The Nation Newspaper

Category: Abuja Review

  • Battle against filth begins

    Battle against filth begins

    After launching the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s anti-graft campaign, filth is the next target, beginning from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    Some have said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has its work cut out against corruption, but the government is showing no signs of fatigue. It has declared another war against filth, to be observed every last Saturday of the month. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has launched a full-scale campaign against rubbish, with several ministers and top government officials playing a role. It has been dubbed a return to President Buhari’s sanitary methods in the early 80s. And it was for good reason, for, since then, the country has become increasingly dirty, having jettisoned the monthly clean-up exercise then General Buhari initiated when he was Head of State.

    Most area councils in the FCT are dirty, prompting the Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello to start the FCT Household and Community Sanitation Exercise at Kuje, headquarters of the Kuje Area Council. With him were the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed,  Minister of State, Environment, Alhaji Usman Jubril, representative of the Minister of Health, FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye, as well as all the Directors General and heads of Agencies and Parastatals under the FCT Administration and Federal Ministry of Environment.

    Bello said that Abuja must be clean since it is a major gateway into the country, adding that the clean-up exercise is also a re-orientation effort in line with the Change Agenda of the Federal Government.

    The Minister decried that community efforts in ensuring a clean environment has almost disappeared in our society as most people now look up to government to clean their environment for them; thereby neglecting the household and communal efforts in cleanliness which has often led to the spread of such diseases as Lassa fever.

    Malam Bello called on residents of the Federal Capital Territory to imbibe the Change Agenda of the Federal Government.

    •A filth-laden gutter
    •A filth-laden gutter

    He said, “We must change our attitude as parents and as wards. We must tell ourselves the truth that our environment is very dirty and that the responsibility of ensuring a clean and healthy environment lies on us. It must start from our households, our communities and our towns and cities. A clean environment is our collective responsibility for a healthy living”.

    He added, “I, therefore, enjoin all of us to work hard in re-introducing community efforts in environmental sanitation through grassroots mobilization and also fashion out new ways of changing our attitude and the psyche of our younger ones in order to ensure a sustainable clean and healthy environment”.

    The Minister emphasized that the community-based approach to environmental sanitation will lead to a more realistic and sustainable effort in maintaining the environment.

    Malam Bello also called on the Area Councils’ chairmen and traditional rulers to organise their communities to tackle refuse littering the FCT, by ensuring a clean and healthy environment.

    The Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed expressed happiness over the collaboration of the FCTA with the Federal Ministry of Environment on “Environmental Sanitation”, to ensure the provision of clean environment for healthy living in the Territory, and assured of her strong commitment to make the collaboration sustainable.

    The Minister stressed that an environment of filth and dirt constitutes public health hazards to the people and therefore called for concerted efforts to rid our habitats of dirt.

    She remarked that sanitation is vital for human health; noting that healthy people are more productive at the work place. She insisted that healthy communities offer a more lucrative market for goods and services.

    “We must tell ourselves the truth that our environment is very dirty and that the responsibility of ensuring a clean and healthy environment lies on us. It must start from our households, our communities and our towns and citiesThe Minister explained that the exercise is a wake-up call and an opportunity for people in Kuje and FCT in general to reflect on our general attitude to personal hygiene in our neighborhood, communities and public places, as well as work towards ensuring improved hygienic and healthy environment.

    Hajiya Mohammed used the occasion to call for proper disposal of human excreta (faeces and urine); sound domestic personal and food hygiene practices; clean premises – proper solid waste (rubbish/garbage management); safe collection and storage of water for domestic use; as well as control of pest and vectors (flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches and rodents that spread diseases).

    She said that the negative effects of poor sanitation and indiscriminate waste disposal include the recent flooding that destroyed houses; farmlands during the raining season.

    The Ministers, traditional rulers and other guests at the occasion later moved to the Kuje Market for sanitation campaign to make the market men and women key into the laudable programme.

    The FCT Administration has already put in place mechanism to reward the cleanest Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory with a befitting prize.

    The Minister emphasized that his Administration has considered the policy of reward and punishment as it concerns environmental sanitation to encourage the residents proactively clean their immediate environment.

    Malam Bello revealed that the chairman of the cleanest Area Council at the end of the year would not only be recognized but would enjoy certain privileges even at the national level by representing the territory.

    The Minister reiterated that the issues of improved personal hygiene and removal of environmental nuisances in the Area Councils and Satellite Towns in the Federal Capital Territory, is on the front burner of the current FCT Administration.

     

  • Protest over candidate’s ‘false declaration of name’

    Protest over candidate’s ‘false declaration of name’

    Some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kuje council have protested the chairmanship candidature of Abdulahi Galadima whom they alleged was once dismissed from the civil service an later changed his name.

    The protesters told reporters that the APC chairmanship candidate, Mr. Abdulahi Galadima was dismissed from the civil service in Kuje Area Council in 1995 under Minister of FCT Lt.-Gen Jeremiah Useni, but later changed his name after the sack.

    The leader of the aggrieved APC members, Mr. Chukwuka Timothy who spoke to newsmen said prior to Galadimas dismissal he later changed his name from Danlade to Bezge to Abdulahi Galadima which according to him is a criminal act.

    This crisis happening weeks to the area councils election in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which is scheduled for March 19, next month.

    His words: “The name he used in the civil service before his dismissal is Danladi Bezge with the file numbers our Ref: MFCT/PM/2/S.30/vol.1/17. His rank Statistic Asst. IV with remark ‘Dismissal’

    “Electoral Act 2010 and 2014 as amended, section 107 (1) paragraph (i) which provides that a person shall not be qualified to contest an Area Council election under this act if he has been dismissed from the public service.”

    The aggrieved members who also staged a peaceful protest at the Kuje APC party secretariat said that they wrote to the screening committee before the primary elections complaining of the ineligibility of the candidate but some big shots in the party high jacked the case.

    Timothy said: “We wrote to the screening committee on 12th December 2015, to the appeal committee, state chairman of APC FCT chapter the national organizing secretary and non responded to our petition.

    “We call on the President, FCT Minister, leaders of APC in Nigeria and stake holders of the party to come to our rescue in the interest of justice and investigate the matter to avoid party rancor.

    “We have massive defection of APC members to other parties because of Abdulahi Galadima’s dismissal and false declaration of name issue.”

    Reacting to the matter, the Kuje APC Chairmanship candidate, Mr. Danladi Galadima said that his emergence as the party’s candidate followed a due process adding he his name after converting to a Muslim.

    Galadima said that the present misunderstanding in the party was sponsored by the opposition party together with thy aggrieved members that primaries did not favour.

    He said that, “During election periods so many things are bound to come up and that is what makes politics very interesting.

    “I am a citizen of Nigeria and I have the right to change my religion and also change my name so all these allegations are mere distractions in politics and March 19 will determine our stand.

  • ‘Monarchs can help in sanitation exercise’

    The Etsu of Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Alhaji Shaban Nizazo has urged the Minister, Mallam Mohammed Bello  to integrate traditional rulers in the environmental sanitation activities in their areas.

    Speaking during the sensitisation Town Hall meeting in Kwali, Nizazo said that he will work towards supporting the sensitisation exercise that will help in preaching the gospel of a clean and healthy environment to residents of various communities in the area.

    Nizazo urged the traditional rulers to carry the message of keeping a healthy environment to their subjects, so as to prevent the spread of the Lassa fever in the area.

    The monarch further called on residents to always engage in cleaning and clearing of their environment, having a proper waste disposal and provision of decent toilet facilities, as well as clean water towards boosting a healthy environment.

    He urged the people to work hard towards creating a good environment for themselves to live in, while calling on them to avoid activities that might pollute the air especially, bush burning.

    “Whatever we give to the environment, we inhale it back into our body through respiration and that is the reason we need to relate with environment carefully.

    “There is need for good sanitation in Kwali area council, because unhealthy environment is more of a crisis than the insurgency. The various environmental bodies in Kwali spear heading environmental hygiene in area should wake up to their responsibilities,” he said.

     

  • Stepping into Buhari’s shoes

    For six days Vice President Yemi Osinbajo stepped into President Muhammadu Buhari’s shoes last week. He acted as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from February 5 to 10 while the President was on a six-day vacation in line with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

    The section states “Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary such functions shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.”

    Osinbajo was not the first democratically-elected Vice President of Nigeria to enjoy such constitutional provision.

    The immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan when he was Vice President acted as President during the Late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’s administration.

    Jonathan, who was Acting President from February 9 to May  5, 2010 through a Senate’s motion, got to the position when the late Yar’Adua went for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia in November 2009 without transmitting any letter to the National Assembly.

    During his first day as Acting President on February 10, 2010, Jonathan in response to the situation around him then exercised the power that goes with the highest office in the land by announcing a minor cabinet reshuffle.

    There is however a sharp difference between how the two Vice Presidents became Acting Presidents in their times.

    The Senate under former Senate President, David Mark, had to introduce what it called ‘doctrine of necessity’ to ensure Jonathan emerged Acting President in order to prevent Nigeria from been thrown into political crisis as Yar’Adua didn’t send any letter to the National Assembly before going for treatment.

    But Buhari on his own accord sent a letter to the National Assembly when he needed a break to pave way for Osinbajo to emerge Acting President.

    Commending Buhari’s action, the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, last week said: “During the previous government, the President will just go and leave the place blank. But this time around when our President goes for a few days, he transmitted to all Nigerians that the Vice President is to act as the President.”

    Probably because of the short period of the break, Osinbajo could not exercise much of the visible functions of the President.

    While Osinbajo held several meetings in his office during the six days, there was no Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in the period, which is normally chaired by the President.

    It would have been a good opportunity for him to chair one since he had never done so as a Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    The immediate past Vice President Namadi Sambo, who never had the opportunity to be Acting President, chaired several FEC meetings in his capacity as a Vice President with the permission of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    It would have also been nice to see Osinbajo as Acting President receive the visiting German President, Mr. Joachim Guack, who arrived the country on the 10th of February, 2016.  But President Buhari was back in office on the 11th of February to receive him.

    Unlike frequent visits by state governors to the seat of power when Buhari is in the office, no single serving governor was sighted at the State House during the short break even though some of them were in Abuja.

    Unless they had visited the State House when journalists had left the seat of power as Osinbajo normally works late into the night.

    The governors could also have visited him at his official resident away from the prying eyes of journalists.

    But Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari was at the Presidential Villa the second day Buhari resumed from the short break.

    Besides the fact that the opportunity of the vacation has already given Osinbajo the right to claim the status of Acting President in his CV, he may still have the opportunity to carry out more Presidents’ function if the President decides to go on another vacation in the future, under the current dispensation.

    His loyalty and dedication to duty, no doubt, has been outstanding.

     

    Rain of bats’ droppings

     

    Those working at the Presidential Villa, Abuja may soon be needing umbrellas to move around in the open spaces in the area even though the rainy season is yet to set in.

    The reason for this is that bats in their millions last week returned to their bases at the State House, Abuja after disappearing for a long time.

    The bats, in the aftermath of the Ebola infection in Nigeria in 2014, disappeared from the environment surrounding the seat of government in large number.

    They became endangered birds when they were named as a carrier of the Ebola virus.

    Unlike in the past years before the Ebola virus was imported into Nigeria by the Late Liberian-American, Patrick Sawyer, it was almost impossible to see a bat at the Villa since the disease was kept out of Nigeria in 2014.

    Not a few staff thought their disappearance was not as a result of the normal seasonal migration as they believed that the Villa bats had gone with the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    This group of staff believed that a kind of expellant must have been applied by the last regime to disperse the bats from the Villa in the wake of the Ebola infection.

    Many of them recalled a particular day just before the bats’ disappearance in 2014 when the bats became restless and flying all over the State House on a sunny afternoon.

    The situation has changed now as they have returned in their millions and perching freely on many trees in and around the Presidential Villa.

     

  • A cold 40th anniversary

    A cold 40th anniversary

    It is 40 years since the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was created but how many knew or celebrated? Rather, residents, mainly in the suburbs, have a lot to gripe about, GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

    Its paved roads and glitzy skyscrapers have not lost any of their charm. But a greater percentage of the FCT population, in the suburbs and the bushes hardly care even as the federal seat of power hits 40.

    Why? The lack in Abuja’s unflattering quarters diminishes the pleasures of its polished districts.

    Built mainly in the 1980s, the FCT officially became Nigeria’s capital on December 12 1991, when it was moved from Lagos by the then Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida. In February, 1976, then Head of State, Gen. Murtala Muhammed, in a national broadcast, announced the establishment of the FCT and Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) charged with developing the new capital city.

    Abuja was originally the Southwestern part of the ancient Habe (Hausa) kingdom of Zazzau (Zaria). It was populated for centuries by several semi-independent tribes. The largest of the tribes was Gbagyi (Gwari), followed by the Koro and a few other smaller tribes. In early 1800s when Zaria fell to Fulani invaders, Muhammed Makau, fled south with some followers and his brothers- Abu Ja and Kwaka. Abu Ja succeeded Makau in 1825.

    A lot has happened since creation day. Sprawling districts have sprung up but so have poorly planned and little developed suburbs where residents hiss and sigh every day. The reason for this is simple: there are few facilities, and life generally grows tougher by the day.

    Abubakar Sani, a resident of Byazhin, a suburb of Kubwa in the FCT, who spoke with Abuja Review bemoaned the high cost of accommodation in the capital city.

    He said successive administrations had not made effort to regulate accommodation cost and provision of infrastructure in the suburbs where a large number of the population lived.

    His words: “Most of us, average residents, can only afford to reside in the satellite towns of Abuja and many of these towns lack standard infrastructure, like roads, electricity and water supply. It is as if those of us living in the suburbs are not in Abuja and that is unfair.”

    A resident of Lugbe, James Adams, also said residents in the suburbs had not been treated fairly; adding that the lack of infrastructure had made life difficult.

    “The difference between the city centre and the satellite towns in terms of infrastructure development is too glaring and this should not be so. I advise government to take quick steps to address this, after all, we are all Nigerians and are entitled to reside in the FCT,” he said.

    Mr. Lawal Adeleke, a resident of Kubwa, however, commended the FCT Water Board for supplying potable water.

    “I cannot talk of another location but here in Kubwa, the water supply is almost uninterrupted, although there are issues with electricity and cost of accommodation.

    “I urge government to take practical steps to address these issues so that average Nigerians can reside in the Federal Capital Territory with minimal stress,” he said

    Another person, Ojo Lawson complained about insecurity in parts of the FCT.

    “I assume that the city-centre is relatively secured but the satellite towns are vulnerable to insecurity. Armed robbery has become a regular occurrence in these places and as the FCT continues to grow, I urge government to take steps to improve on security,” he advised.

    The Original Inhabitants Development Association of Abuja (OIDA) also used the celebration to urge the Federal Government to stop the disenfranchisement and ongoing sufferings of the people by democratizing the system of governance in the FCT.

    The natives urged President Muhammad Buhari to send bill to National Assembly seeking amendment of FCT Act.

    In a statement by its President, Pastor Danladi Jeji, OIDA, said the February 3, 1976 pronouncement of Abuja as Nigeria’s capital by Gen Murtala Muhammed has multiplied the misery and woes of the original inhabitants of the FCT with natives lagging behind in education, political, economic and social opportunities.

    Jeji said: “As we recall the annexation of our lands forty years ago by the Nigerian government, we remain dismayed by General Murtala who erroneously referred to this area as ‘virgin land with sparse population’. How could a land be virgin and populated at the same time? This was the first contradiction. In fact, the imaginary ‘virgin land’ was later confirmed by ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo as homeland to over 400,000 indigenous Nigerian citizens who had settled, cultivated and adapted to this geo-climatic area since prehistoric times.

    “Thus, the demolition of our homes, farmlands and land-grab by the federal government, politicians in power and wealthy land speculators in different guises have become the order of the day since 1976 without due compensation or regard for our existence as humans.”

    Jeji further lamented that “unlike other citizens of Nigeria, we are stateless people with our children constantly mocked as stateless Nigerians, our lawyers presently do not have opportunities to become Chief Judges, our politicians do not have opportunities of becoming commissioners, state house of assembly members or governors, our civil servants are short-changed from rising to positions of permanent secretaries or Head of Service, the development of our communities are at the mercies of strangers who are appointed by leaders at the federal level who hardly know the yearnings of our people. Our constitutional rights to self-determination have been usurped by the Nigerian state thereby rendering us stateless.”

    Consequently, the people are asking President Muhammadu Buhari to restructure the governance of the FCT by introducing a bill in the National Assembly for urgent constitutional amendment to allow FCT to fully operate as a second-tier system of government.

    “We want subsequent presidents of Nigeria to relinquish their powers as Governor of FCT and the National Assembly to also relinquish its powers as the House of Assembly for the FCT, to the original inhabitants and residents of the FCT so that they can freely elect those to govern them directly rather than the indirect rule presently obtainable in the territory.”

     

  • Buhari, judiciary and anti-graft war

    How supportive is the judiciary in the anti-corruption stance of President Muhammadu Buhari administration? Is it really slowing down the move to stamp out corruption in the country or just observing and following the required due process.

    These are some of the questions Nigerians want answers to. But only time will give them the answers.

    Over the years, the judicial system has been considered to be too slow in the dispensation of justice for cases brought before it.

    While delay in court cases are attributed to a thoroughness in examining every side of a matter and  avoiding mistakes in judgment, they have, however, been considered to be un-healthily slow.

    Some cases that should have been dispensed with within a year have been allowed to drag for up to 10.

    This has not only slowed down prosecution of criminals walking free on bail but resulted in overcrowded prisons across the country, filled with suspects and inmates.

    Most of the suspects in detention, in many cases, have ended up spending more years on trial than the number of years they would have got if they were promptly convicted on the cases.

    Just like the rising overcrowded prisons with inmates and suspects for other crimes, the ongoing cases of money laundry and theft in public offices brought forward by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have began to pile up in courts.

    The piling up of the financial crime cases in courts is a result of what Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, described as ‘only one bleeding point’, which is investigation of funds meant for purchase of arms and ammunition under former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration via the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki.

    With the seeming slowness of the processes in courts, Nigerians have started to wonder further if the judiciary will really stand up to the occasion and speedily and accurately dispense more financial and economic crime cases that will be brought before them when government’s investigation goes to other key areas of the economy like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    Unlike in the past fight against corruption that appeared to be a lip service business only, not a few Nigerians under the new dispensation want to see looters of the treasury convicted and jailed for their crimes.

    The actions of the looters have not only impoverished many Nigerians, but have also sent a lot of Nigerians to their early graves due to dilapidated healthcare facilities in the country among other decaying infrastructures.

    Those pushing for their speedy conviction may not derive any special pleasure from such looters being jailed, but they want it to serve as a deterrence to others that may want to venture into such treasury looting.

    Fighting corruption to a standstill will make the commonwealth of Nigerians be more available for infrastructural and other developments and in turn benefit more Nigerians in the short and long run.

    Because of the importance of the anti-graft war, the issue was brought to the fore a fortnight ago when President Buhari held a town hall meeting with Nigerians living in Ethiopia.

    Buhari did not fail at the interactive session to call for strong support of the judiciary in order to win the war against corruption.

    Against some online reports, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu last week insisted that the President didn’t launch any onslaught against the court system in Nigeria during the session.

    He said: “The President did not embark on that. In fact, he said that he had a partner in the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mahmud Mohammed and he is counting on his support to ensure that the war against corruption is won.”

    But expressing worries with the present system, Shehu said: “If EFCC will do their duty, ICPC or the Office of the NSA, which is now involved in this investigation, if all of us will gather all the evidences in this world against one official or the other at a court, and the court decides that all the evidences have come to nothing, then there is a problem.”

    To tackle the congestion of cases in the conventional courts, which result from high rate of cases filed, it may not be out of place here to support the call for establishment of special courts to try economic and financial crimes.

    Creation of special courts for labour-related issues in the country have helped in speeding dispensation of justice for labour matters.

    So, special courts for economic and financial crimes will go a long way in killing the ‘cancerous’ corruption in the country and make more Nigerians benefit from the dividends of democracy.

     

    Adopting Kenya’s agric system 

     

    Despite having less than 8% of its land for crop and feed production, agriculture has remained the most important economic activity in Kenya.

    About 80% of the work forces are engaged in agriculture or food processing in the country

    With this, Kenya is not only meeting local demands for many agricultural produces, but it has also been exporting them abroad.

    Items like tea, coffee, horticultural exports, including green beans, onions, cabbages, snow peas, avocados, mangoes, and passion fruit are being exported  to earn foreign exchange for the country.

    While flowers being exported include roses, carnations, statice, astromeria, and lilies, Kenya also exports sisal, tobacco, and bixa annatto (a natural food coloring agent).

    Kenya is the world’s largest producer and exporter of pyrethrum, a flower that contains a substance used in pesticides.

    Other important crops being produced by Kenya include sugarcane, corn, wheat, rice, cotton, potatoes, beans, peas, sorghum, sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas, and oilseeds.

    Nigeria’s over dependence on oil as main source of government revenue since its discovery in Nigeria has made the country lose its past and enviable glory in agriculture.

    While agricultural produces like groundnut, cotton, palm oil among others were the mainstay of the Nigeria economy in the 1960s, the abundant arable land in the country were neglected for oil, which many now consider to be a curse rather than blessing for Nigeria.

    Declining revenue of oil from the international market has now forced Nigeria to begin to diversify its economy or be ready to perish.

    To get the new moves right in agriculture, the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is not closing its eyes to nations with success stories in agriculture.

    He therefore did not fail to take advantage of his visit to Kenya end of last month to take a look at Kenya’s agricultural system.

    Speaking on the visit to Kenya, the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu said: “Agriculture has raised life in Kenya and you can see quality of lives at the bottom of the societal ladder. The quality of life in Kenya is higher than what it is in Nigeria.

    “Forget about all the years of oil well in Nigeria. Is this wealth evident among the lowest of our people? It is not there, there is still poverty, hunger and disease. But Kenya is rising and it is like everyone is being carried along. Kenya is exporting so much.

    “We also came back from Kenya with the idea of free trade between the two countries. They will not pay duty on goods they bring from Kenya while Nigerians can also take advantage of it to take their goods to Kenya without paying duties. We hope that will help in bringing their expertise in agriculture. They also can learn from the good practices we have concerning our oil,” he said.

     

  • ‘Make sanitation a lifestyle’

    Kuje stakeholders have urged residents to make clean environment a way of life. On January 30, a sanitation exercise was flagged off in the territory, a development which blends with the position of the District Head of Paseli community in Kuje, Mr Usman Yusuf.

    The community chief had stressed that residents should regularly keep their environments neat and tidy.  Only by so doing, can residents ward off outbreak of diseases, he said.

    Yusuf assured that he would use his position to sensitise the community on the need for proper waste disposal and the dangers of dirty environment to people.

    “The growing heaps of waste and refuse in some communities in Kuje are due to improper waste disposal and negligence by some residents in the area.

    “Despite the efforts by the Area Council in evacuating waste and cleaning the environment, some people have failed to comply with sanitation rules and regulations.

    “I will use my good palace to sensitise the community on proper waste disposal and the dangers of living in a dirty environment.

    “The council is also trying its best in terms of creating awareness on proper waste disposal but some residents have refused to do the right thing,” he said.

    The Chairman of Kuje Traders Association, Alahaji Isa Yunusa also emphasised that sanitation exercise should be regular, even daily in every home for healthy living.

    Yunusa said that sanitation exercise would be observed every Monday morning in Kuje Market by all shop owners to ensure general cleanliness of the market.

    “For the ministers to come to Kuje Area Council and demonstrate how to keep our market clean, I assure you that we will continue with that gesture.

    “Every Monday morning will be a routine activity by all shop owners to keep their corridors clean and I will ensure that it is obeyed.

    “From six to ten o clock on Mondays, no trader will open shop until you have sweep, mop and clean the front of your shop,’’ he warned.

    He warned against open defecation and the inability to build toilets by some landlords in the area, stressing that good approach to sanitation exercise is a panacea to health hazard in every society.

    “Landlords who build houses without toilet facilities have been warned to build them and failure to do that will be charged to court.

    “I advise the residents to stop the dumping of refuse in gutters and join hands with the FCT Administration in the development of the Area Councils,” Yunusa said.

     

  • Land crisis: Owners seek minister’s intervention

    Land owners at Zaudan Pazeri and Filindabo layouts under the auspices of Zaudan Pazeri Property Owners Association in Dei-dei district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the Minister, Mallam Mohammed Bello to come to their aide and settle the issue between the land owners and FCT authority.

    Chairman of the Association, Elder Friday Ugoala, explained that with the complexity of the case in court, the association has the faith that the present administration will not spend energy and scarce resources to defend what they described as illegality melted on over 1000 land owners.

    Ugoala expressed hope that the current administration will call them to settle issues, by granting them the right to develop their plots that their plots remain as allotted, saying that they have the faith that he will do it.

    “The last administration knew what they did in the first place, that has been the case in Nigerian society, that when those in authority suppress the poor masses, the masses will take it as a way of life.

    “But the 1000 people affected in this case have refused to take it like that.  We have made it public that we are available for out of court settlement, which they have not shown any interest,” he said.

    According to Ugoala, the emergence of Mallam Mohammed Bello is a good omen to oppressed residents of the FCT like them,  because is it known that the FCT Minister is a man of the masses and his administration is a masses driven one.

    “So, seeing that the masses are fighting for a just course, we have no iota of doubt that this present administration will order a reversal to what was on ground, concerning Zaudan Pezerri and Phillindabo layouts.

    “We sincerely beg FCT Minister to order a reversal to what was on ground, Zaudan Pazeri and Filindabo layouts have received Ministerial approval and they are authentic layouts. All that they required for us to do we complied, we made all the necessary payments, the files, processing fees, and everything, they were computerised and regularised.

    “So, anything on the contrary, means injustice. We are begging the present administration to see to our plight, so that we can develop our plots and have places to call our own. Been tenants here and there are an embarrassment for us,” he said.

     

  • Firm donates to 600 IDP children

    A logistics firm, Greater Washington Nigeria Limited has donated foodstuffs to about 600 school children displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency at the New Kuchingoro Internally Displaced (IDP) Camp, Abuja.

    Items presented to the coordinator of the IDP school, Mr. Sanwo Olatunji-David, include 20 cartons of noodles, six bags of rice and cartons of vegetable cooking oil.

    The GWL manager in Abuja, Mrs. Fidelia Dickson who presented the items on behalf of the Managing Director, Owolabi Awosan, said the donation of foodstuffs would be a continuous process.

    She explained that the donation was meant to show the company’s love to the children who were forced to relocate from their community by the Boko Haram insurgency and take abode in the Federal Capital Territory in order to survive.

    Dickson said, “On behalf of Greater Washington, we appreciate your efforts in taking care of the children and God who is using you to take care of the children will bless you. This donation is a continuous effort, we will partner with you to care for the children.

    “We are also calling on other public-spirited individuals to come to the assistance of the school children. We would discuss further with the management of the IDP school to see how we can assist in the area of school fee payment for other displaced school children in Orozo, Nyanya and other parts of the FCT.”

    Olatunji-David in his response explained that his organization, Life Builders Initiative, has been running two schools for about 600 children displaced by Boko Haram insurgency.

    He noted that there were some children whose school fees his organization was paying, adding that he would like assistance in this regard.

    “We have about 600 children in two schools that we are taking care of. There are others who were not in school yet, so we would like financial assistance for these children who are about 200. Some of them are in Orozo, Nyanya, Wassa and Waru. We appreciate GWL for this good gesture, thank you for remembering us,” Olatunji-David said.

     

  • A different breed of activists

    A different breed of activists

    They stroke, sketch and paint just like other artists. But there is something unique about these professionals at Maitama/Minister’s Hill in Abuja. Their canvass is recyclable, and they use renewable energy. They also ply their trade at a scenic ecological garden where, in the night, they gather round bottles illuminated by little candlesticks glowing inside them. When leisure visitors or pupils on excursion stop by, the artists take time to explain what they do and why they do it the way they do it. Their message is essentially  that Nigerians should join the global campaign to turn to renewable energy and save the environment by recycling materials.

    The garden is itself a natural work of art. It is wooded and lies in a valley with a flowing stream nearby.

    The rich folks in the neighbourhoods do not like them, and from time to time, police come to harass the activist-artists on the invitation of the powerful neighbours.

    The creator and curator of the garden, Ifesinachi Nwanyanwu explained to Abuja Review that what they try to do is to create an awareness that when people take from the environment, they should be mindful of how they give back to the environment and that government needs to create courses in schools that educate the younger generation on recycling and renewable energy.

    The artist said that he always had the idea about an Environmental garden and was most fortunate to have seen the location in 2009 and it immediately clicked with the vision that he had always had.

    Abuja for instance is a city with lots of green areas and parks but unfortunately most of these green areas and parks have gradually been turned into relaxation spots and bars and sometimes restaurants which most people are used to

    This is probably the reason for the constant squabble over the garden by influential residents over the need to change the idea of the garden and this recently led to the vandalism of the park by unknown hoodlums and several police cases that has eventually made the crusaders give up on their beloved park.

    Environmental artist Joy Ogu told Abuja Review that they try to advocate changing people’s mindset on protecting the environment.

    “I actually specialise in painting but protecting the environment is a thing of concern to me and should be to every Nigerian with increasing number of environmental hazards in the country. We try to advocate for people to change their mindset about protecting the environment and getting close to nature. I help create awareness through my art for instance instead of throwing away trash, I try to recycle and make my trash look beautiful for people to admire and eventually they might want to emulate it. We don’t just showcase the visual art alone; we put up everything we do online for people to see.”

    On the art, Nwanyanwu says: “My kind of art which is using organic materials to create works, gave me the enthusiasm of starting an environmental space where we promote, renewable energy, sustenance, educating people on how best to live with the environment without necessarily abusing it.

    “Most of the abuses we do to the environment are such that with very good education, we can correct a lot of damages that have been done to the environment.

    “We try to be part of the crusade. Why throw thrash from the window of your car, why shop from the market with leather bags that do not have any degradable effect, why not change our attitude with the way we do things with the environment.

    “That is what we try to do with the programme consumption by moonlight, we come out to have fun and also make people realise that the moon is also a source of renewable energy not just the sun, we have fun but then use our environmental works which was done with renewable materials, repurposing trash and discuss social issues.

    “Sometimes as Nigerians, we only look at the content, without looking at what houses that content, we do thing without understanding the Environmental effect of what we do.

    “For instance I happened to get a hold of the Chibok school building roof, that was destroyed when the schoolgirls where abducted, with it we are creating works that attempt to address insurgency, these are materials they where seen as thrash and we trying to use it for memorial works.

    “I think it is possible for Nigeria to make a turn in practically every issue, Environmental awareness is one of the least I think should be issue because, Nigerians are quite intelligent it’s just that for some reason, they choose to act the way they do, urinating in restricted places, dump refuse anywhere.