The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

Some rescued Boko Haram victims have gunshot, blast injuries

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director-General Muhammed Sani Sidi, in this interview with TONY AKOWE, provides insights into the condition of women and children freed from insurgents in the Sambisa Forest. Among other things, the DG said most of the former captives came very ill, some with gunshot and bomb blast wounds. Excerpts:

The insurgents began to hurt Nigerians since they hurled their first bomb and fired their first bullet. Graduating from public nuisance to claiming swathes of territory, Boko Haram fighters have assaulted everything Nigerians hold dear, giving new assignments to emergency workers.

•Sidi attending to one of the women at the camp

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have had its role scaled to unknown levels. Its Director-General Muhammed Sani Sidi knows how much the agency’s duties have changed, how demanding they have been, especially since troops rescued many captives from the terrorists’ lair.

What has been NEMA’s experience managing the rescued victims of insurgency?

I must say that the security agencies in Nigeria have done very well in the fight against insurgency. Just recently they recorded huge successes by rescuing about 300 women and children from Sambisa Forest who were under the captivity of Boko Haram. When they were rescued we received a call from the military authorities that they would be handed over to the National Emergency Management Agency. Don’t forget we have about 14 camps in Adamawa State alone and because of the successes recorded by the military in the fight against insurgency, most of the communities that were under the occupation of Boko Haram have been recovered and now peace has returned so the IDPs are beginning to move back to their various communities, making it necessary for the agency to begin to reduce the camps.

At the moment we have six camps which we call residential camps that are presently hosting about 27,000 IDPs in Yola in particular and we have over 200,000 living within the host communities. We see the receipt of this rescued women and children as just an added responsibility to what we have been doing as an agency with IDPs. We consider them special because they have been under captivity for a long period of time. Obviously most of them are women and 70% are children below the age of five. Out of the 275, sixty-three came unaccompanied and that is very worrisome; it is a terrible situation to have children under the age of five unaccompanied, meaning they have lost their parents and we cannot link them with their parents at the moment, six of them came with pregnancy and that is a sympathetic situation.

That contradicts the claim that most of the women returned pregnant

That is not correct. I must put it on record that only six of them came with pregnancy and we must add, however, that we must be very careful not to stigmatise these innocent Nigerians who were under captivity and came back with pregnancy so that we don’t end up stigmatising the child that is yet unborn. I think we must respect their rights and be careful of the way we talk about the issue.

Who is responsible for these pregnancies?

I think we must really de-emphasise the issue of these pregnancies; what is important for us as an agency is the welfare and well-being of these women and children, and that is what we have been focusing on. You recall we received them in the middle of the night and our staff waited for them like for two days because of the logistics of transporting them from Sambisa Forest to our camp in Yola. When they came they were very weak and sick. Out of the total of 275, about 158 came very sick, so we had to do an assessment, profile them and some that had serious ailments were transferred to the Federal Medical Centre in Yola. Those that could be taken care of in the camp within the capacity of doctors and nurses were taken care of in the camp.

What was the nature of their ailments?

Most of them came especially the children had eye diseases, malaria, fatigue; they came looking very hungry, tired and traumatised. You can imagine people living under that kind of horrible condition. We had to immediately organise for trauma counselling and other requirements like feeding, clothing and even personal hygiene.

Have you been able to assess the true identity of these rescued women?

We have carried out assessment of the rescued women and children and before they were even delivered to us in our camps, the military have done profiling to ensure that they are not security risks and that they are innocent people captured by the insurgents and rescued by the military. What is left for us is to identify where they came from and that we have done and then we have assessed them medically and we shall continue to monitor them, especially the children. Some of them have also sustained various degrees of injuries, from gun shots, bomb blasts and they have been referred to Federal Medical Centre where they are receiving treatment.

What were the specifics of the military profiling, and has NEMA carried out its own independent assessment?

Our assessment is limited to their conditions, we are not a security agency; the military have done their job by profiling them and ensuring that they are not security risks. They could live in our camps like any other IDPs but they are special to us. They are different from the normal IDPs that are resident in our camps because these are people who were under captivity for a long time, they are traumatised so they need counselling, they need support so as to be rehabilitated back into the society.

What is the humanitarian condition of the rescued women and children?

Emphasis is now giving to the rescued 275 women and children, but before their arrival we have been managing IDPs. Like in Borno we have over 10 camps; in Adamawa we have six residential camps and we have IDPs in host communities who are more in number. We have been managing these IDPs for the last five years and we have enjoyed tremendous support from the Borno, Adamawa, Yobe and Gombe state governments, where we have camps in the Northeastern part of the country. Humanitarian activity cannot really be done effectively by one agency, so there has to be collaboration and synergy between all the humanitarian actors. I must say that we have been receiving tremendous support from other actors. We have received training and support for our personnel from the UN system, the Nigerian Red Cross Society has been with us throughout these trying periods, they have been in all our camps and all the other state emergency managements agencies and indeed NGOs and civil societies. It has been a close collaboration and I must say they have all done very well.

Is there any peculiar challenge in managing these special IDPs?

Indeed they are special IDPs because, like I have said, they are people who need special attention. Most of them are children and our greatest concern are those 63 children that came unaccompanied and we have to find the ways and means of unifying them with their parents or families and that is a huge challenge. They can hardly speak, they are small kids just following the other groups looking lost and we are working side by side with all the other agencies working with us to identify their parents.

Has there been any effort to trace their roots?

Certainly, the first step is to establish information centres where people can give information, where the IDPs too can pass information to the camp management on matters that affect their situation. What I am saying is: it is going to take time. Just a few days ago some people came and identified their children, they are not among the 63 but we have other unaccompanied children in almost all the camps. Sometimes we are lucky we have people coming to identify such children as their parents and once the authorities [establish such claims] we hand them over to the parents.

Are you saying some parents have shown up?

Yes, but not in the case of the 275 children and women.

What is the proof of parentage claims?

There are procedures of verification before the children are handed over to parents in accordance with international best practices.

How are those that came with ailments responding to treatment?

I must commend caregivers in the camp because as at the time they arrived, most of them could not even stand on their feet. Now they are gradually recovering, even the mothers were so malnourished that they could not even breastfeed their children. It was terrible but now we noticed significant improvement and we have other agencies with specialty in nutrition that are assisting the nursing mothers and children to see that they recover quickly.

Are the camps good enough to help the IDPs get back to their feet?

I must say that the environment which they live is to a larger extent conducive. All the facilities required to live decent life are provided. We have electricity, water supply, sufficient toilets, adequate sanitation and hygiene and most importantly we have enough food to feed the IDPs.

May 26, 2015
IDPs’ plea to Fed Govt: wipe out Boko Haram

They may never recover what the insurgents took away from them, but they do have one wish: the Federal Government should do everything possible to keep the terrorists out of business. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports

•Victims of child abuse

It is tough being a victim of Boko Haram. They wrecked lives, torn families apart, anihilated whole communities and sent victims to places they never wished to be. One such place is a displaced persons camp, where the victims live on charity and public goodwill.

Happy to survive the terrorists, the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at the New Kuchigoro camp along Games Village Abuja, over 8,000 of them, have pleaded with the government to crush the sect. Perhaps, that will be the best way to recover from the insurgents’ horrors.

The Foundation for the Victims of Child Abuse (VCAF), which has been helpful to the displaced persons, also has a plea of its own: successful and well-meaning Nigerians should give back to the society by investing especially on the women and children in the IDPs camps.

The foundation gave the advise while donating relief materials to the Boko Haram victims.

VCAF assisted by another foundation, Daughters of Abraham, donated relief materials which included bags of rice, noodles, roofing sheets, writing materials, T-shirts and mosquito nets.

President of the Foundation, General Abdulmalik Jibril (rtd), said any nation that wants to nurture its future must take the care of women and children seriously.

He said: “For many of us who have benefited from this country should at one point or the other give back to the society. Any nation that cherises its future should invest extensively on women and children so that at the end of the day we will be better for it.”

He added that the gesture is only a token donation to the victims who have been afflicted with the insurgency.

“Our organisation deemed it fit to make this donation. Taking a look at the commonest issues we have today, the children. We thought of how to touch the lives of the children and encourage the mothers not send them hawking.”

He urged the government to do more in the fight against Boko Haram so as to enable the IDPs return to their various homes.

“Government has been doing well by even providing this environment. They have made good contribution but government should do more so that they can go back and settle in their respective homes”

Speaking also, the vice chairman of the board, Prof. Tajudeen Akanji who represented the former Chief of Army Staff and chairman of the Board, General Abdulrahman Dambazau, said this is just to show kindness to the less privilege in the society and the focus is the children as just a token to their well being.

“The broad objective of our organisation is to as much as possible make the children and women have a livelihood. We are going to serve camps where there are victims of child abuse anywhere they are to see where our foundation can assist.

•Some of the items displayed

He promised that the foundation will remain supportive of the IDPs for as long as they are in the camps so as to give them a means of livelihood.

“We have come here with food items like rice, Indomie, roofing sheets because we can see that they are living in a makeshift tent. Exercise books for the children to be able to work, T-shirt, so that they can dress properly as members of the society and mosquito nets”

In his response, Chairman of the IDPs Camp, New Kuchigoro, Philimon Emmanuel, expressed appreciation to the foundation while calling on the “federal government to try and do something about Boko Haram. We are suffering here. We thank God, we have one school here for our children and the people are helping us with food items. We want the government to pursue the Boko Haram from our villages” adding that all the 873 IDPs in the camp will get a share of this donation.

However, he urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to build a special camp for them as promised. Saying that “we have been here since January last year and up till yesterday some of our people are still coming to the camp”.

An eight-year-old boy Ibrahim Musa told Abuja Review that things are really difficult for them and that they find it difficult to eat even ones a day.

His word: “Government has abandoned us. Only some Nigerian do remember us. We are happy that these gifts will go a long way to alleviate our suffering. Here”

Another girl simply known as Mary said government should try as much as possible to tackle Boko Haram so as to enable them go back to their states.

From the look of things only God knows when the Boko Haram saga will end to enable victims relocate back to their states.

May 26, 2015
Gemade, others call for national cohesion

Former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator representing Benue Northeast senatorial zone, Chief Barnabas Gemade, has admitted that the recent election of Muhammadu Buhari has altered negative perception about Nigeria, especially at the global stage.

The Senator who spoke in Abuja during the official unveiling of a book, ‘Fragrance of Diversity’, urged Nigerians to sustain the momentum engineered by the successes recorded in the elections in order to move the country forward.

‘Fragrance of Diversity’ is a book written by Mr. Nosike Ogbuenyi, the Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media. The book demonstrates how some of Nigeria’s cultural traits and diverse names which have often been misapplied as divisive tools can be transformed into positive instruments of unity.

The book further explains meanings of names of Nigerians across ethnic, religious and geographic divides.

“That way, our names can become instruments for bounding and integrating our people irrespective of our ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversities,” the author, Ogbuenyi explained.

Senator Gemade took Nigerians through memory lane, recalling how series of internal crises have threatened to undermine national peace and security.

“Since 1960, Nigeria has witnessed many costly internal conflicts. The notable ones include the civil war, Zango/Kataf in Kaduna state, Hausa/Beron in Plateau, Tiv/Jukun in Taraba and Benue, Ebira/Bassa in present day Kogi, Ife/Modakeke in Osun, Ijaw/Itserkeri in Delta, Ezza/Izzi in Ebonyi, Umuleri/Aguleri in Anambra, Ombatse in Nasarawa.

“In recent years, we have seen the more devastating crises of militancy in the Niger Delta, Boko Haram in the Northeast and the Fulani herdsmen, many communities recurring clashes in the middle section of the country and others.

“The crises have in some cases snowballed to the extent that not a few people are beginning to be skeptical about the prospects of continuing to exist as one country if we are capable of building and sustaining peace and unity,” Gemade noted.

The Benue-born senator explained that a major threat to our unity, tolerance and peace is the lack of deep understanding and appreciation of one another by Nigerians.

He equally emphasised the need for inter-cultural marriages, provision of Unity Schools for younger generations, understanding languages and bearing names across cultural, political and geographical divides will encourage tolerance, acceptance and proper integration in Nigeria.

Also speaking, representative of the FCT Minister, Mr. Emmanuel Awodu in his brief remarks, urged Nigerians to embrace the message of peace, propagated by the author, Mr. Ogbuenyi in his book.

Some of the dignitaries at the event include representatives of state governors, senators, directors and heads of agencies of FCT administration, among others.

“When Nosike told me about the book, I encouraged him to go ahead. What he has done is the first of its kind in Nigeria and he has captured the whole country. The work is excellent.”

May 26, 2015
Inside Kaduna’s expensive used clothing market

•Kasuwar Barci market

Everyone knows Kasuwar Barci in Tudun Wada in the heart of Kaduna metropolis. And they know why they love to patronise it. They get a good measure of grains there, as well as a fine piece of furniture, even a rug or mattress.

That is not all. They love the used clothes of Kasuwar Barci. They stand the test of time, long after some so-called brand new ones have worn off. Students pour in there, as do even the well-off in the society, some coming in from as far as other parts of the North and beyond. Kasuwar Barci has since become the hub of secondhand clothing in the region.

The reality at the market seems to stand common knowledge on its head. Used fabrics at the market are, in many cases, much costlier than the ones bought brand new.

Why? Blame it on the popularity of the market and also on the durability of the items on offer.

Kasuwar Barci, which means a market of sleeping traders, is well known within and outside Kaduna as a place where clothing material needs are met. You can buy textile material and have them sewn and designed by some of the best tailors and designers in the state. The market caters for both new and secondhand textile materials while also serving the needs of residents in the area of new and used rugs and carpets, used and new household furniture including beds, mattresses, cabinets and even electronic appliances. The market also serves foodstuff needs of the community, offering Irish potatoes, yams, guinea corn, maize, beans, rice in bags and other measures, soup ingredients.

Cooking utensils such as stoves, mortars and pestles, sieves of various sizes, pots, aluminum, iron and earthenware, food warmers, warmers and preservers, animals like chicken, goats, sheep, dry fish, fresh and roasted bush meats. Jewelleries and other ornaments, slippers and children and adult’s sandals, plastic materials and containers, buckets as well as school materials such as exercise and textbooks, bags of various makes and sizes and school uniforms and children wears are also found in the daily market.

The market is divided into sections, each having a sectional head, though there is an overall chairman of all the traders. The sprawling market, in a mixed neighbourhood of residents and commercial workers, is linked by Chawai, Dustsinma, Powa and Poly roads.

Said to have existed for more than four decades, it competes for volume of business with Sheikh Mahmud Gummi Central Market, and also serves traders from Funtua, Zaria, Abuja and Katsina.

The state government built over 2,000 shops, some in storey buildings in the market, which boasts over 3,000 traders, artisans and other workers operating daily.

The Nation gathered that when it was decided to reconstruct the Central Market, the then military administration of the North Central State under the leadership of Military Governor, Brigadier Abba Kyari (rtd), evacuated the traders to other locations for the builders to do their work without hindrance. The government resettled the traders temporarily at two locations, namely the Police Barracks at Tudun Wada Poly Road by Chawai Road and the then Tudun Wada Market which later became Kasuwar Barci, according to the former secretary of the Central Market and now Sarkin Marna Sabongari, Alhaji Bello Rilwan.

Alhaji Bello served as Secretary of the Central market between 1973 and 1990 before becoming the Sarkin Kasuwar Barci, an office he held for 13 years.

He told our reporter that Kasuwar Barci derived its name from the fact that in its early days, the market recorded such low patronage that traders often slept most of the time, waking up for the Muslim prayers. He said a trader from Kano known as Alhaji Jayawa gave the market its name when he saw that his fellow traders often dozed off.

Alhaji Bello Rilwan said, “Kasuwar Barci came into being on May 8, 1973 when the market was moved from Central Market to Kasuwar Tudun Wada.

Those early days presented challenges for Kasuwar Barci traders. Few customers stopped by their shops. Other markets such as the in Dutse were thriving, but Alhaji said they took it in their stride. In time, the table turned.

“When Kasuwar Dutse was making brisk business while traders in Kasuwar Barci had nothing to do other than to sleep, we believed it was God’s will because we really could not fathom why the situation was so. But now there is no market in Kaduna State that enjoys business patronage better than Kasuwar Barci, not even Sheikh Mahmud Gummi Central Market,” Alhaji Bello said.

Students of Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna State University, Ahmadu Bello University and others enjoy patronising Kasuwar Barci. One thing they like the market for is the quality of clothing materials they obtain there. Some of the students our correspondents came across at the market said unlike before, traders in the textile market have realised that students and elite have come to like their products, so they have hiked the prices.

Abdulwaheed Yunus, a student of Kaduna Polytechnic, ýsaid, “Look, I don’t have any regret patronising this secondhand clothing market because this is where you get the desired quality. You see this belt I’m wearing, I bought it here about five years ago and I have about four of them, but if you buy the so-called new belt, be rest assured that you will change it in less than one year. But, my disappointment is that unlike before, clothes have become expensive here. A pair of shoes that we used to buy for, say, between N1,000 and N1,200, they tell you now sells for between N3,500 and N4,000.

Because they know students and even the elite now patronise them. But, one thing you cannot still take away from them is quality. I hardly buy shirts and trousers here, except I get a very unique one, but for my shoes, caps, belts and sport dresses, I can’t miss Kasuwar Barci. I also patronise this market for all my bed sheets and blankets because you get the best of them here rather than at Central Market.”

Another customer, Miss Mary Jatau, a student of Kaduna State University, said, apart from her native dresses, she gets all others from Kasuwar Barci. Why?

She said, “I have been patronising this market since I was born. My mum used to buy clothes for us from here to complement the new ones and they were always very nice”.

A secondhand clothes dealer who preferred anonymity, said, “Our products are now expensive because the government said it is contraband and so it has become more difficult and expensive to [bring] down to the country”.

He said, “I am not supposed to talk to you because it is our policy not to talk to the press, because we don’t want to expose our business to risk from government. We also enjoy patronage when our products were cheaper, but now, we don’t have any option other than to sell according to our expenses”.

The market is not without its challenges. Traders said they lack potable water and that their environment is dirty. That is not all. They also complained of insecurity at Kasuwar Barci.

May 26, 2015
Security: FCTA begins online tracking of buildings

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration through the Department of Development Control has begun the process of tracking online all on-going building developments in Abuja.

The scheme which is known as Development Control Information System (DevCIS) and Mobile App for an on-line transfer of Site Assessment Reports (SAR) is to ensure total computerization of all the Development Control activities.

The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed while launching the scheme in Abuja yesterday directed that all land related departments in the Federal Capital Territory must work together to further reduce business time of developers.

Mohammed reiterated that the closer collaboration between the Development Control; Urban & Regional Planning; Land Administration; Survey & Mapping as well as the Abuja Geographic Information Systems (AGIS) would go a long way in fast tracking development of the entire 8,000 square kilometers of the Federal Capital Territory.

The minister insisted that this collaboration has become necessary to reduce friction and man hour wasted on ironing out issues related to land application, building approval and development in the FCT; emphasising that it is a competitive world with diverse interests.

His words: “I want you to take further steps to reduce drastically the time taken for approval of building plans and enhance monitoring of development towards bequeathing a safe, healthy and convenient city-system to the residents of the FCT and visitors alike. You are equally to ensure speedy and orderly city growth into the future.”

The minister noted that the establishment of a wholly indigenous Development Control Information System as well as Mobile App for an on-line transfer of Site Assessment Reports, which according to him, are base-line requirements for taking decisions on the approvability or otherwise of building plans for all categories of development.

According to a statement issued by Asst. Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, while commending the ingenuity of the staff of FCT Development Control, Senator Mohammed urged all technical and professional staff involved in this knowledge-driven and experience-sharing process to embrace the innovation with the highest sense of responsibility for an improved service delivery.

The co-ordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council, Architect Reuben Okoya said that the Agency embarked on this ICT project because it would continue to play prominent and pivotal role as key enabler of reward and sustainable growth of emerging city.

Architect Okoya restated that ICT has become an essential element of infrastructure underpinning competitive economies world over.

In his remarks, the FCT Director of Development Control Department, Yahaya Yusuf explained that the Development Control Information System was conceptualized to capture not only the records but the entire process of registering the building plan applications, managing and approval of same through a secure ICT driven platform.

Yusuf enunciated that the Department’s Web Portal is designed to provide developers and the entire public with a platform for online submission of applications, online tracking of progress made on the said applications, electronic payments as well as a solution for internal operations in processing the application.

The FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide; FCT Permanent Secretary, Engr. John Obinna Chukwu; FCDA Executive Secretary, Engr. Adamu Ismaila; some Mandate Secretaries, Coordinator of the Abuja Infrastructure & Investment Centre, Faruk Sani and top government functionaries of the FCT Administration also attended the occasion.

May 26, 2015
Jonathan and the President’s Cup

Even as things may not look too bright in all other sectors under his tenure, President Goodluck Jonathan has been described as the top in sports ahead of all the past Nigerian leaders.

The Nigerian sports has been claimed to have won more trophies and laurels under his administration.

His close exit from power has not diminished his love for sports as he is supporting the ongoing President Cup holding in Abuja.

The President Cup is an annual football competition aimed at discovering new talents to feed the various Nigeria’s national football teams.

Jonathan through the Minister of Sports, Tammy Daminagogo kicked-off the opening football match of the maiden President Cup competition between Kano and Kaduna teams at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Abuja last week Monday.

Total of sixteen teams in four groups are slugging it out in four venues in Abuja including the National Stadium, Old Parade Ground Area 10, FIFA Goal Project and Sports centre Area 3.

Other states featuring in the competition are Lagos, Plateau, FCT, Imo, Abia, Oyo, Benue, Ondo.

Also featuring in the competition are Zamfara, Bauchi, Taraba, Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Enugu.

President Jonathan, who will be busy with preparations for the handover and inauguration of the incoming government, is again expected to be represented at the final match of the competition billed for the main bowl of the National Stadium, Abuja by 3.00 p.m tomorrow, 27th of May.

There is no doubt that the football competition has offered the youths some fun and some level of exposure towards selling them to the world.

Besides picking some injuries during the competition, some of the players may get the opportunity to sign up for some local football clubs as many football coaches throng the venues of the competition, scouting for young, talented players.

Some of them might even get luckier to be called up to any of the national teams at the end of the competition.

But with the Jonathan’s administration ending in the next three days, there is anxiety among the players if the competition will go beyond this first edition.

When Jonathan, Aso Villa worshipers part ways

Last week Sunday was not only the last church service President Goodluck Jonathan attended at the Aso Villa Chapel under his tenure, but it was the last service to be conducted by the Anglican Communion under the leadership of the Chaplain, Ven. Obioma Onwuzurumba.

This is because Sunday service was not held at the Chapel two days ago as May 24 has been scheduled for an interdenominational service at the National Christian Centre as part of programme for the inauguration of the incoming government.

To say that the service in the Chapel last week Sunday was emotion-filled is understatement as the key players managed to keep tears away from the thanksgiving and farewell service.

Apart from friends and well-wishers of the first family attending the service in large number which warranted an extension outside the hall with canopies and chairs, the choir, ushers and other members of the chapel were colorfully dressed for the day.

While Jonathan and his wife, Dame Patience Jonathan confessed that they were going to miss the Chapel, the choir and other departments in the church, every minister who handled the microphone during the service also did not hide their feelings that they were going to miss the first family.

The ministers recalled that the first family had never failed them any time they were embarking on any project in the church.

What even excited the church most was the fact that Jonathan and the wife were leaving the State House, Abuja healthy and alive against evil predictions.

Their safety and divine protection to the end of their tenure, some of the ministers noted, contrasted the experiences of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who lost his wife, Stella Obasanjo in office and former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua who died in office in 2010.

Highlight of the service was presentation of gifts to the first family by the Aso Villa Chapel Committee and the children department.

After May 29, the Vice President-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who is the highest Christian public office holder in the incoming government, is going to be the political leader of the Chapel.

He is expected to take over the Chapel and move in clergy men from the Penticostal segment of the Christiandom to provide spiritual leadership.

Being a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), he may also try to provide the leadership himself.

Villa set for Buhari

With three days to the handover of governance from President Goodluck Jonathan to the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, the seat of power seems set to receive Buhari and his Vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.

Apart from various repairs, cleaning and paintings done to some of the facilities in the State House in preparation for the new government, there is a mixed expectations from the staff in the Villa.

Some of the key presidential aides closed to the out-going President, who have really enjoyed the tenure, are not too happy that the administration is coming to an end.

Those among them, who are yet to fully clear their tables, have almost removed all their personal belongings from their offices as they are leaving the Villa with the President.

Some top management civil servants, who have also enjoyed the outgoing government, have hoped that the administration will never come to an end. They are not too sure of what the future holds for them.

But majority of the State House staff are in high spirit as May 29 draws near. They are full of expectation that the coming change of government will change their fortunes for good in no distant time.

Most of the residents surrounding the Presidential Villa, who happen to come from the northern part of the country, are also excited with the coming change.

To inspect and familiarize themselves with what is on ground before the handover date, President Jonathan is billed to lead Buhari and Osinbajo on tour of the Presidential Villa on Thursday 28th May.

May 26, 2015
Refuse takes over Jos

Residents of Jos, the capital of Plateau State, are paying the price of the strike action declared by civil servants in the state since May 5. The stench from mounting refuse hangs thick in the air, to say nothing of the unsightly streets.

There is no aspect of the state government that is working including government-owned hospitals. The striking union did not only shut down the entire government establishments, they stationed their men at those offices to make sure nobody broke the rule. They want every minute of the strike to count. And it is.

•A street blocked by refuge

The worst aspect of the strike is the accumulation of refuse dumps that have formed mountains on major streets of the city. There is hardly any street that is spared of this refuse attack. In some places the heaps have closed off the streets. Rwang Pam Street and Old Bukuru Park, by AP Fuel Station, are examples.

The worst hit are such commercial streets as Ahmadu Bello Way, Murtala Muhammed Way, Tudunwada, Terminus market, Hwolshe, Dogon Karfe, Rikkos, Bauchi Road, Jenta Adamu and several other places. Apart from the ones in the market areas and major streets, there are more in most residential areas that have put lives in danger of epidemics.

Staff of the state Ministry for Environment usually placed large containers in most parts of residential areas of the state. When they are full, they are emptied into refuse trucks and disposed of at a location on the outskirts of the city. But now that the workers have laid down their tools, the containers are running with waste. Yet, residents having nowhere to turn to, still aim their waste at the overflowing containers.

Most residents who live close to such containers can no longer enjoy a good breath; they can hardly sleep, with the stench so thick in the air. In such environments, passersby and residents battle with flies that are feeding on the refuse. Some residents have even taken advantage of the heaps of refuse to defecate there.

Given this scenario, observers worry about the health hazard residents. There used to be workers responsible for sweeping the streets of Jos on a daily basis as a deliberate measure to keep the state capital clean. But with the ongoing strike, no one sweeps any more.

The crux of the matter is workers’ welfare. Even before the strike, the workers were without salaries for several months, their morale so low that most of them willingly abandoned their duty post since January this year. Invariably, the mountain of refuse residents are battling may have been accumulated for a period of three months prior to the declaration of the strike.

Now the entire city is filthy, making driving or walking along the street dangerous in more ways than one. Motorists often wind up their glasses to avoid the odour on the street. But passersby have no option but to inhale the unhealthy air. Certainly you can’t avoid the flies that probably see the walkers as intruders. They slap with their wings and kick with their legs until you move far away from the zone.

Medical experts have expressed fear of major health challenges ahead. Dr. Samuel Gyang said, “The situation in Jos here is risky for human beings; people are exposed to several diseases already. In this situation, cholera is very likely and when it comes, it is going to affect the entire population because we live with these refuse at home and on the streets. No one is safe.”

The fear of epidemic is higher at Old Bukuru Park, Tudun Wada, Zaramaganda, Bukuru and Kabong.

However, given the strike, government officials have no access to their offices; they are hunted by the aggrieved labor union. So it is even impossible to get reaction from relevant environmental ministries and agencies.

Residents have resorted to personal protection. No one seems to know when the strike will be called off and the evacuators back to duty.

May 26, 2015
Women beg Buhari for gender parity

President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to consider more women in his administration.

The president of Women in Politics Forum (WIPF), Mrs Ebere Ifendu, a lawyer, gave the advise at a press briefing in Abuja, where she said the inclusion of women and men perspective and experience into the decision making process would lead to solutions that are more viable.

Ifendu said the in-coming administration should remember that the “observer reports highlighted large turnout by women to the polls that saw All Progressives Congress (APC), victorious in the 2015 general elections and should therefore be appropriately represented in decision making process.”

She said despite having very low number of women in the 8th assembly that there are capable women that could be appointed to the post of deputy Senate President, deputy speaker and even Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Ifendu, however, called on the incoming administration to implement its commitments to the Nigerian women.

She also emphasised that appointment of women in key positions should target women with proven competence in their various fields of endeavour, stressing that the 35 per cent affirmative action should at least stand.

Her words: “We draw the in-coming administration’s attention to the statistics published by the inter-parliamentary union as at April, 2015, Nigeria is ranked second last in Africa and at 132nd out of 190 countries that submitted data on percentage of women in parliament. It should be noted that Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Namibia are in the top ten countries.”

May 26, 2015
Taraba Ag. Governor’s ADC promoted

Things are looking up for Mr Mahmood Mohammed Dahuwa, police aide to Taraba State acting Governor Abubakar Sani Danladi. Dahuwa is now an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP).

His steady rise through the ranks has been a product of discipline, punctuality, hard work, honesty, humility and dedication to service, but above all, his unconditional love for his job.

Born on September 26, 1976, Dahuwa kept his dream of securing a job with the police alive while growing up in his rustic town of Katagum, Bauchi State. Fighting crime to protect lives and property motivated him. His beloved and most favorite career was to be a police chief. Thus, when the opportunity came on February 2, 2000, he promptly enrolled in the NPF as a recruit Constable. He was indeed a happy man.

But his happiest moment, he told The Nation, came when he was promoted to the rank of an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) at the prestigious Police Staff College, Jos, Plateau State seven years after joining the police. He said he was highly elated to be decorated by the then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sunday Ehindero, ably represented by the then DIA Administration Mr. Ogbonna Onovo, who also was later appointed to the IG post.

To master his job, Dahuwa trained at the Police Training School Farfaru, Sokoto State. He obtained an HND/PGD in Public Administration from Abdu Gusau Polytechnic Talata Mafara, Zamfara State. He further did an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) promotion course at the Police Staff College, Jos in 2006, and on February 1, 2007, he became and ASP.

He said: “Police was my most favorite job, and that was why I joined the Force as a Constable. Then I had an O’Level Certificate with nine credits and a National Diploma (ND) in Business Administration.

“Because of my love for the job, I enrolled into a Post Graduate class, even as a Constable.”

Rising systematically from the ranks, DSP Dahuwa served as a Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), Low Coast in Gombe State, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in Karimlamido local government area of Taraba State. As DPO, Dahuwa ensured Karimlamido became stable and secured. He brought crime in the area down to the barest minimum by initiating new crime fighting strategies, and using a wide range of technology to identify, track down and punish perpetrators of crime to protect the masses. Witnesses said he succeeded because he made the police friends of the community.

However, while as DPO in Karimlamido, his saddest moment came amidst successes. “My saddest moment in the police was the day I was attacked by mobs in a police station in Karimlamido where I was the DPO. Two suspects under my custody were killed by the invading mobs,” he regrettably said.

From DPO, he became the State Traffic Officer of the Central Motor Traffic Division in Jalingo. From there, he was posted to Acting Governor Abubakar Sani Danladi as an aide de camps (ADC) on November 20, 2014, a post he has held sway till date.

DSP Dahuwa said he remains grateful to the Taraba Acting Governor Abubakar Sani Danladi. He spoke well of his boss, saying: “the Acting Governor is not only my official principal, he is an elder brother and father to me. Our union is beyond an ADC-Governor relationship. He is like an elder brother who is from the same mother and father with me.”

The acting governor on his part, has always said his ADC is one of the best, having “served well” -without a blemish record.

The new DSP was decorated by his boss -the acting governor and the Commissioner of Police Nyats Jatau. The event took place at the Executive Council Chambers of Government House, Jalingo.

Dahuwa’s advise to upcoming police personnel is for them to “shun all forms of indiscipline, be punctual and dedicated to duty.”

May 26, 2015
Four Kwali chiefs get staff of office

Sequel to the upgrading of four traditional rulers to resolve the lingering chieftaincy crisis in Kwali Area Council, the chiefs of Pai, Wako and Gomani have been presented with staffs of office.

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed presented the staff of office to the newly upgraded chiefs.

The new chiefs are Alhaji Audu Sha-aban Nizazo III-Kwali; Alhaji Abdullahi Bala-Pai; Alhaji Ibrahim D. Usman-Wako and Alhaji Adamu M. Saba-Gomani.

Mohammed said that the delineation of new chiefdoms in Kwali Area Council became necessary in order to do justice to the multi-ethnic nature of the indigenous populations of the Area.

The minister stated that this was pursuant to the recommendations of the ministerial committee set up to look into the issue of chieftaincy disputes in Kwali Area Council.

He remarked that the ministerial committee confirmed the appointment of the Etsu of Kwali into an already existing graded chiefdom as second-class chief, while delineating and upgrading three new chiefdoms in Wako, Gomani and Pai as third class chiefdoms.

The Minister explained that though their respective kingmakers select traditional rulers, the ratification of their appointment rests with Mr. President through the FCT Administration.

According to a statement issued by the Asst. Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, the minster called on all the traditional rulers in the FCT to continue to show responsibility by maintaining law and order in their respective domains together with ensuring harmonious coexistence among all Nigerians living within their communities.

He reminded them to always keep in mind the vision of Abuja as the centre of unity, a home to every Nigerian.

He therefore called on traditional rulers and the entire people of FCT to continue to show the same support and loyalty to the incoming Administration because governance is a continuum.

Also speaking at the occasion, the FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide said that the upgrading, installation and presentation of staff of office is to fulfill the campaign promises.

Responding on behalf of others, the new Etsu Kwali, Alh. Audu Sha-aban Nizazo III promised to live up to expectation and thanked the Minister for this uncommon gesture.

The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Obinna Chukwu, Emir of Lapai in Niger State, Alhaji Umaru Bago II and other top government functionaries of the FCT Administration also attended the occasion.

May 26, 2015