The Nation Newspaper

Category: Politics

  • Ngige calls for REC’s removal

    Ngige calls for REC’s removal

    Less than 15 hours to the governorship election in Anambra State tomorrow, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Dr Chris Ngige has called for the transfer of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Prof  Chukuwuemeka Onukaogu.

    He said his party has no confidence in him following his performance in the 2011 general election.

    Ngige also told The Nation yesterday in Awka, capital of the state, that once the election is conducted in a free and fair manner, he was sure of victory. He expressed the hope that he would carry the day.

    “We have complied with all legal and even moral requirements for the election of tomorrow. We ended all forms of camping yesterday as early as 6 pm of Thursday. However, we also want the Independent National Electoral Commission to play it’s part very well. In fact, INEC has to be very careful with what they are doing here. We have been pleasantly surprised as a political party that they retained the REC, who conducted the 2011 general elections that was highly flawed.

    “And our party has to go to court to upturn some of those results of the elections conducted by him. So, since we discovered two days ago that it is still him that will conduct the election, we have been calling for his transfer. I am using this opportunity to reiterate our stand as a party that he should not be allowed to conduct the election. It is not too late”, he said.

    Speaking on his chances, he said ” once there is a free and fair election, we are sure of victory. If the electoral process is not compromised or manipulated, we will win. I am very hopeful, I have done my campaigns and ended it since yesterday ( Thursday). If the elections are properly co ducted, we will take it”, he said.

  • Issues that will shape Anambra poll

    Issues that will shape Anambra poll

    Correspondent ODOGWU EMEKA ODOGWU examines the issues that will shape the Anambra State governorship poll.

    Anambra State will elect a new governor tomorrow.

    There are 25 political parties in the race, but only five are serious. The ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Governor Peter Obi is interested in handing over to a succeessor. But the four parties and their candidates are mounting a road block.

    Apart from the APGA, other parties in the race are the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Labour Party (LP) and the Progressives Peoples Party (PPA). The candidates are Chief Willie Obiano (APGA), Dr. Chris Ngige (APC), Dr. Chris Ubah (LP), Comrade Tony Nwoye (PDP) and Mr. Godwin Ezeemo (PPA).

    Religious politics

    The PDP candidate , Nwoye , has been adopted by the Anglican Church. The Bishop of Awka Diocesse, Dr Alex Ibezim, allegedly ordered that the congregation should endorse him tomorrow.

    The directive has polarised the church. Many said that Ezeemo, an Anglican, has lost out, owing to the endorsement by the church. But the supporters of Ngige , Obiano and Ubah are unperturbed.

    Observers contends that the Anglican Church is not as partisas as the Catholic Church. They are of the view that, if the Catholic Church had endorsed a candidate, the congregation would have complied. But Anglicans are known for their republican nature and their priests do not command the kind of followership that looks up to the Catholic priests for direction.

    The situation would be a plus for any candidate who reaches out to other denominations and traditionalists for their votes. Obiano, Ngige and Ubah are Roman Catholic members.

    A source said that the Roma Catholic Church will announce their candidate tonight. Whoever the Bishop says is the candidate is may win, it is believed, because the church has the numerical strength and the faithful are submissive. Ubah has been courting the church in anticipation of this favour. He and ezeemo have been supporting church projects.

    Governor Peter Obi is close to the church authorities and may swing the pendulum to his candidate, Obiano. But Obi is not the candidate. Ngige, a knight of the Catholic church, can also be a beneficiary of a bloc support from the church.

    Incumbency factor

    The APGA is the ruling party and ordinarily, Obiano would have anticiapted a walk over, if the formidable rivals are not around. Obi is mounting a lot of propaganda, using the incumbency factor. But, Ngige’s foot soldiers not giving him a breathing space across the local governments.

    Ngige knows Obi is his headache and not Obiano. Had Obi not given his backing to Obiano, Ngige would have had an easy ride. So, he is doing everything he could to outsmart Obi to get the crown.

    It is debatable, whether the APC candidae needs the support of the governor of Imo state , Owelle Rochas Okorocha. Many have said that some Anambrans, especially those in the APGA, are not happy with the governor.

    Ezeemo and Ngige are bitter rivals. The PPA candidate had to defect from the APC when the ticket landed on Ngige’s palm. There are few APC sympathisers in the PPA working against Ngige, but their impact is not significant.

    Ubah has followers, who are interested in money and other material gains in this election period. He has a deep pocket, but a weak platform.

    Federal Government’s support:

    If the rumour making the rounds is anything to go by, then, the invasion of hundreds of policemen and other security agents is suspicious. Some people have said that they are in town to scare the public and rig the poll for the PDP. But rigging may be impossible as the candidates have vowed to police their votes. If the police and all other security agents do their work, then, a free and fair election would throw up the winner.

    Experience

    Ngige is a former governor. He is also a senator. For 33 months , he riled the state. He has said that he wanted to return to the State House to complete his unfinished business. Ngige is a crowd puller. He has a large followership. They are fanatically loyal to his cause. Ngige read Medicine, practiced for more than three decades and retired from the Federal Civil Service. .

    Obiano is counting on his experience as a banker and first Igbo auditor of Texaco. He campaigning, based on the achievements Obi. He hopes to exploit the power of incumbency. But the incumbency power can collapse on the poll day. Obiano retired as a Chartered Accountant/Auditor. He is a banker of repute.

    Nwoye is the former President of the National Association of Nigerians Students (NANS). He is the former Chairman of the PDP in Anambra state. He has grassroots followership. He also has the backing of Prince Arthur Eze, the oil magnate. Some people said that Nwoye read medicine , but he has not practiced the profession.

    Ubah is a businessman. He is rich. But he is said to be in a business crisis. He has a honourary doctorate degree from a reputable university. But his critics say that his highest certificate is NECO.

    Ezeemo resigned as a civil servant before going into private business. He has a conglomerate of business in Nigeria and abroad. He has about 10 industries in Anmabra State. He read Marketing and he has acquired other professional qualifications.

    Women

    Obi’s wife, Margaret, is mobilising the women for Obiano. Ezeemo’s wife, Nneka, is also not relenting. She had visited almost 177 communities, urging the women to supportb her husband.

    Mrs. Obi has visited the 14 councils across the three senatorial districts. She is fluent. At Awka North Council, she appealed passionately to the women to support Obiano, assuring that he will defend their cause. She described Obiano and his running mate, Dr Nkem Okeke, as the best men for the job.

    Mrs. Obi has also initiated Obiano’s wife, into politics. She has led an independent campaign to some zones, along with the wife of the deputy governor, Mrs Sibeudu, Hon. Uche Ekwunife , the APGA Woman Leader, Mrs Nwokedi, and another federal legislator from Awka North and South Constituency, Mr Emeke Nwowgbo.

    Mrs Obi said that Obiano shared the same vision with the governor, adding that he and his running mate will continue the transformation agenda of her husband.

    Mrs. Obi has also enjoined the women to vote for APGA, in appreciation of the his husband’s people-oriented programmes targeted at the women.

    She said that APGA will remain a partner in progress with the women groups.

    The first lady advised the women to discourage their children from thuggery. She chrged them to report any breach of the peace during the election to the security agents.

    She urged the women to vote for the candidates of their choice without fear.

    The legislator from Anaocha/Njikoka and Dunukofia Constituency, Ekwunife, appealed to the women to vote for APGA so that they can continue to benefit from the dividends of democracy.

    Her Awka North and Awka South counterpart, Emeke Nwogbo, assured that, with the support and love shown to the people of the area, they will vote for APGA.

    Today, the governor’s wife will be rounding off his campaign tour of the remaining 17 local governments.

    Anambra Intellectual Forum

    Anambra Atate Intellectuals Forum, comprising university, polytechnic and college, has shown interest in the poll. The body also organised a debate for the running mates.

    The Head of Mass Communication Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka , Dr Ifeoma Dunu, said the event was a way of giving solidarity to one of them, Dr Okeke. The lecturer prayed for a free and fair poll, wher the best candidate will emerge.

    Dunu described the forum as an advisory commmitte willing to render help to the politicians.

    Dr Harry Obi Nwosu is the chairman of the forum. He lauded the civility exhibited at the campaigns.

    Prof Osita Nwosu from Abia State University and the Director, Chike Okoli Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Prof Edmund Eboh, said that Obiano and Okeke have intimidating profile. He urged the state to give them the mandate to rule.

    Okeke told the forum that he entered politics to add value to governance. He said that his integrity, and not money, will make people to vote for the APGA team.

    Okeke prayed God to grant him victory at the polls. He said: “If you are sincere, you would work for your people . Do what is right and you have better future for our children. Good governance is the end of all these activities and you need some form of experience and credibility to be able to navigate these”.

    Obiano assured the forum members that he will not let them down.

    Obiano traced his life and work history, contending that he could not afford to disappoint Anambra people, having not disappointed himself as a chartered accountant since 1989.

    He promised to build a good future for the state thorough interventions in agriculture and industrialosation targeted at creating employment and fighting poverty.

    Idemili

    Idemmili is the base of Ngige. When Obiano visited the area, some community leaders still embraced him.

    At Ogidi, a community leader, Chief Samuel Anyanwutaku, endorsed Obiano. The supporters of Ngige were not perturbed because the people who endorsed Obiano have no political clout.

    Addressing the people, Anyanwutaku said the community endorsed APGA and its candidate , following the appraisal of the developmental programmes of Obi Administration.

    He said: “I am not a politician, neither am I a contractor. I am a big time businessman and all I do is for the interests of my people in Ogidi and Anambra at large. We have come here to brainstorm on the need to support the APGA and Chief Willie Obiano as the next governor because of what the party had done for us and the only way we can show appreciation to what Governor Obi has done for us is to vote Chief Willie Obiano, who has promised to consolidate on the achievements of Obi.

    “Since the creation of Anambra State in 1991, no administrator or governor has ever appointed Ogidi citizens as commissioners or special advisers. Today, an Ogidi indigene, Chief Obiakor, is the Commissioner for Health under Peter Obi and Bob Manuel Udokwu is today a Special Adviser”

    Anyanwutaku said that Obiano will use his managerial acumen, which he exhibited as the Chief Executive of Fidelity Bank, to take Anambra State to a greater height.

    Obi was accompanied by APGA leaders, including the National Chairman, Sir Victor Umeh.

    The National Chairman thanked the Ogidi Community for coming out in large numbers to receive them and assured them of better days, if they vote for APGA.

    Some members of the Labour Party and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Ekwusigo Council defected to the APGA. The decampees declared for the party at a rally in Ozubulu.

    Speaking on behalf of the decampees, a former Vice Chairman of Labour Party in Ekwusigo, Mr. Ikenna Nwiki ,said they joined APGA because of its consistency, honesty and commitment towards promoting the Igbo agenda.

    Also speaking, a former PDP Youth Leader in the area, Mr. Godfrey Adimmachukwu, said they were tired of the instability in their former party and wanted to be part of the success story of the Obi Administration.

     

  • Oyo politics after Lam Adesina

    Correspondent BISI OLADELE writes on the implications of the demise of Alhaji Lam Adesina for the progressive family in Oyo State and how Governor Abiola Ajimobi has been building on the legacies of the departed leader.

    A year ago, former Oyo State Governor Lamidi Onaolapo Adesina died, following a protracted illness. He died at St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos, where he was receiving treatment until he died on November 11, last year.

    Until his death, Adesina was the leader of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State. He started playing the role, since he was defeated in the 2003 election, which cut short his second term dream.

    Great Lam, as he was fondly called by his admirers, was loved by many. In his moderate Felele, Ibadan home, the former governor welcomed the great and the small. He wielded a great influence.

    Adesina was an astute politician. He was the rallying point for the old and new generation of politicians the elite and the unlettered. He was approachable, simple, unassuming, humorous, but firm. His principles were well known among members hardly did they flout them.

    He stabilised the party among emerging internal blocs and served as the judge on virtually all matters.

    So, when the curtain was drawn one year ago, political watchers feared a depletion or disarray in the party.

    Yet, events of the last 12 months have proved that the ACN (now All Progressives Congress) has the capacity to survive, even without its old leaders. It looks like a system that only needs to be sustained by principles of fairness, forthrightness and decency. Hence, Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Chief Michael Koleoso have paddled the canoe of the party without blemishes after Great Lam’s departure.

    However, the massive urban renewal exercise of the Ajimobi Administration, which peaked in the first quarter of the year, may possibly have taken more time, to accomplish, if Lam were alive. As an elder-statesman, residents that were dissatisfied with any policy of the current administration lodged their complaints to him. After educating them, he would convey their feelings to the governor and offer useful advice. Lam may have advised Ajimobi to move slowly as traders removed from the roads under bridges.

    As the governor ruminates over appointment of new members of the State Executive Council, Lam would have done a good buck of the fixing as he would have offered very useful advice to the governor in making his selection. His house would have become a Mecca of sort for political jobbers seeking position. In a way, Lam was largely handling the political aspect of the administration for Ajimobi when he was alive. The governor now takes care of both governance and full politics.

    That was the experience in the build-up to the 2011 elections when all political office hopefuls thronged his Felele residence.

    As the leader of the party, Ajimobi would have given him some concession, on a few candidates because it was believed that he knew the party and the members inside-out, having stayed so long in the progressive party.

    Today, however, aside the party leadership, a notable Islamic leader and a first-class traditional ruler seem to hold the ace in the administration.

    Lam was a staunch critic of the leader of the Accord Party (AP) in the state, Senator Rashidi Ladoja. He had attributed the his loss in the 2003 election to Ladoja, whom he accused of rigging him out against the wish of the people.

    The AP leader has been criticising the Ajimobi Administration, since the beginning of the year. Both Ajimobi and Ladoja fell apart politically last year, due to irreconcilable differences.

    If Lam is alive, Ladoja would have received more verbal attacks from the deceased as he will reel out data on how the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor allegedly destroyed all his legacies when he succeeded him in 2003. He never spared Ladoja and he brooked no criticism from the AP leader. Lam’s death obviously created more breathing space for Ladoja.

    For instance, when the National Assembly election favoured the ACN in 2011, even before the governorship election in which Ladoja (AP) was a candidate, Ajimobi (ACN) was a candidate and Adebayo Alao-Akala flew the flag of the PDP. Lam, while addressing reporters at the Southwest Secretariat office of his party on Old Ife Road, Ibadan, he tongue-lashed Ladoja and Alao-Akala, saying it was “pay-back time” for what they did to him in 2003. Alao-Akala was Ladoja’s deputy governorship candidate in the 2003 election.

    “Both of them rigged me out in 2003. Now is the pay-back time for them. They have already lost this election because the, people of Oyo State have rejected them,” Lam said.

    Adesina also criticized the PDP. In spite of the fact that the party has not been able to pick its pieces in the state, Lam would have sustained its derogation and criticism of its activities, if he is still alive.

    The planned national conference is one development that would definitely have attracted strong comments from Lam Adesina. His view on such important matters which were strong, were always sought by reporters. Lam was a reporter’s delight. His orientation as an activist made him so.

    Members of the older generation of politicians are gradually passing away. Unfortunately, not many cerebral politicians are seen on the political stage in Oyo State again.

    The people of Oke-Ogun, the northern part of the state, are surely missing Great Lam. Lam had a strong political bond with them. They trusted and loved him till the end. Chief Koleoso, with whom he led the party, until his death, hails from Oke-Ogun. They must have missed his visits, friendship and political relationship.

    Though Lam and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, were not in very cordial terms towards the end if his Administration, the monarch and Lam found a common ground again in 2011, to the dismay of many watchers. Therefore, Lam’s hands of fellowship cut across boarders, giving him out as a true leader.

    As the APC faithful and the people of Oyo State remember Great Lam, it is expected that the party will continue us to build leadership on the principles of the deceased who was a man of integrity. Party men, he would emphasize, must subject their personal interest to that of the party. He would advise legislators to vote along party lines and remain faithful to their oath of office.

    He enjoined politicians to keep a simple life and keep service to others as their top priority. Lam urged party faithful to shun corruption but to live a type of life that would ensure they enjoy peace after leaving office.

    It is expected that the APC would keep these ideals as it soars in the administration of the state.

     

  • The curse of power

    Former Aviation Minister Chief Femi Fani-Kayode writes on the transcient nature of power, the gains and pains of leadership and vanity of life.

    This is a grim and depressing essay and the subject matter is painful to digest. I take no pleasure in writing it and I would suggest that those that are easily hurt, over-sensitive and unduly emotional should stop here and go no further because this is not the stuff for weak stomachs or gentle souls. Yet those that choose to go on and read it to the end can be rest assured of one thing- that there is a purpose for this interesting contribution and there is a morale to the tale. Now sit back, relax, fasten your seatbelts, prepare for take-off and come fly with me. Here it goes. When one studies the history of our country critically and takes the time to do the appropiate research one thing becomes very clear- that, in Nigeria, politics and the power game is a dangerous calling and terrible business which, more often than not, comes with a heavy price tag.

    That price tag includes pain, anguish, betrayal, humiliation, persecution, misfortune, hardship, loss, death, strange ailments and tragedy for those who reach the top and their loved ones. It is rather like playing Russian roulette- there is one live bullet in the six empty chambers of the pistol and one doesn’t quite know when that bullet will go off when the trigger is pulled. The gamble and risks taken are not only compulsive but they are also addictive and at the same time utterly deadly. Sadly the result is as follows- virtually every single one of our national leaders and those that have ever ruled this country has suffered immeasurably at some point or the other in their lives, whether it be before, during or after they came to power. They too have shed tears in the loneliness of their closets and have eaten portions of what the bible describes as the ‘’bread of sorrows’’. Yes, even the rich and powerful cry and even they suffer loss and tragedy. This is the case for leaders all over the world but in Nigeria it is far more pronounced and common than anywhere else. Here the angel of death, misfortune and sorrow seem to stalk those that find power and, like an ugly old crow plucks out the pink feathers and precious eyes of a beautiful flamingo, she cuts short and plucks away their lives or the lives of their loved ones. Like a light bulb attracts a moth and leads it to a sudden end, so power attracts those who seek it with equally tragic consequences. As painful as it is, let us look at the facts.

    In the early ‘60’s, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Premier of the Western Region, lost his first son and years later his second son and second daughter were cut short in the prime of their lives. Chief S.L. Akintola, his bitter poiltical rival and the second Premier of the Western Region also lost his first daughter in the early ‘60’s and a few years later lost his third and youngest son. His second son was also cut short in his prime a number of years later. Chief Remilekun Fani-Kayode, the Deputy Premier of the Western Region, who was a close ally and second in command to S.L. Akintola, lost his second son. Sir Adesoji Aderemi, who was the Ooni of Ife, a close ally of Awolowo and the first ceremonial Governor of the old Western Region, lost his first son. Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Premier of the old Eastern Region and Nigeria’s first and only ceremonial President, lost his first wife.

    President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s second democratically-elected President lost four wives and one son whilst Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region, lost two sons and one daughter. Awolowo and Obasanjo went to jail for three years each whilst Ahmadu Bello went to jail for three months.

    S.L. Akintola was killed in the prime of his life just as were Ahmadu Bello and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first democratically-elected leader and Prime Minister. As a matter of fact they were all killed on the same night- the night of January 15th 1966. President Shehu Shagari, Nigeria’s second democratically-elected leader and first executive President lost four children whilst he was in power and was locked up for over two years after he was toppled. Chief MKO Abiola, the winner of the June 12th 1993 Presidential election, lost two wives, was locked up for 4 years and was eventually killed. Chief Bola Ige, the first democratically-elected Governor of Oyo state and the former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federation lost his first son and he himself was later murdered. Chief Bisi Onabanjo, the first democratically-elected Governor of Ogun state lost his first son. Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the first democratically elected Governor of Lagos state, lost his first daughter. Dr. Omololu Olunloyo, the second democratically-elected Governor of Oyo state lost his son. Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh, the first Minister of Finance of Nigeria was killed. Chief Alfred Rewane, one of the founding members of the Action Group and a leading figure in NADECO, was killed. The list is endless and I could go on and on.

    Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua was Minister of Lagos Affairs in the First Republic. He was blessed with a long and peaceful life. However, two of his sons were not so lucky. His first son, General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, who was number two to General Obasanjo when he was military Head of State and who for many decades was one of the most powerful men in the country, was murdered whilst he was in prison. His second son, President Umaru Yar’Adua, was cut short in his prime by a strange and inexplicable ailment after he had been President for only three years. He was succeeded by his number two, Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan lost his brother and his mother-in-law one year after the other after he became President. Worse still those that he had been deputy to throughout his political life, either as Deputy Governor or Vice President, always suffered one form of misfortune or the other, whether it be death, shame, incarceration or impeachment, and he would end up stepping into their shoes and taking their place.

    When it comes to our military rulers the story of consistent tragedy is no different- General Aguiyi-Ironsi, our first military Head of State was killed. General Yakubu Gowon, our second military Head of State, was toppled from power, exiled and lost his brother. General Murtala Mohammed, our third military Head of State, was killed and lost both his son and son-in-law. General Olusegun Obasanjo was our fourth military Head of State and we touched on his misfortunes earlier. General Muhammadu Buhari, our fifth military Head of State, was toppled from power, locked up for a number of years, lost his mother whilst he was in detention and was not allowed to attend her burial, lost his number two (General Tunde Idiagbon) in very strange circumstances and later lost his daughter. General Ibrahim Babangida, our sixth military Head of State, was eased out of power and compelled to ‘’step aside’’ amidst massive controversy and turmoil and later lost his wife. His number two, Rear Admiral Augustus Aikhomu, lost his first son. Chief Ernest Shonekan, our first and only Interim Civilian Head of State, was badly humiliated and toppled from power. General Sani Abacha, our seventh military Head of State, lost his son, was removed from power and was killed. General Abdulsalmi Abubakar, our eigth military Head of State, as far as I am aware is the only exception and appears to have escaped any misfortune.

    Yet the picture is very depressing. This is indeed a catalogue of tragic events. Sorrow and pain just appears to be following sorrow and pain. It is a vicious circle of misfortune and calamity. Yet the most curious phenomenon and bizarre series of events of all is the fact that every single Head of State or President that has ruled our country from the Presidential Villa in Aso Rock, Abuja for three years or more has either ended up dying whilst there or has lost a spouse before leaving office. Babangida did not stay in the Villa in Abuja for up to three years so he and his wife escaped what has come to be known as the ‘’Villa curse’’. It was the same for Chief Ernest Shonekan who, wisely, never stayed at the Villa at all but who chose to preside over the affairs of the nation from Aguda house next door and who remained in power for barely six months. General Abdulsalami Abubakar stayed at the Villa but he remained there for less than a year. However Abacha, Obasanjo and Yar’adua were not so lucky- each of them stayed at the Villa for three years or more and before the end of their tenure they either lost their own life or the life of their spouse whilst there. The story is that once the three year mark is passed the curse sets in and the clock begins to tick. At the end of the day only one of the two spouses comes out alive. As my friend and brother Mr. Femi Adesina of the Sun Newspaper once wrote, I say ‘’Jumping Jehoshaphat’’. This is truly frightful. Yet one wonders- is it all a mere coincidence or is there more to it than meets the eye?

    Are these ‘’inevitable acts of God’’ or is it the work of the devil? Is there such a thing as a curse or a jinxed existence or place? Most of us believe in blessings and blessed places yet can we believe in blessings without believing in curses? Can we believe in the power of light and God without believing in the power of darkness and the devil? Can you have one without the other? Can there be good without evil? These are indeed strange and curious events but is the whole thing nothing but superstitious humbug? Possibly so, though I doubt it very much. Yet the truth is that I am simply guided by the facts and we must each make of them what we will.

    In his book titled ‘’The Screwtape Letters’’ the great 20th century scholar, writer and philosopher Professor C.S. Lewis wrote- ‘’there are two schools of thoughts about demons. Firstly that they do not exist at all and secondly that they exist but that they have no power’’. He then wrote that ‘’the demons themselves are equally pleased with both schools of thought and they view the atheist with as much disdain and amusement as they do the materialist’’. He goes on to say that ‘’the greatest trick that the devil ever played on humanity was to make mankind believe that he does not exist’’. These are powerful insights, wise counsel and instructive words coming from a man that is generally regarded as being at par with the likes of Charles Dickens, William Shakespeare, Homer, J.R.R.Tolkien, Plato, Tolstoy, Voltaire, Aristotle and Paul of Tarsus and who is one of the greatest and most influential writers and philosophers that ever lived.

    Whatever the case and whoever we choose to believe it is my sincere prayer that the Villa curse is broken (assuming that such a curse exists) and that no-one else will suffer the same fate as those that lived there for three years or more before them. Given the fact that the bible says that the Lord ‘’reveals to redeem’’ and that the blood of Jesus is more powerful than any curse I have every confidence that eventually it will be.

    I am not a superstitious man but I don’t believe in coincidences either. Where there is a consistent pattern of strange and similar occurences and a series of bizarre and inexplicable events then good old-fashioned common sense and logic demands that questions must be asked and answers must be provided. When one considers all these facts and series of misfortunes that have trailed our leaders in the last 53 years of our existence as an independent nation one cannot but conclude that there has indeed been a harvest of hardship, pain and death attached to the highest, most powerful and most prominent offices in the land and to those that are close to or have occupied it.

    The truth is that power comes at a terrible price and those that wield it have, more often than not, experienced terrible pain and anguish in their lives. That is the price that virtually every single one of them has had to pay. What a tragedy. Yet at the end of the day I wonder whether it is all worth it. For as the bible says, it is nothing but ‘’vanity upon vanity- all is vanity’’. May the Lord continue to comfort and heal the wounds of all those that have lost their loved ones over the years, including every single family or person that is mentioned or referred to in this essay, and may the souls of the departed continue to rest in perfect peace. The morale of the tale? For all those that are either in the power game or politics themselves or that have loved ones that are involved in it my counsel is that they pray, pray and pray again and that they break every known and unknown covenant. As a matter of fact, as the bible says, they must ‘’pray without ceasing’’ for both themselves and their loved ones.

    I say this because this battle is real. Yet, ‘’our weapons are not carnal but are mighty through God in the pulling down of strongholds’’. May we never be at the wrong place at the wrong time and may our loved ones never be the victims of spiritual bullets that are meant for us. Such bullets, in the good old fashioned Mountain of Fire (MFM) way, shall ‘’die by fire’’ and ‘’return back to sender’’. We decree and we declare that the counsel of the ungodly shall not stand over our lives and loved ones and that ‘’no weapon fashioned against us shall prosper’’. Thankfully we have come to the end of the flight and we have landed safely. You may now unfasten your seatbelts. I hope that it wasn’t too turbulent. Cheer up, be strong and keep smiling because despite all the tragedy, sorrow, death and ugliness it is still a beautiful world and much joy can still be found in it. The Lord is faithful to His own. May God be with us all.

  • Group urges Fayemi, Bamidele to reconcile

    The Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups (COSEG) has urged Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and House of Representatives member Hon. Opeyemi Bamidele to reconcile in the interest of the progressive bloc in the state.

    The group also warned politicians not to plunge Ekiti State into chaos, ahead of the 2014 governorship election.

    COSEG’s warning came on the heel of the recent reports of disruption of political meetings, maiming and killings, accusations and counter-accusations between the two camps in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The group urged the supporters of the two politicians to embrace peace.

    COSEG warned in a statement by its Chairman, Mr. Dayo Ogunlana, and Secretary, Mr. Razaq Olokoba, that any crack in the wall may make the enemy of the progressives to plot evil.

    The group urged the two leaders to guide against any act that could cause irreparable damage to the polity and socio-economic life of the people of the state, in particular, and Yoruba nation in general.

    COSEG wondered why should two brothers from the same party, who have paid their dues in the struggle of the Yoruba people and Nigerians for democracy, could become political foes.

    The association advised them to sink their personal differences and work for the good of Ekitiland.

    The group said that the political rivalry should not be allowed to degenerate into the ugly rift between Chiefs Adekunle Ajasin and Akin Omoboriowo, which led to killing, maiming and wanton destruction of property in the old Ondo State.

    COSEG added: “Ekiti is not only a centre of knowledge well known for the industry, it is also an important epicenter of Yoruba politics. Any major crisis in Ekiti would definitely not augur well for the rest of Yoruba, particularly at this time when the grounds lost to political miscalculations about a decade ago have just been regained and are being consolidated.

    “It is on this note that COSEG calls on well meaning Yoruba elders, both within and outside political parties, to join hands in stemming the tide of an impending disaster because a stitch in time, it is said, saves nine”

  • ‘Ngige not deterred by antics of mischief makers’

    ‘Ngige not deterred by antics of mischief makers’

    In this piece, PAT ANYADUBALU contends that the plan to blackmail the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Dr Chris Ngige, by political opponents, ahead of the poll, will fail.

    The governorship election in Anambra State comes up on Saturday. The state is agog with campaigns and the parties employ all manners of instrument, including lies, and campaigns of calumny to outwit their opponents.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2013 election, Dr. Chris Ngige, is undoubtedly the most unjustly maligned of all the candidates.

    The campaign of calumny against Ngige has gone so awry that a Peoples Democratic Party chieftain was so troubled that he recently issued a release condemning it. The PDP member pointedly accused the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) of being behind the ill treatment of the APC candidate, a story, the APGA has not denied.

    The APGA’s diabolic acts towards Ngige reached a dead end recently when it involved the men of God despite the biblical injunctions of God that one should not touch his anointed nor do his prophet any harm.

    The Catholic Bishop of Awka recently buried his deceased mother at Nanka and expectedly, the event attracted ‘who is who’ in Anambra especially now that Anambra is in a political atmosphere, there was a minor skirmishes that never involved Ngige nor his aides but the mischief makers suspected to be from the APGA went to town that Ngige slapped a reverend father.

    The Chancellor of Awka Catholic Diocese, Rev. Dr. Chudi Peter Akaenyi, in the presence of Rev. Fr. Ezeokwonu, (the priest allegedly slapped) strongly refuted the story and averred that no priest was slapped and that no priest granted any interview to any body that a priest was slapped.

    Earlier, the same mischief makers had accused Ngige of organising a rally on the day Obi of Onitsha held his Ofala festival. They even referred to Benin and Lagos to buttress their argument that no event should have held that day.

    The promoters of this mischief forgot that, in the history of Ofala festival at Onitsha, markets and events are not usually prohibited and non was prohibited on that Ofala day as traders went to market unperturbed.

    Ngige’s explanation of the mix up with the Igwe’s aides was also ignored, since that would have exonerated Ngige.

    The issue of deportation of Ndigbo from Lagos also came up. Ngige’s explanation that the over zealous Lagos officials, who dumped those people at Upper Iweka Awka, should be punished as well as Peter Obi’s officials who failed to come to receive these our brothers, even after agreement between Lagos Government and Anambra State government, was ignored.

    This justifiable explanation was interpreted as Ngige’s support to deportation of Ndigbo.

    Another, campaign of calumny is that Ngige is good, but in a wrong party. One asks the question: what is wrong in being in a national party, a party that has the potential of producing a President of Nigeria from Igbo extraction especially when Ndigbo are clamouring for same.

    The message for those who malign the just especially Ngige is to learn a lesson from Hon. Justices Egboegbo, Stanley Nnaji and late Ralph Ige.

    It is God that gives power. Senator Ngige was similarly unjustly maligned during his senatorial campaign. But he weathered the storm and came out victorious. This gubernatorial election may not be different.

     

  • ‘If Jonathan has hidden agenda, national conference will not succeed’

    ‘If Jonathan has hidden agenda, national conference will not succeed’

    Pro-National Conference Organisation (PRONACO) chieftain Comrade Linus Okoroji, in this interview with Musa Odoshimokhe, explains how the proposed national dialogue can resolve the national question and restore hope to Nigerians.

    What manner of dialogue should Nigerians envisage? My position is not quite different from our stance on the Sovereign National Conference (SNA). I think for now, we should accept it with two hands in whatever guise is has come. We should not give them the opportunity to give excuses. We have been clamouring for it for long. The area I am not quite comfortable with is the move to remove the word “sovereign”. Nobody should tamper with the report. There should be a plebiscite.The people will vote in favour or against it. So, it will be the people’s constitution. This should not be the elite issue, and those who have stood up to kick against it are afraid that it would be politicised.

    Are there antecedents to show that it was hijacked in the past?

    This is in view of what Chief Olusegun Obasanjo did, what General Sani Abacha did at his own time. Having said that, I have seen some of the people in the advisory committee led by Dr. Femi Okorounmu. He has name to protect and I have no reason to doubt him. More so, he is a Yoruba elite and an Afenifere chieftain. When he was in the Senate, he had advocated for a SNC. So, I cannot doubt his integrity. For now, I think we should accept this with our two hands and see how we are going to manage it. What I think would be the challenge is how to get the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO)’s support, which the conference desires. We should return the country to a true federal system. Each region should control its resources. We should look at the PRONACO document and see its position. Today, there is no state in Nigeria that has a working edict. In the pas,t the Northern Region had its own constitution, the Western Region had its own constitution, the Midwest Region had its constitution and the Eastern Region had its constitution. But all these federal paraphernalia have been thrown away. People like Indians and Chinese understand what it means to decentralise governance according to their nationalities. We should not be a different people. We should look at all of these and see how we can move forward.

    Some sections of the country are afraid that it will lead to the breakup of Nigeria? What is your view?

    What is wrong, if the country breaks up? Will the North not survive, if the country breaks? If that is their fear, they should come down to terms with other sections of the country. They should not continue to play the role of a senior brother or owner of Nigeria. If they nurse such fear, they should come down low and give Nigeria the opportunity to survive. The problem we have is the North, which does not want others to survive. They are using the resources of other nationalities, which they want to manage. They should work together with others so that Nigeria will survive in the interest of all and not their own interest alone. That is even the fears of other minorities in the North; the majority wants to trample on them. The oligarchy wants to suppress the minority in their own areas. There is this story we heard from Chief Anthony Enahoro, may his soul rest in peace, that Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, when he was the Prime Minister of Nigeria, in the North, he was not recognised above Sardauna. Sarduana was his boss. That is the way they behave.

    What do think should guide us during the conference?

    It is the matter of sincerity and commitment to examine the issues that are germane to our wellbeing as a country. We should aim at making Nigeria a developing, progressive and people-oriented country. We should look at the welfare of the people, the significance of the common good; that everybody who is a Nigerian should be entitled to benefit from the common good. If you are walking on the street of America and suddenly, you collapse and drop, government hospital will pick you up and take care of you. Nobody cares who you are. They take care of you, until you survive, unless such a person is unlucky and die. In Nigeria, we are living like orphans. People who have no parents, unless you have contact with people in government, that is only when your survival is guaranteed.

    But the time is too short to have a successful conference before 2015…

    Before the military left, the NADECO had been clamouring for the SNC, even during the Abiola struggle. Our slogan was let us have a Government of National Unity. With the Government of National Unity, we should go ahead to have the national conference. And it was thought that, within four years, we would have achieved the goal. All the efforts were truncated by personal ambitions of those who came on board. They instituted kangaroo conferences because they wanted to remain in power. But, if that is the strategy put in place now, it will fail because Obasanjo failed when he tried it. The truth is that, is he going to succeed? If he diverts attention because of his ambition, what is going to be his own gain? My thinking is that he wants to break away from just being the President of Nigeria to being a hero.

    What, if the outcome of the conference is finally tempered with by the Nation Assembly?

    It is going to be wrong to subject it to the National Assembly and, whether they call it National Conference or Sovereign National Conference, it boils down to the end result. The outcome of the conference must not be tampered with by anybody. Once it is tampered with, it means the conference did not hold, no matter how long. And whether a National Conference or Sovereign National Conference, it can only be subjected to a referendum and not the National Assembly. What is the significance of the National Assembly to a National Conference when they are at the House discussing issues that favour them alone and their cronies? The only power to vet the outcome of the conference is the people through a plebiscite.

  • ‘PDP will be defeated, if opposition unite’

    ‘PDP will be defeated, if opposition unite’

    Second Republic Kaduna State Governor Balarabe Musa spoke with Correspondent TONY AKOWE on the proposed national dialogue, 2015 elections and the chance of the opposition at the polls.

    The Advisory Committee on the National Dialogue is going round the country. What is your position on this?

    I have already stated my position and rejected the committee. However, I am presenting my critique to the National dialogue being organised by President Jonathan that will offer a credible alternative national conference. I will not submit my memo to the committee because I rejected them. I am calling for their rejection by Nigerians. In any case, they are already going against their terms of reference because they were established to discuss and recommend to the President the modalities for the conference. They are not supposed to receive memo because that is supposed to be received by the conference when it is established. This is just a committee and, if they can go this far and go beyond their terms of reference, what happens?

    Don’t you think that rejecting this conference will be counter-productive?

    Yes, and what will happen if, for some weak reasons, we accept this committee and the conference. what will follow? The consequences on Nigeria will even be worse because nobody will call for a democratic and popular national conference again. People will go for the alternative which is the Sovereign National Conference because we have a problem. The country is not working; Nigerians are fighting one another and they cannot sit, discuss and resolve the problem amicably. In spite of what anybody will say, Nigeria will not disintergrate, but will continue. Of course, it is possible for Nigeria to disintergrate but after a prolonged period of instability leading to the destruction of everything of value, including human being and property. That is when nothing is left for anybody to lay claim to, then Nigeria can disintegrate.

    But the instability within the regions will continue because the units Nigeria disintegrate into will continue to fight one another. They are neigbours and they will be hostile to each others because there has been a high level of integration politically and economically among these people. People will say that the Soviet Union disintegrated and nothing happens. In their case, the Soviet Union had reached a high level of development and because of that, the disintegrated units could go on. But that is not the same with Nigeria and I can say that the disintegration of Nigeria will take us back to the stone age or the pre-colonial status .

    Niger State governor has consistently said the North can survive without the rest of the country if it breaks up. What is your opinion about this?

    This is true of the north, this is true of the Southwest, this is true of the Southsouth. The only zone that may have problem is the Southeast. All these zones can survive, but at what cost? At the price of going back to pre-colonial status? If the north, the southwest and southsouth think they can survive because of oil and gas, they will not. We have been having a federal system of government in Nigeria for a very long time. We ought to have recorded high level of socio-economic development in those areas. But have we? In what way is the Southwest more developed than the north except in this 40 years of gap in educational development. But these 40 years gap in educational development, what has it done for the south west? Do you see a higher level of development in terms of industries? What type of industries are available in the Southwest, if you take away Lagos, that you don’t have in the North? So, the whole of Nigeria is grossly underdeveloped and it will be very painful and expensive before we can pick up. We should know that because of the strategic position of Nigeria and, with the resources of the country, once we are balkanised, imperialists will regard us as a hunting ground and will prevent our progress. As I said, if we had developed enough like Russia, Yugoslavia, among others, whose different parts have developed enough to carry on, things will be different.

    There is this controversy about whether Jonathan should contest the 2015 election or not…

    As far as I am concern, I don’t care if he runs. What I can tell Nigerians is that if they don’t want Jonathan to run, they should make sure that his party does not nominate him. And, if the party nominates him and you still don’t want him to run and succeed, all you need to do either to vote for him or against him. But don’t mess Nigerians up because it is a simple thing. We say we are in a democracy and in a democracy, it is the votes that decides.

    So, since your protest for or against Jonathan is causing insecurity and instability in the country; if you are really patriotic and you care, leave that issue until the date of voting. If you don’t want Jonathan to be President of Nigeria in the 2015 election, don’t vote for him, but organise against him. So, for now don’t heat the polity.

    Do you think that the opposition, as presently constituted, has what it takes to unseat the PDP in the 2015 elections?

    No, they don’t.

    Why do you think so?

    Take strategically the issue of inspiration. Is there a high level of inspiration at the moment in favour of the APC? No. Majority of Nigerians don’t see the difference between the APC and the PDP. In 1993, there was clear inspiration towards the SDP, which was a forced merger. People had confidence in Abiola. Do we have such high level of inspiration now? Secondly, let us talk about the power structure in the country. The APC controls 11 states, while the PDP controls 25. Then, let us go for resources for campaign because since there is no high inspiration in favour of APC, which can reduce the cost of campaign, it means that they will have to pay for the campaign, just like the PDP. How much resources do they have compared to the PDP. But APC has a tremendous chance and I hope they can use it.

    What is that chance?

    The PDP has been discredited and nobody wants them right now, even within the party and the evidence are quite open. The APC can capitalise on this and let Nigerians know the difference between what the APC stands for and what the PDP stands for at least, in terms of the programmes and objectives filed by the two with INEC when they were looking for registration. At the moment, nobody knows the aim and objectives of the APC apart from being an opposition to the discredited PDP. What about the programme and objectives which will show the distinction which has already been filed with INEC? Let us have it and use it to compare.

    Let us not make the mistake of the PPA in 1983 at a meeting in Benin. We had a meeting of the leadership of the parties under the leadership of Azikiwe, Awolowo, Waziri Ibrahim and a faction of the PRP, when we insisted on the programme and objectives of the PPA. Some of the governors then said we had eminent people in the group and so, we should elect them and allow them to continue with the work. That was not good enough and that was one of the things that made us failed in 1983 to choose between Zik and Awolowo.

    The APC may be making the same mistake by assuming that because PDP has been discredited so much, they can take things for granted. In addition to bringing out what they stand for, they should open up and show us that they can unite this country and accommodate others. At the moment, the APC is limited to the ACN, the CPC, the ANPP and the APGA. Is that enough? There are credible political parties even among those that don’t control a local government. In any case, where is Labour? Can’t the APC make the compromise and have Labour go with them?

    So, the APC should keep its doors open?

    But definitely, the APC has a chance; but it depends on how they utilise the opportunity. Let them not make the mistake the CPC made in 2011. According to our estimate, the CPC would have won at least 12 states in the north simply because of the bankruptcy of the PDP and they would also have been able to win one or two states in the South. Even, if they don’t, they would have been able to get the required one third for national spread to avoid a second ballot. If the second ballot became necessary, the CPC could have won by the require majority, but they ended up with one state because of the mismanagement of opportunity. They thought they could do it all alone because of the popularity and integrity of one man. So, the APC should learn from that. They should learn that they are not the first merger to contest the Presidency of the country. There has been three others in the past and the only one that succeeded was that of the SDP. Even then, because of the composition of the SDP, the same leaders of the party led by Chief Anthony Anenih sold the Presidency to the NRC. I know everything about it because I was part of the whole struggle and how it happened.

    What we know is that the Babangida government annulled the election.

    Do you think that the present INEC has what it takes to deliver quality elections in 2015?

    It hasn’t because it not independent. This has been shown clearly that it is not independent and some of us don’t expect the INEC to be independent. First, the INEC under Jega asked for the money they needed to conduct a free, fair and transparent election leading to a legitimate government and they were given that money without any deduction at all. Did they conduct a free and fair election? Since then, have they conducted free, fair and transparent election? In some places, the opposition defeated the PDP not because of the power of their votes, but because of what I can call balance of terror.

  • Boko Haram: After committee’s report, what next?

    Boko Haram: After committee’s report, what next?

    Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the recommendations of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North and its implications for the on-going anti-terrorism campaigns.

    The Presidential Committee on Dialogue and Peaceful Resolution of Security Challenges in the North has submitted its final report to President Goodluck Jonathan. The committee recommended the setting up of an advisory committee on continuous dialogue to advise the President on all matters related to dialogue and resolution of crisis.

    The implication of the committee’s recommendation is that the Boko Hararm insurgency cannot be resolved by military alone. Many Nigerians have faulted President Jonathan’s approach to the volatile issue. The government had in April set up the Tanimu Turaki Committee, which was given a three month-deadline. The deadline was later extended by two months. The committee was mandated to come up with recommendations on how to end the insurgency. Less than a month after its inauguration, the Federal Government declared a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, where the Boko Haram group has been on rampage. The government outlawed the dreadful Islamist sect and ordered a military action to subdue them.

    Critics have said that it is contradictory to declare war on terrorists, while the government claims to be negotiating with them. In reaction, the sect rejected the proposed dialogue. This rejection of dialogue is reflected in the committee’s report. “Some of our difficulties in having a productive dialogue include the refusal of their leaders to submit to dialogue”, the report said.

    President Jonathan had opted for dialogue with Boko Haram when he realised that the issue truly required a political solution. It was against the backdrop of the fact that the terrorists enjoy sympathy in the North among the political elite and security officers. Many observers felt that the President should have sustained the courage to sincerely discuss with the group, listen to their demands, present the government’s view, proffer solutions and reach a consensus.

    According to critics, this route was ignored because the government was averse to contrary views in a federation with diverse religious, social, political, economic, cultural, educational and professional interests.

    Five months after the declaration of state of emergence and the military operation, the terrorists are yet to surrender. The government has extended the state of emergency in the three states by another six months, an indication that the end of the war is out of sight. The President has admitted that the situation is still dicey. He said: “Though, we cannot say we have won the war. But listening to the address by the chairman, we believe that the document you have submitted will help us with the follow up action.”

     

    Is military action the solution?

     

    Former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Martin Luther Agwai has said that the Boko Haram insurgency cannot be resolved by the military. “You can never solve this problem with military solutions. The military can always be an enabling force. They will sensitise; they will stabilise the area. It is a political issue. It is a social issue. It is an economic issue and, until these issues are addressed, the military can never give you a solution. If anybody expects the military to give a solution to this problem, it is not possible because it is not a military problem. It is not a war. You are not fighting another country invading Nigeria. So, you cannot get a military solution to that.”

    An expert in conflict resolution, Mr Gab Okweselise, said that combating the insurgency requires military, political and communal solutions. According to him, the military role is simply to restore law and order, protect lives and properties of citizens and create an enabling environment for political solution to take place which, he said, the Joint Task Force (JTF) has creditably achieved.

    Okweselise noted that the JTF’s achievement is based on the premise that the government has the capacity to checkmate the activities of the terrorists and crush them. “Once an enabling environment has been created, concurrent actions should take place with the aim of bringing the menace to an end. The time for political solution to the insurgency is now and the security agencies must remain in a staging position to act decisively and appropriately when the need arise.

    “On the other hand, the communities have a lot to do in the area of giving timely and credible information and to stop youths from being recruited into the group; otherwise, the Boko Haram terrorism will linger for a long time. All forms of litany will not solve the insurgency, except concerted, coordinated, selfless efforts and resolve of the government, citizens and the security agencies”.

    A sociologist, Dr Hassan Abdullahi, advised government embrace dialogue in solving the insurgency. He said: “Obviously, dialogue, like in the case of Niger Delta militants, could lead to amnesty. Government needs to properly organise the solution by engaging in thorough discussion and negotiation with the terrorists so that, at the end, we will have solutions that can give us sustained peace that we need, instead of living with fear, which the military operation represents.

    Abdullahi said the solution approach should have short and long term measures. In the short term, the government should quickly constitute a discussion and reconciliation committee made up of respected leaders in the country. He said that they should be given six months to discuss with Boko Haram, tender apology for the past mistakes of the government, seek to know their grievances, persuade them to understand the secularity of the Nigerian state, reach a common understanding of what should be the solution to the their problems, reconcile them with government, and allow the government to implement the agreement.

    “Government may have to rehabilitate the group and this is where the idea of amnesty comes in. For an ideological group like Boko Haram, Nigeria needs amnesty to support the political solution. The use of force cannot provide the needed support and it must be dropped forthwith. Amnesty will assist in moving them out of their thinking, engage them economically and assuage them.

    “The next stage is to disarm them and discourage them from bombing, destroying and carrying arms to attack fellow Nigerians. Thereafter, government should discretely determine and prosecute any person, who had used and dumped them or who had encouraged them in any form in carrying out their dastard acts. Government needs to provide little support to all those identified to have lost properties or lives arising from the insurgency”.

    On the long term solution, Abdullahi asked the government to restructure the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to carry out its functions with re-energised focus. “NOA should put in place a national reorientation programme through which they can regularly interact with the idling Nigerian youths. NOA needs to learn how to deepen the use of inspirational leaders from across the world to calm the raging nerves of the youth and gradually identify what else the youths can do to earn a living. It should be able to discover the talents of the youths, retrain them along their talents through robust free education”.

     

    ICC stand on amnesty

     

    In a move to assist the country in the fight against terrorism, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is making concerted efforts to address the challenges posed by the sect. According to a status report by the ICC Prosecutor on its preliminary investigation, Boko Haram “has attacked religious clerics, Christians, political leaders, Muslims opposing the group, the police and security forces, Westerners, journalists and UN personnel”.

    Thus, the next phase of the examination by the ICC, according to experts, would be to evaluate the viability of the attempts to prosecute Boko Haram, to which Nigerian authorities would be required to fully cooperate and make all reports and past investigations available to the ICC.

    The United States has declined the request to list Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation. The President of the Chrisian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, faulted the United States for not classifying the group as a terrorist. He said that one year after he had testified before the Congress, US has not designated Boko Haram a foreign terrorist organisation, even though it has killed citizens of many countries, including Americans.

    Oritsejafor described America’s ambivalence over the terrorist challenge as a stunning betrayal. He recalled that, after the ‘9/11’ disaster, Nigeria was among the nations that cooperated with global efforts on tracing terrorist financing, adding that a designated foreign financial support was uncovered in Northern Nigeria.

    As a result of the mounting pressure, the US government was compelled to designate some members of the group as terrorists, but nothing was done about the group as a body. Three leaders of Boko Haram tagged as terrorists are Abubakar Shekau, who leads the militant group, and Abubakar Adam Kambar and Khalid el Barnawi are believed to have ties with a branch of al-Qaeda.

    Ironically, the ICC position has not stopped the federal government from going ahead with its intention to grant Boko Haram amnesty.

    A former university don, Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), said that the position of the ICC overrides that of Nigeria. He said that, once they (Boko Haram members) have committed crimes against humanity, that decision is overriding. “In other words, whether we like it or not, it is not a domestic matter anymore. So, that is the status now in international law and in the law of any country that is a party to the statute of the ICC of which Nigeria is a party”, he added.

    The President of Yoruba Youths Assembly, Mr Thomas Olarinde opposed amnesty for the group. He said that it is wrong to reward crime.

    Olaniran said the issue of amnesty is beyond the Nigerian Government. “It is an international issue. If Nigeria grants them amnesty, the international community will see us as an unserious nation. We at the Yoruba Youths Assembly want the Federal Government to forget about the amnesty to protect the integrity of the country. Government should rather invite the international community to assist the country to urgently address the nightmarish of Boko Haram menace. But definitely, amnesty is no longer the option at this point”, he added.

    Human rights lawyer Festus Keyamo urged Nigeria to drop the idea of amnesty. This is in view of the fact that the international community has frowned at it.

    He said: “The amnesty proposal cannot continue. We are aware that the international community frowns on it and never negotiates with terrorist groups. The policy is never to negotiate with any terrorist group. It is therefore going to be difficult for Nigerian government to continue to negotiate with Boko Haram”.

  • Oshiomhole: Five years of promise kept

    Oshiomhole: Five years of promise kept

    In this piece, Samuel Eguaikhide contends that Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has redeemed his campaign promises to the people.

    On November 12, 2103, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole would lock five years in the saddle as the governor of Edo State.

    The score-card of the man who prefers the simple title of Comrade Governor or Mr. Governor to the more fanciful and elegant ‘Executive Governor’, is a matter of intense debate among the people of the three senatorial districts in the State. The question now is: how has Comrade Adams Oshiomhole fared in the last 1,829 days as the man administering the fortunes of Edo State?

    What is not in doubt in Edo State is that Comrade Oshiomhole has performed excellently, but what the people argue about is how the projects are distributed. While some say he has concentrated more in Edo South, some argue that most of the projects are in Edo Central while the rest insist that Edo North enjoys more government patronage. The debates still rage even as I write this. However, the fact is that no part of the state enjoys more patronage than the other as projects are evenly and equitably distributed.

    Before Oshiomhole came on board, the story in the state was that of pain, agony, disillusionment, despair and disappointment occasioned by decades of criminal neglect, marginalization and deceit by previous administrations.

    On assumption of office on November 12, 2008, Comrade Oshiomhole, fresh from being the Labour Leader Number 1, made a pledge to the people of the state that the decay of the past years would be reversed. Today, the promises have been fulfilled and the people now see that government can really work for the people.

    The success story is felt and seen in all parts of the state, from Benin City the state capital to Damgbala in Akoko Edo; from Ozalla in Owan West to Ewohinmi in Esan South-East. From school projects to road projects, to health projects, to water projects, to rural electrification, the list is endless.

    In fact, the Governor’s magic wand has touched all the 192 wards that make Edo State have in terms of one project or the other. No single ward is left out!

    The road projects undertaken and completed in Benin City, the state capital in five years makes one wonder if there were tarred roads in the city before his coming.

    From the flagship six-lane Airport road which is now complete with side drains and walkways, with underground drains which in some parts are over five-metres deep and two metres wide, complete with street lights and greens to the equally beautiful six-lane Akpakpava road which has the same accoutrements as the Airport road, the Oshiomhole government signaled a clear intention to develop Benin City into one of Nigeria’s most modern cities.

    However, there are other road projects completed in Benin City which have completely transformed the face of the capital city. Among these are the Gani Fawhinmi Layout comprising six roads complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; Oba Market road complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; stadium road, complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; Sokponba road, complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; 2nd West Road complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; six-lane Sapele Road, complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; Upper Siluko road complete with covered drains, walkways and street lights; Six-lane New Lagos road; completed street lights at Upper Soponba; completed street lights at Ramat Park-Agbor road; Oro street, Uwa lane, 3rd cemetery, Iheya, Five Junction and other adjoining streets, all completed with covered drains, walkways and street lights. Also, the King’s Square in the heart of Benin City sits proudly with a beautiful musical tune and a water fountain which glows in different colours.

    A number of Primary and Secondary schools across the seven local governments and wards in Edo South have also been refurbished and reconstructed.

    After a little setback, work on the 120-bed hospital Complex at the Central Hospital has recommenced and the people are eagerly looking forward to its completion.

    The N25 billion water storm masterplan which is aimed to deflood the state capital is ongoing, and even in the first phase, the promise of what it can do is already being felt.

    In Edo central, Ekpoma and Iruekpen which have been without water for over 25 years due to the rocky and low level of the water table now boast of potable water as boreholes have been sunk in both places with the Dando drilling rigs purchased by the Government. Also installed at the two sites are water treatment plants to make further purify the water. Both projects have been completed and the people of Iruekpen and Ekpoma now enjoy potable water. However, other places in Edo Central now boast of potable water which they have lacked for years.

    On roads, the Isua-Uzenema road is completed with side drains; the Igueben-Udo road, Igueben-Ewohinmi-Ewatto-Ohordua road; the Amedokhian-Ugboha road; the Irrua-usugbenu-Ugbegun-Ujogba, almost completed. These are among the many roads undertaken by this administration in Edo Central in the state.

    The schools completed are Ewu Junior Secondary School; St John Bosco, Ubiaja; Annunciation Catholic College, Irrua, Ibhedu Primary School, Ohordua, Okaigben Primary School, Ewohinmi and Eguare Primary School, Ekpoma. The ongoing schools projects are Our Lady of Lourdes, Uromi; Our Savior Primary School, Iruekpen. All these schools, roads and water projects are in addition to the rural electrification projects in many communities in the area.

    The Women and Children Hospital at Ewohinmi has also been completed and awaiting commissioning.

    In Edo North, many of the road projects are completed and awaiting commissioning. These are Ewan-Ojirami-Makeke-Dangbala-Lampese road; Otuo-Ihievbe-Ogben road, Ayua-Jattu road completed with side drain; Iyamo-Iyora road, completed with side drain and a bridge; Apana-Jattu road, completed with side drain; Ayogwiri-Apana-Igodo-Okpekpe; Auchi-Jattu road, complete with street lights; Ikabigbo-Jattu road completed; Jattu-Ibie road; Ivioghe-Igiode-Uzanu; Ekperi-Anegbete road with bridge, due for commissioning.

    In Edo, the red roof revolution, is a common denominator in almost every village in the state. This simply means the revolution in the rebuilding of the public schools which were left to rot for years.it

    It is a thing of joy to see that what the people talk about now is the sitting of projects and not the lack of it as was the case in years past.

    Oshiomhole has done well in five years, he has performed creditably and no doubt the people are happy.

     

    Eguaikhide, a university don, writes from Ekpoma