The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • A lawmaker’s largesse in Kaduna

    A lawmaker’s largesse in Kaduna

    With a project dedicated to the poor and some entrepreneurship tools for his people, Senator Shehu Sani is making an impact in his constituency just months after joining the National Assembly, reports TONY AKOWE

    It is a turning point for residents of Kaduna Central Senatorial district. They are starting to savour the joy of quality representation. Senator Shehu Sani who represents them has given back to them even before receiving his constituency vote. He launched a pet project known as Talakawa Grassroots Revolutionary Development Programme which is expected to cover areas such as education, political enlightenment, health care delivery, women and youth empowerment, sports and recreation as well as skill acquisition and capacity building.

    Some of the beneficiaries were physically challenged. Some got tricycles, wheelchairs, vulcanising machines and sewing machines, among others.

    Sani said the platform is a product of “our collective struggle, our resistance to the dark, reactionary forces that prey on our people’s ignorance, scavenge on their fears and uncertainties and profit from their misery. Our platform is a resounding no to the impunities of the past and the stranglehold of narrow special interests on the destiny of our communities. Our resolve is firm and unflinching for we owe no loyalty except to the common bonds of faith in our people’s abilities, our shared ideals of struggle, and our history of staunch opposition to exploitation, social and economic deprivation and the mass imbecilisation of our humanity. The political, social and cultural battles we have fought and are still currently engaged in is a testament to our indomitable will and spirit, and our untiring efforts to retrieve and remobilise our energies for the existential challenges we continuously confront. Our constituency programme is your collective project, a platform dedicated to the realisation of your dreams and expectations. Its key principles and strategic trajectories are undergirded by your vision, your will and your values. The choice of the projects to execute will be based on your conception and your material and spiritual needs. Our revolutionary method of mass empowerment aims to banish the logic of top-bottom approach to human development and emplace as its essence a development and human transformation paradigm that evolves out of your living experiences”.

    Sani is not unmindful of the fact that politicians use such programmes to perpetuate themselves and hold the people to ransom while failing to fulfill their promises to the people. He is also not unmindful of the fact that elected representatives of the people collect huge sums of money as constituency projects and smile to the bank while the people suffer abject poverty, only to return with hand outs few months to election.

    In response to such attitude of politicians, he promised, saying, “Our method will radically differ from the approach of such political leaders who are already disconnected and divorced from the people, who hold them in contempt, who refuse to seek out their opinions and viewpoints, and who inflict on them pains and sufferings in the name of a bogus programme of deceit that have no bearing to their daily struggles”.

    Describing his effort as a new revolutionary paradigm of change, Sani, a civil rights activist before his election believe that the time has come to effect a change in the ways things are done in the country. He said “change has come to Nigeria, and to Kaduna Central, but do not be deceived for change has two logical faces. The vehicle of change- our political party- is composed of two sets of individuals and Caucuses: the Caucus of the rich and powerful who exploited its advantages to advance their reactionary political career, and the caucus of the people who are making history by taking their destiny in their hands. Our caucus is of the latter part for we see the promise of change in the eagerness of our people to better their living standard, to improve their human development index, to engage in sustainable means of livelihood, educate their children, have access to better health care delivery system, reduce maternal and infant mortality, empower the youth with new skills, capacities and job opportunities, and live in affordable houses in clean and decent neighborhoods. We have no part in the political tendency that will destroy our people’s means of livelihood, shut down their social and economic spaces, destroy the dwellings the toiled to build and run a government that alienates them. We have no part in the paradigm of change that emasculates the people, is impoverishing and demeaning them, that has outsourced their jobs for political ambitions of the future and that has prioritised arrogance and impunity as sellable mantras. The change we worked for, we gave our all is a people-driven agenda; change that will improve their lives, accommodate their interests and needs, is inclusive and compassionate. Change is not meant to cannibalise our people and feed their flesh to the gods of avarice, unconscionable ambition and disdain for all that is egalitarian and fraternal in nature.

    However, Sani told The Nation that his “philosophy of change is built on the belief that our political platform must be converted into a mass movement of the people and should to serve, without delay, as an ideological weapon for mass mobilization, mass conscientisation and mass empowerment. It is a vehicle that must be expropriated from the hands of the few and brought back into the domain of the people”.

    He said further that “the Talakawa Grassroots Revolutionary Development Programme is the organic transformation of our notion of the new paradigm of change into praxis. It is conceived as a sustainable, self-reinforcing community of activists, workers, women, youth and children designed to effect a qualitative change in our mode of thinking and acting with regard to our political institutions, cultural platforms, economic system and spiritual mode of existence. It is an integrated, collectively owned and action-driven agenda that will make a clear and powerful statement in the areas of utilitarian and functional education, political enlightenment essential for political and social liberation, affordable healthcare delivery system, environmental renewal and improved living spaces, women and youth empowerment under an equitable and egalitarian order and framework, job creation that will be facilitated by skills acquisition and capacity-building, and sports, recreation and general individual wellbeing. I have my thinking and ideas about the direction to go, about the key projects that will work well for our people in this regard, but my thoughts and ideas are insufficient to unfold the totality of this revolutionary agenda. To do so will be to hand down to you my thoughts alone. Because we own this project collectively, the inputs all of all critical stakeholders are required in fleshing out the ideas my team and I have been working on for quite some time”.

    Speaking in the likely success of the programme, Sani said “I see the immense revolutionary potentials of our platform as a mass movement, as a weapon of liberation and human transformation. Together we are already making history, by this very beginning, this historic start. The launch of this project today signals the commencement of a revolutionary pro-people change in our constituency Kaduna central. And it is a revolution that no one, no matter how powerful, can stop, can halt, can dislodge or contaminate. The reason for this is simple: the mass of our people voted for change, a change that would make meaning in their life, a change that would free them from exploitation and plunder, a change that would free them from master-servant relationship, a change that would recognize and uphold their human dignity, a change that would end their suffering, a change that would advance their collective socio-economic interest; this is my interpretation of change and the pillar upon which the new order and the new spirit in the country can only be sustained”.

    One of those who benefited from the programme who identified himself simply as Alhaji Mohammed told The Nation that for the first time in his life, he was feeling the touch of governance. He said “I have been voting since the second republic. But I have never seen anything like this. We use to hear that government gives out poverty alleviation item to people, but many of us here today have never benefited. Infact, normally don’t see these people until when it is time for election or when election is near before they come to give us rice and some few money. But this time, Senator Sani, who has just been elected has decided to put a smile on our faces early enough. I am particularly very grateful to him. He has promised t do more and I know that he will do more”.

    Muhammad Kabir Abdullahi, one of his aide said the Senator decided to use his personal money for the project, adding that the programme will be expanded once constituency money is released, adding that whoever knows Shehu Sani knows him as a giver especially to the poor or the needy.

     

  • Town planners to residents: honour master-plan

    Residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been asked to respect the Abuja master-plan in order to prevent flooding in the capital city.

    Garba Kwamkur, chairman of the FCT chapter of Nigeria Institute of Town Planers (NITP) who made this known at the FCT 2015 Town Planners Week, said that residents tend to forget that Abuja is the only city in the country that was carved out, planned and built under the law.

    Kwamkur said residents of the FCT are expected to have a change of heart, so that they can build an Abuja of their dream that is comparable to any city in the world.

    “Abuja residents have to respect the master plan because it is something everyone can see online, or you go to AGIS to enquire the purpose of a particular land to know  if it is a green area,  residential or business area. Abuja is a different city, unlike Lagos and other cities,  that is why we must all stick to the details of the master plan. With that we can avoid any flood in the city and people will live happily.

    “We expect residents, both in the urban and rural area to key into the project of change by abiding with the rules and regulations of the master-plan. You have to seek the planning approval, start drawing before you start building your house,  instead of doing what some people do, having offer-letters  or even going to the Gbagyi chiefs to buy land and build.

    “So that we can have something like all these mass transit, the rail system and bus system. Everybody does not have to drive a car to the city. There are other ways and during this event,  we are trying to put it on the table,  so that the government will now know about this modern innovation and try to put them in place,” he said.

    The Chairman, Organising Committee, Mukhtar Galadima, also expressed the need to involve the stakeholders in all their activities during the planning process,  from the conception,  surveys,  decisions and implementation,  saying that this could be done through workshops,  charades and seminars to get the Peoples view.

    “Then, when that is done, you carry on with your surveys on the people again, make your findings about their needs and desires. Then you draw up your plans and bring it to the people again to know if they are okay with it and they will give you their opinion.

    “If you carry the people along in everything you are planning with them, it will make your planning very successful, because they are part of the process. As a professional, you should not assume that you know everything,” he said.

  • Wither the Sovereign Wealth Fund?

    That is the true position of the $1 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) deposit being managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)?

    Is the $1 billion deposit still intact and generating profits or depleted to a balance of $300 million?

    The Sovereign Wealth Fund, which was set up by the NSIA Act, came into force in October 2012 and was created to receive surplus income generated from Nigeria’s excess oil reserves.

    It is intended to invest the savings gained on the difference between the budgeted and actual market prices for oil to earn returns that would benefit future generations of Nigerians.

    But conflicting reports indicating that all was not well with the fund came to the fore again last Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    While the Managing Director of NSIA, Uche Orji claimed that the $1billion initial sovereign fund contributed by the government was intact and generated N15.7 billion profit last year, the Chairman of the National Economic Council (NEC)’s Ad-Hoc Committee on the management of the Excess Crude Account and related Federation Account issues and Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole disagreed with the claim.

    Oshiomhole maintained that he has evidence to prove that the $1 billion deposit has not only been depleted to $300 million, but that there were false claims that the fund was invested on other projects already funded from other sources.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on the 9th of this month, Orji said: “The government gave us $1billion which is the only contribution we have received and we made N15.7 billion profit last year from the contribution.

    “We haven’t gotten additional fund from the govt but the fund is structured in a way that it can go through hard time.

    “We all know that the oil price is volatile, it comes up and goes down but the

    fund is structured in such a way that it can remain continuously profitable.

    “The funds remains the fund from the government and the profit made.” He added

    Orji’s position was deflated barely a week after by Oshiomhole last Thursday.

    Oshiomhole said: “I reported to the media that the Sovereign Wealth people in their report to us, which I have in black and white, showed clearly that they have only $300 million left in the Sovereign Wealth Fund account.

    “We have it in black and white and I can publish it if anybody wants to deny that because it was not submitted to me secretly. It was submitted at plenary of the committee.

    “And then we asked, because I knew that the fund was $1 billion, what was done with $700 million. And they said they have made some investments.

    “We asked them what they invested in and they said the second Niger bridge and partially in Kaduna-Abuja rail. That is what they said and I was not alone there.

    “We were about five governors and it was a full plenary. But we know that the Kaduna-Abuja rail was funded with Chinese loan, which even Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala spoke about, when they said the loan from China was not used for Lagos, she said it was for Kaduna-Abuja rail.

    “You media need to develop your own library and have your record so that when people speak from both sides of their mouths, you can replay back. Because sometimes it hurts me when political leaders and technocrats say one thing in the morning and they change the language the following day.” He said

    Urgently beaming the anti-corruption searchlight of the present administration in that direction may be needed to unravel the true position on the matter. Its time to act now.

     

  • Governors urge action against regional decay

    Governors urge action against regional decay

    For over one and a half decades, the North has had little to cheer. Its economy has tanked, development hard to see and the region torn apart by war and ethnic strife.

    The good part, though, is that when the region’s governors met in Kaduna, they sought action, not lamentation.

    The residents would be happy because they want the governors to bring back the glorious days of the region.

    With about 14 governors and two deputies in attendance, the meeting of the Northern Governors Forum under the chairmanship of Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima expressed concern about the economy of the region which has lagged behind in recent years. Addressing his colleagues, Governor Shettima said, “Things have become so bad, so much so that we can say without fear of contradiction that in Nigeria today poverty glaringly wears a bold northern face. We have turned our region into a laughingstock, derided by friends and foes alike, and, not without justification, as having dragged the rest of the country down with us. Regrettably today, our region has become a thriving nest for war, terrorism, deep seated social divisions, senseless violence, mind-boggling intolerance, injustice, destitution, joblessness, and all manners of other social vices, the height of which is the madness called Boko Haram.”

    He warned that lamentation, which has become the order of the day in the north, will not solve the problems if necessary action is not taking, adding that it is time for all hands to be on deck and move into actions that will address the challenges.

    He said, “No amount of lamentation will, of course, solve our many problems. We need to act, and fast too. This generation of Northern leaders, led by us the governors, have both a moral and constitutional responsibility as well as a historic opportunity to reverse the negative fortunes of our people. We must do everything in our power to restore and entrench the lofty values of unity, understanding, tolerance, mutual respect, empathy, justice and mutual coexistence in the minds of our people and region. We must firmly and decisively commit ourselves to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, terrorism and other forms violent crimes in the North. I dare say that there is no better time to do that than now, when a sequence of events over the last few months is showing that a silver lining is beginning to appear in the dark clouds that have hovered over the North for so long. I urge us to take full advantage of this development and dedicate ourselves to, beginning from this meeting and within the shortest possible time, developing a comprehensive blueprint that will take our region and its long suffering people out of the woods. I solemnly enjoin all of us to put our heads down, get to work and come up with an agenda for the speedy transformation of Northern Nigeria from its current travails into a well modern, well developed, prosperous, progressive, just and united polity for the good of its people and the entire Nigeria”.

    Shettima recognised the efforts of the government in trying to reposition the country for good governance which he believes will give the region a new lease of life.

    He said “For the first time since the early 1980s, the political leadership of the Northern states seem poised to reverse the negative trends that had so readily sown the destructive seed of mutual suspicion, distrust and animosity among the teeming people that occupy the vast lands of of our states. I can see the signs of sincere effort and genuine optimism to draw strength in our diversity and change the narrative of our troubled history in the interest of our region’s history, and indeed,the rest of Nigeria. As leaders of our people at this crucial epoch of our history, and democratically elected ones at that, we are left with no choice but to rise up to the occasion and live up to people’s perfectly understandable expectations. We must seize this moment, for history is beckoning at us. The first generation of Northern leaders -May God Almighty bless them – bequeathed to us a polity, though vast in land mass and complex in its diversity, that showed enormous promise, and was indeed beginning to live to that promise: A polity where the social mantra was unity in diversity, where justice, fairness and equity reigned, where exemplary peaceful coexistence was the order of the day. Not only did succeeding generations of leaders including – sadly – our own, fail to sustain the benchmark handed over by our heroes, they let things to progressively and rapidly deteriorate, in the process exhibiting base irresponsibility of the worst kind. Thus, from those dizzying heights of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s when the North was the cynosure, if not the envy, of all eyes, we plunged to the nadir of the social ladder.”

    The Forum however identified unemployment amongst youths, high illiteracy level, arms and drugs proliferation, poverty, inactive preaching, Almajiri phenomenon, lack of recreational facilities and sporting events, inadequate use of traditional institutions and lack of cottage industries to engage the unemployed as major causes of insecurity in the region. It commended the Buhari government for taking proactive measures to end the insecurity especially in he north and for prioritising the fight against Boko Haram and for initiating of the joint Multinational task force and security agencies for the continued onslaught on insurgents and terrorist in the north east. On their part, they agreed to constitute a committee of Attorney Generals of the Northern States to look into criminal justice system taking into cognisance the current security challenges so as to proffer strict punishments to crimes such as cattle rustling, kidnapping, terrorism, rape and domestic violence.

    The governors are also concerned about the state of industries in the north especially companies where they have joint investment such as the New Nigeria a Development Company, Kaduna Textile and the New Nigeria Newspapers. They spoke of the need to recapitalize the New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC) and build it into a profit oriented industry and a breeding ground for youth of Northern extraction to be professional in all facets of human endeavour. They also agree to resuscitate the Kaduna Textiles Limited to operate in line with international best practices and agreed to have bilateral and multilateral cooperation with organizations and international institutions in order to explore the opportunity of reviving textiles industries in the region. They also acknowledged that the challenges facing the New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) limited is beyond mere injection of working capital and directed Secretaries to the northern state Governments to carry out an indepth study of the company and present a report for consideration at the forums next meeting.

     

     

  • Trauma healers trained in Jos

    Trauma healers trained in Jos

    Survivors of violence need more than drugs and sympathy. An agency of the European Union has trained counsellors to heal unseen wounds of trauma victims in Plateau State, reports YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU

    The European Union (EU) has started the second phase of its peace building and rehabilitation project in Plateau State, organising training programmes on trauma healing and skill acquisition for victims of Jos crisis. The EU made an initial commitment of €4.5 million in the phase, which is being implemented through its agency, Apurimac Onlus, a faith-based non-governmental organisation in Jos, the state capital.

    Okoko
    Okoko

    Country Director of Apurimac Onlus, Mr. Godwin Okoko said, “The NGO has been operating in Jos since 2008 in the areas of peace building, human development and social justice. We have so far established four vocational skill training centres, one in each senatorial zone as well as the state capital. We also established trauma healing centres in Jos North Local Government Area where victims of violence and bomb blasts received free medical treatment and trauma counseling.”

    While declaring the five-day training open for trauma counsellors in Jos last week, Mr. Okoko said, “In this particular programme, we are implementing the EU peace building project using our facilities for skill training and trauma healing for identified victims. Trauma healing because, the experience to victims are really traumatic, the heavy sound of bomb alone can affect somebody’s mental balance, especially being the first experience. And we’ve had several cases of bomb blasts in Jos city. Apart from the sound of the blast, the sight of charred human bodies, if you realise the impact of the bombs on human body alone can traumatise anyone that experienced it.

    “In the course of working with victims of bomb blast, we realised that victims who managed to survive bomb blast takes days for them to recover from the shock and disbelief, the psychological effect is massive on many people. Relations of victims who on realizing he lost loved ones through bomb blast and attacks by gunmen can go man, they are capable of contemplating revenge, especially orphans who will grow up to discovered how he lost his parents. So, in a conflict areas like Plateau state there are several reasons for residence to be traumatic.”

    Mr. Okoko said, “We identified such traumatic victims from hospitals, IDPs camps and from relations. We currently have 55,000 of them. Most of them after being discharged from hospital as a result of bomb blast will go back home with their trauma as they may not have the fund to remain in hospital for counseling. We locate them and offer them free trauma healing. We locate most of them from IDPs camp, where you will meet a woman or children who saw how their loved ones were shot or killed by machete. Some who managed to escape out of their house returned the next day after the attack to see the burnt bodies of family members. What a traumatic experience is that, there are several of them in Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Wase LGAs.”

    Due to the large number of victims that requires the trauma healing, the implementing agent, APURIMAN ONLUS will never have enough space to bring all of them together, hence the decision to train some community counsellors, who will then go back to their communities to train the victims. These community counsellors are selected medical workers, sociologists, psychologists, nurses and religious evangelists.

    Mr. Okoko said, “We selected nine of these professionals from each local government for a five-day training and after that we deploy them to the various IDPs camps to counsel these traumatic victims. We need to fine-tune their minds away from violence, we talk to them to divert their attention from what happened in the past; we have to take their memories away from the horrible things they may have passed through in the course of the violence. We have to do these so that we can turn them to peace ambassadors rather than allowing them to think of vengeance. We also use religious preachers to talk to them on the ways of God.”

    The NGO has identified three local governments with severe cases of trauma, they are Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Wase local government areas of the state. “The trauma healing has become necessary so as to forestall further conflict in the various communities, that is the center of the entire peace building because it is through that psychological headings that you can be able to achieve sustainable peace.

    The NGO organised its open day last week as a day set aside for the inspection of ongoing trainees in its training facilities in the state by the director general of Apurimac Onlus from Italy, Mr Vila Vittorio, as well as state government representative. The tour took the team to inspect the trauma healing center in Katako areas of Jos North LGA where it successfully trained 2,000 trauma victims in 2014.

    Mr Okoko said, “Apart from the trauma healing, we trained youths to acquire skills to enable them have means of livelihood that will take them away from been used in violence. We want to prevent idleness of the youths, hence, we have so far trained 14,000 youths in various skills like computer training, hair dressing, tailoring, knitting, leather works, aluminum works, wielding and fabrication, catering and event decoration. The training takes six months.

    “We have also trained over 5,000 educational actors in peace education and peace building, all these training are geared towards sustainable peace building and positive engagement of youths to make them productive, attain economic independence and make them useful to the society”

    Mr. Okoko restated the commitments of the EU and APURIMAC on the Plateau towards building social integration using various peace mechanism, and urged government, other stakeholders in the state to join hands in achieving sustainable peace in the state.

    At the end of the facility tour, the Chief of Staff to Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, Mr. John Dafan expressed government readiness to partner with any organisation to help in conflict prevention and peace building in the state. The government official said, “Government appreciates the efforts of Apurimac Onlus and other organisations working towards having a lasting peace in the state and government will not hesitate to assist the NGO and the European Union to make their peace building project a huge success.

     

  • RCCG donates classrooms to community school

    As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Province 8 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has donated a block of classrooms,  a staff office, desks and benches to natives of Gnami community along Bwari-Kaduna expressway.

    The rural community which has no functional school buildings was agog with excitement when pastorate of the church, led by the Pastor in the charge of the province, Pastor Olusegun Olujimi alongside members of the church visited the community to commission the amenities for immediate use.

    The occasion drew a mammoth crowd to the reserved village which has little or no federal presence in terms of infrastructure.

    In his speech, Pastor Olusegun Olujimi said that the gesture was all about fulfilling the scripture to do good and to add value to the lives of the people, adding that the donation was also in line with the mandate given to the church by its General Oversea, Pastor Enoch Adeboye to commence corporate responsibility activities in various communities.

    Pastor Olujimi said the aim is to alleviate the sufferings brought upon the masses by absence of basic infrastructure,saying that the church has a responsibility to build society and make it habitable for all.

    He noted that the gesture was equally part of activities to mark the second year anniversary of the province, thereby explained that the donation was done after due diligence had been carried out by a committee headed by retired Major General Chris Olukolade on expediency of the project.

    The clergyman noted that the Gnami community was chosen because of the urgent need for a school to facilitate learning by children of school age in the area.  The cleric stressed that much of the problem of insurgency are as a result of lack of education,saying that sound education is paramount for stability of the country.

    Village Head of Gnuma community, Alhaji Ibrahim Yeri and the Head Master of the LEA Primary School, Gnami, Yakubu Adamu, expressed gratitude to the church for the gesture, saying it is the first time the community would receive such a gift from a church.

  • Community clears refuse, bemoans lack of infrastructure

    In line with the seven-day ultimatum given by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mr. John Chukwu to all area councils chairmen to evacuate refuse in their domains, Kuje is wearing a new look after the exercise.

    Some residents of the council who spoke with journalists during the evacuation exercise,  praised the council’s environmental department for its continuous efforts in sanitising the area despite the challenges of infrastructures faced by the people.

    One of the residents,  Mr. Godwin Jacob, also commended the Permanent Secretary for the clean-up directive,  saying that despite the previous effort from the environmental department to clean up the area,  there were some areas that lacked proper cleaning. But that has been taken care of by the department during the clean-up exercise.

    Jacob,  who said that environmental sanitation has become a tradition in the area,  because of the effort been put in by the present head of department to ensure a clean and healthy environment, lamented that almost all the major feeder roads in the council have gone bad,  without the effort of the present administration to rehabilitate them.

    “However,  apart from the area of proper environmental sanitation,  we have not seen any adequate infrastructures on ground,  especially  good roads. The truth is that we have not felt the impact of this administration since it took over from the last administration, and we wonder what he is doing with the allocation that he is getting from the federal government, “ he said.

    The Head of Environmental department in the council,  Mr. Abdulrazak Abdulkarim who spoke with journalists attributed the problem of irregular sanitation exercise  by the council to funding,  saying that the leadership of the council is always committed to ensuring a clean and healthy environment for the people of Kuje to live in.

    Abdulkarim further called on the people of Kuje to imbibe the habit of proper waste disposal,  in order for it to be easy for evacuation when the environmental department wants to evacuate them to their permanent dump sites,  saying that when wastes are dumped indiscriminately,  they end up making the environment look unkempt and unhealthy.

    He further cautioned scavengers against spreading refuse on the roads when they are properly disposed,  explaining that most times when waste are properly disposed at designated dump sites,  scavengers are the ones that spread the refuse to the roads and make them constitute nuisance to residents.

  • Herdsmen told not to graze cattle in Abuja

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration has warned herdsmen grazing cattle in and around Abuja to desist forthwith or be prosecuted.

    FCT Permanent Secretary, John Chukwu gave the warning, explaining that improper grazing of cattle in the city centre and environs constitutes public nuisance and is hazardous to road users.

    He said that this practice has adverse effects on the environment and must not be allowed to continue, stressing that Abuja is the capital of Nigeria and the window in which the world sees the country.

    According to a statement issued by Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, Chukwu said that all hands must be on deck to ensure the adequate maintenance of the Abuja environment in accordance with the change mantra of the Federal Government.

    The Permanent Secretary directed the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) to ensure full compliance; noting that Abuja city is not meant for cattle grazing because there are designated areas for such activities in the Abuja Master Plan.

    Meanwhile, the FCT Administration has frowned at the practice by some residents of the Federal Capital Territory hawking animals particularly rams on major streets of Gwarinpa II District, Abuja.

    Chukwu warned that the practice is also unacceptable because there are designated markets and areas for such activities.

    He instructed the AEPB to also ensure the immediate stoppage of such unwholesome practices by arresting and prosecuting defaulters in line with the Law.

  • Coalition against desertification

    Coalition against desertification

    Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal and Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad, among other leaders, have launched a campaign to stop the advance of the desert and save their environment. ADAMU SULEIMAN reports

    It was a demonstration of will not to allow the encroaching desert, perhaps the North’s worst and urgent threat, to take over the region. That was why Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Sultan of the Caliphate Muhammad Abubakar Sa’ad stepped out to halt the menace in its tracks.

    sultan of sokoto
    sultan of sokoto

    The governor and the monarch are not the only ones fighting the encroachment, though. Members of the state House of Assembly and All Progressives Congress (APC) chiefs are part of the campaign, as are senior officials of the state government.

    It is not difficult to see why. The advancing desert has sacked many communities in the region and overrun farmlands and scarce water sources. This is not just the handiwork of the Sahel; climate change, resulting in intense heat, is also to blame. The effect is devastating, with the ecosystem in danger, flora and fauna in as much trouble as humans.

    Sokoto and other states fringing the desert are under immediate threat.

    Is there any solution? Yes, tree planting, in what has been termed the Great Green Wall Project.

    That is what leaders in the Caliphate are doing: planting trees to counter the advancing desert and inject life into the atmosphere.

    The campaign is for everyone to sustain, including organisations, local governments, but those who must embrace it more than anyone else are all-season farmers.

    The advance of the desert has been accelerated by unrelenting felling of trees without planting more to replace those cut down. That is why the state government has also mounted a campaign to encourage even individuals who must cut down trees to plant as many as, if not more than, they chop down.

    What type of tree is ideal for this fight? The Neem will do nicely, because it is tough and can resist harsh rough weather. This is the reason you find rows of this medicinal, bitter tree at the seat of the caliphate, sometimes in clusters or in rows in open spaces.

    Moreover, this tree also adds beauty to the city and communities nurturing them. Governor Tambuwal is also providing date palm seedlings for distribution free to farmers across the 23 local governments of the state.

    4459101729_e37a4ce3c8_z
    Neem trees will help.

    Tambuwal flagged off this year’s tree planting campaign in Kawadata village in Goronyo Local Government Area, warning residents and households to desist from indiscriminate tree felling. Embrace tree planting, he stressed.

    He said the ban on tree felling for use as firewood in homes by households is now effective.

    He said, to mitigate the effect of the new policy on especially the rural dwellers, the state government will provide stoves, while advising them to explore other sources of energy like coal.

    The governor’s demonstration of commitment to curb desertification in the state keys into the 2015 Tree Planting Campaign theme tagged,’’ Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration.”

    Tambuwal said at the flag-off that date palm trees would be planted across the state under the Great Green-Wall Project.

    He said the gesture of the state government was part of renewed and sustained efforts to curb the menace of desertification.

    The governor also called on individuals and organisations across the state to take interest in the cultivation of tree crops such as date palm and gum Arabic, noting that such would enhance the preservation of environment.

    He pointed out that tree planting is not only an environmental imperative but also a spiritual obligation.

    He said, “Islam encourages tree planting for the benefit of humanity in communities. This should be done as a measure to alleviate poverty and unemployment, and reap from the abundant benefits of planting trees.”

    He added that everyone must take it seriously and embrace the tree planting exercise by emulating him and launching the campaign in their environments.

    Tambuwal said further: “This is necessary if not to roll back the process of desertification, at least to cancel some of its gains through a sustained effort in planting trees.

    Tambuwal
    Tambuwal

    “All stakeholders should have a change of attitude by ensuring that the exercise is given all the seriousness it deserves.’’

    The governor also called on farmers to adopt more modern and sustainable methods of farming.

    “Having economic trees on your farms actually improves the yield of your harvests and agro-forestry is now the more acceptable form of modern and sustainable farming.

    “I would like to appeal to our royal and religious leaders to continue to give their maximum support in order to ensure the success of this exercise.”

    The Permanent Secretary in the state Ministry of Environment, Garba Muhammad Sarkin-Kudu, said a 2km shelter-belt will be established in each of the three senatorial zones of the state as part of this year’s campaign.

    He added: “Government House to house campaign has been carried out in the 400-unit housing estates to provide shelter and windbreak.”

     

  • A case for IDPs

    A case for IDPs

    Traumatised, homeless and sometimes malnourished, people displaced by the insurgency need urgent help, reports OLUGBENGA ADANIKIN

    A doctor, who attended to Adiza Umar, an infant at the Durumi camp of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), said she would have died had she not had prompt medical attention.

    •Adiza and her mother.
    •Adiza and her mother.

    Little Adiza was diagnosed with malnutrition, a condition many IDPs face at their camps in various parts of the country.

    That is not the only concern. All of the displaced people nurse psychological wounds, having been forced from their homes and communities by Boko Haram fighters. Many watched their relatives, friends and neighbours hacked down by the invaders, and count themselves lucky to escape.

    But the escape has given them little comfort. They live in horrible conditions, lacking food, sleeping places and medication.

    That was why a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) which visited Durumi camp in Dagba, FCT, has called for health care centres to be built at the camps.

    The NGO alongside some philanthropists made the case for prompt intervention to meet medical needs of the homeless victims.

    Executive Director, TZY Foundation, Mr. Dayo Akindolani who spoke on their behalf during a visit to Dagba, Durumi IDP camp in Abuja said the NGO made it a point of duty to quickly intervene in the deteriorating health condition of an infant, Umar Adiza ýat the camp.

    Akindolani ýdisclosed that the case of Adiza was only one from many in several other IDP camps in the country, urging the government to rise to this responsibility.

    The baby was subsequently diagnosed for malnutrition at the Federal Staff Hospital, Abuja.

    A medical doctor in the paediatrics department of the hospital disclosed that but for the quick intervention of the foundation, little Hadiza would have died.

    The doctor said the effect of malnutrition could be synonymous to HIV as the body would have become vulnerable to accept any form of disease.

    The official who spoke based on anonymity stated that due to lack of food, the entire body immune system was rendered ineffective.

    “She was diagnosed of malnutrition. It is a serious disease that can be compared to HIV. It prevents immunity and paralyse the ýbody’s immunity system. That’s what malnutrition does.

    “This baby would have died if you have not brought her for treatment. All the infections have started reacting,” he said.

    He called for quick rehabilitation.