The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Council promises more drainage

    Gwagwalada Area Council has promised to construct more drainage systems in most riverside areas in order to reduce the effect of flooding.

    The chairman of the council, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin-Giri, revealed this when he visited Unguwan Dodo and Kutunku communities which were affected by flood.

    Recall that flood submerged homes and shops in some parts of Gwagwalada, leaving some of the residents helpless and homeless.

    Victims of the flood, who regretted they had lost many of their properties to the incident, had called the council’s administration to assist them.

    Giri, during the visit to the victims, warned residents against building structures along the waterways, adding that building houses along the waterways obstruct free flow of water, which he said could spell doom for them.

    “The council will facilitate the construction of drainage in those places that need them. That will help channel the flood to the right place.

    The residents have a part to play. They should not deliberately build along waterways. They should also avoid blocking drainage systems,” he said.

    While sympathising with the victims, the chairman who blamed them for contributing to the flood incident urged them to vacate places that were prone to flooding, even as many of the victims said they experienced the same incident last year.

  • Students renovate lecture auditorium

    Students renovate lecture auditorium

    In what could be regarded as uncommon demonstration of patriotism, students of the Centre for Continuous Education (CCE), the University of Jos, have given back to their institution even before graduation. They dubbed it pre-Alumni activities.

    The final year students of the centre decided to breathe life into one of the old structures in the institution by renovating the centre’s auditorium located at the Old Campus of the university along Muritala Muhammed Way, Jos.

    The students chose to renovate the multi-purpose auditorium which has not been renovated since its construction years back.

    Incidentally, the structure is located at the university’s temporary site when it took off in 1975 and has continued to be used for multi-purpose functions even after the university was moved to its permanent site along Bauchi Road.

    Currently, the centre serves as the university’s Consultancy Services block where diploma programmes are held.

    The centre which has since then produced several of thousands of diploma students in the fields of Accounting, Banking and Finance, Mass Communication, Marketing, Purchasing and Supply, Community Development and Public Administration, among others, has remained dilapidated despite that huge sums of money accrue from the diploma programmes.

    Incidentally, the auditorium which is used as lecture hall for these students is also used for matriculation ceremonies, seminars and other ceremonies organised by the university.

    Worried by the state of the facility, the final year students of the 2013/2014 session, decided to pool resources to give the auditorium a facelift. They taxed themselves and contributed what they described as seed money of over N1 million. The Director, Advancement Office of the university, Yakubu Gomos said the effort of the students was part of the leave-a-legacy programmes introduced by the university in 2007.

    Gomos, who coordinated the renovation project said: “The Advancement Office had initiated what we call ‘Leave-a-Legacy’ programme since 2007. It is a programme where students are encouraged to develop the idea of doing something for the school that prepared them for life.

    “With this programme, final year students do contribute funds and use the total funds collected to carry out one project of their choice within the institution. The ‘leave-a-legacy’ programme was originally meant for students running degree programmes, but we decided to extend it to non-NUC students who undertake diploma programmes at the old campus of the university so as to also give them sense of belonging to the university family. So, these students voluntarily contributed their little fund and before you know it, over N1 million was contributed for the project.”

    Continuing, he said: “The idea behind the ‘Leave-a-Legacy’ programme is to bring the final year students together to make positive impact on their school. It is pre-alumni activities to prepare the final year students to develop the idea of helping the school after their graduation as they join the alumni of the school.

    “It is another means of building the alumni from within. This means that before the students graduate, they are acquainted with the challenges which the school is experiencing and they will begin to think of how to help whenever they are fully established in their life after school.

    “The funds are collected by the students themselves. They also choose the project they want to embark upon to be supervised by the Advancement Office which coordinates the activities of Alumni of the school. At this stage, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Hayward Babale Mafuyai coordinates the execution of the project.

    “This yearly project has gone a long way in assisting the institution to solve some of its infrastructural challenges since 2007 when it was established.”

    Contributing, the Director of Centre for Continuous Education (CCE), Prof. Mark Lere said: “I am impressed with what these students have done. They have left a legacy behind because they have graduated. Before now, the students used to do such things in their respective departments, but this time around, they decided to do something that the entire school will benefit from.

    “Before the students embarked on the renovation of the auditorium, the hall was completely dilapidated; the roof was leaking because the entire ceiling had worn out, making students to run out of the class as soon as the rain begins, the windows were broken, just as the doors had given way.

    “The hall was virtually without seat. The students were not finding it comfortable any more. So, they were mobilised by the Advancement Office to carry out the renovation.  After the renovation, the hall appears new and attractive to them. So, if these students continued this way each year, the face of the centre will change for good.”

    President of the students’ union of the centre, Patrick Yilshap, who graduated from the Mass Communication Department, said: “All the final year students were involved, they contributed funds so that we could leave a legacy behind. We chose to renovate the auditorium because that was the only hall in the school that can take as much as 500 students at a time. The Vice-Chancellor gave his approval and the auditorium is now a new place to behold.”

     

  • Council destroys shanties at Jabi Motor Park

    Council destroys shanties at Jabi Motor Park

    The Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) has demolished illegal structures at the popular Jabi Motor Park. The demolition exercise aimed at preparing the park for upgrading.

    Tagged: Pin down Operation, the exercise was supervised by the officers of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), environmental health officers, the police, Navy and officials of AMAC.

    AMAC’s Head of Environmental Department, Hajiya Mamuma Abubakar, who led the team, said “the demolition exercise became necessary because the area was originally meant to be a motor park but building materials, scavengers, mechanics and other illegal activities have turned it to something else.”

    According to Abubakar, the AMAC authority believes that the purpose for which Jabi Park was built is not being realised. That was why the council felt that it was necessary for it to demolish the shanties, saying that the council is ready to upgrade the park to a standard motor park.

    While assuring that the demolition of shanties would continue in other motor parks across the area council, Abubakar also said those whose shanties were demolished were adequately informed.

    “For the past two months, we have served them notice to quit; we created a lot of awareness and the necessity for them to move out of this place because the park has been overtaken by all manner of people, thereby making the purpose for which the park was established unrealisable.

    “The chairman of AMAC has also invited them to his office for a meeting which we held with them during which the chairman properly briefed them.

    “Again, before you tell somebody to park out, you must have provided an alternative. A place has been provided for them in Waro to enable them to carry out their operations but they refused,” she said.

    One of the victims of the demolition exercise, Muhammed Idris, told our correspondent that AMAC had notified them of the exercise, even as he complained that most of them lost their working tools in the exercise.

  • Fresh breath for troubled Jos Wildlife Park

    Fresh breath for troubled Jos Wildlife Park

    The Jos Wildlife Park used to be a centre of tourists’ attraction on the Plateau. But due to neglect by successive administrations, the tourists’ first-choice destination is now a shadow of itself. The animals that made the park famous are no longer there.

    After its establishment 42 years ago, the park, which had a collection of about 160 animals, comprising 40 species, received little  attention from successive administrations. As a result, it no longer boasts of more than 50 animals and birds. This is because there were no deliberate efforts to replenish the stock.

    Investigations revealed that some of the animals became very old and died; some died as a result of fire, and others were poached by hunters; a situation that has left the park almost empty.

    The symbols or signs that remind visitors of the past glory of the park are the photographs of animals that habited the park and the labelled but empty cages.

    Some of the animals available at the park are one species of ape, chimpanzee, baboons, vultures; guinea fowls, two lions, a python, one elephant and crocodiles. Major games such as buffalo, zebra, tiger and hippopotamus are not there.

    General Manager of the Plateau State Tourism Corporation John Doy said the Jos Wild Life Park was established in 1972 along with Pandam Wildlife Park and Wase Rock Games Reserve by the Joseph Gomwalk administration in the then Benue-Plateau State.

    Gomwalk, who was a Commissioner of Police, was said to be a zoologist. Doy said: “Jos Wildlife Park is located in Jos South Local Government Area of the state; it covers a land area of eight square kilometres. It was established under the Northern Nigeria Wild Animal Law of 1963, which was enacted primarily for the conservation, preservation, protection and management of indigenous and exotic wildlife resources against endangerment and extinction.

    “It was also meant to promote and encourage tourism and related activities to improve the economy of the state through ecotourism. It was equipped with 160 animals comprising 40 species.”

    Currently, the Wildlife Park is dilapidated because there has been no form of renovation in the past 35 years. However, when Governor Jonah Jang assumed office in 2007, he promised to give tourism the desired attention. He was of the view that revamping the park and other tourist sites will go a long way in authenticating the state’s motto of Home of Peace and Tourism.

    The Jang administration pledged to revive the park. But less than one year to the end of his administration and over seven years after, nothing has been done with regard to resuscitating the ailing park.

    However, the Commissioner for Tourism, Culture and Hospitality, Pastor Abraham Yiljab told our correspondent that government has worked out a strategy to breathe life into the park.

    He said: “The administration of Governor Jang has worked out a strategy to secure the Wildlife Park. The project plan is being considered at the state executive council level, after which a contract will be awarded for its fencing. Construction of Safari Road network will be part of it so that tourists can walk and drive around inside the park. The contract will also include the renovation of structures and construction of new office accommodation for members of staff working there.”

    He further said that government deliberately delayed commencement of work at the park as expected since 2007 because tourism itself cannot be handled in isolation. The state itself had to be attractive enough for tourists. The entire state requires total turn-around.

    “So, Governor Jang had to concentrate on opening up the state to tourists through massive road network. The tourism potential of the state will make no meaning if there was no good road network. That was why Governor Jang invested nearly N100 billion on road construction across the state.

    “There are also other aspects of tourism that took the attention of the state government; the gigantic Indoor Theater is one of those. It is first of its kind in Nigeria. It has a sitting capacity of 5,000 and serves multi-purpose benefits to government and citizens. There is also the newly completed Government House which cost about N9 billion and the renovation of the state secretariats, among others.

    “These massive infrastructural developments had to be done in the interest of tourism of the state. The new plan to redeem the wildlife park also includes the construction of animal clinic. The original plan for the establishment of the wild life did not include the medical aspect. But government has come up with a design of a clinic at the park for the animals.

    “Government had to bring in the National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) to help in taking care of the animals. The NVRI also took care of the health of members of staff working there so that there will be no infection that can pass from man to animal or from animal to man. So, NVRI with its expertise has been doing very well in taking care of the health of animals and that is why you hardly hear of any form of epidemic.

    There will be restaurants and chalets; this will give tourists an opportunity to stay within a very natural environment.

    “The issue of depletion of the wildlife has already been addressed. We are looking forward to securing more animals. Recently, we have secured a very huge male python which we have introduced to the female python in the park. They already co-exist without any tension among them.

    “Currently, we are working with some other zoo facilities in the country for animal exchange. Where we found we have more males we will exchange with another zoo that has female species. We are currently doing that with Aso Rock Zoo. We are also on exchange programme with the Kano Zoo and that of Maiduguri.

    “These are some of the plans government has towards replenishing the lost stock. Animals have their own lifespan, and so some of them died of age. We lost some of them due to some adverse situation such as bush burning.

    “We lost some of them to hunters who poached on the park. That is why even before we restock it, we have to secure the place. We have to provide adequate security for the animals and protect them from hunters.”

     

  • Managing disaster in terrorists’ enclave

    Managing disaster in terrorists’ enclave

    The spate of Boko Haram attacks has increased in the Northeast geo-political zone, leading to displacement of many from their homes. In this interview with JOEL DUKU, the Executive Secretary of Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YOSEMA), Musa Idi Jidawa, speaks on the challenges of managing displaced persons, among other issues. Excerpts:

    As an agency, what are the scopes of your responsibilities?

    The Yobe State Emergency Management Agency (YOSEMA) was established by an Edict of the State House of Assembly in November, 2010. It is saddled with the responsibility of managing disasters in the state. Our operational guideline is that in the event of any disaster, we evaluate its nature and then decide on which ministry will take the lead.

    For instance, if it’s a disaster that concerns health, we refer it to the Ministry of Health to lead, if it is fire disaster, then the fire service comes in. But the overall coordination of disaster management in the state rests squarely on the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA).

    Principally, we are established to advise government on any disaster that occurs in the state. We also take necessary action by preparing the ground for first aid and then seek assistance where necessary in order to salvage the situation.

    Yobe is recently hit by crisis caused by Boko Haram insurgents. How have you been coping with this?

    We are recently challenged by the issue of insurgency and the whole of North-eastern states. This has also caused great challenge for us. But we have Governor Ibrahim Gaidam as a responsive governor, who always sympathises with the people affected by any form of disaster.

    If we have a disaster case, the governor always responds promptly by providing the necessary logistics so that we can contain such a disaster to ameliorate the pains of the victims.

    Could you mention some of these cases that your agency has handled in recent time?

    In 2014, we experienced a lot of attacks by the insurgents. When the insurgents attacked Buni Gari, the Governor donated N4.6m to cushion the effects of the victims. Our agency has also taken an assessment of the destruction which is before the governor. The assessment was so comprehensive so much so that it captured houses that were burnt, burnt tricycles (Keke NAPEP), burnt vehicles and those whose business premises were affected. So, all areas affected had been assessed and submitted to the governor.

    Also, in collaboration with the United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Action against Hunger (ACF) and other agencies, we have conducted a humanitarian need assessment to determine victims’ areas of need with a view to bringing succour to them.

    The state government also established a state standing committee comprising agriculture, education, health and environment. The committee will determine the modalities to be adopted in helping insurgency victims.

    We brought these sectors together because children are out of school, people have been denied of farming due to the insecurity and so on. There was an attack on the Red Bricks Housing Estate for which the state government donated N15 million to carter for the victims of the attack. There were people whose houses were bombed. The Army base in Buni Gari was also attacked and about 310 security personnel were involved.

    Those involved were 210 policemen and 100 soldiers. The government gave close to N10 million for the well-being of victims and families of the affected personnel. In addition, relief materials worth over N4.8 million were also given to the families of the victims.

    An officer was also involved in a gas explosion accident and the state government offered assistance. The sum of N5.8m was also given to victims of fire disasters. We also have internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled from Goniri, Buni Yadi and Buni Gari. On receiving the news, I mobilised my men to establish a camp in one of the primary schools along  Gujba Road, even though no one turned out at the camp. We had to go round the metropolis and we were able to identify 150 households with 114,761 IDPs. These people were living in houses of people such as Senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim, the Mai Gujba, Waziri Gujba and some other politicians from the area.

    Almost all Goniri natives were having not less than 20 to 30 people who relocated from their village to live with them in Damaturu. I got in touch with His Excellency and he immediately approved over N31 million for the purchase of relief materials for the displaced persons. The sum of  N3, 645, 000 was also disbursed to victims of flood at Koryel in Tarmuwa Local Government Area.

    Other places affected were N100, 000,000 for victims of FGC Buni Yadi and N1.9m assistance for victims of insurgency at Buni Gari.

    So, we made provision for all those things just to alleviate the suffering of those households. Imagine a family of six suddenly accommodating over 30 people. It was a serious situation. Our people didn’t want to live in camps because of the fear of Boko Haram attacks.

    When the  Goniri incident happened, we established a camp along Gujba Road but nobody came to the camp. They were afraid as we were. You can establish a very beautiful camp and unknown to you, some insurgents may sneak in and you don’t know what will happen next. By the time you establish a camp here, you will require heavy security personnel.

    So, fear, cultural and religious practices are some of the reasons our people didn’t want to live in the camps. There were also reported cases of people that fled from Gulani to Fika Local Government Area and settled at Dumbuluwa Primary School. I was contacted by the Chairman of the local government area and within 24 hours we sent relief materials to them.

    Apart from Yobe State Government, have you received any assistance from any other organisation?

    It would not be an understatement to say that the chunk of what came in as relief and assistance to SEMA is from Yobe State Government. However, there is a Presidential Committee on Draught, Flood and Rehabilitation which decided to incorporate nine states of Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Katsina, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe and Borno.

    That committee headed by Aliko Dangote looked at the peculiarities of every state and sent relief materials to them under the Presidential Initiative on Northeast. NEMA sometimes makes public distribution to our victims in the state.

    We have enjoyed partnership with some donor agencies such as Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) as I mentioned before. Recently, we’ve had a meeting with them and came up with an idea of empowering the IDPs.

    Of recent, JAIZ Bank had donated some relief materials to us, even though they are coming in batches; we have not taken delivery of the whole consignment.

    The office of the National Security Adviser had also sent 33 trucks of rice out of which we have  taken delivery of about 22.

    The Boko Haram crisis is different from other disasters in which relief and humanitarian services and aid workers have easy access to the scenes. How do you cope in delivering relief materials to victims in this kind of situation?

    The principle is that in whatever disaster of humanitarian endeavour, your safety is primary. In this case for instance, since the beginning of the insurgency, most of the people have left their homes for Damaturu and other safe places. We used to visit those areas, but had to stop because the people are no longer there.

    Rather, we keep track of the IDPs where they are and serve them. Some have fled to Ashaka in Gombe State, some to Ngalda, Tadangala Dumbuluwa and Fika towns.

    The Buni Yadi and Buni Gari communities complained that they were attacked before Goniri community came under attack, but when relief materials came; the latter received before them. How accurate is the complaint?

    What happened was different from the rumour people are peddling. There were two issues relating to Goniri. NEMA went there and made public distribution for the Goniri citizens that are in large number. Remember there was an attack in Buni Yadi and the people moved out and 90 per cent went back thinking the place is safe, and the same to Buni Gari.

    Unlike that of Goniri, the entire community left and found shelter in the homes of their relations in Damaturu. When they heard what happened to Goniri, they came to my office and started complaining and I asked them to go and identify all their complaints and bring them to me.

    It is easier to solve a problem when you identify it than when you have not. So, they Buni Yadi people went and brought their list which I have incorporated into our next plan of distribution. With the assistance of the Chairman of Gujba Local Government Area, we have gotten a list of 400 displaced persons for which an approval has been given.

    What inspires you in the course of performing your duties?

    If you can call it success then it has to be hinged on the support and the confidence of Governor Ibrahim Gaidam in this agency. I have no barrier in getting to the Governor. Anytime we present a problem to him, it gets express attention.

    That confidence, I consider as panacea to challenges, and enables me to pursue my assignment with all the vigour that I could muster.

    Other organisations are also very willing to partner with us because of the good work we are doing. This is helping us a lot to reduce duplication of efforts and unnecessary dissipation of energy.

    Apart from government’s response to disasters, there is also the need for citizens to help in disaster management and rescue operation. How would you assess citizens’ cooperation in that regard?

    As I said, the issue of disaster management is not a one-man business or an organisation’s business depending on the nature of the disaster. For instance, if a disaster breaks in a community, say fire outbreak and you bring a jerry can of water, it will go a long way, one maybe in a camp, and the water will help in different ways. An ordinary torchlight can be of immense help.

    Are people really responding to these?

    They need to be sensitised. We have advocacy programmes. We also have produced jingles on radio and made some advertisements to educate people on what they need to do in times of disaster. We hope that we continue in this tempo even after the security situation improves in the region.

    What is your advice to the people?

    My advice to the people is that they should constantly pray for God’s intervention because our condition has degenerated to a level that is beyond our understanding. Our leaders need prayers for them to lead us better.

  • Water: A community’s huge challenge

    Water: A community’s huge challenge

    Sabon-Gurufata community is in Ibwa Ward in Gwagwalada Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Its greatest challenge is lack of clean water as the only source of water supply in the community is a polluted stream. GBENGA OMOKHUNU reports that there may be an outbreak of cholera if potable water is not provided for the residents. 

    Gabon-Gurufata is a community where nothing works. It lacks almost everything, including water which is one of the basic necessities of life. It is 15 kilometers away from Gwagwalada town. Members of the community settled in Gwagwalada after migrating from Suleja in Niger State in 1945.

    A visit by our correspondent revealed that they have been suffering from complete neglect from successive administrations. Politicians know they exist only when they want to get their votes during elections. They make promises of how they (politicians) will improve the people’s living conditions. But immediately they are voted into office, all promises are forgotten.

    Water boreholes, rural electrification, primary healthcare centres and other basic social amenities to make lives comfortable for the people living in rural communities are lacking as they are not provided as promised by politicians.

    It is obvious that the people are currently at the mercy of an impending outbreak of cholera because of absence of potable water supply in the community. As a result, the people resorted to sourcing water from a dirty stream for survival.

    It was gathered that members of the community are not happy probably because the council chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin-Giri, has not provided them with any meaningful community project since his assumption of office.

    Chief Haruna Tatobwa, the Chief of Sabon-Gurufata explained that members of the community are going through serious challenges due to the absence of basic social amenities in the community.

    “Our major problem here is potable water supply. We do not have a single borehole in this community. As a result, we lack clean and hygienic water to drink and cook. If I take you inside my house now to show you the water we fetched and stored for domestic use, you will not use it to wash your hands, because of how dirty it is.

    “That is the reason I am very happy that my people have registered for the community-based health insurance scheme. The water we are using in this community is a disease; diseases come from bad water, disease such as cholera and others. When they did not register, we were suffering. We believe that government will come and help us.

    “We have had several cases of outbreak of cholera in this village. Last year, about five children died of cholera disease in this community. Also, six pregnant women lost their lives when they went to the health centre in the other community. They started bleeding and died instantly,” he said.

    According to Tatobwa, potable water and primary healthcare centre are the major needs of his people, even as he regretted that having existed for a very long time in the community, they have not benefited anything from the council, saying that the only thing they had benefit from was the borehole which Senator Phillip Aduda constructed for them and which is completely malfunctioned.

    “I would like the council chairman, Alhaji Jibrin-Giri to assist us with primary healthcare centre and potable water supply. The only road to this community from Gwagwalada town is very bad. During rainy season, you will not be able to go through the road. We are truly suffering here,” he said.

    Mr. Aliyu Jeremiah, the Secretary of the Chief of Sabon-Gurufata also revealed that the only primary healthcare centre in Old Gurufata community, which is the closest healthcare centre to the community, has no medical doctor to take care of patients in the communities. The situation has made life so difficult for the people.

    “We lack everything in this community; we have never benefited anything from the government.  We do not have any borehole in this community; this made us to depend on water from the stream for domestic use. The most painful thing is that the stream is a stagnant one and it is very dirty. We have no choice than to manage it that way.

    “The stream water has caused cholera and other sicknesses to natives of this community, and some people have died through it. In the aspect of electricity, that is a no go area, because since there is no access road to this community, why should we expect electricity?

    “We do not have any government project in this community and I feel very bad to see that we are neglected by the government which we pay tax to.

    “Whenever there is election, they will come here to campaign and solicit for our votes. After voting for them, the elected chairman and councillors will regard this place as too far for them to come and fulfill their electoral promises made to us.

    “Every eligible voter in this community has his or her voter’s card and they all go out to vote during elections. Whenever a chairmanship and councillorship candidate comes here to campaign, they will promise to give us electricity, potable water, health centre and other things that we lack.

    “But, since they continued to make these promises for a very long time, nothing has been provided for members of this community. We do not know how it is to enjoy the dividends of democracy. We have written endless letters to former council chairmen without positive response.

    “We have also written to this present chairman, Alhaji Jibrin-Giri and he said by the grace of God, he will come and sink borehole in the community. But we are yet to see any borehole since then.

    “The truth is that we are not happy with the way we are treated by successive administrations of this council. We voted for them and we expect that we should also get the benefits of democracy as other communities receive. There is nothing like dividends of democracy or government’s presence in the community. It is not right. The present leadership of Gwagwalada Area Council should come to our aid and save us from persistent suffering,” he said.

    The people look on to the Gwagwalada Area Council to lessen their pain by providing them with some basic amenities to make their lives comfortable.

     

  • PDP’s reward for Jonathan

    Just like the experiences in the past regimes in Nigeria’s history, President Goodluck Jonathan is not only being asked to contest the 2015 Presidential election, but he has also been declared sole Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).,

    The PDP Governors’ Forum and the Board of Trustees (BoT), on Wednesday last week, followed by the National Executive Committee of the party on Thursday endorsed him as the sole presidential candidate of the party.

    Jonathan was said to have delayed declaring his ambition to run for re-election because he was busy brainstorming and marshaling out strategies to deliver his 2011 campaign promises to Nigerians.,

    The lingering security challenges, the abduction of the over 200 girls from Government Girls’ Secondary School Chibok in Borno State and the recent importation of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into the country, among other issues, were said to have robbed the President the right atmosphere to declare his ambition before now.

    The Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih, had, a year ago, challenged him to make his intentions known to Nigerians latest by October, last year.

    But now, almost a year after the call and few months to the February, 2015 election, Jonathan has accepted the sole candidacy offered him by the party.

    Before the President accepted the sole candidacy, many rallies have been held in several parts of the country pushing for his continuity in office.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC), and other stakeholders in Nigeria, have, however, consistently faulted the PDP rallies, which they said were against the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    The rallies, they claimed, were giving the ruling party undue advantage and preventing a level playing field for all prospective candidates of the various political parties.

    They had called on the ruling party to wait till the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gives the go-ahead for political campaigns to begin.

    The PDP had denied embarking on campaigns for the 2015 general elections as the rallies were said not to be selling specific candidates to Nigerians but only providing avenues to receive new members to the party.

    Many unions and organisations in the past one year, genuinely or out of eye-service or strategising for what they will get from the government, have also pledged their support for Jonathan’s continuity in 2015.

    Some groups in the North have, however, insisted over the years that Jonathan signed a bond to run for only one term which is expected to end next year.

    According to them, power should return to the North in 2015 in accordance with the bond.

    But the Presidency had denied the existence of any bond and maintained that Jonathan was entitled to run for a second term in office in line with the 1999 Constitution.

    At the BoT press conference in the Presidential Villa, which announced Jonathan as the party’s sole candidate, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu had claimed that the BoT’s action was a reward to Jonathan for his hard work and giant strides in transforming the country and properly steering the ship of state.

    He said: “You must remember that consensus building is also part of democracy. For us in the PDP, we believe that the BoT is the conscience of the party.

    “So, if the BoT has agreed to endorse Mr. President as the candidate of the party, what we are simply saying is that we are persuading every member of the party to accept that position.

    “So, we are not going to force any person, but we are making a strong statement; we are persuading our people strongly to accept this position for the reasons earlier mentioned. It is also important for us to know that we need to reward hard work, we need to reward commitment, we need to reward achievement and we need to reward performance.”

    Just as in the past, some registered political parties may soon toe the line of the ruling party by endorsing Jonathan as their sole candidate.

    Even with all these endorsements, the period leading to the PDP convention and primaries will show if all PDP members planning to run for the Presidency have shelved their plans, or will slug it out at the convention or quickly move to the opposition parties before the door is shut against them.

  • NGO decries worsening education standard

    NGO decries worsening education standard

    The Pan-African Children Advocacy Watch (PACAW), an American-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has decried the worsening education standard in Nigeria, a situation it linked with absence of honesty.

    President of the NGO, Dr Sylvester Ayeni spoke in Koro, Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State during the presentation of libraries and computer centres to primary and secondary schools in the community.

    Dr Ayeni, who said the NGO has its headquarter in Washington DC in US, said the it focuses on development of African countries.

    He said: “I have lived outside the country for 38 years. So, I have noticed that Africa’s problem is the failure of leadership. Our goal is to develop a completely new generation of African leaders from the scratch.

    “The current status quo cannot continue or else this country will sink because of lack of patriotism. Everybody is just after what he or she can get. Nigeria is engaged in the war of all against all. Grab as much as much as you can, don’t care about the lot of others.

    “This is a country that makes billions of money from oil yet its educational system is in a shambles. On what is the money spent? It is very sad indeed.”

    Still on the declining educational standard, he said countries of the world used a document entitled ‘World Declaration on Education for All and Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs,” adding that the document serves as a template for the establishment of policies and goals for universal basic education.

    “Unfortunately,” he said “for several reasons, inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, insufficient staff, inadequate teacher training and irregular payment of teachers, the ideals of UBE in Nigeria have become a mirage.

    “The tragedy of this situation becomes self-inflicted wounds. Things do not have to be like this. Where does the money this country generates go? How can we demonstrate such lack of love for ourselves, including our children so much so that we do not care to provide the best form of education for them?

    “How can we have public primary schools without computers in one of the most endowed nations on this planet? How can you establish modern educational institutions without clean running water, with back to pre-historic age digging of boreholes and with pathetic energy supply?”

    He added that the NGO has provided educational facilities, including payment of primary school teachers’ salaries in the area.

    Ayeni said PACAW has committed over N10 million to fund educational development in the community.

    He frowned at attitudes of some parents who refused to send their children to school because of teachers’ disciplinary measures on their children and wards, saying no child can become responsible in life or turn out to be something good without sound education.

    “To parents of our children, I beg of you, please allow them to go to school from Mondays to Fridays, except public holidays. Encourage them to study at home, to complete their homework. To our children in primary schools, young men and women in JSS and SSS, take as many subjects as you can. Do not skip any class. No mankind can ever have too much of education,” he said.

    He said education policies of the three tiers of government should be implemented to benefit Nigerian children, adding that money allocated for education of the children should honestly be disbursed and used for intended purposes, “otherwise our children and the future of this nation are in peril and condemned to a state of hopelessness.”

    Also speaking, the traditional ruler of  Koro-Ekiti, Olukoro of Koro, Oba Elijah Adegoke, who was represented at the event by Olukotun of Koro, High Chief Jones Kehinde Babatunde, called on both the state and local government authorities to provide adequate teachers in our schools for maximum utilisation of the facilities donated by the organisation.

    The monarch, who challenged other sons and daughters of the community to emulate the donor, advised members of the community to secure and maintain the items provided by the donor.

  • Jonathan, Sambo and the Economic Management Team

    Another record was broken in the State House on last Tuesday when Vice-President Namadi Sambo presided over the Economic Management Team (EMT) meeting.

    It has never happened before since the beginning of the Jonathan/Sambo administration.

    But Sambo had presided over the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings several times when President Goodluck Jonathan was away on official engagements.

    The EMT meeting, which comprises President Jonathan as the Chairman and Sambo as Vice-Chairman has Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the Coordinator of the Economic Management Team.

    Other members of the team are Minister of National Planning, Minister of Trade and Investment, Minister of Power, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Works, Minister of Education, Minister of Health, Minister of State for Finance, Minister of State for Health, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Chief Economic Adviser, Special Adviser, Monitoring and Evaluation, Director-General, Budget, Director-General, Debt Management Office, Director-General, Bureau for Public Procurement, Director-General, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.

    Also in the team are Honorary Adviser on Agriculture and Governor of Adamawa State, and Honorary Adviser on Finance and Governor of Anambra State, Honorary Adviser on the Economy and President, Nigerian Economic Society, Mr. Atedo Peterside and business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

    Even from the period of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, similar meetings were normally presided over by the President.

    President Jonathan had permitted Sambo to preside over the EMT meeting on Tuesday last week as he was away in Chad holding talks with his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby on how to end terror attacks in the sub-region.

    Sambo relocated the venue of the meeting which normally brainstorms and charts a new course for the Nigerian economy to his Conference Room at the Vice-Presidential Wing of the State House.

    Either out of ignorance or because they were not used to the Vice-Presidential Wing, many of the EMT members first reported to the Council Chamber at the President’s Wing of the State House which normally is the venue of the meeting.

    They were redirected to the Vice-President Wing by the security officials on duty.

    As usual, the team members filed out at the end of the meeting without briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting.

  • Group tackles exam failure

    Worried by the mass failure recorded in Mathematics in the just-released results of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Women in Technical Education and Development (WITED) has recommended counselling to address the irrational fear students have on the subject in the bud.

    The group also suggested public enlightenment campaigns aimed at dispelling students’ apathy on Mathematics and other Science subjects.

    President of WITED, Mrs. Osiki Francis disclosed this to reporters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital at the sideline of the association’s National Coordinating Committee (NCC) meeting.

    Mrs. Francis, a civil engineer and lecturer at the Auchi Polytechnic, Edo State, added: “There is no place whatever for fear of the course. Fear already defeats the individual even before he or she confronts the problem. So, that self-defeatist attitude should be addressed through counseling. We need public enlightenment campaigns; so information is necessary in allaying the fears of students about Mathematics and Sciences.”

    She said that WITED was borne out the desire to encourage the girl-child, who has the God-given flair to appreciate Mathematics, science and technical courses for the country to march forward technologically.

    She said: “For meaningful national development, the female folks that constitute about half of the population of Nigeria should not be left behind.

    “Government can encourage the girl-child to take up Mathematics and technical courses by giving scholarships and awards to those excelling in these subjects. Besides, science laboratories should be well equipped; Science and Mathematics teachers should also be encouraged. This is because when they are happy, they will be at their best in their works and the students will do well.

    “Parents’ roles cannot be over-emphasised. They are the starting point of the life of the child. Parents should be enlightened as they have the right attitude to the girl-child in pursuing these subject areas.

    “Women who have the ability are being encouraged to come on board. There should be no force, no coercion. Those who are able to fit into the programme are encouraged to come on board.

    “Our approach is to go to the primary and secondary schools to sensitise the girl-child that she should have no phobia for courses such as Mathematics, Sciences and Engineering.

    “The grassroots is our first target; from there, we move to the traditional rulers who are the custodians of culture to help us pass the message to their subjects; to allay fears of Mathematics and technical subjects.”

    On the challenges hindering women from taking up Mathematics and technical education courses, Mrs. Francis said: “The challenges are varied. It could be socio-cultural factors. There are some places where women are to be seen and not heard. They just have to be in the kitchen. That perception is changing, although fundamentally our place is in the kitchen. Religion is another of the factors, among others.”