It is probably his finest hour. Awards have come and so have praises. And the recipient is Enugu State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The state’s police commissioner Abubakar Adamu Mohammed has praised his commitment and that rare attribute, warm public relations. It was not just the state top cop; friends and well-wishers lavished praise on the command’s image maker.
Many say he was well worth it.
Amaraizu is described as up and doing and at the beck and call of not only journalists but the general public. He answers his phone calls and leaves no room for “Efforts to reach the Police Public Relations Officer was unsuccessful”.
In 2013, he won the best police public relations officer award in West Africa at a ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa. Last year, he was selected as the best community relations officer at an event Dubai, UAE.
In appreciation of these achievements the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase hosted the police image maker.
Arase described Amaraizu’s feat as a thing of joy and honour for the police.
At a reception for the state PPRO, colleagues and other members of the public extolled his virtues. The state CP Mohammed praised his excellence, urging him to get set for greater challenges ahead.
He further described Amaraizu as a man with many parts as well as a proactive PPRO.
Mohammed said, “Amaraizu is committed and dedicated and I wish him well in his public relations task.”
The Deputy Director, Public Relations, 82 Division of the Nigerian Army Col. Gambo Mohammed as well as the State Director, National Orientation Agency Isaac Onukwube, amongst others graced the occasion.
The partnership between United Nation International Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) with the Federal Polytechnic Oko in Anambra state has started yielding results.
Eight modern toilets have been built in the institution with the help of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) under the Water Sanitation Hygiene (WASH) programme.
This according to UNICEF is to ensure that the vision of achieving open defecation free by the year 2025 is achieved in the land.
•One of the toilets being inspected by the team
The WASH consultant for UNICEF, Nicholas Dosunmu, who led other members of the team to the institution on Monday, commended the management for partnering with them on the project.
He said that they also came to Oko polytechnic to train participants who will in turn, take up the projects to their respective villages and communities in the state.
Dosunmu said over fifty million Nigerians engaged in open defecation which according to him, could result in outbreak of epidemics.
The UNICEF man also disclosed that federal polytechnic Oko was hosting the pilot scheme of the programme, expressing the hope that if the project succeeds, the name of the institution would be written in gold.
The Director of International Linkages, Sir Walter Ezeanata thanked UNICEF for choosing the polytechnic for the pilot scheme and also, commended other agencies for making the polytechnic a hub for training participants for the WASH programme.
Ezeanata disclosed that four of the toilets were sited at the female hostel, two beside the polytechnic field, one at the old Fine and Applied Arts site and the last at the extension site of the institution.
Mr. Douglas Mba, the permanent secretary, state Ministry of Water resources and utility, said the state government was happy with the programme.
He however, commended the institution for accepting to host the programme which he said, will go a long way in tackling open defecation.
He described Anambra state as peculiar and unique, adding that before the projected 2025, the state would have achieved zero open air defecation through a high level sensitization and awareness.
Another UNICEF consultant, Prof Dipak Roy, said he was excited that the programme lived up to expectation and tanked the institution for making it possible.
The UNICEF representative expressed the readiness of the donor agency to partner the school in other areas that could improve lives of the people and sustaining virile environment.
He assured that the polytechnic would not disappoint its partners by making sure that the project succeeds, adding that maintenance of the project was quite important.
Also, Deputy Rector (Academics), Mrs. Gladys Anene said the project came when the institution was putting toilet facilities all over the places in the institution, adding that the Rector was a man who loves creativity.
One of the participants in the training, Peter Akwobi while speaking with the Nation, described the training as a worthwhile experience.
The toilets had two septic tanks of one metre each and could last up to seven years.
Stinking dead fish in polluted waters and farmlands of withered trees are some of the challenges facing residents of 13 oil-bearing communities in Imo State. OKODILI NDIDI reports on the devastation caused by oil spill in Ohaji-Egbema council of the state
Health and survival top the list of challenges facing residents of Obokofia, Abacheke and Mmahu communities in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. An oil spill has poisoned their waters, leaving foul-smelling fish bobbing up on their rivers and creeks. Their once-lush green farmlands have become lifeless with withered trees.
•The scene of the oil spillage
The people are as worried about their health as they are concerned about their day-to-day survival. A spill from Agip oil firm has left them breathless and angry.
So massive was the damage that the residents are threatening to take up arms against the AGIP, owners of the exploded hydrocarbon storage tanks that caused the spillage.
A traditional ruler of one of the communities, Eze Justice Okwuodu, explained that the explosion, which took place at Ibeocha location in Rivers State, affected about 13 communities in Ohaji/Egbema Council Area of the state.
He said that the pollution affected houses, rivers, aquatic life and food web in the environment, lamenting that the oil companies operating in the area, have not shown commitment to the well being of the host communities where they operate.
According to him, “the people have been devastated by the level of the recent pollution and up till now, nothing has been done by the AGIP oil company, the owners of the hydrocarbon tanks. Our source of livelihood has been destroyed by the pollution and if nothing is quickly done to clean up the spillage, it could lead to epidemic”.
He decried the non-implementation of the MoU reached with the oil companies many years ago, adding that the oil companies neglected the agreement, especially the AGIP oil company.
He appealed to the state government to wade into the matter since they do not want to take the laws into their hands.
But the youths warned that they will no longer fold their arms, while their lands are ravaged by oil pollution, while they wallow in abject poverty.
They insisted that the oil companies responsible for the recent spillage will adequately compensate the affected communities or face the wrath of the youths.
A youth leader from one of the communities, Kennedy Irona, stated that the youths are waiting for the outcome of the meeting between the concerned companies and leaders of the affected communities, adding that “if nothing tangible is achieved from the meetings, the youths will move into action against the oil companies”.
He stated further that, “we have been marginalised by the oil companies operating in our area. Our youths have been burnt to death several times as a result of fire from oil spillages, yet we have nothing to show for it. Our crops have been buildings and fish ponds have been damaged without any form of compensation but this time we are ready for the oil companies and they will hear from us soon”.
It will be recalled that Imo State House of Assembly, which was irked by the neglect of the oil producing communities in the state, had passed a motion, demanding the payment of N40 billion owed the state by the oil companies in the last 38 years.
The House had in the motion demanded the immediate payment of all outstanding ground rates and other statutory payments from Oil companies operating in the State since 1978.
The lawmakers chided the oil companies for dubiously withholding the statutory payments and other benefits accruing to the state.
In a motion sponsored by the member representing Oguta State constituency, Hon Uzoma Ezediaro, the House decried the continued short changing of the State by oil companies, stating that, the companies have capitalised on the peaceful disposition of the people to deny them of their rights and privileges.
The House urged the Governor to direct the Chairman of the Internal Revenue Board to mandate the companies to pay up all outstanding ground rates and other statutory payments owed the state since 1978.
It also directed the oil companies to comply and henceforth pay all entitlements due the state as at when due.
A nine-man committee headed by Hon Uzoma Ezediaro, with Hon Ikechukwu Amuka, John Ezeruo, Mike Iheanetu, Obinna Eguh and Joy Mbawuike, among others was set up to supervise the debt recovery.
Meanwhile, the State Government has indicated interest in addressing the brewing restiveness occasioned by the pollution.
The State Deputy Governor, Eze Madumere, who visited the site to ascertain the level of damage, said that the government will partner with the leaders of the affected communities and bring the AGIP oil firm to a roundtable to ensure that right things are done.
Speaking after inspecting the level of pollution at the Oloshi river, Madumere, appealed to the communities especially the youths to remain calm and not to take laws into their hands.
He also reminded them of the resolve of the state government to ensure that every community is carried along in the scheme of things.
Not everyone is distracted by reports of unscrupulous characters turning orphanages into hideous money-making ventures. There are groups and individuals who recognise that children without parents need help. A Dublin, Ireland-based group, Old Bende Association, has built recreational facilities for children at the Uzoakoli Motherless Babies Home in Bende Local Government Area, Abia State. The donors, made up of indigenous people of the council, also provided various food items for the orphanage.
The home, established in 1942 by the Methodist Church of Nigeria, is a refuge for orphans and abandoned children. There were about 29 children at the home when The Nation visited, but it was also gathered that some inmates have become professionals in various fields after being educated or trained in skills.
The orphanage, however, still grapples with such challenges as dearth of healthcare facilities and baby foods, and among others.
A staff in the home said that government and private hospitals still charge inmates as they do other patients, not considering the peculiarities of orphanages.
“The way we live here and play with the children, if anyone gets sick and when we take them to the hospital for treatment, even when they know that we are from this motherless babies home, they still charge us like every other person,” the staff said.
The gesture of the Ireland-based group will boost their morale.
The project and the food items donated were estimated to cost the association about N200, 000.
Speaking at the handover of the items, National President of the association, Sunday Obasi Kalu represented by Mr. James O. Anya, said that the donation was part of the Old Bende Association members in Diaspora to plough a little of their meager resources into the lives of the needy in their midst.
He expressed optimism that the facilities would go a long way in improving the health and social life of the children.
Awa Kalu, the Income Generating Officer of the home who spoke on behalf of the absent matron, Mary Corput, said that they were happy over the group’s gesture.
Kalu said that they were overwhelmed with joy when the group told them they wanted to repair and refurbish their sporting facilities which had been comatose. He expressed the hope that the coming to life of the facilities would help to improve on the inmates social life.
He called on other indigenes of the area, government, public and spirited individuals to come to the aid of the home, disclosing that the most pressing needs of the home at the moment are baby foods, diapers, access to medical facilities including drugs and among others.
He promised that they were going to ensure that whatever that the group and other individuals were going to donate to the home would be used judiciously.
The group also took out time to play with the children and also watched the children play with the donated sporting equipments.
Apart from bad roads and poor electricity supply, traffic congestion is another headache of residents of Aba, the commercial hub of the region. The good news: Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) is tackling it.
This gridlock usually occurs during the morning and evening rush hours but sometimes even in the afternoon too.
Apart from about 40 per cent of the intra-city roads in the commercial town, other factors that constitute gridlock include broken down and sometimes abandoned vehicles which sometimes stay on the road for up to a month or more before they are removed from the road.
Regular visitors to the commercial city would attest to the frustration of motorists driving in or out of the town. Such motorists are often trapped in traffic especially along the Aba-Owerri Road leading in and out of the city through the Osisioma axis.
Mercifully, the Aba unit of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has begun evacuation of abandoned vehicles on major roads and streets in the commercial town.
In a chat with The Nation, the Aba Unit Commander, FRSC, Mrs. Okora Awassam said that the need to keep the roads free from traffic congestion cannot be overemphasised.
Awassam regretting the high level of indiscipline among drivers in Aba said that the agency would to tow vehicles abandoned on the road to their office along the Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway which would be released to the owner after the payment of fine.
“For weeks now, we have been going round clearing some of the abandoned vehicles on the road with our towing truck that was brought to us some weeks and within the period of time that we are going to be with the truck, it will be used to tow vehicles off the road and will be taken to our command unit where the driver or the owner of the vehicle will pay some fine before he will be allowed to leave with the vehicle.
“What we need the public to do is to let us know where a broken down vehicle is abandoned on the road which is preventing free flow of traffic, we will definitely be there. We also have our bike person who uses the bike to rove round the streets and where it was spotted that a car is blocking or preventing free-flow of traffic, our towing van will be called upon to come and remove such on the road.
“If you notice very well, you will see that we have started also removing abandoned cars on the expressway too. You will notice that some people after their vehicle breaks down on the road will leave it for a long time which is not in the interest of drivers and other road users because sometimes some drivers unknowingly ram into such stationary car. So, all we need from the public is for them to provide us with the right information and the exact location”.
The FRSC boss who warned drivers especially commercial drivers to avoid drunk driving, disclosed that the agency would continue to engage the drivers from time-to-time with various awareness campaign exercises in their respective parks to ensure that the drivers imbibed the road safety consciousness and always have in mind that not only that they need to drive their passengers safely to their destinations, their (drivers family) also need them to come back home alive.
Not wanting to offend Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, who was part of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani’s political structure, many avoided making comments on his fate. Still, some wondered at the vastness of Ebeano’s unwholesome taste, reports CHRIS OJI
There is a sense that majority of Enugu State residents are disappointed that their former governor Chimaroke Nnamani stole as much as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the court have established. There is also relief that the guilty are forfeiting something.
But if you expect the people, especially government officials, to shout hurray at the court’s guilty ruling, you will be disappointed.
Why?
Their new govenor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi was part of the political structure, which Ebeano, as Nnamani was called, built.
However, a youth leader Johnbull Agbo endorsed the forfeiture, “if actually they were ill-gotten,” as he put it.
What Agbo frowned at is the forfeiture to the federal government instead of the Enugu State. He argued that the stolen money and properties belonged to the state and that they should be returned to it.
But an Enugu based lawyer and commentator on public affairs, Mr. Nana Ogbodo commended the Lagos High Court for “exercising such unparallelled patience with the delay tactics employed by the former governor during the trial”.
The wheel of justice, he said, “may indeed grind slowly but it definitely gets to its far-reaching destination.
“For Chimaroke Nnamani, even though he is still hiding behind his finger, it should now be clear to him that no matter how far one may choose to go in the wrong direction, the only way out is to go back to the point he missed his way.
“If the companies which are the critical witnesses to the charges against him have all pleaded guilty, it is laughable therefore for him to still wish to be playing the ostrich.”
Ogbodo briefly served as an aide to Nnamani and had his house demolished for resigning.
The lawyer said that reading through the judgment of the court, the devil was indeed in the details. Alarmed at the number of properties being forfeited by Nnamani, he queried: “What for God’s sake did he need all these for?”
Nnamani indeed had his fingers in many pies, among which were 22 duplexes, estates and a raft of other things.
The former governor was in and out of court during this period facing multiple charges involving billions of dollars.
The EFCC had over the years tried all it could to bring him to full trial after successfully conducting intensive investigations into the assets of the former governor acquired mostly through proxies.
Nnamani had always hidden under health excuses to forestall his trial. But the court after incessant and prolonged adjournments, decided to separate the governor and the other accused which included a plethora of his companies from the charge sheets.
•Rainbownet offices, forfeited too
Nnamani was charged alongside his former aide, Sunday Anyaogu and six companies viz – Rainbownet, Hillgate Nigeria, Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Limited, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.
Developed and undeveloped properties of Nnamani in square metres and square miles spread across the Southeast states were ordered by a Federal High Court in Lagos to be forfeited to the Federal Government. Also millions of cash were forfeited.
Among the assets to be forfeited are the biggest IT company, east of the Niger, Rainbownet Limited and its transmission equipment. Assets of Rainbownet include Central Switch Room, Microwave Radio, Rectifier, Microwave Backhaul Transmission among others at various lacations in Anambra, Abia, Imo, Ebonyi and Enugu states.
The court ordered also the forfeiture of 22 duplexes at the Fidelity Estate formerly Ebeano Estate, property of Hill Gate Investment Limited/Cueno Phones Limited and assets of COSMO 105.5FM.
Seven undeveloped plots of Rainbownet at the the choice Independence Layout; 567.96sqm at Abakpa; 574.96sqm at Emene and 2,951.98sqm at Achara layout. In Abia state to be forfeited include thousands of square metres of properties at Ogbor Hill (914.633), Abayi (one and half plots), Port-Harcourt Road (1,856.499), Ariaria (640.32), Unuagari (573.263) and Assanetu (954.396) all in Aba as well as one plot in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state.
To be forfeited in Anambra State include 2,200 square miles of land at Okpuno, Awka, 1,088.644sqm at Nkpor, 465.14 at Awada one plot at Fegge, all in Onitsha.
Rainbownet is also to lose 693.636sqm of an undeveloped plot opposite the War Museum in Umuahia. The shares of the company in Zenith Bank and Guarantee Trust Bank with a combined account balance of N4.6millon as well as money in its bank accounts totaling N34.8million were also forfeited.
A Lagos company, Messrs Diya Fatimilehun and Company had been given the fiat to take charge and administration of the companies pending the trial.
Elder sister to the former governor, Mrs. Chinelo Nwigwe, her husband, Davie and 16 of the companies and institutions alleged to belong to Nnamani challenged this in court unsuccesfuully.
Chinelo and Davie were on the wanted list of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly being fronts of the former governor with regards to the listed companies seized by EFCC and being administered by Diya Fatimilehun and company as directed by the order of a Federal High court sitting in Lagos.
The companies in question include the biggest ICT Company east of the Niger, Rainbownet Nigeria Ltd., COSMO 105 FM, Renaissance University, Renaissance University Teaching Hospital, Mea Mater Elizabeth High School, Rock City Group PLCand Hillgate Nigeria Ltd.
Others are Jefferson LLC, Cookie LLC , Rainbow Associates LLC, Ferguson Group LLC, Jasmine Holdings Corporation LLC, Intercontinental Associates, Capital City Automobile Nigeria Ltd., C & C Project LLC and Elizabeth Group LLC.
Chinelo, her husband and the companies then asked the Enugu state high court to declare that Diya Fatimilehun and Company cannot exercise the power of attorney granted them by the Federal High court , Lagos on behalf of the EFCC to administer and supervise the companies and the institutions pending the determination of the case being faced by Nnamani and Others.
The suit did not scale through and ever since, Nnamani’s sister and her husband were yet to visit Nigeria from the United States where they are currently taking refuge.
Some of the assets
Rainbownet with registration number 385700 had Nnamani’s elder sister Mrs. Chinelo Nwigwe as Managing Director and principal shareholder. Although, the ownership was once shifted to an Enugu-based lawyer and property developer and a very close friend of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the company has since closed its doors to business.
Another is Mea Mater Elizabeth High School, in his hometown, Agbani – an ultra modern co-educational High School worth about N5 billion with Mrs. Chinero Nwaigwe as chairperson of Governing Board.
Renaissance University also in his hometown, Agbani – a state of the art private university said to have gulped billions of naira used to have Mrs. Chinero Nwaigwe as the chairman of the governing council but replaced by a Bishop of one of the first generation churches in Enugu. The two institutions are still in session.
•Cosmo Fm premises forfeited
The Renaissance University Teaching Hospital, Enugu. This is situated on a 20 acre expanse of land covering nearly the entire stretch of one wing of Rangers Avenue, Independence Layout, and for which purpose three ministers quarters built by the legendary Okpara administration of the former Eastern region were demolished and converted to private use.
Work was stopped at the site at the heat of the EFCC investigations in the state and nearly N3 billion including the cost of the demolished buildings have been sunk into the project.
Then the Cosmo 105.5 FM digital Radio Station in Enugu worth N400 million and Marble Castle situate at Forest Crescent, GRA, Enugu worth N1 billion as well as some choice estates scattered across Enugu as well as offshore estates. The Cosmo FM which took Enugu by storm and was becoming the most popular radio station is off the air for more than five years.
Some have portrayed Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano as discriminatory against some segments of the state, and that he has abandoned some projects in Orumba North council. The governor’s Liaison Officer in the area, Chief Emeka Aforka, in this interview with NNEKA NWANERI, debunks the claims, saying there is no gain in distracting the governor. Excerpts:
As liaison officer to the governor, do you attract projects to your people?
•Aforka
We do not have the capacity to attract projects; our job is not to attract projects to the people or the area, but to monitor jobs that are initiated by the governor. As a political liaison officer, I have been able to monitor the projects of the governor in the area and I must give credit to the governor because he is a man of vision, who has come with a blueprint to develop the state. He has the mandate and he is accomplishing it with what he calls the 3 Cs, which is continuing the projects of the former governor, completing them, and commencing new ones, and so far he has stuck to that. If you come to my local government, all the Cs are reflected in the area. Okpeze-Ndiukwuenu-Awa Road, of over 40km, is being constructed by the governor, and I have been visiting the place.
But, recently, because of the rainy season, work has slowed down on the road and some disgruntled elements that are looking for ways to pull the governor down have gone to town with the false rumour that the road has been abandoned. This is not true, everyone knows that during the rainy season, road construction usually suffers and there is little anyone can do about it.
Why will the governor abandon a project he has committed a lot of funds into?
The governor is still very much interested in the roads, and all other projects in the area that were started by the previous government. That is why people like me who are the eyes of the governor in the area must speak to correct this impression.
Beyond this, there are several other projects in the area which he have been completed. I don’t know why people will be crying that Orumba North is marginalised. The local government is not being marginalised. The governor is a fair-minded person and has been giving to the communities in the state various projects without marginalisation. Each time I see materials that contain blatant lies in the newspapers, I usually dismiss them as sponsored jobs meant to distract the governor.
I am only calling for calm from the people of the state. As for the people who are peddling cheap lies, they must know that it is not in the good interest of the state. I am happy that the majority of the people of the local government are happy with what the governor is doing, attracting several billions of dollars investment into the state and is working religiously with his blueprint to achieve the best for the state.
There are allegations that you used certain projects to embezzle funds during your administration as council chairman?
I will not like to speak for myself, but let the people who know what we did when we were in the council area do the talking for us. I have read some of the damaging things said about me, including the blatant falsehood that during my tenure we embarked on a bridge project, Arunota Bridge, for the sum of N68million. That is false.
There was no project in the entire administration of mine that was worth N68m, there was also no bridge project to that tune, and we never also paid any contractor that sum for a bridge project or any other project. The bridge project we did was one to connect not just my community (Ndiowu) but three communities, Ndikelionwu, Okpeze Ndiukwuenu and Amaetiti. That project was my brainchild, and I initiated it because I knew what the people were suffering and wanted to come to their rescue.
Why do you think people will fight you and the governor?
I don’t know what they stand to gain by battling me, but I know that it is all political and borne out of envy, jealousy, because they are afraid of our popularity. They have written petitions to the governor, concocted baseless lies to the people of the area and all sorts of things.
I am calling on media agencies to tell their correspondents to crosscheck their facts before going to press; they should also urge them to strive to hear from the other side.
How do you rate the governor’s performance?
The administration of Governor Willie Obiano is focused, purposeful and visionary. This is a man who hit the ground running. In just three months left everyone thinking he had been here for years.
This man came and said people must sleep with their two eyes closed, and this is the basis of any economic growth for any state. If there is no security, people will not be free to do business, but I can tell you that because of what the governor has done, the state is generally peaceful, and people are free to transact business, just as foreign investors are now trooping into the state.
This is a man who believes that the state must have a facelift, that Awka cannot continue to be the capital of the state and still look so underdeveloped, this is the reason he set up the Awka Capital Development Authority. Projects are everywhere in the state and this is the first time we are seeing capital projects like three flyover bridges being constructed simultaneously, and yet that has not stopped other projects in various local governments of the state.
All this is happening at a time when most state governors cannot even pay workers’ salaries, let alone embark on projects. All this is happening, but the political detractors will still go to town with one rumour or the other, saying that nothing was going on in the state or that the state government has gone broke. Today, Anambra is ranked as number one in states that have never borrowed money and the governor has continually being paying workers’ salaries, including donation of vehicles and also incentives like free transport and the increment in their salaries.
Many keep their pile of cash to themselves. Not Mr. Barth Nwibe, an engineer. Over 70 students in Anambra State are said to have studied and graduated from several tertiary institutions at the instance of his organisation, Ugo Ukwu Foundation. That is not all. Primary and secondary school pupils are also said to have been drawing from his scholarship scheme for 11 years.
Neither is his philanthropy limited to his Igbo Ukwu community in Aguata Local Government Area of the state.
TheNation gathered that about 250 primary school students and over 200 others in secondary schools across the state are studying under his scholarship scheme.
Last weekend at the Ekwulobia township stadium in Aguata council area, the foundation awarded more scholarships to 40 students from primary to tertiary levels.
Besides, the foundation presented over 10 laptops to some of the students to help them in their academics.
The state governor Willie Obiano was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Education, Prof Kate Omenugha.
Obiano described the likes of Nwibe, the financier of the foundation, as success stories.
He noted that the scholarship grants was one way of supporting the gain made by his administration in the education sector.
For Prof. Uchenna Nwosu, who was the chairman of the event, Barth Nwibe is a rare breed, who attained success through hard work.
He told the students and their parents that the key to success is education, which, according to him, is also the basis of progress in any society.
Apart from the laptops to the students and the scholarship to the new 40 students, textbooks, exercise books in cartons were presented to the students.
Speaking with the Nation, Nwibe, a strong believer in APC and major financier of the party to some of the contestants in different positions in the party, said it was his own way of giving back to the society.
He said the 40 students emerged through a careful, meritorious selection process, adding that the process had been ongoing for the past eleven years which had become a yearly ritual.
Nwibe, therefore, commended the foundation for the progress made so far, adding that it was just the beginning, nothing that there are more to come.
For Nwoye Valentine of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, and Okafor Kosi of Holy Child Secondary School Isuofia in Aguata council Area, two of the beneficiaries, it was a dream come true.
The duo thanked the foundation for giving them opportunity of being like other students, adding that they would put up their best in making sure they come out in flying colours in their different disciplines.
After being robbed repeatedly, some up to nine times, staff of a federal college in Umunze, Anambra State, have taken to the streets, crying to just about anybody who will listen. NWANOSIKE ONU reports
In a poorly-worded text message to a woman, the robbers announced: “Lady, we are the big boys in town, you are the next to settle us, we came to your house but we did not get what we wanted. Just keep N2, 000,000 [N2m] inside your booth from now to Sunday, don’t involve the police or security engent because they are our enemy, remember your life and your daughter is on the line, so be careful and hurry up”.
The woman teaches at the Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze, a border town between Imo and Anambra states, in Orumba South Local Government Area of the latter. If the hoodlums made good their threat, it would be the second time they would rob her. The first time they called, on a Sunday, she was off to church. The thieves broke in and helped themselves to her valuables and left.
Two times is insignificant compared to the ordeal of so many other residents of the college town. Some have been attacked six times, some even nine.
Neither the local vigilance team nor the police have halted the rogues in their tracks.
Not too long ago, “the big boys” attacked the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunny Ike’s home, shot and killed him before making away with his Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV).
One strange dimension in the sustained violence is that the robbers seem to target non-indigenous residents of the community, especially the ones in the college.
The sleepy community has become a den of armed robbers as workers of Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze are being robbed on a daily basis.
The activities of the robbers have caused some workers, mostly from other communities, to flee.
No fewer than 57 members of staff of the institution have been robbed without any help from anybody, except some members of the community who come to sympathise with the victims.
The Nation discovered that those being robbed in the area are tenants; especially the workers of the institution and students from outside, meaning the hoodlums know what they are doing.
Some of them are robbed when they go to church on Sundays or when they go to work, while the houses of some of them are invaded at night.
The unions in the institution told the Nation that some of the college staff have been robbed repeatedly, some about six times, some nine.
Last week, a group of such armed robbers forwarded a text message to a female worker in the institution telling her to keep two million naira (N2m) in the trunk of her vehicle for them.
They warned her not to make any contact with the police or any security outfit, describing them as their enemies.
The lady in question had been robbed once in the community by the same people, carting away her property when she attended a church service.
Ike died from the gunshot wound, his corpse in the morgue.
Following the incessant robbery attacks in the community without any solution from the owners of the land, workers of the institution marched round the community early in the week to protest the ugly incident.
•Gate of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Umunze
The protest was done under the aegis of various trade Unions in the institution namely, College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), led by Dr. A.T Nwamaradi, Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) led by Alex Okoli and Senior Staff Union of College of Education Nigeria (SSUCOEN), led by Eze Joachim among others.
The unions and their leaders protested to the palace of Igwe Promise Eze (the Abilikete II of Umunze), former Deputy Governor of the state under Peter Obi, Mr. Emeka Sibeudu and the lawmaker representing Orumba south state constituency, Princess Nikky Ugochukwu and the local government headquarters.
The traditional ruler of the community, the council chairman and the lawmaker were not around despite letters dispatched to them informing them of the protest, but Sibeudu, who received them in his place, assured them that urgent steps should be taken to address the institution.
Some of the placards carried by the protesters numbering over 500 read, “stop the killings in Umunze, injury to one is injury to many, fish out thieves in your midst, enough is enough, life and property no longer safe in Umunze,” among others.
One of the text messages to one of the staff reads, “Lady, we are the big boys in town, you are the next to settle us, we came to your house but we did not get what we wanted.”
“Just keep N2, 000,000 inside your booth from now to Sunday, don’t involve the police or security “engent” because they are our enemy, remember your life and your daughter “is” on the line, so be careful and hurry up”.
A lecturer in the institution, Churchill Okonkwo, told the Nation that they want Governor Willie Obiano to respond to the plight of the workers of the institution over the calamity that had befallen them.
He said, “This is not supposed to happen in a modern society, the tenants in this community are not safe and happy anymore.”
Addressing the former Deputy Governor, Dr. A. T. Nwamaradi said that the staff and students of the institution have lost property worth millions of naira as a result of the invasion of armed robbers in their homes.
He said, “Our lives are being threatened on a daily basis by those armed robbers, who are also threatening to kidnap some others; our lives are in danger at Umunze. We need protection.
“The situation is making learning and teaching impossible in this institution, and if this is not nipped in the bud, all the workers of Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze will vacate this area” Nwamaradi said.
However, Sibeudu, who described the situation as unfortunate and embarrassing, said the Governor Willie Obiano’s administration had made security top priority of his administration and had equally performed well since he assumed office, adding that Umunze would not be an exception.
He said the community’s vigilance group and other security agencies in the area, had done their best also, adding that more efforts should be added to protect life and property.
Sibeudu maintained that some of the armed robbers could be from outside the community, promising that the governor would be notified on the situation.
Another lecture who preferred anonymity, told The Nation that he has been robbed four times, adding that they are living in bondage in Umunze.
Keeping vice out of the institution was a key point in the speech of the Rector, Oko Polytechnic, Anambra State as it held its 31st matriculation. NWANOSIKE ONU reports
The warning was firm. Cultism is not welcome at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State, said the Rector Prof Godwin Onu at the institution’s 31st matriculation ceremony. Anyone interested in the vice should find somewhere else to indulge themselves.
The road from Oko to Umunze in Orumba South Local Government Area was blocked as a result of vehicular and human traffic on Matriculation Day.
While presenting his address to the students, Prof Onu warned that the school has zero tolerance for cultism and other vices and told them to either shape up or ship out.
Onu said, “Currently, 19 students of the Confucius Institute of our great polytechnic are currently enjoying various scholarships in different disciplines from the Chinese government following their sterling performances in Chinese Language and culture”
“One of the most challenging tasks of a tertiary institution such as ours is to have an amalgam of people from different backgrounds, creeds, orientations, world view and sometimes, culture who are compelled by geography and education to stay together to experience a whole complex learning process for years”.
“Any lecturer or staff of the Polytechnic who fails to reckon with this challenge, no doubt misses the point”
“The beauty of it all is that, the ivory tower is a place where we must be oriented to drop our excesses, imbibe greater tolerance for other people’s opinions and world views. It is one place where you must learn that there is absolutely no one way of doing things right”
“Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, it is to this new culture of understanding, patience, tolerance, endurance and learning that I welcome all the new students to our “Polytechnic of the moment”, the Federal Polytechnic Oko”
“Our dear students, as you must have already known in your pre-admission inquiry of the Polytechnic, the institution has zero tolerance for vices such as cultism, violence, fake entry certificates, unruliness, academic truancy, gangsterism and indiscipline of every dimension”
“However, if you disagree with us on these points, it is still not late, you have a choice to reject your admission and walk away majestically from this assembly to your village or your father’s house until such a time when you consider yourself fit and mature enough for the demands and discipline of a higher institution”
“But for those who have decided to stay, resolving to work hard, adhere to discipline and show respect to constituted authority, we say a big welcome”
“To all our new students who have made up their minds to be part of the success story that has become the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, I wish you a happy and fruitful sojourn in the Polytechnic”
“I wish to state emphatically that you have nothing to regret. You have made a great choice. We have created the right ambience for gainful study”
“You have at your disposal a new and enhanced functional E-library, the biggest so far in the south east”
“We now have modern and spacious classrooms with in-built conveniences so that students will not have to walk out of the lecture hall to answer nature calls, excellent academic environment, dedicated lecturers and staff, as well as decent student clubs and societies for your socialisation,” Onu said.
Some of the students, who spoke with The Nation, thanked God for bringing them to the federal polytechnic Oko, describing it as the best the institution in the country.
For Jane Eligwe of Mass Communication Department and Ngozi Chija of Marketing Department, they were grateful to the institution for providing a conducive atmosphere for learning in the place.
According to Eligwe, “I was skeptical of coming to this place, but since I came in, I have noticed a different environment, the place is sweet, I love this institution.”
