Tag: advocate

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has said the Holy Quran preaches message of peace and development.

Fashola spoke at the weekend while chairing the closing of the 28th National Quranic Recitation Competition in Jigawa State.

The programme was organised by the Centre for Islamic Studies, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto and hosted by the Jigawa State government at the Aminu Kano Triangle, Dutse.

Fashola said the Quran contains many revelations and guidelines about life, cleanliness, gender, how women should be treated, protected and cared for, among others

He said the essence of the competition was to develop young people by exposing them to the independent knowledge and understanding of what the Quran contains.

Fashola said though some people have misunderstood or misrepresented the Quran’s message, it was clear to him and all those who have read it that it is a message of peace, which teaches how children should be treated, nurtured and developed.

He said the Quran also teaches leaders to govern with the fear of God and put the interest of their subjects at the forefront in decision making.

Praising Governor Sule Lamido for hosting the competition and demonstrating that any state with the right leadership will survive with or without oil, Fashola expressed his delight at being invited to chair the event, in which Lagos State was a participant.

House of Representatives Speaker Aminu Tambuwal said youths must be taught the correct recitation of the Holy Quran, so that they can understand its true message and interpret them correctly.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar, who was the royal father of the day, thanked Jigawa State for hosting the programme for the second time in four years, adding that this year’s edition was better than the 2011 edition.

He praised the governor’s efforts to promote Islam and improve the people’s welfare.

The winner of the competition, Mr. Sulaiman Salis Idris from Kaduna State, was turbaned.

Governors Muazu Aliyu Babangida (Niger), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Mukthar Ramalan Yero (Kaduna State) were also at the event.

House of Representatives’ Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi have said Nigeria needs purposeful leadership.

They said to have sustainable peace, leaders must understand the complexity of the country and eschew religious and ethnic bigotries.

The duo spoke at the weekend at the First Baptist Church in Okaka town, Itesiwaju Local Government Area, at the remembrance/thanksgiving service in honour of the late parents of the member representing Iseyin/Itesiwaju/ Iwajowa/Kajola Constituency in the House of Representatives, Prince Kola Olabiyi.

Ajimobi said: “It is sad that most of those managing the country’s resources are not accountable. Fraud, embezzlement and corruption have almost been institutionalised in the country. This is due to loss of conscience and the reckless desire to get rich quick.

“The only way Nigerians can free themselves from the shackles of intimidation and electoral fraud is to be determined producing leaders with clear visions for development.

“The choice is yours to choose who represents you. You must produce strong leaders with vision, tolerance and democratic ideals, who value participatory and transparent governance.

“A good leader must be honest, focused, passionate, respectful and have excellent persuasion skills. People have to believe in you and your credibility.”

Ajimobi described the death of Olabiyi’s mother as “a glorious exit”. He said Olabiyi was an intelligent lawmaker, who had contributed immensely to his constituency’s growth.

Tambuwal described Ajimobi as a visionary leader, who understands the needs of his people and works hard to meet them.

He said the materialistic conception of development in the country is weak, hence the need for people to defend their political rights at all times.

Tambuwal said: “In this part of the world, we worship lazy and unproductive individuals, while in the western world, including Asian countries, only distinguished personalities, who have contributed positively to the society, are celebrated.

“Unfortunately, we practice politics of individualism and not institutionalism. Our knowledge of politics ends where our immediate needs are met. Leadership is all about service. We need leaders that will not use religion as an instrument for bloodshed, division and endangering national stability. We must remain a united entity and, as citizens, we should not feel alienated but team up to work for common goals.”

He described Olabiyi as a special member of the lower chamber, who is pragmatic, resilient and seeks the best for his people.

Olabiyi and his family donated a bus to the church and a laboratory to the church’s secondary school.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola and Minister of Health Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu have said the introduction of a comprehensive health insurance scheme will improve health care delivery.

They spoke yesterday at the opening of the 56th National Council on Health Meeting held at the Civic Centre, Lagos.

Fashola said effective health care delivery was the primary responsibility of any good government, adding that there was urgent need to design an insurance scheme to meet the health care needs of the people.

He said: “Every state is making interventions in health care in terms of primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities, training and retraining of health personnel and so on; it is the intensity of activity that is perhaps a little different.

“But can we truly say that all of our citizens have access to these facilities? Can we honestly say those facilities are enough for all our citizens? That is the heart of my little contribution to your meeting; how to provide universal coverage. My answer is that our people should contribute to and benefit from an insurance fund as other societies have.”

Fashola said even though the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHS) is beset with accountability problem, there was need for the country to have a health insurance scheme.

“The second reason that drives me to conclude that this is the way forward is that private health care facilities, which are 10 times the size of public health facilities, are not running on full capacity because people cannot afford them.

“Can we design an insurance system that provides this access? That is the responsibility you and I can think through and find a way for our people.”

Explaining that Lagos was running a pilot health insurance scheme, he said: “It is in three local governments now and we have seen that the poor can pay, if it is reasonably and sensibly drafted.”

Chukwu said the meeting, themed: “Health sector now and beyond 2015”, was to remind stakeholders of the need to provide qualitative healthcare for the people.

Restating the Federal Government’s determination to strengthen health institutions and turn Nigeria into an international traditional medicine hub, he said the government has designed programmes to train practitioners on clinical diagnosis.

Chukwu said: “Nigeria is the home of herbal remedies and medicine. We have those that have gone through the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Very soon, the country will start to export herbal medicine and this will boost the economy.”

He said Nigeria’s maternal mortality rate has reduced drastically.

The Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reforms (CODER) and the Kenyan High Commission in Nigeria yesterday in Abuja advocated the use of Biometric system for the 2015 general elections.

The Kenyan High Commissioner to Nigeria, Thomas Amolo, highlighted the success of the system, which was adopted during the last election in his country.

He said the use of the Biometric system would improve Nigeria’s electoral system.

CODER’s Director of Operation Olusegun Bada said the system should be used in Nigeria for the 2015 polls.

Amolo, who was represented by the Kenyan Second Chancellor Michael Mwiti, spoke at the inaugural conversation series of CODER.

The High Commissioner faulted Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for describing the system as slow and cumbersome, adding that it worked in Kenya because of the centralisation of government there.

He said: “The Biometric system was used in the registration of voters, casting of votes as well as in the compilation of results. The voters register was widely accepted.

“Kenyans have absolute belief in the system; they believe their leaders must emerge through the ballot box, although there were few hitches and lapses. Howeve, the system worked very well.

“Once people have confidence in the electoral process, they will always accept the result of the election. The system reposes great confidence in the Kenyan Electoral body.”

Amolo said the election recorded 86 per cent voter turnout.

He added: “There were many independent bodies that were formed for people to have confidence in the governance process. After the political crisis, which took place five years ago, we decided to plant a new tree to usher a new democratic process. The election was significant in two ways. First, our governance system has changed.

“The women representatives represent each of the groups in the country. There are many women activists in Kenya; that informed the participation of women in the election. It was the first time we were using Biometrics in our electoral system.

That was the highest turnout of voters in the political history of Kenya.”

The High Commissioner explained that the biometric system of conducting election should be introduced in countries which are yet to adopt them because it improves the credibility of the elections and the electoral process.

“There is nothing wrong in Nigeria and other countries imbibing this system,” Amolo said.

Jaiye Gaskiya, the Executive Secretary, Civil Society for the Eradication of Poverty, noted that part of the challenge of electoral reform process in Nigeria is that it is not holistic.

Plateau State Governor Jonah David Jang has explained why he advocated a state police.

The governor, who spoke at a public lecture to mark his 69th birthday, said his advocacy for a state police was not out of a selfish intention, but for the improvement of the security of the citizens.

He said: “I support a state police to enable Nigeria be among the top 20 economies in the world. We must do the things advanced countries have done to combat crime.

“If a state under a federal system cannot be protected by the federal police and army, the next option is a state police. There is no central police in the advanced democratic society.

“The constitution makes us (governors) the chief security officers of our states. We have no control over the federal police, but we are asked to support its funding.

“My colleagues in the North misunderstood my request for a state police. They alleged that I would use my police to kill Muslims and settlers.

“They don’t know that I grew up with Muslims. They don’t know I’m from an ethnic group that is accommodating other tribes.

“What do I gain killing Muslims in Jos or driving away settlers? I’m a Christian. I know God created human beings, be you a Muslim, Christian or pagan. Who am I to take the life created by God?

“I would not have been alive to witness my 69th birthday if I had been wicked. God would have forsaken me long ago. But I am alive today despite the criticisms because I mean no evil against God’s creatures.”

Governor Jang urged the National Assembly to amend the constitution to give room for a state police before the end of the Seventh Assembly.

The senator representing Plateau North, Senator Gyang Dantong, presented a paper on ‘Police in a federal state: Whither Nigeria’, to mark Jang’s 69th birthday.