You can call it a haven for the needy. It is tucked inside the calm setting of Kakuri in Kaduna metropolis. It looks somewhat ungainly, and you could walk past it several times without taking notice. Yet, that is where young people with disability find peace and a new life.
At the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Centre, physically challenged youths are acquiring skills to enhance their lives by maximising their potentials rather than resorting to begging for alms. Various vocations ranging from tailoring to knitting, typewriting and craft-making, among others, are taught at the centre. The programme aims to help depopulate the large army of disabled persons on the streets.
Investigations revealed that the Kaduna State government is working in collaboration with some development partners to empower the trainees with skills and formal education as well as funds to help them set up their own business after the training.
But the efforts may not yield the desired result unless the govermment ensures that the items produced by the trainees are bought by government agencies and other organisations. For example, it was gathered that visually impaired trainees at the centre produce high-quality garden chairs which could be used in recreation centres and government offices as visitors’ chairs.
An official of the centre who would rather not be named “because we don’t have permission from the government to speak to the press”, said the slogan of the centre is “there is ability in disability”.
The government’s journal produced by the state Ministry of Information, Newscope, quoted the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Board, managers of the centre, Mrs. Murna Bawa, as saying that skills like knitting, welding, hairdressing, shoemaking, pomade making, animal husbandry and many more are taught at the centre, pointing out that the board is working towards enhancing the living standard of the trainees in order to make them self-reliant and contribute to the socio-economic development of the state.
She said further that the board is helping to integrate the physically challenged into the society through the various programmes of the centre.
The Kakuri centre is not the only place where the physically challenged are being integrated into the society along with other able-bodied persons. There is another centre.
It was also gathered that through their association, the physically challenged are working with the centre to correct the notion by society that they are redundant and can only beg for alms and should therefore be isolated. Their determination has reduced drastically the number of physically challenged persons on the street, begging for alms, especially the younger ones. Susan Istifanus, one of the trainees, was effusive with praises for the management and trainers at the center. She was hopeful that her training will help her earn a decent living.
“Before I came to the centre for training, I thought all hope was lost,” she said. “Everyday, I see people like me on the street daily begging for alms. But here I am learning a trade and I have been told that when we graduate from here, the government will assist us in setting up a small business of our own. I am very happy because very soon, I will graduate and have a business of my own and then, I can help my family. It is really a good thing that we are here. The only problem is that there are a lot of things that we need here that are not available and the centre needs a lot of money to achieve what it is established to do.”
Though founded and primarily by the state government, the centre has received assistance from international partners and many others like Sight Savers International, wives of local government chairmen, wives of legislators and Rotary Club. Donations to the centre by these organisations, according to officials of the centre, are what have kept the centre going.
Items made by the students are often on display either at the centre or at the board headquarters located about five kilometres from the centre.
Established in 1980 by the Balarabe Musa administration, the nation gathered that the centre has graduated several skilled physically challenged persons and empowered them with both capital and material resources and are monitored by a committee to ensure that they comply with the conditions given to them in establishing their businesses. This responsibility is assigned to the social welfare department of the various local government councils. Interestingly, many others are reabsorbed to work with community based workshops to train others in the various community based rehabilitation centres established in 11 of the 23 local government councils across the state. Although government officials and officials of the rehabilitation Board would not speak to The Nation on the activities of the centre, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry for Women Affairs, Hauwa Umar was quoted as saying that the government has shown so much concern about the students of the centre and work to integrate them into the larger society. She was also quoted as saying that despite limited resources, the centre has made serious efforts at training the students who have been producing high quality garden chairs, shoes, tricycles, cardigans and other items which are often displayed at the annual Kaduna International Trade Fair in other to expose them to the international market.
Officials of the centre believe that rather than give contract for schools chairs and table to contractors, the government can encourage the students and graduates of the centre to do better by ensuring that the Ministry of Education, the state Universal Basic Education Board and local government councils patronise the chairs and tables produced by the students and other graduates of the centre. This, they believe will go a long way in encouraging the graduates and many other physically challenged persons still roaming the streets to go to the centre for training. They officials of the centre believe that with such a directive, the centre is capable of generating enough revenue to run the place and improve on the training offered by the centre.
Sources at the centre, however, said that the medical needs of the trainees are not adequately attended to as only one chief nursing officer is available to attend to their needs.
There is however the need to have a medical doctor and possibly a physiotherapist to attend to the special need of the trainees and other students of the centre. They believe that due to their disability, many of them are sometimes does not want to relate with others, but when a therapist is employed to attend to them, it will bring them out of their shell to exhibit their talent. Aside from that, they claimed that inadequate staffing is another problem confronting the institution.
A senior official of the Rehabilitation Board appeal to the government to consider the centre and its students for inclusion in the empowerment programme of the government through the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme. While lamenting that the first batch of 7600 beneficiaries of the SURE-P programme did not include the physically challenged being trained at the centre, the official said “these people need this encouragement. You can imagine how many of them will be taken off the street if the government decided to include them in the programme. But the first one was done without them. We think that the government should strongly consider them for the second phase. Also, this centre has the capacity to train able bodied people. So, the government should also include the centre among the consultants carrying out the training. We have better equipped workshops, even better than some of those already involved in the training. When this is done, we can generate revenue for the running of this centre. You can see that we have a very big space here which is currently under utilised. So, if we are given such a responsibility, we can adequately utilise this place. I think the government should give it a serious though”.
Category: Northern Report
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New skills, new life for the needy
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Foundation’s N10m lifts 108 in Kwara
No fewer than 108 people in Kwara State have acquired various skills to help them lead better lives. They were trained at Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran, headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area. Soap-making was one the vocations in which the beneficiaries were tutored.
The beneficiaries cut across four local government areas, namely Irepodun, Oke-Ero, Ekiti and Isin in Kwara South Senatorial District.
The programme, which was organised by the Mike Omotosho Foundation, was attended by traditional rulers from the four local government areas.
The Chairman of the foundation, Dr. Mike Omotosho who hails from Obbo Aiyegun, Ekiti Local Government Area of the state, said the foundation expended over N10 million on the project.
He said: “Real fulfilment comes from giving. The truth of the matter is that you don’t need to be extremely rich to give back to the society.
“Starting from the beneficiaries, we do have 108 people including 22 officials that are either encouraging them to know what to do or train them on specific skill. We actually got about 1,000 applicants. We shortlisted 116 but 108 showed up.
“It is a programme that we intend to continue to do, if possible on quarterly basis. But for now, it will be a biennial event. This means there would be another programme before the end of the year. Over time we will be able to get people that have benefited from the programme to be facilitators in subsequent programmes.
“In terms of monetary value, it is difficult say what the value is. Do we start from the feeding arrangement, or the transport subsidy of the micro-finance? There is going to be an empowerment programme of micro-finance loans for those that excelled among this group.
“The number of those that excelled is between 25 and 30. In monetary terms, I am sure close to N10 million has been spent, but I can tell you the time value of the volunteers cannot be quantified. To a large extent, that was why I was reluctant in mentioning figures. People have left the comfort of their homes even during this Easter period to empower train those who will become useful to themselves, their communities and the country.
“It is a pilot programme in which four local government areas have benefited from.”
He blamed the current security challenges in some parts of the country on joblessness, adding that “once people are gainfully employed either working for themselves or for others, it becomes a lot easier for them to begin to think of how to touch lives.
By extension, when people realise that security is part of their responsibilities, everybody will be his brother’s keeper. Security is everybody’s business.
“Therefore, I urge the participants and youths outside there to exemplify leadership and appreciate the fact that they should impact on the lives of others.”
In a remark, the Owalobo of Obbo Aiyegunle, Oba Samuel Adelodun said the programme is the first of its kind in the history of the state.
The monarch said: “What we are witnessing today is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, given the growing incident of youth unemployment in the country. This is different because the week-long skills acquisition has focused on the youth. It is also different because God is using a Nigerian to empower our young unemployed graduates.
“Politicians might have been doing that but they are not using their personal funds to finance this type of empowerment. This gesture smacks of humanitarianism for the less-privileged and the jobless in the society.”
Oba Adelodun, a retired Director-General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) likened skills acquisition programme to that of the NDE.
Continuing, he said: “The programme of the NDE is a genuine attempt by the Federal Government of Nigeria to assist the youth to be self-reliant through skills acquisition.
“When I was there, it was possible for NDE to identify 81 different fields for Nigerians to move and learn. Throughout my stint there, all the states of the federation benefited from this programme.
“The difference now is that our youths seem not to take the programme seriously as they are looking for short-cuts to success because of the way we are living in Nigeria.
“Nobody wants to work. We have not been able to encourage our youths to believe in their potential; to live within their means without necessarily having to look for short-cuts. As a result of the political environment in which we find ourselves, it has been possible for politicians to assist them temporarily for them to enjoy this short-cut approach to success.
“After the tenure, the youth will go back to their old ways. What is important is that the NDE not only gives you money to start up something, but it also teaches you how to live a good life.” -
Plateau entrenches e-governance
Plateau State Governor Jonah David Jang has said that e-governance has been entrenched in the state civil service system, noting that some of the state’s ministries, agencies and commissions have fully become Information Communication Technology (ICT) compliant. He said the state has become one of the ICT-compliant states in the country.
Governor Jang spoke at the opening ceremony of a five-day computer appreciation capacity building training programme organised for commissioners and heads of commissions on Information Communication Technology (ICT).
The training was organised by the state Ministry of Science and Technology in collaboration with the ICT Directorate of the University of Jos.
Jang said: “The growing interest in e-governance activities by governments the world over has made it imperative for the deployment of ICT to drive efficiency and transparency in government and further improve quality of public service delivery.”
Continuing, he said: “It is indeed a fact that, the world over, ICT has made significant impact on every aspect of our lives, thus the attainment of knowledge-based economy and information society both of which are ICT-propelled.
“This has continued to attract global discourse with due recognition of the increasing role of knowledge in engendering economic growth and social transformation.
“Without doubt, information technology has become very much a core of modern civilisation. In view of this, this administration is convinced that, through effective utilisation of these tools, we can bridge, not only the digital divide between the government and the governed, but also keep pace with modern trends in public service delivery.”
Speaking further, Jang maintained: “I have made it clear in the past that all members of the state executive council, key decision-makers and those involved in policy implementation must be ICT compliant. It is on that premise that I directed the Ministry of Science and Technology to urgently organise training programmes that will achieve the desired result.
“The first phase of this training was conducted from January 13 to 17, this year for all Special Advisers and Permanent Secretaries. The second phase which commences today is tailored to meet the needs of members of the State Executive Council, Heads of Commissions and Aides to the Governor.
“Having realised that information technology was going to be one of the key components to be deployed in propelling the transformation agenda, I immediately created the ICT Committee. I am glad to note that its recommendations assisted in the automation of the following sub-sectors which are yielding positive results. These include integration of civil servants biometric in the Office of the Head of Service with the integrated salary unit of the Ministry of Finance, automation of the operations of the Ministry of Finance as well as automation of the operations of the Plateau State Board of Internal Revenue Service.
“It may be of interest to you that these projects have yielded great dividends to the state. For instance, the state’s internally-generated revenue (IGR) profile has significantly improved after the automation process. I will want to use this opportunity to commend the ICT Committee for their remarkable strides.
“It may also interest you to know that the Plateau State Geographic Information System Project has commenced in the Ministry of Lands, Survey and Town Planning. Automation of some key sectors of the state government will also take place within the year.”
Governor Jang also noted: “This training is, therefore, timely as it will offer all participants the opportunity to be ICT compliant as well as enhance their productivity. While I congratulate you all, I must urge you to avail yourselves of this rare opportunity by taking this exercise seriously for the overall interest of Plateau State.”
Praising the ICT Directorate of the University of Jos, Governor Jang said: “May I also commend the ICT Directorate of the University of Jos for accepting to carry out these trainings. I hope that this strategic partnership with the University of Jos will be sustained to enable other categories of staff of the state public service to benefit in similar trainings. Our job is not finished until we have fully taken all our public servants to the cyberspace where necessary information and knowledge truly reside.
“I have no doubt in my mind, therefore, that this Redemption Government will continue to be a most worthy partner as all is being done to explore ways and means of making government machinery and the entire workforce more ICT-oriented and efficient,” he said.
While welcoming participants to the training, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mrs Comfort Piwuna urged them to avail themselves of the opportunity in order to become computer literate. This, she said, will enable the state to run the e-governance effectively. -
Guida: A community stuck to its beliefs
Guida village is a tiny community off Kubwa Expressway. It hosts such a mix of other tribes that it is difficult to differentiate between a typical villager and a settler.
But that is not what stands the communtiy out. It is its traditions and beliefs, some of which outsiders like to term superstitious.
The Guidna are very traditional people who although with the infiltration of foreigners in their midst which seems to have changed a lot in the aspect of dressing.
Originally, the Gbagi women dressed in black blouses and headscarves and carried their articles, including food items and firewood, in calabashes on their neck instead of the head.
To ensure continuity in terms of intermarriage, the Guida community ensures that any woman from another tribe who marries a Gbagi man is schooled in their traditions and culture. The new bride, on her wedding day, must be dressed in the Gbagi traditional attire and educated in the Gbagi tradition because she automatically becomes Gbagi, is accepted into the Gbagi family and the children she bears will be Gbagi.
Although the community is generally known as Guida which is a Hausa pronunciation, the typical Guida villager will tell you that the original pronunciation is Guidna. Edna means stream, several of which surround the village. Gui means mahogany, a tree that was in abundance in the area when the first settlers arrived. The combination of both names produced Guidna.
The little community has few social amenities although it is only a N50 motorbike-ride from the village to Arab Road in Kubwa. The village cannot boast of a primary health centre or a junior secondary school. There is no pipe-borne water. The villagers’ only source of clean water is the five boreholes located in strategic positions and donated by the Area council and Rotary Club.
The Chief of Guida, Umar Danladi, said Guida village has existed for more than 200 years. Their communtiy, he added, used to be merged with Kagini when they all lived on top of the mountains, until his forefathers pulled out and established their own village just behind the original inhabitants.
Guida is extremely superstitious, according to the chief. Most of the cutoms of the land are strictly adhered to by the citizens because they are aware of the repercussion of disobedience.
“We have some traditional attitudes that we avoid in this village. Pounding in the night in our community is prohibited totally because we believe that pounding at night creates problems for the spirits of the dead; we believe that the spirit of the dead enjoys their peace and quiet and become restless when disturbed.
“If you pound in the night especially knowing that you’re not supposed to, the person may become mad, blind or other things but as for strangers who are not aware of the tradition and culture it is different because an ignorant person cannot be harmed by what he does not know.”
“We also have specific masquerades Amumo, Aguayi, Aguribe, which are the three most dangerous masquerades that only come out at night, women are not permitted to set eyes on them , any woman that does is asked to make sacrifices of goats or chickens to the forefathers of the land, any woman that mistakenly sees it will have to talk immediately and our forefathers will know the next thing to do but if she doesn’t, she will definitely die.” He added.
He also said that, although it is an olden days tradition, the people of Guida still strongly believe in their cultures and traditions.
To keep their tradition alive, the Guida community organises, cultural festivals like most tribes in Nigeria where their full tradition is displayed to include masquerades and semi nude dancers.
Although Guida, which falls under the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) is very aware of how much the environment has changed from the time of old with the infiltration of strangers and foreigners into Guida, their women dress in other clothing’s including trousers as well and the traditional attires have been relegated to cultural festivals and special occasions alone.
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Combating cow thieves in Plateau
Cow theft is fast becoming a growing industry in the Northcentral, and Plateau State seems to be the hub. It is said that the state now has the highest rate of cattle theft.
The problem of cow stealing in Northcentral especially Plateau State, appears peculiar judging from the sophistication and strategies deployed by the cattle robbers.
Cow stealing involves a gang of about 50 criminals who specialise in stealing as many as 300 cows and an uncountable number of sheep and goats in a single operation. The most recent case in Plateau North involved over 500 cows seized and taken away in one night.
The Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis code-named Operation Safe Haven, said the issue of cow stealing has become a very serious problem in Plateau State.
During the peace meeting which was sponsored by the European Union (EU) through Search for Common Ground (SFCG), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), held at the Cabinet Office Jos, the STF said they recorded 42 cases of cattle stealing in six months.
According to its presentation at the peace meeting, the STF said: “There were 160 attacks associated with cattle rustling in the state within six months.”
Col. Usman Bello, who made the presentation on behalf of the Commander Maj-Gen. David Enetie said: “In the 160 attacks, over 260 people were killed, 2,501 cows were stolen. About 1,312 cows were recovered, over 88 arms were recovered as well as 2,734 ammunition were also recovered.”
Continuing, the task force said: “The attacks were fuelled by activities of cow rustlers. This is the major security challenge confronting the task force in the state. The problems of cattle rustling is concentrated mostly in Mangu, Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Shendam, Jos South and Riyom in Langtang North and Langtang South local government areas respectively.
“Apart from the casualties, the task force has recorded some successes in its efforts to address the problems of cow rustling with the arrest of 15 armed dealers who provide arms to the thieves to nake cattle rustling easier.”
Continuing, the STF said: “The successes recorded in the fight against cattle rustlers in the state is attributed to the Operation Restore Peace launched by the STF so as to combat the new form of criminality in the state.”
Organisers of the meeting, an European Union (EU)-sponsored NGO, in collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser on Peace Building and Conflict Management revealed that the early warning system established by the NGO is associated with cattle rustling has been on the increase since the beginning of this year.
The NGO, however, said: “With the collaborative efforts of civil society organisations and security agencies, the rate of attacks and killings has significantly reduced.
Country Director of Search For Common Ground, Mr. Chom Bagu, said: “The peace-building and dialogue process are not restricted to government and security agencies alone. All stakeholders are required to join hands to reduce conflicts in Plateau State.
In his remarks, Special Adviser to Governor Jang on Peace-building and Conflict Management, Mr Timothy Parlong announced that the Fulani, who withdrew from the dialogue last month on protest have agreed to return to the dialogue table for peace to reign in the state.
However, the special task force (STF) has outlined some of the handicaps militating against their efforts to effectively tackle cattle rustling in the state.
He said: “We have our challenges which has limited our capacity to effectively tackle the issue of cattle rustling in Plateau State. Though we have made tremendous successes in the fight against cattle stealing, we have discovered that the suspects we arrested often escape justice because of the existing weak laws which do not prescribe severe punishment for offenders.
Col. Bello said: “Cattle rustling currently has advanced from what it used to be in the past. Cattle rustling is now being carried out in large-scale and the criminals use sophisticated arms.
“But the existing laws prescribed an alternative of a fine of about N10,000 for cattle rustlers. This has offered an escape route to the criminals and we discovered that most of them escaped through the courts and return to rustle more cattle.
“Apart from that, cattle market is the most unorganised in the country. There is no receipt for a cow that cost over N100, 000, whereas, in other markets, there is a receipt for a good whic costs as low as N500. This makes it difficult to identify stolen cows in the markets.”
The STF also decried the issue of proliferation of military uniforms as one of the major challenges in the fight against cattle rustling. Negative perceptions of the locals about men of the STF as well as the giving of religious and ethnic colouration to the crime.
Col. Bello, however said: “But, in spite of the challenges, we have recorded major successes in the battle against cattle rustlers. We were able to recover 1,312 out of the 2,501 cattle rustled in the last six months. We have arrested 15 armed dealers who are currently being investigated.
“Eventually, the rate of cattle rustling has reduced drastically. Rate of attacks on locals has been curtailed significantly and there is relative peace in the state at the moment. We are doing our best, but we cannot effectively stop cattle rustling considering the obvious challenges mentioned above. We need more encouragements.”
Mr. Parlong and the NGO commended mrmbers of the STF for their efforts in combatting cattle rustling in the state.
Mr Bagu appealed to communities across the state not to pursue personnel of the STF from their areas, saying it is only the STF that has the capacity to confront the armed rustlers and restore the needed peace in the state.
It is cheery that the Fulani Community in Plateau State have suspended their one- month-old protest, even as they have resumed participation at the peace meetings with their Berom neighbours.
Mr. Parlong revealed this while declaring open the 6th Plateau Peace Architecture (PAD) meeting at the Cabinet Office Jos.
The Fulani community had boycotted the 5th peace meeting last month in protest, vowing not to be part of the peace talk with the Berom people. The Fulani said they were compelled to suspend their participation in all peace talks in the state following the rustling of over 500 cattle allegedly by Berom youths.
Mr Parlong said: “I am so glad to inform you that the Fulani community that boycotted the meeting last month in protest has resolved to resume participation in the ongoing peace talks.
“This is a victory to all stakeholders in the peace-building efforts. The state government is particularly happy for this because it considered every ethnic group in the state as critical stakeholder in this peace-building project.
“Plateau is a miniature Nigeria where all citizens of Nigeria reside. The state government is ready to carry all citizens along because the peace-building project can only succeed with collective input of all stakeholders,” Parlong said.
Confirming the return of the Fulani to the peace talks, Special Adviser to Gov Jang on Fulani Affairs, Alhaji Salim Bello said: “The Fulani Community has suspended our protest and we have already resumed all the peace talks we used to participate in.
“We had to boycott the peace talks because of the continuous rustling of Fulani cattle by Berom youths. Some of the stolen cattle have been recovered and efforts are being made by government and security agencies to recover the rest.”
Country Director of Search For Common Ground (SFCG), commended the Fulani for listening to its appeal to return to dialogue, saying there is no other better platform to resolve conflict except dialogue.
The Plateau Peace Architecture Dialogue series is an 18-month peace-building project sponsored by European Union (EU) and implemented by Search For Common Ground (SFCG) in collaboration with Directorate of Peace Building and Conflict Management.
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Insecurity: Youths urge closure of borders
Violence has moved a youth group into action. A non-governmental organisation, Youth Network for Peace and Good Governance has urged the Federal Government to close all borders between Nigeria and neighbouring countries in order to prevent non-nationals with criminal intent from entering the country.
This, the group said, should be one of the measures to tackle the escalating insecurity in the country.
The group, in collaboration with Youths, Adolescent Reflection and Action Centre (YARAC), gave the advice at a briefing in Jos on the prevailing security situation in the country.
The programme Co-ordinator of the youth, Aondona Tor, said: “The sequence of the various co-ordinated terror attacks on innocent citizens is a reflection of porous nature of the country’s borders.
“We are not surprised when the Nigeria Immigration Service announced the arrest of over 107 illegal immigrants within and along the Nigerian borders in Borno State few days ago.
“However, we are very concerned that with the poor handling of intelligence by security operatives in the country, the arrested illegal immigrants still found their ways into the country.”
Continuing, the group said: “As youths and major victims of insecurity and insurgencies in Nigeria, we feel that total closure of the nation’s borders by the Federal Government will make internal security more effective.
“We therefore call on the Federal Government to restrategise its approach towards tackling the security problems. This will ensure the safety and well-being of Nigerians as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
“The Federal Government must pool all resources within its powers to ensure the safe release of the abducted school girls in Chibok, Borno State.”
The youth also called for immediate resignation of Chief of Defence Staff and Director-General State Security Services (SSS) for their failure to nip in the bud recent terror attacks that led to the death of over 70 innocent citizens in Nyanya, Abuja.
“The unleashing of terror on innocent Nigerians is a clear indication that the country’s security chiefs have ran out of ideas on how to handle security challenges.
“Nigerian youths are no longer interested in compensation by the Federal Government to victims of terrorist attacks; we prefer to be protected as citizens of the country, a right guaranteed by the Nigeria Constitution.”
While asking the federal and state governments to create jobs for the teeming youths in the country, he urged the Federal Government to close the country’s borders without delay.
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Villa Chaplain hits the media
The Easter Sunday service at the Presidential Villa last week provided the Aso Villa Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba another opportunity to preach to Nigerians on the essence of keeping hope alive despite the various calamities being witnessed almost on a daily basis across the globe. He, however, did not hesitate during the sermon entitled ‘Let’s Celebrate’, to hit at some foreign and Nigerian media houses he felt were opposed to President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. According to him, the reports of the media houses, which he said he always monitored, do not always see anything good in the Jonathan administration. Stressing that there is every reason to celebrate, he said: “When you listen to CNN, AIT, Daily Trust, Leadership, Nation, Sun, they turn everything into a problem. They never see anything good. All you read in the papers never give you hope.” “Life no longer gives meaning to some Nigerians and some of them feel like committing suicide. There are many Nigerians who are N.F.A, No Future Ambition (NFA). But the only person that gives hope is Jesus Christ.” “This world does not offer us any hope. It is only Jesus Christ that brought hope to the world. We are here to celebrate a living hope. There is a reason to celebrate.” He said Some journalists covering the church service were surprised by the Pastor’s classification of the media houses as opposition to the government for what most of them viewed as constructive criticism of the administration towards a better Nigeria. They were confused whether the remark was mainly to impress the number one citizen, who attended the service, or was by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit indicating the global calamities and bad reports as part of signs of the end time. The Pastor during the service also advised that only God can make anybody a president of any nation and that no Nigerian on the street should just wake up and desire to be one. “It takes a lot to become a president. It is not easy. It is not something you desire; it is what God gives,” he stated Another dramatic scenario happened during the time for the Holy Communion at the end of the sermon. From the way all the dignitaries surrounding the President came out to partake in the Holy Communion along with the President, it is only God who can say whether they came out on their own will for the spiritual blessing or to only impress the President. Before the wafers, which signified the body of Jesus Christ and wine, which signified His blood, were served in His remembrance, Ven. Onwuzurumba warned the congregation that only those who are ready in spirit should take part in the Holy Communion. He also warned that there are adverse implications for those whose hands are not clean to partake in the Holy Communion. Declaring that no one can successfully serve two masters at the same time, he specifically warned those eating with the devil through ‘Ogboni’ and other secret cults not to dare take the Holy Communion. But when the Holy Communion started in earnest, nobody from the President’s first row of seats to the fifth row behind him remained on their seat. They all filed out to take the Holy Communion. Some of the dignitaries, who came late for the service after it started and were seated on the back rows, either for their different spiritual beliefs or they were not ready, sneaked out of the chapel before their turn came to file out for the Holy Communion under the pretence of receiving phone calls. They sneaked back to their seats as soon as the queue of the congregation filing out for the Holy Communion has passed their seat rows.
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New skills, new life for the needy
You can call it a haven for the needy. It is tucked inside the calm setting of Kakuri in Kaduna metropolis. It looks somewhat ungainly, and you could walk past it several times without taking notice. Yet, that is where young people with disability find peace and a new life.
At the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Centre, physically challenged youths are acquiring skills to enhance their lives by maximising their potentials rather than resorting to begging for alms. Various vocations ranging from tailoring to knitting, typewriting and craft-making, among others, are taught at the centre. The programme aims to help depopulate the large army of disabled persons on the streets.
Investigations revealed that the Kaduna State government is working in collaboration with some development partners to empower the trainees with skills and formal education as well as funds to help them set up their own business after the training.
But the efforts may not yield the desired result unless the govermment ensures that the items produced by the trainees are bought by government agencies and other organisations. For example, it was gathered that visually impaired trainees at the centre produce high-quality garden chairs which could be used in recreation centres and government offices as visitors’ chairs.
An official of the centre who would rather not be named “because we don’t have permission from the government to speak to the press”, said the slogan of the centre is “there is ability in disability”.
The government’s journal produced by the state Ministry of Information, Newscope, quoted the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Board, managers of the centre, Mrs. Murna Bawa, as saying that skills like knitting, welding, hairdressing, shoemaking, pomade making, animal husbandry and many more are taught at the centre, pointing out that the board is working towards enhancing the living standard of the trainees in order to make them self-reliant and contribute to the socio-economic development of the state.
She said further that the board is helping to integrate the physically challenged into the society through the various programmes of the centre.
The Kakuri centre is not the only place where the physically challenged are being integrated into the society along with other able-bodied persons. There is another centre.
It was also gathered that through their association, the physically challenged are working with the centre to correct the notion by society that they are redundant and can only beg for alms and should therefore be isolated. Their determination has reduced drastically the number of physically challenged persons on the street, begging for alms, especially the younger ones. Susan Istifanus, one of the trainees, was effusive with praises for the management and trainers at the center. She was hopeful that her training will help her earn a decent living.
“Before I came to the centre for training, I thought all hope was lost,” she said. “Everyday, I see people like me on the street daily begging for alms. But here I am learning a trade and I have been told that when we graduate from here, the government will assist us in setting up a small business of our own. I am very happy because very soon, I will graduate and have a business of my own and then, I can help my family. It is really a good thing that we are here. The only problem is that there are a lot of things that we need here that are not available and the centre needs a lot of money to achieve what it is established to do.”
Though founded and primarily by the state government, the centre has received assistance from international partners and many others like Sight Savers International, wives of local government chairmen, wives of legislators and Rotary Club. Donations to the centre by these organisations, according to officials of the centre, are what have kept the centre going.
Items made by the students are often on display either at the centre or at the board headquarters located about five kilometres from the centre.
Established in 1980 by the Balarabe Musa administration, the nation gathered that the centre has graduated several skilled physically challenged persons and empowered them with both capital and material resources and are monitored by a committee to ensure that they comply with the conditions given to them in establishing their businesses. This responsibility is assigned to the social welfare department of the various local government councils. Interestingly, many others are reabsorbed to work with community based workshops to train others in the various community based rehabilitation centres established in 11 of the 23 local government councils across the state. Although government officials and officials of the rehabilitation Board would not speak to The Nation on the activities of the centre, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry for Women Affairs, Hauwa Umar was quoted as saying that the government has shown so much concern about the students of the centre and work to integrate them into the larger society. She was also quoted as saying that despite limited resources, the centre has made serious efforts at training the students who have been producing high quality garden chairs, shoes, tricycles, cardigans and other items which are often displayed at the annual Kaduna International Trade Fair in other to expose them to the international market.
Officials of the centre believe that rather than give contract for schools chairs and table to contractors, the government can encourage the students and graduates of the centre to do better by ensuring that the Ministry of Education, the state Universal Basic Education Board and local government councils patronise the chairs and tables produced by the students and other graduates of the centre. This, they believe will go a long way in encouraging the graduates and many other physically challenged persons still roaming the streets to go to the centre for training. They officials of the centre believe that with such a directive, the centre is capable of generating enough revenue to run the place and improve on the training offered by the centre.
Sources at the centre, however, said that the medical needs of the trainees are not adequately attended to as only one chief nursing officer is available to attend to their needs.
There is however the need to have a medical doctor and possibly a physiotherapist to attend to the special need of the trainees and other students of the centre. They believe that due to their disability, many of them are sometimes does not want to relate with others, but when a therapist is employed to attend to them, it will bring them out of their shell to exhibit their talent. Aside from that, they claimed that inadequate staffing is another problem confronting the institution.
A senior official of the Rehabilitation Board appeal to the government to consider the centre and its students for inclusion in the empowerment programme of the government through the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme. While lamenting that the first batch of 7600 beneficiaries of the SURE-P programme did not include the physically challenged being trained at the centre, the official said “these people need this encouragement. You can imagine how many of them will be taken off the street if the government decided to include them in the programme. But the first one was done without them. We think that the government should strongly consider them for the second phase. Also, this centre has the capacity to train able bodied people. So, the government should also include the centre among the consultants carrying out the training. We have better equipped workshops, even better than some of those already involved in the training. When this is done, we can generate revenue for the running of this centre. You can see that we have a very big space here which is currently under utilised. So, if we are given such a responsibility, we can adequately utilise this place. I think the government should give it a serious though”.
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‘Awaiting Trial inmates our major problem’
It was moment of excitement for inmates of the Kuje Maximum Prison when they were re-assured that their current situation was temporary. They were encouraged to be hopeful that they could still achieve greatness when they regain their freedom. Those were messages of hope on Easter Monday which will remain indelible in the minds of the inmates who danced to the rhythm of soul-lifting music, even as they participated in other fun-filled activities to commemorate the season. The event was organised by Wazobia FM, a popular radio station in Abuja. Tagged ‘Prison Break’, the event aimed at encouraging the inmates to remain focused while their matters are on in the various law courts. Expressing his worry over the prevailing criminal justice system in the country, the Controller of the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS), Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Command, Mr. Kasali Yusuf said out of over 640 inmates, about 500 are on the Awaiting Trial list in Kuje Prison, adding that the facility has 16 Condemned Criminals (CC). Yusuf revealed that the high number of inmates on the Awaiting Trial list has been a major concern for the prison management; even as he said efforts are on to ensure their trials are not unnecessarily delayed. He said: “The Chief Judge of the FCT, Justice Bukar Ibrahim has given a matching order to the judges under him to ensure that the issue of awaiting trial is resolved. “Our major challenge here is the number of inmates who are on Awaiting Trial list and who have stayed too long in this prison. The fact that they are in prison does not mean that all hope is lost. Quite a number of them who are in prison are for the benefit of all. And most of them are Awaiting Trial and by the Nigerian law the Awaiting Trial inmates are still innocent until proven guilty by a competent law court. “Being in prison does not indicate that all hope is lost.. Some of the inmates are here as a result of youthful exuberant, association with bad gangs, which consequence they do not know. “Some inmates have spent up to 10 years and above on the Awaiting Trail list. But since the Chief Judge assumed duty, the Criminal Administration Committee meeting has become effective. We have been talking. Two weeks ago, we had a meeting in which we discussed how to improve the criminal justice system in the FCT in such a manner that people who commit criminal offences would not stay unnecessarily too long in prison as Awaiting Trial, especially staying longer than the period they would have stayed if they had been convicted. “The National Human Right Commission was also here to access the Awaiting Trial situation in the prison and they left with some facts which they would work on. As at today, we have over 500 inmates on the Awaiting Trial list out of over 641 inmates. Among this figure are 16 condemned inmates.” A human rights lawyer, Kelvin Nwosu assured the Awaiting Trial inmates that he would work with the FCT to quicken the justice system to guarantee their speedy trial. “Where you are today is temporary and it has expiry date. You can also contribute by quickening the date to expire. Those of you that are on the Awaiting Trial list should keep on praying and working with your lawyers. Tell your lawyer to push your case because some lawyers are also not helping matters. They, sometimes, abandon your case. “By the grace of God the law is changing to enable speedy trial of Awaiting Trial inmates.” Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro also gave hope to those inmates who have lost confidence in the judicial system. Moro, who was represented by one of his Special Assistants said: “The fact that they are locked up here does not mean all hope is lost. There is still something good that can come out of them. We need to show them love in this Easter period, for it is a season of love. We cannot give up on anybody. My advice to the inmates is to change their ways, turn away from evil and embrace Christ. Once they have Christ with them, they will not go into crisis.” The Head Presenter Wazobia FM, Nwokedi Moses popularly known as ‘Big Moor’ said: “What brought about this is the congestion in the Nigerian prisons and how to help in decongesting them. We discovered that when the inmates are released and they do not have any means of livelihood, they will go back into crime and that indirectly takes them back into the prison. Such situation is not good for the society. We decided to start up a campaign tagged ‘Prison Break’ to educate and motivate them to know that they can be champions of freedom.”
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NGO donates to kids, widows
Disturbed by the growing rate of poverty in some families in Lokogoma, a suburb of Abuja, the Sure Smiles Women and Children Advocacy Initiative (SSWCAI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) has provided some gift items for no fewer than 200 children and widows who gathered at the St. Benedict Catholic Church, Lokogoma to benefit from the NGO’s benevolence.
The Parish Priest of the church, Rev. Fr Thomas Asen who received the items on behalf of the church urged people not to leave the progress of the country and the well-being of the people for government alone.
While noting that giving is a tradition sanctioned by God, Fr Asen said “givers never lack.”
Continuing, the Priest said: “They have brought so many things to enable us to reach out to the needy. This is the kind of gesture we need in the country. That is what we should do because people are in difficult situation. We should not leave everything in the hands of government.
”We are experiencing difficult situation here. The bomb blast is a wake-up call for us to reach out to those who need help. The leaders should be assisted because leaving everything to them will be too much for them. Let us identify those who are in need of help and share what we have with them.”
The widows and pregnant women among the beneficiaries said the goodwill will go a long way in cushioning the effects of poverty in their families.
The Coordinator of the initiative, Mrs. Chioma Uzo-Udegbunam said: “We are aware that there are some in the society who don’t have. We decided to come and share with them so that they can be in good spirit despite the challenges confronting us as a country.”
She called on Nigerians to form the habit of giving to others who are less-privileged.
“I feel Nigerians should learn to share with others. We should not make the less-privileged ones among us to feel forsaken or feel that God has forgotten them.
“When others are celebrating and rejoicing, you should not be left out. I believe that there is joy in sharing and the hand of the giver is always on top.
“We have brought this to Lokogoma for you to share to these children and widows so that they can be happy amidst the difficulties and violence going on in the country.”
One of the beneficiaries, Blessing Monday said: “I feel good. The gesture by the group will impact my life in more positive way. My prayer is that God should add more power to their elbow. I also pray that God should lift us too so that we can help other people.
Kaka Ismaila, another beneficiary said: “They gave me two shoes and a gown. I am very grateful to them.”
Some of the gift items distributed to the beneficiaries were rice, biscuits, tomato paste, salt, onions, clothes, foot wears, indomie noodles, cheese balls, tissue, bobo milk drink and carpri-sonne.