In order to accelerate the volume of trade, investment and industrial development of the Federal Capital Territory, the FCT Executive Committee (EXCO) has approved the domestication of the FCT Trade and Investment Policy.
The Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed, who disclosed this, said that the EXCO gave its nod during its meeting.
Mohammed reiterated that the overall objective of the domestication policy is to accelerate industrial development by radically increasing value added at every stage, increase total factor productivity by pursuing knowledge and skill for intensive production renewal for industries and encourage innovation.
According to a statement issued by Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, the minister said in the short-term, the policy seeks to increase the number of manufacturing companies in the FCT; work on manufacturing enterprises that experience difficulties with a view to reviving those with good prospects as well as provide support services that can help manufacturers take advantage of existing opportunities for accessing funds.
According to him, the domestication policy seeks to create new opportunities for the development of micro and small-medium enterprises; create more direct and indirect employment opportunities, apart from attracting new investments in medium and large enterprises.
He emphasised that the EXCO also approved the facilitation of the adopted document on the domestication of Trade and Investment Policy in the FCT to the National Assembly for legislation.
The FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke-Akinjide, FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Chukwu, FCDA Executive Secretary, Mr. Adamu Ismaila, Chief of Staff to the FCT Minister, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar Sadiq, mandate secretaries and some directors attended the EXCO meeting.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has opted for an out-of-court settlement in the case between it and the Dagbalo community in the territory, but the indigenous people have issues with the processes of the settlement.
Rev. Danjuma Tanko, who spoke with reporters after the court proceedings at the FCT High Court under Justice Jude Okeke at Daki-biu in Jabi District, explained that the committee was set up by the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed and his name was said to have been included for compensation as a move for an out-of-court settlement.
Rev. Tanko said: “The truth is that in the case of demolishing a community, if there is the need to talk about compensation, the FCDA has to compensate the entire Dagbalo community. If they want to compensate only me, it is wrong, because I am not alone; I belong to the community.
“That is what they have not been able to conclude. Out of about 100 households, they were able to provide 48 alternative houses and the remaining ones they diverted to unknown places. I have the list with me. Besides that, were they supposed to enforce demolition for resettlement without being compensated?
“I will never trust the FCDA. If they want settlement out of court, they should include my people. I cannot be comfortable alone, they must go through the due process of compensation. Now, they have cut us off from my community and wiped off the community. Will they be able to get us that kind of community?
Also, while speaking with journalists, counsel to Dagbalo, Mr. Nkem Adolphima explained that it was announced by the counsel to the FCDA that they had a meeting but were yet to resolve the issue and they needed some time to settle everything that would lead to out-of-court settlement, that the name of the plaintiff has been short-listed for compensation.
“The fact that both parties have got their evidence and they are working towards ending the case, the next adjoined date will be to adopt the final written address, because we have been told to file our written addresses.
“Hopefully, based on what the FCDA lawyer said, that they have filed out papers and documents, that the names of the plaintiff have been short-listed.
“If before the next adjoined date, which is June 30, and they bring their evidences before the court, the case will have a different dimension. Otherwise, the court will proceed to adopt the written address and then take a date for judgment. Although, out-of-court settlement may not be the best option, if they present something that is when something will come out of it.
“It is not the issue of the FCDA giving promises, we want to see something that would serve as evidences of what they intend to do; that would show that they really want an out-of-court settlement. It is not just having out-of-court settlement with verbal promises. It is not done that way.
“If we are able to see documents on allocations and compensations, then we will know that we are arriving at somewhere,” she said.
Before now, traffic lights were quite uncommon in Abuja. Those that existed were malfunctioning. This informed the posting of traffic wardens to some strategic intersections in the city to control traffic.
That was then. Currently, most of the moribund traffic lights have been resuscitated as residents woke up recently to notice that the traffic lights were blinking again.
Changes residents never thought possible have become reality as politicians and their contractor friends ensure that most of the dilapidated infrastructure in the capital city are revived, at least to prove to the incoming administration that they are capable of making things happen.
Though Abuja boasts most modern facilities that other states lack, the city has always had an ugly record of maintenance culture and most contractors take this trend for granted, even as they manipulate the system and abandon projects which contracts they have been awarded.
The most visible aspect of the low maintenance culture had been in the area of traffic lights. There is prevalence of broken down traffic lights as one drives through the city. Some of them give confusing or conflicting go ahead sign to motorists so much so that they could cause accidents. Some of them come on when they are not supposed to or go off when a particular lane should have right of way.
Residents and motorists have been complaining about this situation for so long and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) transport secretariat always claimed that something was being done about it. Recently, there is a wind of change with regard to the functioning of the traffic lights in the FCT.
ýCurrently, there is no need posting traffic wardens to man all the intersections of Abuja because all the dilapidated traffic lights have been fixed and new traffic lights have been installed in locations where residents never believed was possible. The traffic situation had always been a nightmare in front of the Wuse Zone 3 Market. Here, people driving towards the market from around the bridge always struggle their way through, especially when the traffic wardens where not around. However, one morning, residents woke up to behold a new traffic light installed on the road which has drastically reduced the traffic situation.
Mr. Jonah Festus plies the route daily. He expressed surprise at the sudden development.
He said: “ýI learnt that the contractor that was supposed to install the lights had been paid a long time ago. He did not install them. Now that Buhari is about to be inaugurated, he has decided to do it out of fear for what might happen to him.
“This is a good development. The Abuja traffic light system used to be terrible, but now with all this changes, driving around Abuja is turning into fun.”
Another resident Chidi Agu expressed delight at the development in the city. He said: “It is really nice driving around town these days and noticing that the traffic lights now work. It is really commendable and I’m not bothered about how they waited until this time to do it. The important thing is that they have done something nice that is worth commending.”
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) FCT Transport Secretariat, Mr. Ifeanyi Ughamadu, in a telephone chat with Abuja Review denied that the change was meant to please the incoming Buhari administration.
“The administration recently changed from using the public power supply to powering the traffic light with solar panels. ýWhat is actually happening now is that all the traffic lights in Abuja are being changed to solar panels and we intend to finish soon. The development is a partnership with the Chinese and we have been working on it for a long time. It’s possible that residents are only noticing it now. If you look closely at places where you see traffic lights now, you will also see solar panels mounted on top of it.
“We are not only repairing the old ones and changing them into the new solar-powered lights but we intend to extend the installation of traffic lights to Kubwa and Gwarimpaý. We intend to have 24-hour coverage now, unlike before where the traffic lights go off anytime that there is power outage. We realised that the solar powered light is much more reliable.
“The decision on this was taken a long time ago and we began installing it a while back. Honestly, it does not have anything to do with the change of government. The changes had been in the pipeline for a long time and we even began the installations since last year.
“FCT residents should expect more of ýconstant traffic lights working because all traffic lights would be streamlined towards solar which the country has in abundance. We will install and repair over 70 traffic light junctions in town and I do not know the exact number that will be installed in Gwarimpa and Kubwa but that will be happening very soon,” he said.
Whether the changes are propelled by the fear of the new administration or according to the explanations of the PRO, it is a good development. The important thing still remains that the traffic light is making life of residents less stressful as there is free flow of traffic. Installation of traffic lights in Gwarimpa and Kubwa will also be great. Residents are optimistic that most malfunction facilities in the FCT will also be rehabilitated to ease life of the residents.
At the camps where about 800,000 displaced children are sheltering across the North, living conditions are as dreadful as the kids’ future is bleak. TONY AKOWE and YUSUFU AMINU IDEGU report
•Some of the displaced children in a makeshift classroom
The children are scattered all over the North, all 800,000 of them, in camps which offer little relief. Food is insufficient. Sleeping places are unspeakably bad. A feeling of neglect hangs over the camps.
Six-year-old Mubarak Adamu, one of the children at the Internally Displaced Persons camp at Durumi II in Abuja, reads his ABCs with passion. He is probably looking forward to growing up and becoming a leader someday. Like many other children in the camp and others across the region, Mubarak may never fulfil that dream.
Why?
He cannot go to a formal school because of Boko Haram insurgents who chased him and others away from their homes in Borno State. He is exposed to harsh living conditions in the uncompleted two-storey building that has served as his home for several months since they moved to Abuja from Bama in Borno State. He is forced to sleep on a bare hard floor with his mother’s wrapper serving as his bed. The environment he plays in is not habitable at all with dirt all over the place, and the smell of human waste rife.
Mubarak, like many of the other children at the camp, is lucky, though, to have volunteers who teach him and some others the basics of education.
Hafsat Ahmed, Halima Isa and Tanko battle to teach the children even though they don’t have teaching aids. Unfortunately in spite of the harsh living conditions, they are also harassed and intimidated by security men who constantly raid their camps.
One of the leaders of the IDPs, Zubairu Mohammed who said that they have been abandoned by government, lamented that their children are exposed to health hazards. He said that there are serious health and other challenges in the camp, adding that their children are mostly affected. According to him, there are about 40 children who urgently need medical attention which they cannot afford.
He said security personnel especially the military often come to arrest people, claiming they are criminals. This is traumatising, he said, especially for the women and children at a time when they have lost loved ones to the insurgency.
During a recent visit to the camp to present relief materials, an official of the Buhari Support Organisation, Hajia Hanatu Akilu condemned government neglect of the IDPs.
Hajia Akilu, who was close to tears due to the deplorable conditions under which the children live, said they decided to donate the food items when they discovered that the children were malnourished.
She said, “We have been here before on a medical mission and we discovered that some of the babies were malnourished and we decided to bring this small food. It is not really about the food but for the world to see how these people are suffering. We have them in other settlements across the city. I was at NEMA [National Emergency Management Agency] office and they were saying that they don’t have camps for them because they were not in the state capital. The point is, if we have people like this, it does not matter where they are. The government should provide facilities for them. We should have proper camping for refugees; we should make adequate provision for their children, their health care because we can’t just leave them like this. They have suffered serious trauma, some of them have seen their family members being slain. Some of them have horrible stories of walking long distances and yet, like one of them said, they are not being treated like Nigerians. We just can’t just sit back and watch. We all have to be alive to our responsibilities”.
Things are better for displaced children in Kano. The state government has a credible educational intervention programme for them. Known as the Borno Orphans Model Boarding Primary School, Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said the school was constructed under the Special Intervention Programme for orphaned children affected by the insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states.
Kwankwaso said, “The Special Intervention Programme is aimed at taking up full responsibilities of 100 children, who are between the ages of five and six whose parents are either dead, displaced or lost as a result of the insurgency”.
He assured that the state government will take care of the children’s education, training, upbringing, feeding, clothing, security, health care and accommodation. He also said the government would continue to look after the children until they complete their basic education, the security situation in the states affected by the insurgency improves and when it is safe for them to return home. The governor who is heading for the senate in the in lying government said His attention was drawn to the plight of the children, who have been deprived of parental care and concern as a result of the security challenges in the Northeast by NEMA and other concerned individuals. He urged the federal and state governments and well-meaning individuals and groups to come to the aid of the orphans to make their lives more meaningful.
Kwankwaso is not only dealing with the educational needs of the children, but their health requirements also. He said the state Commissioner for Health has been directed to appraise the medical condition of each of the pupils with a view to identifying those that need special medical care for necessary action.
There are about 1000 children at the Jos camp. Like their counterparts in Kano, life is not as dreadful as it is in several other places but they have the NGOs, not the government, to thank for that.
They and their parents worry about their destroyed homes, so even as federal troops exult over recaptured villages, the IDPs remain sullen. Thus, the camps which were supposed to provide temporary shelter have become their permanent homes.
The ideology of Boko Haram is to stop Nigerians from acquiring Western education, and to that extent, the insurgents have almost succeeded in the Northeast. The rampaging insurgents have not only destroyed homes in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, but have also wiped out schools.
The Jos camps host over 2000 people from 132 families, all of whom are primarily concerned about survival, not schooling for their children.
Some of the displaced persons are hosted by a Jos-based non-governmental organisation known as Stefanos Foundation, which is involved in human rights, advocacy, relief and rehabilitation of victims of the continuous violence in the North. Stefanos has been working in the field since 2002; the organization responded to distress calls for help by the victims who have come to trust that the organisation is able to find help for them.
Programme Manager of the foundation, Mr. Mark Lipdo said, “From August 2014, many displaced persons began to migrate to Jos in trickles and were accommodated in private homes but there came a time that they became too many to accommodate, hence the organisation began a search for a property that can be used to establish an IDP camp. There are more than four IDPs camps in Plateau State.”
As at December 2014, Plateau State was hosting 35,000 IDPs. The figure was released by Audu Yohanna, the North Central Zonal Information Officer of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
A comprehensive assessment of the IDPs carried out by NEMA indicates that the IDPs are camping in different locations across five local government areas of Plateau State. In Wase, Kanam, Shendam and Mikan local government areas, 11,000 IDPs from Taraba State are camping in different locations across the four Local Government Areas. From Adamawa State, 24,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are camping in different locations across Jos North and Jos South Local Government Areas of the state”.
The North Central Zonal Office of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) conducted the needs assessment of the IDPs and sent its report to the Director General of the Agency for release of relief materials to ameliorate the situation of the IDPs. NEMA also confirmed that the IDPs are mostly are women and children who fled the troubled States.
But the government relief materials never came, the IDPs rather depends on charitable individuals and other NGOs around the country. Mr. Lipdo said, “The IDPs need food, even if it is once a day, they need good shelter, at least to protect them from the harsh cold weather of Jos. They need clothes to cover their skin to differentiate them from mental health patients. Most importantly, the IDPs are in dire need of medical care.”
Another non-governmental organisation known as Tina Bawa Ministry International came to the camp in Jos to offer free medical care to the IDPs particularly little children.
There were cases of pneumonia, malaria, hepatitis, but it was also discovered that most of the male children in the camp were not circumcised at infancy. Most of them now between the age of five and 12 had to undergo the procedure at the camp.
The coordinator of Tina Bawa Ministry International, Rev Mrs. Tina Bawa, who sponsored the free medical outreach said, “The ministry is a church run by myself and my husband. But like a non-governmental organization, we have program for the welfare of the less privilege especially children and women. I was moved when I was told of the plight of the women and children in this camp. We have the penchant for helping vulnerable women and children of this nature, and we have done it in so many places across the country. It is a pity that in all crisis situation, women and children suffers the consequences. This is what is going on this camp; these innocent children have been driven out of their homes for no fault of theirs. Now a Good Samaritan assembled the IDPs in camps for government to take over their responsibility. But as you can see, government has turned their attention away from these people.”
After spending five months at the camp with no hope of rehabilitation of the IDPs by government, the NGO organised a makeshift school for children of the displaced to have some elementary education. Mr. Lipdo, Programme Manager of the foundation said, “I have taken record of at least 650 children in the camp, and since they don’t have hope of going back to their homes so soon, it is good we organise a school for them in the camp, if not the camp will be so boring and life will have no meaning to these children.
The NGO has procured some instructional materials like textbooks, exercise books, chalkboard for the takeoff of school lessons for the children. Like in the regular school, there are those in nursery and some in primary. Some teachers have volunteered to render service, some recruited by the NGO to teach the children. Lessons have since commenced in the camp.
NEMA was once quoted as saying that it is accommodating about 6000 children in its internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Adamawa State with about 760 of the children coming to the camp on their own, meaning that their parents either died in the attacks on their communities by insurgents or they were abandoned by their parents out of frustration.
The agency also claimed that children were the most victims of the attacks. Some managed to escape, while many others were killed. For those who escaped, another hurdle awaited them in the form of daily survival. While children are not the only ones displaced as a result of the attacks, their situation is the most disturbing. There are reports of children who die from physical exertion, hunger and thirst while fleeing insurgents’ attacks. It is no news that children are usually among the worst hit in crisis situations. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) said that of the 300,000 IDPs in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states, 70 per cent of them are women and children who fled their homes in early 2013.
Bassa local Government Area of Plateau State has had an unflattering profile, often seen as one of the least developed in the state.
Well, that profile is changing, thanks to its chairman Hon. David Rancha. Communities in the council are picking up: water is running, roads are paved and there is electricity.
Village heads and community leaders in the council have described the recent social infrastructural development in their locality as a “breath of fresh air”.
The paramount ruler of the local government and President, Bassa Traditional Rulers Council, the Utu Ugo Kiche of Rukuba Chiefdom, His Royal Highness, Ati Adamu Adiuwu said he was pleased that such developments were happening under his reign.
Indeed, the people of Bassa local government have begun to witness a new lease of life.
All the three districts of the local government are witnessing infrastructural development in various communities.
Bassa local government is as old as 38 years, created the same time as the state. But in spite of its age, Bassa remained poorly developed, being one of the least growing in the state. This is in spite of the fact that it is one of the closest local governments to Jos, the state headquarters, as well as being the gateway to neighbouring Kaduna State. It was believed by the residents that the backwardness of the local government had to do with poor leadership by past administrators, particularly council chairmen.
The leader of the Legislative Council, Hon Mrs. Rahila Yahaya Hamza, said, “A number of chairmen have come and gone, yet the local government remained under-developed.”
This explains why, when the present administration led by Hon Rancha took over the mantle of leadership, many in the local government never gave him a chance. It was believed Hon Racha would only come to warm the office and leave like his predecessors without changing their situation. That was why he was given a cold reception when he assumed office. The cold reception notwithstanding, Hon. Rancha, himself an indigene and fully acquainted with the deplorable condition of things, set to work.
Equipped with good knowledge of the locality as well as their yearnings and aspirations, the new chairman had no problem in outlining the areas of priority. He made a commitment to change the feelings of the people towards governance at the third tier. He spring into action almost immediately, and today, one year after, the story of Bassa local government has changed for good.
When the council chairman Hon David Rancha marked his one year in office at Crest Hotel Jos, he merely rolled out series of unexpected achievements to the surprise of stakeholders of the local government.
In the area of rural road construction, the council boss said, “As part of efforts to link rural communities and also enhance commercial activities, the administration has embarked on the construction and rehabilitation of several roads across the local government area. They include a ten kilometer twin Hills, Renwienku – Katumai road linking Irigwe and Rukuba Chiefdoms. 15.3Km Gurum – Assak – Bomo road linking Pengana and Rukuba Chiefdoms, 11.6Km Assak – Jebbu Bassa road linking Buhit and Assak Wards, 9km Rimi – Bakin Kogi road linking the two wards in Pengana Chiefdom.
Apart from the rural roads which are capable of turning around the economy of the people, the chairman made efforts to provide electricity to villages that had been in darkness. Hon Racha said, “It is obvious that the resources of the local government is very low and we will not be able to provide electricity to all the communities in need, hence we decided to carry out such social services one in each of the three chiefdoms in the local government. In Irigwe Chiefdom we installed a transformer at Te’egbe to serve the electricity needs people of the areas, in Pengana Chiefdom a transformer was installed at Angwan Gabar in Jengre. And in Rukuba Chiefdom, we installed a transformer at Dutsen Kurra.
The administration has also, within the one year in office made concerted efforts to solve the problem of scarcity of water to the people. According to Hon Racha, “A total of nine borehole projects were executed across the local government, each of the three chiefdoms having three. That of Pengana Chiefdom is located at LEA Primary school Lungu-Katako in Kadamo ward, Jengre market in Jengre ward and the third one is in Mista Ali market.
In Rukuba Chiefdom, the three boreholes can be found in Abanizara, Nyakala and Uranden villages. While those of Irigwe Chiefdom are located at GSS Kwall, PHC Te’egbe and Chinye villages respectively.
Besides, the administration secured two additional boreholes from the federal ministry of water resources, Abuja. The two boreholes are located at Baginji vegetable market and Miango market in Zobwo ward. In addition, the administration also secured two other water project from the federal government water project, the included the abandoned Minago – Kwall Water Dam Project. The water dam project has dual advantage to the people; for irrigation and hydro-electric power generation. The second one is the Ariri earth dam project located at Ariri in Irigwe Chiefdom.
The executive chairman has also showed serious concern in the well being of citizens of the local government with series of health program. For instance, the chairman re-introduced the monthly sanitation exercise in the local government as the chairman took over the supervision of the monthly exercise from house to house. The comatose drug revolving loan has been fully revived and made functional to service the drug needs of the people. In addition, the local government had collaborated with the state ministry of health for massive distribution of treated mosquito nets to all primary school pupil and pregnant women to reduce the scourge of malaria in the rural communities.
Leader of the local government legislative council, Hon. Rahila Yahaya Hamza while responding to the scorecard presented by Hon Racha at the one anniversary dinner said, “The record of achievement presented by the executive chairman was made possible through a combine efforts of the executive and legislative council. She added that the working relationship between the two arm of government have been smooth due to the leadership quality and understanding of the executive chairman.
She appeal to citizens of the local government to support the administration and remain peaceful, law abiding so as the guarantee more benefiting projects.
Investors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called on the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari to scrap the land swap policy which was introduced by the FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohommed, saying that the policy is against the interest of the natives and residents of the territory.
The Chairman of Zaudan Pazeri Property Owners’ Association, Elder Friday Ugoala, who spoke on behalf of residents of the FCT at a news conference in Abuja, said if the land swap is allowed to continue, the rate of accommodation or services that would arise from it will be beyond the reach of the common Nigerian who resides in the capital city.
According to Ugoala, if the land swap policy is scrapped, the average Nigerian will have hope to acquire land and build it at his own pace. He debunked the notion that the FCT is not meant for everybody, adding that they will have the hope of having a home to stay in the FCT.
“Also, the land swap policy is against the natives of the FCT, because, many of them would be sent out of their ancestral communities for strangers to come and occupy, all in the name of land swap. The truth is that the greatest humiliation you can give to a man is to send him out of his ancestral home, where his ancestors were buried. This is not right.
“If the land swap policy is not scrapped, I do not know how many of the natives can afford the price the estate developers would place their houses when constructed, because most of them would be out to make money with their structures, without considering if the common man could afford it or not. The policy is a conduit for corruption, because it encourages corruption and injustice.
“There are many cases where individuals have been awarded plots of land, just for the fact that their files are being processed in the FCDA office. The next thing is that they jump upon allocation and they hand it over, saying that it has been swapped. There is capital vote approved for the FCT Administration, but the logic they gave for the land swap is that it is saving the government the cost of infrastructure, whereas there is budget for infrastructure.
“Within this period of land swap, what new places and special things have been done with the fund that is supposed to have been saved as a result of land swap? We have not noticed tangible achievement in terms of saving. So the land swap is encouraging corruption,” he said.
Any improvement on little Hope Dim-long’s left eye since February when we published her story?
Well, sort of.
The three-year-old was playing with a mate near her house in Plateau State when her partner accidentally struck her in the eye with an object. Since then Hope has been in danger of not only losing the eye; she has also been screaming due to the pain. Her parents said they could not afford a surgery.
Luck came her way. Although she was earlier scheduled to be taken to her grandmother, Hope managed to join her schoolmates to receive Senator Gyang Pwajok, who was on a campaign tour of Jos North, the district he represents at the Senate. The lawmaker was the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the April 11election.
As Pwajok passed by, he reportedly noticed little Hope among the children and asked what happened to her left eye.
Thereafter, the lawmaker arranged that the girl be taken to hospital for treatment on his account.
He had surgery in mind, but medical advice in Jos, the state capital, required that Hope be first treated with medication for some time before the surgery.
The eye specialists discovered that Hope’s case had become complicated due to long delay in seeking medical attention. They recommended that before the surgery, the girl be placed on certain drugs for a period of four months before the surgery.
So, Hope is receiving treatment preparatory to the surgical procedure.
Her mother Christiana, the entire family and the school management are full of gratitude to Senator Pwajok.
Mrs Christiana Dimlong said, “The coming of Senator Pwajok is like a miracle to me; he is God-sent. I’ve hardly slept since the accident, I keep praying for help because it is beyond my power. Because of the psychological trauma I was passing through over my daughter’s case, her grandmother was to come and pick her to the village. But God caused a delay so that divine help will come. If not for God, the girl would have been taken away and the Senator would not have met her, but God had arranged it to happen this way for her to get help, so I thank God. I thank Senator Pwajok, I never knew the senator before now; he has touched my life and that of my daughter and the entire family.
With about a month to the handover date, President Goodluck Jonathan has started to receive dignitaries on a thank-you and farewell visits from beyond the national borders.
One of the first visitors was President Alassane Ouattara of Cote d’Ivoire who was at the Presidential Villa on Monday last week to thank him for all the support he has given him and his country in the past five years.
Briefing journalists after the closed-door meeting, Ouattara, who was recounting Jonathan’s role that ensured Ouattara took over from Laurent Gbagbo who was hanging onto power in 2010 in Cote d’Ivoire, became a bit emotional as the two leaders managed to fight back tears during the session.
He was particularly grateful that Jonathan, who was Nigeria’s Acting President five years ago could mobilise other West African leaders to oust Laurent Gbagbo, who had refused to relinquish power after losing the presidential election.
Besides commending Jonathan for shunning replay of the Gbagbo experience in Nigeria, he was happy that bloodshed was averted in the country as Jonathan peacefully conceded defeat to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
Gbagbo’s refusal to concede defeat to him after the presidential election, he said, resulted in a four-month civil war in which over 3, 000 people lost their lives.
He said: “So, I wanted to tell you our appreciation over the leadership we have received from you during these years. You know that about five years ago, Cote d’Ivoire had elections and I won the election and the former president decided not to leave office. This brought the civil war and 3,000 people were killed.”
“We were put in a hotel for protection by the United Nations for four and a half months. We were there without food because the hotel was guarded by the president’s men. It was only after four and a half months of imprisonment in that hotel that finally we were able to leave the hotel; after the former president quit and finally left office for me.”
“I am saying this to stress that what happened in Nigeria is a lesson to all of us. Please, accept my admiration. I think that avoiding violence, avoiding civil war when we have elections in Africa should be our utmost objective,” he said.
Continuing, he said: “People are more important than power and Mr. President, my good friend, I am not surprised about what you did and I wanted to congratulate you, congratulate the Nigerian people and congratulate the President-elect.
“My brother, you have shown support to me during the difficult years I went through, you have shown friendship to me all these years. So, I want to tell you thank you.” he added.
The following day, Tuesday, the Ghanaian President, John Mahama, who is also the chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also, visited President Jonathan to commend him on behalf of ECOWAS for his statesmanship in conceding defeat to Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.
He said: “I also took the opportunity to commend him for the statesmanship that was displayed after the election. We all knew that he congratulated the president-elect, Gen. Buhari after the election realities and he conceded. I feel that was a very great sign of maturity and has earned the respect of all Nigerians and the respect of the international community for all what he did.
“We expect a smooth transition and possibly the role that Nigeria plays in the ECOWAS being the biggest economy not only in our sub-region but also in the whole continent.
“Of course there is a special relationship that exists between Nigeria and Ghana too and so, in my second heart as the President of Ghana, I wish to congratulate our brothers and sisters in Nigeria on what has been a very good election,” he said.
To ensure continued support from Nigeria after May 29, these leaders did not fail to seek audience with the President-elect, Gen. Buhari, during their visits.
Jonathan and Buhari, no doubt, will continue to receive such visits as the D-day approaches.
And Jonathan stings
Barely 10 minutes after bidding the Ghanaian President, John Mahama, farewell from the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday the defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan at the March 28 Presidential elections recorded its first casualty.
The President, through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, announced the sack of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba from office.
The tone of the statement showed that the Presidency was really angry with the IGP as similar statements normally avoid the use of the word ‘sack’.
Although no reason was given in the statement for the sack, his exit was said not to be unconnected with the role he was said to have played during the 2015 general elections.
It is not clear whether the President, in the coming days, will also use his sledge hammer on politicians in his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who were believed to have played roles that had adversely affected his re-election bid.
Residents of Dutse Sokale in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to the chairman of the council, Hon. Peter Yohanna to construct feeder roads in the community, in order to alleviate their suffering.
Mr. Simon Chukwu, one of the residents who spoke with our reporter lamented that state of the roads in the community is unbearable, as most of the residents suffered immeasurably.
According to Chukwu, residents of the community have made countless appeals to the leadership of the council to provide infrastructural development for the people in the community, but not much has been done in that regard, apart from the improved power supply.
“We really need good feeder roads in this community, because, without it, life is unbearable. Car owners in this community repair their cars on weekly basis because of the bad roads and they have no choice, since they live in the community.
“Whenever it rains, the entire community will be in mess, to the extent that you will not be able to identify where the road is or where the pits which gully erosion has constructed are. Now that the rain is about to start, we are afraid because of the challenges we will experience,” he said.
Isah Ishiaku, a motorcycle operator in Dutse Sokale explained that due to the deplorable state of the roads in the community, most of them get scared to ply the roads when it rains, because they often fall off from their bikes with passengers.
“The truth is that the best thing the chairman, Hon. Peter Yohanna can do for us now is for him to give us good roads in this community. If the roads are constructed, we will have peace of mind to carry our passengers to their destinations without fear of falling into the mud,” he said.
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) indigenes have threatened to close down South African businesses operating in the nation’s capital as a reprisal for the Xenophobic attacks in that country.
The group has given the South African Government 48 hours to apologise to Nigerians and other nationals of African countries for the wanton killings during the xenophobic attack.
The group also demanded that concrete steps be taken by the South African authority to tackle the menace.
The threat was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the FCT Residents Association meeting in collaboration with some traditional rulers in the territory, which was jointly signed by the Secretary-General of the Forum, Comrade Yunusa Yusuf and the Eze Igbo of Abuja, His Royal Highness (HRH) Ibe Nwosu and made available to reporters.
The natives stressed that Africans must integrate as a continent to battle the xenophobic attack in South Africa. They said: “We pledge to remain our brother’s keeper irrespective of nations, tribes and tongues and we will continue to act as such within the limit of our laws and international conventions.
“That there have been relentless attempts by the South African Government to undermine peace in the continent and replace it with a different ideology based on xenophobia. We are confident that the Federal Government of Nigeria will handle the situation in South Africa at the international level.
“That we the host community of multi-nationals including South Africa business community, are not happy with the onslaught in South Africa on flimsy and baseless guise of xenophobia.
“That, having studied the situation in South Africa vis-a-vis the trauma our brothers are subjected to in the past weeks, we have resolved to give the South African Authority Forty Eight (48) hour’s ultimatum to apologise to Nigerians and other nationals of other African countries for the wanton killings and destruction of property of other nationals resident in South Africa.
“That failure to come up with permanent solution within the stipulated 48 hours ultimatum, drastic measures, including attacks on the business interests of South Africa in the Federal Capital Territory will be ruthlessly carried out as a reprisal to the ongoing xenophobia attacks.
“That the business interests of South Africa operating in the Federal Capital Territory listed for attack include but not limited to Shoprite, DSTV, Barcelos, Pick ‘n’ Pay, Spar, Steer, MTN, Debonairs, Hungry Lion and Mr. Price, among others”
The group regretted that despite that South Africa businesses operating in the FCT have continued to marginalise Abuja natives in area of employment, Abuja natives have allowed them to operate without intimidation from any quarters, stressing that the South African Government should forthwith demonstrate the spirit of brotherhood towards other nationals resident in South Africa or face the consequences.will be ruthlessly carried out as a reprisal to the ongoing xenophobia attacks
