The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • We’ve been left behind, the disabled cry

    We’ve been left behind, the disabled cry

    For persons living with disability, life, they say, has not been easy, especially when they feel the government is not doing enough to tackle their plight.

    This was why a disability group, under the auspices of Cedar Seed Foundation, took to the street of Abuja to mark the International Day of Persons with Disability and also ask leaders of the eighth National Assembly to hasten the passage of the Disability Bill.

    This year’s celebration is themed Achieving 17 SDGs Goals for the future we want according to the founder of Cedar Seed Foundation, the disabled have been treated as second-class citizens for too long, left behind from development agenda for too long, and denied their rights.

    Her words: “Enough is enough of all these discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation, stigmatisation, gender-based violence, unemployment, inaccessibility, illiteracy, etc. “We are tired of the charity model and we implore everyone to support disabled persons or partner with disabled organisations, to join the cause of advocating the rights of disabled persons using the right channels and make things happen for these great people on earth.

    “The International Day for Persons with Disabilities is being marked and this represents an avenue to celebrate the achievements of persons with disabilities, while asking everyone to get involved in the development agenda for persons with disabilities.

    “We have the potentials and abilities; all we are asking for is opportunities and support, and we will deliver our jobs exceedingly well. If given the opportunity, we will be the best presidents, governors, ministers, ambassadors, engineers, pilots, doctors, journalists, administrators, architects, clergy, innovators, artists, musicians, politicians, economists, developers, etc. All we are asking for is empowerment.

    “The United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities is calling on everyone to help realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the lives of the disabled people, by making every agenda inclusive and enable them have their full participation and enjoy equal opportunities.

    “We urge leaders of the eighth session of the National Assembly to ensure that the Disability Bill is attended to as fast as possible so that the President can assent to it.

    “The organisations of and for Persons with Disabilities should increase their advocacy and engagement with critical and relevant stakeholders. The media should continue to support us with reports on disability issues. State and none-state parties should support quick passage of the disability bill campaign to help Nigeria achieve the SDGs on or before 2030.”

  • Alumni association donates to orphanage

    To mark the end of the year, alumni association of the Nigerian Defense Academy (NDA), Regular Course 27, at the weekend donated support materials to Abuja children’s home at Karo.

    President and Commandant of the National Defense College (NDC), Rear Admiral Samuel Alade, led members of the association to the orphanage home.

    Rear Admiral Alade said the association was formed to support its members and meet at the end of every year to bond better.

    The president said next year’s event would likely be extended to Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps depending on the plans of the association for the year.

    He commended the management and staffs of the home for their taking good care of the children and stated its association’s commitment to further support the home.

    Rear Admiral Alade advised the children and taxed them to be hard working and determined as that will spur them the greater heights.

    His words: ”This association was formed essentially to support members and we have been on it for some time now, we meet every December and get together to reunite our families.

    “Next year God willing we might choose something else to do, we may even visit (IDP) depending on the decision of the association. This year we decided that we are going to do charity work and that is why we are here.

    “You also have the opportunity and the privilege as well to be like us tomorrow, I want to pray for you that God will see you through and take care of you.

    “Individually you also have your responsibility, you must work very hard, don’t wait that somebody is going to carry you there you must work very hard and pass your exams so that you can be like us tomorrow.

    “Today at the end of the we will wine and dine together and pray to god that we are seeing the end of the year, I wish every Nigerian merry Christmas and also happy new year in advance.” He added.

    Administrator of the home, Sulaiman Umar, lauded the efforts of the association and thanked them, looking forward to more support from them

    Umar who said partnering with government and donations from Non Governmental Organizations (NDOs) has been the main source for running the home, seek more assistance from the general public as the support they are getting is not sufficient enough to cater for the population of children in the home.

    According to Umar :“It is a welcome development , I am very happy , I thank them and look forward to seeing them more.

    “Doing this kind of job needs more assistance, it is not only the government and NGOs, we need individuals to support the home. Individual support and other donor agencies has been the source of support for the home,” he added.

  • We have been left behind, the disabled cry

    We have been left behind, the disabled cry

    For persons living with disability, life, they say, has not been easy, especially when they feel the government is not doing enough to tackle their plight.

    This was why a disability group, under the auspices of Cedar Seed Foundation, took to the street of Abuja to mark the International Day of Persons with Disability and also ask leaders of the eighth National Assembly to hasten the passage of the Disability Bill.

    This year’s celebration is themed Achieving 17 SDGs Goals for the future we want according to the founder of Cedar Seed Foundation, the disabled have been treated as second-class citizens for too long, left behind from development agenda for too long, and denied their rights.

    Her words: “Enough is enough of all these discrimination, exclusion, marginalisation, stigmatisation, gender-based violence, unemployment, inaccessibility, illiteracy, etc. “We are tired of the charity model and we implore everyone to support disabled persons or partner with disabled organisations, to join the cause of advocating the rights of disabled persons using the right channels and make things happen for these great people on earth.

    “The International Day for Persons with Disabilities is being marked and this represents an avenue to celebrate the achievements of persons with disabilities, while asking everyone to get involved in the development agenda for persons with disabilities.

    “We have the potentials and abilities; all we are asking for is opportunities and support, and we will deliver our jobs exceedingly well. If given the opportunity, we will be the best presidents, governors, ministers, ambassadors, engineers, pilots, doctors, journalists, administrators, architects, clergy, innovators, artists, musicians, politicians, economists, developers, etc. All we are asking for is empowerment.

    “The United Nations Convention on the rights of Persons with Disabilities is calling on everyone to help realise the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the lives of the disabled people, by making every agenda inclusive and enable them have their full participation and enjoy equal opportunities.

    “We urge leaders of the eighth session of the National Assembly to ensure that the Disability Bill is attended to as fast as possible so that the President can assent to it.

    “The organisations of and for Persons with Disabilities should increase their advocacy and engagement with critical and relevant stakeholders. The media should continue to support us with reports on disability issues. State and none-state parties should support quick passage of the disability bill campaign to help Nigeria achieve the SDGs on or before 2030.”

  • Exit of a titan

    The Presidential Villa, Abuja, received an unusual visitor on October 20. The visitor was the late former Minister of Commerce and Tourism, Otunba Ayora Bola Kuforiji-Olubi.

    She was accompanied on the visit, which coincided with her 80th birthday, by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.

    As if she knew that her death was imminent, the tall and fair-complexion woman came to greet President Muhammadu Buhari. Her mission was to thank the President, whom she said had touched her life positively, and was instrumental to the feats she attained in life.

    She happened to be the only one among such dignitaries to come to the Villa to say ‘thank you’ especially on the same day a birthday congratulatory message was issued in her honour.

    President Buhari, in a statement same day, congratulated her on her 80th birthday and wished her well. He prayed for her continued health and longer life to allow the nation and humanity benefit more from her wisdom and wealth of experience.

    But barely six weeks after her visit to the Villa, Kuforiji-Olubi was no more and the President, last Monday, commiserated with her family, friends and loved ones.

    While praying to God to grant her eternal rest, he maintained that the deceased served Nigeria and humanity with all her God-given strength and talent.

    Buhari also believed that she will not be forgotten in a hurry, for redefining the place of womanhood in Nigeria’s development, and inspiring others.

    Kuforiji-Olubi, besides being a former Minister of Commerce and Tourism in the Interim National Government in 1983, was a businesswoman, banker, economist, accountant, author and philanthropist.

    She was the first female Chairman of the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) (1984 to 1990), and the first female President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), while she became a fellow of ICAN in 1976.

    The deceased was also the first Nigerian woman to be Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a multinational company, VYB Industries Limited, with British affiliates (Inchcape PLC), and the first female Chairman of a public quoted company (Bewac Plc).

    Apart from chairing and serving on the boards of many other companies, she was the first Chairman of the Ogun, Osun River Basin Development (1976–1980), member, governing council Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research

    (NISER, 1981–1983), a foundation member and Chairman, Lagos State Education Endowment Fund (1988–1999), and deputy chairman and Federal Commissioner for Ogun State at the Revenue Mobilisation.

    She graduated from the University of London in 1963 with B.Sc honours in Economics, a fellow of the Institute of Charted Accountants, England and Wales (1977), British Chartered Institutes of Company Secretaries (ACIS, 1964), Nigerian Institute of Management (FMIN, 1985), and British Institute of Directors.

    Mrs. Kuforiji-Olubi was a recipient of many honours and awards, including the Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) in 1979, for her contributions to management education and the socio-economic advancement of Nigeria.

    She was conferred with the award of Order of the Niger (OON) in 2002, certificate of Merit by the United Nations Decade of Woman (1980), award for Excellence from the University of Benn’s Skonit Club in 1988, honorary Grammarian of CMS 1988 by CMS grammar school, award of Excellence by Brigade of Nigeria (1992), International award of Excellence for outstanding entrepreneurial achievements (MIT) Cambridge, MA, United States (1992), a recipient of 2002 conferment award for Woman of Achievement under the auspices of the Woman Development Centre, Abuja (2005).

    Besides holding many chieftaincy titles across Nigeria, Kuforiji-Olubi also got the following honours – Doctor of Business Administration from Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT, 1997), Doctor of Laws (LLD) (honoris causa) from the Bayero University, Kano (2004), Doctor of letter (Honoris Causa) from the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, in 2006.

    As many Nigerians will continue to follow her giant footprints in life, it is hoped that her soul will find eternal rest in the bosom of the Lord.

     

    Another feather to  Osinbajo’s cap

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo last Thursday got an award from unusual quarters, the military.

    He got a special recognition award from the governing council and management of the National Defence College (NDC).

    After some failed attempts, Commandant of the NDC, Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade, led other officers to the seat of power to give Osinbajo the award.

    He qualified for the award as the first Vice President to ever deliver a lecture in person in the history of the college.

    The award was also given in recognition of Osinbajo’s contributions and support to the college.

    Admiral Alade said: “In August, we graduated Course 24 from the college and there was an award dinner during the occasion. The Vice President was given a special recognition award.

    “He was to be presented with the award at the dinner but that was not possible because of his work exigencies, he was not present at the occasion.

    “But today, he gave us the opportunity to do the presentation in his office. That award was mandated by the governing council of the National Defence College, chaired by the Minister of Defence.

    “The award is in recognition of his contributions and support to the college. During that course, and for the first time in the history of the college, Prof. Osinbajo delivered a lecture in person.

    “For the governing board and management of the college, we believed that was a special event and for that reason, the award was instituted and awarded to him.”

    More awards and recognition will no doubt continue to trail the hard-working professor as the government strives to steer the ship of state on the path of growth and progress.

     

    Orderliness

     

    Discipline and orderliness in the way and manner staff and visitors park their cars at designated places in the Presidential Villa, Abuja appeared to fast becoming a norm at the seat of power.

    The strict discipline enthrowned by the former Administrative Officer (A.O) under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan ended with the administration.

    The former A.O. had the record of not only impounding the cars of staff who parked wrongly in the Villa, but also gave out the same treatment to high profile visitors, including state  governors, who step out of bounds.

    The fear of the A.O. then was the beginning of wisdom for car users at the seat of power.

    But staff and visitors, who dared not stop or park on the roads in the Villa under the former A.O. became more embolden at his exit.

    Twenty months down the line, they park their cars any way they deemed fit.

    But a new order appeared to be evolving in the Villa in the last few days.

    Some of the designated car parks within the Pilot gate have now been properly marked and numbered.

    Some staff who were still in doubt of the emerging new order were caught in a crossfire last week.

    Two tyres of a car that was wrongly parked blocking a duly marked entrance to one of the car parks in the Villa were deflated to serve as deterrence last Thursday.

    As the authorities try to maintain orderliness in parking, it will be great if they also consider extension of the car parks as they are hardly enough for staff and visitors, especially when the Villa was holding a special event.

     

  • Residents urged to embrace ultra-modern market

    Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Candido has asked the residents to key into the affordable modern markets scheme embarked upon by his administration. This, he noted, would better their lives.

    He spoke when he led his cabinet to inspect ongoing work at Kurudu, site of the new market.

    According to him, the purpose of governance is to raise the standard of living of the citizens, adding that his administration will not relent in bettering the lot of AMAC residents.

    “Barely two months ago, the ground breaking ceremony was held and today’s inspection has truly shown the seriousness of this government, and AMAC-investment Company, of ensuring the allocation and raising the level of our revenue through business.

    “Therefore, I call on the citizens and residents of Abuja Municipal Area Council to key into this laudable project, to be business-minded and invest here by owning a shop,” he said.

    Managing Director AMAC-Property Investment Company Adamu Yakubu said the organisation is determined to complete the project within the six months stipulated time.

    “This modern market will cut cost of residents within AMAC and Nasarawa State,” he assured.

    Project consultant Abubakar Hairy, from Cost Tracker limited said the project is already 40 per cent completed.

  • Peace Corps boss begs Buhari to assent to bill

    National Commandant of the Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) Dickson Akoh has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the Nigeria Peace Corps bill.

    According to Akoh, the presidential assent to the bill for an act to establish the NPC will reduce crime by 70 per cent within three months.

    He spoke when he received the Board of Trustees, Advisory Council, National Executives and state Chairmen of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN).

    The Corps’ plan, Akoh said, is to reduce crime in Nigeria by engaging the youths meaningfully. He added that the greatest challenge of the country was not insecurity, but joblessness which has led the youths to social vices. Unemployment, Akoh noted, was a time bomb which the National Assembly had averted with the passage of the bill.

    According to him, the bill is the greatest thing to happen to the youths as it has deliberate policies that will open new opportunities to them.

    He also urged the people to be wary of organisations parading themselves as the PCN and defrauding the people, noting that the Corps has specific guidelines in recruiting.

    NYCN President Comrade Murtala Mohammed lauded Akoh for his tenaciousness in getting the Corps to where it is today, and pledged the support of the youths to the Corps.

  • Corps members lift Yimitu community

    Corps members lift Yimitu community

    For the people of Yimitu community in the Apo, Garki District in the Abuja Municipal Area Council, November 16 is one day they will remember for a long time. It was a day a group of corps members under the Breast Without Spot Community Development Group came to their aid. The group, whose main job is to create awareness on breast cancer, decided to break from their normal routine to put a smile on the faces of residents of the community. The cheerful residents received the team of corp members with open arms as they danced, rejoiced and showered encomiums on the youths. It was a day of joy for the people as the over 70 Corps members donated clothes, food and drugs to the needy.

    They also used the opportunity to give pep talks to the people on cancer. The corps members said it was time to focus on smaller communities, such as Yimitu because of the lack of medical facilities and the trouble they face daily is to access health care.

    Although the community is a few minutes’ drive from the Apo Legislative Quarters, they lack a primary health care centre to take care of their needs.

    An excited community head, Dauda Hassan, said the community was highly appreciative of the efforts of the corps members, saying the NYSC scheme had benefitted a lot of rural settlements. Dauda said the food and drugs donated would go a long way in helping the people of the community.

    He is, however, not happy because the community lacks basic facilities, such as schools, potable drinking water, electricity and basic health care.

    Hassan said: “We want the government to look into primary health care issue in our community, make provision for a nursery and primary school, and also help in installing electricity and water supply. The state of the road leading to the community is also very bad. We plead to you as an intermediary to the government to make our community’s complaints known.”

    A resident of the community, who would not disclose his name, said the people relied on a stagnant stream for their water needs. The stream, he said, is used by the over 1000 members of the community to bathe, and do other household chores.

    The community, he said, does not have toilets. He pleaded that the government should come to their aid before an epidemic breaks out.

  • Grim facts as Kuje residents test for HIV

    Grim facts as Kuje residents test for HIV

    As residents of Kuje council were screened for HIV, it was revealed that out of 3.5m people living with the virus in the country, only 700,000 are on treatment. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    It was a memorable day at the Kuje Area Council when residents gathered to be tested   free for HIV, and given drugs courtesy of AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

    The exercise was in commemoration of the 2016 Worlds AIDS Day.

    Many residents of Kuje, especially the rural ones, took the opportunity to get tested.

    The Clinical Coordinator of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Abuja, Dr. Kema Onu expressed disappointment that out of 3.5 million persons living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, just about 700, 000 are on treatment.

    He said, “Worlds AIDS Day celebration has been on since 1988 December 1st. It is a forum where you can increase awareness. Prevention is what everybody is talking about and we want the world to know that for about 3.5 million persons living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria just about 700,000 are on treatment and we feel that the 27per cent gap must be closed because if everybody is on treatment the risk of transmitting HIV/AIDS will be reduced significantly.

    “That is the viable prevention model. We are also seeing a very funny data where young women and girls…being the highest population of persons living with HIV/AIDS and we must domesticate the factors that are making these figures thrive. Young women and girls are the ones that are abused and they are the ones that are given out in early marriage against their will.

    “We are leaving the urban areas to the rural areas, we need to talk about HIV/AIDS and reach the underserved. People need to get HIV prevention services, everybody needs to keep the awareness on. Keeping the promise for those living with HIV/AIDS means taking their drugs. Everybody in the world has kept the silence promise to end the HIV/AIDS scourge.

    “To further enable this work, corruption must be stopped in government so as to channel the funds meant to end the HIV/AIDS scourge in the right way. Foreign donors should please increase their funding is this regard.”

    The Chairman of Kuje Area Council Abdullahi Galadima at the event said health is one of his major priority projects.

    He said the World AIDS Day will give all the opportunity to remove the fear of HIV/AIDS in the community.

    Galadima who was represented by the Vice Chairman of the council, Hon. Duda Tanko, said, “We all know that the first case of HIV was recorded in Nigeria in 1985. Ever since then, to 2014, the prevalence rate of HIV in Nigeria among sexually active adults stood at 3.17 percent. Before now people saw HIV infection as the end of the road and HIV was attached with a lot of discrimination and stigma. Many people died of HIV infection not because they have HIV; but because they were discriminated upon and stigmatised, they could not openly access HIV treatment and support.

    “Today the opportunity is here again for us to anchor and discuss extensively the scale up activities of HIV programme in Kuje Area Council and how we can leverage on that to achieve outstanding zero new infection, zero death due to HIV and zero discrimination.”

  • Budget 2017 and padding

    The year 2016, which is about to expire in a few weeks, will go down in history as one that recorded one of the highest controversies surrounding budget padding.

    While there is no clear definition of ‘budget padding’, it is referred, in some quarters, to a situation where principal officers in the National Assembly, with the help of civil servants, disproportionately appropriate large sums of money to their constituencies or introduce new or fictitious projects to the proposal presented by the President.

    Political watchers believe that they hide under the legislative powers they have to amend the President’s proposal the way they deem fit and to introduce controversial and selfish projects in the budget.

    In line with their power to amend the budget anyway they desire, some of the lawmakers have even claimed that budget padding was not a crime and was as old as the institution itself.

    Budget padding controversies in the 2016 Budget became a very big issue between the Executive and Legislative arms of government as it was claimed that lawmakers removed some key projects proposed by the executive, drastically reduced their costs and introduced many other projects not contemplated by the Presidency.

    It also resulted in open accusations and counter-accusations between the House of Representatives leadership and past Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumini Jibrin.

    He accused the leadership of padding the budget through introduction of billions of naira projects in the 2016 Budget, which they planned to benefit from indirectly.

    The 2016 Budget was said to have been padded with more than N481 billion by the leadership in the N6.08 trillion budget presented to National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    While constituency projects were said to be increased from N60 billion to N100 billion in the budget, Abdulmumini Jibrin had accused the Speaker of allowing 10 committee chairmen to insert projects worth N284 billion in the 2016 Budget.

    Among the allegations was the insertion of 82 new projects, mainly roads, at a cost of N50.63 billion under the Ministry of Works, Power and Housing budget.

    While the House of Representatives leadership had defended itself and accused Jibrin of single handedly changing the budget estimates presented by President Buhari and adding N250 billion, Jubrin had denied the claim.

    Before the accusations and counter-accusations among the lawmakers, some ministers were stunned during the 2016 Budget Defence of their ministries as they raised alarm that the budget they were defending was different from what President Buhari presented to the National Assembly for their ministries.

    They noted that many alien projects were smuggled into the 2016 budget proposal.

    To prevent re-occurrence, President Buhari, a fortnight ago, vowed to block any padding from being introduced to the 2017 Budget proposal he plans to lay soon before the National Assembly.

    In line with his determination, ministers, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting last Wednesday spent almost nine hours in the Council Chamber, mainly considering and familiarizing themselves with the 2017 Budget proposal before it is forwarded to the National Assembly.

    At the end of the meeting, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, expressed confidence that new measures have been put in place to stop padding in the new proposal.

    He said: “The computerized system that we are using can trace every item and who puts any item into the budget as everybody have access code to the system.

    “We have a new and experienced Director General of Budget office. He was Commissioner for Budget in Lagos State for about eight years. He set up a system that is rigorous and you can trace every item that is input to the budget.

    “So there will be no possibility of that in the 2017 budget.” He added

    It is hoped that all these will really help to check padding and reduce heat up of the polity in 2017.

     

    Rewarding excellence

     

    History was made last Thursday when a female scientist was for the first time named among the two laureates that got the 2016 Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) Award.

    While the female, Prof. Omowunmi Amoke Sadik got the award in Science, Prof. Tanure Ojaide, got the award in Humanities.

    Each of them went home with N10 million prize money for winning the award.

    Prof. Sadik, who is a leading international authority in biosensors and bioanalytical Chemistry, an educator, and researcher, received her B.Sc. (Hons.) and M.Sc. degrees in Chemistry from the University of Lagos in 1985 and 1987 respectively, and a PhD (also in Chemistry) from the University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia in 1994.

    She won the prestigious Australian scholarship to pursue the PhD degree in chemistry, which she completed in 1994.

    She was awarded National Research Council (NRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship at the United States-Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA) in Las Vegas. In September 1996, she joined the faculty at the State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY-Binghamton).

    Prof. Sadik is currently the Director of the Center for Advanced Sensors and Environmental Systems (CASE) at State University of New York at Binghamton (SUNY-Binghamton).

    She is the President and Co-founder of the Sustainable Nanotechnology Organization.

    Ojaide is a highly distinguished, immensely prolific and talented creative writer and scholar whose works combine social relevance, humanistic vision, quality, elegance, and accessibility.

    He attended University of Ibadan where he received his BA in English and Syracuse University in New York State where he obtained both the MA in Creative Writing and Ph.D. in English.

    As poet, he has published twenty poetry collections, most of which received prizes, including the Commonwealth Poetry Prize for the Africa Region (1987), twice the All-Africa Okigbo Prize for Poetry (1988 and 1997), the BBC Arts and Africa Poetry Award (1988), and four times the Association of Nigerian Authors Poetry Award (1988, 1994, 2003, and 2011).

    Noting that the two awardees were chosen based on merit, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the occasion said Nigeria can always get the best from making appointments on merit rather than on federal character or quota system.

    On his part, the Chairman of the Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) Governing Board, Prof. Etim Moses Essien, said the awardees are among the best brains in the world and are competing well with their contemporaries around the globe.

     

  • Lack of cash threatens Taraba’s fortune

    Lack of cash threatens Taraba’s fortune

    Well, the potentials are there but without money, what can I do with our tourism potentials?

    That may well have captured how Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku felt when the reporter caught up with him.

    He told The Nation, “I see the potentials, I know what to do, but I don’t have the resources to do it. If I have money, what I’d do in my state within the next four years would be unimaginable. I can tell you that if that is done, you won’t meet me here for an interview.

    “You will meet me either in Gembu or Mambilla. That is where the Presidential resort should be, that is where the Camp David of the President should be because if he takes people there, he does not need any air conditioning even when there is no light. These are the potentials we have in this country but are not exploited. There are some Germans that come to the Gamshaka Gumti Park every year for studies with their students for the last ten years. We have a lot of things there. But what we lack is the resources to do the right thing. I wish the money they use to get is coming now.”

    The governor said the state could  explore other natural resources available in the state.

    He said, “We have the rarest minerals in Taraba State. We have bauxite which is aluminum used for making airplane and one mineral sourced for all over the world. Saphire is being mined there illegally and it is next to diamond. Gold is available in the state. Without barrette, you can’t drill oil and it is available in the state.

    “During Abacha, the importation was banned and people where rushing to Taraba to mine it and take to Port Harcourt to drill oil. After Abacha, the ban was lifted and people went back to importation because by doing that, they are able to take our foreign exchange. We have over 50 mineral deposits in Taraba State. There is coal there which can be turned to power. There are many rivers which can be turned to hydro which can be turned to power. I have wind potential which can also be turned to power. There are so many natural resources in the state.”

    The state, he said, is blessed in all areas and the government is taking advantage of this to develop its tea and coffee potentials. At the moment, the Highland tea which has been moribund has started production, while the sugar potentials are being explored.

    He said, “One of the areas where we have made some level of impact is revitalisation of the tea and the tea factory is running 24 hours right now because we had a small mini dam which was constructed with the help of the United Nations in collaboration with the state government. That dam is working, providing 24 hours services. We refurbished the old tea factory, removed the obsolete machines and replaced them with brand new ones and right now, it is working very well.

    “That has made the people in Kakara village and the surrounding villages busy, proving the tea which hitherto was not in use before now, sell it to the factory and go there every week to collect. In October, I was in India and went to virtually all the tea farms in India to see what they are doing correctly that we are not doing. Right now, four of our boys are in India, being trained . We want to pursue aggressive nursery for the tea. For coffee, we want to learn the model and from what I have read and heard, the Kenyan and Ethiopian models seem to be best suitable for our climate.”