The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • NGO takes medical outreach to Gwoza IDPs

    NGO takes medical outreach to Gwoza IDPs

    Not every internally displaced person in Abuja is in the popular camps. Many live in remote places, and fend for themselves the best way they can.

    Some of them, mostly from Borno State, rent apartments in Nasarawa State villages and try to provide for their families.

    They complain of the difficulties in making ends meet, not having  enough to eat and their children constantly falling ill due to the cold.

    Twenty-eight-year-old mother of four, Christina Ibrahim told a typical story of the Gwoza, Borno State IDPs.

    She said, “We mostly suffer from fever, malaria, typhoid, high blood pressure, when most of our people are taken to the hospital, they are always diagnosed with high blood pressure because we don’t really have anything to do, barely have enough food to feed the children, when you look at the children and see them hungry, it is not easy as a parent, we have to pay so much for rent in the village where we stay since we don’t have a camp and even pay for water, we pay N15 or as much as N25 for a gallon of water, it is difficult doing it especially coming from a village where we want for nothing.

    “Our children are always falling sick because we don’t have mattresses, blankets or sweaters for them, we sleep on the floor with the children and the weather can be so cold mostly at night, we do not have mosquito nets.

    “Because we are not in normal camps like the others, we are left to fend for ourselves, we don’t get much assistance unlike the others. Most times people come to us, ask us our problems, we tell them but they never come back, which is why most times, we ignore it when some others ask because we have never gotten any positive result from the ones that promised to help.”

    Help has come. The Life Builders Initiative for Education and Societal Integration has taken a medical outreach to the unconventional camp, along with doctors, pharmacists and nurses who diagnosed and adminstered drugs to the IDPs.  from Gworza.

    Coordinator of Life Builders Mr Sanno David explained that they are interested in helping the poor and vulnerable in the society.

    David who said that his organisation had conducted a research which found out seven areas that the poor in the society need help added that they have been to other major camps around Abuja and provided medical and economic empowerment skills.

    His words, “We are helping the poor and vulnerable in our society and it so happens that the IDPs can presently be found in this category. We recently conducted a research and found out seven areas that the poor and vulnerable in our society need help.

    ”They include education, health, accommodation, societal integration, economic empowerment, food and basic sanitation and we have been trying to help them as best we can. We have been to the other camps around Abuja and Nasarawa State and every month we go to an IDP camp to provide them with these basic needs.”

    Coordinator of the camp, Mr Sunday Waba added, “Recently we found out that a lot of our children suffer from worms and malaria, recently FEMA donated mosquito coils to us which we have been using as insect repellent to fight the mosquitoes.”

     

  • Who steps into Abuah’s big shoes?

    The Presidency and many Nigerians were shocked last week Sunday when the news of the death of the State House’s Director of Information, Mr Justin Onuorah Abuah hit the social media.

    Abuah, who died in Abuja after a brief illness, has served eight Presidents and Heads of State for 30 years since 1986.

    The leaders he served included ex-military President, Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of Interim National Government, Ernest Shonekan, the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, former Head of State, Abdulsami Abubakar.

    He also served ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, the late President Musa Yar’Adua, former President Goodluck Jonathan and President Muhammadu Buhari.

    For holding sway for a long time and beating the records of his predecessors at the Media and Publicity Department, Abuah was specially presented to President Buhari on May 30, 2016 during the Presidential Lunch for State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    At the dinner, which was part of events marking the first 12 months of Buhari’s democratic administration, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, who served as the Master of Ceremony, had presented Abuah alongside 84-year-old photojournalist member of the State House Press Corps, Ladan Abubakar, who has put in 42 years into journalism beside being a tailor.

    It was the first time Abuah and Ladan were accorded such recognition by a sitting President since their long stay at the Presidential Villa.

    Abuah, at the dinner in May, however, never knew that the occasion was also going to be his last recognition alive by a President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    At the State House Media and Publicity office, Abuah was often seen as a technocrat needed to make the engine room of the media office operate effectively from one government to the other.

    Many of the past governments could not do without him.

    He had not only been a dependable hand in the concise and timely press statements the administrations have churned out, but he ensured members of the State House Press Corps, who needed to work on the statements, get them.

    He was so good on the job that he hardly made mistakes on any press statement to warrant re-issuing a corrected version of the statement.

    To get the work done, Abuah had also severally followed some late night press statements with telephone calls to some members of the Press Corps.

    You will hear his voice from the other side of the line mentioning your name and asking you if you had received the press statement he just circulated.

    By so doing, he had not only woken up some colleagues who had already retired to bed for the night, but also helped them in keeping their jobs by not missing out front-page stories the following day.

    No wonder many State House correspondents joined some staff in the Presidency to mourn Abuah’s death.

    Many of them were seen clad in black cloth, at different days from last week Monday, which was the first working day after Abuah’s death.

    A good number of them accompanied the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, to officially pay condolence visit to Abuah’s family in Abuja last Wednesday.

    The two buses and a jeep that conveyed the journalists to Abuah’s Apo resident were filled to the brim as some of them had to stay back for lack of sitting space.

    Some of the journalists also drove their vehicles in a convoy to Abuah’s house.

    Before last Wednesday’s visit, many State House correspondents had also gone on their own to pay condolence visits to Abuah’s family.

    Leading the Media Department, State House Press Corps and Protocol Department on the visit last Wednesday, Adesina said: “Words failed me to actually described him (Abuah), when he passed the first thing that came to mind was that a competent man has gone.

    “He related well with many people. He was an excellent man and did his job excellently. His passage is trauma to us.” He said

    Shehu, who was also on the entourage, noted that Abuah wasý a pillar of support, an icon of emulation and a unique individual.

    He said: “ýWe feel a sense of loss over a man who has served seven Presidents with dedication. We lost a pillar of support, an icon of emulation.ý

    “We were just learning about him, we felt angry we were not in the know of his ill-health but we found out that he is a man who did not like to bother anybody with his pains”. He added

    While praying to Almighty God for Abuah’s soul to rest in peace, he will definitely not be forgotten in a hurry.

    He has left behind very big shoes that may take some time to fill effectively and efficiently.

    His exit has really thrown up the challenge of how to replace him.

    Is he going to be replaced by one of the staff in the State House who has understudied him over the years?

    Or will he be replaced by a fresh Director from outside the Presidential Villa?

    Experiences on the job, definitely cannot be thrown to the winds knowing that the State House is a unique place that demands special skills.

     

  • Community, school relish rebuilt bridge

    Community, school relish rebuilt bridge

    For 15 years the only bridge linking Phase One and Three  of  Jikwoyi  community  in Abuja  was abandoned after flood waters washed it off. Now, it has been rebuilt, much to the joy of the community as well as the Cheery Field College, which contributed to the construction effort.

    While the bridge remained unusable, commuters suffered greatly. The bridge served over 3,000 people.

    The Chairman, Board of Governors, Cheery Field College Ajune Emmanuel said the college  contributed to the  construction of  a new bridge  to link the two communities  because it wanted to help the host community following its request for intervention.

    Emmanuel said the move to embark on the bridge construction project was the only way to give back to the society which he described as partners in progress.

    He said, “I am happy to see that vehicles, okada and pedestrians now move freely from one end to another because of the new bridge.”

    Emmanuel who spoke at the 7th graduation   ceremony of the college on the school’s achievements in the ending academic year of  2016, disclosed that Cheery Field  since inception  in 2004 has continued to  maintain  a good relationship with the host  community and has  left no one in doubt of his developmental  projects for the people around.

    In the area of security, the college has also received commendation from the residents as it has mounted 24 hours security check point and streetlights to compliment the effort the security men.

    Emmanuel urged corporate bodies to always give back to the society as a way of complimenting government effort.

    Emmanuel explained that the school will continue to touch the lives of people living within the school and that the school has visited some orphanages homes in Abuja   and donated food items and learning materials for the less privileged.

  • Going digital

    Some Nigerians were irked that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) met last Wednesday for about two hours and only discussed how to transform Nigeria from analogue to digital broadcasting before June next year. Those Nigerians expected that the FEC should have focused on those issues that would immediately ameliorate the economic hardship in the country.

    To them, digital broadcasting should be at the bottom of the  government’s priorities as the battle to stay alive, keep healthy, feed well and meet shelter and clothing needs, among other burning issues.

    But the Council which aimed to beat the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)  June 2017 global deadline for broadcasting changeover to digital, believed that the process will go a long way in putting food on the tables of some Nigerians through employment generation.

    Nigeria, which officially started digitisation of its broadcast industry in December 2007, following the late President Musa Yar’Adua’s approval, directing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to set in motion and pilot the programme towards the target date, have many times witnessed shift in the global changeover date.

    Operating under the analogue system over the years, has been claimed not to be too beneficial for the Nigerian economy.

    Many countries which have already recognized the huge benefit of digital broadcasting have been making great efforts to beat the deadline by shifting from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting. While digital broadcasting is different in many ways from analog broadcasting, the major difference is said to be in the transmission of the signal.

    The signal for digital television is transmitted in four different ways including cable, satellite, digital terrestrial television and telephone connection (DSL).

    Some of the changes that also go with the transition include changing the transmission signals and making members of the public get rid of standard definition television sets and going for high definition television sets.

    Television sets that receive analog signals via antenna may be out of place in the digital era, while those that receive cable and satellite signals will still receive signals from digital transmission.

    As a way forward, old television antennas, in some cases, will need to be upgraded to meet up with new technology in order to function optimally.

    While there are also fears in some quarters that the transition to digital broadcasting in Nigeria will automatically end free television programmes, this however has not been the case in many countries that have changed over.

    One of the factors that was said to be working against the transition of digital broadcasting in a developing country like Nigeria is poverty as the digital transition is said to be very expensive.

    Poverty among the citizens of developing countries also make them unable to afford television sets that efficiently receive digital broadcast signals.

    Another factor that have prevented a shift to digital broadcasting in Africa is the lack of trained personnel as manpower on ground is already trained to handle analog broadcast equipment.

    Awareness about digital broadcasting is also very low in developing countries like Nigeria. Most public officers in many developing countries also do not think of the pubic good and are rather evolving schemes to divert public funds into private pockets.

    So most governments in a developing economy lack commitment to ensure transition from analogue to digital. Despite these challenges in the developing countries, Nigeria is not only determined to meet the deadline next year but has set aside resources to achieve the aim.

    FEC last Wednesday directed relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to collaborate effectively to ensure that Nigeria does not fail to meet the June 2017 global deadline.

    Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed at the end of the meeting said: “One single council memo was considered and that council memo was a note in respect of an update from my ministry in the process of migrating from analog to digital broadcasting, as you are aware the ITU gave a deadline to migrate from analog to digital broadcasting June 2017.

    “Already the pilot scheme in jos which was successfully deployed at the end of April is working very well and today those who are in possession of our set up boxes can view 15 channels with clarity in Jos.

    “And the highlights of today’s council meeting is that council reaffirmed its support for us to meet the deadline of 2017 June and directed that the relevant ministries work together to achieve these deadline.

    “Yes Nigeria might be going through a very difficult time it doesn’t mean that we are going to be cut off from the rest of the world. 20 years ago Ethiopia had a famine that ravaged the whole country they have risen from the ashes of that famine to become one of the strongest economies of the world.

    “The fact that we are facing temporary problems does not mean that we are not going to be at pace with technology development all over the world. This is a global issue, it simply means that if we do not move from analog to digital broadcasting we may not be able to even receive signals on our televisions.

    “Look at the opportunities it offers our young men who are very talented to provide content to television stations. So it’s going to impact very largely on the broadcast industry, even piracy which has been a menace to us today, with digitalisation it means that musicians and film makers can release their films or records direct on digital broadcast such as video on demand and we are now going to cut off the entire pirate network which has been a bane to our creative industry.

    “If we look at the advantages of digitalisation in terms of changing the entire economy of providing more jobs for the people, even the 13 manufacturers of set up box who have been licensed, two of them already are producing are also going to employ but I think that the fact that we have a temporary setback does not mean we are going to be cut off from the entire world,” he added.

     

  • ‘Buy made-in-Nigeria products’

    Nigerians have been enjoined to patronise made in Nigeria goods and services to foster the country’s economic growth.

    A group under the auspices of Proudly Nigeria also advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to close the borders to stop importation of foreign goods.

    The call was made at a meeting on the maiden edition of the Proudly Nigeria Expo scheduled to hold on September 5 to 11, 2016 in Abuja.

    Addressing journalists at the event, the convener of the expo, Mrs. Jumai Ahmadu said the expo is aimed at galvanising the citizens towards patronising goods and services that are wholly Nigerian, adding that it was the best thing to do in the face of dwindling economy.

    Mrs Ahmadu expressed worry that if nothing is been done, the country may be plunged into further economic difficulties as more businesses close down.

    She said, “The Federal Government should close the borders to stop the importation of foreign goods into Nigeria. Our country is facing economic difficulties: plunging unemployment, failing Naira, closure of businesses amongst other frightening development. For us the Proudly Nigeria Expo, we are of the firm conviction that the situation can be remedied if as Nigerians we will take some steps in the right direction of which buying Nigeria is integral.

    “It is in this regard that we feel compelled by the urgency of now to save the Nigerian economy, our economy. Last week the Naira exchanged at N400 to the Dollar! there is no gain saying what that means on the price of imported goods and patronage of foreign services.

    Mrs. Ahmadu argued that there is a need for  conscious and sustained advocacy to tame Nigerians appetite for foreign goods while applauding governments commitment to diversify the economy and generate revenue from sources other than crude. She added that “it is understandable that it takes time but experts have agreed that buying Nigeria stimulates the local economy given that all economic growth starts at the community level.

    She emphasised that patronising local goods helps the farmer, trader, artisan to stay in business. “Why should people buy imported eggs when the nutritional value is not different from eggs produced locally? Why should scarce forex be used for goods that can be produced locally and drive our economy? Being proudly Nigeria guarantees job security. If we do not patronise own goods and services, how do we ensure people stay employed and those looking for jobs are employed She therefore urged the producers and service providers to ensure quality output. Just as she task “government to ensure that the local content quota is adhered to by foreign companies doing business in Nigeria.

    “We are not un mindful of the clamor for quality. People want value fo their money and that was one of the reasons Nigerians resist substandard products produced locally. For instance, that insistence has yielded dividend that our electric cables are patronized more that imported ones. So who says quality is not here and cannot be attained. What we need is consistency and demand for improved goods and services.

    Speaking on the coming event next month, Mrs. Ahmadu said, “It will be a seven-day event to showcase the potential and opportunities that exist in Nigeria, trainings on start-ups and small businesses generally is our hope that our little beginning will lead to a more robust patronage of Nigerian goods and services.”

     

  • Cattle take over major roads

    Residents bemoan cattle grazing menace, reports GBENGA OMOKHUNU

    Mr. John Ayooba who lives in Kuje, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told Abuja Review that the city’s challenges brought on by its population growth have been worsened by grazing activities, with cattle obstructing vehicular and pedestrian movement.

    He said: “It is becoming terrible, almost every day when I pass from Kuje to town, I come across cows obstructing the major highway and when you call the attention of the owners to control them to avoid accident or damage to property, they don’t listen. Abuja is becoming something else and government should do something urgently before the situation gets out of hand.”

    A government source said that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) took measures in the past to curb cattle grazing, but its efforts amounted to little more than verbal warnings to herdsmen to refrain from improper grazing activities along major highways.

    Another resident Tolu Abinbola said that the illegal grazing of cattle by herdsmen is just one of several problems facing Abuja, including the prevalence of street hawkers, unemployed youths, and “street urchins” which have “taken over every nook and cranny of the city.

    “I have observed how cattle and other livestock have now taken over the city centre of Abuja and I have really fallen short of words. It is not only degrading, but the distortion of the Abuja master plan also gives me a cause for concern.

    “I am neither a soothsayer nor a doomsday prophet, but public reaction to this unfortunate prowling of animals may not be good for the image of the FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammad Bello, who appears to be doing nothing about this apparent contravention of the Abuja environmental laws.

    “The activities of Fulani herdsmen within Abuja city centre are just inappropriate. For cows to be allowed to roam the city and compete for space with human beings is retrogressive and causes serious health and social crises in the hinterland where they eat up crops, pollute streams, rivers and other sources of water supply in the satellite towns and villages and cause deaths on the highways.”

    Ibrahim, a civil servant who lives in Kubwa, said, “From Kuje to Abaji and from Maitama to the presidential villa and highbrow Asokoro, Fulani herdsmen and their cattle are constantly fighting for space with motorists and pedestrians. The National Assembly, right to the office of the National Security Adviser are not spared by the herdsmen and their cattle. The herdsmen graze their cattle at the traffic junctions where police halt vehicles for upwards of 30 miniutes or completely block the road for cattle to cross to the other side of the road.

    “While we cannot run away from these cows that are a veritable source of protein that nurtures our health and bodies, they should be raised in a civilised manner. Distraught residents are sick and tired of the unprecedented ubiquity of herdsmen walking their cattle on the roads. The man-hour lost in hold-ups cannot be economically verified, but the psycho-social trauma of accidents, caused like the one on the Abuja-Lokoja expressway should move any government to action.

    “I suggest as a matter of urgent national importance that the FCT minister should quickly do something before things get worse. He must hasten to create and demarcate grazing reserves and cattle ranches to control the movement of the herdsmen seeking pasture for their livestock in the FCT and not necessarily in the city centre. We also advise that it has become expedient to constitute a committee consisting of all tribes that would campaign on the importance of unity and peaceful coexistence, because the silence of the people is like that of peace that exists in the graveyard. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder if we allow cattle to disturb traffic, deface the streets and enter people’s premises. The time to act is now.”

    It would be recalled that few weeks ago the Federal Government on its part said it has concluded plans to build ranches for herdsmen as part of measures to address the perennial herdsmen/farmers clashes which had claimed hundreds of lives in the country.

    The government also said it would train park rangers, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies to protect farms and other agro-business from looting by hoodlums.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said this at the inauguration of an Inter-ministerial Committee on Security in Ministries of Agric and Interior.

    The minister explained that the nation is facing challenging times, noting that the government was concerned about protection for investments.

    He stated that the government was looking at ways to curb herdsmen and crop farmers clashes across the country by evolving solutions that would assure indigenous and foreign investors of the security of their investments.

    Ogbeh noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to developing and expanding the economy, and the protection of investment.

    He said, “The current problem we are facing is the security of investment. We are inviting people, Nigerians and foreigners alike to invest in this country, especially in the agriculture industry. The crime rate is soaring and sometimes, criminality is carried out because there is no credible intelligence.

    “We are planning now to build ranches and bring our cattle rearers in manageable conditions where herdsmen and farmers would no longer have clashes. We are going to encourage agro investment. We assure indigenous investors, foreign investors that Nigeria is serious about investment and about protecting investors.

    “Nigeria can’t afford the looting of private investment by hoodlums who think that is their share of the national treasury.”

    The minister stated that the committee was expected to work out the modalities for the training and deployment of the security personnel that would be involved in investment and infrastructure protection across the country.

    He however cautioned that when deployed, the security operatives should not be converted to duties other than what they were trained for.

    “The security officers are not to be converted to private body guards or errand boys to be sent to the market or shopping malls,” Ogbeh warned.

     

     

     

     

  • Suspected beggar-syndicate members arrested

    In its efforts to stamp out street begging in the Federal Capital Territory, the Special Task Team on Abuja Environmental Protection has broken up a syndicate of suspected suppliers of beggars to strategic locations in Abuja.

    The chairman of the FCT Special Task Team Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel (retd) disclosed this while parading the suspects at the FCDA Police Station at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja.

    The chairman revealed that the feat was achieved with the close collaboration of security agencies in the Task Team.

    The leader of the suspected syndicate, Baba Gwarma from Kaduna State, said that he is based in Karma-Jiji, a suburb of Abuja with their leader (Sarki) in the same vicinity.

    According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director an Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, Squadron leader Monjel further disclosed that he has three personal vehicles for movement of beggars in and around Abuja as well as neigbouring states of Nasarawa, Niger and Kaduna states.

    He said that Baba Gwarma has houses that he has rented out and also provide shelter for the beggars in the syndicate in Karma-Jiji.

    The Chairman stated that the suspect has been arrested more than 50 times in the past, but this time he would be charged to court for subsequent prosecution.

    Squadron Leader Monjel further revealed that the suspect uses dangerous weapons to attack enforcement team.

  • Minister rallies APC members

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Malam Muhammad Bello has called on leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North Central zone to remain united and provide good governance to the populace.

    Bello who made this call when the Deputy National Chairman, North Central zone of the Party, Zakari Idde, led the state chairmen of the zone to pay him a courtesy visit in Abuja, said this was necessary if the Party were to prolong its electoral fortunes in the region.

    He noted that Nigerians were  yearning for change in the manner their affairs were being managed and that the Party should remain the arrowhead and the platform for people to realise that.

    “The Party is in control of all the states in the North Central and the only way it could go back to solicit their support during elections is by providing quality leadership at levels of government,” the Minister emphasised.

    He said, “This is an opportunity for us to show good governance because it is something that our members have been yearning for a long time.  We have to really govern properly to enable the people spot the difference so that next time, when we go back to them, they will receive us with open arms.”

    The minister while recalling that the APC in the FCT was polarised along diverging interests when he assumed office as Minister last year, noted that the Party leaders in the zone played very crucial roles in reconciling and uniting the aggrieved members under one front, which he said helped a great deal in achieving the landslide victory that the Party recorded during the last FCT Area Councils’ elections.

    His words: “You played a reconciliatory and fatherly role. You were able to talk to the aggrieved parties to bring people together. I think that gave us the necessary unity that made it possible for us to get the successes that we got during the last Area Councils’ election”.

    According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister further stressed the need for the Party to build upon this unity; adding that its electoral successes would always depend on it.

    “At the end of the day, no matter our differences, I think our objective is to win elections and to provide good governance. For that to happen, we have to be united, extremely patient and know that under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we will continue to show what good governance is,” he stated.

    The minister assured that the FCT Administration would continue to provide the moral and logistics support to the Party in order to strengthen its structure in the region as well as cushion some of the challenges being faced by the Party’s leaders across board.

    Speaking earlier, the National Deputy Chairman of the APC North Central zone, Zakari Idde, thanked the Minister for his efforts to win five out of the six Area Councils during the last Councils’ election.

    The Deputy National Chairman while commending President Muhammadu Buhari for his anti-corruption crusade noted that the zonal leadership condemns in strong terms the impeachment threat on him.

     

  • Cattle take over major roads

    Residents bemoan cattle grazing menace, reports GBENGA OMOKHUNU

    Mr. John Ayooba who lives in Kuje, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told Abuja Review that the city’s challenges brought on by its population growth have been worsened by grazing activities, with cattle obstructing vehicular and pedestrian movement.

    He said, “It is becoming terrible, almost every day when I pass from Kuje to town I come across cows obstructing the major highway and when you call the attention of the owners to control them to avoid accident or damage to property they don’t listen. Abuja is becoming something else and government should do something urgently before the situation gets out of hand.”

    A government source said that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) took measures in the past to curb cattle grazing but its efforts amounted to little more than verbal warnings to herdsmen to refrain from improper grazing activities along major highways.

    Another resident Tolu Abinbola said that the illegal grazing of cattle by herdsmen is just one of several problems facing Abuja, including the prevalence of street hawkers, unemployed youths, and “street urchins” which have “taken over every nook and cranny of the city.

    “I have observed how cattle and other livestock have now taken over the city centre of Abuja and I have really fallen short of words. It is not only degrading, but the distortion of the Abuja master plan also gives me a cause for concern.

    “I am neither a soothsayer nor a doomsday prophet, but public reaction to this unfortunate prowling of animals may not be good for the image of the FCT minister, Alhaji Mohammad Bello, who appears to be doing nothing about this apparent contravention of the Abuja environmental laws.

    “The activities of Fulani herdsmen within Abuja city centre are just inappropriate. For cows to be allowed to roam the city and compete for space with human beings is retrogressive and causes serious health and social crises in the hinterland where they eat up crops, pollute streams, rivers and other sources of water supply in the satellite towns and villages and cause deaths on the highways.”

    Ibrahim, a civil servant who lives in Kubwa, said, “From Kuje to Abaji and from Maitama to the presidential villa and highbrow Asokoro, Fulani herdsmen and their cattle are constantly fighting for space with motorists and pedestrians. The National Assembly, right to the office of the National Security Adviser are not spared by the herdsmen and their cattle. The herdsmen graze their cattle at the traffic junctions where police halt vehicles for upwards of 30 miniutes or completely block the road for cattle to cross to the other side of the road.

    “While we cannot run away from these cows that are a veritable source of protein that nurtures our health and bodies, they should be raised in a civilised manner. Distraught residents are sick and tired of the unprecedented ubiquity of herdsmen walking their cattle on the roads. The man-hour lost in hold-ups cannot be economically verified, but the psycho-social trauma of accidents, caused like the one on the Abuja-Lokoja expressway should move any government to action.

    “I suggest as a matter of urgent national importance that the FCT minister should quickly do something before things get worse. He must hasten to create and demarcate grazing reserves and cattle ranches to control the movement of the herdsmen seeking pasture for their livestock in the FCT and not necessarily in the city centre. We also advise that it has become expedient to constitute a committee consisting of all tribes that would campaign on the importance of unity and peaceful coexistence, because the silence of the people is like that of peace that exists in the graveyard. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder if we allow cattle to disturb traffic, deface the streets and enter people’s premises. The time to act is now.”

    It would be recalled that few weeks ago the Federal Government on its part said it has concluded plans to build ranches for herdsmen as part of measures to address the perennial herdsmen/farmers clashes which had claimed hundreds of lives in the country.

    The government also said it would train park rangers, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies to protect farms and other agro-business from looting by hoodlums.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said this at the inauguration of an Inter-ministerial Committee on Security in Ministries of Agric and Interior.

    The minister explained that the nation is facing challenging times, noting that the government was concerned about protection for investments.

    He stated that the government was looking at ways to curb herdsmen and crop farmers clashes across the country by evolving solutions that would assure indigenous and foreign investors of the security of their investments.

    Ogbeh noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to developing and expanding the economy, and the protection of investment.

    He said, “The current problem we are facing is the security of investment. We are inviting people, Nigerians and foreigners alike to invest in this country, especially in the agriculture industry. The crime rate is soaring and sometimes, criminality is carried out because there is no credible intelligence.

    “We are planning now to build ranches and bring our cattle rearers in manageable conditions where herdsmen and farmers would no longer have clashes. We are going to encourage agro investment. We assure indigenous investors, foreign investors that Nigeria is serious about investment and about protecting investors.

    “Nigeria can’t afford the looting of private investment by hoodlums who think that is their share of the national treasury.”

    The minister stated that the committee was expected to work out the modalities for the training and deployment of the security personnel that would be involved in investment and infrastructure protection across the country.

    He however cautioned that when deployed, the security operatives should not be converted to duties other than what they were trained for.

    “The security officers are not to be converted to private body guards or errand boys to be sent to the market or shopping malls,” Ogbeh warned.

  • Suspected beggar-syndicate members arrested

    In its efforts to stamp out street begging in the Federal Capital Territory, the Special Task Team on Abuja Environmental Protection has broken up a syndicate of suspected suppliers of beggars to strategic locations in Abuja.

    The chairman of the FCT Special Task Team Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel (retd) disclosed this while parading the suspects at the FCDA Police Station at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja.

    The chairman revealed that the feat was achieved with the close collaboration of security agencies in the Task Team.

    The leader of the suspected syndicate, Baba Gwarma from Kaduna State, said that he is based in Karma-Jiji, a suburb of Abuja with their leader (Sarki) in the same vicinity.

    According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director an Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, Squadron leader Monjel further disclosed that he has three personal vehicles for movement of beggars in and around Abuja as well as neigbouring states of Nasarawa, Niger and Kaduna states.

    He said that Baba Gwarma has houses that he has rented out and also provide shelter for the beggars in the syndicate in Karma-Jiji.

    The Chairman stated that the suspect has been arrested more than 50 times in the past, but this time he would be charged to court for subsequent prosecution.

    Squadron Leader Monjel further revealed that the suspect uses dangerous weapons to attack enforcement team.