The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • Catholic church to establish agro-based vocational schools in Calabar

    The Catholic Archdiocese of Calabar, Cross River State, has resolved that vocational schools that are agro-based be established in the archdiocese.

    This was resolved Maiden Archdiocesan Education Summit which held in Calabar, the state capital.

    Archbishop of Calabar, Most Rev Dr Joseph Ekuwem, said educational policy should clearly articulate social, political religions and cultural ideologies that will stimulate the Nigerian child during the learning process and prepares the child adequately to step into the society to function these capacities.

    Ekuwem said there was need for the Catholic Education Board, the highest policy making body in education matters in the Calabar Archdiocese, to take active interest in educational matters in the state and country.

    He said programmes should take cognizance of the environmental endowments and natural resources such that children from that community shall appreciate and participate in.

    The Archbishop also stressed the need for the board to form a lobby group to interact with lawmakers to push their positions on education matters.

    He also called for parents to provide quality home environment towards functional learning, prepare children for formal education and show concern for their children’s progress in school.

    He said parents owe children and the entire society the obligation of disciplining children to give them the right values.

    A communiqué at the end of the summit read in part, “Supervision has to be frequent in Catholic schools for effective teaching and learning performance. School management should evaluate the inspection processes with their staff. Schools should establish internal supervision units to prepare for staff external inspection.

    “The Catholic Schools Board Archdiocese of Calabar should adequately train the teachers in order to broaden their knowledge on the curriculum development and the content. Teachers should endeavor to assess and prepare themselves effectively before presenting their lesson in the class. The Catholic Schools Board should ensure that playgrounds with aesthetics are provided in all the Catholic Schools.

    It is the right of the child to be trained, educated and taught religion for sound moral upbringing. A child that is properly taught and evaluated by the teacher does not really need to be involved in examination malpractice.

    “The school should provide quality teachers and properly remunerate them. The school should cultivate serene environment for better teaching and learning. Parents should provide quality home environment in learning process for their children. Parents should be committed in the discipline of their children for their overall welfare. They should inculcate good values in their children.

    Parents should create a home environment suitable for learning through designing an area to do home work. They should provide ready materials. Also there should be genuine interest and active engagement from parents.

    “Government should pay living wages to enable parents live up to their family obligations. Children should develop the passion to learn and be committed. Home where parents do not speak refined English Language should be encouraged to speak the local dialect and norms to their children before going to learn English in school.

    “Our teachers must be oriented with the right attitude to supervision. The Catholic Church must as a matter of urgency create an inspectorate unit to achieve the desired change and assure improved quality of teaching and learning in all Catholic Schools. To identify suitable teachers in the system and avail them the necessary trainings for inspectorate duties.

    “Capacity building be modified to include scholarship to produce highly qualified professionals ad provision of adequate modern equipment and instructional materials in the schools. Funds need to be made available to remunerate inspectors as an incentive. Follow up inspection should be done to find out the effectiveness of their earlier exercise. Capacity building by way of training and retraining of teachers will enhance functional literacy in Catholic education.

    “The Catholic Schools should endeavor to focus on the training of teachers, especially Tourism teachers. Government or the national policy makers also should endeavor to involve qualified private sectors in preparing sound curriculum that will produce sound functional literacy in teaching and learning process.

    “Expulsion in primary level should be an extreme unction last resort. Teachers should be proud of their profession, thus disciplining themselves so that their children will be disciplined.

    “Since most students don’t line reading books, the Catholic Schools Board should encourage open book test to enable them be acquainted with their textbooks.”

    Odey said the State Priority Actions set out the short-term and long-term strategies for the state to more effectively prevent and respond to violence against children.

    She said the Priority Actions not only define the role of each stakeholder in ending violence against children, but also acknowledge that no one entity can end VAC alone.

    “I take this opportunity to call upon State and Local Government level actors, civil society, religious and traditional leaders, faith based organizations, community based organizations, the private sector, the media, families and local communities to join the Cross River State ‘End Violence Against Children Campaign’ to ensure all of our children are able to grow up free from violence. I am filled with hope that together we can eradicate violence against our children in Cross River State,” the Commissioner appealed.

  • We are building capacity for improvement, says Ibom Power MD

    We are building capacity for improvement, says Ibom Power MD

    The management of Ibom Power Company (IPC) is implementing a Capacity Building Programme (CBP). This programme was created as part of the company’s policy on business continuity and performance enhancement.

    Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of Ibom Power, Dr. Victor Udo said “the CBP is a learning platform to train and develop participants’ competency in electric power business operations. The programme is limited to a maximum of 40 participants at any given time”.

    “The training programme includes internship, apprenticeship, industrial training for Polytechnic and University students along with members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posted to IPC” he said.

    The MD said that “since July 2014 when the programme commenced, the CBP initiative has been beneficial to candidates from across the three (3) Senatorial Districts in AkwaIbom State”.

    According to the power Boss, “thus far, at least 64 individuals have been involved in CBP. When there are openings for employment in the company, some CBP candidates are considered based on their performance”.

    Speaking further he added that “while IPC encourages staff that can be pulled by other plants to remain with the company, the capacity building programme serves as a ‘pipeline’ to train potential replacements for any employee who chooses to take an appointment somewhere else”.

    He concluded by saying “over the years, staff of Ibom power have been recruited by other power companies in Nigeria and the Middle East. With the CBP and our succession plan, we will always have people ready to step-in as the need arises”.

     

  • Insurgency is counterproductive to Niger Delta’s economy, says inc

    The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has described the ongoing wave of insurgency and its resultant effect on the nation’s economy as counterproductive to the Ijaw nation, condemning the destruction of national assets by insurgents.

    The apex Ijaw socio-cultural organisation expressed the resolve in a position paper, signed by the National President of the body, Barr. Boma Obofuoribo.

    While reiterating its support for the federal government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, it urged government to go about managing the escalating situation with restraint, noting that only dialogue and negotiating could yield the best results.

    While calling on those behind the insurgency to call their activities off with immediate effect, the INC called the federal government to start taking steps that will positively impact on the people of region.

    “The Ijaw ethnic nationality pledges its support to the federal government of Nigeria, led by President Muhammadu Buhari. This support has been made in various fora. We are non-partisan and apolitical and we will support any popularly elected government.

    “”We condemn the present resurgence of bombings of pipelines and oil installations in the Niger Delta as this ultimately, is counterproductive to the Niger Delta and the Nigerian state.

    “We appeal to the federal government to show restraint in its pronouncement and actions to crush the Niger Delta militants. We believe that this will not bring any lasting solution to this complex problem. The options of dialogue and negotiating are worthwhile and therefore, should be pursued.

    “While we urge the perpetrators to immediately stop these unwholesome actions, we appeal to the federal government to restructure the amnesty programme for better impact on the people and the community to assuage the plight of the people of the region and remove, from focus, some of the issues that have been responsible for these behaviours.

    “We appeal to the federal government to urgently enter into dialogue with stakeholders in the region in a bid to safeguard the interest of the nation”, it said.

     

  • Amaechi…How graft can fight back

    Since after President Buhari’s visit to the United Kingdom for the anti-corruption summit, the media has been flooded with several kinds of commentaries. Many of them were filled with disingenuous insinuations while others blatantly promoted disorderly falsehood to get underserved public attention. I attended that summit and was delighted with the respect and warm reception that was accorded to the Nigerian leader. He gave the organisers a dose of his no-nonsense style when he arrived for the event at about 7.00 am, before everyone else including the Secretary General of Commonwealth. I arrived the Marlborough House a few minutes after the Nigerian President and witnessed with delight, the commotion among journalists who were struggling to either get a glimpse of him or get him to say a word.

    Few days later the UK Daily mail led the lot in a short but widely publicised piece published on 14th of May where they attempted unsuccessfully to link the President and his Minister of Transportation with imaginary corruption charges. Nothing can be more misleading than such article filled with shallow fabrications. I was shocked that many respected media organisations and columnists jumped into the fray without investigating the veracity of the information contained in the Daily Mail piece. Let me say without any equivocation that the said report was filled with various forms of factual in-correctness. I will expect any serious media outfit to try to double-check the facts before running with any story alleging issues of corruption – at least from the little I know about ethical journalism. One may decide to overlook some of the fringe media outfits who jumped into the fray and featured the article. But I cannot say the same for the mention by Aljazeera.

    I am aware that both President Buhari and Minister Amaechi have handlers whose duty it is to supply accurate information to halt concocted stories like those spread by Daily Mail. However, as a citizen I am concerned that such extra-ordinary claims not backed with adequate evidence should be subjected to scrutiny to expose that the UK media outfit is merely on a predetermined and probably procured hatchet job. Such untidy piece of journalism is reprehensible and potentially libellous to say the least. For instance, contrary to that report, Mr. Amaechi did not attend the summit and was not part of the Presidential delegation. The video of the event is in the public domain for all to see. That Daily Mail could not notice his absence clearly shows that such a media outfit should not be taken seriously.

    In addition, the whole issue of Mr. Amaechi’s donations to the Buhari’s campaign remains an old fable whose promoters have continuously failed to substantiate. It remains in the imagination of those bandying it around. For many knowledgeable observers, a majority of the campaign funds spent during Buhari’s Presidential campaigns were raised from ordinary Nigerians like me who made out of pocket donations here and there because we were tired of the ‘lootocracy’ under former President Jonathan. I remember that the donations were pouring in billions until the PDP government at that time got the Nigerian Communications Commission to block the scheme. They even attempted to trap the funds in the bank. Now how does the fact that someone acted as the Director General of the Campaign automatically make such a person as sole financier? Nothing can be farther from the truth.

    The ongoing probe of the National Security Adviser otherwise known as ‘Dasukigate’ is about tracing how funds originally meant to be used to fight Boko Haram insurgency were diverted. The attention generated by Dasukigate is partly because the funds were part of the recoveries from the monies repatriated from those stolen by the late dictator Sani Abacha. It is purely a security issue although the funds somehow ended up travelling through former President Jonathan’s campaigns to private pockets. However, Nigerians expect that anyone who is linked with the funds will be so prosecuted regardless of party affiliation.

    The second misleading part of the article under reference is the allusion that the British tax payers’ money might have been used to finance the campaigns. I know that the British Aid Agency, the Department for International Development has offices in Nigeria. One will guess they should clarify this. The expectation is for them to provide any evidence of direct financial contribution to Rivers State while Mr, Amaechi served as governor or to the Buhari’s campaign organisation. That is the only way to validate the claim made by Daily Mail in this regard.

    Now looking at the article written by Abimbola Adelakun, one will notice that she understands the biased motive of the Daily Mail article which she described as a desperate move to get back at President Buhari, an outdated propaganda which according to her, that had nothing new to say. I concur with her description of the comments of Prime Minister Cameron as a colonial condescension. However, I noticed that while she tried to pretend to be neutral, she betrayed her one sidedness especially on issues relating to the former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi. Those who do not know Abimbola could assume from the slant of her article that she had other intentions. For instance, as someone who is watching the Nigerian political scene closely, many readers expected Abimbola to know that tarring the former governor with fictional corruption charges has been the preoccupation of the Rivers State government under the incumbent governor, Nyesom Wike, for the past one year. They expected the columnist to have full knowledge of the story of the elections that produced that governor which was described as one of the most shambolic elections in the history of Nigeria. It is in the news that more than one hundred persons have been killed or beheaded before, during or since after that election under the murderous reign of the former Minister for education.

    One of Mr. Wike’s major political credentials is that of someone who has mastery in sponsoring unguarded verbal missiles at his political enemies.  Hanging corruption charges on the neck of Mr. Amaechi seems to be the only way Mr. Wike wants to pay back the defeated former President Jonathan and his wife who imposed him on the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) in the state. Immediately after he was declared winner of that flawed election, it is a well-known fact that Wike quickly put together a judicial commission which concluded its investigations without giving Mr. Amaechi any right of fair hearing. Even while the report of the commission is still being contested in court, Daily Mail apparently lifted figures from it and even amplified it to 500 million pounds. How can anyone depend on such a report to canvass a position and not be guilty of prejudice? How bizarre?

    I suggest that those who have impeccable and verifiable evidence of corruption against either President Buhari or Mr. Amaechi should bring it forward and head to court. For many informed Nigerians, Nyesom Wike’s government cannot be the source of any credible information about Buhari and Amaechi’s wrongdoings.  They know that he is on a mission of political persecution and has constantly failed to prove his allegations beyond any reasonable doubt.  The grand plan is to use every means possible to derail President Buhari’s anti-corruption efforts and make political capital out of it. Any keen observer must understand that corruption is a potent political tool in Nigeria and any leader who attempts to fight it must expect a resistance from the beneficiaries of the status quo such as Wike and his co-travellers. This must not surprise anyone. What is indeed surprising is that outfits like Daily Mail and Aljazeera could rest on such lies to try to mislead the unsuspecting public.

    • Igwe, a public commentator, is based in the UK.

     

  • Sai Baba and Niger Delta

    Sai Baba and Niger Delta

    It is one year and five days today that President Muhammadu Buhari became the landlord in Aso Presidential Villa, Abuja. Not one single kilometre of federal road has been tarred anywhere in this oil-rich region. The North, Southeast and Southwest are also in the same situation.

    The song of hip-hop act, African China, comes to mind at a time like this: “Food no dey, walahi light no dey. And our road no good…”

    And to add salt to injury, the people of five states in the region have not had the honour of being visited by their president. Of the six states in the Southsouth, Buhari, in his first year in office, only visited Cross River. Delta, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Edo and Bayelsa did not have the honour of hosting the president.

    For reasons best known to those behind it, brigands in the Niger Delta were reborn in the first year of the Buhari administration. A new ‘terror’ group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), emerged. Grenades were thrown at major oil and gas facilities at will. They said without some conditions being met by Buhari, peace would elude the Niger Delta, their home. And, by extension, Nigeria.

    They bombed the Chevron valve facility and the 48-inch trunk line supplying crude oil to Warri refinery. The Chevron facility they bombed is the main connecting point where all other platforms are linked up. “With the valve platform blown all Chevron activities are now halted,” the group boasted.

    Their demands are myriad. One of them is the immediate implementation of the report of the 2014 National Conference organised in the run-up to the last general elections by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan. They said if this was not done, the country would break up.

    Another of their demands centres on ownership of oil blocks. They said 60 per cent of the oil blocks must be owned by indigenes of oil-producing areas.

    The avengers also had an axe to grind with their fellow Niger Deltan and Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who earlier in the life of the Buhari administration faulted the Maritime University started by the Jonathan administration. They said Amaechi, an Ikwerre man from Rivers, must apologise to the Ijaw on whose soil the university is situated for his “careless and reckless statement about the siting of the university”. They said maritime university “is located in the most appropriate and befitting place Okerenkoko” and must start the 2015/2016 academic session immediately.

    They also said Ogoni and all oil-polluted areas in the Niger Delta must be cleaned up and compensation paid to the communities. They also demanded that the Niger Delta Amnesty programme must be well funded and allowed to continue to function effectively.

    These avengers also claimed the Buhari’s anti-corruption campaign was, in his first year, skewed in favour of his political associates. The militants said that all members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) indicted in any corruption-related cases should be made to face trial like members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

     

    They also demanded apologies from Buhari, the Department of State Services and ex-Governor Timipre Sylva for killing former Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, “with intimidation and harassment because of his party affiliation”.

    “Until our demands are met, no repair works should be done at the blast site. Whoever that is going there for any repair work will be doing that at their detriment,” they threatened.

    As expected, the president wrote them off. Fighter jets are now in the region trying to smoke them out. If their statement is anything to go by, they are not deterred. Their latest statement, issued on Tuesday, threatened the military, the oil companies and their workers. And of course the economy.

    Let’s get away from the avengers, whose real motives are still shrouded. In the last one year, the common man in the Niger Delta has not felt the change that Buhari promised.

    The common Niger Deltans are still poor, stinking and not sure of where the next meal will come from. They are yet to quit the creeks. Their houses, made of wood, are still covered with palm front. For them, luxury is a stranger. Their children can still not go to school.

    At this juncture, I will like to share my thoughts on what the president and governors in the region can do so that by May 29, next year and beyond, we will have a better story to tell about the common Niger Deltan.

    I will start with the East-West Coastal Road, which can be funded through Public Private Partnership (PPP) since there is cash crunch in the land. The concept, construction and cost of the East-West Coastal Road surpasses geographical spread, technical and structural specification, of any other project ever undertaken since independence.

    The proposed road, which will originate from Udukpani in Cross Rivers State, will transverse and connect over 1,000 communities and will terminate at Aiyeteju, Epe, in Lagos State. The three sections of the road will pass through areas with challenging and difficult terrains. The East-West Coastal Road Section 1 is from Warri to Kaikama in Delta State; the Section II is from Port Harcourt to Ahoada in Rivers State and Section II-II from Ahoada, Rivers State to Kaiama in Bayelsa State. It will interface with the ongoing Trans-African Highway running from Dakar, Senegal to Mombasa in Kenya.

    The East-West Coastal Road, according to experts, will serve as the shortest link between Lagos and the coastal areas of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ondo and Rivers states. It is also meant to stem the rising tide of rural-urban drift as the opportunities within the region will outweigh those outside it.

    The road will enhance the security of the region and Nigeria at large. It will facilitate the direct access to waterways that have not been utilised, even as it will encourage the setting up of core maritime engineering facilities, such as ocean terminal for deep-sea anchorage; ship repairs and maintenance facilities to handle the engineering needs of big ocean-going vessels; fishing and passenger commuter terminals; increase in fishing activities in the coastal region; encouraging the establishment of functional Export Processing Zones (EPZs) in the coastal states; and boosting trading activities.

    The road will open up employment opportunities to both skilled and unskilled labour during and after the construction of the road. The road will facilitate new investment in the coastal areas of the Niger Delta and encourage local technology and content.

    Also, there should be profound commitment to the prosecution of a diversified economic roadmap with special emphasis on agricultural transformation and agro-industrial development that will utilise available local raw materials and other contents.

    The various states should be made less dependent on statutory allocations from the Federation Account and concentrate on other areas of revenue-generation. This is time to plan for Niger Delta after oil.

    I also want the administration to ensure the proper monitoring of the activities of oil companies to control the recklessness associated with oil exploration and exploitation as most of the past spills and other ecological disasters have either been as a result of poor regulation or none at all.

    Given the success of Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals, more investment should be encouraged in the area of petro-chemicals and agro-allied industries.

    And to governors in the region, it is time to collaborate to realise their goals through judicious deployment of the region’s oil earnings to ensure a seamless transition from huge allocations to none at all.

    My final take: It is only when the welfare of the people of the Niger Delta becomes the utmost concern of leaders at the federal, states and local government levels that those years of marginalisation, lack of representation, physical development and exploitation can be reversed. With opportunities for all, dissent and rancour will be banished.

    The region sure needs leadership that thinks years ahead of its contemporaries to bring enduring succour and satisfaction to the people and extricate them from crass poverty, hunger, under-development and want.

     

  • Foundation celebrates destitute children

    Foundation celebrates destitute children

    It was fanfare for destitute children in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital May 27, when a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), Nice-Esther For All Foundation (NEFAF), and its sister NGO Nice-Esther Alamieyesiegha Rescue Initiative(NEARI), held a great party to celebrate them on International Children’s Day Celebration.

    The event witnessed the assemblage of children from over seven destitute homes within and outside the city of Port Harcourt, especially children from Cheshire Motherless Babies Home and those from special school, comprising the deaf and dumb, the blind, autistic and Down Syndrome children.

    The kids, who were thrilled with bouncing castle and clowns, were also treated with various fun games, including dancing competition, egg race, among others.  Winners of each of the games received cash rewards for their host family for their bravery.

    Some of the adults in the party though not the focused, stole part of the fun as they feign  kids and staged a dance competition for which were equally rewarded. they also received cash awards.

    The Executive Director of the foundations,  Mrs. Nice Aleruchi Tomboulayefa Alamieyesiegha, a graduate of Computer Science, and her husband, Godknows Alamieyesiegha, said their passion for the less privileged was informed by their understanding of the place they (destitute) hold in the heart of God.

    They believe that children are gifts from God and that anybody who makes sincere contribution to their lives  will be rewarded accordingly.

    Mrs. Alamieyesiegha expressed optimism in the ability of the Nigerian child to become better leaders tomorrow. She urged the children to believe in themselves.

    She said: “We are celebrating our children, today’s child is tomorrow’s leader. Our children are gifts from God, we are remembering every child that lost their life in Agatu and Enugu herdsmen attacks as well as those who were orphaned or even died in all the Boko Haram attacks in the country, and pray the good Lord to grant them eternal rest, and help to the orphaned children all over the country and the world at large, in Jesus name. Amen.

    “Nice-Esther For All Foundation/Nice-Esther Alamieyesiegha Rescue Initiative (NEFAF/NEARI), are two different Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO), being run by us to carter for the down trodden, the less privileged ones of the society, the poorest of the poor, in fact the destitute.

    “In this particular program today, (May 27), because it is children’s’ Day celebration we decided to organise this event to give destitute children chance to have a feel of the day, share in the same joy and happiness the children of the rich and wealthy of the society enjoy in a day like this, and this suggests the kind of children invited to this celebration today.

    “No fewer than seven destitute homes and Foundations are in this event and some of which are, children from port Harcourt Cheshire Home, Our Lady Mother of Perpetual Help(motherless babies home), Global foundation,  Perpetual Succour for women and children, The Child’s Special school, David Bassey Ikpeme Foundation and homes and the physically challenged in the Non-Indigene state.

    “Our beneficiaries cut across all age groups as long as you are a destitute, including young girls (girl mothers) who found themselves in the challenge of teenage pregnancy, we encourage and assist them to have and keep their babies instead of engaging in abortion, and their after they can help them to move on with their lives, by helping them learn a trade or go back to school as they raise their babies.

    “These foundations have great passion for widows. We have a lot of them we carter for within and outside the Niger Delta Region. Recently the Foundations under their Free Housing scheme, in collaboration with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), built houses with modern facilities and bore hole for two widows in Rivers and Abia state. The NGOs have a lot of things in the offering for the down trodden, but we need partners to achieve lots more. She noted.

    Also the husband believes that children being the hope for the future ought to be celebrated and taken care of to avoid bleak tomorrow.

    “Children are future leaders, if they are not taking good care of, then we are playing with our future.”

    He further explained the reason he has always supported the wife in doing expressing her love in doing charity and the family’s love in dinning and winning with the downtrodden instead of people in their class said, “I am from a humble family. My father was a palm wine tapper; my family had nothing to write home about when it comes to wealth, but God’s mercy picked us from the dust to where we are today.

    “Now looking at these children, they may have been written off by some persons but nobody knows what God has in stock for them. God can turn anybody’s life and condition around in split second; it does not matter where the person is today, his/her tomorrow is mysterious and it is only God that has the joker card. It is on the light of this that I support my wife in doing what she has passion doing.

    “Having this understanding that God alone makes and brings down; I price everybody, every child equally. Children from rich homes are not in any way better than these ones here today, it is only time that will tell.” He concluded.

    He pledged continued support for the wife in carrying out this task for God till they depart from earth, stressing that what she is doing is for the good of the society, and therefore should be encouraged.

    Extolling the good virtues of the Alamieyesieghas’ especially as regarding love for the poor, wife of a former council chairman, Dr. Oroma Nmerukini, herself also a lover of destitute said,  “My main reason for honouring the invitation to be at this event is because it has to do with what I am passionate about. And when I got here and saw the huge party this family has thrown for this kids and see the crowd of children in attendance, I was humbled and overwhelmed.

    “Since then, my heart has gone out for the husband and wife and I have been praying that the Almighty God that touched them to remember the forgotten of the society will bless them and enlarge them. This is because it takes the heart of true love to remember this class of persons, the orphans, very poor of the society and the homeless. They are also the kind of people I have passion for, therefore I am fulfilled coming to this party.” She said.

    The coordinator of the children from special school, Bernard Efofiom Edet, hailed the family.

    “Our big mummy has been organising this party for so many years now, to help the less privileged of the society to feel belonging in the society. I have observed that each time this children attend this party and mix up with other children, they are happy and feel belonged and a little more sensible.

    “The children we are handling have special deformity, they have mental disease that affects their sense of understanding and comprehension but when whenever they come to this party you see them behave like somehow normal children.”

  • Towards ending violence against children in Cross River

    Seeking for means to end violence perpetuated against children has been on the agenda of the Cross River State government. This desire, which has also been driven by the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), has continued to gather momentum to check the rising spate of the menace.
    Over the past few months, they have worked with various stakeholders as faith-based organizations, security agencies, civil society organizations, and the media among others in the state to ensure awareness is created about the issue so it can be addressed. They rue that the issue if violence against children is endemic, yet people are not talking about it.
    To this end, among several workshops and other activities organized by the government and UNICEF, is a launch of the campaign on Violence Against Children (VAC) slated for June 16, 2016 and a technical working group (TWG) inaugurated drive the cause. The launch would make Cross River, the second state to do so after Lagos State. It had also been launched by the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government in September 2015.
    Some statistic provided by Child Protection Specialist UNICEF Nigeria, Enugu Field Office Mrs Nkiru Maduechesi, who in the past months, has been working with the state government through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, indicated that 24.8 per cent of girls are sexually abused while 10.8 per cent of boys are abused sexually.
    According to her, among victims of sexual abuse prior to 18 years of age, 70.5 % females and 69.2% males reported multiple incidents.
    She also pointed out that 49.7 per cent of girls are physically abused, while 52.3 per cent of boys suffer same. She noted that such abuses occur in the home of the perpetrator or victim and also in school. The perpetrators, she said mostly include neighbours, relatives and teachers.
    Maduechesi said, “Of those children who experience of sexual abuse in the last 12 months, only 15.6% of girls and 26.1% of boys knew where to seek help, but only 5.2% girls/3.4% boys sought help, and only 4.2% girls, 3.4% of boys received help. Less than half tell anyone at all.”
    She stressed the need for all stakeholders to work together to end the scourge of violence against children in the society.
    At the various workshops held with various stakeholders in the state, she said were aimed at sharing lessons learnt from the Federal and Lagos State launch of End Violence Against Children Campaign; share key National VAC survey findings and consider their implication for programming in Cross River; review the developed multi-sectorial response for preventing and responding to VAC and adapt it to the Cross River context; as well as plan for the Cross River launch including identifying and inaugurating members of the planning committee for the launch of the state response plan.
    Another Child Protection Specialist with UNICEF, Mr Tatenda Makoni, who decried the spate of violence against children in the country, classified them into physical, sexual and emotional violence.
    These he said have far reaching consequences on the children and the society at large.
    Speaking at press briefing to launch the campaign to end VAC organized by the UNICEF with the state government, Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Stella Odey, said they were leaving no stone unturned in making sure the malaise is wiped from the state.
    The Commissioner said the state, which already has a Child Rights Act in place, has zero tolerance to any kind of abuse against children.
    Odey said the launch by the President, which contributes to the attainment of the goals of the National Priority Agenda for Vulnerable Children in Nigeria (2013-2020), is a clear indication that the commitment to end violence against children reaches the highest political level.
    “We are proud to respond to the call of the President for every State in Nigeria to launch its own campaign and priority actions, during the Year of Action, to more effectively prevent and respond to all forms of violence against children,” she said.
    Odey said the State Priority Actions set out the short-term and long-term strategies for the state to more effectively prevent and respond to violence against children.
    She said the Priority Actions not only define the role of each stakeholder in ending violence against children, but also acknowledge that no one entity can end VAC alone.
    “I take this opportunity to call upon State and Local Government level actors, civil society, religious and traditional leaders, faith based organizations, community based organizations, the private sector, the media, families and local communities to join the Cross River State ‘End Violence Against Children Campaign’ to ensure all of our children are able to grow up free from violence. I am filled with hope that together we can eradicate violence against our children in Cross River State,” the Commissioner appealed.

  • Families cry out over ailing sons at police cell

    Families cry out over ailing sons at police cell

    The families of Alali God-dey Tamuno-Ene and Da Obufia Isokariari – being detained by officers of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Rivers State – have urged the Inspector General of Police (IG) to save their sons.

    The suspects, who hailed from Buguma in Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, were arrested at Elekiohia and Eagle Island axis of Port Harcourt in connection with some robbery cases and they have spent more than a week in police cell.

    Mrs. Inye Braide, the mother of Da Obufia Isokariari, said her son “is dying and stooling blood in police cell and is innocent of any reason for which police have arrested him”.

    She alleged that the police subjected her son to serious torture to admit to the crime he did not commit, adding that she was going to die if police continue torturing her son.

    She noted that the last time she visited his son he was very weak and in a serious pain due to the level of beating and torture police subjected him to.

    Mr. Tamuno Tonye, the sister  to Alali God-dey Tamuno-Ene, said her family would not take it lightly with the Rivers State Police Command if anything happened to her brother in police cell.

    She said:  “Already my brother is vomiting blood due to the wound he sustained from police hard torture and beating.

    “He is innocent. We are calling on the general public and the Inspector General of Police to assist us order thorough investigation into the matter.

    Their lawyer, Mr. Innocent Naador of Igweonwu Chambers, threatened a legal action against Anti-Robbery Squad officers for unlawful arrest, detention and torture.

    He said his clients informed him and their relatives that they knew nothing about the robbery or any other crime for which the police arrested them.

    Naador said: “We have visited the police station and met with the Investigating Police Officer who assured us that our clients were held and detained. They are vomiting and stooling blood from an injuries sustained from torture and beating. We want the Police to charge them to court or have us to contend with.”

    The Rivers State Police Spokesman, Ahmad Mohammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), confirmed the arrests but disagreed with the suspects’ lawyer and relatives that they were subjected to serious torture.

    He said the families were being economical with the truth of the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the duo, adding that the issue of torture is seriously discouraged by the force. 9

  • Flood hits Ebonyi

    Flood hits Ebonyi

    No fewer than five communities in Ebonyi State have been grappling with floodwaters after their farmlands were submerged.

    The affected communities are in Ivo Local Government Area of the state.

    Residents of the communities said their farmlands were washed off after a federal government dam under construction forced water to spill over from other channnels into lower-lying lands.

    The incident threw farmers and their families into grief.

    The dam was being built in Npu in Anuri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

    The affected communities are Ameke, Okue, Amaokwe, Ngwo-gwo and Obodo.

    Visiting the dam site on Monday upon learning of the development, Governor David Umahi ordered   a comprehensive report of farms and cash crops destroyed by the flood.

    He noted that the damage was huge, adding that the report would be sent to the federal government with a view to assisting the state and farmers whose means of livelihood had been severely affected.

    He said, “We came to the point of the Ukeh River Dam that is being constructed by the Federal Government in Npu,Anuri Local Government Area of Enugu State.

    “A comprehensive report will be carried out so that we can seek Federal Government’s assistance not only to the state but to the farmers whose agricultural produce has been seriously damaged.”

    The Caretaker Committee Chairman of Ivo Local Government Area, Chief O. Ude, who accompanied Governor Umahi to the site of the dam, said the blockade caused water to overflow backwards, thereby   destroying  the farmlands in  the affected communities.

    “If you look back from where we are standing, you will see a river coming down from there; that is Ivo, and this river is Ukeh. So the rivers meet here and it is from here that the constructors created an embankment that makes water to flow backwards.”

    The chairman of Ngwogwo Community Development Union, Mr. Johnson Ukpai, lamented that the fllod had destroyed agricultural produce like yams, cassava, rice, maize and cocoyam.

    He pleaded with the federal government to come to their rescue.

    “The blockage of the dam which resulted in the overflow of water to  our community has caused enormous damage. Our crops like, yams, cassava, rice, maize, cocoyams have been destroyed.”

    Youths of the area were seen displaying cassava tubers which had decayed due to the impact of the flood.

    Mr. Augustine Ossai, a liaison officer in Ivo legislative council, called on the Federal Government and the National Emergency Management Agency to immediately come to the assistance of farmers in the area.

     

  • Imo sustains crackdown on vice

    Imo sustains crackdown on vice

    The message is clear: the heat is on criminals in Imo State. Early last month, we reported a major operation the state launched against suspected criminals in Owerri, the state capital. Security agents moved into an area said to be a haven of kidnappers, drug dealers, robbers and common thieves, and tore it down, arresting some suspects.

    Midway into the month, a shanty district allegedly a den of shady characters in Okigwe was also destroyed.

    Now, a similar clean-up has been carried out in Ohubaa in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area of the state. There, bulldozers have been pulling down buildings and shanties patronised by people believed to have put residents through severe pain.

    As the bulldozers tore down  gigantic and palatial buildings owned by suspected kidnap kingpins, neighbours were stunned as stern-looking policemen and soldiers supervised the demolition.

    A handful of villagers who watched from a measured distance, swore that they never suspected that the men who often came home with exotic cars and a retinue of friends were kidnappers. But the security agents were not deceived by their feigned ignorance as they insisted that they were aware of the heinous crime but chose to conceal the information from the police.

    The exercise elicited widespread jubilation in Ohubaa, a sleepy community, which has earned notoriety as a major hideout of dangerous kidnappers and hardened criminals.

    Some of the elderly men and women were more forthcoming. They danced and hailed the security operatives for liberating the community from the clutches of the men of the underworld, who had long tormented them.

    They said, “We have been living in fear as they have taken over the community and no one can challenge them or dare report them to the police, even when we know what they were doing but for the fear of our lives we cannot say anything. But today we are happy that at last the security men have caught up with them and we are ready to point out their properties.”

    During the operation tagged “Operation Osheebe” led by the Imo State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere and the State Police Commissioner, Taiwo Lakanu and the Commander 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze, Brigadier General Kay Isiyaku,  over ten houses were pulled down the in the agrarian community.

    According to Police sources, most of the kidnap incidents in the State are coordinated from a massive forest located in the community, where the victims are kept in connivance with the villagers who conceal the information from security agents.

    The Deputy Governor in his speech stated that the operation was in line with the determination of the State government to give priority to the security of life and property of the people living in the State.

    He said that the State government will not rest on its oars until those behind the unwholesome acts of kidnapping, armed robbery and other crimes are brought to book.

    Madumere who was shocked by the massive buildings owned by the kidnappers, said that the demolition exercise is a strategy that will have a lasting effects in the minds of the people so serve as a deterrent to others.

    He noted that it will be an unpardonable error on the part of the government if it allows those known for ill gotten wealth to continue to show off with their wealth, adding that, “such will be contradicting the cherished value and the very foundation of the society.”

    The Commissioner of Police, in his speech, noted that the strategy of demolishing the homes of criminals and their accomplices will send a warning signal that whoever indulges in crime and those abating and protecting them will not go unpunished.