The Nation Newspaper

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  • We must unite against terror

    We must unite against terror

    I agree that no group of human being can create a society that is totally free of crime, but we can have the grace to build a society where crime can be reduced to its barest minimum.

    Today, we have beautifully designed for ourselves a crime-ridden society. Hence, we are troubled on every side, perplexed and in despair over the ruthless activities of a group of extremists. First, the nation witnessed 30-month civil war in which thousands of people were killed for no just cause. Then we experienced militancy in the Niger Delta region because of oil. Thousands got killed in the unrest. Now, Boko Haram has crept in and people are in fear in very part of the country.

    Just last month, many Nigerians were killed in their numbers by these rampaging Boko Haram insurgents in Nyanya Park, a few kilometres from the capital city. Despite the measure by the government to stop in these agents of death, the terrorists had their way and caused bloodshed. There is no security, one may say.

    But those who are supposed to secure us were at the scene in a long motorcade, with battalion of security agents to ascertain the degree of wreckages. “We shall smoke them out of their holes,” the president and his officials boasted. Then, they disappeared from the bloody scene to visit hospitals, where survivors were gasping for breath.

    After the bloodshed and the show of love to the victims, everybody went to sleep while the enemies stayed awake.

    After Nyanya bombing, Boko Haram criminals invaded the dormitory of Government Day Secondary School in Chibok, Borno State and abducted over 230 school girls. Their teenage victims were taken into the thick Sambisa forest. A few managed to escape while a good number are being held by the criminals. God should have mercy on us. We can all imagine the psychological torture these kids are being subjected by their abductors.

    Crimes come with little restraint, without anyone taking responsibility. For the fourth week now, these teens are in the bush with their abductors. In saner climes, where leaders are committed to the welfare and security of their citizens, heads would have rolled as a way of telling the citizens that certain officials of government have failed to do what they are required to do. In Nigeria, it is a sin to call for president’s resignation despite his failure to secure the land.

    There are no explosive detecting devices to track and detect bomb-laden vehicles on our highways. Technology has helped many countries to reduce occurrence of this kind of crime. In advanced countries, there are devices installed on the highways that trigger alarm as soon as an explosive is detected. The devices send signals to the nearby control station and security agencies with the vehicle’s details. Despite being blessed with resources, we cannot install those devices on our road.

    The citizens are left in the cold, while the leaders secure themselves with our police. I strongly believe that we can overcome this challenge if Christians and Muslims faithfully pray for God’s help. Let all of us pray and cry to our God that He may send a helper or a comforter to heal our land from this bloodshed.

    The services of a soothsayer are not required to tell us that recent happenings are being orchestrated to divide the country. By our act, we must not play into the enemies’ hands. Even though our leaders have not shown seriousness in tackling these crimes, we must play our role properly to secure our nation, because if the Boko Haram crimes snowball into a full crisis, everyone would be affected.

    We must guide our utterances against one another and come up with information that can help our security agencies to prevent crimes in the society. We must act to save our nation from precipice.

    Emmanuel, 500-Level Electronics and Computer Technology, UNICAL

  • APC kicks against blockade of Rivers Govt House

    APC kicks against blockade of Rivers Govt House

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has put the blame for last week’s blockade of the Rivers State Government House squarely on President Goodluck Jonathan. The party said what he called Dr. Jonathan’s unbridled disposition toward cheap political vendetta has pushed him to commit impunity and unconstitutionality perhaps more than any other President in the country’s history.

    In a statement issued in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the police could not have blocked Governor Chibuike Amaechi and his guests from his residence if they were not assured of support from higher authorities.

    It, however, warned that giving presidential backing to the police – or any national institution at all – to commit impunity and violate the Constitution is the fastest means to destroy such institutions and erode public confidence in them.

    ‘’In the case of the police, what is happening in Rivers is sending a wrong signal to the polity concerning the role of the force in 2015.

    “How can a malleable police be trusted to be neutral and to help ensure the conduct of a free and fair election – with the President as a candidate – in 2015?’’ the APC queried.

    The party said the Police under President Jonathan has increasingly become a lawless Force whose allegiance is only to the President and not to the Constitution, a Police Force that has become a tool in the hands of the President to harass, intimidate, arrest and persecute all his real and perceived political enemies.

    Said the APC: ‘’Since the outset of the President Jonathan-inspired political logjam in Rivers State and the implosion of his party, the PDP, the President has been depending on the Police to shore up his dwindling political fortune. The insubordination of the Rivers State Super Police Commissioner Mbu; the police-sponsored fracas in the Rivers State House of Assembly; the assault on the five visiting governors by thugs working under the direction and protection of the State Commissioner of Police and the unlawful occupation of the new PDP secretariats at Abuja and Lagos are clear examples.”

    ‘’President Jonathan, however, should be told in clear and unambiguous language that Nigerians will resist all machinations by him to turn Nigeria into a police state,’’ it said.

    The APC also said those who have been struggling to distance the President from the crisis in Rivers are being clever by half, since it is clear to all Nigerians that the President is the puppeteer in the crisis from day one, hence it has festered despite all efforts to end it.

    ‘’As far as the crisis in Rivers is concerned, the buck stops on the President’s desk. Here is a President who decided, unwisely, to make the election of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum a referendum on his administration’s credibility. Even after he lost woefully, he has failed to learn his lessons, as he has continued in his hot pursuit of a fellow-elected political leader.

    ‘’Today, no thanks partly to his political vendetta in Rivers and elsewhere, the President’s political empire has collapsed completely and no amount of police repression, subversion of the constitution or reign of impunity can savage it.

    ‘’President Jonathan has proven himself to be incapable of managing success. A President who presumably won a pan-Nigerian mandate, whose party controls 23 out of 36 states and has an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly has, in a period of less than 30 months, frittered all away and is today left with less than 16 state governors and lost control of the National Assembly.

    ‘’President Jonathan today holds the unenviable record of being the first sitting President of the country to suffer the indignity of being walked out upon by governors and federal legislators elected on the platform of his own party; as well as senior members of the same party at its National Convention in the full glare of local and international media.

    ‘’Under his watch, his party which at the height of its self delusion pride itself as the biggest party in Africa that is destined to rule the country for the 60 years has now imploded and the fallout of this implosion is threatening the fragile unity of the country. President Jonathan, more than any other President in the history of the country, has promoted and encouraged impunity and unconstitutionality, encouraged divisive policies and exploited religious and ethnic differences – all in his attempts to cling to power till 2015 and beyond,’’ the party said.

    APC, therefore, said President Jonathan should be held responsible for the current climate of impunity, unconstitutionality and overheating of the polity that is threatening the peace and stability of the country.

  • Activists vote against social ills at summit

    It was summit like no other. Activists of various nomenclatures, united by one spirit, gathered to think out possible solutions for the growing insecurity and other knotty problems besetting the nation, in particular, and its people.

    The parley was initiated as part of the activities marking the United Nations (UN) Day of indigenous communities which began in New York on August 9, 1994, in recognition of the plight of the indigenous peoples across the world.

    This year’s event, which was held in Lagos last Friday, was at the instance of the Green Peoples Environmental Network (GREPNET), Southern Nigerian Ethnic Nationality Alliance (SONENA), O’odua Nationalist Coalition (ONAC) and the Coalition of Nigerian Civil Right Groups (CONRIG). Several representatives of ethnic groups from across the country, including members of the United Middle Belt Youth Congress (UMBYC), were at the event.

    Every participant was unsparing in condemnation of the avoidable troubles that have held the nation on the brink of collapse. In a joint statement, the organisers urged Nigerians to reject politicians with any link with the violent Islamic group, Boko Haram, in the coming elections. Over 100 representatives of ethnic groups across the country attended the summit.

    Comrade Wale Adeoye, who represented journalists at the summit, declared the event open, saying: “It is time we stopped postponing the evil days. Our leaders at all levels must show genuine seriousness at tackling the various problems that have dehumanised our people for so long.”

    The groups restated the call for a national dialogue and the restructuring of Nigeria, maintaining that without them, there would be no end to the cycle of violence that had held the nation by the jugular since 1960.

    The groups said: “We regret that the crisis in the Magreb region – the violent Islamic re-insurgence – has led to displacement of peoples in the Northern hemisphere, leading to the invasion of our territories by violent groups. The displacement has resorted in violent clashes, senseless killings and rape of our women and children, and the forceful take-over of our territories by non-state actors who are in possession of weapons of death. This has led to increase in violent crimes, rape of women and minors, cultural imperialism and displacement of locals from their ancestral homelands. This has made lives more difficult and unbearable for indigenous peoples.”

    The groups said that “as 2015 presidential election draws near, we assert our full support only for a presidential candidate that will restructure Nigerian and guarantee ethnic self-determination. Any candidate that does not support full control of resources by the communities that produce them must be opposed with all our strength.”

    The groups stated further: “We condemn in strong terms, the current realignment of political forces which has not taken into consideration the interests of indigenous peoples, but has been tailored only to promote the wishes and aspirations of the Northern caliphate against the genuine interest of the indigenous communities.”

    They said that Hausa-Fulani political groups are only interested in sustaining their self-serving interests, adding that the violent Boko Haram had become a “political scare-crow” for them.

    “The responses of the Northern caliphate to the series of bombings have been that of cold complicity,” they contended.

  • Oil majors’ game plans against uncertainties

    Oil majors’ game plans against uncertainties

    From oil theft to gangsterism and political uncertainty, oil giants face all kinds of challenges in Nigeria. But despite these challenges, they are not bailing out. Instead, they are working their ways around the uncertainties, reports Reuters

    A wave of planned sales of onshore Nigerian assets by oil majors has prompted speculation that they are finally leaving the Niger Delta because of oil theft, gangsterism and political uncertainty.

    In reality, though, foreign firms such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Eni and Total are here to stay, industry sources say.

    The majors are likely to sell only small blocks that are not worth their while — those assets worst affected by theft and sabotage or fields that risk expropriation in a government push to promote local ownership.

    Meanwhile, the large oil producing blocks, huge gas deposits, key pipelines and the export terminals that control the passage of onshore oil to international markets will most likely stay in their hands — enabling them to retain infrastructure for which they can charge rent to other users.

    Complaints by oil majors that Nigeria has done little to combat oil theft or end uncertainty over changes to the fiscal regime by passing the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) are genuine, but they won’t drive the firms away from the country.

    “Nigeria’s ‘difficult’ operating environment, security concerns and the non-passage of the PIB all provide useful cover for what may essentially be a portfolio optimisation process,” said Razia Khan, Head of Africa Research at Standard Chartered.

    The global shale oil and gas boom means there are more exploration opportunities, so it makes financial sense to keep only the most profitable businesses in Nigeria, like gas for LNG export, and expand deep offshore where there is no oil theft.

    If anything, they will use their grievances as leverage in negotiations with government over licenses and taxes.

    Oil theft headaches

    Nigeria’s oil production, which fluctuates between 2-2.5 million barrels per day (bpd), is unlikely to be hugely affected by any oil block sales in the short-term and could get an uplift in the future if smaller local companies work harder to exploit reserves or can better stem insecurity with local communities.

    Tycoons Tony Elumelu and Wale Tinubu, the Oando CEO, both of them negotiating to buy oil blocks off majors, told Reuters in recent interviews they thought it would be easier for Nigerian companies with a better understanding of local issues to manage often fraught community relations.

    But ending oil theft, officially estimated at 250,000 bpd, is a massive undertaking. It is often associated with criminal gangs who tap crude from pipelines for local refining, but most stolen crude leaves the country in large tankers, which could not happen without the complicity of top officials.

    Shell, the largest producer in Nigeria, said last week it took a $700 million hit from theft and other issues in Nigeria with its share of output falling to 158,000 bpd in the second quarter, down from 260,000 bpd in 2012.

    Shell CEO Peter Voser nevertheless told Reuters this month the company was not seeking to leave Nigeria. (reut.rs/1co5HOm)

    Eni said it had lost 30,000 bpd of output in the first half of the year due to theft and CEO Paolo Scaroni said the company was “reviewing its position” in Nigeria.

    Total declined to comment on its plans.

    Shell, which has already sold eight blocks in the Niger Delta for around $1.8 billion since 2010, announced it will sell more fields amounting to 80,000-100,000 bpd, although it is not clear if this level of output is yet being produced.

    Chevron is also selling five shallow water blocks, but would not comment further on its plans for Nigeria, while fellow U.S. firm ConocoPhillips is selling its Nigerian businesses to Oando for about $1.79 billion.

    Political uncertainties

    Theft may not be the only reason for selling down. The PIB, although still in a political deadlock that has lasted five years, could change the terms for foreign companies in Nigeria and will promote local ownership of onshore blocks.

    Shell, Chevron, Eni and Total have been in failed negotiations with the Nigerian government for several years to renew expired licences on many onshore and shallow water blocks.

    “Perhaps they would rather sell licences while they still can rather than having to relinquish them for nothing,” said Antony Goldman, head of Africa-focused PM Consulting.

    Yet Shell recently announced it would spend $3.9 billion on a gas project and a reconstruction of a better protected Trans Niger pipeline, one of the country’s most important crude oil routes and often hit by outages caused by theft or sabotage. That suggests it still sees value working onshore in Nigeria.

    Shell may even buy one of Chevron’s blocks, two sources told Reuters, which would provide the perfect route from one of Nigeria’s largest gas fields to its LNG export terminal.

    Nigeria holds the world’s ninth largest gas reserves, most of which are untapped. Energy majors are increasingly moving towards gas production instead of oil in the Niger Delta.

    Majors such as Shell will likely keep large pipelines and export terminals, so even if local firms are getting the oil out of the ground, where the risks of insecurity are highest, the majors can make a cut from taking oil to international markets.

    “Oil majors want to keep control of this infrastructure as it means they will have a large degree of control of onshore assets and derive revenue from transportation,” said Kayode Akindele, partner at Lagos-based investment firm 46 Parallels.

    There is no guarantee that deals on assets that majors do want to sell can be easily or quickly completed — Nigeria has one of the world’s slowest oil contract approval times, experts say.

    Some of Shell’s previous divestments took years to negotiate. Buyers will also be wary of the state oil company’s production arm NPDC taking over the operating rights — as it has on previous Shell field sales where the private buyers were expecting to operate them.

    Yet for the all the pitfalls, Nigeria will be keen to close the deals, which please the political elite and public alike.

    “The divestment is a positive step for all the major players involved … (it) will have a positive knock-on impact on production longer-term,” said Martin Kelly, Wood Mackenzie’s Lead Analyst for Sub-Saharan Africa Upstream Research.

    “But … in order to make a noticeable difference other challenges need to be addressed — like the PIB and security.”

  • Protest against tricycle ban

    Some human rights activists yesterday protested against the recent ban on commercial tricycles in some parts of Lagos State. They urged the government to rescind the decision.

    A law passed by the House of Assembly and signed by Governor Babatunde Fashola banned motorcycles and tricycles on some major roads.

    Comrade Declan Ihekaire, National Coordinator, Concerned Human Rights Nigeria, who led the protest, said: “The ban was unnecessary, considering the suffering of millions of Lagos residents, who depended on tricycles for transportation.”

    Ihekaire, who spoke with reporters during the protest debunked government’s claim that tricycles constitute nuisance, are accident-prone and are being used to rob. He said: “Let them give us one single example where tricycles had been used to rob. Lagos State cannot be more of a mega city than India, China and Korea, where tricycle is being used as a means of transportation. Government must always consider the masses in its policies.”

  • Child marriage: Fayemi’s wife urges protest against Senate’s decision

    Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, has urged people of good conscience, civil society organisations, feminists and social justice crusaders to support the protests against the move by the Senate to legalise child marriage.

    In a statement by her Special Assistant on Media, Akin Oyedele, the governor’s wife described the lawmakers’ move as self-serving and at variance with international conventions and protocols on the rights of the child, which Nigeria has ratified.

    Calling for sustained protests against the move by the Senate to expunge Section 29 Sub-section B from the constitution, Erelu Fayemi said the lawmakers should channel their energy towards strengthening the laws to promote the well-being of the child.

    She said: “I’m not only disappointed at the decision by the Senate, as a mother, I’m ashamed. I’m unhappy and pained that our senators, who also have daughters, will vote for child marriage.

    “This is the time men and women of good conscience, civil society organisations, feminists and social justice crusaders should stand up and be counted among those protesting against the decision.

    “Instead of this self-serving amendment to Section 29 B of the constitution, our lawmakers should devote time to legislate on the laws that protect the child against violence, exploitation and labour, harmful traditional practices, abuse and denial of education.”

    Erelu Fayemi said for instance, Article 1 of the United Nations Convention of Rights of the Child, which Nigeria ratified, defined a child as every human being (male or female) below the age of 18.

    Some states in the country, including Ekiti, have also domesticated the convention.

    The UN convention clarified that anybody below the age of 18 may be deemed not to be a child “unless the law of his or her country deems him or her to be an adult at an earlier age, which is rare.”

    Section 277 of the Federal Child Rights Act of 2003 thus defines a child as anyone who is below the age of 18.

    In furtherance of the ongoing constitution amendment, the Senate had voted for the deletion of Section 29, sub-sections A and B, which prescribes “full age” for a female to be deemed to be constitutionally-ripe for marriage.

    Section B provides that “any woman, who is married, shall be deemed to be of full age,” while Section A defines full age as “18 years and above.”

    As enshrined in the UNICEF mission, the governor’s wife said it was the duty of the three tiers of government and the citizens to advocate the protection of children’s rights, to help meet their basic needs and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.

    She enjoined the National Assembly to encourage the states yet to domesticate the child rights’ act to do so, with a call for the promotion and enforcement of the law in states where it exists.

    Besides the social implication of hounding the girl-child into early marriage, including denial of childhood and teenage development, she said there are health hazards in child marriage.

    According to her, the National Demographic Health Survey said 12,000 women are known to develop Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) every year in Nigeria, a number of who are said to be young, teenage girls of poor social and economic background.

  • The case against death penalty

    SIR:Once again, the controversial issue of death penalty (or capital punishment) has been resurrected from the limbo in Nigeria. This is against a backdrop of the recent media report quoting President Goodluck Jonathan as urging the state governors to discharge their constitutional responsibility by signing the death warrants of condemned prisoners pending before them and the subsequent hanging of four death row inmates of the Benin prison, in Edo State.

    Although Nigeria has maintained a kind of moratorium or suspension on criminal execution since her return to civilian rule on May 29, 1999, the policy appears to be reversed, somehow, with the hanging of a number of condemned persons across the country in 2006, 2012 and this year. Obviously, public and political opinions are sharply divided on the ongoing heated debate on whether to retain or abolish the punishment in our penal code.

    For proponents of death penalty, the severe measure has a uniquely deterrent force, which no other formal punishment has or could have. In their argument, the fears of being caught for committing gravest crimes like armed robbery and made to face the commensurate gravest punishment would help reduce the rate of such crimes. They also contend that capital punishment would permanently remove the worst criminals in our midst, thereby providing an enabling environment for a safe and peaceful society.

    For opponents of death penalty in Nigeria, the pristine argument of deterrence of the penalty is otiose and no longer tenable. This is in the light of the futility of such harsh measure in stemming the tide of violent crimes – as criminals do not often think about the punishment that awaits them but about the possibility of being caught and arrested.

    From the standpoint of this writer, capital punishment is morally unjustifiable and unacceptable. For one, human life is so sacrosanct and inviolable and it is only God, the giver of life that has the inalienable right and control over it. For another, death penalty removes the humanity of the executed persons and the attendant chances of rehabilitation and their giving something back to society, in terms of community service. Additionally, the penalty is contrary to the contemporary international human rights standards and values- a development that made the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, through the Resolution 62/149, to call on member states to commute without delay all death sentences to terms of imprisonment.

    It is important to state that the intractable problem of violent crimes in Nigeria, which gave rise to application of capital punishment, has its root cause in our grotesquely unjust system that incubates and breeds criminals. These include awful legacy of bad governance, rampant corruption, deplorable state of the economy, inefficient criminal justice system (including the police, the court and the prisons), relative deprivation, mass poverty, chronic unemployment, widening gap between the rich and the poor, human exploitation, greed, unbridled materialism, ungodliness, immorality, erosion of the spirit of social solidarity and decline of traditional family values. In fact, if we did not push back the frontier of these often ignored factors that fuel violent crimes, our all-out efforts to surmount the upward spiral of such crimes will be in vain.

    As part of the reform of the administration of justice in Nigeria, the Federal Government should respond swiftly and vigorously to the contentious issue of death penalty. This is considering that the penalty has obviously failed as a deterrent measure against violent criminals. Removing capital punishment from our criminal laws is also made paramount by the fact that Nigeria is a signatory to internationally recognised human rights protocols, which guarantee each individual’s right to life, like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (or the Banjul Declaration of 1981).

     

    • Okechukwu Emeh, Jr

    Abuja.

     

     

  • State of Emergency: Senator warns Fed Govt against using state funds

    THE Chairman, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, Hassan Barata yesterday warned the Federal Government against spending funds belonging to states under emergency rule.

    Barata who represents Adamawa South in the Upper Chamber, told The Nation in Abuja that he is opposed to the declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa State.

    He said that leaders from Adamawa State were made to believe that the state would be used as a “buffer zone” to trap insurgents and Boko Haram members fleeing from Borno and Yobe States during the emergency rule.

    The lawmaker however called on the Federal Government to restore telephone services in the Adamawa to ease business activities.

    Barata said: “The position of the Northern Senators Forum is that the funds from these states should not be touched and when you look at our votes and proceedings of that particular time the Senate President in his own report of our executive session said we have all agreed that the money from the states should not be touched.

    “We were surprised about all the things that happened later. Based on the agreement we had at the executive session that the money should not be touched, we thought that our agreement will reflect in the emergency law.

    “But later we learnt that our Senate version is saying that we have allowed the President to use the states money, which was not so.

    “You know when you are talking about a version in a situation like this you always talk about what you have discussed and it is not necessary for you to read the complete version.

    “But as far as you have discussed this thing with someone and agreed on something and he said the other side has adopted your version based on your agreement, it is not something you can go back again and say you have not agreed. This is our problem…”

  • Fashola warns against food wastage

    LAGOSIANS were yesterday warned against food wastage.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola gave the advice during the celebration of the World Environment Day at the Blue Roof Hall, LTV8, Ikeja.

    The theme of the event was: “Think, Eat, Save”.

    Fashola, who was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said food wastage has financial and environmental impacts.

    He said: “Food wastage leads to the squandering of resources, such as fertilisers, pesticides and fuel, used for transportation. The volume of food going into landfill sites is enormous and this creates methane, which is one of the most harmful contributors to climate change.”

    The governor said statistics of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, an agency of the United Nations (UN), show that 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted in a world where one in every seven persons go to bed hungry daily.

    He said: “This is equivalent to the amount produced in the entire Sub-Saharan Africa. As if this is not enough, they said one out of every seven people in the world, including Nigeria, go to bed hungry and more than 20,000 children below age five die daily from hunger.

    “This report, for me, is unacceptable, unfair and harsh on posterity. Wastage occurs because many producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for human consumption. That is why Nigerians must make informed choices in buying and consumption.”

    Fashola urged residents to guide against food wastage to ensure efficient land use, improved water resources management and curb climate change.

    “The loss of property and livelihood is one that we must proactively guide against to mitigate global warming,” he added.

    The governor urged the hospitality industry, especially restaurants and food marts, to carry out waste audits and product loss analysis for high waste areas; offer discounts for near-expiration items; limit menu choices; introduce flexible portioning of food and follow storage guidelines to preserve food items.

    Commissioner for the Environment Mr. Tunji Bello regretted that while the world is struggling to feed its seven billion inhabitants, a third of the food produced globally is wasted.

    He urged Lagosians to eat less of canned and processed food.

     

  • ‘Let’s unite against insecurity’

    Chairman of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria (FEHN), Allen Onyema, a lawyer, has cautioned all northern leaders to be careful in their utterances in order not to jeopardise the country’s unity.

    He urged Northern elders especially, to stop politicising issues of security and think more of how to stop Nigeria from disintegrating, explaining that the issue of growing insecurity in the country should concern every right-thinking leader today.

    Reacting to a statement credited to former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari that “emergency rule was anti-north”, Onyema said: “I don’t want to believe that he said so, but if the statement credited to him is true, then it’s a big disappointment because he is someone who has ruled this country in the past as Head of State, and is also aspiring to rule this country again. What he said, if actually he said that, was totally unacceptable to any reasonable mind because it is capable of heating up the polity.

    He added: “Every leader should allow their statesmanship prevail in their utterances, knowing fully well that they command a lot of followership and if you incense the passion of your followers, they do the wrong thing. We saw what happened after the elections in 2011. It is not for me to say whether the elections were free and fair or not, but violence has no place in any civilised engagement. Whether the elections were free or rigged, it is not for any leader to call for the kind of response that might not be civil. So I do not want to believe that somebody who is aspiring to lead this country as President would be that sectional to say that the Niger Delta militancy gave rise to the Boko Haram insurgency.”