The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • Are Nigerian political parties structural flawed for democratic processes?

    Are Nigerian political parties structural flawed for democratic processes?

    Nnedinso Ogaziechi

     

    For the political philosophers that fashioned the democratic system of government, they believed that the system is best suited for the people of any geographic space as a government of the people by the people and for the people. It is planned for the people to, through electoral processes elect their leaders both for the executive and legislative positions. In this way, the people are viewed as the mandate givers.

    However, the history of democracy in most of Africa seems flawed in most instances as the systemic neo-imperialism often sip into the political space. What we then have is a somewhat wobbly democracy that in most countries is controlled solely by either families or the political elite. In a country like Nigeria, the political elite is so entrenched that they almost own the electoral processes starting from the political party structures that ought to be the valid vehicle through which candidates emerge to contest for elective offices.

    The result of the influence of some ‘powerful’ party members across party lines then often make elections less democratic. The influence of godfathers, party chieftains and party financiers has greatly affected the Nigerian political space very negatively and the whole country reels from the effects thereof.

    The Roundtable Conversation this week involved an Professor of Structural Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago and a one-time Senatorial aspirant in Anambra state, Gene Nonso Mojekwu. Even though Nigeria seems not to practice full representative democracy in terms of allowing pace for women, youths and the minority tribes, he believes that the idea of political exclusion is not bought by every male in the society even though there is a seeming monopoly of the political space by the men. To him, the entire male segment of our population cannot be painted with the same brush even though certain actions of the male politicians seem to reinforce that feeling.

    To him, there is no political Eldorado for women in any continent including the United States, however, the only difference with the United States is that there is enough space for political growth of both genders in a very inclusive way. The reason is that personal effort for inclusion according to Mojekwu is often rewarded with an opening for entrance. To him, the political success of an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former waitress now the youngest woman elected to US Congress after defeating a ten-term Democratic Party Chair, the then 2018 incumbent, Joe Crowley is very remarkable. Her victory was possible because of the structure of party politics in the United States.

    She won the election at the age of 29, is of Hispanic descent and a woman. She is the youngest woman ever to serve in the United States Congress. She did not have to be selected by the political party as a favour by ‘Party Chieftains’  as often is the case in Nigeria. Again, she was not nominated as a token for the women. She worked her way through to success but the door was open for her. Mojekwu believes that all the excluded parties in the Nigerian political space, women, youths and minorities can begin to re-strategize because their world view is different from the current political elite.

    The political party operations in Nigeria in his view seem very undemocratic as there are the same old politicians recycling themselves and they are quite aged and almost out of tune with modern political economies across the globe. In his view, if the Nigerian youths are to step up and step into the political space, there would be more room for equity because the modern world takes cognizance of competences devoid of gender tags. He however believes that the younger people seem unprepared to step into the political space given the apathy they often show.

    In a way, Mojekwu believes that given the situation in the country, a no experience for the youths seems better than having a bad experience under the old politicians. He believes the youths must begin to chart a course that can give them seats at the political table. Their inexperience notwithstanding, they cannot do worse than we already see with the old politicians. The rise of the youths would bring equity in the political space.

    A major flaw in the structure of the Nigerian political space he says is the fact that instead of the people, the owners and beneficiaries of the democratic system, a few political leaders have and enjoy the monopoly of nominating candidates at party primaries and in such an instance, their anointing often goes to the highest bidder in an environment where election funds are neither monitored no barricades set.

    Prof. Mojekwu believes that elections in functional democracies are the monopoly of the masses but in Nigeria, once the primaries are flawed, the whole process gets ruined. It is the structure of our brand of democracy that is not really open to new entrants and as such the tiny percentage of ‘political leaders and financiers’ often arrogate to themselves the selection process at primary elections and in doing so, disenfranchise even better and more prepared candidates.

    In climes where the people and not a few people decide the wrong use of party machinery, the people have a wider choice and candidates sell themselves to the people and are elected on their personal merit and not on imposed or proxy qualifications. He believes that a Kamala Harris despite her qualifications is today a Vice-Presidential candidate because the democratic party is playing on her mass appeal and mass hunger for certain political trajectory. The Nigerian political parties need to listen to the people and give them what they demand for democracy to successfully thrive.

    He believes the political party structure and electoral processes in Nigeria need to change to allow candidates access to the people and not a few party leaders who are often far from altruistic in their affairs. Let candidates get through and talk to the people rather than being carried to electoral victory by party leaderships. Raising the hands of candidates and handing them a party flag is not all there is to electoral processes. The people must be free to choose and party primaries must not be sold surreptitiously through party delegates and all other forms of manipulations.

    Mojekwu believes the solution to the present situation would be a more open political party system that gives all aspirants unfettered room to reach out to the people and be accepted or rejected on their merit. The youths must step in on their own without an apprenticeship period with the old guards that might end up corrupting them, better learn on the job than learn from bad workmen. There must be a rise in individuals that are more accepting of the diversity of the nation and focused on the value of individual candidates devoid of regional tags. A non-violent revolution can ease out the dysfunctional system and open up the Nigerian political space for better and more competent leaders at all levels. But again, candidates must step up and work their way through the party machinery and be of admirable private and professional pedigree. Leadership demands those.

    Maria Mbakwe, a business woman and the People’s Democratic Party Woman leader in Imo state believes that there are too many odds against inclusiveness in Nigerian political parties but she as a woman party leader has decided to adopt certain strategies to include more women in partisan politics. As a beneficiary of another mentorship by a woman who encouraged her to be more actively partisan, she started as a Counselor in her Ifakala ward.

    However, from councillorship, she rose through the ranks to the state women leader and has been in the vanguard of pulling more interested women into the party executive and in her almost a decade as a woman leader, she has tried to come around the obstacles that prevent many women from party politics. She adopted the community advocacy style where she and her team across the state re-orientate women towards being more active politically and that has resulted in more women joining political parties and seeking more executive positions at the party congresses.

    She still sees financial muscle as one of the oppressive tools men have against the less economically strong women and youth but she believes that with some plans she is not ready to release yet for strategic reasons, the male politicians might just be doing a rethink of their own strategies because the gender parity would be more productively viable for the people.

    To her, it is time for women to rally around each other and meet male politicians at the barricade given the short end of the stick the men have for long handed the women in Nigeria. The use of violence at elections often rob women politicians of victory and in her words, she has introduced the PDP Babes – a group of young women across the state being  groomed as an answer to the male youth thuggery. To her, women too can raise modern day amazons to protect their votes as the men have sworn to always use violence to instigate flawed electoral victories.

    The idea of using financial might to edge out the women might just be a thing of the past because the women who form majority of the voters have decided to look inwards for competent women to give the men a run for their money. To her, when the voting processes at the primary and general elections are free and fair, more women would definitely win elections and have more voice and capacity to rescue the state and national economies because women actually wear the shoes and know where the shoe of bad governance pinches.

    In all, both Mojekwu and Mbakwe are hinging the progress of our democracy on improved party structures that give the power to the people as a strong democratic principle.

  • Park rangers falling victim to killer herdsmen —Dr. Ibrahim Musa Goni, Conservator- General, National Parks Service

    Park rangers falling victim to killer herdsmen —Dr. Ibrahim Musa Goni, Conservator- General, National Parks Service

    A peep into the background of Dr. Ibrahim Musa Goni, the Conservator-General of the National Parks Service, shows that he was cut out for the job from birth. Born in Bussa, Niger State, he more or less grew up living in the natural ecosystem he would later study about and then make a living from. He spoke with PAUL UKPABIO on the state of the national parks and the toll that such crises as Boko Haram insurgency, herdsmen attacks and the Covid-19 pandemic have taken on them.   

     

    HOW has the Boko Haram insurgency affected the operations and growth of our national parks?

    National parks remain our natural treasure and we must hold them in high esteem. Apart from the negative anthropogenic activities such as illegal logging,

    grazing, water poisoning and mining which have bedeviled the parks lately, organised crimes like insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and armed robbery have taken untold challenge on the effective management of some of our national parks across the country. Confrontations between these criminals and park rangers have oftentimes resulted in casualties with park rangers killed or maimed.

    Therefore, to appraise the impact of Boko Haram insurgency on the overall operations and growth of the national parks in the last couple of years, I will say that their activities have negatively impacted on the operations and development of some of our national parks. Records available indicate that there have been geometric decreases in tourists’ arrival with its attendant decline in internally generated revenue and loss of manpower to heinous activities of insurgency in areas that are prone to great security challenge, especially in the North Eastern part of the country.

    However, over the past few years, the management of the National Park Service has made concerted efforts to tackle this menace headlong through strategic partnership and inter-agency collaboration. The Service is currently collaborating with some agencies such as the military and paramilitary as well as other relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies in the country. To a large extent, these collaborations have been yielding positive results and we are gradually rebuilding the confidence of the people.

    How have the nation’s parks manage to survive the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic with regard to funding?

    No doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic is a global health challenge considered as the biggest calamity that mankind has faced since the Second World War. This pandemic has ravaged all the sectors of the global economy, so the National Park Service is not exempted in any way. Nevertheless, the funding of the National Park Service has really been affected even though we still draw our salaries from the government and there are no job losses. The downward review of the nation’s budget has affected the Service’s funding.

    Do the animals at our various national parks feel the impact of Covid-19?

    The animals in our various national parks are aware of the Covid-19 pandemic due to reduced hunting pressure and illegal trafficking on Nigeria’s wildlife resources in the past few months. The lockdowns and restrictions have made it difficult for poachers to get markets for their kills. Thus, this has helped greatly to enhance wildlife population across the nation’s parks.

    The animals are being protected through routine surveillance and organised patrols in vulnerable areas of the parks, using high-tech conservation equipment such as drones, smart cyber trackers, intelligence gathering and sharing with sister agencies, intensified media advocacy, improved enlightenment and education. Therefore, in order to ensure adequate safety and protection of officers and men of the Service, the management has provided Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in addition to regular information on the virus and guidelines for hygiene as stipulated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 Pandemic.

    Which do you consider the tougher to manage between Boko Haram and Covid-19?

    Covid-19, to me, is worse than Boko Haram simply because Covid-19 is a pandemic ravaging the whole world while the activities of Boko Haram insurgents are mainly restricted to some parts of the Northeast. Generally, pandemics are unseen enemies and they can be deadlier if not brought under control in good time. Pandemics are not merely serious public health challenge rather they pose great threats to socio-economic and political stability in the affected areas.

    Are the national parks affected in any way by the activities of killer herdsmen?

    Yes, the activities of herders are affecting effective protection of some of our National Parks. Illegal grazing has brought forth herder-park management conflicts. Confrontations between herders and park rangers have oftentimes resulted in the killing or maiming of park rangers during patrols.

    A major reason for national parks is for tourists to visit. With all the problems you have mentioned, are tourists still visiting the parks. And with the new normal, are people still allowed to visit the parks in large numbers?

    One of the cardinal responsibilities of the National Park Service is to provide a platform for fun seekers via the national parks. With the recent outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, there were restrictions on tourism and research related activities in all our national parks. As a responsible government entity, our activities are guided by rules and regulations. Lately, these restrictions have gradually been eased across the national parks with specific guidelines in line with the Federal Government’s directives through the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19 Pandemic.

    For those who have not visited the parks, what are the distinguishing features of each park?

    There are seven national parks located within the major ecological zones of the country except the marine ecosystem. The areas the parks are located are reputed as the richest ecosystems in Nigeria in terms of biodiversity, with some of them harbouring rare, endemic and endangered wildlife species. Apart from the rich animal and plant resources that abound within the national parks, they also help to preserve several historical, archeological and cultural features such as the Dogon Ruwa waterfalls and GoronDutse in-selberg in Kamuku National Park;  the ruins of Oyo, the political capital of the ancient Oyo Empire; the Koso ruins and Old Parnono Shrine located in Old Oyo National Park; the Dagona Waterfalls sanctuary; an internationally recognised wintering site for Palearctic migrant birds coming from Europe, Asia and other parts of the world, located in Chad Basin National Park.

    The Cross River National Park is an important ecological gene pool containing one of the oldest rainforests in Africa and the largest in Nigeria. Gashaka’s Gumti National Park contains some historic sites, one of which is the old German Fort at the top of Gashaka Hill. The Gangarwal peak of the Chapal Wadi mountain range located in the park is the highest peak in Nigeria. Also, the Kainji Lake National Park is a typical Iselberg landscape with round hills, a network of rolling hills, valleys and gentle flowing rivers that empty into River Niger. The Park is endowed with a rich and diverse population of wildlife and cultural sites. While Okomu National Park is very rich in birdlife and remains the last rainforest ecosystem in the South West of Nigeria. Some of the animals commonly sighted during patrols, research activities and tourism tours in the parks include lion, civet cat, hippopotamus, Nile monitor lizard, bushbuck, waterbuck, Red flanked duiker, baboon, drill, Patas monkey, reedbuck, kob, Roan antelope, Oribi, Aardvark, klipspringer, warthog, hyena, gazzel, Tantalus monkey, Mona monkey, Putty nosed monkey, mongoose, brush-tailed porcupine, Western hartebeest, Striped jackal,  red river hog, giant forest hog,  cane rat, tortoise, hyena, grey duiker, grimes duiker, and some reptiles such as puff adder, frog, toad,  spitting cobra, python, black cobra, crocodile and green mamba. Others are some species of birds such as hornbill (black casqued), village weaver, common bulbul, great blue turaco, and so on.

    However endangered species such as chimpanzee, leopard, gorilla, elephant, buffalo, vulture, grey parrot, wild dog, docas gazelle and others are becoming increasingly scarce in the parks.

    You have toured the entire Nigerian landscape and lived in different parts of this country. What are the things you like most about the country?

    Nigeria is the most populous black nation in the world. It is home to over 200 million people. What interests me most about Nigeria is our rich diversity in all aspects of life. We have more than 520 languages, quite a number of different religion and culture. My journey in Nigeria and indeed across the globe has really made me discover a lot about this country. Apart from the fact that we are richly blessed in terms of natural resources, we are one of the happiest people in the world with excellent intellectual capacity.

    Which Nigerian culture has shocked you the most?

    The Sukur people (Kingdom) in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State. Due to its uniqueness and peculiarity, the Sukur cultural landscape became a world heritage site (WHS) and the first to be named in Nigeria in 1999.

    Do you think that all the peoples living in Nigeria have been discovered or you think we could still wake up one day to find a tribe we did not know has been part of us for centuries?

    Nigeria as nation has a rich and complex history. I am not convinced that we are yet to discover and document all the people and tribes indigenous to Nigeria. However, it may be possible that one day we may still get to discover a people that we never knew exists due to our multi-ethnic diversity and age long history.

  • Aggressive wives, hapless husbands

    Aggressive wives, hapless husbands

    • Frightening tales of married men at mercy of violent spouses
    • Why men may begin to shun conventional marriage

     

    Olatunji OLOLADE, Associate Editor

     

    SEVERAL years later, as he took his wedding vows, Bidemi Oso remembered the twilight of 1988, when his mother ordered his father to kneel, raise his hands and close his eyes. His father, a manager at a dairy producer in Ogba, Lagos, fearfully complied in apparent dread of the whip in his mother’s hand.

    Oso, rushed out to call other kids in the compound, screaming: “E wa woo, mummy mi tun ti ni ki daddy mi kawo soke (Come and see! My mother is punishing my father again!)” Pronto, about five kids scurried to the Osos’ ground floor apartment window. They peeped through dusty louvre blades for glimpses of the family’s breadwinner and presumed head, Mr. Oso, sweating in an extreme pose. Oso’s mom, standing arms akimbo, loomed over his father menacingly, using a koboko (horsewhip) on him each time his arms bent at the elbow or he lowered a hand to scratch his nose.

    Eventually she noticed the children at the window and marched angrily towards them, causing them to flee.

    At their Olukosi Street, Agege, Lagos residence, the Oso’s debacle was compound legend. Within the blocks of three houses, neighbours stared pitifully at Oso’s father, and cracked unsparing jokes about him in his absence. Housewives, couples and unmarried residents agreed that his marriage was his bondage. But none was courageous enough to free him; not even when he emerged elegantly decked in his suit, with black eyes and bruises sustained from his wife’s beatings.

    “Everybody knew my mother beat up my father at will. They knew she punished him like a child. It was uncalled for. Regrettably, I participated in the jokes. But I was only a child. Now, I know better,” he said.

    Few days to his marriage, Oso developed jitters. It dawned on him that he “might be signing up for a lifetime of hell” like his father. Thus he became scared.

    “I didn’t wish to end up like my father. I can’t let any woman do to me, what my mother did to my father,” he said.

     

    abusive wife
    abusive wife

     

    Thus as he took his vows, the 39-year-old resolved never to get caught off his guards. Beyond love and the promise of “sweet intercourse,” he dreaded marriage and its gendered power-play. “Attack is the best form of defence,” he stressed.

    Thus right from his wedding night, he moved to assert his dominance over his new bride. He changed the hotel previously booked for their honeymoon, “because it was booked by his mother-in-law.” He said, “I needed to defy her (mother-in-law) and assert control over my marriage. She was fond of bossing her husband and other sons-in-law around. But I resolved never to be her stooge.” Of course, Oso’s bride, Bamidele, was livid but he stuck to his guns. The event almost ruined their wedding night. Then two weeks into their marriage, Oso gifted his wife with a “kafa” (a swivel kick clearing her off her feet), and plucked two of her front teeth with his fists, because she “slapped” him “thrice” during an argument on perceived infidelity.

    Seven months into the wedding, their marriage officially hit the rocks. Oso said, “She is very violent. She had a knack for slapping me during arguments. She is exceedingly violent in bed too; she loves to strangle me during intercourse. She is a poor cook. She is very dirty and hates corrections. She is also an unrepentant cheat, who frequently flirts and exchanges nude pictures with her ex-boyfriend, and her mother and sisters meddled in our marriage. I had to assert myself lest they did to me what my mother did to my father,” he said.

    It didn’t end well for Oso’s father. “He died in penury. My mother brutalised him physically and psychologically. She had an eerie hold over him. He was her slave…I don’t know what is happening to marriage these days. Once I saw my mother-in-law hit her husband, my wife’s stepfather, with the wooden sole of her slipper because he rebuked her for meddling in her daughters’ marriages. He retreated into his room to cry. It’s saddening,” said Oso.

    But the 39-year-old is grossly misguided, argued Bamidele, his estranged wife. She said, “I don’t know what screwed up his childhood but he must have seen too much of bad movies from Nollywood.” Bamidele, 31, denied her husband’s accusations, claiming that he has anger issues. She said, “He is timid during intercourse and rather than seek help, he covers up his lack of stamina with rage. He lacks the finesse and maturity to keep a home. He hasn’t evolved. He is stuck in the past. He keeps venting and transferring aggression over stuff his father went through in his mother’s hands, on me. I am not his mother for crying out loud. I had to move out, lest he kills me or I kill him.”

    The 31-year-old took a wise decision, according to Kemisola Idowu, a marriage counsellor and social psychologist. “It’s better she quits the relationship before it implodes, leading to the death of either partner,” she said.

    While the Osos represent a fraction of problematic marriages across the country, its curious manifestations of intimate partner violence against men is resonant of a rising trend involving persistent acts of violence committed against Nigerian men by their wives. Sometimes, they are gruesomely murdered.

     

    Wives with knives…

    Few people would forget in a hurry, the stark narrative of the Sandas. In a judicial drama that lasted almost three years, Maryam Sanda was found guilty and sentenced to death for killing her husband, Bilyaminu Bello, by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

    FMC doctor allegedly stabbed by his wife
    •FMC doctor allegedly
    stabbed by his wife
    undergoing treatment
    in Owerri.

    Sanda stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife, with clear intent to kill, Justice Halilu said in the judgment on a two-count homicide charge brought by the Nigerian police against Sanda in November 2017.

    Ibrahim Mohammed, a key witness and friend to the deceased, alleged that Sanda narrated how Sanda attempted to stab Bilyaminu with a knife, a perfume jar and a broken bottle of groundnut, in his presence. Bilyaminu allegedly sustained multiple cuts, wresting the weapons from Sanda’s grasp. Although Mohammed eventually left for home, he suffered a heart-wrenching reunion with his friend, at the hospital: at their next meeting, there was a hole near Bilyaminu’s chest, bite marks on his stomach and stitches all over his body.

    Maryam, however, denied attacking her husband, claiming that he pushed her to the floor, following an argument over nude pictures found on his phone. She testified that a shisha pot broke her fall, and its shards pierced Bilyaminu when he slipped on water that spilt from the pot.

    Regardless of her defence, Sanda was sentenced to death by hanging. But the deed had been done. Bilyaminu died a sad, gruesome death.

    And Nigeria won’t forget in a hurry, lawyer Udeme Otike-Odibi, 48, who reportedly chopped off her husband’s manhood after stabbing him to death. Giving testimony on the incident before an Igbosere High Court in Lagos, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Olusegun Bamidele, of Homicide Section, State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Panti, told the court that Udeme, in her statement, confessed to killing her husband, 50-year-old Symphorosa Otike-Odibi, also a lawyer, and cutting off his manhood, after suspecting him of having an extra-marital affair.

    The murder took place at the couple’s home in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria, on May 2, 2018, as Udeme, who is a dual British and Nigerian citizen, was preparing to fly to the United Kingdom. ASP Bamidele said: “She stated that the deceased was having extra-marital affairs and whenever she raised the issue with him, his responses were not satisfactory…She had a discussion with him and there was a hot exchange of words, which made her go to the kitchen and get a frying pan and a knife.

    “When she returned to where the deceased lay, she hit him on the head with the frying pan and said, ‘Tell me, what is in your mind that you are withholding.’ She stated that the deceased called his mother to report her conduct but she continued to hit him on the head, again and again. Finally, she confirmed that she used the knife tostab the deceased in his abdomen. She also said while the deceased was lying on his back, she was still angry.

    “She sat beside him, looking at his intestines coming out, and said: ‘If your penis is the one that is giving you licence to have the feeling of another person, it’s better we cut it off.’

    “She proceeded to do so with the same knife she used in stabbing him and hung a piece of the penis in his right hand.”

    Assistant superintendent Bamidele said Otike-Odibi later sent her friend a WhatsApp message which read: ‘” have done something terrible.”

    Police later seized a frying pan, a blood drenched knife and Otike-Odibi’s Nigerian and British passports from her home.

    While women are encouraged to feel “powerful enough” to confront or leave an abuser via marriage counselling and feminist orientation, abused men are simply counselled “to be a man.” The latter are oftentimes made to believe that they are the ones with flawed reasoning and character, hence they are frequently urged to seek professional help to fix their behaviour, argued Ibrahim Ahmad, a psychiatrist.

    There is no gainsaying women are more on the receiving end of domestic violence, thus attracting global attention. To this end, the World Health Organisation (WHO) defined intimate partner violence as one of the most common forms of violence against women that includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse and controlling behaviours by an intimate partner.

    “The overwhelming global burden is borne by women. Although women can be violent in relationships with men, often in self-defence, and violence sometimes occurs in same-sex partnerships, the most common perpetrators of violence against women are male intimate partners or ex-partners. By contrast, men are far more likely to experience violent acts by strangers or acquaintances than by someone close to them,” argues the WHO in a recent report.

    Likewise, the UN General Assembly, addressing the issue as Gender based Violence (GBV) declared it as any violent act that results in physical, sexual, or psychological harm or suffering to women in the context of wife battering, rape, commercial sexual exploitation, intimidation at work places, social exclusion, domestic abuse and violence, female genital mutilation or anything done by men to establish authority over women socially, intellectually or economically.

    While WHO, the media, the UN, governments and women’s rights movements have fought, rightly, for more societal attention to domestic abuse and sexual violence against women, male victims of these crimes still tend to get short shrift, from the media and activists alike.

    •Sentenced to death: Maryam Sanda being consoled by her lawyer.
    •Sentenced to death: Maryam Sanda
    being consoled by her lawyer.

    Widely broadcast social experiments have shown that while people are quick to intervene when a man in a staged public quarrel becomes physically abusive to his girlfriend, reactions to a similar situation with the genders reversed mostly range from indifference to amusement or even sympathy for the woman. These attitudes stem from traditional gender norms which treat victimhood, especially at a woman’s hands, as unmanly.

    For instance, Tope Coker, a teacher, revealed how her grandmother continually assaulted her grandfather without reproach. She said, “There was this day when we heard a frightening noise from their room. We all rushed inside to find our grandma sprawled on the bed, sobbing vigorously into the sheets. We saw grandpa, God forgive us, crouched in a corner beside the bed. He was sweating and visibly disoriented. He occasionally rubbed his temple and remained silent while we railed at him for daring to assault his wife even in their old age.

    “I told him I was disappointed in him and we stopped calling him. Few months later, the house-help came to reveal to me and one of my cousins how grandma had been persistently beating grandpa till he cried. She said, grandma often starved him and denied him food, sometimes restricting his diet to cold cornmeal and bean cake. She even made a recording of her assault on him on two different occasions. I was dumbfounded and I felt terrible for tongue-lashing grandpa earlier.

    “Grandpa said he felt too ashamed to reveal the other day that it was our grandma who pounced on him and beat him up. His attempt to escape through the door resulted in a scuffle and the noise that attracted us. He said she hit him with a plastic lamp on his head and that was why he was rubbing his temple.

    “When we confronted grandma, she burst into tears recounting how she endured grandpa’s beating and philandering while they were a young couple. She wanted us to applaud her persistent abuse of her husband as payback. That was some sick excuse, and I couldn’t accept it even though some other family members accepted it,” she said.

    Coker said the incident estranged her from her grandmother until her death in 2017, and drew her closer to her grandpa until his death one year earlier, 2016.

     

     No romance without finance

    Tunde Braimoh, 66, argued that it is about time men took deliberate measures to protect themselves. He said, “We must realise that as we grow older, our wives seek to be free. They do not want to answer to any man. They stop needing you once your children secure lucrative jobs and cater to their needs. I have friends who got married to a wife and they were left to rot by both wife and children. At their death, they were given lavish funerals. These were able providers who took care of their families. Their wives simply relocated abroad to live with the kids.

    The retired haulage entrepreneur, who has three wives and eight children, argued that, “A man must marry more than one wife and work hard to cater for his family’s material and emotional needs. When you have more wives and children, they can’t all get mad and hate you at the same time. There will always be that wife and child who would take care of you, and to whom you would remain beloved, until your death.”

    But 64-year-old widower, Peter Idoh, argued that you can only enjoy such luxury if you have the wisdom and stamina for it, and if you are rich in your old age.

    He said, “Before I received my pension, women scorned me a lot; even women my age. Then I received my pension and I became the beau of most women, married women inclusive. A woman who refused my overture stating that she couldn’t answer to any man again suddenly volunteered to move in with me, promising to take care of my needs.”

    •Udeme Otike-Odili (right) was accused of killing her husband, Symphorosa, at their home in Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos.
    •Udeme Otike-Odili (right) was accused of
    killing her husband, Symphorosa, at their
    home in Sangotedo, Lekki, Lagos.

    Interestingly, men like Idoh encounter resistance from older women who want their own lives, not a full-time relationship. While many in this generation of heterosexual, divorced or widowed women want male companionship, they don’t necessarily relish the thought of moving in with a man.

    For instance, 67-year-old retired business woman, Gladys Irueteh, stated that she is done putting up with the rigours of marriage and the live-in relationship. According to her, the burden of co-dependence, the daily tension within close quarters and the sacrifices made keeping a home, care-giving and doing the emotional legwork to keep her marriage humming petered off at the collapse of her second marriage.

     

     Men shunning marriage…

    Recently, a social media user generated outrage by teaching women via a post, on how to kill a cheating husband. The married woman, identified as Chidinma, received backlash from Nigerians for allegedly teaching other women how to kill their husbands “professionally without leaving any evidence behind.”

    In a post on a Facebook group called “Extraordinary Mum’s and Singles Ladies B,” she reportedly wrote, “Please, please, my fellow ladies, if your husband cheats, do not stab him. Simply go and remove his car break. If he survives it, either the spinal cord will break, or his two legs. With that, he will only be facing you. Thanks.”

    And just recently, a medical doctor simply identified as Mr. Jones reported in another social media post how a colleague at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), in Owerri, Imo State, was brutally attacked by his wife after a quarrel. He said the doctor’s wife allegedly cut off his nose, upper teeth, the tip of his tongue, lower gums, and after the assault, she called the husband’s mom to come and carry him.

    “Luckily, for the doctor, he was rushed to the hospital and we stabilised him. He is conscious but cannot talk since he’s on tracheostomy. Now, I’m scared of this marriage thing,” said Jones.

    At the backdrop of these proceedings, a creepy trend ensues amid suburban youth. Dare Thomas, 25, has “three children from three baby mamas.” He doesn’t intend to marry any of them. “I won’t tie myself down to any woman. They are users. I can never keep to one wife,” said the manager of a Dopemu, Agege based lotto and betting agency.

    Like Thomas, Matthew Aina, a loan procurement manager with an Ikeja, Lagos-based bank, stated that, “Conventional marriage is outdated. It’s a scary transaction between two parasites. We use each other but the woman uses you more. Remember, ‘it’s always her matrimonial home,’ not yours. It’s easier to maintain civil partnerships with one or two baby mamas (birth mothers) of your children. I only have to worry about my children’s upkeep, and I can have as many women as I like. No problem with wives and in-laws,” said the 34-year-old.

    Such reasoning is grossly flawed, argued Nafeesah Adekola, 56, a sociologist.

    She said, “From a religious and sociological point of view, the marriage institution serves a pivotal role in sustaining society and enriching civilisation. Marriage should enhance an adult’s ability to parent. Both male and female must fulfill their gendered roles, and that can only be fulfilled in an appropriate family setting – irrespective of what modern theorists or so-called disrupters say.

    “Married people are more likely to give and receive support to children and nourish growth within structured frameworks of family and society. When family members move outside of these roles, the family is thrown out of balance and this triggers a devastating impact on societal norms and civilisation. Society must recalibrate in order to function properly,” she said.

    Thomas, Aina and their ilk are perhaps wary of having their manhoods severed or being stabbed to death by jealous wives. A peep into Bidemi Oso’s mind, however, reveals a wariness characteristic of a scared romantic.

    The 39-year-old still hurts every time he remembers his father kneeling with his eyes closed and his hands raised in their dimly lit living room, while his mother hushed him quiet with promises of pain and a whiplash.

    Mrs Oso was menacing: venomous threats leapt from her lips in measured cadence. The effect was frightening. It kept his father from attempting escape from the dark living room. Thirty-two years since his ordeal, Oso is still with his father in the dark room.

  • Girl gang-raped, drowned by three teens in Katsina

    Girl gang-raped, drowned by three teens in Katsina

    Our Reporter

    Police in Katsina State have arrested three teenage boys in Danmusa Local Government Area of the state for allegedly gang-raping and drowning a 13-year-old girl in a pond.

    Police spokesman Gambo Isah said at a briefing yesterday in Katsina that the suspects were aged between 15 and 16.

    Isah said the trio, all from Danmusa town, allegedly conspired, attacked and gang-raped the 13-year-old in their farmland on August 14, 2020.

    He said that after raping the victim, they threw her into a nearby pond, where she drowned.

    The spokesman added that the victim’s body was later discovered and taken to hospital, where she was confirmed dead.

    Isah revealed that during investigation, the suspects confessed to have committed the offence.

  • Unease persists at UNILAG

    Unease persists at UNILAG

    Kofoworola Belo-Osagie

     

    THE Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Theophilus Omololu Soyombo, got a rousing welcome from non-academic staff as he made a grand entry into the Senate building – the administrative headquarters of the institution yesterday morning.

    But members of the union he belongs to, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were largely absent.

    ASUU insists it does not recognise the Ag. Vice Chancellor because the process that produced him was flawed.

    The Chairman, ASUU-UNILAG, Dr. Dele Ashiru, said the procedure was for the University Senate to recommend the candidate for the position.

    “Our reaction remains unchanged.  We are convinced that the processes leading to the appointment of the so-called Acting Vice Chancellor are not in accordance with the law.  And all we are saying is that all parties should follow the law in the interest of the education system.

    “It does not matter whether anybody addressed the press or not; what is consistent is that the law says that whoever would be appointed as the Vice Chancellor, the recommendation must come from Senate.  In this case, the so-called Acting Vice Chancellor has not been recommended by Senate and cannot be recognised by our union,” he said.

    Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe,  who was removed as Vice Chancellor last week, said he would not comment on the development in the university. When The Nation reached out to him, he said: “No, I do not want to comment on what is happening. I am a man under authority.”

    The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) announced late Tuesday that it had pulled out of its resolution with ASUU and two other workers’ unions – the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) – to support the embattled Prof. Ogundipe.

    NASU also withdrew its call for the dissolution of the Governing Council led by Dr. Wale Babalakin.

    A statement by NASU Chairman Kehinde Ajibade, Secretary A.J. Aderibigbe, and College of Medicine University of Lagos (CMUL) Chairman Comrade T.S. Aderibigbe noted that the new position aligned with the members’ superior demands.

    It reads: “Coming to terms with the superior demand of our national body and the general members of the union, the union and branch chairmen hereby clearly dissociate themselves from the above-stated actions. As a responsive and responsible union largely known for putting the interest of her members first, NASU UNILAG and CMUL Idi-Araba will continue to frown at any act capable of jeopardising the common interest of all members and stakeholders.

    “On this note, the union hereby wishes the Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof. Theophilus Omololu Soyombo a smooth sail in office.”

    While addressing reporters yesterday, Soyombo promised to get across to ASUU members. He said he had received support from a large number of his colleagues.

    “I can say that we have a cross-section of the staff of the university at my interaction with workers.

    We have members of NASU, SSANU, NAAT, and we also had members of ASUU at that interaction and indeed we had a professor who spoke to stand with me. So what we had is a cross-section. But we should also know this interaction is a continuous process. The academic staff is located largely in the faculties and departments so the Acting Vice Chancellor will still visit the various faculties across the university as we move on.

    “I can assure that we received messages and goodwill from the majority of the large cross-section of members of the university workers as well as students, as well as the alumni,” he said.

    Soyombo, who said he had worked in the university for over 40 years, said he emerged Acting Vice-Chancellor because the Governing Council had not confirmed the election of the two Deputy Vice-Chancellors, Prof. Folasade Ogunsola (DVC, Development Services); and Prof. Ben Oghojafor (DVC, Management Services).

    He said the institution was bigger than any individual.

    “This appointment was with immediate effect. And I saw it as a call to service to the University of Lagos. And it is in this regard that I accepted the appointment for the ultimate benefit of the University.

    “I thought that we should not allow the ship of the University of Lagos to continue to drift. The University of Lagos is a foremost university; the University of Lagos is greater than any individual; anyone of us.

    “We all come here to work and at our various times, we pray that we all live till retirement. But whether we like it or not when we work in UNILAG, we will leave UNILAG. But the University of Lagos will continue. It behoves us to leave the university of Lagos better than we met it.”

    He called on members of the university community to support his efforts to put the institution back on track.

    “We are all familiar with the current situation. On the 12th of August 2020, the Governing Council of the University of Lagos removed the former vice-chancellor and announced my appointment as the Ag. Vice-Chancellor of the University. This appointment was with immediate effect. And I saw it as a call to service to the University of Lagos. And it is in this regard that I accepted the appointment for the ultimate benefit of the University.

    “There is a lot of work in the University of Lagos but I can’t do it alone that is why I need your support that is why I need your prayers and I believe that we should all join hands together; let us work together for the progress of our University. When we have a success story it should be for each of us.”

    Plans for UNILAG

    Speaking about his plans for the university while addressing the workers from the foyer of the building, Soyombo pledged to prioritise their welfare. He also promised to ensure that the institution’s limited resources touch all areas. He said he would seek to expand its internally-generated revenue.

    He said: “I want to tell on my immediate plans for the University of Lagos. My major focus will be on staff welfare.

    “I believe in this regard the human resources are the core assets of any organisation and I believe that a well-motivated staff to be able to deliver and work very hard. We must encourage our staff; we must motivate our staff to work well. I can assure us that issues of staff welfare; issues of the promotion will be properly addressed.

    “The resources we have are very limited. But I will also ensure that within the limitation

    •Soyombo (middle) addressing the workers from the UNILAG foyer…on Wednesday

    s of our resources we will still explore possibilities or avenues for generating more internal revenue. And the profits from this will be utilised more equitably for the generality of our staff.”

    With six months to work in an acting capacity, Soyombo called on the workers to support him.

    “These are indeed trying times for our great University and your prayer is that God will see us through this trying period.

    “I want to thank all our unions and the members – NASU, SSANU, NAAT, and ASUU. No matter what we say, we are all together and should all just work together and I believe that by the grace of God peace and stability will return to our University and we will all continue to work together in unity,” he said.

    Preparing for resumption

    Soyombo said the institution would improve on its facilities as well as build capacity to offer online classes as dictated by the present circumstance.

    “I also want to say that we are missing our students. It is so unfortunate the current situation in the country. But the truth is that the University is not the same without them.

    We are missing them, and we want them back. But in bringing them back we will ensure that will comply with all the NCDC hygiene and health practices and guidelines. We do not want to endanger the life of anybody.

    “In this regard, we will ensure that the necessary facilities are put in place both for the classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls and halls of residence. So that when our students come back they would be able to operate in a safe environment.

    “We will also explore the opportunities for online teaching for our students because if we had been able to do this, we would have made some progress as some of the private Universities have been able to do. In this regard, we will be challenging our CITS to step up so we are able to do this.”

    Two professors, introduced as Prof. Daramola and Prof. Olowe, spoke in support of Soyombo’s appointment.

  • Requiem for a precious daughter

    Requiem for a precious daughter

    Book Review

    Title: Beyond Loss and Grief: The Passage of Kikaose Ebiye-Onyibe

    Editor: Magnus Onyibe

    Publisher: Narrative Landscape Press

    Pages:       161

    Three years after losing his precious daughter, Kikaose Ebiye-Onyibe, former Delta State Commissioner for Information, Magnus Onyibe has released a book that dwells on dealing with grief arising from the loss of a child.

    In the poignant, heart-breaking, yet hopeful and life-affirming memoir titled: Beyond Loss and Grief: The Passage of Kikaose Ebiye-Onyibe, A Survivor’s Guide to Handling the Loss of a Child, Onyibe seeks to leverage his family’s journey through grief, pain, acceptance, and the eventual celebration of a life to offer valuable counsel to families that have lost a child or those that will go through the experience in the future on how to deal with such a heart-rending loss.

    The book opens with Onyibe introducing the reader to a trip he, his wife and their youngest child made to the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, where Kikaose was a second year law student, to retrieve her belonging after she passed away in a hospital in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    Chapter 2 titled: Eclipse takes the reader to the circumstances that led up to Kikaose’s death. Reading through this chapter, one is tempted to scream ‘how could all these have been allowed to happen?’ as Onyibe recounts the litany of professional misconduct and negligence that ultimately led to the demise of his daughter at the age of 18 years.

    While the book dwells mostly on his daughter and the life she lived, Onyibe seeks to honour the lives of 20 other young people including children of public office holders, businessmen, celebrities and other citizens who were taken from their families in the prime of their youth.

    According to Onyibe, the pains from the untimely death of a child do not go away. Parents live with it until they depart this world for the great beyond. However, he believes that  parents owe it to themselves and their departed child to grieve graciously.

    He explains that ‘there is good grief and bad grief. Good grief entails accepting our loss and the emptiness we feel as a consequence but looking to go beyond that point to a place of healing and growth.’

    ‘’Grief, if well-handled can lead to healthy growth after a loss.We can achieve this by contextualising our loss using the optics of the possibility that the tragedy could have been worse. If we lost a child, it could have been two. If we lost two children, it could have been three or four. No one prays for such a grievious tragedy as the loss of a child but when it happens, we must find a way to deal with it and continue to live and be productive.

    ‘’But grief can be bad as well. This happens when we allow grief to fester by harbouring negative thoughts such as: ”the world hates me” or ”my enemies are trying to get me”. Like a bad sore, when grief festers, it could lead to complications that might compromise our health.’’

    Onyibe also suggested that besides contextualising the loss, families could grieve graciously and heal faster using the apparatus of family bonding. ”Family bonding after the loss of a loved one can be therapeutic. It is critical because it allows grieving family members to reconnect emotionally with one another and serve as one another’s support to better cope with the loss. Ideally, this should take place in a location outside the usual home setting’’

    In the later part of the book, Onyibe points out some common mistakes that parents sending their children abroad – particularly to the UK – should avoid. The content of this section of the book are intended to serve as an advocacy for the protection of the precious lives of our young people who leave Nigeria to study in foreign lands, away from the watchful eyes of their parents. It is aimed at enlightening both the young people concerned and their parents on how to avoid suffering the type of tragedy which Onyibe and his family have been coping with over the last three years.

  • Virus pandemic as financial tsunami for women

    Virus pandemic as financial tsunami for women

    COVID-19 has ravaged through societies and affected lives in very unprecedented ways, including the finances of women. Many of them have lost their means of livelihoods and are now struggling to keep body and soul together as a result of the pandemic. In this report, JUSTINA ASISHANA analyses the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian women.

     

    IN April, when Mrs. Chinyere Philips was sacked, it seemed like the end of her world. She never knew she would be a victim of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “My employer could not keep paying me for services not rendered,” she said.

    Mrs Philips worked in a museum attached to a private school. However, since the Federal Government had ordered all schools to shut down as part of measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the museum has not been functioning.

    She said: “I had hoped that when school reopened, I would resume my work when the school resumed classes. Then they started online classes and since the museum was for practicals and there were no practicals at this time, all the staff at the museum were sent home at the end of April. I was in shock,” the widowed mother of three, said.

    She is job-hunting and worried that if she does not get an opening soon, she may deplete the little savings she had made. “I have nowhere to go and the debts are steadily piling,” she said.

    She is one of the millions of Nigerians, many of them women, who are likely to be pushed further down the poverty ladder.

    The World Bank Nigeria Development Update (NDU) titled ‘Nigeria in Times of COVID-19: Laying Foundations for a Strong Recovery’ shows that the human cost of COVID-19 could be high in the country.

    “Beyond the loss of life, the COVID-19 shock alone is projected to push about five million more Nigerians into poverty in 2020,” the report, which was released in June, noted.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics Nigeria Living Standards Survey 2018-2019,  82.9 million Nigerians or 40 % of the population were living below the poverty line of 137,430 naira per year. An estimated 70% of those living in poverty are women.

    “In Nigeria, 40.1 per cent of the total population was classified as poor. In other words, on average four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 naira ($352) per year,” the report by the Statistics office said adding that 52 per cent of people in the rural areas lived in poverty compared to 18 per cent in the urban parts of the country.

    The Nigeria Development report says that more Nigerians will be pushed into poverty by the Covid19 outbreak than had been expected. The number of poor Nigerians was, before Covid19, estimated to grow by two million. Instead, it is now estimated that seven million Nigerians will sink into poverty. The poverty rate is projected to rise from 40.1per cent in 2019 to 42.5 per cent in 2020, according to the report.

    Mrs Philips joins an estimated 510 million women, or 40 per cent of the women employed in the hard-hit sectors, including accommodation and food services; wholesale and retail trade; real estate, business and administrative activities; and manufacturing.

    The ILO said, globally, millions have lost their jobs during the pandemic and vulnerable groups are the hardest hit, especially women who were already facing an uneven playing field in the workplace. “They are now being laid off and furloughed at higher rates than men.”

    Before the outbreak, the unemployment rate was estimated to be at 23.1 per cent. A higher percentage of women were unemployed with their unemployment rate estimated at hard-hit sectors, including accommodation and food services; wholesale and retail trade; real estate, business and administrative activities; and manufacturing 26.6  per cent. The collapse of businesses, the closure of manufacturing concerns, the economy leading to job losses. Unemployment is now estimated to rise to 33 per cent by the end of 2020.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who chairs Nigeria’s Economic Sustainability Committee (ESC), had said the government was anticipating 39.4 million job losses by the end of the year.

    The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in its COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Report, also reported that 40 per cent of Nigerian workers had stopped working in June and they lost their jobs as a result of the impact of COVID-19, diminishing incomes of 79 per cent of households in Nigeria.

    The National Vice President, North Central of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, (NASME), Auwal Bununu Ibrahim, said about 50,000 workers have been sacked in the MSMEs sub-sector of the economy. Ibrahim said over 10,000 MSMEs businesses have collapsed across the country.

    COVID-19 financial crisis for women

    The pandemic has further worsened the situation in Nigeria, especially for informal workers and the poor because they mostly live on a daily income. This category of people includes street vendors, petty traders, taxi drivers, motorcycle riders, artisans, hairdressers and garbage collectors, among others.

    According to the ILO, these informal workers constitute about 60 per cent of the global labour force.

    According to the NBS 2010 to 2019 data on unemployment, unemployed Nigerians in 2010 stood at 3.5 million, increased to 21 million in 2018, and by 2019, it had hit 23 million.

    On average 18.4 per cent of households in Nigeria, according to the NBS, are headed by female household members like Mrs Philips, who are also sole breadwinners for their immediate and extended families. That share is generally higher in urban areas, 21.4 versus 17.1 per cent in rural areas, with many of them now without incomes due to COVID-19.

    “This is no longer only a global health crisis, it is also a major labour market and economic crisis that is having a huge impact on people,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. “In 2008, the world presented a united front to address the consequences of the global financial crisis, and the worst was averted. We need that kind of leadership and resolve now,” he advocates.

    The COVID-19 economic crisis has destroyed women’s jobs more than men’s, because it is hitting economic sectors where women are overrepresented in the workforce, like accommodation, food, retail, and manufacturing.

    A Covid19 impact monitoring survey carried out by the NBS and involving 1,950 households indicated that since mid-March 79% of households reported that their total income decreased. The highest rate of income depletion was in households whose income was derived from non-farm family business (85%) compared to household farming, livestock or fishing (73%) and wage employment (58%).

    The survey revealed that 35-59 % of the households could not afford to buy food staples like yams, rice and beans and also had difficulty in affording soap and cleaning supplies to enable them to adhere to the guidelines to stop the spread of the virus. This is over and above the perennial problem of accessing water for consumption and domestic use particularly in the urban areas.

    Dipping into meagre savings like Mrs Philips is doing is one of the coping mechanisms that many of the households surveyed have adopted. According to the households surveyed, 51% said they had reduced their food consumption while 29% were drawing on their savings to survive.

    Job loss exacerbates existing inequalities. For women who are single mothers like Mrs Philips, lower-income, or small business owners, losing a source of income can be particularly devastating. Plus, the career and financial consequences are more severe and long-lasting for women than men. For single mothers, the pressure is becoming intense.

    The situation that Amara Wilfred, a single mother of one finds herself, is replicated millions of times across Nigeria and the world.

    She lost her job as a secretary in April after her employer was forced to cut back on staff due to declining business. Wilfred is desperate to find another job as her landlord has increased her rent.

    She said, “It has been God keeping me. Trying to cope has been intense.  I am yet to find a job and I need to start something to pay my bills, especially my rent and food for myself and my baby.”

    Unlike Mrs Philips, who has some little savings, Wilfred does not have any savings as her salary was merely enough to pay her rent and meet her other monthly needs.

    But the financial impact is only one part of the story

    Economist Zaitun Sunusi of the Federal University, Gashau, Yobe State noted that women’s job loss can cause mental disorders, trauma, and frustration because their needs and demands are higher with zero income.

    “The income-generating capacity would reduce their expenditure, increase poverty rates and cause a feeling of insecurity among the women who have lost their jobs and this can lead to crime or some of them embracing negative social vices.”

    What other countries have done

    By March 27, 84 countries had adopted fiscal measures to mitigate the economic effect on households. By June, the number had risen to 195. Most governments increased either the coverage or payout amounts from existing social-protection schemes.

    Forty-seven countries have made cash-transfer programmes more flexible by waiving conditions such as the requirement for children to attend school and for women to attend ante- and postnatal appointments, such as in the Philippines. Some, such as Armenia, have provided home delivery of payments for elderly people. And 64 governments have amended unemployment benefits; 49 have adopted paid sick-leave interventions.

    So far, only 16 countries have reported new or amended social-protection measures that refer to women. Pakistan, for example, has increased cash transfers to women who are already receiving financial assistance from the state; Algeria has introduced paid leave for women who are pregnant, have chronic diseases or are taking care of children; Togo is providing women with $21 per month, whereas men receive $17. President Faure Gnassingbé specified in April that this was because women are “more directly involved in nurturing the entire household.”

    Canada increased its national childcare benefit, which is directed to mothers unless otherwise requested.

    These policies recognise the specific and increased burden that COVID-19 is having on women because of social expectations around caring responsibilities, a move which the Nigerian government should adopt.

    The NBS COVID-19 Impact Monitoring Report revealed that 13.3 per cent of the respondents got food assistance, 1.8per cent got direct cash transfers with an average amount of N19,961 to each household.

    Although the Federal Government introduced several safety nets, it would be best if the policymakers consider attaching conditions to these corporate rescue packers such as workers protection and executive pay caps.

    Mrs Philips believes that the government should put in place wage support particularly supporting employers in the private sector. She also suggests a bailout or some form of support for private schools so that teaching staff are not rendered jobless. “This would help the schools pay their staff even if it is half the salaries,” she said.

    Care packages and other economic relief packages

    The government has introduced several measures to try and mitigate the impact Covid19 is having on vulnerable groups, including women. These interventions include cash transfers to those involved in small and medium scale enterprises.

    These economic measures include the implementation of a three-month repayment of MarketMoni, and  FarmerMoni loans while a moratorium for all TraderMoni, funded loans issued by the  Bank of Industry, Bank of  Agriculture and Nigeria

    Export-Import Bank. Providing women with cash transfers was more likely to enable the women, particularly those in the informal sector, to continue working and to make their households’ food secure as well as invest more in assets.

    The expansion of the social register of the poor from 2.6 million households to 3.6  million households was expected to assist women and other vulnerable groups with funding from the N500 billion COVID 19 Crisis Intervention Fund.

    However, the decision to spend most of the resources in this fund to upgrade healthcare facilities and other special public works programs means that women like Wilfred and Mrs Philips cannot expect any assistance any time soon.

    Zaitun said women in the informal economy need to be supported to access cash supply or transfer payment for those who have lost their jobs and also the introduction of a one-year tax-free program including reduction of interest to reduce unemployment in organisations.

    “Government and organisations need to put women at the centre of their policies. It will support a more rapid economic recovery and help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” stated Zaitun.

    How women in other climes are coping with job loss

    In Texas, Deane Gremmel lost her job in April due to COVID-19 after 32 years working for a data company. However, she said with the casualty of the pandemic and a weak energy market, she was able to weather any downturns.

    “I shed a lot of tears,” Gremmel said. “I ate a lot of chocolate ice cream and a lot of cake. I went through a lot of emotions. It was always in the back of my mind, being laid off, I just tried to push it away, but finally, it came to fruition.”

    Being the sole provider for her family, Gremmel decided to try something different, although she was a part-time writer before the pandemic, Gremmel decided to become a full-time novelist. She writes four to five pages a day now, publishing under the pen names Chris Pike and Blake O’Connor. Her newest book takes place after a power grid fails in Houston.

    With a renewed purpose and new goals, Gremmel is now offering advice to others who lost their jobs during the pandemic. “I experienced a lot of anger, and I know that if anger is channelled correctly, you can do great things. You can accomplish a lot. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

    In Nigeria, after losing her job as a Technical Assistant, Blessing Vincent decided to deal with the challenge head-on by investing her last salary into her passion which is selling bridal materials. She had been taking physical classes on making fascinators, hats, bridal bouquets, and make-up before the pandemic and went virtual when it started.  When she was relieved of her job,  she decided that investing in her life-long dream was the way to go.

    Due to the stay at home order, Blessing has taken up trainees who come to learn these life skills and since weddings have begun after the lifting of the lock-down, she has been contacted for providing materials for bridal showers and other things needed by brides for their big day.

    According to her, a lot of people now want to learn skills as the pandemic has exposed that a lot of jobs are not secured. With schools still shut, “I get trainees who are mostly students coming to learn what I am making. For now, I have five trainees, two are learning make-up, and the other three are learning fascinators and bouquets. I make the fascinators and bouquets and also do makeup, so these are what I teach them. They are catching up very fast and I am very proud of them. They buy all their materials from me and it saves them the cost and scare of going to the market.”

    Changing with the tide

    Loss of jobs should not be the end of the road for women who have had such encounters this period as there is hope for them to engage in something else, economists have said.

    Grace Hezekiah Isa, an economist, of the Department of Economics, Bingham University urged the women to emulate Blessing and find something to do stating that embracing entrepreneurship would help them regain their confidence and improve themselves as they could also become employers of labour.

    She said the government needs to do more this period by creating room for the women to learn skills to improve on themselves and make interest free credit facilities for the women to enable them to start their businesses while expressing optimism that there is a possibility of the quick recovery of the economy pending government commitment and intervention.

    Sunusi also advised women to explore the digital possibilities and seek jobs online.

    For Mrs Philips and Wilfred, they cannot afford the way they are living much longer, especially with the children out of school and feeding is becoming an issue to them.

     

    • This report was supported by the Africa Women Journalism Project (AWJP) in partnership with the International Centre for Journalists (ICFJ).

  • Police hold Kano man who locked 30-year-old son in car garage for 7 years

    Police hold Kano man who locked 30-year-old son in car garage for 7 years

    From Fanen Ihyongo, Kano

    Ahmed Aminu, was 23 years old when his father and stepmother decided to cage him in an unused garage like an animal. For seven years, lived in the small space and in solitary confinement.

    Gone was his freedom. Freedom to eat, play and work as he might desire.

    He had no idea of what went around him even though what served as his shelter was located right there in his father’s  home, located at Farawa Baban Layi Mariri quarters, Kumbotso local government area – a suburb of Kano metropolis.

    Most times Aminu would be forgotten, and without food and water for days.

    Sometimes, he took his own urine to quench his thirst and his faeces as food.

    Now 30 years old, Aminu was all skeleton when the police in Kano rescued him on Thursday.

    His dad and stepmom had accused him of drug abuse. His father, Aminu Farawa, confessed that  he locked his son for only three years. He was arrested.

    With the help of a human rights group, Aminu was rescued on Thursday afternoon, police said.

    Sources said a resident of the area, Rahma Muhammad, alerted a human rights activist who informed the police about Aminu’s plight.

    A one minute video clip, which has gone viral online, shows Ms Rahma Muhammad saying “I have fulfilled my promise of rescuing him.”

    In the video, Ms Mohammad is heard asking the victim whether he wants to be rescued or to return to his cage (room).

    With only rags on him, Aminu had emaciated and lost his physical strength at the time he was rescued. A man in white garment and one policeman in uniform holding a rifle, held him onto a police van. The man in white sat next to him and they zoomed off, the video shows.

    “Aminu was locked by his parents on the suspicion that he had started smoking and getting involved in drug abuse.

    “His stepmother tried to hide him when the police arrived, insisting that he was not in the house. After a search, police eventually succeeded in rescuing him, an eyewitness Shehu Ibrahim, said.

    The police spokesman, Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed the incident to newsmen.

    Haruna said in a statement: “The Kano State Police Command wishes to inform members of the general public that on the 13/08/2020 at about 2315hrs, information received revealed that one Aminu Farawa of Farawa Quarters, Kumbotso LGA of Kano State locked up his biological son, one Ahmed Aminu, 30 years old, of the same address inside his car garage within his house for about seven (7) years without proper feeding and health care.

    “A Team of Operation Puff-Adder was raised and immediately swung into action. The victim was rescued and rushed to Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital Kano and admitted.

    “The father was arrested. Preliminary investigations revealed that the father confessed to have locked-up the victim for three (3) years on allegation of suspected Drug-Abuse.

    “However, the Command’s Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani, ordered that the case be transferred to State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) for Discreet Investigations.”

    Haruna said the police are investigating and gathering information on the case, to unravel the reason for Aminu’s confinement.

    The arrest Aminu’s father came only five days after another fatherin Birnin Kebbi was similarly apprehended for allegedly chaining and keeping his 11 year old son in an animal stall for two years.

    Arrested along with the boy’s father were his three wives.

    Jibril lost his own mother about two years ago.

    Spokesman for the Kebbi State Police Command, Nafi’u Abubakar, said the arrests were effected on Sunday after the command received “information that an 11-year-old boy named Jubrin Aliyu had been chained at their home for almost two years.”

    He added: “We mobilised our men and rushed to their residence where we confirmed the claim as being true. He was rescued and taken to a psychiatric hospital in Birnin Kebbi for medication.

    “Since we were still checking out the condition of the boy, we had to effect arrests involving his own biological father and three of his stepmothers who were living in the same compound with him. Investigations are ongoing.

    “The boy is responding to treatment. What we discovered so far is that he had a pre-existing health condition. He was subsequently taken to another hospital in Sokoto.

    “Seeing that he tried his best, the father tried to subject him to such inhuman and degrading treatment. The boy is going through a mental health condition for which he’s being treated.”

    “Since we were still checking out the condition of the boy, we had to effect arrests involving his own biological father and three of his stepmothers who were living in the same compound with him. Investigations are ongoing. The boy is responding to treatment. What we discovered so far is that he had a pre-existing health condition. He was subsequently taken to another hospital in Sokoto.

    “Seeing that he tried his best, the father tried to subject him to such inhuman and degrading treatment. The boy is going through a mental health condition for which he’s being treated.”

    News of Jibril’s ordeal was broken on Facebook by a user, Maryam Shetty, who said  the boy  lost his mother a few years back and was  then subjected to inhuman treatment by the father and his wives.

    The boy was left to eat from remnants of food and animals’ dung.

    She said: “Videos of an evil remorseless woman from Kebbi State that tied up an orphan who lost his mum for 2 whole years like a goat! He is impoverished and only ate from remnants of food and animal’s dung. Such cruelty….”

  • Human traffickers in brutal exploits (2)

    Human traffickers in brutal exploits (2)

    In spite of the measures put in place by various governments to check the activities of human traffickers, the syndicates have continued to laugh all the way to the bank, leaving their victims to lick their own wounds. The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimates that human trafficking generates $150.2 billion in illegal profits each year at the expense of innocent people’s lives. Many of the victims have returned home worse off financially and health wise than they were before travelling abroad purportedly for greener pastures, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    • How pastor masterminded my prostitution journey to Russia —Victim
    • Says I paid my madam $45,000, her mother requested additional $1,000
    • Informant hounded out of Nigeria by syndicate speaks from exile

    WHO are human traffickers and where can they be found? These are fundamental questions that hardly cross the minds of most victims of human trafficking as they innocently give themselves up to people they could wager would do them no harm.

    The experience of Florence, an indigene of Edo State, reveals that traffickers could be anybody and could be found anywhere, including worship centres.

    The young lady had completed her apprenticeship in hairdressing and started life with the skill she had acquired without any plan of travelling abroad to seek greener pastures. But the story changed when a trusted pastor in her church convinced her that she could be better off if she travelled abroad to practice the craft.

    Since questioning the views of a clergy man is seen as a taboo  in this part of the world, the dark complexioned lady accepted everything that the man of God told her hook, line and sinker, believing in the prophecy that her breakthrough and time to shine had come. She eventually travelled abroad with high hopes. But instead of a breakthrough, the journey became a huge setback for her life.

    She said: “I was trafficked to Russia in 2017. They told me I was going to practice my handwork there, but it was not what they told me that I found on getting there. I started selling my body to men.

    “Ironically, the man in charge of the journey was an assistant pastor in my church. He was the one who told me that I would be better off over there and would be better positioned to take care of myself and my family.

    “But the story changed when I got to Russia. My madam, who was my pastor’s sister, told me to put my craft aside because the way I would pay her back was different from what they had told me. She said I would have to work as a prostitute to pay her back because that was the easiest way to get the money.”

    Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Florence said she immediately realised that she had no choice in the matter, given the stern manner the woman spoke.

    “She was speaking with threats. And since I had nobody to run to over there, I decided to do her wish. I paid a total of $45, 000 to my madam, even though I don’t know how much they spent for my travelling. The only thing they asked me to do was to obtain my passport, which I borrowed money to do. After the payment, things got bad. Her mother started asking for her own percentage.

    “Before I left Nigeria, she had taken my finger nails, pant and hair from my pubic areas. I didn’t want to give it to her, but the pastor said I would have to do it because that was the only way I could gain the mother’s trust. I succumbed and gave all those things to her.”

    Still living with the scars the heinous crime has left in her life, Florence added: “After paying her daughter’s money, she madam’s mother) said I would have to give her $1,000 before she would return the things she collected from me. She threatened that if I didn’t pay her, something terrible would happen to me.

    “I subsequently called my mum and told her everything. I later raised about N20, 000 and sent it to the pastor to give to her mother. After receiving it, she called and asked why I had to send her that kind of money. She said I should know that she is a family woman and that I should have sent the money in dollars. She then said I should send more money within a week or face the consequences.

    “After that call, I started having series of issues and a problem with my face. I thought it was something I could easily handle but it defied all treatments. They drove me out of the place where I was working and also sent me parking from my apartment in Moscow.

    “It was at that point I told my mum exactly what I was doing there. She started crying and asked why I didn’t tell her about it all along. I could not tell her because I had no telephone and was only permitted to speak for a minute on my madam’s phone.”

    Asked how she eventually overcame the problem with her face, Florence said: “It was when I returned to Nigeria that my face became okay. I sincerely don’t know how.

    “The pastor denied me when they arrested him. He said he could only remember that I was an ordinary member in the church. Later, he turned round and said I was the one who came to tell him I wanted to travel out because I was frustrated.

    “He was charged to court by NAPTIP, which took me to their shelter when I returned. I didn’t know when they granted the pastor bail. They wrote an undertaking that if anything happened to me, he would be held responsible.”

    Naomi, another indigene of Edo State, told of how she met the man who trafficked her at the most unlikely place in the state.

    She said: “I was trafficked to Russia by a man who I met at Ogida Barracks here in Edo State. He asked me if I was interested in travelling abroad and I said yes, but he never told me what I was going there to do.

    “They used student documents to process my trip. They gave the impression that I was going there to study. When I got there, I was asked to do something that was entirely different. I had no choice but to do it because I was already there. I stayed in Russia for over four years and paid my madam a total of $40, 000. I resided in St Petersburg.”

    Describing her stay in Russia as unpleasant, Naomi added: “My madam was very mean. She denied me every form of freedom you can think about. I didn’t have freedom to buy a phone to call my family or the freedom to send money to them. She maltreated me and sometimes beat me up. She said there was no way I would go back without fully paying her and that I was free to go back or remain there after the payments.

    “There was a day she beat me to the extent that blood was dripping from my nose and I could not breathe. I was down for more than an hour and she did not bother to take me to the hospital. It was a neighbour that helped me out.

    “I took an oath before travelling. I vowed not to blackmail my madam and to pay her, her complete money.

    “Only two of us embarked on the journey. But on getting to Russia, I saw a lot of Nigerians. When I say a lot, I mean a lot.  I was paid 2, 500 Robos for an hour. The owner of the place where we worked would take 1,250 Robos, they will collect 500 Robos for security and leave us with the balance. My madam didn’t allow me to save a dime. She had her eyes fixed on me always.”

    Naomi recalled that she returned to Nigeria alongside Florence after wasting four odd years of her life in Russia. But despite her predicament, she said, her family was neither angry nor aggressive towards when she returned. “They were even happy that I came back alive,” she said.

    “I couldn’t stay back after paying my madam, because I was frustrated. Things were not moving for me.  It was like somebody introducing you to something and backed you up with some diabolical powers to make you succeed and pay the money you agreed to pay. After the contract, the success will fade off and you will be on your own.

    “After completing the payment, I became ill. I was having cold and blood shortage. When I went to the hospital, a doctor advised me to return to Nigeria because it appeared the weather was very bad for my health.

    “Human traffickers are terrible and horrible people. It is not something a young lady should experience.

    Alaba, another victim, who was working as a nurse before travelling to Lebanon, said she was trafficked by someone who used to be her patient.

    The young lady, who is stranded in the Middle East country, said in a chat with our correspondent: “The woman who trafficked me was someone I normally treated, being a nurse. I told her I wished I could have a shop to start my own business. She told me that I should try and go to Lebanon just to take care of the house of my boss.

    “Unfortunately, I found myself in slavery here. I have not been paid salary for some months now, yet the agent (trafficker) kept pestering me to send money to her. I need help to leave this place and return home.”

    How traffickers hounded me out of Nigeria – Ex IYAMIDR informant

    After reading the first part of this report published last Saturday, an informant, whose whereabouts were said to be unknown, called from his base abroad to share his experience.

    The former informant for Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration, Immigration, Development and Reintegration (IYAMIDR), who identified himself simply as Wisdom, said: “While I was working for IYAMIDR, there was some information I was giving them about traffickers’ activities.

    “There was particular information I gave the organisation not knowing that another person I had informed about the issue was one of the traffickers. When I passed the information to the President of IYAMIDR, Comrade Solomon Okoduwa, he swung into action immediately and got the suspects arrested.  But before I knew it, I started receiving threat messages.

    “In one of the messages, I was told to run away from the state (Edo) if I loved my life. One day, as I was returning from a journey, some guys came and started harassing me. They said, ‘You are showing off. You think we don’t know what you do? Your cup will soon be full. Don’t worry; very, very soon, all these things you are doing, you will not do them again here but in another planet.

    “When the threats and other scary signs that I was seeing were becoming too much, I ran to Lagos. Before I travelled, some security operatives who I also trusted with information betrayed me. They were revealing my activities to some arrested traffickers, telling them I was the guy that masterminded their arrest.

    “When I got all those information, I felt there was nobody to be trusted, so I made up my mind to leave Edo State.”

    Did fleeing to Lagos State provide the needed solution to his problem?

    Wisdom said no, adding: “After about two weeks in my sister’s place in Lagos, my in-law told me that I was not safe in Lagos too because they were looking for me. He said it was like I did something that was making them to be all out to hurt me. I said not really and went on to explain what happened. He said they were really bent on getting me and that it would be better for me to leave the country.

    “Mafias and cultists are everywhere in the country. If they are out to get somebody, there is nowhere the person will go that they will not trace him.

    “I had to raise money to leave the country. I left for Italy, but on getting there, I realised that Italy is an advanced extension of Nigeria. Everything that is happening in Nigeria is equally happening in Italy.  Running to Italy was as good as still remaining in Nigeria.

    “The information I also got in Italy was that the policemen there have information about the activities of Nigerians in Italy at the back of their hands. If you report to them that blacks are fighting, they will do as if you know where they are from. And once you say Nigeria, they will ask you to leave them.

    “It is only when there is bloodshed or someone is killed that the police will show up, because they are already used to Nigerians lifestyle of gangsterism. The police there in Italy will tell you they are tired of Nigerians. When I got that information, I felt Italy would not be a safe place for me to stay.

    “Before I started working as an informant, I was always quick to dismiss the claims by my friends that they were attacked by strange guys for daring to expose their activities. It was when I found myself in that situation that I knew my friends were not making frivolous claims.”

    ‘Working with survivors of human trafficking revealing and disturbing’

    Tayo Elegbede, Media Lead of The Migrant Project, a non-governmental organisation providing support for migrants, says their experience working with survivors of human trafficking has been “quite revealing and perhaps disturbing at some point.”

    Through their counseling and psychological support sessions, he said, “we realised that most survivors are often overwhelmed and traumatised by their experiences. They are unsure of the future, family acceptance and public outlook, hence, they feel lonely and unwanted in the society.

    “This understanding helps us to engage their mental and behavioural state, which is usually the starting point to help them relax and gain their trust to go through the needed therapy.

    “At this point, empathy is reflected as against sympathy, to help them start the journey through psychological rewiring.

    “Aside the psychological framework of the support, we realise their experiences often impact their health and physical wellbeing. Therefore, medical and humanitarian support is provided to salvage their conditions.”

  • Police, family row over alleged plot to cover up killers of 37-year-old transporter

    Police, family row over alleged plot to cover up killers of 37-year-old transporter

    By Precious Igbonwelundu

    Was 37-year-old transporter, Olatunde Sunmonu, killed by suspected Yahoo boys allegedly related to Sagamu Local Government’s Transition Committee Chairman, Gbenga Baruwa? Did the Sagamu Police Division hide the incident from the family for several days despite the latter filing a missing person complaint two days after their son’s disappearance?

    These are claims Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, the Inspector General of Police (IG) Mohammed  Adamu and Commissioner of Police (CP) Edward Ajogun will have to investigate as the family of the deceased has alleged foul play.

    Olatunde, a father of four, was said to have been attacked by some boys on Sallah Day near Baruwa’s house for daring to alight from his vehicle to ask them to clear their vehicles from the road for other road users to move freely.

    The deceased, who until his death was a driver with one of the hauling services, was said to have left his home that evening after returning from the hospital with his sick son to meet up with a friend who needed his attention, only to meet a friend who called him on phone.

    There were conflicting accounts on what happened afterwards as one claimed the friend who called him was a relative of the council boss who invited him for the chairman’s party where a disagreement ensued and he was attacked.

    It was alleged that Olatunde ran out of the premises without his car but was pursued by some men who caught up with him and beat him until he fell into coma. Vigilante officials were said to have rescued him and called in the police who arrested the culprits with a baseball bat and a dagger. Tunde was taken to Idera Hospital, a private clinic at Ajaka on July 31 and he died on August 2.

    But the police told the family that Olatunde was beaten up by some motorists who had caused an obstruction on the road after an accident.

    Olatunde’s father, Hakeem Sunmonu, said the police in Sagamu told them that the boys were involved in an accident with a woman and their vehicles blocked the road. Olatunde then alighted from his vehicle and told them to clear off the road to enable other motorists to pass, but his intervention did not go well with the boys, who promptly attacked him.

    The deceased person’s father, who spoke to The Nation, said he was still in shock over the circumstances surrounding the death of his son, alleging a deliberate attempt by the local police to cover up the true situation of the matter.

    Sunmonu said: “My son was killed by yahoo boys who are related to the council chairman, and there have been attempts to cover up what truly happened. We are pained because even the police deliberately withheld information when my young brother went there to report my son missing.

    “They claimed there was an accident that Friday between a woman and some Yahoo boys who are related to the transition committee chairman.

    “They were blocking the road and my son came down from his vehicle to tell them to clear so that other drivers would be able to pass.

    “The woman entered her car and those boys attacked my son. They beat him and used something to hit him and he collapsed.

    “They said they called the police and policemen from Sagamu Division came to the scene and took my son to the hospital.

    They also arrested the two men but the chairman later that day went to the station to secure their bail, which the DPO refused because of the condition of my son.

    “The police also towed his vehicle to the division.

    “He was first taken to a private hospital from where they moved him to Babcock University Hospital where he died and his body was kept in the mortuary.

    “They said he died two days later. My question is how come the police did not search the vehicle they towed from the road to their station since they knew the driver was unconscious? Couldn’t they have got his identity from his particulars in order to contact his family?

    “Another issue is that when they called me that my son did not return home on Friday and that he was not present at the ram slaughtering for his grandparents, I started calling all the people who might know his whereabouts but no one claimed to have seen him.

    “When he had not been seen at the end of Saturday, I told my younger brother,

    Dejola Awosanya, to go to the Sagamu Police Station to report him missing.

    “Note that this was on Sunday and the said accident happened on Friday. Since, the police knew that they had an assault victim who was unconscious and drove similar car as reported by my family, were they not supposed to have told us about it?

    “When they asked my family members to go and bring a picture of my son and they did, couldn’t they identify him in that picture as the same person they rushed to the hospital?

    “It was not until August 4, that the police called my brother, Dejola Awosanya, to break the news of my son’s death.

    “The DPO showed the family Tunde’s driver’s licence and vehicle particulars and Tunde’s picture in the morgue. He told the family that Tunde’s vehicle was towed to the station because they couldn’t find the key.

    “We want to know why there was delay for at least two days without the police informing the family. Why did the police tag Tunde an unidentified person when they had all the information about him, including his driver’s licence and vehicle particulars taken from his vehicle?

    “Why were his two phones taken and later returned by one of the culprits that ran away when the vigilante got there?

    “Why did the DPO release only one phone to the family? Why was the local government chairman, Mr Banjo Baruwa, in a hurry to secure the culprit’s bail?

    “Tunde Sunmonu was the first son of Hakeem Sunmonu and the only child of Yetunde Ajose-Akano. Please help us get justice, because my son cannot die like that. His death should spell an end to incessant killings by yahoo boys in Sagamu,” he lamented.

    Suspects not my relations — Council chair

    Baruwa

    Baruwa, however, denied claims that the suspects were his wife’s relatives, adding that he only went to the DPO to verify the incident when he was told about it.

    “All your information is incorrect,” he said in a text message to our correspondent. “The boys are not my wife’s relations.

    “As the chief security officer, they informed me about it and I went to the DPO to verify. The DPO told me the man was taken to the hospital and I went to see him.

    “The next day, I was told that the man was deceased.”

    The spokesman for the Ogun State Police Command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said it is not true that the police attempted a cover-up, adding that the attacker and two others who had the deceased’s phone were in the custody of the Homicide Unit, State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Eleweran.

    He said the police could not have contacted the family since they did not know who he was until the DPO sighted his picture and realised that it was the same man whose corpse he had seen at the University Hospital.

    Oyeyemi said: “There is nothing like a cover-up in this matter. Also, the council chairman did nothing wrong. Every qualified Nigerian is at liberty to seek the bail of a detainee. It is left for the police officer in charge to weigh the gravity of the offence or issue and consider whether bail will be granted.

    “In this instance, the DPO saw that the victim was lying critical in the hospital and denied bail. The chairman never went back to demand bail for the suspect and the DPO transferred the case to homicide as soon as he confirmed the victim was dead.

    “The police did not know any relation of the victim. He was taken to the hospital as an unknown person, because the focus was to save him.

    “The private hospital he was taken to said he should be moved to Babcock University Hospital for CT scan, but he died there. DPO went there, took the picture of the body and moved it to the mortuary.

    “The following day, someone came to make an entry of a missing person. They were asked to bring picture, and when the DPO saw the picture, it turned out to be the same person. It was then they went to his vehicle, searched and saw his driver’s licence. They recovered his phone from two other suspects.

    As of Sunday, police did not know who they were reporting missing. The case has been transferred to the Homicide Section.”