The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Stepping into Maku’s shoes

    The Minister of State II for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed last Wednesday  took over the weekly post-Federal Executive Council (FEC) briefing of journalists.

    The immediate past Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who resigned his position to contest the governorship election in Nasarawa State, was saddled with the responsibility of leading some ministers to the weekly briefing.

    But Nurudeen Mohammed, who was named as the Supervising Minister of Information, replaced Maku last Wednesday and had his first session with State House correspondents.

    He led three ministers to the briefing who included the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka, Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Steve Oru and Supervising Minister of Health, Khaliru Alhassan.

    Nurudeen introduced another style during the briefing which was remarkably different from the way Maku handled his briefings.

    Although his style, initially divided journalists in the State House, but at the end, most of them believed that it was better as it will prevent repetitions and save time.

    His style of briefing was straight forward as he began the briefing by first reading out all the resolutions and contracts approved by FEC that day and then moved straight to the question and answer session.

    He allowed the concerned ministers to respond to questions raised by journalists on the resolutions and the projects approved by the Council.

    Maku’s style, over the years, had been first going through the resolutions and projects approved by the council himself and then allowed the concerned ministers to make remark again on the projects before allowing journalists to ask questions which will be answered by the concerned ministers.

    Journalists, during Maku’s tenure, had wanted either the concerned minister for any particular project approved at the FEC meeting be allowed to speak alone on the issue before question and answer session or Maku to just go through the resolutions and approvals and move straight to question and answer session.

    Those, who initially kicked against Nurudeen’s style, last Wednesday, felt that a minister whose project was approved by FEC may not have the opportunity to say something about the project when no question is asked by journalists on the project during the briefing.

    They wanted a situation where they could get television shots of each minister while speaking at the briefing session.

    But at the end of the briefing, the consensus among journalists was that Nurudeen’s style was straight to the point and will save production time.

     

    Seven ministers’exit: what next?

     As at Monday last week, it was not very clear how many of the seven ministers, who indicated interest to resign from the cabinet for further political ambitions had tendered official letter to that effect.

    The ministers, who indicated interest to leave the cabinet a fortnight ago, included Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortum, Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Dairu Dickson Ishiaku and Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu.

    But the picture concerning their exit became clearer last Wednesday as none of the seven ministers showed up for the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

    While announcing the names of the seven ministers a fortnight ago, President Goodluck Jonathan had given them the grace to reconsider their decision up till Monday, October 20, 2014.

    Jonathan had said: “But if they change their plans, they will continue to be with us. But after receiving their letters and they change their minds, it will be too late. So, if they have to change their minds, they have to change their minds before sending the letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.”

    With the doors now shot against them, they have no option than to face the governorship race ahead of them.

    Lobbying for their replacement is already on top gear even though President Jonathan had, on Wednesday last week announced Supervising Ministers for the concerned portfolios, except for Minister of State for Education, where the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs I, Prof. Viola Onwuliri was moved to as substantive minister.

    The President, in the next few days, is expected to send the names of new ministerial nominees, who will take charge of the portfolios in substantive capacity, to the Senate for consideration and confirmation.

     

    Raising ‘Super Eagles’ from agriculture

    It is a common practice in schools for a teacher to punish a student who has committed an offence by sending him or her to work on the school farms.

    The punishment could be to weed the farm or to plant crops or be involved in the process of harvesting the crops.

    At the end of the day, the teachers are the main beneficiaries of the final output from the school farms, while many students who have undergone such punishment only see agriculture as punishment.

    But while flagging off the National Schools Agriculture Programme (NSAP) at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja on Monday last week, President Goodluck Jonathan vowed to change such perception.

    Everything, he said, will be done for secondary school students not only to see agriculture as a business and means of livelihood, but he also hoped to see the students grow to be ‘Super Eagles’ in the league of Aliko Dangote and Tony Elumelu, who are investing massively in agriculture.

    He also looks forward to a situation where the secondary school students will not rely on cutlasses and hoes but use tractors and other modern tools in the school farms.

    This is definitely a tall order and I know Nigerians are anxiously praying and waiting for such revolution in agriculture to, at least, ensure food security and to tackle the issue of unemployment among the teeming youths.

  • ‘Niger’s business climate, among Nigeria’s best’

    Niger State Government has held an Investment Summit aimed at transforming the state into an investment giant. Danladi Ndayebo, the state’s Commissioner for Information, speaks with JIDE ORINTUNSIN on the outcome of the summit, among other issues.  Excerpts

    The first Niger State Investment Climate Summit has just ended. How would you assess the summit?

    The summit was a huge success. First, it recorded the kind of attendance that was unprecedented in the history of economic summits in this part of the country. Secondly, we were able to excite investors with business potential in the state and valuable tips on how they can take advantage of these opportunities.

    Specifically, we emphasised our competitive advantage in terms of land mass and the huge employment opportunities embedded in agriculture.

    So, it was on the strength of what we presented to the investors that they tabled actionable plans that would accelerate economic development in the state in the areas of agriculture/agro-allied businesses, infrastructure, roads, housing, manufacturing, employment generation and wealth creation.

    For instance, investors who have their eyes on agriculture were happy to know that the state has about 10 per cent of Nigeria’s entire land mass, of which appreciable percentage is arable. They are also aware that we have people who are friendly, hospitable and welcoming. The peaceful nature of our state also makes it an attractive investment destination.

    Why did the summit come at the twilight of your administration?

    Many have asked this question, but my answer is: Why not now?  In the last seven years, we have worked tirelessly to create a favourable climate for doing business. We have repositioned land administration in a way that has fast-tracked the processes leading to the issuance of Certificates of Occupancy. We have also improved on the way we administer taxes as they concern investors.

    What this means is that big-time businessmen who come to Niger State would enjoy tax incentives which may sometimes include outright waivers, depending on the volume of the investment. Contract enforcement and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) centres have also been established so that good investments are not frustrated by unnecessary litigations.

    So, these are some of the deliberate steps that we took in order to increase the flow of investments into the state. Without the kind of foundation that we have laid down, all our competitive advantages that we have such as intimidating land mass will amount to nothing.

    What major policy reforms has the state embarked upon in order to build the kind of business environment that would attract the multi-billion Naira investments you have talked about?

    I have just listed some of the incentives to include the repositioning of land administration which has made issuance of C of O very easy. I have also mentioned another area which has to do with tax administration. Apart from those, the state has a comprehensive package which has made Niger State one of the best investment destinations in the country.

    Currently, we have all the laws that encourage private sector participation in the development of the state’s economy. We now have the Fiscal Responsibility Law and the Public Procurement Law which are a set of rules which ensures sound financial management, greater transparency and accountability in public finance.

    Also, we have the Small and Medium Enterprises/Micro-finance Agency Law which has ensured a smooth beginning of micro-finance banks and small businesses in the state.

    Our Commodity and Export Promotion Agency, which we created through an Act of the Niger State House of Assembly, is also doing excellently well. But the Niger State One Stop Investment Centre is the icing on the cake. We have been able to use the agency to put forward our investment potential in our priority areas of agriculture, solid minerals, tourism, transportation and energy.

    Before now, various agencies of government had made efforts to attract businesses to the state. How would you assess those investment drives?

    Recall that Niger State is among the five states where Nigeria’s foremost industrialist Aliko Dangote has acquired farmlands for commercial production of rice. I am sure you have not forgotten that part of the agreement requires that Dangote Group would establish two modern rice mills in Niger State, each with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice. One of the implications of this is that thousands of jobs will be provided for our young people.

    Only recently, a private company indicated interest in investing over N1.6 billion in the establishment of shear butter factory in Mokwa Local Government Area. We have since met our own part of the bargain, which is the provision of 20 hectares of land for the firm.

    On completion, the factory would engage about 10,000 people and would generate an average of N10 million monthly. So, no one needs to be told that these and other businesses that would soon take off in the state will be of immense benefit to the people of Niger State.

    Does that indicate that the state is giving impetus to agriculture only where it has competitive advantage?

    Agriculture is being given priority attention because it is our competitive advantage. But we have other priority sectors where the state government has made huge investments in order to attract the right kind of businesses.

    In the area of tourism for instance, the state has 65 tourist sites which if properly harnessed, will spin a lot of money for the state. Popular among our tourist sites are Zuma Rock, Kainji Lake National Park, Gurara Waterfalls, Baro Empire Hills, Mungo Park Cenotaph and the Zungeru Colonial Ruins.

    In the area of energy, it is common knowledge that Niger State houses the three hydro-electric power stations in the country, with the fourth under construction in Zungeru. We have several other opportunities in the areas of mini-hydro power projects, municipal waste-to-power projects and rural electrification/ distribution projects.

    Niger State also has huge investment potential in the area of solid minerals. We have gold, beryl (light blue honey), amethyst, tourmalines, quartz and other minerals in commercial quantities.

    How do you intend to consolidate on these achievements in order to further move the state forward?

    The Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu administration has done a lot to better the lot of its people and this cut across all the critical sectors of the state’s economy. We shall continue to do all the things that have made Niger State a home for all. We shall continue to stamp our seal of excellence in all spheres of human endeavour so that whoever comes to the state would want to live here forever.

    For instance, we will consolidate on our landmark achievements in the area of agriculture. From 2007 to date, we procured 400 units of tractors which we distributed to the Tractor Hiring Units Implementation Programme in the 25 local government areas to boost agricultural production and revitalised agricultural extension infrastructure by renovating nine centres across the state. We have also distributed 100 motorcycles to extension workers in order to facilitate their movements. This has given meaning to the lives of our rural farmers and would be sustained.

    We also established the Niger Rice Investment Consortium (NSRIC) Project to boost rice production and position Niger State as the major producer of high quality rice in the country. To get the project started, we established and equipped five Agricultural Equipment Hiring Centres of the NSRIC Project in the rice producing communities of Doko, Jima, Mambe, Ndaloke and Gaba.

    Irrigation programme has also enjoyed a boost with the reactivation of 16 schemes across the state to boost all-year-farming. We have also registered over 270,000 farmers under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES).

    It is because of our modest efforts that the state was selected as one of four additional phase II states for the implementation of the Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP II) in collaboration with the World Bank and French Development Agency.

    Our healthcare delivery services are also among the best. In the past seven-and-a-half years, we have made tremendous progress in the area of healthcare delivery. We have been providing free medical services for children under five, pregnant women (up to 40 days post-delivery) and the aged over 70 years of age.

    We have constructed and equipped three modern, hi-tech general hospitals in the three senatorial zones located at Gulu, Sabon Wuse and Nasko. Government has also embarked on the construction of 134-bed neo-natal and maternity wings as part of the expansion of Minna General Hospital (with funding support from SURE-P Special Projects Directorate).

    Between 2007 and now, we have constructed over 200 primary health care centres in partnership with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) office, aside the renovation of all existing general hospitals and primary health care centres.

    Some rural health centres were also upgraded to the status of general hospitals. They are General Hospital Kutigi, General Hospital Agaie and Lemu General Hospital.

    The current administration has also introduced Ward Development Project. It is a novel initiative which has since become iconic and a model to other states.

    Under the project, funds are allocated to the 274 wards on a monthly basis and a committee of selected persons superintend over a forum where the entire community agreed on projects of their choice. This has given a huge sense of belonging to the people at the grassroots.

  • ‘Kwankwaso is qualified to run for president’

    ‘Kwankwaso is qualified to run for president’

    Subsequent to a possible failure in efforts to broker consensus among the contending presidential aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is set to declare his intention to contest the election on the platform of the party on Thursday.

    Our correspondent gathered that the delay in the declaration of the presidential ambition by General Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Kwankwaso may possibly not be unconnected with efforts to get one of them to step down for the other.

    Both aspirants hail from the North West zone of the country which is believed to have the largest number of registered voters in the country.

    A chieftain of the APC and one of the campaign coordinators of Governor Kwankwaso, Chief Olisaemeka Akamukali, said baring any change in plan and any unforeseen circumstances, Governor Kwankwaso had concluded plans to publicly declare his presidential ambition on October 23.

    He revealed that after a nation-wide consultation with party leaders and other political stakeholders regarding the presidential election, Kwankwaso has decided to throw his cap into the ring.

    Akamukali, hinted that the governor might have delayed the kick-off of his campaign due to pressures to yield ground to General Buhari, stressing that rather than ask the governor to step down, it is the former Head of State that should make way for a younger and more vibrant candidate in line with the need for generational shift.

    To Akamukali, it is wrong for anybody to regard the governor as a dark-horse in the contest, adding that Governor Kwankwaso has had long years of experience in politics; beginning from 1991 when he emerged as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

    He said: “Kwankwaso has long years of experience in politics. He has been a parliamentarian, a governor and two-time minister. When he contested the governorship election in Kano State and lost, he congratulated the winner and waited for eight years before staging a come-back.

    “The governor is a grassroots politician and one who carries his followers along in his undertakings. Today, many people describe him as a dark-horse in the presidential contest. This notion is wrong because many politicians, especially in the PDP, do not like what is happening in their party.

    “Remember he was once a member of the group of seven governors who protested the goings-on in his former party. I will not be surprised if many of them still in the PDP will want to support his aspiration to become President.”

    Akamukali dismissed claims that the former Nigerian leader, General Buhari was in control of Kano State, even as he pointed out that Kwankwaso as governor, is in total control of the party structures and commands the loyalty of most party men there.

    He said if a politician’s pedigree is to be used as a yardstick, the governor stands out tall having transformed Kano State beyond all expectations, saying, “yes the governor might be a dark-horse because of the fact that he has never contested for the position of president before.

    “But if as President Jonathan was regarded as the dark-horse before the 2011 general elections among other aspirants like Atiku, General Ibrahim Babangida and Ibrahim Gusau and he later triumphed, then being a dark-horse can be to Kwankwaso’s advantage.

    “We want a change in this country. We want a president who is not a man that was hand-picked by a group of people and who will be held in bondage as it is happening today.

    “The issue of anointing candidates for elections has been rejected by the APC and that is why the party insisted that there shall be primaries that must be seen to be transparent. The fears of some of the aspirants may be due to their previous experiences where they never faced competitive primaries to emerge as party candidates.

    “That is why such people are pushing for consensus. Most party members want things done differently from what the PDP is doing. We must have a transparent primary.

    “I can tell you that Kwankwaso has built a lot of bridges across the political divide. Remember, he came into the House of Representatives as a member of the then Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1991 and became Deputy Speaker.”

    He maintained that both the National Leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, party’s National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun-Odigie and former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar were together in the SDP with Governor Kwankwaso, adding that he is still retaining the affinity he had with the political network.

    Akamukali disclosed that one factor that favours Kwankwaso is that he always carries his followers along in whatever he does. He said: “One other factor that is considered additional strength to the Kano State Governor is that whereas he has solid home-base support, his co-contestants such as Atiku and Buhari could not boast of being in control of the structures of the party in their home states.

    “From the angle of qualification, the constitution is very clear on this. A man who has a doctorate degree in Engineering, academically is qualified, a man who has not been convicted by any competent court, a man whom the EFCC and other Federal Government anti-graft agencies have investigated and nothing was found against him is eminently qualified to contest for the president of the country,” Akamukali said.

  • Cholera kills 70 displaced persons

    Cholera kills 70 displaced persons

    More than 70 Tiv victims of Fulani attacks are said to have died in the internally displaced persons (IDPs) camp in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State from measles and cholera epidemic. The camp spokesman, Emmanuel Kegh, told reporters that the outbreak resulted from the unkempt condition of the camp. He also expressed fears of possible outbreak of the Ebola virus disease if the camp’s sanitary state deteriorated further.

    Some eyewitnesses revealed that most of the deceased died because of unbearable suffering.

    Of the dead, 50 are children.

    The lives of 13 women who were delivered of their babies, including their children, are said to be in danger.

    Many of the children appear malnourished. They were hungry and needed food and medical care. The mothers equally needed not just food but balanced diet in order to regain strength and breastfeed their children. But where is the food? The displaced persons are really starving.

    So, besides the killer diseases, the camp spokesman said, the people could “easily die” due to lack of food, medicare and shelter. A cursory look at the people revealed that most of them are physically and psychologically traumatised.

    Fate has been cruel to the Tiv people of Taraba State. They have been killed in thousands and injured in hundreds of thousands in Ibi, Wukari, Gassol, Gashaka and Bali local government areas by their Fulani neighbours.

    Their farmers are the worst hit by persistent attacks by the Fulani marauders. The Tiv people, in their hundreds of thousands, have been chased out of their homes and their homes and farmlands destroyed by their attackers.

    In the camp, the victims cut the picture of people emotionally wrecked and dehumanised.

    “But it was not their fault that they were quartered in parts of Taraba State. Like every other people, they came from somewhere to settle there,” an observer said.

    The traditional ruler of the Tiv community in Bali, Chief David Gbaar, told reporters at the camp that the death toll may increase if nothing is done urgently. He said: “Our people have continued to die in the camp because the state government has not come to our aid. Life here has been painful and horrible.”

    From all indications, peace is still elusive in Bali and other parts of Taraba State where members of Tiv communities are found.

    Our correspondent gathered that despite government’s pleas for peace, Fulani herdsmen were still killing and maiming Tiv people in the rural areas.

    Security operatives are seen patrolling the troubled towns in Hilux pick-up vans provided by the Acting Governor, Garba Umar, even as Fulani hostilities against Tiv communities have continued unchecked in the remote settlements.

    One of the elderly displaced persons in the camp, Mr. Samson Augustine said they want to return to their homes but their houses had either been burnt or occupied by Fulani herdsmen, adding that their attackers were still on the prowl to launch further attacks on them. It was pathetic listening to his story as he sounded emotionally and physically ruined.

    In an emotion-laden voice, Augustine said: “The police are not doing what is expected of them. Apart from killing our people, the Fulani have taken over our houses and our farmlands. Their cows are now grazing on our farm crops and the government is not able to stop them.”

    Chief Gbaar said in Bali alone, 126,000 Tiv people have been displaced. He added that those in the camp were still there because they do not know or have anywhere to go.

    The Chairman of Bali Local Government Area, Andy Yerima, confirmed reports of the outbreak of diseases in the camp and the loss of “several lives.”

    He said his efforts in procuring drugs for the displaced people have saved the lives of many Tiv in the camp.

    Yerima noted that the state government alone cannot shoulder the responsibilities of providing for the people in the camp. He urged the Federal Government to complement the efforts of the state government by making available adequate relief materials for the persons in the IDPs camp.

  • ‘We are committed to improving people’s welfare’

    The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Micah Jiba has urged residents of the council to be patient and support his administration to enable him to deliver dividends of democracy to them.

    Hon. Jiba, who made the appeal while speaking with newsmen, said his administration has not completed projects that would improve the lives of people, saying that there are more projects to be put in place which would enhance the living standards of the residents.

    According to Jiba, government that means well for the people does not stop delivering dividends of democracy to its people until the last day of its administration, adding that his desire was to improve on the living standard of the people the best way possible.

    “There are many people that we are yet to reach in the council, mostly at the rural areas. I believe that with the remaining period before the administration’s tenure elapses, we will be able to reach out to them. We will ensure that nobody is left out as government works hard to improve the standard of living of the people.

    “My desire is to reduce poverty among the people at the rural areas to the minimum. They are part of this administration and they need us to improve their living standard.

    “That is why we always go back to our people to find out what they need. If they tell us their immediate needs, we will ensure that we provide them for them. That is what we are still doing because; we have to satisfy our people. We cannot afford to disappoint them,” he said.

    In a related development, Hon. Jiba has vowed to make local government areas in Nigeria autonomous, if given the mandate to become the next National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON).

    Hon. Jiba, who spoke during a press briefing in Abuja, said he did not see the reason for local government, which is part of the three tiers of government, cannot be autonomous, since over 70 per cent of Nigerians are from the grassroots and the local government.

  • Minister pledges commitment to Abuja Master Plan

    Minister pledges commitment to Abuja Master Plan

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has vowed to implement Abuja original Master Plan even if it results in stepping on toes.

    Senator Mohammed said the FCT Administration is committed to correcting all distortions on the Abuja Master Plan.

    He warned that all encroachments into lands originally mapped out in the Master Plan must be reversed, adding that Abuja will not be allowed to go the way of other cities in the country.

    Senator Mohammed stated this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting.

    In a statement issued by the Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, he said when identified and recovered, all plots encroached into will be deed in the names of respective secretariats, departments and agencies (SDAs).

    The FCT Executive Committee also approved the immediate set up of a committee to identify all violations on the Abuja Master Plan in order to reverse such violations.

    The committee is headed by the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mr. Adamu Ismaila. Other members of the committee are the FCT Directors of Land Administration, Development Control, Abuja Geographic Information System, Urban and Regional Planning, Mapping and Survey, Parks and Recreation as well as representatives of the FCT Transportation Secretariat and Social Development Secretariat.

    The minister noted that President Goodluck Jonathan had expressed concern over the unwarranted violations of Abuja Master Plan and directed that such encroachments should be reversed as they affect the Abuja Master Plan.

    He instructed the committee to identify all the violations and extent of the violations in order to urgently remedy them because, he said, no part of the Abuja Master Plan would be compromised.

    He emphasised that the committee’s job is key to restoring the Abuja Master Plan, even as he urged members of the committee to take the assignment seriously by giving it the attention it deserves.

  • FCTA spends N4.4b on mass transit

    FCTA spends N4.4b on mass transit

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed has said that the FCT Administration has spent N4.4 billion as intervention fund for the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company (AUMTCO) in five years.

    Mohammed spoke during the FCT Executive Committee meeting.

    The minister recalled that the Abuja Investment Company Limited has spent N1.6 billion on similar intervention from 2007 to date, adding that a total of N6 billion has so far been spent on the transport company through the years.

    According to the statement issued by the Assistant Director/Chief Press Secretary to the FCT Minister, Muhammad Sule, Senator Mohammed reiterated that with the total expenditure of N4.4 billion as intervention on the AUMTCO during his administration, the organisation should live up to the expectations of the government, particularly the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Meanwhile, the FCT Executive Council has approved, in principle, new package of subsidy for the Abuja Mass Transit Corridors (Operations and Maintenance), even as it has set up a committee to streamline, formalise and structure the package for its final passage.

    The FCT Permanent Secretary, Mr. John Obinna Chukwu, heads the 8-member committee. Other members of the committee include the Group Managing Director of Abuja Investment Company, FCT Transport Secretary, Coordinator,

    AIIC, the FCT Directors of Treasury, Monitoring and Inspection, Satellite Towns Development as well as Economic Planning, Research and Statistics who serves as secretary.

    The minister said no modern city in the developed and developing world runs a successful, seamless and efficient mass transit system without subsidising it.

    According to him, the FCT Administration will provide yearly budgetary allocations to fund provision of gas, direct fixing, subventions, subsidy on tickets; purchase of high capacity mass transit vehicles and maintenance of the operating fleet.

    He directed that all transport-related plots illegally encroached upon should be immediately recovered, deed and titled in the name of the FCT Transportation Secretariat.

    “The FCT Administration will set up necessary machinery to separate the subsidy policy options for legal declaration and administrative processes,” he said.

  • ’Over 1.6m Nigerians are displaced’

    Worried by the activities of insurgents in the North-eastern part of the country which have resulted in the displacement of over 1.5 million Nigerians, a group, Social Welfare Network Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has suggested that government should introduce air bombardment to dislodge the insurgents.

    This was revealed in Abuja by the National Coordinator of the NGO, Emmanuel Osemeka.

    Osemeka also disclosed that internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps don’t have the capacity to cater for the needs of displaced persons.

    Lamenting the living condition of IDPs, the group said displaced persons lack water, clothing, light, hospital and education.

    Osemeka said: “Our organisation has just concluded an assessment tour of internally displaced persons’ camps and internally displaced persons’ settlements in the states and we can say conservatively that we have over 1.6 million internally displaced persons scattered across four states.

    “We have about 40,000 in Adamawa and Borno. As a whole, we have an estimated 670,000 and 75 per cent of them are women and children. In Yobe State, it is about 80,000. We don’t have the exact figure yet but you know government figures are reduced.

    “In Gombe State where majority of the people who live within the fringes of the states have relocated to, especially in Akko Local Government Area, the figure is over 120,000 which makes the figure more than a million.

    The coordinator, who described the condition of the IDPs as pathetic said: “The truth is that people are angry and they feel they are not part of this society. That is why they can try to fight the society and create their own enclave.

    He, however, called on relevant authorities to provide relief materials for them. “It is time we mobilised relief materials for these people and show them love before another charlatan will come and tell them that they are hated. So, it is time we began to help them and show some level of kindness to them so that whatever it is that is going on in their head will be corrected.

    “Our indecision is inadvertently recreating another monster. It is time everybody got out of their comfort zone to help the people. We have neglected them enough. We have to look for solution. I recommend that citizen intervention begins now,” he said.

    On how to end insurgency, he said the military should use air bombardment.

    “There should have been consistent air bombardment before now. Even if it lasted for one week, the insurgents would have been dislodged so that people can go back to their homes.

    “We have the issue of human rights and also the issue of protecting the territorial integrity and of course ensuring that we don’t have colossal damage. But the truth is that we will surely have colossal damage because we cannot identify the members of insurgency group except for the ones that are carrying guns and facing our military which are of insignificant number.

    “So, the military has no choice than to deploy every arsenal to end the activities of the insurgents. We cannot continue like this. We are only postponing the evil day. We have more innocent people dying and more that will die. So, it is better for us to take care of the situation now.”

  • Gone… Kaduna’s fruits market

    Gone… Kaduna’s fruits market

    The Railway Station Market in Kaduna used to be very popular for fruits and assorted food items. It was a beehive of activities where customers purchased fruits and foodstuff brought in from the southern part of the country. Owned by the Nigeria Railway Corporation, it was adjacent to the Kaduna Junction as the railway terminal in Kaduna was called.

    Residents and visitors  took pleasure in buying their goods there because the prices were relatively cheap. That was in the yesteryears.  Currently, what used to be a hub for business activities is now a den for reptiles and drug addicts. The once-busy market is now very bushy as the shops were demolished seven years ago.  The traders were given notice to quit before the market was demolished.

    The intention of the authorities of the Nigeria Railway Property Development Company (NRPDC) in demolishing the market then was to build a modern market that will accommodate more traders. A temporary site had to be provided for some of the traders, while others were left to their fate.

    Our correspondents gathered that several meetings were held with the traders before they agreed to vacate the place, with a promise that they would be the first beneficiaries of the stalls when the market is built.

    Nowadays, there is concern over the safety of the traders and their goods, especially when it rains. Many of the traders who could not find space in the temporary place provided for traders beside the roundabout are forced to display their goods, including perishable ones such as garri, in the open and beside the road.

    The traders are at the mercy of men of the Kaduna Environmental Protection Agency (KEPA), even as they stand the risk of being involved in accidents. Interestingly, the Kaduna Railway Station Market was not only the most popular market in Kaduna State; it was a major foodstuff market in Northern Nigeria. Apparently, because of its strategic location near the railway station, the market was always the first stopping point for foodstuff, particularly yam and fruits from the southern part of the country.

    Even though trading activities are still carried out around the area, the market is currently a shadow of itself. Visitors to the market would weep for the state of abandonment of a once-viable market and the fact that prices of commodities are no longer different from what obtains in other markets after its demolition.

    Many of the traders who once made brisk businesses in the market now depend on the patronage of motorists as they had to display their wares by the roadside. Some of them who spoke to our correspondents said they were not surprised that the market was demolished, even as they said they didn’t expect that they will stay more than a year selling by the roadside.

    A fruit seller, Mrs. Helen Idoko, claimed that her mother was selling foodstuffs inside the market when she (Helen) was in secondary school, adding that there were threats to demolish the market while they were there.

    “I have been selling food items in the market with my mother for several years. Every year, those who are in charge of the market would tell us that they wanted to demolish the market. At first, the buildings were made of zinc. After some years, they said everybody should build with block. Later, they demolished the market and told us that they would build it and share the stalls to everybody. But, up till now, nothing has happened. “

    “First, they said Aliko Dangote bought the place. After some weeks, Dangote denied buying the place. Then they said a former governor of the state bought it. But we are not  sure of who the buyer is. Since then, however,  we have been prevented from entering the market. We don’t have anything to do with the Railway Corporation Market again.”

    She lamented that they had lost customers since the market was demolished. Before the demolition, people came from all parts of Kaduna to patronise traders at the Railway Station Market.

    Tuesdays and Fridays are Station Market days. People bring goods from Niger, Kafanchan and Lafia. Yams and other food items are very cheap in the market.  But now only trains bring food items from Niger on Thursday, Sundays and Mondays.”

    Madam Anthonia Monday, who also sells by the roadside corroborated Mrs. Helen’s statement.

    She said: “I have been selling in the market for many years and in 2007. They demolished it. They told us then that they had sold the market. Some people said Dangote bought it. But, he denied it. It was later we heard that a former governor bought the land.”

    On the challenges of trading by the roadside, Mrs. Monday said: “We face many challenges on the road. For example, the men of the Kaduna Environmental Protection Agency prevent us from selling at the roadside. There is no attempt to rebuild the market, and nobody has come to tell us anything about the land.

    “Also, when it rains, we use umbrella to cover ourselves since we don’t have a shop to run to. If the rain is very heavy, we use leather to cover ourselves and leave our wares in the open. We have not experienced any form of accident.

    On the sale of the piece of land, investigations revealed that the management of the NRPDC might have sold it, but the identity of the buyer has remained unknown.

    There are three versions on the ownership of the piece of land. One is that a former governor bought the land from the management of the Nigeria Railway Corporation. Another is that Dangote bought it to build warehouses for his companies, which he denied.

    The third is that the market was  to be upgraded to a modern one. Those who hold this opinion said the management had sent a delegation to study the Jos Modern Market and the Oba Market in Benin with a view to modeling the market after one of them.

    When contacted, the management of NRPDC declined to comment on the matter. They neither confirmed nor denied the outright sale of the market and to whom.

    For now, and perhaps, several years to come, the once-busy Kaduna Railway Market may continue to be a fallow vast land breeding reptiles in the heart of Kaduna metropolis and probably serving as a hideout for criminals and drug addicts.

  • From ‘certainty’ to ‘uncertainty’

    During Wednesday last week’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, seven ministers indicated their intention to quit the cabinet in order to vie for governorship positions in their states during the 2015 general elections.

    Their intentions, as at Wednesday last week, were not expressed in writing as none of them was yet to submit a formal letter announcing his resignation from the cabinet.

    They, however, had until yesterday to formally resign from the cabinet if they have not changed their minds.

    The seven ministers are Minister of Information, Labaran Maku (Nasarawa), Minister of Health, Prof. Onyeabuchi Chukwu (Ebonyi), Minister of  State for Education, Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Samuel Ortum (Benue), Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro (Lagos), Minister of  State for Niger Delta Affairs, Dairus Ishiaku (Taraba) and Minister of Labour and Productivity, Emeka Wogu (Abia).

    While some of the ministers will slug it out with the incumbents in their states who will seek second term in office, others will contend with other powerful and influential aspirants.

    The Prof. Chukwu, who was busy fighting Ebola and managing Nigeria’s health system, could be said to have the brightest chance among the lot as the Ebonyi people and the incumbent outgoing governor, Martin Elechi had called on him to vie for the number one job in the state in 2015.

    Chukwu, who was said to have shown no interest in the Ebonyi governorship election before the endorsement, could be likened to David, the shepherd boy in the Holy Bible, who was chosen from the house of Jesse and anointed as the next King of Israel while he was busy tending his sheep in the bush. He was never one of those considered to succeed King Saul.

    The case of those resigning, who have enjoyed juicy portfolios as ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the past few years, could be likened to somebody leaving an atmosphere of certainty to a situation surrounded by uncertainties.

    If they continue as ministers, their salaries, allowances and other benefits from their exalted offices will be guaranteed while this is not so if they resign to run for governorship elections in their states.

    It is not even certain whether they will get the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) ticket to run for the elections in their states, let alone winning the governorship elections in 2015.

    The former Minister of Police Affairs, Caleb Olubolade, who resigned from the cabinet earlier for governorship election in Ekiti State, lost the ticket to Ayo Fayose.

    This, among other factors, might have made some ministers shelve their governorship  ambitions as many of them who had earlier nursed the idea of resigning their ministerial jobs to contest in their states were not among the seven names announced by President Jonathan during the FEC meeting.

    This write-up is not to say that it is wrong to be adventurous or to confront uncontrollable risks head on, since taking risks is said to be the spice of life.

    On this note, I wish all those ministers who have resigned and are ready to face the uncertainties ahead, the best of luck.