The Nation Newspaper

Category: Editorial

  • It is unfair. It is unacceptable

    It is unfair. It is unacceptable

    – The U.S. push for a Gaza cease-fire should empower moderate Palestinians

    AS EFFORTS to forge even a temporary truce in Gaza founder, the Obama administration is indignantly protesting that its diplomacy has been unfairly maligned by critics, especially in Israel. Secretary of State John F. Kerry, officials say, has merely been trying to stop the bloodshed on the basis of previous cease-fire agreements, including an Egyptian plan that Israel accepted just two weeks ago.

    The U.S. account is mostly correct, and even some Israeli officials have acknowledged that the bitter and sometimes personal criticism of Mr. Kerry in Jerusalem went too far. Yet there is a good reason why Israelis across the political spectrum, as well as the Egyptian government and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, reacted badly to Mr. Kerry’s efforts. U.S. strategy has failed to take into account how the fighting in Gaza during the past two weeks, as well as the Middle East’s shifting political alignments, have changed how its closest allies view the conflict’s endgame.

    The big revelation of this Gaza fight has been the degree to which Hamas has invested in stockpiling missiles capable of striking Israeli cities and constructing cross-border tunnels whose only purpose is to carry out offensive attacks inside Israel. Israel is insisting, reasonably, that its troops remain in Gaza at least long enough to destroy the tunnels. It is also making the obvious point that a solution to the conflict must prevent Hamas from focusing Gaza’s economy on the production of more missiles and tunnels.

    Mr. Kerry’s proposal did not directly tackle that problem. While promising vaguely to “address all security issues,” it offered Hamas the explicit prospect of a border opening and funding to pay its government employees. These terms were promoted by Hamas’s regional allies, Turkey and Qatar. Mr. Kerry’s resort to them as mediators was another questionable call: It had the effect of sidelining the secular governments of Egypt and Mr. Abbas, which stand on the other side of the Middle East’s divide between pro- and anti-Islamist forces.

    Israel is demanding that Hamas be disarmed as a part of any peace. While the Obama administration rhetorically endorsed that goal, it doesn’t seem to regard it as feasible in the short term. In our view, the objective should be explored more seriously. It might be possible, for example, to make Hamas’s surrendering of its missiles the condition for steps that would enable Gaza’s economic development, such as the opening of a seaport — a trade-off that most Gazans would welcome. At a minimum, new security provisions should aim at preventing Hamas from importing more military supplies.

    More broadly, the Obama administration should be working with Egypt and Mr. Abbas, as well as Israel, to end the conflict in a way that reduces rather than reinforces Hamas’s power over Gaza. This is not unrealistic: A recent agreement between Mr. Abbas’s Fatah movement and Hamas to form a single government for the West Bank and Gaza, followed by elections for new leaders, could provide a mechanism. Mr. Abbas, who has been working closely with Egypt, is reportedly proposing that his U.S.-trained security forces secure the border between Gaza and Egypt, displacing Hamas.

    In its zeal to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, the Obama administration may have set back such creative and constructive solutions. Now it should get behind them.

    – Washington Post

  • Long overdue

    Long overdue

    • Policy to govern consumer protection and competition is good, provided …

    After an earlier attempt in 2002 to introduce an anti-trust regime through the instrument of legislation, the Federal Government is said to be pushing for a new competition and consumer protection policy. The policy, described by industry, trade and investment minister, Olusegun Aganga, as “consistent with global trends, for a robust legal and regulatory framework to govern consumer protection and competition”, is said to “underlie the need for fair and competitive environment for industry, trade and investment”.

    According to the minister, the policy has become necessary to “forestall and/or minimise the emergence of private monopolies who would replace the public monopolies that the government was moving away from”. It is also to ensure that Nigerian consumers got value for their money.

    Clearly, the dynamics of the Nigerian business environment in the last decade, particularly the relentless push by the managers of the economy for greater liberalisation of the economy are such that have made the proposed regulation both necessary and inevitable. Most certainly, it goes beyond the need to ensure due observance of sound business practices, particularly in the area of trade regulation and consumer protection, to one of addressing a fundamental lacuna in our trade practices.

    We are witnesses to how the push for liberalisation has spawned the emergence of the big players – particularly of monopolies/oligopolies and powerful cartels. One natural consequence of the development is the rising fear of possible exploitation of the consumer through collusion and other forms of anti-competition practices by dominant players in the economy. We see the coming of the proposed law as speaking to the need to ensure that regulations are in lock-step with the dynamics of the economy; to fill the lacuna created by the lack of effective competition regulations.

    The law however is only one step in the long journey to true competition under which the consumer is said to be availed of an array of possibilities which he/she could choose from. Underlying this is the notion that no single player is allowed to be so powerful as to be able to unilaterally fix prices.

    Truth is; the nation has a long way to go in this regard. To start with, the choices available to the Nigerian consumer remain extremely limited; as we know, the barriers to business – big or small – remain impregnable. The latter is at the heart of why the few dominant operators are allowed to carry on as they please – a situation that was only compounded by the absence of institutional or regulatory restraints.

    Of course, some of the factors behind this are partly understandable. For instance, the more glaring examples of monopolies have merely benefited from years of a head-start in specific sectors in addition to other innumerable incentives from government; others have emerged after years of intense market research and development efforts; others simply took advantage of weak regulation to emerge as octopus. Unfortunately, in almost all of the cases, such advantages enjoyed have often been to the detriment of the consumer.

    The law will, hopefully, change that by ensuring that no player is allowed to exploit the benefits of its dominance to prey on the market.

    However, the greater challenge, in our view, is for the Federal Government to work on fostering an environment that truly promotes competition and fair play for all economic actors, a system that rewards true entrepreneurship as against one that is a cover for rent and patronage.  To the extent that the nation is a long way from such an environment, this should engage the Federal Government as much as the proposed law.

     

  • Laughable PR

    Laughable PR

    The World Bank’s new Nigeria Economic Report (NER) released in Abuja looked more like a public relations stunt, than a fair assessment of the Nigerian economy. We recall that the Federal Government recently hired an international public relations expert, to launder her international reputation. Thus, when John Litwack, the Lead Economist and acting country manager of the World Bank, in the NER says, “unemployment rate in Nigeria, according to a usual International Labour Organisation definition, is likely lower than 10 percent”, we are left wondering as to who is supplying the jaundiced statistics.

    That report is fraught with contradictions, as it claimed that the per capita national poverty rate, according to official poverty line, may be as low as 33.1 per cent, but that unemployment problem may be better understood as “underemployment problems corresponding to a scarcity of high productivity jobs and in many cases of highly qualified candidates to fill the jobs”. Unless the report is talking of an alien land, there has been the scarcity of both low and high ends jobs in Nigeria. In fact, youth unemployment continues to soar. This fact has even been acknowledged by Nigeria’s economic managers, particularly Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who recently acknowledged that while the economy may be growing, unemployment is skyrocketing.

    The NER report also claims that there has been poverty reduction in the urban centres, when it says “poverty reduction in Nigeria appears to be primarily an urban phenomenon, with poverty rates in rural areas higher, and poverty reduction lower”. Unless the World Bank report had relied on guess work in the absence of reliable statistics, this report is fraught with inaccuracies. It is common knowledge that rural-urban migration is one of the greatest challenges of Nigeria, and the lack of employment for the teeming urban migrants is very high. As a social phenomenon, while the aged remain in the village, the youths move to the urban cities in search of jobs; so how can there be greater unemployment in the rural areas long abandoned by Nigerian youths?

    We urge the World Bank officials to concentrate their efforts in helping Nigeria to resuscitate her dilapidated infrastructure, without which the national economy cannot have the painted prospects that the NER asserts. The bank’s officials in Nigeria should be aware that despite promises and the huge expenses so far incurred in the power sector, the per capita power generation in Nigeria is among the lowest in the world.

    Also, the road infrastructure is so deplorable that not long ago, the road transport unions threatened to embark on strike to compel the federal authorities to repair them. Indeed, the road leading to and from the country’s largest ports has remained an albatross for Nigeria’s import-dependent economy. Just last week, the nation’s electricity corporation was bizarrely celebrating the release from the nation’s ports imported power equipment pinned down there by corruption for decades.

    Unless the NER is a prophecy, neither the principle analysis nor the principal, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is okay. Even as the World Bank report is before the jury, there have been strike actions across major sectors of the economy. For nearly one year, a major plank of the education sector was under lock and key. This has been the pattern in the years past. Also, doctors and judicial workers have downed tools for weeks. Indeed, the World Bank report can only be compared to President Goodluck Jonathan’s strange measurement of economic growth with the increase in the number of private jet owners in Nigeria!

  • Needless loan

    Needless loan

    •National Assembly should turn down the $1bn request

    President Goodluck Jonathan’s impulsive concern for seeking a $1 billion (N162bn) loan to finance the war against insurgency looks more like an injudicious move. The celerity with which he wrote a letter titled: “Tackling Ongoing Security Challenges: Need for Urgent Action,” to the National Assembly seeking for approval to obtain the pointless loan is suspicious.

    What he calls the ‘essence of the loan’ is the “…need to upgrade equipment, training and logistics of our armed forces and security services to enable them more forcefully confront this serious threat.’’ He also wants a quick “….concurrence of the National Assembly for external borrowing.”

    But a frightening dimension is that this year alone, the Federal Government appropriated N968.1 billion for defence without any transparency or accountability on how the money, like the ones before it, will be spent. In the past four years, it is scandalous to note that the centre government had spent not less than $20billion on supposed fortification of the military and combat of the Boko Haram insurgents without commensurate results. Rather, the insurgents/terrorists have consistently been looming large in inflicting serious international blight on the nation while the President seems clueless about the solution to the menace.

    The military topmost hierarchy accused of graft, financial mismanagement and of grooming a highly de-motivated military is heavily relied upon by the President to curb the menace. Many pundits believe that the military assistance Nigeria is receiving from the US, UK, China, France and Israel over the bid to secure the release of over 200 abducted schoolgirls last April by Boko Haram in Chibok, Borno State, has not yielded any fruit because of endemic corruption in the military. If this latest foreign loan is approved by the National Assembly, it will only be frittered away.

    We know for instance, that the avoidable mismanagement of hitherto defence budgets had bred for the nation, an ineffective military, leading to the grave consequences of weekly bombings, generally in the northern part of the country, by Boko Haram. The Human Rights Watch, based in New York, in its recent report revealed that more than 2,000 civilians had been killed in Nigeria this year by Boko Haram.

    The deaths, which reportedly occurred in not less than 95 separate attacks in more than 70 towns and villages in the north-east, where Boko Haram launched its insurgency in 2009, could be more since killings by the insurgents have shamelessly become a routine.

    The state of emergency declared by President Jonathan in the north-east states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa last year has not achieved much. Till now, the nation is waiting with bated breath for the return of over 200 school girls abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok over 100 days ago while General Muhammadu Buhari, former Head of State and leading opposition politician narrowly escaped Boko Haram suicide bomb recently in Kaduna State.

    The proposed $1billion foreign loan is unnecessary; the fact that it is outside the framework and contemplation of the 2014 defence appropriation makes it worse. Prudent management of existing military appropriation will suffice. More importantly, the loan bid is a wrong signal to the populace that the current presidency is incapable of protecting Nigerians in their country.

    The National Assembly should turn down the President’s request for this loan because it is obvious that Nigeria can, on her own, finance the war on Boko Haram if graft holes are blocked. The loan option is not the wisest thing to do at this point in time otherwise, it would give impetus to insinuations that the ruling party wants to deploy it to prosecute its 2015 agenda.

  • Atrocity and after

    Atrocity and after

    • Those behind the MH17 disaster must be found and punished

    The shooting-down of Flight MH17, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 over Ukraine tragically underscores the dangers of internecine conflict in the contemporary era. The strategic considerations of realpolitik and international diplomacy pale into insignificance in the light of the deaths of 298 men, women and children whose only offence was that of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    To make matters even worse, this utterly unnecessary tragedy has been compounded by the way in which Ukrainian separatists who control the area in which the plane crashed have behaved. According to reports, their first action was to loot the personal effects of the dead. They then refused to grant access to the crash site, and when they eventually did, they impeded first-responders and investigators from doing their work. The outrage of a grieving world meant little to them; it took days of sustained pressure before they could be persuaded to allow the remains of the crash victims to be taken away for forensic examination, and for the black boxes to be handed over.

    The consequences of this shocking indifference are palpable. The scene of the crash has been thoroughly contaminated, thereby making it more difficult to establish exactly what happened. The grief of the victims’ relations has been deepened by the disgraceful treatment to which looters subjected the bodies of their loved ones. The attitudes of the Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian government which is supported by the west have hardened, as each accuses the other of shooting down the aircraft.

    In all this, the actions of Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, have been particularly disappointing. He it was who set the whole train of events in motion when he instigated the excision of the Crimea from Ukraine, taking advantage of the crises in the latter. The hypocrisy of his so-called advocacy of the rights of minorities is evident in the fact that he has brutally crushed similar traits in his own multi-national state, especially in Dagestan.

    Not content with the success of his illegitimate land-grab, Putin has exacerbated instability in Ukraine by supporting and arming a variety of separatist groups. It is indeed alleged that the ill-fated Flight MH17 was brought down with sophisticated surface-to-air missiles supplied by Russia.

    The Russian Federation is a military superpower. As such it is one of the statutory guarantors of world peace and global security. The actions of its president contradict this established notion. His blatant attempts to undermine the sovereignty of a neighbouring country have spooked the entire region; countries are building up their defence capabilities and seeking new alliances. Walls are being erected where bridges should have been built.

    It is time for the global community to take a stand against the impunity, willfulness and contempt for international law that Putin has come to represent. If this is to be achieved, the European Union is going to have to jettison the timidity which has characterised the majority of its responses so far. While the importance of Russian oil and gas to the EU economy cannot be ignored, it would be wrong to use it as an excuse to do nothing: the MH17 tragedy is a harsh demonstration of the foolishness of such a reaction.

    Fortunately, it appears that the world has finally come to the realisation that something must be done. The United States is preparing an enhanced set of sanctions which are likely to make it more difficult for Russia to do business internationally; at a time when its economy is contracting, such measures will be felt. It is to be hoped that other nations follow suit.

    In addition, a comprehensive investigation into the MH17 disaster must be carried out. Any attempt at obstructing it must be resisted. If it is found that the aircraft was indeed shot down by a Russia-supplied weapon system, then the full weight of the law must be brought to bear upon those whose irresponsible actions have caused an entirely-avoidable tragedy.

     

  • Ramadan Kareem

    Ramadan Kareem

    •Muslims must not return to their past ways after the fasting

    MUSLIMS all over the world mark the end of Ramadan fasting with the Eid-el-Fitri celebration. The festivity comes on the first day of the 10th month of Islamic lunar calendar, and has become one of two festivals of Islamic significance, the other being Eid-el-Kabir. After a month-long ascetic life and spiritual supplications to the Almighty, Eid is expected to usher in illimitable bliss for devotees. Today is an occasion of jollity and thanksgiving. All good Muslims should take advantage of the day to vow never to go back to what Allah frowns at, and to show gratitude to Him for sparing their lives.

    Despite today’s air of spirit of indulgence, we call for modesty in celebration. We expect Muslims to avoid engaging in depraved or obnoxious conducts. Good Muslims should take advantage of the day to be sensitive to and share the feelings of those around them. That is why the lessons of the holy month must reflect in the way we relate with friends, non-Muslims inclusive.

    Muslims whose fast is based on imaan, sincerity, should expect true reward, Ihtisaab, from Allah. Their past sins will surely be forgiven. Allah multiplies the rewards of fasting beyond human comprehension. However, all these are not forgone issues. Their fruition depends on how satisfactory they can truly answer these questions: Did we perform our fast with the true belief and full surrender to Allah? Did we fast because Allah imposed it on us or for other selfish reasons? What have we gained from the month of Ramadan? Are we positively inclined towards fellow beings? Have we overcome all our prior weaknesses and cruelty?

    We have no doubt that obedient Muslims, not killers and terrorists despoiling the name of Allah, are assured of reward from Almighty Allah. Surprisingly, these fake Islamists hiding under the guise of the ‘religion of peace’ to perpetuate evil, have shown gross contempt for the holy month. These terrorists destroy the usual environmental tranquillity of unity and spiritual rebirth of the holy month through senseless bombing of innocent souls and outright destruction of properties.

    We wonder what has happened to the pious habit of Qur’an recitation, especially during Ramadan, and imbibing the lessons therein. The Boko Haram insurgents should realise the futility of their actions quickly. Every human being is expected to be his brother’s keeper and should cultivate and indulge in things that would make the community and the entire world one peaceful place for all to live in. We doubt whether the terrorists could, in all conscience, proclaim this. The suicide bombing of fellow human being before, during and after the month of Ramadan is barbaric. Their act negates the projection of Islam as a ‘religion of peace’.

    In the spirit of Ramadan, we call on the governments, institutions and the people to have an attitudinal change that would not negate the commandments of Allah. What should be done now is to continue to practice and sustain the virtuous preaching learnt during Ramadan for the sake of all. The talk of restoring security to normalcy in the country must start with adhering to the tenets of Allah by both Muslims and non-Muslims. These are realisable only if stakeholders in the nation’s project are honest with themselves as we all professed to be during the Ramadan period.

    We know that moving our country forward entails being our brother’s keeper; and not taking more than our fair share of what belongs to all. We should pray to Allah to give us the grace not to be good Muslims only during the Ramadan period. That is the greatest lesson to be learnt from the just ended fasting as the future race continues.

  • Thumbs up

    Thumbs up

    •Olam is to be lauded for its bold step towards self-sufficiency in rice production

    IN the last two decades, rice has grown to become the dominant staple food among Nigerians. As part of the unsavoury results of the oil boom era, the country became awash with petro-dollars and Nigerians did not only abandon their farms, they acquired foreign tastes and became import-dependent for even staple food stuff. Thus, not only that local farmers could not produce enough, Nigerians shunned the products from her farmsteads, preferring for instance, polished, parboiled rice from Thailand, India and Indonesia. Ironically, this brand of rice is often silo-stale and deficient in nutrition.

    Over these years, Nigeria has become a major importer of such daily need foodstuffs like wheat (for bread), beans, fish, poultry products as well as canned foods. But rice, Nigerians’ most cherished staple is in such demand that a sudden ban of importation could threaten the country’s political stability. It is estimated that Nigeria spends about N356 billion annually on rice imports. Various governments have paid lip service to this rather unsustainable situation but none has been able to take a bold decisive step towards effecting a change. Even the current government with its much vaunted rice revolution has been unable to fashion a policy that would catalyse commercial rice production in Nigeria.

    This is why we hail the efforts of Olam International Limited, a private firm, for its initiatives in Nigeria’s agro-industry in general, and rice production in particular. A fortnight ago, Olam inaugurated its state-of-the-art rice mill in Doma council area of Nasarawa State. The integrated milling facility is sited in the heart of a 6,000-hectare green field irrigated and mechanised paddy farm. The mill is expected to yield 36,000 metric tonnes of ready-to-eat rice for the domestic market yearly.

    We dare suggest to the federal and state governments; individuals and corporate bodies that wish to participate in the enormous rice value chain that Olam’s is the template to adopt. This singular mammoth commercial project said to be the largest in Africa, will not only impact vastly on rice production in Nigeria, it will impact significantly on the economy of Nasarawa State. Currently, about 3,000 farmers are directly engaged while it is envisaged that about 20,000 small holder farmers will supply 30 to 40 per cent of the mill’s paddy requirements. Apart from providing ready market and cash for local farmers, there will be the benefit of wide-ranging trainings in good agricultural practices for the rural farmers as well as the availability of high-yield varieties, fertilisers, and implements.

    The Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been long on talks about ending rice import into Nigeria but has been short on taking concrete action. In January 2013, it had introduced a wrong-headed tariff and levy regime on imported rice. The knee-jerk policy which imposed a 100 per cent levy on rice imports to Nigeria only redirected shiploads of the commodity to neighbouring ports of Benin Republic, Togo and even Ghana. That move engendered a wild profit and supply gap and spurred massive smuggling of rice. The result was that government lost huge imports revenues, left genuine importers in the lurch and made port hands idle. The attendant chaos in the rice value chain was too ruinous to the economy that the policy had to be reversed last June.

    There is so much merit to the economy in reducing Nigeria’s massive rice import dependence but so far, government has only been full of hollow words. For instance, government must begin to account for and deploy the huge rice development fund that has accrued since 1999. There is no  record that anyone has benefited from it so far. There are serious and credible stakeholders in Nigeria’s rice sector; there is no record that government supports them.

    We commend the Olam model to all and urge the government to drive the establishment of many more integrated commercial rice farms across the country’s rice belts.

  • A U.S.-Russia proxy war in Ukraine would be an unwelcome echo of the Cold War

    A U.S.-Russia proxy war in Ukraine would be an unwelcome echo of the Cold War

    International outrage over the downing of a Malaysian passenger plane over Ukraine on July 17 does not appear to have affected either the actions of pro-Russia forces in that country or the material support Russia is offering the rebels. On Wednesday, the separatists apparently shot down two Ukrainian warplanes flying near the border with Russia. On Thursday, the U.S. accused Russia of firing artillery from its territory into Ukraine.

    If Russia continues to abet the Ukrainian armed resistance, it must pay a price, as even European nations previously reluctant to impose significant sanctions are beginning to realize. This week the Europeans moved toward expanding sanctions directed at Russian officials and organizations linked to the rebellion in eastern Ukraine, and they are considering following the lead of the U.S. and imposing sanctions against sectors of the Russian economy, including defense and energy.

    But some American politicians and policymakers would go beyond economic and diplomatic efforts and provide the Ukrainian government with military support. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) has implored the Obama administration “to give the Ukrainians weapons with which to defend themselves.” That would be a mistake.

    It’s not clear that the Obama administration is seriously considering McCain’s advice. The U.S. has provided food, body armor and uniforms to Ukraine and has promised to deliver medical supplies and night-vision goggles as well. This week the Washington Times quoted a Pentagon spokesman as saying that the U.S. also planned “to support the Ukrainian military through subject-matter expert teams and long-term advisors.”

    If by “advisors” the administration means computer experts and payroll managers, that’s one thing. But deploying “advisors” who are military strategists or uniformed soldiers would be reckless and provocative. So would providing Ukraine with lethal weapons.

    A proxy war between the United States and Russia would be dangerous even if it didn’t lead to a direct military confrontation between the two nuclear powers. It also would undermine President Obama’s insistence that the U.S., while it supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and independence, doesn’t regard it as part of a Cold War chess game with Russia.

    Finally, although it obviously continues to encounter resistance, Ukraine is gradually gaining military control of rebel-held areas on its own. Russia could help end the fighting if it stopped its interference and incitement. As long as it refuses to do so, the U.S. and its allies should keep up the pressure — but stay off the battlefield.

     

    –Los Angeles Times

  • Indigene registration

    Indigene registration

    Nigeria can do without introduction of another divisive scheme

    The alleged move to register non-indigenes in some states of the federation is condemnable, whether as an action or a reaction. It is at once illegal and illogical. In a country contending with many forces threatening to tear the fabric of the society, it is unfortunate that leaders who should appreciate the power of a united front are bent on making Nigerians from other parts of the country second-class citizens in their own country.

    At first, the news was that Imo State government had issued an ultimatum to non-indigenes to either be registered or prepare for ‘deportation’. It was a relief when the state government denied the allegation, and was supported by leaders of the Hausa community in the state who said it was a private initiative to know the legitimate Northern residents there, with a view to checking possible infiltration of the ranks by undesirable elements. Leader of the Arewa community in Imo State told journalists that they were trying to get the state government to buy into the project as a way of assuring all that only law-abiding citizens from the northern states whose details are known are resident there.

    But, this did not prevent response from the North where some state governments in the region issued a counter-threat that Nigerians from outside the bloc should prepare to face similar consequences. Even the northern members of the National Assembly who warned that the alleged move should be halted immediately were hasty in coming to the conclusion that the state government actually made such a move. As representatives of the people, it would not have been out of place for the lawmakers to voice their concerns. However, it would have been better appreciated had they used their good offices to get in touch with the Imo State government and the Arewa community leaders in the state before making such pronouncements that did nothing to help the tension at hand.

    We take strong exception to the inflammatory statement by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) that the investment of the Igbo in the North could be targeted in case such an obnoxious policy was implemented. The ACF neither verified the facts nor took steps as an organisation of elder statesmen to consult the Eastern state governments. Such utterances and threats could only provoke further reactions from the other parts of the country. Besides, for miscreants seeking opportunity to cause mayhem, that could lead to looting and plundering of the properties and investments of southerners in the North.

    The current state of insecurity in the country calls for utmost caution on the part of all, especially those who claim to be leaders. Leadership behoves restraint in the face of provocation. It must be noted that Nigeria is greater than a sum of its component parts. The heroes past laboured to bequeath this country to the current set of rulers and they have no right to set it on fire.

    The 1999 Constitution is clear on who a citizen is, his responsibilities and rights. This cannot be taken away by the fiat of any other citizen, whatever position he may temporarily hold, or even any institution or law. While section 24 of the supreme law of the land spells out the duties of citizens, the definition of who a citizen is and the process by which he could be deprived of his inalienable rights are elaborately spelt out in chapter three of the constitution. It is a fundamental right of all citizens to move and reside in any part of the country without any form of discrimination or harassment, and this must be scrupulously adhered to by all.

    We support the declaration of the National Security Council that anyone who violates this constitutional provision is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such. At the heart of the Plateau State crisis that has caused untold hardship to many, and taken lives, is the question of who is a settler and who is an indigene. It remains unsettled. To impose further requirements on citizens who in the course of their legitimate businesses have to move across states is unacceptable.

    We call on the National Civic Registration Board to speed up the bid to have all Nigerians captured in the National Identity Card Scheme. This is the only civilised and legitimate means of obtaining detailed information on all citizens, including where they live and for how long. Any other thing amounts to courting disaster.

    We also call on all Nigerians to be security conscious. Those living in neighbourhoods should take interest in knowing residents and checking up on their activities unobtrusively. Where there are grounds to suspect movements and activities that could endanger the lives of others, such information should be supplied to the law enforcement agents. To defeat insurgents, kidnappers, armed robbers and other enemies of the state, the security agencies ought, too, to step up efforts at cultivating the support of the people.

    All forms of social discrimination are subversive of the national interest and should be rejected. Organisations and institutions that, by their utterances appear to be fanning embers of disunity at a time like this must be told unequivocally that they are acting contrary to the national interest.

  • Indigene registration

    Nigeria can do without introduction of another divisive scheme

    The alleged move to register non-indigenes in some states of the federation is condemnable, whether as an action or a reaction. It is at once illegal and illogical. In a country contending with many forces threatening to tear the fabric of the society, it is unfortunate that leaders who should appreciate the power of a united front are bent on making Nigerians from other parts of the country second-class citizens in their own country.

    At first, the news was that Imo State government had issued an ultimatum to non-indigenes to either be registered or prepare for ‘deportation’. It was a relief when the state government denied the allegation, and was supported by leaders of the Hausa community in the state who said it was a private initiative to know the legitimate Northern residents there, with a view to checking possible infiltration of the ranks by undesirable elements. Leader of the Arewa community in Imo State told journalists that they were trying to get the state government to buy into the project as a way of assuring all that only law-abiding citizens from the northern states whose details are known are resident there.

    But, this did not prevent response from the North where some state governments in the region issued a counter-threat that Nigerians from outside the bloc should prepare to face similar consequences. Even the northern members of the National Assembly who warned that the alleged move should be halted immediately were hasty in coming to the conclusion that the state government actually made such a move. As representatives of the people, it would not have been out of place for the lawmakers to voice their concerns. However, it would have been better appreciated had they used their good offices to get in touch with the Imo State government and the Arewa community leaders in the state before making such pronouncements that did nothing to help the tension at hand.

    We take strong exception to the inflammatory statement by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) that the investment of the Igbo in the North could be targeted in case such an obnoxious policy was implemented. The ACF neither verified the facts nor took steps as an organisation of elder statesmen to consult the Eastern state governments. Such utterances and threats could only provoke further reactions from the other parts of the country. Besides, for miscreants seeking opportunity to cause mayhem, that could lead to looting and plundering of the properties and investments of southerners in the North.

    The current state of insecurity in the country calls for utmost caution on the part of all, especially those who claim to be leaders. Leadership behoves restraint in the face of provocation. It must be noted that Nigeria is greater than a sum of its component parts. The heroes past laboured to bequeath this country to the current set of rulers and they have no right to set it on fire.

    The 1999 Constitution is clear on who a citizen is, his responsibilities and rights. This cannot be taken away by the fiat of any other citizen, whatever position he may temporarily hold, or even any institution or law. While section 24 of the supreme law of the land spells out the duties of citizens, the definition of who a citizen is and the process by which he could be deprived of his inalienable rights are elaborately spelt out in chapter three of the constitution. It is a fundamental right of all citizens to move and reside in any part of the country without any form of discrimination or harassment, and this must be scrupulously adhered to by all.

    We support the declaration of the National Security Council that anyone who violates this constitutional provision is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such. At the heart of the Plateau State crisis that has caused untold hardship to many, and taken lives, is the question of who is a settler and who is an indigene. It remains unsettled. To impose further requirements on citizens who in the course of their legitimate businesses have to move across states is unacceptable.

    We call on the National Civic Registration Board to speed up the bid to have all Nigerians captured in the National Identity Card Scheme. This is the only civilised and legitimate means of obtaining detailed information on all citizens, including where they live and for how long. Any other thing amounts to courting disaster.

    We also call on all Nigerians to be security conscious. Those living in neighbourhoods should take interest in knowing residents and checking up on their activities unobtrusively. Where there are grounds to suspect movements and activities that could endanger the lives of others, such information should be supplied to the law enforcement agents. To defeat insurgents, kidnappers, armed robbers and other enemies of the state, the security agencies ought, too, to step up efforts at cultivating the support of the people.

    All forms of social discrimination are subversive of the national interest and should be rejected. Organisations and institutions that, by their utterances appear to be fanning embers of disunity at a time like this must be told unequivocally that they are acting contrary to the national interest.