The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • How Nigeria can get out of poverty trap, by AfDB adviser

    How Nigeria can get out of poverty trap, by AfDB adviser

    In this chat with reporters, Senior Special Adviser on Industrialisation to the President of African Development Bank, Prof. Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, explains fundamental structural issues President Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to tackle to move the country from low-level equilibrium, get the country out of debt trap and sustain economic growth, Assistant Editor BOLA OLAJUWON was there.

    What should the new government and other stakeholders do to get the country out of poverty trap?

    My proposal is that the new President must aim very high: target a minimum of seven percent growth rate so we can double our GDP in 10 years. How? There are short-term macro-economic issues to quickly deal with, but what I will be emphasising are fundamental structural issues. To move from this low-level equilibrium means a structural shift of the economy. Typically, a country’s economy has three main sectors: agriculture, industry and manufacturing and services. Poor countries are mired in low-level agriculture unlike advanced nations with extremely modern and productive agriculture. These countries have “industrialised” agriculture. The Netherland, a highly advanced industrialised nation, exported over 90 billion euros of agribusiness products in 2019.

     Agriculture is where Nigeria has comparative advantage, but technologically, it is decades behind. It is the sector with the lowest hanging fruit, but we must systematically invest in greater mechanisation, inputs such as fertiliser and at the heart of high productivity are seeds. Nigeria, with other African countries, signed the Agricultural Delivery Compact at the conference organised by the AfDB and the African Union in Dakar in January. Faithfully implemented, the country can stimulate rapid growth of the agribusiness sector. This way, we will re-ignite the long delayed structural transformation and accelerate economic diversification in ways that lead to food security. From our calculations, this kind of growth will lead to national food security while creating at least 12 million jobs.

     As you may already know, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ), a flagship programme of the AfDB adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria, aims to make Nigeria competitive in agriculture by promoting agro-industrialisation through value-addition and export of processed agricultural commodities. The first phase of the programme is being implemented in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    How Nigeria can become a production nation?

      Let me provide a simple illustration; it is an example of a country that evolved from years of devastating conflict, moved from a beggar-bowl in hand nation to a major player in global value chains. Vietnam exported an estimated US$348 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2020, a ten-fold difference compared with Nigeria’s exports in the same year.  In macroeconomic terms, Vietnam’s total exported goods represent 30% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2020. Given Vietnam’s population of 97 million people, its total $348 billion in 2020 exports translates to roughly $3,600 for every resident.

    Read Also: Katsina seeks AfDB’s support on agric, renewable energy

     In contrast, Nigeria’s total export of around $34 billion represents less than 8% of its GDP of $432.3 billion. Why the huge difference? Nigeria’s revenue basket remains constrained due to its export revenue concentration. We depend on crude oil and few primary commodities. Nigeria records high food imports with most processed foods coming from outside the continent. To record high economic growth rate, Nigeria should do the following: First, move away from crude oil dependence by urgently prioritising economic and trade diversification, including exploiting our vast gas resource that is being flared. Second, the country should aggressively aim for food self-sufficiency through a combination of land intensification and massive expansion of food production over the next five years. It is a matter of urgency that Nigeria reduces dependence on imports to enhance food security and to develop markets for its farmers and firms that will engage in adding value both for local consumption and for exports.

     Growth comes from a diversified portfolio. Contrasting Nigeria and Vietnam, although Vietnam’s export revenue these days come largely from non-oil products such as phones and electronics goods, which are now exported to the world. It also remains a major exporter of agricultural products.

    Why is the Federal Government always investing in projects that would not yield any return like the Ajaokuta Steel Company and others?

    The conception, design and implementation of complex industrial programmes have strong relationship with the capacity of the state. The state here includes the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. The term “state capacity” refers to the state’s ability to get things done or the capacity to implement state-initiated policies. The question you raise has to do with the nature of the state and leadership and capacity of the Nigerian state. The state is either weak/fragile or strong; fragile states are also known as weak states. A state is fragile when it is incapable of meeting key needs of their citizens especially their security and economic wellbeing. A strong state capacity has been strongly associated with long-term economic development. This includes the capacity to establish law and order, enforce private property rights, defend a country against external threats, as well as support development by establishing a competitive market, transportation infrastructure, and mass education.

     The political, bureaucratic and corporate elites must agree on the vision. In poor countries, not just Nigeria, the attitude and actions of political and bureaucratic elite tend to determine the rate and direction of the country’s progress. So, the new President should sit down with political and corporate elites and agree with them on what I term his “Strategic Presidential Flagship Initiatives” to appeal on behalf of Nigerians to ring-fence them from cronyism and corruption and execute them (initiatives) using competent people. This is what General Park Chung-Hee did with the Chaebols in South Korea in the 1960s. 

    The new leadership needs an assurance of agreement by the elite. Our problem is not policy and plans; our challenge is the people and their purpose. Imagine the news trending in the last few days. Nigeria is groaning under lack of power supply yet a minister entrusted with fixing it is alleged by the EFCC to have stolen N340 billion! The AGF who was entrusted to help keep our money, he and his collaborators allegedly stole N109 billion. Somehow, like thousands of cases, it seems nobody is talking about it again. It’s not policy; its people.

    How Nigeria can double its GDP in a decade?

      Yes this is my proposal. Fast and sustained economic growth is the main route to raising living standards and creating decent jobs. China did so, why not Nigeria?  In 1953 when the Korean War ended, the nominal GDP of Korea was $1.3 billion; it grew rapidly for six to seven decades; to 1.65 trillion in 2019. The GDP/capita rose to $32,000 from a mere $158 in 1960. In contrast, Nigeria hardly diversified its economy. The country got locked-in into petroleum export for export earnings to the detriment of value-added agriculture and manufactures. The result is low contribution of the manufacturing sub-sector which fluctuates between 5% to 8% to aggregate output in Nigeria compared with its peers in Asia (Korea about 30% in the 1990s) is staggering.

     What is the recipe? First, economic progress comes only to producers, especially those that manufacture and add value to raw materials and export. Poverty has become the lot of our country as it is with those that always buy from others. Nigeria is in a state of stalled industrialisation. This is the root of poverty. Nigeria has experienced structural transformation trap. After four decades of policy implementations and effective governance, China successfully lifted 770 million of its citizens out of poverty.

     The new government, in addition to my earlier suggestions, should do the following: Maintain security and political stability at all costs; I mean by every means possible. It must also maintain macro-economic stability. The current exchange rates regime discourages investment. A non-transparent exchange regime creates uncertainty that impact investment performance.

     Focus on rural modernisation through programmes like the SAPZ. SAPZ are located in peri-urban areas. This is how to use a policy to force structural transformation of the economy. This is a bottom-up reform starting with transforming agriculture while still building the necessary industrial value chains, and manufacturing logistics; and promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) both farms and firms to be more efficient; and support the country’s large companies to become regionally and globally competitive firms. Where will South Korea be without the humble origins of its Chaebols, family businesses that we now know globally? One of them is the Korean giant Samsung electronics that has now surpassed Japan’s Toshiba and America’s Intel to become the world’s top chip producer by revenue. Beyond South Korean semiconductors we have Hyundai Motors, which recently became the world’s third largest carmaker after Toyota and Volkswagen – with quality to match. It is a matter of intention. Rather than ridicule Nigerian businesses, let us support and incentivise them to raise our nation’s flag. Great countries are branded by their corporate ambassadors: Amazon, Microsoft, General Electric, Ferrari, Mercedes Benz etc.

     The government must incentivise the production of manufactured goods by giving strong support to local firms instead of relying only on natural resources; provide consistent government support for infrastructure buildup and ensure ease of doing business across sectors. The power sector challenges need a military-like solution and the wellbeing of Nigerians has suffered enormous degradation, so we need to prioritise, especially the first three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – namely poverty, hunger and disease.

    The labour market is the most potent force for solving these challenges: create decent jobs especially for youth and embark on genuine and massive social housing programmes. The national health insurance scheme should be overhauled and made to serve the purpose for which it was created. The young people deserve explicit attention because of their energy and creativity. When a country views youth as an angry segment to be kept quiet, it shoots itself in the foot. We need new initiatives to support and drive youth entrepreneurship. For example, the AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, with the former Vice-President, recently launched a programme called Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE). It is an initiative of the AfDB and the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote entrepreneurship and innovation in the digital technology and creative industries in the context of efforts to create jobs. So far, that initiative has raised over $600 million and ready to be rolled out.

    Who should be in Tinubu’s cabinet?

    At the individual level, he must look for people with high level of competence accompanied by character, creativity and compassion for the poor. You need humble men and women who see this country as a legacy garden to tend and beautify. Not haughty and arrogant people who think citizens are doormats. We must in addition aim deliberately for good governance and strong institutions. These are essential to creating an enabling environment for economic growth. When you look at the Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA) index of the World Bank, which captures governance and institutional behaviour in Nigeria on all counts, Nigeria scores extremely low on governance.  Nigeria scores extremely low on anti-corruption.

     More importantly, good governance thrives on good leadership made up of a commitment to integrity, a strong vision and plan for their nation’s future, and the ability to make the most of their available resources. Good government looks beyond short-term political cycles and quick policy fixes. The actions, behaviour choices, and the ability to keep promises made will influence the level of trust that citizens and businesses have in government. A transformational leadership which premises decisions on what structurally transforms the country is what Nigeria needs now. There is little time for the government. A friend of mine calls it: One Chance! If we miss this chance, we have big troubles.

  • Emerging power blocs in Nigerian politics

    Emerging power blocs in Nigerian politics

    Since all politics are local, as it is often said, it is the men who control party structures at the grassroots and who equally have a network of contacts beyond their domains that call the shots in national politics. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI examines the rising profile of three of such men currently within the political space

    Within the context of Nigerian politics, attention is often focused on the occupant of the presidential seat, while state governors who control party structures in their domain and also have the capacity to build bridges across party lines in the country are usually ignored. But, since all politics are local, it is the men who control the structures at the grassroots that hold the power when it comes to winning elections. This may apply to all governors, but it is in their second terms or late in their first tenures that governors are usually in full control politically.  

    When governors are saddled with additional responsibilities, such as chairmen of a forum of fellow governors, it gives them an opportunity of creating enduring relationships with their peers elsewhere in the country. With the emergence of Kwara State’s Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde as his vice, the duo may have positioned themselves as power brokers within the elite group of governors. Abdulrazaq who was elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has just been sworn in for his second term. Makinde, elected on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), has also just taken his oath of office for his second term.

    Similarly, Imo State’s Governor Hope Uzodimma, who also emerged recently as the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), the umbrella body of governors elected on the platform of the APC, is also a rising star within the political arena. By occupying such positions, three governors are positioning themselves as power brokers within their political parties and beyond. Aside from the National Assembly, the NGF is another very important platform that is central to the affairs of the nation. Occupants of such key positions in the NGF, the PGF and the PDP Governors’ Forum play important roles in times of elections both within and outside their parties.

    Since the formation of the NGF during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003, the governors have always chosen their chairmen through consensus, rather than through balloting of any sort. However, the tradition was broken once in the twilight of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration when the election of the NGF chairman polarised and politicised the 36 state governors, ahead of the 2015 general election.

    Incidentally, it was the crack within the NGF then, led by former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, which signalled the defeat of Goodluck Jonathan in that election. It was also the division within the group then that eventually led to the formation of the PDP Governors Forum and later the Progressives Governors Forum for the APC.

    Abdulrazaq:

    The manner through which Abdulrazaq and Makinde emerged suggests that they have the backing of very powerful persons within the group. Before the valedictory meeting of the NGF where Abdulrazaq emerged as chairman of the group, plans had almost been concluded for Nasarawa State’s Governor Abdullahi Sule to become the new chairman. But the plot thickened in the 11th hour when the Kwara State governor, backed by some powerful APC governors indicated interest to contest for the coveted office. Sule had been pencilled down as the successor to the then outgoing chairman, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, who was then Sokoto State governor because of the Nasarawa governor’s genial disposition and his private sector background. Both Sule and his Kwara counterpart are eminently qualified for the position, which is based on ranking or seniority and from the party that has the highest number of governors in the forum.

    The fact that the Kwara governor eventually got the nod of his colleagues to emerge as the NGF chairman speaks volumes about his acceptance within the elite group. The position had already been zoned to the North Central, to compensate the zone for being marginalized in other areas. But, given the role Governor Abdulrazaq played during the recent general election by not only winning the presidential election in the state for his party with a landslide but also delivering all the National Assembly seats for the ruling party, it is not surprising that he got the backing of the party for the plum job. Before the general election, Abdulrazaq had mobilised 100 per cent delegate support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the primary which was a period of uncertainty for Asiwaju who eventually went on to win not only the primary but also the general election. Kwara State has therefore never been in doubt as to its direction from the beginning.

    Governor Abdulrazaq was propelled to power in 2019 by the “O to ge” revolution, which broke the stranglehold of the Saraki dynasty and the PDP on Kwara politics. “O to ge”, the Yoruba equivalent of “Enough is enough”, was the battle cry for the 2019 election in Kwara. In the past, any party aligned with the Sarakis produced the governor and the winners of most elective positions, both national and local. This has been the case since 1979, when the patriarch of the family, Abubakar Olusola Saraki, a medical doctor, emerged as the godfather of state politics, which covered parts of today’s Kogi and Niger states. Although Saraki the father died in 2012 aged 79, Kwara still always went where Saraki the son went — until 2019. It looked like a mission impossible but by the time the elections were over, Saraki had lost all his political influence and power, including his seat in the Senate.

    Today, Governor Abdulrazaq is the undisputed king of Kwara politics. Like other state governors, he controls the APC structures in the North Central state. But, after the 2019 election victory, the coalition that sent the PDP packing had collapsed, as the governor was pitched against political heavyweights like the immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The governor appears to have triumphed in the end, with several party members in the minister’s camp seeking refuge in smaller parties like the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Young Peoples’ Party (YPP) and the New Nigeria Peoples’ Party (NNPP) before the recent general elections. Going by the result of that election (both the presidential, as well as the National Assembly), one may say that the Abdulrazaq-led APC has a firm grip on the state. 

    Read Also: ‘Politics without morality cause of leadership failure’

    Born in Zaria, Kaduna State, into the family that produced the first lawyer from the defunct Northern Region, Abdulrazaq joined politics in 1999 following the country’s return to civil rule. Abdulrazaq who speaks Yoruba, English, and Hausa languages fluently first contested for the governorship of Kwara State in 2011 on the platform of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Later, he vied to represent Kwara Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly on the platform of the PDP. Though he failed on both attempts, he persisted.

     Makinde:

    Going by the convention of the NGF, the vice chairmanship position is reserved for the party with the second largest number of governors in the group, which is the PDP. Makinde emerged by consensus during the valedictory session of the group held in Abuja about three weeks ago. It was the crisis in the opposition party and the role he played in the last general election that threw Makinde up as a key player in regional and national politics. Ordinarily, Makinde is the most qualified candidate for the position of NGF vice chairman. Aside from the Oyo governor, the other second-term governor from the South is Governor Godwin Obaseki (Edo), but since his tenure will be expiring next year Makinde stands a better chance.

    Sources in the PDP said the party had reluctantly settled for Obaseki to punish the Oyo governor for the role he played in the just concluded election, as a member of the G-5, a splinter group within the opposition party that worked against the presidential bid of the party’s candidate in the recent election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. The G-5 governors had argued that since Atiku is a northerner, as the party’s recently sacked National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, the latter should resign to allow a southerner to assume the position of national chairman. But Dr Ayu, with the support of Alhaji Atiku, refused to comply. Observers, including members of the PDP, believe that was the biggest factor that contributed to the party’s failure at the presidential polls.

    In the height of the crisis in the opposition party late last year, Makinde had been named as the new chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum, to replace Tambuwal despite being one of the G-5 Governors. But, the Oyo governor rejected the offer because it was a ploy to weaken the opposition of the G-5 governors to the party’s national leadership. The Oyo governor said he did not consider himself the right person to occupy the position. In his view, former Governor Ikpeazu, in his capacity as the deputy chairman, was the right person to take over the place of Tambuwal. His words: “Even if they give it to me, I will not accept it because there must be order. Ikpeazu is the deputy chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum. If the chairman resigns, the deputy chairman ought to take over the position. This is how to have an order in the process.”

    It was against this background that the PDP leadership foreclosed the idea of the Oyo governor getting that same position he rejected last year or the recent one he got as the vice chairman of the NGF. But, with the backing of APC governors, he was able to clinch the NGF position.

    The second governor, after the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, to get a second term, Makinde’s influence in Oyo politics has grown considerably partly because of his performance in his first tenure. He secured his re-election recently without the backing of the core power brokers in the state. He relied solely on his performance in office and the affinity he had developed with the people. The Makinde administration now aims to attract more industries to Oyo State, Nigeria by improving power supply, delivering more road projects, and improving healthcare, security, solid minerals exploitation, and tourism.

    Before the 2015 governorship election in Oyo State, previous governors in the state had failed to secure a second term. The late Ajimobi was the first to get re-elected for a second term in 2015. Due to factors such as the truncation of democratic rule and the apparent reluctance of the people to renew the mandates of previous governors, nobody at that time had gotten a renewed mandate. Ajimobi broke the jinx with a combination of shrewd politicking and the hurricane Buhari factor, which propelled him to defeat Senator Teslim Folarin of the PDP to return to Agodi Government House for another term. Makinde accomplished the same feat in the just concluded election when he defeated the same Senator Folarin in the race.

    Born December 25, 1967, Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde is an engineer by profession, a businessman and a politician. He had contested the 2015 Oyo State governorship election on the platform of the SDP but lost.

    Uzodimma:

    Governor Uzodimma, who is facing re-election in November, got the nod of all the former governors and the new governors to serve a four-year term as the chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum. He replaced the immediate past Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, who left office on May 29. The newly inaugurated Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani was chosen as the vice-chairman of the forum. From relative obscurity in the last governorship election in Imo State, where he came fourth, Uzodimma emerged winner of the election after a judicial interpretation of what transpired during the election.

    But, the man who is derisively called “the Supreme Court governor” by his political opponents has today emerged as a rising star not only in Imo State politics but in the country as a whole. Based on his antecedents, observers believe the Imo State governor deserves the recognition of his colleagues within the ruling party, which his emergence as the chairman of the Progressives Governors’ Forum suggests. It is an indication, for instance, that he is in a pole position to secure his re-election in November.

    Uzodimma has picked a female lawyer, Nnedinma Ekomaru, as his running mate for the forthcoming governorship election. A women’s group within the party, led by the Ondo State governor’s wife, Mrs Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, had urged Uzodimma to pick a woman as his running mate. Mrs. Ekomaru is married to fellow lawyer, Chief Chukwuma Ekomaru, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). She hails from the Umunoha community in the Mbaitoli Local Government Area and has practised law for over 20 years.

    Those who know Governor Imo governor well say he is a team player, a competent man and a firm believer in the ideals of his party, the APC. One such observer who does not want his name in print told our reporter: “Governor Uzodimma has capacity. He has displayed capacity in most of the assignments the party assigned to him under the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “The governor is also a team player, going by the way he has handled the affairs of the party in Imo State; he has carried the stakeholders along and this has contributed in no small way to the stability in the chapter. He is also a strong character and a firm believer in the ideals of the APC. If you recall, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, he was a constant visitor to Aso Rock Villa, the presidential seat of power.”

  • Will Abbas, Kalu lead 10th House of Representatives?

    Will Abbas, Kalu lead 10th House of Representatives?

    Tuesday, June 13, will be another date with history in the House of Representatives. On that day the House will elect a new set of presiding officers to lead it for another four years. The choice by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of the duo of Tajudeen Abbas and Benjamin Kalu as the next presiding officers has generated lots of controversy among the rank and file of members. Despite the opposition generated by those who felt cheated by the arrangement, there are indications that the two men are set to win the contest. Tony Akowe reports.

    The House of Representatives is regarded by many as the closest arm of government to the people at the federal level. This is because among the three sets of elected persons, their constituencies are far smaller than the other two (the President and Senators).  It is also regarded as the more vibrant of the two houses of the National Assembly. So, those who lead the House must have what it takes to bring together members to work for the good of the country. Under the outgoing Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila-led 9th Assembly, the chamber was able to introduce reforms that made it the pride of the people, even though they couldn’t escape the tag of rubber stamp placed on them by those who felt that they had not done enough.

    When the bell for the leadership of the 10th Assembly sounded immediately after the general elections, many names began to emerge. At the beginning, 12 members elect indicated interest in leading the House. These members were those who had spent at least one term or more in the House. Those who indicated interest included House Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Aliyu Betara, Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase, Chairman, House Committee on Navy, Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, Chairman, House Committee on Land Transport, Tajudeen Abbas and Chairman House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli.

    Others are Chairman on House Committee on Disability Matter, Mariam Onuoha, as well as Abubakar Makki Yelleman and Sani Jaji and Abdulraheem Olawuyi.

    But the party kept sealed lips, allowing the actors to do their thing, while embarking on consultation. But when they finally spoke, they announced that they have decided to zone the position of Speaker to the Northwest with Tajudeen Abbas, representing Zaria constituency and a third time member who is returning for the fourth time as their choice, while Benjamin Kalu who was also one of the candidates for the position of Speaker their choice of Deputy Speaker. This has generated apprehension among other aspirants.

    One thing that stakeholders have agreed to is the fact that the election of the presiding officers will be conducted in accodance with the House Rules used by the immediate past Assembly, with the members being the ones to determine who leads them.

    The election will be conducted by the Clerk to the National Assembly in accordance with Order 2 Rule Two paragraph 3a of the Standing Order of the House of Representatives which provides the procedure for election of a Speaker during the inauguration of every assembly.

    It states that “a member-elect, addressing the Clerk, shall propose another member-elect with legislative experience as member of the National Assembly to be Speaker and shall move that such member-elect do take the Chair as Speaker of the House of Representatives”.

    Following the controversy that attended the decision of the party, National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, said APC would embark on further consultation. But the words of Nasarawa State governor, Abdullahi Sule, soon dampened agitations from others when he said that APC governors from the North will not oppose the choice of the party and the President for the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

    The Joint Task team which promised to support any candidate the party agrees on has taken the campaign head on, moving from one place to the other to actualise the campaign.

    Aside the Minority Forum which has broken the rank of the minority caucus, throwing their weight behind the Abbas/Kalu ticket, another splinter group of the minority which called itself TBK has also thrown its weight behind the ticket. Led by the spokesperson of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Ugochinyere, the group described them as the best pair to lead the 10th Assembly. He claimed that 63 members of the minority group have signed up for the group to back Abbas.

    APC governors under the auspices of the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) have also thrown their weight behind the choice of Abbas and Kalu. This much was disclosed by the new chairman of the PGF and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma.

    Initially, there were fears that Uzodinma may not support the choice of Kalu because one of those aspiring for the Deputy Speaker position, Marian Onuoha, hails from Imo. But the statement by the governor has put to rest fears of possible divided votes from the state. The governor said the least the governors should do was to ensure that the party’s preference and vision is actualized come June 13th.

    Uzodinma asked other aspirants to close ranks with the party’s preferred candidates and work together to determine a purposeful legislature capable of promoting and projecting the overall interest of Nigerians, adding that Abbas’ choice by the party was not an imposition.

    As the days for elections draw closer, the Abbas/ Kalu ticket appears to gather more support across parties. The latest endorsement for them comes from the Nigerian Governors Forum. Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, said his colleagues decided to support the ticket after their meeting with the President.

    He said God gives power to who He wishes at the time He wishes, noting the array of members-elect that have aligned with Abbas and Kalu. “It shows the level of support that you have. I want to thank all those that have keyed into your leadership. Like the president reminded us yesterday (during meeting with APC lawmakers-elect), these are positions for the party with the majority. But that party must seek the partnership of other political parties. You should carry along all members or most members to ensure that you succeed,” he stated.

    Asking other aspirants to step down for Abbas and Kalu, he said the block votes the opposition were banking on would no longer be available for them.

    In making a case for the APC candidates, Ugochinyere said: “Our common goal now should be beyond party and partisan politics and totally focus on Nigeria and her greater good. We want the best and we have selected the best and importantly, the selection is by merit.”

    While the battle for the Speakership rages on, a civil society organisation Order Paper, honoured Abbas and Kalu, among many of their colleagues, as top performers on its productivity index, value and impact on bills sponsorship. While Abbas sponsored 74 Bills in the 9th House, Kalu has 48 bills to his name, a feat considered by their followers as outstanding. The team of panelists that selected them include Prof. Ladi Hamalai, a former Director General of National Institute Legislative and Democratic Studies, Prof. Ali Ahmad, a former lawmaker, Ikechukwu Uwanna, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, Amos Dunia, Kemi Yesufu.

    Outgoing Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase, has insisted he will go ahead to contest the position of Speaker, exuding confidence that he will emerge winner on June 13. While acknowledging that power comes from God, he said his emergence has long been predicted by the late Chief Solomon Lar, former National Chairman of PDP and former Plateau State governor.

    Wase stayed away from a meeting with APC lawmakers called by the President to drum support for the Abbas/Kalu ticket. The meeting was attended by other aspirants except Wase and Sani Jaji.

    Though there are reports that the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate at the last general election, Peter Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed are mounting pressure on the party’s members-elect not to vote for the Abbas/Kalu ticket, The Nation findings revealed that the duo appeared to be gathering more and more support from all the political parties.

    For example, lawmakers from the South East may have decided to support Kalu in his aspiration to become Deputy Speaker and therefore may vote for the Abbas ticket. There were reportsthat some aspirants never wanted the Southeast to be given any of the presiding officers slots with the argument that they contributed little to the success of the party at the last general election.

    Despite their endorsement by the party, Abbas and Kalu have continued to engage leaders and governors across various parties. It is on record that since the endorsement, they have kept the tempo of engagement high, more than any of the other aspirants in the race.

    Others have not been silent though. For example, Betara is believed to have held meetings with the President when he was on vacation in France before inauguration. He is said to have also held series of meetings with leaders of the party. But it is not known whether he will go ahead with his aspiration even though he tends to command very high level of respect among members.

    However, the battle for the Speakership has also shifted to the zonal caucuses of members-elect. Available information indicates that out of the 92 members-elect from the Northwest geopolitical zone where Abbas hails from, 74 are believed to have signed up for the ticket after their meeting at the Ladi Kwali Hall of the Abuja Continental Hotel. Similarly, 32 out of the 51 lawmakers from the North-Central one signed up for the same ticket. From the Southeast, where Kalu hails from, 35 members-elect have chosen to go back him.

    Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) who leads the Abbas-Kalu group (TBK) said the success recorded so far was victory for the going quest to build a stable, strong, united, harmonious and all-inclusive parliament that will deliver on life-changing people’s legislation that will help to deliver on the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.

    He believe that the massive support from all zones and ethnic and religious divides was clear evidence of members’ commitment to seeing Nigeria move forward and an indication of a significant buy-in into the Abass and Kalu message of unity and competence rooted in inclusiveness and teamwork. He said the legislative competence and capacity of Abbas and Kalu as well as their unrelenting reach out and door-to-door engagement with members-elect was one of the reasons for the across-board acceptance.

    For his part, Igariwey Iduma Enwo (PDP, Ebonyi) who leads the Unity Group in the minority caucus believes that more members of the Southeast caucus would join the Abbas/Kalu train before the day of inauguration.

    In addition to the support coming from the zones, the ticket has the full backing of the President who has spent most of his early days in office trying to ensure harmony in the House in particular and the National Assembly in general before, during and after inauguration.

    Tinubu has held series of meetings with the aspirants in person and as a group as well as all members and Senators-elect to preach harmony and the need to have a consensus candidate for inclusiveness. It is believed that the President may have assured other aspirants and their supporters that they will be carried along in the new leadership. With the Southeast and Northwest firmly accommodated in the new leadership, it is expected that other zones will be accommodated in the leadership

    Those who might run the race to the end Ahmed Idris Wase

    Wase was born on the 1st June, 1964. A graduate of Civil Engineering, he attended an Executive Programme at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, United States where he bagged an Executive Certificate course in Strategic Governance in 2016. He worked with Bauchi State Ministry of Environment and the College of Education Gindiri as a non-academic staff, holding various positions.

    He was first elected into the green chamber in 2007 to represent Wase Federal Constituency, under the auspices of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2007. In 2011, he was reelected on the platform of ACN. He remained a committed member of the party until he later won under APC in 2015 after the merger.

    He also served as Chairman, House Committee on Federal Character for eight years (during the 7th and 8th Assembly). He is coming into the Speakership race with some wealth of experience having served as Deputy Speaker since 2019 and on many occasions, presided over plenary.

    Head was Chairman of the Committee of the Whole, a body of the entire lawmakers that considers and approves reports on investigations and bills form passage. His loyalty to the party has remained unquestioned. The party has on several occasions called him to serve in various capacities. He has been in leadership position in the House for some times and as served in various committees of the House.

    He has also served as Regional Representative for West Africa in the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) International. In 2017, he was appointed through popular support as the Deputy House Leader to replace the late Buba Jubril who passed on in June of the same year.

    He is also one of the Deputies of the ECOWAS Parliament. Many believe that the emergence of Wase as Speaker will be a continuation of the current Assembly as he has enjoyed a good working relationship with the Speaker.

    His views on issues and knowledge of the working of the legislature stand him out. Also the fact that the North-Central zone where he hails from has never produced the Speaker in Nigeria’s history is another added advantage for Wase.

    Muktar Betara Aliyu

    Betara represents Biu, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo and Shani Federal Constituency of Borno State. At 56, he has made giant strides in impacting many lives and contributed to the development of his fatherland through quality representation and impactful legislations. He is today a household name not only in his immediate constituency in Borno and the National Assembly but also, the country in general.

    He was educated at Biu Central Primary School in 1973 and obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1978. He proceeded to Biu Central Junior Day Secondary School, and then to Government Technical Secondary School Benishek, Borno State, where his leadership skills saw him becoming head prefect, and would eventually obtain his West Africa School Certificate in 1983.

    A graduate of Business Administration from Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Betara was first elected into the House of Representatives seat on the platform of the defunct All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) and got elected as the member representing the interests of Biu, Kwaya Kusar, Bayo and Shani Federal Constituency in 2007 and has been a member of the House since then

    In the 6th Assembly to the current 9th Assembly where chaired key Standing House Committees such as Army (7th Assembly), Defence (8th Assembly) and Appropriations (9th Assembly). He boasts of being the only member in the House that was returned unopposed during the party primaries.

    He has served as Chairman of key standing committees in the House since he was first elected. Such committees include Army (7th Assembly), Defence (8th Assembly) and Appropriations (9th Assembly). The current Assembly’s ability to return the annual budget circle to the January to December is attributed largely to his leadership quality. Several members are known to have lobbied to be part of his committee.

    Yusuf Adamu Gagdi

    Gagdi is a former Deputy Speaker of the Plateau state House Assembly. The lawmaker who currently heads the House Committee on Navy believes he has the capacity to give the House the kind of leadership it deserves. Gagdi who represents Pankshin/Kanam/Kanke federal constituency of Plateau State was born on the 5th November, 1980.

    He had his primary school at LEA Central Primary School Gum-Gagdi before proceeding to GSS Gagdi for his junior secondary education. He later transferred to GSS Dengi where he had his senior secondary education and graduated in 1999. He got admitted to study Social Studies (Double Major) at FCE Pankshin, where he resumed with only a few clothes, a few measures of ground maize flour and the grace of God. He couldn’t afford to rent a room of his own as accommodation and had to squat with security men at the school gate.

    He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics Education and got employed by the Plateau State Teachers’ Service Commission and then posted to GSS Angwan  Rogo. He was later seconded to the office of the Head of Service of the state where he served the then Head of Service, the late Dr. Godfrey Mamzhi as a Personal Assistant. His first sojourn in politics started with a determination to serve and learn from those on the political turf and that was how he got close and became a personal aide to the then Deputy Speaker Plateau State House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Usman Zumunta Musa. He won election to represent Panskhin/Kanke/Kanam in the House of Representatives in March 2019. Coming with legislative experience, he was neck-deep committed to the emergence of the leadership of the green chamber. He was made the Chairman, House Committee on Navy and a member of 13 other committees.

    A former Deputy Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Gagdi can be said to have some experience in presiding over the legislature having done that at the state level. Twelve of the bills he sponsored have either been passed into law or at advanced stage, six of which has been signed into law by the President.

    He stands on the principle of equity, justice and fairness, believing that the leadership of APC should zone the Speakership to the North-Central zone. He, however, said that as a party man, he was ready to toe the line recommended by the party, but insisted that it will be wrong for the party to zone the position elsewhere since the Northwest has held the position of Speaker four times, while the Northeast has also held the position.

    Tajudeen Abbas

    Abbas represents Zaria Federal Constituency of Kaduna State and currently heads the House Committee on Land Transport.  He holds the record of sponsoring the highest number of bills in the House. At the last count, he had sponsored about 74 bills majority of which seek to either create or upgrade existing Federal Medical Centres across the country. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, is one of those pushing Abbas for the Speakership.

    But the argument by some northern interest groups that the Northwest has held the position four times since the return to democracy in 1999 may work against his ambition.

    Born on October 1st, 1963 in Zaria, he attended Kaduna Teacher’s College (KTC) Kaduna for his Grade II certificate in 1981 and proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for a Bachelors and Masters degree in Business Administration. In 2010, he obtained a Doctorate in Business Management at the Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto State.

    Abbas was a Primary School Teacher from 1981 to 1988. In 1988 he became a Lecturer at a Polytechnic before moving to the Kaduna State University (KASU) when it was established inn2006. He also worked as Marketing Manager at the Nigeria Tobacco Company before joining politics and was elected into the National Assembly in 2011 to represent Zaria Federal Constituency. He has served in various House committees such as National Planning & Economic Development, Public Procurement, Defense, Social Duties, Finance and Commerce. He also served as Vice Chairman, Legislative Compliance Committee from May 2011 to May 2015.

    Benjamin Okezie Kalu

    Kalu who represent Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State graduated from the University of Calabar, with a Bachelors degree in Law.  At twenty nine years, he served as the national chair of the PDP in the Diaspora and also served as the youngest local government chairman in his state at the age of 31. He holds a Certificate in Migration and Human Rights from John Cabot University Campus, Italy, 2022, Certificate in Illicit Trade, University of Groningen, Netherlands, 2022, Certificate in Governance & Development Program, Miami Herbert Business School, Miami University, USA, 2022,Certificate in Environmental Crimes, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute,b(UNICRI), Italy, 2022, Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators United Kingdom (CIARB), University of Oxford, England, 2014.

  • Tinubu will conquer security challenges – —Ex-IGP Okiro

    Tinubu will conquer security challenges – —Ex-IGP Okiro

    • •Says police need equipment, not manpower
    • •Recalls how he masterminded use of AK-47 by Nigeria Police

    Sir Mike Mbama Okiro, CFR, NPM, MNI, was the 13th indigenous Inspector-General of Police (IGP). In this exclusive interview with Crime Correspondent GBENGA OMOKHUNU and FAITH YAHAYA, the former Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), speaks on how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu tackled insecurity when he was Lagos State governor, describing him as a listening president.

    OU worked with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he was Lagos State governor. Do you think he is capable of ruling the country effectively?

    I want to congratulate him for being elected the president and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is a great achievement because we know what he has gone through. I know Asiwaju (Tinubu). If he sets his mind on something, he achieves it. He went through all the configured hardship and he succeeded.

    I knew him way back in the late 80s when he contested as a Senator. I was then the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Operations in Ikeja before he went abroad and finally came back to Lagos as elected governor of Lagos State in 1999, and I came back to Lagos again like him on 2nd of August, 1999 as Commissioner of Police, Lagos State. We worked more closely than we did when I was Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Operations. This time around, the issues of security, as far as police was concerned, rested on my table, and I had to take decisions and made sure the decisions I took were put into operation.

    As a governor, Tinubu was very fantastic, because it is common knowledge that at the time he took over Lagos in 1999, there was total confusion in terms of security. People were being killed on a daily basis, cars were being stolen or snatched, people were running away from Lagos. So, he came to Lagos at a very bad time, so also myself.

    I don’t know how it happened, but when I held smaller positions in Lagos, Lagos was not as bad as when I came back as Commissioner of Police, and I don’t know what actually caused it. I had to rely on the governor, because as at then, there was nothing for the police. We had no lorry, no patrol vehicles and the manpower were minimal, no arms. So we had to rely 99 per cent on the governor, and I found that he was someone very receptive and accessible. He gave me a free hand. He allowed me to take decisions and supported me. I was at a point bypassing the Force Headquarters because the Force Headquarters had nothing to offer. All they had to offer was to post me to Lagos and thankfully, the governor was very accessible, I could call him any time, any day.

    Do you think he can effect change as the president of Nigeria?

    Actually, people ask me if Tinubu will be able to surmount the insecurity in the country  and I am always emphatic with my response, which is yes. I shouted yes because as they say in Mathematics, you go from the known to the unknown. With what he did in Lagos, he can do it again. The biggest problem facing Nigeria now is insecurity and the biggest problem Lagos faced when he came as a governor in May 1999 was insecurity, and he was able to sanitise Lagos, and I am sure by the grace of God, as human calculations can permit, he will be able to sanitise Nigeria too.

    Like I said, he took my advice on security, and that was how I was able to succeed in Lagos. If he were other governors, he would have turned me down and that would have led to me not achieving anything. He took my advice; he helped me in facilitating my request.

    There were so many things that the governor and I set in motion that were copied by so many states and commands in Nigeria. For example, in the Army, the armed forces are there for external aggression. Before any soldier will be deployed, you have to take permission from the Chief of Army Staff. In Lagos, the police had no manpower and arms, we could not deploy soldiers. I went to Tinubu to complain that we cannot be going back and forth any time there is an operation, give a standing order. So, he wrote the Chief of Army Staff and a standing order to the Brigade in Lagos was given for the soldier to join the police for Joint Anti-Crime Patrol. That helped us curtail crime in Lagos. Later on, all states and governors copied us and there were so many other things like that.

    At a point too, he wanted to give me money to buy fuel because he bought patrol vehicles for us, but I told him I did not want money. I told him to instead create a petrol station where policemen can go and collect fuel rather than give me or my men cash, and he accepted. He opened a dump in Alausa. So every morning, each police patrol vehicle would go and collect 40 litres. That way, if there was a crime somewhere and the police was called, they could not say they had no fuel, hence they had no excuse not to go. If not for him, I am not sure I would have functioned well in Lagos.

    Now that he is the President, which area do you think he can further assist the security operatives, especially the police, to tackle insecurity in the country? 

    President Tinubu is an experienced politician and also experienced in his fight against insecurity from what he did in Lagos. He set up a foundation in Lagos that other governors followed. I can say without fear of equivocation that Lagos, with all its complexity, is among the cities with the highest population and economic activities in the country, yet Lagos has the lowest crime rate in Nigeria, all by the work set in place by him in Lagos.

    Now that he is the President, I believe he will replicate what he did in Lagos in the entire Nigeria. If he does what he did with respect to the security architecture in Lagos, give him two to three years, insecurity will become a thing of the past in Nigeria.

    Are you not worried with the way police officers are being killed, especially in the South East? What do you think the present IGP should do differently to curb this?

    I think he should retrain the police. The policemen, even the ones mounting roadblocks, you will discover that they don’t even pay attention. Most times, they look somewhere else. And you would see that before real criminals attack policemen, they must have done their survey and realised that the people are lackadaisical in their attitude to work.

    Read Also: Finance Commissioners laud Tinubu on fuel subsidy removal

    They should also install some gadgets and equipment. When I arrived Lagos in August 1999, we had minimal manpower and there were no arms. A time came that you posted four policemen for roadblock and only one would carry arms, and when robbers come, they target the one that has arms. When they fire him down, others will run away and then they will pick his arms.

    So, policemen were always afraid to go to duty and I brought the idea to Asiwaju to request for arms from the Force Headquarters because we had no arms. That was what brought AK-47 to the Nigeria Police Force. It was my move.

    The first batch of AK-47 was airlifted from Bulgaria to Nigeria.  Because I was CP Ikeja, it was in my custody at the Ikeja Police College, and I posted men to guard them before the IG sent the Force Armament Officer to Lagos to take delivery of the arms and distributed them. The moment every policeman in Lagos got arms, crime in Lagos dropped.

    So, for the IG now, if policemen can be more equipped with gadgets, it will be better. We have passed the stage of manpower in this world; we now use gadgets. But unfortunately, the Nigeria Police is still depending on manpower. It is equipment they need. So, the police should be well equipped.

    Are you suggesting that the police should reduce the rate of recruitment and focus on acquisition of more equipment?

    I am not saying there should be no recruitment. As we speak right now, most police stations are closed down. The one in my village is closed due to lack of manpower. So, look at it, you don’t have the manpower, you don’t have the equipment, what can you achieve? If there is manpower, they can manage.  But the two are lacking, so it is to your tent o Israel; everybody for himself, God for us all.

    The IG, during his last meeting with senior police officers, said crime rate has reduced now compared to what happened before the election. Do you agree with that?

    I don’t have the statistics, because I am not the IG. When I was the IG, every morning, I got the statistics of the whole federation. But I am not the IG now, so I don’t know. I cannot say whether I agree or disagree, because the figures are not with me.

    As a former IG, I cannot really say. But sometimes, when I read the newspapers, I know what is fact and not. But right now that I am retired, I cannot believe everything I read from the newspaper unless I ask the IG, because as an IG, he has the crime report every morning on his table, which I don’t have now. So I cannot say whether it is correct or not.

    On the crisis rocking the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the long-term fracas which the present Chairman is trying to resolve through series of meetings, do you see light at the end of the tunnel?

    I would say the crisis was inborn and engendered by the constitution. I wrote an article some months back about the crisis between the commission and the IG, and I used a phrase I coined; “non-authority of fire and hire syndrome”. What I mean by that is that you are working somewhere and they say somebody has no power to hire or fire you. So as far as you are concerned, that person is not important and you won’t even take instruction from that person. So, that is what is happening between the IG and the Police Service Commission. The constitution says the PSC has the power to appoint, discipline, dismiss, promote all police officers apart from the IG, so, some IG capitalized on this.

    I was IG too and I had good relationship with the chairman of the Commission. Throughout my time, we never had any quarrel between us. But some people feel because the chairman has no power to hire or fire them, they feel they are on the same pedestal and cannot take instruction from the chairman. That is the problem we are having between the IG and the Commission, and that is how the constitution puts it unless it is amended.

    What has been the result of the meeting the PSC chairman who is also a former IGP had with other retired IGPs?

    Thank God Solomon Arase came in, and being that he just came in at that time, himself and other IGs have exchanged letters. When I was IGP, I never had problem with the chairman. I visited him in his house unannounced and I was always welcomed.  But I remember when I was chairman, there were some people that never came. There was a particular IG who refused to even attend meetings. If you asked for report, he wouldn’t send because he felt the chairman had no power over him.

    Do you think this fracas affected the welfare of policemen in anyway?

    Definitely, it did. I remember the time Adamu and the chairman of the Commission had a problem, I had to call a meeting and we held the meeting in the late Gambo’s house. We found that vehicles meant for the Commission were withdrawn by the IG, and because of that, the Commission withheld promotion of police officers. But we intervened. I said the commission was wrong for withholding promotions and that if the commission had any problem with the IG, they should promote those that were due. I also told the IG that the vehicles he withdrew were not personal vehicles but government vehicles. So he released the vehicles.

    Should the move Arase has brought in be sustained?

    I want it sustained, because if it is not sustained, they say when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. If the two agencies work harmoniously, it will be to the good of Nigerians, because the police will work very well and crime will be low. But if there is rancour, the officers will not do their best.

    So it is necessary that the rapport between the IG’s office and the Commission under the chairmanship of Arase should continue so that the officers will feel happy and their welfare will be provided. Even we that are served by the police will equally feel happy.

    How do you think the welfare of officers and men of the force can be improved?

    That is a very wide area. When I was the IG, I wrote a memo to the president that says if you employ somebody and you pay him well, he will work well for you. If you give him peanut, you will also get peanut service. So, I wrote a memo to the then President Yar’Adua about accommodation for the police, because nobody cared about how policemen lived. Before, they were building barracks for the police. But they have stopped and they have nowhere to live.

    For instance, you have a Corporal who you posted to guard a house in Maitama, and he has no house. Where does he live with his family? He cannot afford to rent a house in Maitama close to where he is working; not even Wuse or Garki, because he cannot pay for it. Sometimes, he sleeps inside abandoned vehicles or offices and, of course, nobody talks about his family because his family will be in the village and that is the most minimal welfare.

    So, I wrote to the President and said policemen are members of National Housing Fund and they take 2.5 per cent of their salary every month to the National Housing Fund. Therefore, they are entitled to loan or money from Federal Mortgage Bank, and it was approved. That was how they started getting houses for police officers.

    That is not enough. Salary-wise, I wrote to the President again and this time around, I didn’t write requesting for salary. I wanted to whip his sentiment and the sentiment cannot be embodied in a letter, so I went to him and went to paint a picture before him and he granted me audience. I said: “Sir, imagine a police corporal or constable in Sokoto State Police Command posted to a police post at the boundary between Nigeria and Niger Republic and living in a small hut with his family and farming to augment his salary, and because of crime wave or mobility of the job, he was posted from Sokoto to FCT Abuja and he arrives Abuja without a house nor a car and his salary is N8,000 a month. Even the N8,000 is not enough to transport him from Abuja to Sokoto to see his family, not to talk of sending money to them, and he is frustrated with the job. Unfortunately, the wife calls him one morning to say one of their children is sick and they were asked to pay N10,000 at the hospital. He stands in front of Transcorp that morning to check crime and he sees big cars passing… I was not done when the President asked me what I wanted and I said I wanted salary increase for my men.

    I said, Sir, this is the second time I am coming to you. The first time was to thank you for appointing me as IG, and I told you I would do my best. And this is my second time and my best will not be good enough if these men are not taken care of.’ For me, I am comfortable. I live in Maitama in IG’s quarters. I drive cars air conditioned with escort and my office is comfortable. But I am not the one doing the job. I bring policies and they implement. If they are not comfortable doing the job, I will not succeed. He said I should go and write, and I went to write, and the salary was increased from about N8,000 to N45,000. So police started earning very well at that time.

    After the increment, some people wrote me from the bank to say they wanted to join the police. The truth is they would not have done that if the salary was still low. I remember, end of that year, a newspaper wrote that the increment in salary initiated by the IG had led to decrease in crime rate in Nigeria in the last five years. So, that is why I said if you pay somebody peanut, they will do peanut job, and if you pay well, they will work well.

    We know that the Amnesty for Niger Delta youths was initiated by you. Would you say the programme has met your expectations?

    It has and it has not. I remember when I started, I took some risks. I was in my house, then a lady who used to work with United Nations came to interview me on militancy in the Niger Delta. After the interview, I asked if she had been to the Niger Delta and she said yes. I asked those who she met and she mentioned people including Tom Ateke, and I asked for Ateke’s number. I asked her to call him and she did and gave the phone to me. I said: “Ateke, I am Okiro, and he said, Uncle, I am fine. I asked where he was and he said he was in the creeks. When I asked what he was doing there, he never answered.” I went ahead to say, you are hiding because of what you are doing. I said everybody knows that Niger Delta was neglected. It was common knowledge in Nigeria and all over the world. The Federal Government was trying to see what they could do for the Niger Delta. They awarded contract to Julius Berger worth N20 billion. It was the biggest contract; the East-West Road, to develop the region. But your boys went to kidnap the workers and now the job has been abandoned. Who do you blame?

    An idea now came to me and I asked, if the Federal Government wants to give you amnesty, will you take it? He asked what it means and after that, he said he would take it. He now asked about his boys and I told him to send me the list of his boys. He sent me 443 names. I established a rapport between me, him and a lawyer. He was suspecting me at some point and asked that if I wanted anything, I should speak to the lawyer. I asked for the qualifications, ages and gender of the 443 people’s names he sent as that would enable me to know what to do for them. He sent it to me and I realised that some had not gone to school, some went to school but had no jobs.

    To be sure he wanted amnesty, I told him to write to the President because I didn’t want a situation where the government would give them amnesty and they would say they didn’t want. I said he should apply for amnesty and I signed with the lawyer and Ateke.

    So, I wrote a memo to the president and I divided the 443 names into three groups. Those who could not afford school fees, we asked for scholarship. Those who were graduates but jobless, which made them enter the creeks, we asked for jobs for them. And the last set were people over 30 years without education who should be trained in carpentry and other vocational skills.

    Before the government agreed, the President first said no and I had to tell him that we were not at war and sending bombers to bomb the creek would affect innocent people. Some people were already crying and shouting that the proposed move by government was genocide. I said some of these boys in the creek would become important people in the country. Government was very interested in it.

    I spoke to the president and I was supposed to go to Port Harcourt on Friday for them to surrender their arms. I was to go and pick the arms from the camp as against coming to drop it at the police station. Unfortunately, in the morning of that Friday, there was security of IG and security chief and I had to go for that meeting. The meeting ended around 4pm and I was told by my PA that we had missed our flight. I called the President to tell him that I was supposed to go to Port Harcourt to collect arms but I could not go again because of the meeting. He asked me to call the ADC and the ADC said he had been instructed to make the plane available whenever I needed it for the amnesty project. He asked me to go to the presidential wing to take a plane to Port Harcourt.

    We arrived Air Force Base Port Harcourt around 6pm and people were waiting for me at the Police Officer’s mess in Port Harcourt. We held a meeting on how they would surrender their arms and it was getting to 7pm. The AIG Zone 5 at that time came to whisper to me that it was not safe to go to the camp by that time, but I did not say anything. The CP Rivers also felt he could convince me not to go since I did not agree with the AIG but I maintained. I said to myself, it took me time to convince the President on the amnesty, I told him I was coming to Port Harcourt today, he accepted. I told him later that I had missed my flight and he gave me a flight. It was a presidential jet and they could need it anytime. I could not hold on to it. It would look like I was playing a game with excuses, so I decided to go to the camp.

    I told the CP and AIG that I would go and if they killed me, they should not touch anybody because that was the way God wanted it. I told them not to spill any blood because of me.

    I just stood up and addressed the crowd that I had been told by the AIG and CP that it was dangerous to go to militant’s camp to collect arms, and they started saying: “Uncle, we are not after you, we cannot do anything to you”.

    We left for the camp around 9pm. There was no light; it was torch and headlamp we used to enter the camp, and that was how we succeeded with the militants in  the Niger Delta,  and we went to other places after.

    My proposal to government was not to share money to anybody. The purpose for which I fought for amnesty even at the expense of my life was to have the ones out of school get scholarship, give jobs and then train people. I never said they should distribute money to people, but they are now distributing money to people.

    What was economic activity like in the Niger Delta at the peak of the militancy?

    Part of the thing that made me feel worried is because I was concerned on national level and geo-political level. That time, if you went to Port Harcourt, all hotels were abandoned, houses had “For Sale” stickers on them but nobody was even buying. Oil companies were operating from Lagos with helicopter and going back. Some were coming from Aba and Owerri. So, I said the economy of the region had dropped. Even those who sell things to workers no longer sell.

    On the national level, Niger Delta used to sell 2.4 million barrels a day but it dropped to below 700,000, so it affected our economy. By the time amnesty came back, the production went up again and business started booming.

    What is your advice for police officers?

    Police job is not a job where you come and do what you like. The police have rules and regulations as guiding principles. The constitution is there, Police Act is there also. They go for training and so they know what they should do, so they should do what they are supposed to do.

    Inasmuch as I feel the President will make a change in the security architecture of Nigeria, we still need everybody to do something. I cannot forget Tinubu because I went to him as governor to complain about unemployment. We have Area Boys, if they are employed, it will stop.

    I gave an instance that if someone is living in Ipaja and working on the Island and wakes up 4am daily to prepare to go to work and returns home around 11pm, he will not have time because weekend will be used to clean up and rest. But if you have no job and you sit in front of your house playing draft and making derogatory comments at people passing, then you will have time for crime. So, I urged him to see how we can create jobs to bring down the crime rate. So, the Area Boys were engaged to sweep the street and that brought down crime in Lagos State.

    As the President, he should see what he can do to create jobs. But we must know that security is a collective responsibility; it is not an exclusive  preserve of any agency or government. Everybody should play a role and be concerned about the security of the country.

    The government can only provide the enabling environment for peace to reign. It is left to the agencies and Nigerians to make everywhere peaceful.

  • ‘How I seduced my younger sister’s husband, got pregnant for him’

    ‘How I seduced my younger sister’s husband, got pregnant for him’

    • •Husband: I only wanted to test my potency
    • •It was a joke we took too far, says errant woman

    The joy of Mrs Juliana Angulu nee Ageba, a diploma holder from Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia, overflowed when she got married to her heartbrob, Donald Angulu, in June 2018.

    She had met Donald in Lafia when she first came to the polytechnic for a pre-diplima programme while the young Donald was already in the final year for his HND programme.

    They established a relationship that later transformed into marriage after a year, and they signed the dotted lines in a traditional marriage ceremony in Withamba Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, with Julianah expressing joy and thanking God for giving her a man of her dreams.

    That remained the situation for several years as the couple settle down in Lafia, Nasarawa State capital, where Donald ran a business centre and a barbing saloon while the wife ran a POS business at a different location within the  city.

    Five years later, Juliana, who was in the habit of professing her husband’s true love to friends and relations at every opportunity, was unable to concieve a baby.

    The couple had sought medical help at a hospital called ‘Police Clinic’ Lafia where the husband was given a clean bill of health, particularly in respect of sperm count. The results of the tests Juliana too underwent showed that her reproductive organs were okay. Yet it remained a source of worries for the couple that they could not produce a baby.

    At some point, frustration gave in to desperation for both of them as they frantically searched for the fruit of the womb.

    Our correspondent reliably gathered that the husband was actually confused that his wife could not get pregnanct after almost six years of marriage, even though medical examination gave both of them a clean bill of health.

    Along the line  Donald was attracted into secret romance with Juliana’s elder sister, Charity Ageba, who had completed secondary school for a long time but was said not to be serious about furthering her studies and was also not lucky to find a husband.

    Read Also: Police burst illegal child trafficking home, rescue six pregnant girls

    Tired of sitting down at home, Charity decided to move to Lafia to stay with her younger sister (Juliana). In order that Charity would also not be bored at home in Lafia, both Donald and Juliana decided that she should assist Donald at the computer centre/barbing salon. It was thought that she would learn computer and manage that part of the business while Donald would concentrate on the barbing salon so that the business would thrive better.

    It turned out, however, that rather than concentrate on the aspect of the computer business, Charity started indulging in illicit affair with her younger sister’s husband.

    The family’s daily schedule, according to a source, was that both Juliana and her husband usually left home early for their different shops, leaving Charity behind to prepare the food they would eat at their shops later in the day.

    After cleaning his shop, Donald would return home to have a bath, and that became the opportunity Donald and Charity seized to indulge in illicit romance.

    Before they realised it, Charity was already two months pregnant without the knowledge of Juliana. Donald was, however, aware of the development and struck an agreement with Charity to keep the pregnancy even for the worst that could happen.

    Last month, Juliana was jolted by the realisation that her beloved husband had betrayed the love and trust she invested in him by not only having an affair with Charity but also impregnating her.

    To worsen matters, her husband is resolute about his decision to allow Charity deliver the unborn child in the house, and has already shown Juliana the yellow card if she was unwilling to accept both Charity and the baby. Donald was also said to have warned Juliana not to expose the issue to the public, friends or members of their families.

    Juliana, who spoke in an exclusive conversation with our correspondent,  said: “I was the one who allowed Charity to come stay with us in Lafia. She was matured enough but was not lucky to have a husband, so she was just at home doing nothing.

    “When she interest in visiting us, I couldn’t have said no. So she came and my husband received her well. They became the best of friends, but little did I know that it would become a joke taken too far.

    “As a housewife, things are normally hard. I decided that rather than stay idle at home and rely solely on my husband, I secured a capital of about N300,000 to start a small POS business. So, I was always away from home.

    “My husband runs a mini computer service centre and a barbing saloon in same place. They were two shops in one plaza and together,  we were managing well.

    “So when my sister came, we all agreed that she should learn some skills in the computer centre instead of staying idle at home while both of us were away hurstling.

    “My husband would normally leave the house very early to clean the shop and wait for his boys to come to work before he would come back home to have his bath.

    “I  was also going out as early as 8:30 am, sometimes to the bank to withdraw money before going to my station. So she would cook morning food and bring it to me most times. But sometimes I called her not to come; that I would sort out myself.

    “But my husband would come back around 9am to have his bath before going back to settle in the shop, and that was the point of their meeting at home. ment on her body. Her breasts had increased in size and she looked very heavy. After due monitoring, I discovered that she was pregnant, and I wondered who could be responsible for it, because I had never seen any sign of her getting into a relationship with anyone.

    “I kept asking her who was actually responsible for the pregnancy, and she would tell me not to worry. But I was disturbed because I didn’t understand why she would be carrying a pregnancy whilr staying with me. It didn’t make sense.

    “It was when I threatened to send her packing that she revealed to me that my husband, Donald, was the one responsible for it.

    “When I confronted Donald with the allegation, he confirmed it and went on to plead with me not to blow it open; that he decided to test the fertility of his sperm on Charity to convince himself about what the result of their fertility test had shown, since he was not able to impregnate me.

    “I screamed and cried and almost died of shock that such a shame would happen to me. How can my husband sleep with me and my elder sister in my matrimonial home? How can my husband impregnate my elder sister in the name of testing the strength of his sperm?

    “I would have felt completely different if he had impregnated a girlfriend outside, but not my own biological sister. Sleeping with me and my elder sister to the point of impregnating her is a taboo.”

    Juliana said the the development had thrown her into complete confusion; that her husband and her elder sister could do this just because she  was not able to concieve.

    Juliana, who had already moved all her belongings out of the apartment where she stays with her husband, told our correspondent that she had informed her father about the incident and she would not return home due to the shame of what her husband and elder sister did.

    She also said her parents were confused and short of words.

    She said: “My parents actually suggested abortion, but my elder sister is not disposed to it as she is afraid she might not get pregnant again in her life. My husband too is finding it difficult to buy the idea as he might not be able to impregnate a woman again.

    Read Also: Always remember that tomorrow is pregnant

    “For me, I have left the house for both of them and I am staying with a friend who is actually consoling me. I can’t bear the shame.” It is actually not the best of times for Juliana because darkness and despondency has set into her once blissful marriage. Donald and Charity have enveloped her in a cloud of uncertainty. Yet she spoke glowingly of her fond memories with Donald when they met at the polytechnic.

    She said: “Meeting Donald was actually the happiest moment of my life. I was on top of the world.  He showed me true love and I think I did too.

    “He is a struggling young man and I’m also rendering a very supportive hand. But because of my inability to conceive, suddenly all that crashed in one irrational moment orchestrated by my elder sister.”

    While Juliana is traumatised by the development, her husband seems to have no qualms even though he said it was not intentional.

    He said: “The whole idea started like a joke. Already, we were used to each other.

    “One day, I came back home at about 9:30am to have my bath. Charity had finished preparing morning food. She took her bath and tied a towel that left her laps open.

    “I demanded for food, and serving me half naked tempted me. The circumstances were not planned and there was no condom to protect ourselves.

    “That was how we continued in that direction routinely, resulting into pregnancy.

    “I’m not too happy about it, but it appears this is my first time of impregnating a woman, and I don’t know whether it will be the last.

    “I’m the only male child of my parents, so I prefer the risk involved by allowing the pregnancy to grow, because ordinarily I should be in the lead to push for abortion. But I’m constrained, so I will allow her to deliver.

    “I’m going to see my in-laws to explain all the circumstances to them. I’m fully aware of the shame, but I can’t help it.

    “I have married Juliana for almost six years, no child. If her parents find themselves in my situation, what would they do?

    “It is actually unfortunate and not expected, but it happened and that is the reality.”

    When our correspondent confronted Charity with the allegations from her younger sister, Charity said she regreted her actions on one hand and did not regret it on the other. She said there was no point for her younger sister to take the matter outside as doing so would not bring a solution.

    Giving a blow-by-blow account of how it all happened, she said the jovial moments had been there between her and Donald for some time.

    “But one early morning about three months ago, he came home after cleaning his shop to take his bath. I had prepared food and his wife went out early to make some withdrawal in the bank for her POS  business.

    “I had taken my bath and tied my towel, robbing my cream. The apartment is a two-bedroom one.

    “I didn’t plan for what happened, neither did Donald plan for it.  It came like a joke and later a reality, the pregnancy set in.

    “Already, both Donald and myself committed a big offence by allowing our sexual emotions to overcome us. Abortion would be a second offence, so we decided to allow it.

    “I deeply sympathise with my younger sister. I perfectly understand her pains, anger and frustration, but the worst has happened.

    “I’m actually not intending to abort the pregnancy because the worst harm has already been done.

    “Our parents too are shocked and are not happy with the turn of events, but there is nothing anybody can do.” 

    In a phone conversation with the father-in-law, he simply said, it is a  taboo and he would n’t be party to such. He then dropped the phone.

  • Nigerian photographer takes exhibition to Kenya

    Nigerian photographer takes exhibition to Kenya

    Photography artist, Aize Muhammed Paul is set to hold another art exhibition in Tribal Gallery Loresho Ridge, Nairobi, Kenya. between June 16 and 25.

    Titled Erèn oghè okhaza – Èkpo oghè ulè obaba (A safe place to find a purpose for your story), flares of Enthusiasm, Dash Between, Paul described the exhibition as one way to create a sustainable channel for the artist and the market.

    He further explained that the ethos of his art as self, a means to navigate one’s life purpose, with a mission to inspire individualism to creatively encourage humanism on a global scale.

    “The flares of enthusiasm – represents the uninhibitedness of your soul prior to birth. Clueless, as you drift fragily in forms of the most liberated versions of yourself you will ever witness, just as you precede your unrequested entry into a life-form. The dashing hopes, dreams, and ideal possibilities of 280 days before you get to be introduced to the dash,” said Paul.

    Read Also: 30 firms from China for trade exhibition

    “Dash – As your story segues into a whole identity embodied in this life-form. The dash between is you, here, right now. Your life – awareness of it, questions from it, expectations of it. Your hopes, dreams, aspirations, youthfulness, definitive moments, saddest moments, life purpose and your innate fear of the inevitable – death.
    Aize Muhammed Paul Esq. captures these experiences as a dash in 99 photographs. The 100th photograph is your interpretation of it.“

    Speaking on the exhibition, he said “The exhibition talks about life and death; this means we get to be born and we get to die. It is a life purpose kind of exhibition. This exhibition is a five-part series. This is called 99 images. It’s a dash between life and death. The 99 images expresses every form, reaction, action, omission, feelings, hurts we as humans feel while we are here on earth.
    “The 99 images depicts happy, sad, joyful, mothers, playing kids, a wondering boy, amongst others. These all express every stage you go through as a human here on earth.

  • TINUBU PRESIDENCY: The early days

    TINUBU PRESIDENCY: The early days

    Deputy Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU examines the activities of President Bola Tinubu in his first week in office.

    A new chapter has opened in the history of Nigeria, following the inauguration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The president is settling down to the serious business of governance after taking the mantle from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, at the Eagle Square in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) six days ago.

    It was an impressive ceremony witnessed by statesmen, diplomats and other world figures. But the euphoria quickly gave way for serious work.

    Obviously President Tinubu has applied for a tedious job. But the mandate is meant for a competent man, an experienced administrator, a patriot, democrat and strategist like him.

    Governance in Nigeria, African most populous and highly heterogenous country, cannot be a tea party. On the president is the burden of diverse , and sometimes antagonistic 250 ethnic groups who, in their quest for a new lease of life, are locked in a competitive struggle for resources at the distant centre under the faulty, deformed and debased federal structure.

    Apart from the huge tasks of unification, fostering equity, fairness and justice require tact, wisdom and strong resolve. The challenges across the sectors make urgent reforms more compelling. Nigerians are impatient people who want quick action and relief. Therefore, they are maintaining keen interest in every presidential move. Predictably, the preliminary assessment of Tinubu’s performance will be undertaken by informed commentators, critics and foes at the end of his first 100 days in Aso Villa, the seat of government.

    The president is focused on his vision, goals and plans. In his inaugural speech, which has been hailed across the globe for its clarity, focus, depth and reassurance, the president raised serious concern about national unity.

    Adorning his characteristic national outlook, Tinubu assured the people of inclusiveness. “I will be president of all,” he said, adding: “Whether from the winding creeks of the Niger Delta, the vastness of the northern savannah, the boardrooms of Lagos, the bustling capital of Abuja, or the busy markets of Onitsha, you are all my people. As your president, I shall serve with prejudice toward none, but compassion and amity towards all.”

    The message should resonate with voters from the six geo-political zones who conferred the mandate on him during the February 25 poll, not as a candidate of a tribe or religious tendency, but as a total Nigerian ready to lead the country into a new dawn.

    Highlights of inaugural speech

    Consistent with his campaign promises, Tinubu laid out some programmes he would pursue in the maiden address to the nation. He spoke on his plans for the economy; business and foreign exchange; agriculture, jobs, power supply, security and, the matter of the moment -fuel subsidy removal.

    The president, in the speech titled: ‘A new deal for Nigeria,’ described the peaceful transfer of power as an evidence of political stability, which he would build upon. He paid tribute to his predecessor, Buhari, saying that history will be kind to him.

    Conscious of the nature of Nigeria, particularly its cleavages, he promised to unify. The country is big and there are peculiarities dictated by its ethnic composition. Therefore, in utter sensitivity to these differences, Tinubu promised to consult widely, mend fences, pursue a healing process, and foster good governance based on the rule of law.

    He reflected on the poll that brought him to power. He described it as a hard fought contest, which he fairly won. But, in humility, he pointed out that his victory did not make him more Nigerian than other contenders for the highest office. As a democrat and believer in justice, he conceded to his rivals their resort to the court for final adjudication on the election.

    Read Also: 10th NASS: Tinubu meets opposition lawmakers Monday

    There was cheery news, shortly after the change of baton. It was reported that intense bargain-hunting for Nigerian equity rallied the stock market to a net capital gain of N1.51 trillion, its highest in a day in two and half years. The Naira was also said to have recorded a marginal gain while the benchmark index for the stock market, the All Share Index (ASI), posted an average return of 5.23 per cent, its highest gain since November, last year.

    The president is targeting a higher Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while trying frantically to reduce unemployment. He is proposing a budgetary reform that will stimulate economy and without engendering inflation, an industrial policy that will utilise fiscal measures to promote domestic manufacturing and lessen import dependency. Like he pointed out during the campaigns, he said Nigeria needed stable electricity supply.

    As part of strategies for guaranteeing a conducive environment for investment to thrive, he said the Federal Government will ensure that investors and foreign businesses repatriate their hard earned dividends and profits home.

    Tinubu said he will not renege on his avowed commitment to youth welfare through the creation of one million jobs through digital economy, adding that “our government also shall work with the National Assembly to fashion an omnibus Jobs and Prosperity bill.

    He stressed: “This bill will give our administration the policy space to embark on labour-intensive infrastructural improvements, encourage light industry and provide improved social services for the poor, elderly and vulnerable.”

    Another priority is agriculture. The president plans to secure rural income through commodity exchange boards that will guarantee minimal prices for certain crops and animal products. A nationwide programme for storage and other facilities to reduce spoilage and waste will be undertaken.

    On the monetary policy, Tinubu said the Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate. He said “this will direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.”

    He added: “Interest rates need to be reduced to increase investment and consumer purchasing in ways that sustain the economy at a higher level.

    “Whatever merits it had in concept, the currency swap was too harshly applied by the CBN, given the number of unbanked Nigerians. The policy shall be reviewed. In the meantime, my administration will treat both currencies as legal tender.”

    During the campaigns, Tinubu had alerted Nigerians that his administration will halt fuel subsidy. Indeed, his rivals during the contest promised to do the same. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, who described subsidy as a fraud, said what Nigeria should do after removing it totally is to channel the funds back into the economy.

    Also, Labour Party (LP) flagbearer, Peter Obi, described subsidy as organised crime. He said if elected, he will not allow it to stay a day longer.

    In fact, Buhari had set this month as the terminal date for the regime of subsidy that had only benefitted few rich Nigerians. Reiterating his determination to do away with subsidy, Tinubu said “subsidy is gone.”

    Mixed reactions have trailed the announcement. It provoked a national debate. Some stakeholders were not comfortable with the manner of announcement. Others said there was nothing wrong with the emphasis, so that Nigerians could embrace the reality.

    The president received the applause of economic experts. But, the pronouncement was trailed by uproar among workers and the masses. The attempt to resist the removal began instantly. Unpatriotic petrol dealers deliberately hoarded fuel to inflict pain on innocent Nigerians. Loading of product temporarily stopped at depots. The price of fuel also went up. Many feared the impact on vulnerable members of the society.

    Justifying the removal, Tinubu said fuel subsidy has increasingly favoured the rich more than the poor, adding that it can no longer justify its ever-increasing costs in the wake of drying resources.”

    On the gains of subsidy removal, which all and not few will enjoy, the president said: “We shall instead re-channel the funds into better investment in public infrastructure, education, health care and jobs that will materially improve the lives of millions.”

    On Tuesday, Vice President Kashim Shettima, merely reiterated the president’s position, saying there was no going back on the removal.

    When Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde visited the president along with former Governors Nyesom Wike (Rivers) and James Ibori (Delta), he described the removal as a tough decision, urging all Nigerians to support Tinubu’s good intention.

    Breaking with tradition

    Unlike his predecessors, Tinubu broke with the tradition of instant announcements of appointments, particularly of immediate aides, including the Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff, Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), and media appointees. There is no laid out rule and regulation, and every president is at liberty to adopt whatever approach that is suitable for him.

    However, the delayed appointments gave room for speculations. Some people invaded the unregulated social media with fake news, lying that certain persons had been appointed as aides.

    Also, as the controversy over fuel subsidy persisted, there was no official aide on ground until Tinubu’s Special Adviser, Mr. Dele Alake, came on air to make certain clarifications. Later, Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) explained to reporters in Abuja that the removal was non-negotiable, if Nigeria was to be pulled back from bankruptcy. He said the Federal Government owed NNPCL N2.8 trillion – being money spent on subsidy.

    Appointment of CoS, SGF

    On Friday, the coast was clear. In a statement by the Director of Information, Aso Villa, Abiodun Oladunjoye, the president appointed House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila as Chief of Staff, Senator Hassan Hadejia, former Deputy Governor of Jigawa State, as Deputy Chief of Staff, and George Akume, former Minister of Special Duties and governor of Benue State as Secretary to Government of the Federation.

    Read Also: Three ways Tinubu can cushion effects of subsidy removal without palliatives

    It means that media aides are to be appointed later.

    However, there is neither suspense nor anxiety over the cabinet list, which many Nigerians believe may take a little time.

    Resumption of office

    On Tuesday, Tinubu resumed office in Aso Villa. Vice President Shettima, who had resumed earlier on that day, led the Villa Staff and security men to welcome him.

    Tinubu, attended by his Aide-De-Camp, Lt.Col. Nurudeen Alowonle, walked briskly into the premises, greeting and shaking with officials most heartily. Later, he was led to a seat in one of the rooms where he began to hold court.

    Presidential order on EFCC/DSS face-off

    Inter-agency conflicts of the previous era were carried over. There was pandemonium at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office in Ikoyi, Lagos when men of the Department of State Services (DSS) barricaded access to the office area.

    It was a curious conflict arising from claim and counter-claim of ownership of the office.

    The news of the face-off got to the Commander-in-Chief, who instantly directed DSS operatives to vacate the disputed office immediately.

    In a statement in Abuja by Tunde Rahman, Tinubu directed the DSS to immediately vacate the disputed premises, saying any disagreement between both agencies of government should be amicably resolved.

    Rahman said: “President Bola Tinubu has directed the Department of State Services to immediately vacate the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in Ikoyi, Lagos.

    “The President gave the directive when reports that DSS officials stormed the EFCC office on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Tuesday, preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from accessing their work place, was brought to his attention.

    “The President said if there were issues between the two important agencies of government, they would be resolved amicably.”

    Savouring global goodwill

    During the week, the President received some diplomats who brought messages of goodwill and solidarity from their countries

    Among them was the Special Envoy of Chinese President XI Jinping, Vice Chairman of Chinese National Peoples Congress, Peng Qinghua, who visited him at State House. He was accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun, and his deputy.

    A nine-man delegation from the United States was also guest of Tinubu in Abuja. The Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia L. Fudge, headed the delegation sent to the inauguration by President Joe Biden.

    Members of the delegation were Mr. David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Abuja; Honorable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative (D), California; Honorable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce; General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command; Honorable Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

    Others are Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Honorable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council and Honorable Monde Muyangwa, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.

    On Monday evening, after the inauguration, the president received envoys and Heads of Missions of some countries, including those of the United Kingdom, United States, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Brazil, South Korea, Israel, Cape Verde, Somalia and Nicaragua.

    From far and near, congratulatory messages continue to pour in for the president.

    First security meeting

    On Thursday, Tinubu held the first security meeting with all the heads of security agencies. The purpose was for him to acquaint himself with them and explain his security philosophy and the type of architecture he hoped to build for operational efficiency.

    At the meeting, he warned them against working at cross-purposes.

    After the “meeting of the General Security Appraisal Committee,” the National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd), who addressed reporters, said Tinubu also said he would not tolerate economic sabotage and instructed the security agencies to crush the menace of oil theft.

     Monguno added that Tinubu said he would be building on gains already recorded in the security sector and that he will institute reforms.

    “The meeting lasted two hours. Having been briefed by the participants of the meeting, Mr. President addressed prevailing issues confronting the nation in terms of insecurity and also mentioned his own philosophy towards dealing with national security issues,” he said.

    “First and foremost, he appreciated the armed forces and intelligence agencies and the wider para-military agencies for the work they have been doing in the past couple of years, their sacrifice, their loyalty, and he also paid tribute to those who died in defending this country from the great big menace of terrorism, insurgency, banditry, oil theft, sea robbery, piracy.

    Read Also: Marafa: Tinubu will strengthen reward system in APC

    “All agencies must work to achieve one single purpose. Working at cross purposes and colliding with each other is not something that he will condone.

    “He has made it very clear that all the security agencies must comply with the demands of coordination with the demands of frequent consultations and also timely reports, which must be acted on. He is going to embark on a lot of reforms in terms of our security architecture.

    “He’s going to take a closer look at our misfortunes in the maritime domain, focusing particularly on the issues of oil theft. That he is not going to tolerate, wherever the problem is coming from, it must be crushed as soon as possible. He’s already mandated the security agencies to come up with a blueprint.

    “President has said clearly that he will do whatever is within his powers to enable the operational elements, but the intelligence agencies must also make their work easy for them by providing the type of intelligence that they require to carry out their assignments.”

    Meeting with Progressive Governors’ Forum

    Led by its chairman, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, the Progressive Governors’s Forum visited the President at the State House.

    At the meeting were Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa), Umar Namadi (Jigawa), Inuwa Yahaya (Gombe), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Professor Babagana Zulum (Borno), and Mai Mala Buni (Yobe).

    Others are Uba Sani (Kaduna), Dikko Radda (Katsina), Father Hyacinth Alia (Benue), AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Umar Bago (Niger), Aliyu Ahmed (Sokoto), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi) and Bassey Otu (Cross River).

    Governors Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Biodun Oyebanji, and Dr Nasir Idris (Kebbi) were absent.

    Also at the meeting were Vice President Shettima, Permanent Secretary of the State House, Tijjani Umar, and former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu.

    Tinubu congratulated Uzodinma for his selection as Forum chairman and Kwara State Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRasak for his choice as Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’s Forum (NGF).

    Sources said the meeting, which was the first official interaction between President Tinubu and APC governors since his inauguration, provided an opportunity for discussing salient issues, including the selection National Assembly presiding officers, appointments and fuel subsidy.

    Already, the president and the ruling APC have endorsed Senator Godswill Akpabio for Senate President, Senator Jubrin Barau for Deputy Senate President,  Tajudeen Abbas for House of Representatives Speaker and Benjamin Kalu for Deputy Speaker.

    The ruling party controls the majority in the National Assembly and its leadership are of the opinion that to faithfully implement the campaign promises of the APC, the President and the legislature should work together harmoniously in an atmosphere of separation of powers, with the accompanying checks and balances.

    PDP chieftains visit

    On Friday, three prominent PDP stalwarts, Oyo State Governor Makinde, former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and ex-Delta State Governor, James Ibori, visited the president. Details of their discussion were unknown.

    However, while Makinde said Tinubu has started well, Wike said the president deserved the support of every Nigerian.

  • Outrage as multibillion naira water project turns into laundry, bathing centre in Edo

    Outrage as multibillion naira water project turns into laundry, bathing centre in Edo

    • ·Project meant to generate nine million litres of potable water daily rarely produces a drop in one week ·Indigent residents lose faith, live on contaminated water

    A N3.85 billion water project designed to end acute water scarcity and curb repeated outbreak of water borne diseases among the residents of Ugboha community in Esan South East Local Government Area, Edo State, has been converted to a bathing and laundry centre by the natives. Findings revealed that the project, which was meant to generate two million gallons or nine million litres of water daily, hardly generates a drop even in one week, forcing indigent members of the community to live on contaminated water. For many members of the community, the water project is nothing but a scam, INNOCENT DURU reports.

    MATHEW, a native of Ugboha was upbeat that his pain and frustration from having to trek long distances to get water for his household was over when the Ugboha Water Project was completed many years ago.

    He lives very close to the site of the water project and had hoped to have unhindered access to not just ordinary water but potable one. For Marcus and his neighbours, however, all that has become a mirage.

    “We are not enjoying any water supply; it is simply another super story,” he retorted in a tone laced with disappointment when our correspondent sought to know how functional the project was.

    Mathew recalled how ecstatic he and his kinsmen were when the project was completed many years ago, as they had thought that their days of water scarcity were over. “But nothing has changed since then, because we are still bedeviled by acute water scarcity,” he said.

    He added that since the project failed to live up to the purpose for which it was designed, the community had resorted to going to the project’s site to fetch water each time the authorities open the tap.

    Mathew said: “Many of our people do go there to have a bath and wash clothes to reduce the stress of going back and forth to the river.  But was that what the project was designed for?

    “Many of the taps they connected to different communities are all running dry. Look at the one at Egwuare (he took our correspondent there), it doesn’t function anymore. The project is a big scam because it is not serving the purpose for which it was meant.”

    Investigation revealed that the N3.85 million project completed by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government 21 years after it was conceived, was handed over to the Edo State Government in 2018.

    During an inspection of the water project in 2019, former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Francis Okiye, had vowed that the challenge of water scarcity in the axis would soon become a thing of the past.

    Speaking in  a YouTube video obtained by our correspondent, he said: “Given what I can feel from the governor, who is so committed to the success of this project, he has told me that in the next few months, you won’t  have to go boreholes, and the tankers will not have business doing business around this area.”

    From our findings, however, all the promises appeared to be nothing but a ruse. The business of buying water from boreholes and tankers are still thriving in the affected communities as well as the adjoining towns.

    Stakeholders in the area had after the handing over of the project to the state government noted that one major action the Edo State Government needed to take, perhaps with support from the donor community and even the multilateral financial institutions like the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank was to channel potable water from the Ugboha water scheme into the homes of Esan people.

    “Piping clean water to the homes of yhe poor in Esan will go a long way in reducing maternal and under-five mortality rates in Edo Central and also help in tackling Lassa fever, which has become a threat in the area lately.

    Read Also: Minister laments low maintenance of water projects

    “This will certainly help in meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal for water in the state,” a stakeholder, Dan Owegie, wrote in a piece published by ‘The Observer’.

    Five years down the line, the homes of Esan people are yet to be piped with any form of water. Children still have to leave their studies to travel long distances to fetch water every morning. Women, including pregnant ones, still have to carry or push gallons of water up hills in wheelbarrows on a daily basis for their domestic water needs.

    All the concern expressed about under-five mortality, menace of Lassa  fever, among others, fell on deaf ears as the people have long returned to their life of misery, morbidity and avoidable mortality.   

    A neighbour of Mathew, who overheard his discussion with our correspondent, dashed out his house to express his disappointment with the project.

    “There is no water anywhere in Ugboha,” he screamed.

    The furious middle aged man, who gave his name simply as Samson, went on to describe the project as a big rip-off, as he noted that “the pipes they used to connect the water to some streets are fake. On the rare occasions that they pump water, the pipes would burst and the whole water would waste away.

    “What is the essence of the project if the water would always waste away whenever they choose to pump it?

    “Go round the community and you will find that the taps are dry. People travel for an hour or more to this area to fetch water from the project site.

    “Women and children are  worse hit because they have to go looking for the water needed for domestic use before going to school or market.

    “If people would have to do this all the time, of what value then is the project?”

    Visibly  angered by what the project has turned out to be, Samson said the only difference between the project and the rivers around the community  is that one runs naturally on the ground while the other comes from the tap and maybe gets treated before it is pumped out for public use.

    “But is that the purpose of the project? To make us fetch water from taps at the project site?

    “This is arrant rubbish. The government needs to investigate the contract because it is not serving the purpose for which it was established.”

    Frabcesca, one of the ladies who were seen washing at the project site, was sarcastic in her response when she was asked about the project.

    “It is our laundry and bathing centre,” she said giggling. 

    “Yes. This is where we come to wash our clothes whenever they open the tap,  because it is not all the time that they open it.

    “At times, the tap may not run in a whole month. When this happens, we would be in for big trouble because we would have to go to Edewe River to get water. 

     “You can see all the clothes  that we have washed today. You can also see children having their bath. Some of us who are adults also bathe here, although with some clothes on as you can see.” Also sharing his thoughts, Odion, who was washing at the project site, said he wished the water was flowing in his community in the manner it was flowing at the project site.

    If it happens that way, Odion said, “it will save us a lot of stress and time.

    “I have been able to wash all the clothes I brought to the river and also had my bath.

    “Now that I am done, I will fetch water into the jerry cans that I brought here for our domestic use.

    “I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this if I were to be fetching the water from here to the house to wash clothes.

    “By the time I finish fetching the water, I would have been too tired to wash clothes or do any other thing at home.”

    Journey to solitary Oriah River    

    One issue that keeps befuddling the enraged community members is why they continue to suffer acute water scarcity when the river from where water is channeled to the water scheme for treatment and distribution to the entire area and adjoining towns like Uromi and Ubiaja is always overflowing.

    To confirm the claims of the villagers, our correspondent journeyed through the narrow and solitary Oriah Road to visit the river. It was a scary trip considering the security challenges in the country. Out of fear, our correspondent repeatedly asked the rider of the motorcycle he boarded why it was taking so long to get to the river. 

    “Don’t worry, we will soon get there,” the motorcyclist said before going on to ask a question that further unsettled our correspondent: “Did you come for this assignment alone or you came with some people?”

    Sensing danger, our correspondent responded that he was with  some colleagues who were working in other parts of the community. But it all turned out to be an innocuous question.  

    Shortly after, a cold, gentle breeze began to blow, signaling that we were near the river.

    The river was almost overflowing its bounds and even the deaf could hear its rumble. Beside it is a yellow building meant to be the operational base for the water officials, but it was under lock and key. 

    Inside the river was a young man having a bath after toiling on the farm. On top of the makeshift bridge providing passage for the people were young boys from uphill Oriah who had gone to the river to fetch water.

    Asked if they had potable water in the area, the young man in the river said: “No! This is the water that everybody in this community drinks.”

    He went on to scoop some of the river’s raw water and drank not minding it lacked any quality of potable water. “I am not joking; this is the water we drink,” he said.

    “We have an alternative, and that is to buy sachet water. But we don’t have money for it. We are compelled to drink this, not minding the health implications.”

    Still expressing concerns about their predicament, another resident, who gave his name as Osagie, said: “All manner of people including those with skin problems bathe in this river. People defecate around the whole place and the fecal materials all find their ways into the river from which we get drinking water.”

    He added: “This water is not treated before we drink it, just like it is in Egwuare. We drink the unclean water together with every rubbish it has absorbed.

    “We are really dying in silence but nobody cares because we are mere villagers without a voice.”

    One of the young boys who were seen fetching water from the river said it is a herculean task coming to fetch water at the river.

    His words: “It is very enervating coming to fetch water at the river. When coming from our camp, it is very easy getting here because the road is sloppy. But it is not easy going back home with the water because you have to climb the hill.

    “This causes body ache for many of us. Apart from that, it makes it impossible for us to wash out clothes regularly.

    “On many occasions, you have to wear your clothes for a longer time than necessary before washing them because of the challenges we have with water.

     “The implications are grave, but there is nothing we can do about it.”

    The World Health Organisation in a recent report said that some 829, 000 people are estimated to die each year from diarrhoea as a result of unsafe drinking-water, sanitation and hand hygiene.

    The report reads in part: “Diarrhoea is largely preventable, and the deaths of 297,000 children aged below five years could be avoided each year if these risk factors were addressed.

    “Where water is not readily available, people may decide that handwashing is not a priority, thereby adding to the likelihood of diarrhoea and other diseases.

    “Contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.

    “Absent, inadequate, or inappropriately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks.”

    Tales of exploitation in Uromi, Ubiaja

    To check if the water project was extended to other neighbouring towns like Uromi and Ubiaja as indicated in some reports, our correspondent embarked on a trip covering 16km from Ughoha to  Uromi and 14km to Ubiaja.

    Findings in those areas were also disturbing. Unlike the people of Ugboha who could get water from rivers and streams, many less privileged people in Uromi and Ubiaja have to travel long distances to buy water. In fact, the people alleged that their plight may have been deliberately caused by water officials and their collaborators who prefer to sell the water to  affluent members of the communities who in turn sell to them.

    A petty trader who gave her name as Omonsuzi said: “We are not enjoying water at all. See the overhead tank over there. Whenever they mistakenly pump water, the whole pipes will be leaking and people will be fetching from the pipes, some of which have fallen inside gutter.

    “The water does not come regularly. If it comes today, it may not come again in the next two weeks or more.

    “When it is pumped, it stays for a very short time and stops. This is not the kind of support we want.”

    Omonsuzi added: “Instead of making the water available to us, they carry them in tankers and sell to rich people who sell to us in jerry cans.

    “A jerry can of 20 litres costs N50. If you have a large family, you may be spending an average of N500 daily on water. How many poor people can afford that on a daily basis?” Making some unscientific claims, Omonsuzi alleged that the tanker drivers often go diabolical during rainy season because the people resort to rain water.

    She said: “During the rainy season, the tanker drivers are always unhappy because their business suffers serious setback.

    “Virtually everybody harvests rainwater. During this period, the tanker driver uses diabolical powers to reduce the amount of rainfall we have here so that we can continue to patronise them.

    “It is a serious issue, as they want to perpetually milk us.” 

    Another resident of the community, who gave his name simply as Emma, said most of the pipes in Uromi are rusty, alleging that the water authorities, instead of providing water for the people, now connects pipes directly to privileged people’s homes to supply them with water.

    “How would the pipes not rust when the water is not flowing? Go to Ukoni area and see if any of the pipes is functional. They have all rust or are looking damaged because they are not seeing water.

    “Our children go out every morning to fetch water before going to school. Many of us spend our income on water, and when you don’t have money to buy, the whole house will be  in a mess.

    “What we have observed is that they are connecting pipes to rich people’s homes to give them water instead of making water available to the masses. Was that the aim of the project?

    “The government has never meant well for the masses.”

    Read Also: Adeleke suspends consultant over $106m Ilesa water project

    Journeying to Ubiaja, which is the administrative headquarters of the Esan South East Local Government Area, our correspondent was greeted by mass movements  of children and adults especially women carrying jerry cans around to look for water. From Uhe to Idumebo, Egwale and other communities, the story was the same.

    One of  the children in Uhe said going out to look for water had become a routine.

    “I don’t find it comfortable, but if we have to eat, bath and wash at home, I must go looking for water,” he said.

    A cleric who identified himself simply as Pastor Sunday alleged that politicians have turned the area to an ATM machine, using water projects that never worked.

    “Go round the whole place and you will see overhead tanks that are there for nothing sake.

    “They always come to come to commission water projects. When they come, the water will be gushing out but subsequently, you won’t see a drop. 

    “What we discovered along the line was that after putting a water project in place, government officials would come late at night and use water from tankers to fill the overhead tanks. The following day, they will come to commission the project.

    “When they come, they will open the tap and water will begin to flow. People will begin to clap, hoping that it will continue that way.  When you go to the project the next day, you will not see a drop of water from the tap. It’s all deceit.

    “At my place, we buy a full tank of water for N22,000. This takes a very short time to finish and when it does, we would order for another one.  The water comes from Ugboha. It is a brisk business for the officials and their friends.”    

    Chief Sunday Ojezele, who represented Esan South East Constituency, reportedly appealed in the YouTUbe video that the project should be extended to Ubiaja while accompanying the former speaker on the tour of the water project.

     Benin-Owena River Basin, Edo govt react

    Contacted, the Managing Director of the Benin/Owena River Basin Development Agency, Saliu Ahmed, washed his hands off the Ugboha Water project. He  said: “But we do not operate the scheme you referred to. I recall it was handed over to the Edo State Government four years ago. Your best bet is therefore the state (Edo) government.

    Media aide to Governor Godwin Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, argued that the project is in the hands of the  federal government when our correspondent demanded to know what the state government was doing about the project.  He said: “That scheme, do you know it belongs to the federal government? It is the federal government’s water works. I will get in touch with the people who worked on it last and get back to you.  But it is a federal government project.”

    Crusoe had yet to  get back to us as at the time of filing this report.

  • Concerns over rising cases of child abuse in Anambra, others

    Concerns over rising cases of child abuse in Anambra, others

    A few days ago, two cases of child abuse by supposed mothers were recorded in Anambra State; one in Nnewi and the other in Onitsha. While the one in Nnewi involved a nine-year-old girl reportedly abused by her guardian, that of Onitsha involved a seven-year-old boy said to have been battered by his aunt.

    In the Nnewi incident, a 25-year old woman, Chinyere Ifesinachi, was said to have tortured her little house-help identified as Idinmachukwu for purportedly throwing her baby on the floor. The suspect, a native of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area of the state married to an Enugu man, reportedly used both cane and pestle to inflict varying degrees of injury on the victim. As usual, she blamed the devil for the act, pleading for mercy.

    The parents of the child had revealed that their little daughter was sent to live with the suspect after she was delivered of twins. The father said: “It was out of pity that we decided to send our little daughter to her after she was delivered of a set of twins, which made it really difficult for her to cope.

    “Our daughter left us since March, but it is very unfortunate that barely two months of her stay in Onitsha, she got all kinds of ill-treatment from a woman who is supposed to be her guardian.”

    While the dust raised by the ugly incident was yet to settle, another woman was said to have battered another underage child in Onitsha barely five days after. The suspect, Abigail Eguta, had reportedly brutalised his seven-year-old cousin over his inability to recite the English alphabet. The 24-yaer-old woman, who admitted inflicting injuries on the victim’s body, also accused the boy of eating the fish she bought for Sunday meal.

    She said: “Actually, it was not my intention to flog him in the eyes or to make him blind; it was by mistake that the beating extended to his eyes. I am very sorry. Please, forgive me. It is the handiwork of the devil,” she sobbed.

    Read Also: Delta shuts lesson centres over rape, child abuse allegations

    The suspect, said to be a biological sister to the victim’s mother, however claimed she was beaten by her husband, a businessman, when he returned and saw what she did to the boy. The victim, simply identified as Sunday, was brought to the office of the Commissioner for Women Affairs in the State by some good-spirited individuals who rescued him from the suspect.

    The source further said it was barely a year the victim, an out-of-school child, was brought to the suspect said to hail from Ikwo in Ebonyi State, but residing in Onitsha with her family. The visibly malnourished boy also sustained swollen eyes he could hardly see with, as well as bruises on different parts of his body.

    Reacting to the Nnewi incident, the Com missioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department of the Police Command, Awka, adding that the arrested suspect would be charged to court after investigations.

    Appreciating those who raised the alarm that attracted her attention to the incident, Obinabo warned that anyone caught abusing any child in the state would face the consequences, just as she assured the victim of her safety, adding that she would not be returning to her guardian’s house after she was taken to hospital for medical examination. She also commended the police command for continued partnership with her ministry in ensuring such cases were handled professionally and in record time.

    On the Onitsha incident, the Commissioner condemned the act, describing it as unjustifiable and unacceptable. She decried rising cases of child abuse in the state, regretting that such heartlessness was becoming rampant among young mothers.

    “One wonders why many guardians will have the minds to treat someone else’s children who are in their custody as if they are animals while they pamper their own children,” she said.

    While reprimanding the suspect for what she described as “wickedness against another person’s child”, Obinabo reassured her Ministry’s commitment to fishing out and legally dealing with such wicked guardians in the state. She also ordered the transfer of the case to the Anambra State Police Command for proper investigation, after which the suspect would be charged.

    Meanwhile, the victim has been taken to an undisclosed hospital in Awka for proper medical attention. Also reacting, Executive Director, Gender Perspective and Social Development Centre (GPSDC), Eucharia Anekwe, described the ugly trend as annoying, stressing the need to declare state of emergency on violence against children and widows. She also advocated the establishment of a task force on gender based violence at state, local and ward levels to ensure that such incidents were nipped in the bud.

    She said: “The wave of violence on children is on the high side now and of great concern to us. It is more annoying when you see young mothers being prime suspects. It is most annoying that these women have carried their own children under the nine-month labour, yet they have the mind to perpetuate such dastardly act.

    “We’ve been pushing for a task force on gender-based violence at state, local and ward levels. This will not only ensure such incidents are nipped in the bud but that perpetrators are finished out before it escalates.

    Read Also: Don’t allow child abuse cases to die in court, Wike tells judiciary

    “Thank God that the governor and state judge instituted the gender-based violence courts at the magistrate and high court levels. At least the two are doing justice to the cases. There’s also the need to declare a state of emergency on violence against children, women and even widows.

    A veteran journalist, Tony Okafor, called for government legislation banning infants from serving as house helps in the state. He also canvassed for the establishment of bodies saddled with the responsibility of regulating engagement of house helps and sundry services in the state.

    He said: “The two cases involved are about infants. Therefore, there should be government legislation banning infants from serving as house helps in the state. This will make it a strict liability offence for anybody engaging the services of an infant as house help.

    “Again, government can go ahead to institute a body that will officially regulate the engagement of house helps and sundry services in the state. This will make it easy for government to have a register of house helps and punish accordingly those who engage in illegal engagement of such services, ditto maltreatment of such persons.

    “Beyond these, there should be an unencumbered free education for children in the state from primary to junior secondary school levels. Findings have shown that ‘legal and illegal’ levies in primary schools in the state have made it excruciatingly difficult for parents to see their children through basic education, hence the resort to sending out their children and wards as house helps.”

    On his part, Executive Director, Catch Them Young Community Initiative (CATYCOI), Nonso Orakwe, said it was high time the child’s act/law on parents that abuse children was brought to the fore. He also called on the Ministry of Women Affairs to develop a system where those with the intention to enjoy the services of a house help would secure approval from government to enable both parent and government checkmate the ugly trend.

    “The rate of child abuse in Anambra State is seriously alarming. Parents should take ownership of their children by training them by themselves. It’s quite annoying to see some barbaric attitude from some parents on some children who are there to assist them at home.

    “This is the time to dust a child’s act/law on the parents that abuse these children. Parents who know they cannot take care of their children should not give birth to them or take them as house helps. The Ministry of Women Affairs should develop a system where anyone that wants to get a house help will apply and get approval from the government. This will enable both the parent and government to checkmate this ugly trend,” he said.

  • Rescued teenagers: How notorious bandit forced us into marriage with blood covenant

    Rescued teenagers: How notorious bandit forced us into marriage with blood covenant

    • Hoodlum barred us from sleeping with other men

    Chinaza, a native of Etinasa, Awo Idemmiri in Orsu Local Government Area, Imo State, has lived with alleged notorious bandit Chukwumere a.k.a. Odumodu for five years.

    Within that period, she had two kids for the deadly kidnapper alleged to have killed and maimed many residents of Anambra and Imo states where he ran a gang that operates from a camp until he was shot dead by the police during one of his deadly operations last week.

    She is also pregnant with her third baby for the deadly kidnapper credited with destroying his victims’ property running into millions of naira.

    Chinaza was one in a host of teenage girls Odumodu had held hostage as sex slaves in his camp at Awo Idemmiri before he met his untimely death at the hands of security agents. There were speculations that he abducted about 13 such girls whose age ranged between 15 and 20 years and forced them into marriage.

    Rescued from Odumodu’s hideout, the young girls spotted bushy and unkempt hair. Their plum bodies however leaves an observer with the impression that they were well fed and indulged to the point of being spoilt.

    Some of the girls paraded by the police in Awka, Anambra State capital, had their babies with them while some others were pregnant at the time Odumodu’s hideout was busted.

    Most of the girls claimed that Odumodu forced them into marriage and even entered into blood covenant with them not to sleep with other men, reveal his secret or tell anyone where they were staying.

    Like Chinaza, Chinaemerem Obiajunwa, who is nursing an eight-month-old baby boy, claims she was forced into her marriage with the deceased bandit and had lived with him for about seven years. She had dark patches around her eyes, indicating that she was either punched in the face or she has not been applying cream on her body for a long time.

    With her baby lying playfully beside her on the bare floor, Chinaemerem was asked why she decided to live with a known killer for so many years but she said she did not do so out of her own free will.

    She said: “It was not that I chose to live with him; he forced me to do so.

    “And it was not that my parents did not know about it, but they feared that if they talked he would come to the village and kill them.”

    Read Also: Zulum: North-South power rotation is a covenant

    Chinaemerem reiterated the fact that Odumodu entered into a blood covenant with her and the other girls in his harem, raising her hand to show a ritual that was performed with her finger.

    “He packed us into one place and told his men to surround us. Then he entered into a blood covenant with us, saying that if we we slept with any man or tell anyone about him, we would die.

    “He even said that if I told my brother Agu, who works with Ebubeagu (Southeast securityoutfit), I would die.”

    Precious Ojioru, a native of Umumma, Oru East Local Government Area, said she was abducted by Odumodu a few weeks ago at a market where she had gone to buy some foodstuffs.

    The light-complexioned girl, who spoke in Pidgin English,  said: “He met me at the market where I had gone to buy something and asked me to come.

    “He asked where I came from and I said Umumma. He said, ‘oh so the people from there told you to come check on me’, and I said no. He took me to one place and kept me there.”

    Another light-complexioned girl, who also attested to Odumodu’s notoriety, said she was impregnated by him, having dated him for eight months.

    She too said her parents were aware that she was staying with the criminal but were helpless because if they dared ask any question, Odumodu would come to the village and kill them.

    Some residents confirmed that they were aware that some criminals were operating in the area but could not talk because the criminals had informants among the villagers.

    A pharmacist, who claimed that his house was burnt to ashes a few months ago, declined comment on the issue because of the notorious activities of the gangsters.

    “They burnt my house, my hospital, stole all my property including iron sheets, doors and windows,” he said.

    Another resident, John Agu (not his real name), said: “Odumodu who was killed last week had always claimed he was only in the bush checkmating the Fulanis, but he was busy kidnapping little girls who he kept hostage in his house and was using them as sex slaves. Nobody dares say anything because the boys are deadly.”

    Agu disclosed that most of the residents were aware of his operations but could do little or nothing about it because the police were nowhere near them.

    “We don’t see the police personnel in the area except a few times we see military patrol. But they don’t stay there. As soon as they leave, the boys return to the area to continue their business.”

    He said that many people, including traditional rulers and chiefs, had deserted their homes for a safe environment.

    “These bandits are even burning people’s businesses at the slightest provocation,” he said.

    Another resident, who identified himself simply as Kelechi, urged the federal and state governments to do something urgently about the activities of the criminals in the villages. “We are helpless and need the intervention of the government both at federal and state levels to put an end to this incessant attacks on our homes and kidnapping of our daughters.

    “Definitely, these criminals cannot say they are protecting us from invaders. They are the ones invading our homes and families,” he said.

    A traditional ruler who pleaded anonymity said: “The bandits are not holding only the girls, hostage, they are equally holding their parents hostage.

    “And you don’t blame the parents because they are afraid to inform the police about the activities of the criminals due to lack of trust.

    “The people are living in fear and they don’t know who to believe will not expose them to the criminals.”

    He  noted that the criminals had burnt several houses in the area, particularly those they perceive to belong to their enemies.

    The hoodlums are in the habit of first instilling fear in the residents by burning several homes belonging to government officials including lawmakers. At one time, they were even beheading people.

    Read Also: Bandits free 14 kidnapped Kaduna worshippers

    A member of the House of Assembly representing Orsu state constituency, Hon. Ekene Nnodumele, was a victim. In a chat with our correspondent, Nnodumele said that bandits are not domiciled in Orsu Local Government Area only; they are in almost all the local government areas in the state.

    Talking about the girls rescued from the den of Odumodu, he said that those who rescued them should know exactly what to do with them.

    He said: “Odumodu is already killed. I can’t talk about a dead man or how to resurrect him.  So, talking about him is very retrogressive. The issue is what do we do to make progress?”

    He said that the way to tackle the issue of crime and criminality is to ensure that the police or security operatives make their phone numbers available to community leaders and community chiefs and traditional rulers to assist them in reporting every crime around their communities and to report people or criminals on the police wanted list.

    “The police will also do well to mention those that they are looking for so that when we see them, we report to them.

    “Because if somebody is on the wanted list and people don’t know that they are wanted, it may be very difficult to aid the police to apprehend them.

    “The indigenes will help the police, but the police should make their numbers available. You can’t call a man you don’t know how to reach.

    “You can’t report to them in the air; you do so when their numbers are given through the traditional rulers and town union presidents-general.

    On the effort of the state House of Assembly in terms of security, he said: “I don’t know what the members are doing collectively. But as individuals, they are trying to protect their different constituencies in their own ways.

    “A man who is not in charge of security may not tell you what he is doing to curb insecurity in his area.

    “Lawmakers are not the executives. We don’t have those implementing factors or executive powers to issue orders. “All we can do is to make motions and motions are persuasive, urging the governor and security.

    “We cannot order them as members; we can only urge them.

    “But the truth is that everybody should be part of the security situation to assist the police, because these criminals buy food somewhere, they collect money somewhere.

    “Those girls gave birth in hospitals. Doctors are aiding them. Some of the criminals have bullet wounds and doctors treat them. Some go to bone mending homes to treat their broken legs and arms, and some of them carry their guns to these places and people see them.”

    Some people, particularly the security agents, claim that Odumodu and his gang belong to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed militia. But the IPOB’s spokesman, Emma Powerful, dismissed the claim, saying that it was a case of giving the dog a bad name in order to hang it.

    The police in Imo State, through its Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, agreed that fear is responsible for people’s unwillingness to report the criminals and crimes committed in their communities.

    Okoye, however, disagreed with the suggestion made by the lawmaker that the police should make their numbers avaliable, saying that the authorities had always reached out to the community, urging them to contact the police to report any crime-related operation going on in their areas.

    He said: “I had gone to radio broadcasting stations to make announcements and offer contact to the public on how to reach the police control room, and even gave out emergency numbers they can call.

    “We also have patrol teams and police stations in these troubled areas.

    “So, I think the issue is that the girls have sympathy for Odumodu and his criminal gang probably because he was their husband

    “But we are going to investigate the allegation of kidnap raised by the young girls. But I think they have sympathy for him probably because of what they got from him or because he was their husband.”