for the next two years. She competed in the women’s 53Kg category. If her coaches were responsible for her troubles, they should be fished out and punished. For her, this is a critical juncture: she could either sink into oblivion even before her career takes off; or shove the challenge aside to make good. But the two-year ban is avoidable.

    Miss Amalaha’s lost gold cost Nigeria a better performance than the last games, at New Delhi, India, in 2010. At Glasgow, Nigeria had 11 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze medals, a total haul of 36 medals. In New Delhi, it was 11 gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze medals: 34 medals in all. Miss Amalaha’s lost medal could have given Nigeria 12 gold medals — which would have been the highest in its participation in the Commonwealth Games.

    But warts and all, the athletes must be commended for their focus, patriotism and the near-Spartan determination to make their country proud. Being a period of acute national stress and distress over terrorism, these braves put smiles on the faces of their compatriots.

    Their achievements are even all the more sparkling because sports administration would still appear to lag behind the athletes. For instance, while athletes from Ghana — who just managed two bronze medals in all — were fully paid their allowances, Nigerian athletes, from news reports, were promised the balance of theirs for Abuja, after the games. Then, there was the reported dissonance over kitting, such that wrestling coach, Daniel Igali, said he had to make special arrangements, exclusive to his athletes, for the wrestlers to look corporate and respectable.

    Still, the ladies went all out to grab mouth-watering results. The physically challenged, male and female, particularly at the power-lifting segment of the games, went ahead to mine gold, silver and bronze, in the most heart-warming manner. Only the men generally lagged behind. The male segment of Team Nigeria contributed least to the medal share. They should be encouraged to buckle up and prove their worth in the next Olympics, at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016.

    But even with the shambolic administration of Nigerian sports, the Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in Delta State deserves special praise for putting its imprimatur on the Nigerian success story at Glasgow. A good chunk of the athletes that dazzled at the games, led by the nonpareil Okagbare, originated from the Delta stable; and, for their training, locally and abroad, enjoyed Delta grants. Other states should buy into the Delta example.

    Still on achieving better future results: Maurice Greene, Nigeria’s athletics coach and former US international sprinter did a crash programme by poaching young but promising Nigerian-Americans to run at Glasgow. That is not bad. But much more than poaching promising materials from abroad, Coach Greene should also beam his attention on discovering local talents. With better local training facilities and combining local talents and talents in the Diaspora, Nigeria’s future prospects in sports is bright.

    wealth Games

  • Nigerian girls deserve continued attention

    Nigerian girls deserve continued attention

    – The response of President Goodluck Jonathan, in Washington for a summit this week, doesn’t inspire much confidence.

    When a vicious militant group kidnapped nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls in April, much of the world was outraged. The Twitter hashtag #BringBackOurGirls went viral, spawning broad concern from people around the globe — and smug derision from critics of digital advocacy.

    Four months later, about 60 of the girls have managed to escape and the rest remain missing. The world has mostly moved on, distracted by such events as wars in Gaza and Ukraine, the shoot down of a Malaysian jetliner and the immigration crisis at the U.S. border.

    But amid all the horrors that regularly compete for the world’s attention, this one shouldn’t be forgotten.

    For one thing, the teenage captives are symbols of the importance of educating girls. They were all seized after returning to school in a dangerous area to take their final exams. Among them are future lawyers, doctors and teachers — women who could someday help lead their country.

    For another, there’s evidence that the international uproar might have helped raise the cost of harming the girls too high even for Boko Haram, an extremist group that regularly kidnaps and kills in its quest to bring a brutal form of fundamentalist Islam to parts of Africa.

    The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that U.S. surveillance flights spotted large groups of girls, suspected of being the captives, in remote parts of Nigeria. That dovetails with reports that Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is forbidden” — is treating at least some of the kidnapped girls with unusual care.

    Leaders of the group, after first warning that the girls would be sold into slavery, later offered to trade them for Boko Haram prisoners held by the Nigerian government. The world’s focus on the girls has made them both valuable pawns and risky victims.

    The response of the Nigerian government, which has often seemed overmatched in its five-year struggle with Boko Haram, doesn’t inspire much confidence. President Goodluck Jonathan at first largely ignored the incident, then claimed activists invented it, and finally yielded to pressure to accept international assistance.

    Jonathan, in Washington this week for a U.S.-Africa summit, says his government is making every effort to find the girls. But he offers no evidence, is dismissive of the foreign help and argues that divulging any details could compromise the mission.

    Jonathan has said repeatedly that a military operation to free the girls would probably result in the deaths of many, all but ruling it out. In the place of military action is bargaining, and Nigerian leaders have sent ambiguous signals about who is negotiating and what’s on the table.

    The challenge of fighting militants who casually sacrifice civilian lives in the name of religion isn’t confined to Nigeria. American forces have struggled inconclusively with extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than a decade.

    The world’s anger can sometimes seem a weak candle next to the flame of intolerance and murder, but in the case of the captive Nigerian schoolgirls, it’s important to keep it burning.

     

    – USA Today

     

     

  • A bad start

    A bad start

    •New IGP Suleiman Abba has to attune to the fact that he is the country’s police boss to convince Nigerians that he won’t be partisan in discharging his duties

    With effect from Friday, August 1, the former Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 7 Command, Mr Suleiman Abba, assumed office as Nigeria’s Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP). His appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan followed the retirement of his immediate predecessor, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, having completed 35 years in service.

    Like previous occupants of the office, Mr Abba has raised high expectations as regards the positive transformation of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) under his watch. Mr Abubakar was also full of lofty promises when he took charge of the force. Apart from successfully eliminating the extortion posts known as police checkpoints on the country’s high ways, Mr Abubakar has left the NPF as morally and professionally bankrupt as he met it.

    Can Mr Abba make a difference? His vision sounds impressive. He promises to utilise the insight and experience provided by his over three decades in the force to formulate a vision and strategy for leading the NPF to its prime. Among his stated objectives are creating a safe and secure environment for all the people of Nigeria, leading the NPF in addressing the root causes of crime in the country, conducting diligent criminal investigation to ensure criminals are always brought to justice, and promoting the welfare of policemen and officers.

    But the Acting IGP says he will place premium on ‘attitudinal change’ in the force. Of course, until he spells out concretely what he means by ‘attitudinal change’, it will be difficult to empirically appraise his performance during his tenure.

    From his initial utterances, however, it would appear that the need for attitudinal change must start with him. He sounds unduly partisan and obsequious, for instance, when he says, “Of all the reforms embarked upon by the past governments, it is only that of Yar’Adua/Goodluck administration that is working. We have seen the seven-city programmes with the necessary equipment; we have seen tens of helicopters and other facilities in place”. This kind of unrealistic statement does not suggest that the Acting IGP appreciates the enormity of the challenge before him. He assumes office at a time when the NPF is at its lowest ebb ever morally, materially, psychologically, logistically and professionally.

    Across the country, the functions of an incapacitated NPF have been virtually taken over by the military and other security agencies. In practically all the states, the NPF is being funded and equipped by state governments that constitutionally have no operational control over the force. If the Acting IGP genuinely believes that any so-called reforms are working, he is dangerously deluded. It is also quite curious that Mr Abba chose to take it on himself to absolve the Federal Government of complicity in the recent assassination attempt on General Muhammadu Buhari in Kaduna. Could he really have said that the Federal Government was responsible and retain his new job? So far, the allegation remains unfounded and unproven. Silence on the matter would have been golden on his part.

    Since Mr Abba is obviously qualified for the job, why was he appointed in acting capacity? Is the desire for confirmation responsible for his eagerness to please the presidency? With the appointment of an AIG as the new IGP, those senior to him must retire prematurely as had always been the case. Is this unhealthy scenario unavoidable? Despite these questions, we wish the Acting IGP success in his new assignment even if we have serious doubts that he may not go far. We hope we are proved wrong.

  • Wrong way to go

    Wrong way to go

    •Manufacturers alone should not carry the blame for improper disposal of packs

    We acknowledge that environmental challenges, to a considerable extent, constitute serious threat to healthy living. And frankly, the point must be made that the challenges need official redress through germane policy regulations and attitudinal change. We are not surprised therefore that the Federal Government is taking steps in that regard, although we disagree with its recent industrial policy initiative that shifts blame for improper disposal of products’ packs on manufacturers.

    Mrs. Ngeri Benebo, Director-General, National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA), at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting in Abuja unfurled the new government initiative tagged: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme. According to her, the government has designed a ‘buy-back scheme’ that intends to ensure that “…every product package must be picked up by its producer …  producers must make packages that can be easily collected and recycled and not one that becomes a problem for them to dispose at the end of the day.’’ By this EPR mechanism, it becomes mandatory for a producer to remove its product waste packs from the roads and the environment, generally.

    The programme, as enshrined in the regulation, is reportedly designed to be a major constituent of the extant National Environmental Regulations for the following sectors; food, beverage, tobacco, electrical/electronics, base metal, iron and steel manufacturing/recycling. Others include domestic and industrial plastics, rubber and foam, non-metallic minerals manufacturing industry, chemical, pharmaceutical, soap and detergent industry, including sanitation and waste control. The regulation reportedly provides for punitive measures for any defaulting manufacturer.

    We note that it has, sadly, become the norm to see the environment being indiscriminately littered with packs used in packaging different manufactured products. The spate of environmental littering, sometimes with harmful materials, must be stopped. But this new idea, despite underscoring the concerns of government, could not be an end on its own for being mono-focus. It is important for other stakeholders to be co-opted into the policy in spite of the inherent incentives of the buy-back scheme which rewards a consumer after returning a manufacturer’s pack to its producer.

    It is inconceivable that manufacturers alone would be held responsible for poor attitude of waste disposal by Nigerians. Isn’t it equally pertinent to ask what the government is doing about this poor disposal attitude of Nigerians and efforts so far officially made to provide/increase infrastructure for waste disposal? After all, it is not possible for manufacturers to be present in every nook and cranny of the country. What they normally have are dealership/sales outlets and any attempts to further burden the manufacturers through these outlets would lead to increment in product prices.

    We see the EPR programme as just a part of the antidote, for, amongst others, improving waste management, protection of the environment and human health and motivating design of eco-friendly products through regulation. But another important arm, if the country is indeed serious about stemming this menace, is the galvanising of the local government councils to henceforth be dutiful in their constitutional role of ridding their areas of filth. There is the need for creation of local waste bins in places where they do not exist and increase in the number where they are inadequate.

    More importantly too, there should be mass re-orientation of the public to change their unhygienic attitude of careless disposal of manufacturers’ packs and wastes, generally. The government’s blaming of manufacturers as solely responsible for the waste debacle is misplaced.

  • Obama’s Africa Summit

    Obama’s Africa Summit

    Even as the Ebola virus serves as a reminder of Africa’s manifold challenges, a much brighter future for the Continent was on display in Washington this week, where more than 40 African heads of state are attending a summit meeting led by President Obama. Done right, with sufficient follow-through, the event should strengthen American ties to a continent that is expected to outpace China and India in population by 2040 and is widely viewed as the world’s last major economic frontier.

    The event is a determined, and splashy, initiative by Mr. Obama to push back against other countries doing business there, especially China, which is investing heavily in infrastructure projects and using Africa as a source of vital oil and metals. It is also an opportunity to counter critics who say he has devoted insufficient attention to the continent.

    Administration officials have been eager to persuade Africa that America’s democratic capitalistic system can offer advantages that China’s authoritarian system cannot. As Susan Rice, the national security adviser, said last week, “We don’t see Africa as a pipeline to extract vital resources, nor as a funnel for charity.” She described a broader vision in which the United States is committed to being a partner to create jobs, resolve conflicts and develop the human capital needed to build a better future.

    To that end, the summit meeting was preceded by a gathering of 500 participants in Mr. Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative. Other events included forums on women, health, trade, food security and civil society. Still others brought together American corporate executives with African leaders. The summit schedule will end with meetings with Mr. Obama on Wednesday.

    The world has largely associated Africa with desperate struggles against war, poverty, famine and dictatorial leaders. But there are positive trends, too. Africa is home to six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world, an emerging middle class and markets that are increasingly open to foreign investment. In short, there is money to be made there.

    There is also a growing threat from militants in some countries. And, as human rights groups point out, the summit meeting’s focus on trade, investment and counterterrorism cannot be allowed to dilute the Obama administration’s willingness to press for good and honest governance, fair elections and human rights, all essential for long-term stability and growth.

     

    New York Times

  • Female bombers?

    Female bombers?

    •Nigeria’s terror campaign has entered a new dimension

    The insurgency spearheaded by the militant Islamic group Boko Haram has entered an even more terrifying dimension with the appearance of female suicide bombers. In Kano, two young women detonated bombs at a Catholic church and a fuel station, killing themselves and several others in the process. They were aged 15 and 19 years, respectively. Also, a 10-year-old girl with an explosives belt attached to her was apprehended in the company of two men suspected to be Boko Haram militants on their way to Katsina State.

    The utilisation of young females as suicide bombers is a sobering realisation of the exact nature of the threat the Nigerian state is confronting. It can clearly be seen that Boko Haram’s tactics are evolving as its campaign of terror and intimidation spreads. First, there were the armed attacks and bombings of symbols of federal authority, such as police stations and military barracks; then there were the assaults on western educational institutions, followed by the mass murders and abductions of civilians. As its baleful influence has spread, the group has now taken to the act of claiming territory by raising its flag in areas it perceives as being under its control.

    The murderous activities of this group have involved a variety of methods: planting bombs in stationary vehicles or refuse dumps; ramming bomb-laden vehicles into buildings and checkpoints; using male suicide bombers with explosive belts.

    The utilisation of young female suicide bombers is an obvious response to increased security awareness and improved surveillance methods which have made it harder for male operatives to carry out their evil purpose. Young women are generally seen as less threatening, and their ability to wear the all-enclosing burka and hijab makes it easier to shroud their identities and conceal their deadly cargo.

    It is still difficult for many Nigerians to understand how anybody, much less young women, can willingly accept to kill themselves for a cause, no matter how noble it may seem to be. However, when it is realised that Boko Haram may in fact be tapping into an already-established tradition of terror, much of this mystification disappears. There are allegations that the insurgents may have entered into a strategic alliance with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on training and the procurement of weapons. It is very likely that the methods of indoctrination used by the former on its own suicide bombers are being used to brainwash Nigerians.

    Already, there are speculations that the girls abducted in Chibok last April are either being readied for suicide bombings or have even been deployed in the next phase of Boko Haram’s campaign. Regardless of whether it is true or not, the possibility is too terrible to contemplate, and is yet another reason why the Federal Government must step up its efforts to rescue them. They have endured captivity for over three months; that is long enough for some to have succumbed to the blandishments of their captors.

    The evolution of the terrorists’ tactics is also a stark warning that Nigeria’s anti-insurgency operatives cannot afford to rest on their oars. This is a battle for hearts and minds, and as such, must be fought on multiple levels. Greater educational, employment and political opportunities must be provided for youths in the north-east to wean them away from the insurgents. Increased intelligence-gathering must be utilised in understanding insurgent strategies, anticipating attacks and identifying their bases. More efforts should be made in tracing the terrorists’ sources of funding and exposing those who are behind them.

    Above all, Nigerians must accept the battle against terror as their own and unite to fight it. Making baseless accusations against political opponents will not solve the problem, and will in fact embolden those who seek to use terror as an instrument of political policy.

     

  • A lying presidency

    A lying presidency

    • Why would the Federal Govt lie that it did not give money to the Chibok girls’ parents?

    When a country’s presidency speaks, its voice should be like that of the oracle. Its yes should be yes and its no, no. Unfortunately, the Nigerian presidency, like most other things and places characteristically Nigerian, is becoming notorious for lying. The latest of such lie from Nigeria’s seat of power has to do with the monetary gift reportedly given to the parents of the Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram on April 15, and those of them that escaped, when they visited the Presidency on July 22.

    To start with, it is quite shameful that it took the intervention of a teenage Pakistan girl, Malala Yousafzai, to wake President Goodluck Jonathan up to his responsibility on the abducted girls. But, the allegation that, in his attempt to obey the directive of the teenager, the President committed a presidential blunder by giving money to his visitors deserves more than a cursory attention. The matter has rightly been the subject of unending comments since the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners leader and former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, tweeted that the Federal Government offered N100 million to the distressed Chibok parents.

    More disgusting is that since the issue was made public, the presidency has been giving Nigerians the impression that there is no iota of truth in it. Both the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, and the Senior Personal Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, have denied that any money changed hands.

    But these denials run counter to the claims of the beneficiaries and the Kibaku Area Development Association (KADA), the group representing the Chibok people in Abuja. According to the group, the Federal Government gave the parents and the escaped girls only N22.4million and not N100million. In other words, ‘there is no smoke without fire’, as they say.

    The money, according to KADA, was brought by the senior special assistant to the president on special duties to the hotel where the visitors lodged, who told the girls that the government had sent them N100, 000 each. Sixty-one of the 122 parents who came got N200, 000 each; while 51 others got N100, 000 each. Because the calculations were wrong, the remaining 10 parents left empty-handed.

    Predictably, it was the distribution of the money that led to a row among the affected parents, with some of them complaining that they had been shortchanged by the community’s leaders. “I was not able to go to Abuja; they chose some people from among us. Some received N100,000, some received N200,000, some received N300,000. Those of us in the village were given  N7,000. This is not a thing of joy. What we want are our girls to be brought back home”, one of them reportedly said.

    It is extremely baffling why the Federal Government resorted to telling a blatant lie, like the one it told the nation and the international community that it knows where the abducted girls are. It is a pity that, through the negligence and incompetence of the government, these girls have spent over 100 days in Boko Haram captivity without the slightest hope that they would ever be brought back to reunite with their parents. Yet, all we hear often from the President is that “we know where the girls are, and we will bring them back to their parents soonest”.

    When we remember that President Nixon of the U.S.A. resigned in 1974 to stave off impeachment because he lied to the American people in what has become known as the ‘Watergate scandal’, we should view with all seriousness the lie by the Presidency this time around. It is one lie too many. Or, could it be that some officials, as usual, profited from this filthy lucre? The Presidency owes Nigerians an explanation on this untoward and fraudulent denial of the undeniable.

     

     

  • FRSC’s legal rascality

    FRSC’s legal rascality

    • Although the commission reversed itself, it should have waited for the outcome of its appeal on the new number plates before taking any action on the matter

    The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has exhibited extreme rascality in its attempt to circumvent the unambiguous judgments of the Federal High Courts, sitting in Lagos and Abuja, stopping it from surreptitiously imposing tax on motorists without appropriate legislation. Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Lagos, in March, held that the steps the FRSC sought to take on enforcing the so-called new number plates, “amounts to an arbitrary use of power and is therefore illegal and unconstitutional”. On his part, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, also of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in May, affirmed that the commission’s planned action is “tantamount to executive recklessness, as the FRSC cannot amend an act of the National Assembly or promulgate another one”.

    However, in a glaring case of abuse of court processes, the FRSC who were parties in the two suits at the Federal High Courts in Lagos and Abuja, which had the same subject matter, failed to bring to the notice of the State High Court in Anambra, the judgments of the two courts, which had declared the action of the commission, as illegal. Thus, Justice Philip Umeadi, the state chief judge, in June, held “that the directive of the respondent (FRSC) to all motorists previously registered to e-register their vehicles for the purpose of changing their old number plates with new vehicle number plate is legal, constitutional and stand firmly on both Act 2007 and Regulations of 2012”. Notably, the Federal High Court, Abuja, recognised the judgment of the sister court in Lagos, when it held that, “the court is mindful of the recent judgment of a Lagos Federal High Court on the same subject matter, which I completely aligned with”. Unfortunately, the state high court, Anambra, did not make any reference to the judgments of the federal High Court.

    We hold the FRSC responsible for the embarrassment to the state high court in Anambra, whose judgment cannot overrule the earlier judgments of the two federal High Courts. Indeed, it will not be far-fetched to question whether the commission orchestrated the conflict, as it has quickly said that it will obey the judgment of the state high court, implying that it will ignore that of the two federal high courts; even when the FRSC is a federal agency and the laws interpreted, federal laws.

    Even more appalling is that while the commission has appealed the two earlier unfavourable judgments, it is courageous enough to say that it will start the enforcement of the one favourable judgment, all of which is the subject matter of an appeal it filed before the Court of Appeal. Mercifully, it has reversed itself. But the point is that such a situation should not have arisen in the first place.

    We call on the Attorney-General of the Federation to call the commission to order. The alternative is for motorists to also choose and pick which of the judgments to obey, and that is the road to anarchy. The FRSC must be told in clear and unambiguous terms that it cannot pursue this type of wayward agenda in a society that is governed by the rule of law. It must know that it lacks the power to pick and choose which order of the court it will obey, and which it will disregard. If it is determined to raise funds for the Federal Government, it must wait for the judgments made against it to be vacated on appeal.