The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Hope as youths renounce violence in Plateau

    Hope as youths renounce violence in Plateau

    In what is termed a major breakthrough in Plateau State, youths are quitting violence and helping the state government as peace ambassadors, reports AMINU YUSUFU IDEGU from Jos

    After a long spell of crisis, youths, often seen as tools in the hands of mischief makers, are proving very crucial in sustaining peace in Plateau State. Some have found healthy means of livelihood. Some are helping to keep an eye on the neighbourhood to keep hoodlums at bay.  A good number have laid down their weapons are working with the government to track down illegal arms in the state.

    In all the research made on how to achieve lasting peace in the state, youths were always seen as the solution. How to thian down the army of the jobless among them is always an issue. One way to resolve that is preventing them from being tools in the hands of trouble makers.

    For this reason, government and non-governmental organisations have outlined several measures aimed at building the capacity of youths in the state. Over 1000 of them have got the state government’s tricycles, and about 5000 have been absorbed in the state’s internal security operations such as neighborhood watch.

    Recently, an NGO, Institute of Governance and Social Research (IGSR) in collaboration with Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP) of the Department For International Development (DFID) organised a capacity building for 600 youths of the state. At the end of the seven-day training held at the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, Shere Hills Jos, the 600 youths denounced violence and vowed to be peace ambassadors in the state.

    The youths also said they are set to return any available arms in their possession to security agencies and will further assist security agencies in mopping up illegal weapons in  the state.

    The 600 youths drawn from Plateau Northern senatorial zone comprising of six local governments Jos North, Jos South, Jos East, Riyom and Barkin Ladi local government areas were camped at the Mountain School for seven days where they were trained.

    The training organised by the Institute of Governance and Social Research  (IGSR) with support from Department for International Development (DFID) was part of the ongoing peace building projects in Plateau aimed at restoring permanent peace in the state.

    The youths made their vow in a chorus, “We are the youths of our communities; we have been fighting and killing one another, but today we have resolved to stop the violence, forgive one another and become responsible citizens of our dear state.”

    Organiser and president, Institute of Governance and Social Research, Professor Isawa Elaigwu said, “The training which was titled, “Plateau Peace: Arresting the circle of violence,” is an aspect of peace building programme of IGSR.  So on behalf of IGSR, I welcome you to Peace Ambassadors Club. From now onward, you have been trained to resist every temptation to go violent.”

    He told the youths, “Please, ensure you resist being used by politicians or any other Nigerians, If you are still keeping arms in your house, please surrender them to the police, having renounced violence, IGSR will collect the arms and hand over to the police. By renouncing violence, it is a resolve not to die young.

    “As youths, you are the future of Plateau State. Senators, governors, presidents can come out of one of you here tomorrow, that is why we refer to you as leaders of tomorrow. I want to assure you that the programme to enhance your capacity will not end with this training, we will further make effort to provide you opportunity in the military and para-military. We are designing a programme to get you employed to make you contribute meaningfully in the peace building project.”

    Prof Elaigwu said, “The youths were lectured on topics that has to do with Leadership, purpose of peace building, importance of dialogue, team work, self-awareness, obstacles, challenges etc

    Programme Manager, Nigerian Stability and Reconciliation Program (NSRP), co-sponsor of the programme, Prof Ukoha Ukiwo said, “DFID has a programme to help in peace building in Nigeria, to minimise conflict escalation. Our expectation on these youths is to go back into the society and be agents of change; they are expected to positively influence their peers with the knowledge they acquired from the training. We hoped that plateau will regain its status as home of peace and tourism.

    Prof Ukiwo said, “Further efforts shall be made to ensure the youths are offered job opportunities as a way of empowering them”

    The special task force (STF) on Jos crisis, code named ‘operation safe haven’ who has been at the center of Jos crisis since it’s creation in 2010 confirmed that, “The youths of the state is the problem and solution of the state. The Commander of sector 3, Col. Charles Okoh who represented the STF Commander in the program said, “The youths of the state holds the peace in their hands, if they chose to make the state ungovernable, they have the power to do that. And if they chose to denounced violence for peace to reign, they have the power to do that. So government should not take the role of the society for granted, all efforts should be done to channeled the energies of the youths towards peace building and community development.

    STF commander cautioned the youths, “Don’t allow politicians, religious leaders, community leaders or whoever to mislead you into going violence. If imam or Pastor or Reverend send you to go and burn somebody house or kill someone in the name of religion, go back and read your bible or Quran before you belief him. Don’t be a fool in the hand of conflict merchants. Stop drug abuse, excesses alcohol and imbibe spirit of forgiveness”

    In his closing remarks, Prof Elaigwu said, “Your graduation from this training is a sent forth to preach peaceful co-existence in plateau state, a sent forth to spread love and unity and a sent forth to be peace ambassadors. You sent off as society transformers, go and transformed the society. You are sent forth to be the watchdogs of the society.”

  • Park-and-pay order to return

    An Abuja High Court judgment has since set aside the park-and-pay policy of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) but the Secretary, FCT Transport Secretariat, Jonathan Ivoke, has disclosed that its reinstatement is only a matter of time.

    Ivoke said the park-and-pay rule will continue after the review of the transport regulation bylaw.

    The court on April 17 declared the ‘Park and Pay Policy’ introduced by the FCTA illegal.

    The policy, which required motorists in Abuja to pay fees whenever they parked their vehicles in designated areas, had been an unpopular one, with residents and visitors in the city complaining about the high-handed and oppressive practices of the park and pay operators.

    In a judgment which was welcome by many in the FCT, Justice Peter Affen held that although the policy may be laudable, it was not backed by the law.

    The judge made the pronouncement while delivering judgment in a suit filed by a firm, Sun Trust Savings and Loans Limited, which approached the court to challenge the legality of the policy.

    Ivoke who did not give a specific date when the review will be ready, told newsmen when reacting to the court judgment that orderly parking continues despite the court order.

    When the Park and Pay is reintroduced, Ivoke said a general card will be used across the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).       He warned that any vehicle that is parked on the walk way or wrongly, no matter how highly placed the owner is will be seized and a fee paid.

    Ivoke also warned the companies involved in the earlier park and pay deal following several complains to return vehicles seized before the court order to the owner to avoid further sanctions.

    His words: “We did not regard the court judgment as a setback because we have been working with the legal department to update the bylaw. We need to update the transport regulation bylaw. When park and pay was introduced in 2010 we noticed that there was some problem that was why we commenced the review of the bylaw.

    “Park and pay will bounce back after the comprehensive review of the bylaw. And the review will be soon but no date fixed. Despite the court order anybody that parks wrongly will pay not less than N5,000 to N10,000.       “Orderly parking in the FCT continues but there will be no payment. Don’t park on the walk ways. If you block the walk ways we will do away with your vehicle. There must be free flow of traffic.

    “FCT road transport regulation will be followed and the comprehensive review was started more than a year ago. Some of the review we are looking into is that some of the companies collaborating with FCT on the park and pay regulations do not pay their staff. They may not continue with us. Some of the operators neglected the guidelines of the FCT law.”

  • Fertiliser Centre registers 106,000 farmers

    The International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) has registered about 106,000 farmers in the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GES) Touch and Pay system in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The FCT Coordinator, GES-TAP, Mr. Bisi Ilebani explained that the system, which is operational in the FCT and Sokoto State, was designed to secure a database of farmers.

    Speaking further, Ilebani said IFDC devised the GES-TAP technology to make it possible for government to identify individual farmers with their unique identification numbers and the TAP card issued upon completion of registration process.

    The FCT coordinator who spoke at one of the registration centres in Mpape, Bwari Area Council, said the figure recorded this year surpassed the 36, 000 farmers registered in 2013.

    He said: “In the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme, we noticed series of challenges; the major one was the issue of mobile networks in some villages.

    “We were on the field and we saw all these challenges, where some agro-dealers could not get their money on time after the supply to farmers. As we looked at it we decided to introduce GESTAP.

    “The TAP card will help to solve the issue of network. The farmers need to take the TAP card to any of the redemption centres to redeem their farm inputs.”

    He added: “We have registered 106, 000 farmers in FCT, and since the government launched the GES such number of farmers had not been registered. We have 250 enumerators on the field across the FCT, and 25 supervisors.

  • World Bank assists 600,000 on mechanised agric

    To encourage mechanised agriculture in the country, the World Bank is assisting about 600,000 farmers in scaling up their capacity, Project Coordinator, West African Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), Prof Damain Chikendu has said.

    Chikendu disclosed this in Idofian, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State at a demonstration and sensitisation workshop on agricultural technologies.

    The workshop was organised by WAAPP-Nigeria, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN) in collaboration with National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation (NCAM).

    The WAAPP Project Coordinator spoke further, saying, “We have seen what is available and useful to farmers. We want you to assist WAAPP to identify machines you can use and promote mechanised farming in the sub-region.”

    Participants were drawn from the academia, research institutes and farmers.

    In a remark, the Executive Director, NCAM Ike Izogu was confident that the country has the capacity to generate its own home grown technologies “if the appropriate strategies are developed and supported by all the stakeholders.”

    Said he: “During this workshop, different agricultural machines related land development, production, harvesting and processing of crops like cassava, maize, sorghum, rice and vegetables will be exhibited and demonstrated to confirm their capacities, efficacies and efficiencies.

    “The core objective of this programme is to demonstrate different NCAM mechanisation technologies to fabricators, farmers, national agricultural research institutions and other stakeholders. It is hoped that at the end of this programme awareness would have been created on the availability of these critical machines in the country.

    “NCAM is ready to provide training and technology transfer to interested partners we would also be willing to train research scientists and engineers to expand our national capacity in the production of agricultural machinery. The workshop in the end would add value to the innovative platform and integrated agricultural research for mechanisation development in Nigeria.

    “NCAM has over the years produced about 200 research results published in may international and national journals; produced about forty machines in the major crop specialisations, tested over 60 tractors, developed about seven standards, carried out training of fabricators, processors and youths in various agricultural mechanisation job creation modules etc.”

  • ‘Peace, love panacea for nation’s woes’

    ‘Peace, love panacea for nation’s woes’

    The violence and destruction in the country have provoked a spirited reaction from a cleric in Taraba State.

    Apostle Joel Lenbang has launched a spiritual assault on all seen and unseen agents who are bent on destabilising the peace and unity of the country during one of his church sermons.

    It was during an open ground crusade at a trough that is encompassed by a range of exotic mountains at the Mambilla Plateau, Bang Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State.

    The Accountant-General of the state-turned cleric said:

    “We are here for a purpose; I would have been in the state capital accounting for the finances of the state. Territorial demons and evil doers must die wherever they are –in the water, on land or in the air. As I address them now. …Let the blood of Jesus flow.”

    Preaching on the theme “Who Should I Love?” he said the map of Africa is like a pistol, and Taraba State, particularly the venue (Bang) is metaphorically the spiritual trigger of a gun.

    He further said he was going to release the missile in Bang so that enemies of the establishment would be spiritually paralysed.

    The missile or projectile, which he said was from God, will start destroying the demons and evil doers in Taraba, Nigeria and the entire Africa.

    Noting that the “The Bible is my sword,” he said God sent him to clean the country of evils.

    Lenbang said he crept into Bang –his native home-at midnight and headed to a stream where God showed him all the evil places in Nigeria.

    “I will tackle the places now,” he insisted, noting that secret societies, cultisms, shrine activities and wickedness in high and low place were not good for the country.

    He said some people attack their neighbours. “Some eat human flesh and drink human blood.

    “Some people pick shit and pour on other people’s houses while they are sleeping. The anger and curse of God are on evil doers. We are going to destroy them today.”

    The cleric said he knows the witches would attack him after the service, but they would all die because he was only delivering the Word of God.

    On the theme, Lenbang said God has given us a new commandment, because man could not obey the first laws.

    Quoting copiously from Genesis chapter 2 verses 16 and 17, he said God created a garden in Eden and commanded man to be free to eat from any tree, except the tree of knowledge and evil, but man was unable to obey that commandment, even as he said in Exodus 20:1 to 17,  the Israelites were unable to keep the 10 commandments.

    He said: “God is wonderful and polished. The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 40 years without God’s punishment until he gave them the 10 commandments, after emancipating them from the land of slavery.

    “But they broke even the first law that bars them from having other gods. They had carved an idol and were worshiping it.

    “The commandments were written by God Himself so they are as holy as Him; no one can keep them except Him. That is why Jesus came to fulfil the laws on our behalf.

    “Is there anyone who keeps all the 10 commandments?” he asked.

    The Apostle gave example of a rich man who went to Jesus and claimed he was fulfilling all the laws. Lenbang said humorously that when Jesus asked him to go and sell all his properties and give the proceeds to the poor and follow Him, the rich man left in anger.”

    He said we are of the flesh and blood so we must fall. “But when one falls, one should not stand on one’s error. If one does that, one is condemning oneself.”

    “What would you do for Jesus who died for you, in spite of your many sins?”

    He said the new law is simple: “Love one another like you love yourself”, adding that the new law has no conditions attached.

    “If you love your neighbour, you would not judge him; after all, no man is qualified to judge another man.

    “Who and how should we love? The answer is: love everybody, anyhow,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “If you don’t love your neighbour, you are a dead person merely living.

    “Where is it written in the Bible that Christians shouldn’t love unbelievers?

    “Where is it written that Christians shouldn’t love Muslims, or Muslims shouldn’t love Christians?

    “Where is it written that a Christian should not love his perceived enemy? And where is it written that you should love God and hate your brother? If you cannot love your brother whom you know, how can you love God?”

    He maintained that no power was comparable to the power of love. “The power of love is supreme as the supremacy of God.

    “Jesus came and displayed love. So, the power of hatred cannot stand that of love, it is too strong. Love covers everything.

    “When you are saturated with the power of love, no weapon can succeed you, and you can destroy the works of Satan.”

    He added that when God chooses anyone, he will become a territorial apostle, saying there is only one God, and the only way to reach God is through Jesus Christ. But the new law brought by Jesus is love.

    “If you love your neighbour, you will not seek demonic powers; you will not belong to secret societies or indulge in cultism,” he said. He declared that whoever persists in evil acts would be destroyed.

    Concluding, he said: “I will only speak the Word and God will do the battle. Death and life are in the power of the Lord.”

  • Gulak, the sacrificial lamb?

    Gulak, the sacrificial lamb?

    On Tuesday, last week, President Goodluck Jonathan took everyone by surprise. Unceremoniously, he terminated the appointment of his ever-active Special Adviser on Political Matters, Alhaji Ahmed Gulak.

    A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Rueben Abati confirmed the termination of Gulak’s appointment. The statement, however, left much to imagination as there was no reason given for the termination.

    Many people were surprised with Gulak’s sack because he had exploited every available opportunity while on the job to lash out at perceived enemies of the administration and defended the actions or inactions of the Presidency.

    While other Presidential aides may shy away from speaking up on sensitive national issues, Gulak was always a reporter’s delight as he picks any phone calls either in the day or night, to address any issue. He has also never failed to reply any text messages from journalists.

    Providing reason for Gulak’s sack last week, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu said he was sacked for his arrogance and alleged irrational disposition.

    According to him, two weeks ago Gulak had gone to Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital to inaugurate the Goodluck Support Group (GSG) with a faction of the PDP in the state without informing the governor, Godswill Akpabio.

    Raising objections, Akpabio was said to have insisted on punishment for Gulak for undermining him and allegedly working with those opposed to his administration.

    While on the job, Gulak, among other declarations, had claimed that he was ready to die for Jonathan to ensure he wins the 2015 Presidential election. As at today, Jonathan has not officially declared his ambition for re-election.

    Replying former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who raised weighty allegations against Jonathan in a letter last year, Gulak said: “President Jonathan’s foot soldiers are ready to support him. We are all ready to take the bullet on his behalf and are ready to tell those who want to bring down his government that enough is enough.”

    While he was insisting last month that there was no alternative to Jonathan in 2015 Presidential election, Gulak had said: “Nigerians have seen there is no alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. We have gone round the country; even Nigerians in the Diaspora are unanimous on the fact that Nigeria is safer in President Jonathan’s hands.”

    While receiving Men and Women of Action Campaign Team (MWACT) in Abuja in March this year, Gulak had declared that opponents of the ongoing National Conference are enemies of Nigeria.

    Before the conference started in March, he had claimed that the conference was not programmed to promote Jonathan’s Presidential ambition.

    Replying Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Kwankwaso, who, in January, claimed  that Jonathan was leading Nigeria towards disaster because he lacked courage and the competence to do the right thing, Gulak had said: “That is a statement of a man that is drowning politically. He is mentally imbalanced. He needs a psychiatric help. It is only a man that is not balanced mentally that can be describing the President in that manner. Nigerians know what is being done by the President.”

    When the Governor of his state, Adamawa, Murtala Nyako alleged that Jonathan signed a document with some PDP governors agreeing to serve for a single term, Gulak had, early this year, replied saying: “Nyako is a lost sheep. He does not know where he is at the moment. His statement is nothing but a ranting of a man who is dead politically.”

    Nyako, through his Director of Press and Public Affairs, Ahmad Sajoh, had declared that Gulak had no political life.

    Sajoh said: “Gulak never had a political life. It’s a pity that it is a person like him that is speaking on behalf of the President. This man lacks values; he is without honour.”

    Gulak, in December also described the governors who defected from the

    PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as “prodigal sons” who will soon return to the PDP fold to beg for forgiveness.

    When the APC accused Jonathan of ‘desecrating’ his office through his written response to former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s letter late last year, Gulak did not spare any word in replying the party.

    In November last year, Gulak referred Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu to as a serial liar over allegation that the Presidency was plotting to bribe 400 Northerners towards 2015 election.

    Gulak, in June last year, did not hesitate to declare that any Niger Deltan who will go against Jonathan’s second term bid was not a true son of the South-South.

    These are some of his responses and attacks on perceived enemies since

    he assumed duty in November, 2011. There is no doubt that Gulak has, indeed stepped on many powerful toes.

    But with all the defences he had put up for the administration, many observers believed that the best action the President should have taken was to warn him and redeploy him to another position.

    And if he must go, this set of Nigerians believed that Gulak should have, at least, been given a soft-landing like the exit of some ministers and Presidential aides who were said to have “resigned to pursue their political aspirations.”

    There were still others who felt that Gulak should have been sacked a long time ago as they believed that he was not good for the administration, even as they maintained that he will always bring problem to the administration.

    To them, Jonathan’s greatest problems were those who surrounded him.

  • Seven-year-old girl rescued from kidnapper

    She went to bed in her father’s house but woke up in the arms of a total stranger, a kidnapper.

    Seven-year-old Amina Mohammed or Samiral, as she is fondly called, was rescued from her abductor, Shuaibu Alkali, 30, on the ceiling of a primary school class.

    What is most intriguing about Samira’s story is not even the motive of her abductor but the manner in which she was rescued from the hands of the kidnapper.

    Abubakar Umar, a neighbour to the girl’s father who led the search and rescue operation, spoke of how they traced the footprints of the kidnapper from the house to the primary school.

    “We all slept outside because the heat was too much to bear. The day was almost breaking when Mohammed came and told us that his daughter was missing from the compound where she slept. From the beginning, everyone was confused because we did not know the next action to take. We thought of reporting the matter to the police immediately but it was still too early to go to the station.

    “After the day had fully broken, we noticed some footprints that came into the compound and we started tracking them until we came to Pompomari Primary School where they disappeared. It was at that point that my instinct told me that the girl could be hidden in the ceiling in one of the classrooms; so we decided to enter all the classes, calling on the girl and luckily it was not long when she answered from the ceiling after she heard the voice of her father calling.

    “Security was then alerted. We tried hard to locate the direction of the girl’s voice where we finally rescued her. She told us that she was in the ceiling with a man. We broke the ceiling in search of the man but he refused to come out until the police had to throw tear-gas into the ceiling before the man was dragged out,” Umara said.

    The little girl was taken to the General Sani Abatcha Hospital for medical check. She got a clean bill of health.

    While no one is sure whether the ceiling is the permanent dwelling place of Shuibu Alkali, a hijab, children’s slippers and a four-liter gallon of water were found in the ceiling.

    Yobe State Commissioner of Police Sanusi Rufai confirmed the incident.

    Alkali  is answering charges at the  Chief Magistrate’s Court II  in Damaturu for alleged abduction of the seven-year-old Samiral  at Pompomari ward in Damaturu, an offence punishable under Section 273 of the penal code.

    Police prosecutor Thomas Bitrus told the court that the girl’s father, Mohammed Musa Maidubi, a fire service worker  attached to Government House Damaturu, reported to Divisional Police station, Maisandari that the accused person went to his house and kidnapped the girl, Amina Mohammed of the same Pompomari address.

    Alkali reportedly engaged in a similar act and was convicted on December 28, 2013.

    The accused pleaded guilty, but Chief Magistrate, Gambo A. Ibrahim ruled that his court had no jurisdiction to entertain the case. He transferred it  to Chief Magistrate 1 for determination.

  • Brothers build classrooms, clinic for Taraba community

    Brothers build classrooms, clinic for Taraba community

    Two siblings in Bang community in Sardauna Local Government Area of Taraba State have made their people proud by contributing to the health and educational development of the area.

    Mr. Jonah Kataps built and donated a block of three classrooms, while Mr. Gebon Kataps, his younger brother, built and donated two blocks of four classrooms and a maternity clinic for the community.

    All the structures, gulping over N6 million, are well equipped.

    It was gathered that the council chairman of Sardauna Dr. David Jedua assisted Gebon in building the maternity clinic.

    The school blocks are built in Government Day Secondary School (GDSS).

    Bang shares a boundary with the Cameroun Republics and is the coldest place in Nigeria.

    The Principal of GDSS Amadu Adamu said the school was established since September 1996 without “any support” from the government. Perhaps, this is largely due to the area’s remote and difficult terrain.

    The students, teachers and the entire community people now have the Kataps brothers and the Sardauna council boss to thank. In appreciation they gave the trio awards of honour.

    The area came alive with cultural dances the day the projects were commissioned. The Chief of Bang HRH Johnson Iba Mbomu who presented the awards sued for sustainable peace and harmonious co-existence.

    “Donating to a community’s school is a huge investment. It means promoting the educational development of the people, which is equivalent to creating wealth for the community,” he said.

    In his speech, Prof. Sunday Talla Ngarka, Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Taraba State University, Jalingo, suggested that the school’s name be changed to Community Day Secondary School (CDSS) since government neglected it.

    Ngarka spoke on the importance of education, urging parents to sponsor their children in school, otherwise they and their children would suffer in future.

    Speaking on the essence of education, the professor submitted that even cattle breeders need education for their cows to grow fat.

    He warned the students and teachers against examination malpractices.

    “Let the students study hard so that they can pass their terminal examinations as well as WAEC. I don’t want this school to be referred to as a miracle centre.

    “The future of a community depends on the quality of education the children can acquire,” he said.

    A member of the State House of Assembly, Abel Peter Diah –a guest of honour at the occasion, attracted the most attention. He was the one who approved the site of the school when he was chairman of the local government.

    Diah, who is representing Mbamga Constituency in the State House of Assembly, also got an award for fixing the community with pipe borne water.

    The lawmaker said the Kataps brothers have challenged the political elites in Taraba, adding that “a good leader does not think of himself alone”.

    He pledged to renovate a block in the school and provide books for the library.

    “The two brothers have sown a seed that generations yet unborn would come to harvest the fruits of its tree,” said another resident of Bang.

    What then motivated the Kataps to assist this poor rural school?

    “I had just come home for a weekend and got to learn that my elder brother (Jonah) was building a block of classrooms for the school. I called him and said I also want to make a donation and together we built the classrooms,” said Gebon.

    For his selfless service to humanity, the elder brother (Jonah) is serving the community as a village school headmaster, after his exit as the NUT and NLC State Chairman in the state capital -Jalingo.

    Gebon, a lawyer, was Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General before recuperating Governor Danbaba Suntai appointed him Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    He (Gebon) said their donation is a way of thanking the grassroots people and returning to the community a little of what they have.

    Those who spoke to The Nation said the two brothers’ donations were out of altruism because their children were not schooling Bang.

    For Gebon Kataps, his blocks of classrooms and the maternity clinic are coming shortly after he built and donated a Corpers Lodge to the community. It is in the lodge that the over 22 corps members serving in GDSS are being accommodated.

    One of the corps members, Joseph Garba, a graduate of Public Administration, said the Kataps brothers have changed the face of the school.

    What the school needs now, according to the Head Boy, Ibrahim Socknyi and the Head Girl, Bisim Mbomu, is computers.

  • Controversy over okada ban in Kaduna

    Controversy over okada ban in Kaduna

    The sun is about to set on the source of livelihood of some residents of Kaduna State, while some others will soon be smiling to the bank.

    The State House of Assembly has given legal backing to plans by the government to ban the operation of commercial motorcycles in 10 local government areas of the state or alleged security reasons. Government officials believe that the ban would ease security in the state as commercial motorcyclists have often been accused of complicity in the activities of criminals and insurgents within the metropolis.

    The idea of banning the operation of commercial motorcyclists in the state was first mooted by the Yakowa administration shortly after the 2011 elections, but the commercial motorcyclists protested against the decision and the government backpedalled. The idea came up again in the early days of the Yero administration and it is believed that it was then that the government forwarded a bill to the House to give legal backing to the plan.

    The law which stipulates a fine of N10,000 or three months in prison has been received with mixed feeling across the state. While some welcome it, others warn against the ban, saying it will increase unemployment and insecurity in the state.

    However, the law gives a 14-day reprieve after which offenders will be arrested and prosecuted. While the government said it is working out an alternative means, residents of the state are wondering why the alternative was not worked out before the law was passed. The law which repealed the state road traffic regulation No 1 of 2002 states that “notwithstanding the provisions of the Kaduna state Commercial Motorcycles law No 4 of 1999, the Road Traffic Law cap 135 Laws of Kaduna state 1991 (including any regulations made in pursuance thereof), no commercial motorcyclist shall operate in some parts of Kaduna state as specified in the schedule”.

    It said further that: “Any person who conveys a passenger shall be deemed a commercial motorcyclist and shall be treated as such. Any person who contravenes the provisions of the law shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding N10,000 or three months imprisonment or both. Any subsequent offender will pay to a fine not exceeding N20,000 or six months imprisonment or both.

    All magistrate courts in the areas designated in the schedule shall try summarily all offenders arraigned before them and impose such punishment, sanctions and make such order (including confiscation of the motorcycles) as may be necessary or expedient. Notwithstanding section 3 (1), no person shall be arrested for violating the provisions of this law until the expiration of 14 days from the date of the commencement of this law”. Local government areas affected by the ban include Kaduna North, Kaduna South, Chikun, Igabi, Sabon Gari, Zaria, Jama’a, Lere, Birnin Gwari and Giwa.

    While Kaduna North and South are to be fully covered by the ban, areas affected in Chikun local government include Ungwan Yelwa, Sabon Tasha, Mararaban Rido, Narayi, Ungwan Romi, Gonin Gora, Kamazo, Ungwan Boro, Nasarawa, Trikania, Kudenda; while Rigassa, Mando and Rigachikwu are to be affected in Igabi local government area.

    The local government areas to be affected include Sabon Gari, Samaru, Bassawa and Hanwa while Zaria city, Wusasa, Gyellesu, Tudun Wada, Gwargwaji, Kaskiya, Tukur Tukur, Magume, Dan Magaji, Local government layout, Police Barracks, State Polytechnic are to be affected by the ban in Zaria local government.

    The law further states that Kafanchan metropolis excluding surrounding villages is to be affected in Jama’a local government while in Lere, Commercial motorcyclists will no longer be allowed along Abadawa-Ungwan Bawa along the Jos-Zaria, Low Cost –Jaja Village along Kano-Zango road.

    In Birnin Gwari local government, areas affected by the ban include Ungwan Nachibi along Birnin Gwari-Funtua road, Kwadaga and Janbirni villages (off Birnin Gwari/Funtua Road and Dogon Dawa/Kaduna Road, while in Giwa (Farin Ruwa/Zaria Road and Mararaban Yakawada/Kuyelo Road will be affected.

    While not completely opposed to the ban, the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state  warned the government to refrain from going ahead with the implementation of the law until the proposed alternatives to commercial motorcyclists is provided by the government.

    Interim Chairman of the APC in the state, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed also said that adequate measures taken to ensure that commercial motorcyclists are direct beneficiaries of those measures before the ban is imposed.

    In a statement made available to The Nation, the APC said: “The state All Progressive Congress (APC) is aware that the Kaduna state House of Assembly has approved the bill which will outlaw commercial motorcycles (Achaba) in many parts of the state. In view of the distinct possibility that the governor of Kaduna state will sign the bill into law, the APC wishes to place on record its strong reservations over the propriety of this law in a state like Kaduna. We appeal to Governor Yero not to sign this bill into law because far from improving security in the state, the law will compound it. The law banning Achaba will worsen the state of unemployment in the state and deepen poverty. It will impose huge suffering on millions of people whose livelihood depend on the availability of commercial motorcyclists and will raise the cost of living in a state where the economy is already in severe decline.

    “While we support the need to take measures to improve security, we strongly advise that alternatives to commercial motorcyclists should be provided by government first and adequate measures taken to ensure that commercial motorcyclists are direct beneficiaries of those measures before the ban is imposed. All steps also need to be taken to ease potential hardship on users and the entire economies which depend on availability of the facility. We invite the attention of the legislators; including APC legislators and the state governor that they have responsibility to ensure that they do not worsen the security and economic livelihood of citizens”.

    Director General, Media and Publicity to the governor, Ahmed Maiyaki told The Nation that the government was working out an alternative to caution to effect of the ban. He explainedthat the ban was necessary in view of the security threat posed by their operation. He said “if you recall, the operation of these group of transporters have been banned in Sokoto, Kano, Niger, FCT and some other places. We have carried out a survey and discovered that many of those operating in Kaduna are not actually from Kaduna here. They came from other states where their operations have been banned. If you are going somewhere, you have to know your way very well and describe it for them. Otherwise, you will be lost. Also, there is the aspect of security and the 2015 elections. We realised that many of these people are not registered voters in Kaduna and cannot vote here. But they can be used to cause trouble just like it happened in 2011 during the Presidential election”.

  • ‘I am committed to Nasarawa youths’

    ‘I am committed to Nasarawa youths’

    Senator Solomon Ewuga, who represents Nasarawa North Senatorial zone in the Senate, speaks, among other issues, on his efforts to provide jobs for youths in Nasarawa State, in this interview with YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU. Excerpts: 

    There are speculations that your jobs scheme has rather defrauded youths in your zone. Is this true?

    That is not true. I can’t do that. I am not a fraudster.

    What is the true position?

    I am rather spending my own little earnings to empower the youth of Nasarawa State. There is what we call co-operatives. Co-operatives work through group interest, based on their trade specialties. What I am trying to do is for people to build a spirit of business acquirement using co-operative movement to develop a business spirit that will ensure that they can manage themselves.

    I work to develop the template based on my own experience on what happened in Western Nigeria where you find a very strong mercantilist class. A good number of youths have been registered for the programme.

    How much did they pay as registration fee?

    Each of the participants paid N2, 000. We got someone to advice us on the programme. Before we realised it, the person had already collected N2,000 from people in order to enlist them into the system. There is no problem with that. Then, I gave some money to kick-start the programme, but there was a misapplication in the process. In the face of this, we lost momentum. I had to wait to appraise the fund.

    I noticed that if we went the way we were going, we will still have some problems. So, I had to register a foundation. We have a certificate of incorporation. We have money that is going to be paid into a bank that will operate it. We have a Board of Directors with my wife as the chairperson, and with professionals who will advise us and train members of the co-operative. So, all these things are on ground. What remains now is for me to fix a time when we can have proper understanding and appreciation.

    It is not everybody that is enlisted that will get participate. It is people who are serious. There are people who already have a bank account in readiness for this. It is the bank that will run this under close supervision with the trustees of the programme. That is the position.

    So, we have done a lot of work at the background. These are the things I didn’t do. When I first came I had a lot of zeal. I did it and the money was supplied. That is why I am having these problems. But the matter has been handled appropriately. There is no need rushing and creating problems.

    Will the fund attract any interest?

    It is an administrative kind of venture. But whatever you are going to pay in addition to whatever you are taking will be an administrative charge, nothing more than that. The money is coming back to me. They are not going to squander the money because they are going to be bonded by the virtue of the group interest. They are not going to pay back the money individually but the group they belong to. That is how it is going to be done. People think it is government that is financing it; so they think they can squander the money. It is not going to be so.

    How much have you earmarked for this project?

    Initially, we had earmarked about N20 million which was misapplied. So, we don’t want to spend money in an inappropriate manner. We want to provide more money this time round. That is the position.

    How much will a beneficiary get?

    It depends on the input of individual’s profession. Some of the beneficiaries may receive N500, 000.  For instance, those who are into vulcanising as a trade will get more money because the machine costs about N85,000.

    You don’t have to give them N1 million because it is a maximum of 10 people. If they are going to be dealers in say, grain, they will do it in a refundable and revolving loan arrangement. Whatever they do, they will refund the money to the bank and keep the profit for themselves.

    How long is the repayment period?

    This will also depend on the type of individual’s trade. Their trade type will determine their capacity. For example, if they are traders, and it is a seasonal trading, they will be bonded by the term, but if you are an iron bender, you first have to learn the trade, then may be a few will need an additional amount to what they have, say N1 million. We will provide the N1 million on a repayable basis. It is a value exchange programme that propels them into a mercantilist class.

    Have you done anything to make these youths acquire entrepreneurial skill to avoid a situation where the fund is wasted?

    In my community here, there is a skill acquisition centre.

    You initiated that?

    Yes, by the grace of God. Right now we are talking with SURE-P so that they will transform it into a workshop, to build a workshop in addition to the centre so that people will have a variable trades like block making, carpentry and joinery among others.

    People have started training. If any of them is a trader, he doesn’t need any training. An iron bender does not need any training; a mechanic will need some form of training and all that. We are going to work with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) which will provide them with support services.

    In other words, your aim is empowering the youth in order to stem the tide of youth restiveness?

    That is exactly our aim. If you don’t empower people to do things for themselves, to fend for themselves, then you are not helping both the individual and the society. You have to provide the basic infrastructure like roads, water, hospitals, electricity and others. You must have an ordered pattern of appraisal of issues. If you don’t plan to succeed, then you will fail. So, you must plan to succeed. Enabling youths is enabling the wealth of the society through employment opportunities.