The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • NANS honours priest

    NANS honours priest

    For Pastor Tina Bolanta, managing the education arm of the Restoration Bible Church and Ministries is just a call to duty and a way of assisting her cleric husband in his calling. For her, the Day Star Christian Academy, Lifespring Christian Academy and Mercy Home Orphanage Schools (primary and secondary) were just part of the ministery.

    She perhaps never thought anyone was watching until the leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) came calling. Their mission, according to their President, Adeola Kassim, was to honour her with the “Epitome of Leadership” award for her selfless service to God and humanity.

    NANS president said the association has been following Pastor Tina’s leadership qualities for a long time.

    According to him, the award was initiated by the students to recognise those who have contributed to socio-economic development of the nation especially in the area of education. He said the honour bestowed on her was not political or religious, adding that the student body made up of over 41 million Nigerian students of different political, tribal and religious backgrounds decided to set these differences aside to honor her for her contribution to moral and spiritual growth of the Nigerian youth.

    For the leadership of the church, Kassim has a word of advice for them. He said the award was very important to Nigeria students. To them, he said the award was equal to the national honour given to political and economic giants by government.

    He said, “I am a Muslim. I have condemned the activities of Boko Haram. I believe that it is a result of the failure of our legal system where everybody sets up a mosque and church to mislead their congregation. It is not a political honour, but one based on principles. If she is doing what motivates us to come to give her this honour, we will not hesitate to come back. It is more important to us in the student community than the national honour”.

    In accepting the award, Pastor Bolanta paid tribute to the entire staff of Day Star Christian Academy to whom she dedicated the award. She told the students that she was proud to be associated with them. She said, “It is our joy to see that you are not allowing where you come from to tell on your differences or where you worship to stop what you are doing in the various institutions where you come from. I am very honoured and very happy to receive the award. When do what you are asked to do or what you are called to do, you don’t do it thinking that you are going to get rewarded. Students of Day Star are studying in universities all over the world and doing very well. We are not there yet, but we are on our way to where we want to be.”

    On his part, the General Overseer of Restoration a Bible Church and Ministries and husband of the recipient, Revv. Tunde Bolanta ask leaders in the country to always listed the youths. “It is good to listen to the youth talk. That is a challenge and I pray that our leaders will realise that if our forefathers had not behaved the way they did, we won’t be here today.”

  • Rough deal for kerosene customers

    Residents have been having quite an ordeal buying kerosene in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), our investigations can reveal.

    The Nation’s investigation at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) mega filling station on Olusegun Obasanjo Way Abuja revealed that the buyers who are mostly women come to queue up at 9am.

    On the queue were about 15 women each with about five yellow 25-liter jerry cans arranged in a not very orderly but eye-catching manner following the ingenuity with which they were tied with ropes.

    The queue endures till 10am when the station officials come to open up for business.

    The customers said that 25 litres of kerosene is sold for N4,600 while the black marketers who hang around the station sell at the rate of N5,500  and above.

    They added that the retailers sell a litre for N200 and above.

    Our correspondent learnt that in some days it is a different story altogether as women become stranded when the station refuses to sell.

    Some of the women, who told The Nation their previous experiences at the station, recalled that there were days that it was closed to customers in order to create artificial scarcity, provide room for price hikes and encourage black marketers to make brisk business.

  • Plateau to build 22,500 houses

    Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has said the state will soon build 22,500 housing units for its citizens on owner-occupier basis. The housing policy is meant to shore up fast dwindling shelter in the face of ever increasing population of the state.

    When completed, the houses will be allocated to civil servants and all categories of citizens of the state at a price highly subsidised by the government.

    This was disclosed during the monthly media briefing aimed at enlightening the public on programmes and policies of the Lalong administration.

    The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Malam Muhammed Nazif who led other commissioners for the briefing in his office Jos said the government was concerned about housing.

    He said, “Government is so concerned about shelter for its citizens, and has therefore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with developers under the public-private partnership to construct 22,500 housing units for our people.

    “The housing units will be located at nine sites spread across the state.

    “The executive governor has already approved the appointment of FHA Mortgage Bank Abuja as the primary mortgage institution for the construction of the houses to commence.

    “Government is aware of housing deficit in the state and has earlier prioritised it as one of the five pillar policies of the Governor Lalong-led administration.”

    On road projects, the commissioner said, “Government has embarked on urban and rural road networks from inception and has recently advertised for bid for a number of 16 new roads which cut across the three senatorial zones of the state.

    “I wish to also inform citizens that contract for the rehabilitation of 6km Angwuan Rogo Road network will be awarded and many more within Jos-Bukuru metropolis.”

  • ‘Rebuild the nation’

    The Chairman, Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Kefas Magaji has challenged technocrats, administrators and administrators to join hands with the Federal Government to rebuild the country and  the continent.

    He said through this collective effort the dreams of the founders of democracy will be delivered to the citizens and future generations.

    Mr. Magaji added that Nigerians currently live in a situation when “practically all indices of development are embarrassingly low as indicated by statistics within the region and globally.”

    The chairman of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission said this in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at the first international conference organised by the Department of Public Administration of the University of Ilorin.

    The theme of the conference was “Democracy and new public management: Emerging issues and challenges in Africa.”

    Magaji said, “These are challenging times in the affairs of our nation. Suffice it to say that recent happening in Nigeria within the confines of democracy and public administration do not give any cause for cheer but rather challenge the efficacy of new public management.

    “To keep the democracy project ongoing in Nigeria and the African continent, professors must keep professing; preachers keep preaching; advocates keep advocating; administrators keep administering; politicians keep politicking; electorates still queue for voting in elections; executives keep executing; legislators keep legislating; judges keep judging while prosecutors keep prosecuting.

    “There is still hope for a better Nigeria and Africa. Otherwise we would not be gathered here today. It is our individual and collective duty to keep hope alive.

    “For governments at all levels; these are times of shrinking resources and rising demands from citizens. The litany of conflicting pressures is all too familiar by now. On the one hand, the public continues to demand more and better services, on the other hand, the cost of providing these services continues to rise steeply coupled with an increase in the cost of doing business.

    “Given the importance of public goods, and the corresponding demand by taxpayers and consumers of government services for the best quality and value for their hard earned money, government has realised that in order to continue to retain the confidence and support of the populace, they must ‘accomplish more with less.”

     

  • Infrastructure upgrade to cost N200m at FGC Ilorin

    Infrastructure upgrade to cost N200m at FGC Ilorin

    The Federal Government is spending about N200 million on the upgrade of infrastructural facilities at the Federal Government College Ilorin, Kwara State, it was gathered.

    The government is tarring 10 kilometres of road within the compound of the school.

    Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Adesina told reporters in Ilorin, the state capital, that already the authorities of the college have called for tenders.

    Alhaji Adesina said that “contractors have applied. I assure you the job would commence when the school goes on vacation, as government wants the job completed before January 2017.

    “The advantage of the contract is that we will have additional classrooms and by extension student population will increase. With more classrooms more students will be accommodated.

    “Secondly, the investment will provide more conducive learning environment for the students. With this the student performance will be excellent.

    “The funds allocated by the federal government are for the college to execute policies, programmes and projects towards achieving the mandate of the college.

    “I urge the old students of the school to do more in the provision of more infrastructural facilities in the school.”

    He dispelled comments accredited to the National President FGC Alumni Association, Jumai Ndalugi that the school suffers from monumental infrastructural decay.

    Said he, “The PTA would beseech the old students association executive to pass vote of no confidence on Jumai Nadalugi since she does not have the interest of the school at heart.

    “She has displayed sterling moral bankruptcy to deform, defame and damage the image and reputation of this noble college. She has shown and proven beyond all rationale that she cannot represent and portray the noble objectives of the old students association.

    “Similarly, we entreat the Federal Ministry of Education to take action both civil and legal to caution the national president. She should be made to proffer proofs for her allegations.

    “Furthermore, the PTA is very proud of the Director/Principal, Mrs. Rita Okpaleke. She has become a litmus test for any principal that would take over from her. Her passion is untrammeled, her outstanding moral and ethical disposition is highly sought for in this demanding time.”

  • ‘Our trees are being cut down’

    ‘Our trees are being cut down’

    Do they know that everyone will die out if there are no trees? Do they not know that humans depend on trees for oxygen?

    These are some of the questions that some residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been asking since the authorities started cutting down trees that also provided shades in the Berger area and other parts of the city. The people have been quite angry at the development.

    Residents who are forced to go about their business in the scorching sun or under teh umbrella have called kicking since the trees started going down. Some have been accusing the present administration of ruining the beauty and scenery of the environment.

    The most bitter amongst residents are those who do business or relax under the trees spread across many parts of Abuja.

    “Is it not the people from environmental protection that came from nowhere and started cutting down the trees that have been serving as shade for us for so long?” asked taxi driver Gabriel Eket.

    “I just don’t understand why our government has to always look for ways to make life difficult for the common man.”

    Another agitated taxi driver, obviously uncomfortable in his overheated cab, compalined, “I don’t understand how the trees here are affecting them; the trees were the only thing saving us from the terrible sun for a long time as we wait for passengers, I don’t understand why they had to come and cut them, people in other places are planting more trees but our government is here cutting them down; what kind of people are we in this nation?”

    A GSM top-up card vendor said, “This sun is spoiling business for us; before they cut the trees, people used to stop by the shade where we used to stay and in the process they will buy something from us but now, we even find it difficult staying here when the sun is high, talk more of people who are now in a hurry to get away from the sun. I don’t understand why they cut the trees honestly, it was not causing any obstruction or blocking anybody.”

    A representative of the Federal Capital Territory’s Parks and Recreational Department, Comrade Paul Amechi said, “We don’t just cut down trees and leave it like that, for every tree you see us cut in Abuja, it is replaced with four other trees in strategic parts of the the FCT, in places like Apo Legislative Quarters, Abacha Barracks, Mabushi, Katampe and so many places. In the last two months, we have planted 4,699 new trees, and placed water tankers in such strategic places for its watering.

    “In fact, we are planning on cutting down 2,000 more trees around the FCT but the Minister is yet to approve the proposal, we hope he does because all around Abuja, most of the roots of trees have damaged walk and water ways, most of these over grown trees are damaging facilities.

  • Life after the bulldozer

    Life after the bulldozer

    In February 2016, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) demolished sheds and kiosks at the food court of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja. Seven months after, SEUN AKIOYE reports on how life has changed for some of the bulldozers’ victims

    There are days Ali Usman wished he didn’t wake up from sleep. That long deep sleep into eternity would save him the horror of his present existence. But anytime he wakes up, he picks up the courage to go back to work.

    For Usman, work no longer brings the joy and financial rewards it used to. Since his “big shop” was demolished, he has been reduced to selling under a tree in sunshine and rain.

    “I had a big shop,” Ali began as he put down the phone he had been playing with all day. That was his only companion as customers rarely ask for his services nowadays.

    Ali’s case is that of grace to grass. About seven months ago, he was at the top of his food business, selling cooked noodles, eggs, bread and tea at the food court of Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. He had a big shop and business was booming.

    That was until the demolition and Ali’s fall. The fall when it happened was a great fall.

    “I had a big shop before, I used to sell 30 crates of egg, 25 cartons of noodles and many bread. This is what I have left of that business,” Ali said, pointing to a table beside him.

    The table to which Ali had motioned contained two loaves of bread, four tins of milk and a packet of tea; two plastic cups completed the items on the table.

    “This is what remains of my thriving business, after the demolition, life went downhill for me, I stayed at home for some months before somebody [lent] me money to buy some bread and tea, then I started coming out to sell.”

     

    A new infrastructure

     

    For regular users of the Abuja airport, the expansive food court situated a few meters from the airport terminal on a hill usually referred to as Berger Hill is a big alternative for cheap and home cooking to the usually expensive and sometimes bland cuisine available in the airport terminal.

    At the Berger Hill food court, canteens selling food from every region of Nigeria was available at very pocket-friendly prices. There Ali once served fried and cooked noodles with egg, bread and tea any time of the day. Ali’s former shop consists of a big container stocked with cartons of noodles and crates of eggs. At the peak of its prosperity, Berger Hill boasted at least 20 food canteens.

    However, following the renovation and building of a new terminal at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, the demolition of illegal structures began earlier in 2016 to make way for a new car park and other infrastructure.

    Ali said he didn’t expect that the demolition will occur but other traders confirmed that FAAN gave them a seven-day ultimatum to vacate the area. Since the demolition of the Berger food court, most of the former traders have moved on to other things but about five, finding no other alternative have returned to the airport, this time under the trees in front of Oando tank farm.

     

    Surviving against the odds

     

    The telephone conversation was brief; the caller made orders for particular food, Mrs. Kemi Yesufu nodded her head many times, dropped the call and yelled at her assistant to start preparing the order.

    “This is what we are reduced to,” she said as she began to dish the order from two large coolers in the trunk of her Honda car.  Times have changed for Mrs. Yesufu too, formerly one of the biggest traders at the Berger Hill, her business now comprise of three to four coolers where her Yoruba special delicacies are kept, then packed inside her car.

    From nine workers, the single mother has only one remaining now, sometimes she hires a running man who will deliver the food to workers inside the airport and her workers are paid according to the day’s sales.

    “This is how I do my business now. After we were sent parking, I went back home and tried to sell in my area, there was no market so I devised this method, when I got here I found there are about two other people here so we started selling,” Yesufu said.

    But it has not always been easy coming back to the airport. When the former traders arrived, they were hiding inside the bushes. “We were inside the bush, we would send someone to go and ask passersby if they want to eat, the food would then be dished inside nylon and given to them. Sometimes when we asked them to come into the bush with us, customers would refuse; some said we wanted to use them for ritual. It was terrible, and then we relocated under this tree,” She explained.

    Her phone rang again. She reeled out what food was available, then began to dish. “I am just hustling, there is no peace of mind. If this food does not finish, I will have to throw it away, we barely make any gains. Sometimes these people working with me, I don’t pay them, they also know there no money so we just share the loss together.”

    When she was at Berger Hill, Ogechukwu Richard ran a canteen called “Yellow container”, business was boomer and she was happy. She was there for three years before the demolition. Six months later, she found herself under the tree at the mercy of the sun and rain.

    “It was on February 28, 2016 that they came to demolish, a week before then, FAAN asked us to pay N5,000. I still have my receipt then they came to demolish,” Ogechukwu said.

    Her situation and that of Zainab Abubakar and Aishat Usman is more precarious than Mrs. Yesufu. They do not have a car to sell from and prevent their food from being destroyed in the rain. Also when customers come, they are forced to sit on tree trunks and disused tires and stones.

    “You should have seen us yesterday, the rain beat us and we had nowhere to run to, our food was destroyed, we were drenched. There was no sale, yesterday was a bad day,” they said. Also because there was nowhere to warm the foods, they usually serve very cold food but “our customers manage it like that.”

    Despite their terrible position, they still trade in fear. “Everybody is gallant; we are on the lookout for the task force and police. If they catch you, it is N5, 000. When we see them, we will leave all our goods and run into the bush,” Zainab said.

    But isn’t paying N5,000 better than losing the food to the police? “ Well, that is one of the risks we take, they might leave the food for us but if they catch us they won’t leave us,” said Aishat.

    She remembered when she was arrested by the police on her way to the airport with her pots of soup on her head. “ They took me to Bassa police station and collected N5,000 from me.”

    The traders want the government to help them. “ They should give us anywhere, we are ready to pay, there is recession in the country, this is the only thing we do to feed our family,” the women said.

    It was 4pm and Zainab, Aishat and Ogechukwu have not even sold half their food. Intermittently, a customer would climb up, order for food and sit painfully on a stone to eat. It was not the best situation but some customers who spoke said it was preferable to the airport terminal food. “We are poor people, we can’t afford the food in the airport,” one said.

    There was apprehension that some of the kids who had gone to deliver food would be arrested by the police. The traders would wait with baited breath until the kids arrived.  Their day is full of fear and anxiety. But maybe they need not be afraid of the police, the cloud was gathering and it would rain anytime. As thunder claps, so were the worries of the women mounting. “We need to start packing,” Zainab said.

     

  • Rice: Kebbi relishes bumper harvest

    Rice: Kebbi relishes bumper harvest

    Rice growers in Kebbi State have overshot the production projection for the year. This is not only good for the state; it points the way to national economic recovery, reports KHADIJAT SAIDU

    There is great cheer in Kebbi State, and it is for good reason. At a time the country’s economy is in recession, triggering uncertainty, even despair across the country, rice farmers in the state have pulled off a stunning achievement. They have surpassed the one million tonnes of rice projected for the year by a significant 850 tonnes.

    The development has put Governor Atiku Bagudu is a jovial mood. He has been touring the rice fields with a smile on his face. The bountiful rice harvest means a lot to him and the state, and points to the road to national recovery. While it suggests that Kebbi residents are unlikely to face starvation, and the state economy will be in good health, the rice harvest makes the case for a vigorous return to agriculture as a means of solving the country’s various challenges. The development in Kebbi underlines and reinforces President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision for agriculture.

    Nigeria is blessed with vast arable land that can sustain commercial agriculture for both cash crops and food crops. Oil revenue in the global market has continued to shrink and agriculture becomes the alternative economic base that could replace dependency on oil. The federal government therefore did not hesitate to go back to agriculture which used to be the mainstay of the economy prior to discovery of oil.

    “Go back to the land and develop agriculture because the era of depending on oil is over,” was President Buhari’s message to farmers when he launched the dry season and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor  Borrowers Programme (ABP) in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, on November 17, 2015.

    The President has made no secret of his determination to improve the base of Nigeria’s economy by reviving agriculture and opening the mines, among other measures.

    The CBN’s Anchor Rice Borrowers Programme, now one year old in the state, aims to boost rice and wheat production in Nigeria by providing loans to farmers.

    Thousands of farmers have seized the opportunity created by the ABP  to expand rice output.

    Rice farmers have been celebrating, claiming to have recorded a bumper harvest in comparison to previous years. Governor Bagudu  and  his deputy Samaila Yombe along with chairman of the state’s Rice Farmers’ Association    Alhaji Sahabi  Augie  took journalists  round the rice fields in Augie, Kalgo, Dandi, Bunza, Suru, Wasagu and Birnin-Kebbi local government areas where farmers where seen  displaying and celebrating their bumper harvest.

    Augie said the yield increase was due to improved seedlings and the assistance rendered to farmers through the ABP with over 500,000 hectares of cultivated land across 10 local government areas of the state.

    He said they have been producing rice throughout the year with Rima and Sokoto rivers serving the dry season irrigation farming.

     

  • 18 get Egypt scholarship

    18 get Egypt scholarship

    A member of the House of Representatives representing Suleja, Tafa, Gurara Constituency in Niger State, Honorable Abubakar Lado Suleja has sponsored 18 students to study five years programme at the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.

    At the official send-forth ceremony for the students, Lado said he planned to sponsor 100 youths on such scholarships before the end of his tenure. He said that after the course of their studies, the students will return to contribute their quota to the constituency.

    The lawmaker, who disclosed that he had earlier sent 12 students to study in India, said the encouraging report on their progress prompted him to embark on the second batch of the foreign scholarship.

    He said, “This scholarship is being done because of my passion for education. Suleja, Tafa and Gurara local government areas have been left out in a lot of things; giving these youths the scholarship will create wealth for my constituents because knowledge is wealth and they will return to improve on the society. I am focused and will concentrate in lifting the poor.”

    Lado stated that the scholarship is not a part of his constituency project but out of his desire to help his people and give them a better way of life. He urged the beneficiaries to distinguish themselves and focus on their education when they get to Egypt stressing that they are now the hope of the people.

    The state Commissioner of Education who was represented by a Director, Mrs. Katire Dauda Rufai commended the effort of the Legislator towards complimenting what the state government is doing in the education sector.

    The Chairman of Tafa Local Government Area, Honorable Ado Abubakar appreciated the gesture of the Legislator saying the he has not abandoned them the way other politicians had done in the past. He urged him to continue to work towards elevating his constituents and improving their lots   urging the beneficiaries to pay attention to their studies and shun all vices during their study year.

    One of the beneficiaries appreciated the member of the House of Representative for his gesture assuring him that they will not disappoint him.

    He said they will distinguish themselves in their various fields of study, adding that they will return to improve on their constituency.

  • AEPB urges residents to pay waste charges

    The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) has urged residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to pay their waste charges in line with the FCT Environmental Act.

    The board said that residents unwilling to pay their waste charges may risk prosecution, adding that the prompt payment of environmental service bills and provision of waste bins on properties will ensure efficient waste management in the FCT.

    Acting Director AEBP Mrs Omolola Olanipekun, represented by Mr Omoruyi Omogiede, made the call during the AEPB pilot intergrated solid waste management project at the life camp district in Abuja.

    Speaking at a town hall meeting, AEPB informed residents that it carries out its statutory responsibility of cleaning the environment through direct engagement, licensed cleaning contractors and partnership which requires huge sum of money.

    Public Relations Officer (PRO) AEPB Samuel Musa who made this known in a press statement said: “This call was made by the FCT Administration through Abuja Environmental Protection Board during a Town Hall explanatory meeting with residents in Life camp over the weekend. The integrated waste management project awareness programme was jointly organized by AEPB and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Life Camp District of the FCT.

    ”Residents were reminded of their responsibility of paying their waste service charges in line with the provision of the FCT Environmental Act which stipulates that all residents will have to pay the service charges and failure to pay such charges will adhere to risk prosecution of defaulters.

    ”Speaking at the town hall explanatory meeting the Ag. Director Mrs. Omolola Olanipekun, who was represented by Mr Omoruyi Omogiede said that AEPB carries out its statutory responsibility of cleaning the Environment through direct engagement, licensed cleaning contractors and partnership which required huge sums of money. This meeting with residents provides the enabling environment for enlightenment and creates the awareness for effective waste management within the district.”