The Nation Newspaper

Category: Niger Delta

  • From guns to books

    From guns to books

    •IYC rebrands Ijaw struggle

    They were known for militancy, brigandage, thuggery and violence. Their sight used to evoke foreboding and uncertainty. But, now Ijaw youths want to be known as peacemakers, nation-builders and patriotic Nigerians.

    The youths of the oil-rich Niger Delta are learning a new approach to their struggles for true federalism, self-determination and resource control. Instead of firing guns, they are exploring intellectualism as a new paradigm for their agitation.

    In fact, the disposition of the current umbrella body of the youths, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Worldwide,  has contributed immensely to the paradigm shift. The IYC led by a vibrant and vocal engineer, Mr.  Udens Eradiri, has introduced intellectual pursuit as the best approach to prepare the youths for a better rule of engagement with the rest of the country.

    So, Eradiri and his team including the council’s Spokesman, Comrade Eric Omare, who is also a lawyer, are setting up facilities, engaging in programmes and signing agreements to encourage learning among the youths.

    Recently, Eradiri’s IYC surprisingly built and inaugurated a library and Information Communication Technology (ICT) Centre and named it after the late icon of Ijaw struggle, Oronto Douglas. The late Douglas was famously known for intellectually placing the Ijaw agitation in the global map. He criss-crossed the world, writing books, holding discussions and speaking in various conferences to promote the cause of the Ijaw.

    The library is domiciled at the headquarters of the IYC located in the Ijaw House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. The brief ceremony to open the library for public use was attended by the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, an aide to the governor, Mr. Kennedy West,  IYC executive members and other youth leaders.

    Eradiri extolled the virtues of prominent persons who were products of the IYC such as Douglas, the former NIMASA Director-General,  Patrick Akpobulokemi, and Dr. Felix Tuodolor, who represented Dickson in the event.

    He said: “ IYC is an institution that builds men that have actually make things happen in the country. And so if we have such an instituition and today we are at the helms of leadership then  we must also contribute our quota to ensuring that it becomes a breeding ground for leadership. And how do you breed leaders?

    “First of all, they must be educated because all these leaders that I have mentioned have education. And so the least we can do is to create an environment to develop young people.  And that is why we thought that a library and an ICT centre will go a long way to change the perception of our young people”.

    He said the library and ICT Centre were built to provide costless means of studying and quality research through internet-linked laptops and computers. He described the facilities as the best way to evolve future leaders adding that IYC should be rated based on its ability to add values to the society.

    He said his leadership recently launched an educational endowment and appealed to everyone doing business in the Niger Delta region to contribute to the endowment funds. “If the IYC today is standing as an instituition to protect our people, our people must be responsible enough to support it”,  he said.

     

  • Case for women’s participation in oil community’s agenda

    In view of the fact that women have always been at the receiving end of environmental devastation ravaging the oil rich Niger Delta region for a long time now, the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) has made case for them to be allowed to participate in oil community agenda.

    This decision was contained in a communiqué issued by CEHRD, the Civil Society Organisations and Media at the end of a forum on “Human Rights and the Environment in the Niger Delta” which took place in Port Harcourt.

    The forum which was orgainsed by CEHRD with the theme: “Feeling the Pulse of Communities: Oil Corporations and Human Rights Violations in the Niger Delta” also resolved that  women are the integral part of society and therefore their interests must be protected especially as they are the most impacted by oil activities.

    In the communiqué signed on behalf of the group by the Head of Governance, CEHRD Mr Lawrence, it was also advocated that women be included in community decision making and constitution drafting for elections to be democratic.

    The forum also urged women to be more organised.

    The forum also stated that for there to be a harmonious working relationship between the oil companies, regulatory agencies and oil communities, the “Petroleum Industry Bill should be passed to give NOSDRA the needed muscle to do its work.”

    Oil-impacted communities were also advised to begin to look beyond the usual corporate social responsibility projects like roads, schools, scholarships and demand equity shares in in-coming oil companies to their areas.

    It urged civil society organisations to sensitise communities on the divestments springing up in the region. The media was enjoined to “inform the public on divestment, protect public interest and work with civil society to enthrone respect for human rights and environment in the Niger Delta.”

  • Day Amaechi turned train conductor

    Day Amaechi turned train conductor

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi turned a train conductor in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital last week. This was hours after he had been welcomed by a huge crowd during his first official engagement in the state which he ruled for about eight years.

    Amaechi, a former Rivers Governor and ex-Speaker of the House of Assembly, was in Port Harcourt for the inauguration of Port Harcourt-Aba (in Abia State) Mass Transit Train Service at the Port Harcourt Station of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

    Policemen, especially of the traffic department, had it so tough on Wednesday, December 16, sweating profusely in the scorching sun, in their attempts to control the traffic, which was at a standstill for some hours.

    Most of the teeming associates of Amaechi, a former Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and an ex-Chairman of the Conference of Speakers of Nigerian Houses of Assembly, as well as reporters had to alight and parked their cars in safe places and trekked long distances to the railway terminus at the old Port Harcourt Township, popularly called Town.

    The former Director-General of Buhari/Osinbajo Campaign Organisation also had a hectic time, before getting to the NRC’s office.

    The kick-off was fixed for 10 a.m., but the minister of transportation and members of his entourage could not get to the venue until 11:55 a.m.

    Immediately after inaugurating the fully-air-conditioned train, with executive seats, the ex-chairman of NGF decided to ride it to Aba, with the other coaches occupied by his associates, admirers and top government officials.

    By the time the event was rounded off, it became a Herculean task to control the surging crowd, making the transportation minister to become emergency conductor, as he stood by the door checking in some persons and had to apologise to many others, for not being able to make the historic journey.

    Amaechi, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also played the role of an official of NRC, by holding a flag and standing by the side of the train, to direct passersby and motorists on the railway.

    Most people who saw Amaechi with the flag were eager that the mass transit train service should quickly commence, thereby putting an end to the horrible traffic on the deplorable Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu expressway, which now has craters at the middle of the federal road.

    The historic inauguration was also attended by the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Abubakar Sirika; the Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa; Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation; Alhaji Sabiyu Zakari, and the Managing Director of NRC, Adeseyi Sijuwade.

    Also in attendance were retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte; a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), Prof. Nimi Briggs; eminent monarchs from Rivers and Abia states; ex-Rivers commissioners and Wike’s former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, who recently resigned, among others.

    Amaechi, in his address, assured that the Federal Government would take a position on the Port Harcourt International Airport, ranked as the worst in the world, as soon as possible.

    He also gave an assurance that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s would revive the railway sub-sector.

    Amaechi said: “I want to say to the Governor of Abia State that there is no political party in development. Just like we say, naira has no colour. So, there is no PDP, no APC. If your governor is ready to contribute to mass transit in Aba and Abia, we are ready to work with him.

    “It is with great delight and humility that myself and the Minister of State for Aviation welcome you to this landmark event of formal flag-off of the Port Harcourt -Aba Mass Transit Train Service by the NRC, which marks another milestone in the development of railway system in Nigeria.

    “I am delighted to note that as part of the ongoing efforts and commitment of the Federal Government to provide safe and affordable means of mass transportation in the country, the NRC has completed the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Aba rail line, being segment of the narrow guage Eastern rail line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, and the line is ready for commissioning and commence operations.

    “This administration’s plan is to revive the railway sub-sector and achieve a Nigerian railway system that is modern, safe and affordable, and could serve as a vehicle for the delivery of sustainable economic growth, social harmony and political stability. The trains will run between Port Harcourt and Aba, with stops at key locations along this important corridors. Without doubt, the services will enhance significantly, commercial activities and foster integration among the people of Rivers and Abia States.

    “I have the pleasure to inform you that the Federal Government, through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, is planning the remodelling and the redevelopment of our major railway stations within the country. Under the rail modernisation programme, government will open new railway lines to achieve an efficient rail network.”

    In an interview with reporters in Port Harcourt, Amaechi expressed optimism that Nigerians would continue to experience change, especially in the transportation sector.

    On the number of jobs the project would create for people in the Southsouth and Southeast zones of Nigeria, the minister of transportation stated that it was not the direct jobs that were important.

    He said as soon as the train commenced operation, the indirect jobs were by far more important, stressing that people would start getting services and there would be activities, as the train would be stopping in every station, with many people hawking one thing or another.

    Amaechi assured that the informal economic activities would blossom the economy of the country, especially the economy between Port Harcourt and Aba.

    The transportation minister disclosed that there would be a new rail line that would pass through Port Harcourt, noting that the Nigerian government was going to do basically two and the seven would be done with private investors.

    The permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, in his remarks, noted that the Port Harcourt-Aba mass transit train service was part of the remarkable success stories of the Buhari’s administration.

    The king and paramount ruler of Port Harcourt, His Majesty Eze Victor Woluchem, Eze Epara Rebisi XII, stated that the railway and trains that were moribund had now come back to life, just a few weeks after the inauguration of Amaechi as transportation minister.

    The managing director of the NRC stated that since the inception of Port Harcourt railway station in 1912, so many passenger and cargo trains had traversed the rail network.

    He reiterated that sequel to the substantial progress on the rehabilitation of the existing narrow-gauge network of Eastern Rail Line, traversing Port Harcourt to Gombe, the NRC, earlier this year, commenced inter-city train service from Port Harcourt to Kano and Port Harcourt to Gombe.

    Sijuwade noted that the kick-off was the first time of establishing a mass transit train service between Port Harcourt and Aba, reiterating that Rivers state is the home of oil and gas, as well as a commercial nerve centre.

    NRC’s managing director disclosed that the train has 68-seater air-conditioned modern passenger coaches, together with standard class coaches, stressing that the train would always run four trips daily from Monday to Saturday and would depart Aba at 5 a.m. and get to Port Harcourt at 7:15 a.m. and return, while the second train would leave Aba at 3 p.m.

    Sijuwade said: “Movement relating to business transaction within the Ariaria International Market in Aba and other markets like Oil Mills, Mile One, School Road and Diobu Markets in Port Harcourt are done mostly by road.

    “In both cities (Port Harcourt and Aba), booming shopping centres and new markets, where fabric materials, plastics and motor parts are sold, are not fully patronised, due to bad roads between Aba and Port Harcourt.

    “Port Harcourt is renowned for being the homestead of petroleum and gas industries and a commercial nerve centre of the Southsouth, showcasing full-scale inter-modal trades, with the presence of an international airport, inland container depots, seaports and petroleum produce facility bases. The associated business activities undoubtedly require the mass movement of people by rail.”

    Sijuwade added that the train service would surely reduce congestion on Port Harcourt-Aba expressway, while business activities would be enhanced, assuring that production capacity in all facets of the economy would operate at optimal levels.

  • NACA urges collaborative fight against HIV in Cross River

    NACA urges collaborative fight against HIV in Cross River

    The Director General National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA), Professor Tom Idoko, has called for synergy amongst the three-tiers of government to guarantee effective combat against HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

    Prof. Idoko stated this at the flag-off of a free Multi-disease outreach programme as part of Millennium Development Goals Initiative for 2015 in Calabar.

    He opined that such collaboration would stem duplication, waste of resources and poor delivery in terms of execution.

    The NACA boss who was represented by Mrs. Nne Uwa lauded the programmes implementators Torlak Nigeria Limited for the zeal, determination and commitment to realization of set goals.

    The Chairman Calabar Municipal Council Ntufam Donatus Etim, represented by his Vice Dr. Carol Etim expressed delight at the choice of Calabar for the intervention and assured of the readiness of his administration for effective partnership.

    In her remarks, the State Commissioner for Health Dr. Inyang Asibong said the state accord premium to combat the efforts against HIV/AIDS with a State target of zero tolerance by 2030.

    Dr. Kenneth Oqua of Torlak Nigeria Limited, revealed that the programme was designed to boost health care especially amongst the under-privileged and appealed to political and community leaders to mobilized their people to access the Free Multiple Health Care Services especially the HIV counseling and testing (HCT) which lasted for five days.

    There were goodwill messages from major stakeholders notably the member representing Calabar Municipality, Odukpani Federal Constituency Rt. Hon. Ntufam Eta Mbora, Chairman Health Committee in Cross River House of Assembly Dr. Ekpo Ekpo, Chairman of Nigeria Medical Association, Dr. Offiong Ikpeme and Clan Head of Ediba, Ntoe Iso Nyeh among others.

  • Thank you, Mbu

    Thank you, Mbu

    On Tuesday night, I was shocked and jumped to the stage at the Convention Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos Island when I was announced the winner of the Alade Odunewu Prize for Columnist of the Year at the prestigious Nigerian Media Merit Awards (NMMA). It was an honour I least expected.

    Thanks to my Editor, Gbenga Omotoso, for allowing me write on this space. But I say a bigger thank you and 100 gbosas to Joseph Mbu, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police. You wonder why? I will tell you. Of the four entries I submitted for the category, the piece ‘Time to deploy Mbu to Maiduguri’, an open letter to the then Inspector-General of Police, MD Abubakar, was found outstanding by the Panel of Assessors led by the chairman of the Mass Communications department of the University of Lagos, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye.

    As Commissioner of Police in Rivers State, Mbu was law unto himself. Not even the then governor and now Minister of Transporation, Rotimi Amaechi, was too big for him to haul abuses at. So, I am thanking Mbu because he inspired the piece.

    The piece first published on January 24, last year is reproduced here for you to form your own opinion.

    As the year rolls to an end, I pray that peace shall be the lot of the Niger Delta. Never again will characters who love to promote division get the priviledge of being in positions of leadership in this region. Those who are still there wrongly will lose their seats soon.

    Please here is the award-winning piece. Enjoy:

    My dear IGP MD Abubakar,

    It is with great pleasure that I write you this letter. I am also writing with the hope that you will not see me as one of those medddlesome interlopers who will not mind their own business.

    Really, the issue at hand is my business. It is the business of all of us who wish this country well.

    Not a few told me not to bother writing you on this matter, because, as they say, your hands are tied. They say if you have your way things will not be the way they are, but that you are being controlled by powers you dare not challenge despite being the number one cop.

    I, however, told them that I will write before it is too late.

    I write about one of your officers, Joseph Mbu, who is the Rivers State Police Commissioner. Mbu is wasting away in Rivers. Sincerely, his services are not needed there. They are needed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, where Boko Haram insurgents are giving the people and the government a hell of a time.

    Like Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka said last week, an officer like Mbu should not be in a peaceful environment in Rivers. He is needed where the action is and where else is action better than Maiduguri, which is the capital of insurgency in Nigeria.

    Hardly does a day pass without bombs being thrown in Borno. Life means nothing to the insurgents. An average life in the area does not look more than a chicken’s life to the insurgents. Blood looks like water and can be spilled anyhow. This is where Mbu can dsiplay his dexterity. Here he will prove his brilliance. He will show us that his training was First Class and we will all bow for his intellect. Keeping him in a place like Rivers is like asking him to separate two chickens fighting. Mbu is more than this, IGP Abubakar.

    Since he got to Rivers, Mbu has been in the news. It is either he is complaining that someone did not get a permit before holding a rally or that a permit was issue for one reason only for it to be used for another. He looks the other way when groups loyal to the Presidency hold political events and send out his attack dogs when those oppose to the Presidency hold events.

    One wonders how many cartons of tear gas carnisters have been expended in Rivers since Mbu join. There is hardly a day that his men do not have to use tear gas carnisters to disperse anti-presidency elements. Teachers who were undergoing an orientation programme were even tear-gassed and accused of attending a rally without police permit. It is believed that rubber bullets are also being deployed by Mbu to deal with the enemies. Mbu said his men fired no rubber bullets at anyone. But Senator Magnus Abe, who Mbu said he saw only once and cannot recognise, is a life example that rubber bullets were fired.

    At this juncture, I must point your attention to the fact that the situation in Rivers is a very funny one. Governor Rotimi Amaechi is called the Chief Security Officer. But the truth is Mbu is the Chief Security Officer. Or better still he performs that function on your behalf. I must also let you know what is being said about you in regard to what Mbu is doing in Rivers. They say he is acting a script you gave him on behalf of some forces in the Presidency.

    With due respect to your office, you made a mistake in posting Mbu to Rivers. Like I noted earlier that is not where he is needed. For a man who is ‘foul-mouthed’ like Mbu, he will be able to instil fear in Boko Haram insurgents. They will so fear him that they will turn in their weapons without him lifting a finger.

    Rivers does not need him and now is the time to end his reign there and take him to where his services will best be appreciated.

    Failure to rid Rivers of Mbu will be like a confirmation of the belief that this administration has no respect for the rule of law and that you are a spineless IGP, who is ready to do the biddings of the Presidency just to keep his job. But let me remind you sir, no matter what your tenure will expire one day, just like the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan too. Nothing can best confirm this to you than the pictures of former occupants of your office which occupy a prime spot in the police headquaters. If they did not leave, there will be no IGP Abubakar.

    This is a time to tell the truth about the illegal conduct of the Police in Rivers; it is uniformed gangsters, ambushing democracy. The rights and the protection guaranteed to Nigerians by the Constitution should not be taken away by the police. Any attempt to do this must be resisted. The Constitution gives Nigerians the power to associate freely without any need for police permit.

    The police in Rivers under Mbu are redefining what ‘minimum’ force means. If using rubber bullets amount to ‘minimum’ force, then IGP, I ask: what is maximum force? I guess, the use of life bullets.

    If minimum force landed Abe in hospital, maximum force would have sent him or any other person who dare query Mbu’s men to early grave?

    IGP , the police must watch it as the next general elections draw near so as not to burn the country and kill democracy. If things continue the way they are, then this country is in danger. People must be free to associate. The fact that they belong to a party opposing the president should not affect their rights to associate, discuss and advance their positions. Rights should have no affiliation.

    On behalf of CP Mbu, I end this letter with a plea: the people of Maiduguri or Bama or Damaturu in Yobe State will be glad to have this fine officer who is being wasted away in Rivers, where he is clearly not needed. He told a Senate delegation he has done so much (damage?) in Rivers. I assure him he will do better in Borno or Yobe.

    And a quick one for you sir: softly, softly.

     

  • Alamieyiseigha’s foundation touches lives of destitute

    Alamieyiseigha’s foundation touches lives of destitute

    And the Lord Jesus said, I was hungry you fed me, thirsty you gave me food, naked and in prison you clothed and visited me… “…verily I say unto you, whatsoever you do to the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

    This was the theme of an empowerment programme organised by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Nice-Esther For All Foundation (NEFAF), for widows, orphans, persons with disability and the needy at Isiopko, in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    The foundation was founded in 2010 by Chief  Nice Aleruchi Tobolayefa Alamieyiseigha (Nee Amadiwochi) to carter for the less privileged, provide shelter to homeless and hope to the hopeless and the needy.

    The event at St. Patricks School field Isiokpo featured free medical outreach, distribution of relief materials (food stuff), skill acquisition equipment, giving out of business grants to indigent women, distribution of pieces of wrapper to women and scholarship grants to deserving tertiary students of the state origin was held in conjunction with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    Two homes built by the NGO and her NDDC partners for two destitute widows in Rivers and Abia states were also presented to them during the occasion. The beneficiaries are a blind centenarian, Mama Mercy Amadi and Paulina Paulinus, from Isi-Ala Ngwa area of Abia State.

    Over 20 destitute under her care and women empowerment/skill training groups and organisations, including Nigerian Army Officers Wives Associations (NAOWA), in Rivers State and Abuja as well as Niger Delta widow groups and their physically challenged counterparts, were some of the beneficiaries of the gesture.

    The ceremony was witnessed by Isiokpo monarch, HRM King Blessing Wagor, the Wagidi the 40th, Nye-Nwe -Ali Isiokpo, and members of his council of chiefs, local government officials as well as her partners, such as the NDDC .

    The beneficiaries  were overwhelmed by the kindness shown them. They prayed for the blessing and goodwill of Mrs. Alamieyiseigha and her family members.

    The Ex-Beauty Queen said she is fulfiling the dictates of Mathew chapter 25, verses 35 and 36, which says:  “And the Lord Jesus said, I was hungry you fed me, thirsty you gave me food, naked and in prison you clothed and visited me…”

    “This programme for which we gathered today started with my visiting and celebrating my birthday with the vulnerable and personal donations to orphanage homes.

    “The gesture later transformed into  what we have today as Nice-Esther for All Foundation and Nice-Esther Alamieyiseigha Rescue Initiative (NEARI), both NGOs. The two NGOs were registered in 2010 and have since then carved a niche for themselves which made them household names within the Niger Delta and Nigeria.

    “The bodies have in the past given scholarship opportunities to orphans, movement aides, including crutches and wheel chairs to the physically challenged persons irrespective of their tribe and place of origin, among others.

    “This year the NDDC having seen what we have done in the previous programmes held, especially in the area of helping the less privileged once, decided to partner with us to expand our reach.

    “We are also calling on other good spirited individuals and organisations who have the passion in investing in human development and empowerment, especially of the indigent once to come up and partner with us ignite light and brightness into the future of these ones.”

    Speaking further on her ambitions, she said : “We have the plan of making this an annual programme that will take place in all the nine states of the Niger Delta.

    “Charity is my life. I do it every day. It is because of our past programmes that draw NDDC into partnering with us, but we do not want to end up with NDDC, we want other companies, groups and organisation who have the love for the less privileged and needy of the society to come over and partner with us so that we can reach out to more people and places. The vision is very wide and requires the supports of all.”

    Speaking on the free medical aspect of the event, one of the participating medical Doctors,  Dr. Obinna Osuji said it comprised of dental, eye and general practice adding that in his eye section over 450 patients were screened and treated free of charge with required medicine and glasses given them according to their prescription.

    Dr. Osuji expressed appreciation to the Nice-Esther Foundation for organizing the programme to assist the poor of the society, adding that the treatment the people accessed free at the programme was worth between N5,000 and N10, 000 (including drugs and glasses), in public Health care facilities and much more in private clinics.

    He advised government and other well -meaning individuals to always create opportunities for the less privileged of the society to access routine checks on their bodies for improved longitivity.

    Mrs. Vivian Briggs, a widow and mother of six children who received free drugs and reading glasses at the event, thanked Alamieyiseigha for the opportunity created for widows and the needy to access free quality health care.

    She recalled that her eye problem started after the death of her husband seven years ago and that financial challenge lingered her treatment till the event last weekend.

    “I am grateful to God for the opportunity He created for me through Chf. (Mrs.), Alamieyiseigha to get quality treatment for my health challenges. I have been seeking for this opportunity since after the death of my husband seven years ago to no avail; but God’s mercy made it possible in this programme.

    “I am a widow with six children, raising them has not been easy so I left it to fate, and opportunity like this, but I was disappointed when I attended a ‘free medical treatment’ some time ago but I was denied of reading glasses because I had no money they asked me to pay.

    “When I got here they ran thorough eye test on me, passed me through the processes, and later gave me these drugs and reading glasses (showing them), without asking me for a penny, even now I am still going to the General Medicine section to un thorough check on my system, at least let me take due advantage of this rare opportunity God presented to me this time to have I desire for but had not been able to have.

    “I will ever remain indebted to this woman who God has used to do this for me,” Mrs. Briggs said.

    Inmates of homes for the destitute, Rev. Sister Ngozi Obi of “Orphanage Home of Our Lady, Mother of Perpetual Help” at Omuagwa and Moses Johnson from one of the Cheshire Homes in the state expressed gratitude for their donors demonstration of true love and prayed God to continue to uphold and encourage her to do more for the down trodden.

    The monarch of Isiokpo Ancient Kingdom, HRM Wagor, and the Care Taker Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike extolled the virtues of the daughter “we are proud of”.

    Some of the items distributed at the event include, bags of rice, vegetable oil, wheel chairs, baby formula (food), baby pampers, wrappers, sowing machines, crutches, among others.

    All these are meant to put smiles on the faces of the poor and food on their tables at Christmas and New Year.

  • Day of honour for the ‘fisherman’ turned DESOPADEC chief

    Day of honour for the ‘fisherman’ turned DESOPADEC chief

    The ceremony was supposed to be just a ‘Thanksgiving’ to God for the appointment of Chief Favour O. Izoukumor as the Commissioner representing the Ijaw ethnic group on the board of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC).  It turned out to be a carnival of sort; thousands of Ijaw men, women, youth and various groups besieged the playground of the Delta Careers College venue of the reception to honour the man oil producing communities place their hope for development.

    Indications that the ‘few hundred’ guests envisaged by theh Fiye-owei of Ogbe-Ijoh kingdom, Chief Izoukumor and his wife, Beatrice, would be overshot first emerged at the church service held at the Christ Embassy, Effurun. Apart from the Deputy Governor of the state, Deacon Kingsley Otuaro, a lawyer, and other top political officeholders, over 20 traditional rulers attended the service.

    Before the end of the service at about 1pm, over 5,000 brightly dressed Ijaw men and women were waiting at the venue of the reception. They came from far and wide; upland and hinterland Ijaw and other communities in state.

    The guest list read like ‘who-is-who’ in the politics of the state; the deputy governor, Deputy Speaker, State Assembly, Hon Friday Osanebi; Hon Julius Pondi, the member representing Burutu Constituency in the House of Representatives and pioneer chairman of DESOPADEC, Chief Wellington Okirika were in attendance. Also was Executive Director, Planning and Research of the commission, Mr Victor Oritsetimeyin Woods as well as commissioners representing the other ethnic nations.

    The guest list also included members of the State House of Assembly – Hon Dan Yingi, Timi Tonye, among others; councilors from the various council assemblies and the traditional rulers, who came in dozens.

    The monarchs included those of kingdoms as Ogulagha (Torububor Agbounu), Seimbiri (Pere Charles Ayemi-Botu), Egbema (Bini Pere II), Gbaramatu (Chief PT Heavens), Diebiri, Kabowei, Ogboromo, Iduwini, and the Pere of Ogbe-Ijoh, the home of Izoukumor, HRM Couple Oromoni.

    There were also Chief Boro Opudu, Chairman Waterways and Land Security, Dr Isaac Tolar, Frank Omare, former commissioner, Mr Lucky Ezebri and Chief Efe Akpofure (SAN).

    At the thanksgiving church service, the celebrant revealed his rise as a fisherman in a remote community in Ogbe-Ijoh to owning and operating a vast and thriving maritime business before his appointment as a DESOPADEC Commissioner in September. He said it was due to the grace of God in his life and the motivation of the President of his church, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome (Ph.D) and Pastor Siji Dara and other men of the church.

    “When you have the motivation of a very high standing man of God like our President and founder of our great church to look up to, you cannot but strive for perfection in every area of your life. His life challenged me to further my education and get better in whatever I do. Today, my appointment as the Commissioner representing the Ijaw ethnic group in DESOPADEC is due to the motivation and my quest to do better. I am influenced of my brother, political mentor and leader, Barrister Kingsley Otuaro,” the University of Benin Political Science graduate stated.

    He restated his total commitment to the vision and objectives of the governor of the state to use the commission as a tool to drive development in the rural communities. He promised not to fail the traditional rulers and others who were instrumental to his appointment, stressing, “It will no longer be business as usual.”

    Speaking in an exclusive chat with Niger Delta Report Izoukumor advised youths not to be discouraged by their backgrounds and present condition. He urged them to strive to improve themselves through further educational pursuits and to endeavor to add a little extra effort in whatever they do to become the best.

    For his part, the Deputy Governor of the state, Deacon Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, urged youths of the state to take a cue from the meteoric rise of the celebrants to make something good out of their lives. He cautioned them against restiveness and other vices that could hinder their future.

    Otuaro assured that in spite of the dwindling price of oil in the international market, the state government would remain focused in implementing its prosperity programmes.

    He thanked God for the appointment of the celebrant, Chief Izoukumor, charged him to use his position to empower women with micro-credit facilities so they can set up businesses of their own.

  • EU,UNICEF battle open defecation in Bayelsa

    EU,UNICEF battle open defecation in Bayelsa

    The European Union (EU)  and the United Nations  Education Funds (UNICEF) are worried about entrenched habit of openly depositing faeces in water bodies and general environment by residents of Bayelsa State especially persons living in the rural and coastal areas.

    The international agencies in collaboration with the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agencies (RUWASSA) observed with dismay that unhygienic lifestyles associated with poor management of faeces account for constant outbreaks of water borne diseases like cholera in some parts of the state.

    In fact,  the rural communities in the riverine Ijaw communities are polluted.  They lack access to clean drinking water.  They only rely on water from the rivers around them,  which are mostly contaminated, for drinking and other domestic purposes.

    According to research,people from rural area in Bayelsa state  greatly practice open defeacation  in their rivers, bush, and water banks. This is the same river they  swim in,fetch water for drinking,  and do other household activities. Most of them engage in the practice for misguided reasons.

    One of the villagers from Kaiama in  Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the  state, said he  he enjoys his open defecation system because according to him, the fish in the river feeds and grows large from his faces.

    He said:  ”I defaecate in this river. I drink from this river. My fish feeds largely on my faeces, and I kill my fish  and then eat the end product of my feaces”.

    In fact,  there is a great need to improve on the people’s hygienic behavior by providing them with a good sanitation.

    UNICEF defined sanitation as the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of feaces and human urine adding that inadequate sanitation is known to be a major cause of water- borne diseases  such as cholera, typhoid, diarrhea and ringworm.

    Following their discovery,  UNICEF in partnership with EU and RUWASSA  floated a programme in Bayelsa to discourage unhygienic behaviour and encourage adoption of  Ecological Sanitation (ECOSAN) known as an improved approach in sanitation in Nigeria.

    Ecological Sanitation (ECOSAN) is seen as any sanitation systems whose ultimate objective is to achieve practical sustainability and still maintain human dignity. So, the sponsors assembled artisans, wash committees and other stakeholders from different communities in the state in Kaiama to learn about ECOSAN and take their lessons to their various settlements.

    The trainees comprising officials of RUWASSA,  local government area wash units, community artisans, state local government area wash consultants and  sanitation officers were  empowered with knowledge and practice of ECOSAN.  It was a one week event.

    They were not only taught the theories of ECOSAN, they also helped the sponsors in constructing a durable ECOSAN pit latrines one each in Kalama, Ekwuari,  and Brass.  They learnt the skills of building environmentally friendly latrines.

    Speaking at the event, a UNICEF consultant, Mr. Patrick Ikor, said that ecological sanitation stores feaces and enriches the soil for farming.

    “Ecological Sanitation does not pollute rather it encourages  storage and usage of urine and feces materials  that can further be poured into agricultural development. The  Ecosan system involves buidling a water tight vault for storage of faeces  and building water tight chambers for urine storage.

    “This urine when it is filled up,  the jerry cans introduced to the chambers are removed  and kept for over one month  for most of the disease causing organisms to die off  and it is then safe for use  in our agricultural products.

    He advised the communities to forego their open defecation and embrace Ecosan latrines which he described as modern and hygienic.

    Explaining how the Ecosan latrines should be used,  he said: “The ecosan toilet should be used In such a way that the urine does not  get  mixed with the feaces,    I will advise that whenever they are using the vaults, they  should make sure to use toilet paper so that they  would avoid water going into the feaces chamber.

    “They should follow the guidelines of the  trainers on how to use those latrines because if  water and urine are being mixed together the results or the expected desired results will not be achieved. And at the moment when feaces are separated from urine, it dehydrates.   “Anal cleansing method should be tissue paper and not water because there are some people that use water. But in this approach we are asking the community users to learn how to use tissue paper even though they might have been using water for their anal cleansing”.

    He said the evacuation of the compost should be done after one year just as he advised users of the facility to ensure that the surrounding of the toilets are kept clean.

    In fact,  the construction of the modern latrines brought joy to the benefitting communities. The Amanonowei of the Ekwuari community His Highness, Bernard Izimbadi, thanked  EU and UNICEF for bringing such facility to their community.

    ”We did not have public toilet and we were so worried about it. We normally go to defecate inside river, and other places like inside bush and on our surrounding but now that the toilet has come through the help of EU/UNICEF,  we are happy.

    He went further to state that  the use of the toilets would bring some behavioural change like the  use of tissue papers. He advised the residents to adopt the new latrine.

    Another Resident said:  ”The toilet is very important to our community, and we need it especially now. Many of us we use to go to the waterside to defecate but since they  have come to do this thing for us we appreciate it”.

    One of the participants, Mr..Ezekiel Okobo,  who hails from  Brass commended the  EU and UNICEF coming to their rescue by erecting a toilet facility for them. The facility according to him will go a long way in making life easier for the community.

    “This  is a new concept but what we intended doing is to call the wash committees, the chiefs, the community leaders and then arrange a town hall meeting where we will  educate them and tell them what  this new approach is all about  so that they can easily adopt the concept for their community”, he said.

     

     

  • Tsunami in Rivers

    Observers—local and international— screamed. The media shouted. Almost everybody, except members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was alarmed.  If we had taken time out to listen to the plants, the goats, the cows and the chickens in Opobo, Egbema, Ndoni, Ogoni and Okrika, we could have heard them complain too.  The rivers from which this great state derives its name must have roared too. But as humans, we are too impatient to listen, even to ourselves.

    The screaming, the shouting, the complaints and the roaring were all about the last polls in Rivers State, the Lagos of the Southsouth. What went down as presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections in dear Rivers got the people talking, screaming, shouting and roaring. Those polls, at the risk of being tagged an All Progressives Congress (APC) apologist, were sham. The international observers and their local counterparts said so in their reports. The media reflected as much in their coverage.

    Now, the courts are speaking. And the verdict is: what passed as elections in Rivers were mockery of democracy and pure sham.

    The Governorship Tribunal, which sat in Abuja for fear of its members being attacked by those who turned the state to theatre of war (apologies to the Supreme Court), said it was convinced that there was no proper election in the state. It thus nullified the victory of Governor Nyesom Wike. The other tribunals, in some shades, also confirmed that democracy was cheated in the House of Assembly and National Assembly elections.

    But, the Appeal Court simply sealed the coffin on the sham that produced the members of the National Assembly and the governor.

    Now, Rivers has no senators and only one member of the House of Representatives, who survived because the court said the APC candidate was not qualified to run. The people have no one to blame but those who raped democracy and left it in the rain to drench and perhaps die. Thanks to the Court of Appeal, which has rescued it through its landmark judgment, which some have likened to a tsunami. This tidal wave has wiped away the men selected for the people. Soon, the people will queue again and have the opportunity to choose their true leaders. I have no problem with PDP winning but winning crookedly is what I detest and will detest forever.

    In sacking the governor two days ago, the Court of Appeal in a 110-page judgment said the election raped the Electoral Act.

    The daylight robbery that took place in the name of polls saw parties that did not even participate in the elections being allotted figures on the result sheets. The thieves were so much in a hurry that they forgot to put the books in good shape. They left trails and these have let them down.

    Stakeholder Democracy Network noted in its report that in Asari Toru Local Government Area, two parties that were not on the ballot, UDP and NPP got votes. UDP got eight votes, while NPP got 21 votes. Other local government areas where parties that were not on the ballot were recorded on result sheets included Omuma Local Government Area (three parties not on ballot), Port Harcourt Local Government Area (two parties not on the ballot), Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, Akuku Toru, and Ogu Bolu LGAs.

    What really pains me is the violence in those elections. The Stakeholder Democracy Network desrcibed the elections in Rivers State as “almost certainly the most extensively disrupted in the country”.

    It added: “Violent incidents were reported throughout the day, the worst of which occurred in the morning of Saturday, April 11. These included several reported deaths and attacks on party representatives, journalists and election officials.”

    Because of the bizarre violence, many are now homeless. Many are now fatherless; many are widows; and many are on wheel chairs, with pellets of bullets locked in their bones.  Dreams have died and aspirations doomed.

    I am particularly troubled by the fate of Paul and Ogechi Adube. I thank God for their lives. They would have died on April 3 when men without brains stormed their home in ONELGA and killed their father, Christopher Adube and three of their siblings. They also killed their family driver and a family friend who was in their home when they came, dressed like soldiers, that evening. The bullets they pumped into 15-year-old Paul’s leg have ensured he is wheel-chair bound. The hot lead they released unto Ogechi’s legs have also seen rods inserted into her bones and because of this, she cannot fold her legs. You can imagine the pains of walking around with legs that feel like wood.

    Of the 12 children Adube had with his two wives, three were killed with him; two were left practically crippled and the others now live with shattered dreams. They are not sure of where the next meal will come from. Their father’s sin, I am made to understand, was his affiliation with the APC. His children’s sin was being born by him. The evil men applied the law of Moses forgetting that the coming of our lord Jesus Christ marked the end of that law, which encouraged taking out the father’s sin on the son or daughter.

    Paul and Ogechi need help. They can walk again and lead normal lives. All they need is surgery. Their father did not leave the kind of money that can guarantee them the best of medical care, which will bring them back to normalcy. It will make them forgive, but certainly not forget.

    The Adubes and several others are not here to see the tsunami in Rivers. But Ogechi, Paul and other victims of the violence before, during and after the polls are still here, with memories and pains of the bad times thrust on their dear state.

    As I regularly do on this space, I want to pray for those who killed the Adubes and others. Nemesis will catch up with them. Whatever they have gained or profited by spilling the blood of others and making the likes of Paul and Ogechi crippled, they will lose a hundred fold. They will be exposed and made to face the music.

    And lest I forget: The court verdicts have set tongues wagging. I hear the victims saying they were cheated. I hear them saying the people’s mandate freely given to them have been taken away by compromised men, when they know deep down that they were products of fraud. I hear them saying they will get their mandate back when they return to the polls next year. I hear them pointing fingers and blaming others for wounds they willfully inflicted on themselves. They have forgotten that God is still God. And what comes to my mind when I hear them say all these is to borrow the famous words of Obj: I dey laugh o.

    The Court of Appeal will soon rule on the House of Assembly petitions. I believe all the petitions will turn out in favour of the APC. When that happens, it will not come as a surprise. It will just confirm what we all knew: there were no polls in Rivers. Some people just sat in private homes and elsewhere and concocted figures for their party’s candidates.

    By the time the Court of Appeal will speak on the House of Assembly petitions, chances are high that Wike will be all alone— awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court.

    But as I conclude this, I remember Wike is a praying governor. There is power in prayers. So, miracle can still happen.  The snag here, however, is that he is not the only one who knows how to pray. His opponents also know the efficacy of prayers and they are not leaving anything to chance.

    The interesting thing about prayers and its efficacy is the fact that God is not a God of injustice. So, when you pray and you are not doing so with clean heart, God will certainly let you down.

    My final take: There is no problem if they win transparent elections. But it is hightime they stopped deceiving themselves that what the courts returned were not justice. They should stop blaming their losses on compromised judges. Before the courts spoke on the Rivers elections, the media had spoken; the foreign and local observers spoke. What the courts have only done is to validate what we all knew and have condemned. My wish at the end of it all is for Rivers and its people to dey kampe.

  • Edo 2016: Who succeeds Oshiomhole

    In a few months, precisely November next year 2016 Governor Adams Oshiomhole will cease to be the occupant of the state house in Benin. Indeed, if the people of Edo state had their way, the distinguished labour leader of the radical mould would rule Edo State till the end of time. Such is the impact he has had on the state and the people. But the constitution only permits two terms of four years each.

    As such, his departure next year is certain as the sun rises from the east. It is against this background that as the comrade governor prepares to hand over the baton of leadership in Edo State next year, his successor should be properly screened to ascertain if by his antecedents, he can further lift Edo State  to the next level.

    What is, perhaps most interesting is that all the gladiators in Edo State politics have moved into the APC and are jostling for its 2016 gubernatorial ticket. The problem of Nigeria is poor leadership and corruption. The leadership is more interested in power and  authority for self benefit which gave rise to the saying “if you cannot beat them, join them”. This self-centeredness of the status seekers resulted in the present rush for self fulfillment against social responsibility and commitment to the general welfare of the public which has now become the bane of progress and public spiritedness.

    This has led to mass poverty and the very few rich most of whose wealth are due to “man no man” cult. If you are not part of them, you remain where you are. The truth of the matter, however, is that the phenomenon of “Man Know Man” is detrimental to national development.

    A few specific examples will explain the evils of this phenomenon.

    In 2006, former Oyo State Governor, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, was removed from office and his deputy Adebayo Alao-Akala was sworn in as the new governor through the influence of late Chief Lamidi Adedibu, using his supporters in the Oyo House of Assembly. Although the charges against the former governor were hardly proved, eight of the 24 legislators held a session in hotel which the supreme court condemned in his judgment.

    The said legislators adopted the report of a panel and passed a motion for Ladoja’s impeachment within 25 minutes. However, Chief Adedibu had another reason for the impeachment. Hear him, “I put him there. So, if I demand money will it be wrong? Do I need to ask for it before he gives it to me? I never demand money from him” (Adedibu in Tell, January 23, 2006 Pg 21.) Yet it was said he had received up to N100 million from Ladoja’s private account since he became governor in May 29, 2003.

    Before Ladoja, the first democratic governors of Anambra State after the return of democratic rule in the country in 1999, Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju and Dr. Chris Ngige. They had the same experience.  The issue of “Man Know Man” should not be allowed to raise its ugly head in Edo State.

    Indeed, there is need to address this evil of “Man Know Man” if Nigeria must develop politically, socially and economically. We must undertake a massive political enlightenment of our people to let them depart from following this philosophy of “Man Know Man”.

    From this standpoint, it would appear that gubernatorial aspirants with clean record in the past, who have not soiled their fingers as it were and have made tremendous success in  their chosen fields may as well find favour during APC primaries in Edo State. We are reminding the voters that Edo State wants credible persons that would consolidate the achievements of our dear comrade governor and conceive innovative ideas for the betterment of our people.

    This will perhaps explain why Paul Obazee acknowledges the fact that Engineer Chris Ogiemwonyi is a visionary leader, who has proved his mettle having rendered meritorious service to Nigerians in general and Edo indigenes in particular in his chosen field of endeavour. Chris is a man that genuinely has the passion to serve Edo people. He has the potential to transform Edo state in the area of human capital development, and infrastructure.

    As we move towards the 2016 governorship race in Edo State, all eyes are on the rising profile of Chris who is expected to hold the APC banner in the state after the primary to continue on the solid foundation laid by our comrade governor.

     Ikhueoya writes in from Benin