The Nation Newspaper

Tag: agony

  • Erosion agony in Anambra

    Erosion agony in Anambra

    The pain is not just that their soil is breaking up and giving way. Or that the residents are losing property. The torment of Ekwusigo Local Government Area in Anambra State is that nobody has come to their aid. Now, erosion is claiming lives, reports NWANOSIKE ONU

    It is not a pretty pastime, yet every resident counts their losses. Their houses collapse into the depths of red earth. So do  farmlands. Many buildings could follow suit. Now they are counting their human losses, too.

    Communities in Ekwusigo Local Government Area, Anambra State epitomise the horrors of much of the Southeast, but in this council, the people say they have a reason to feel doubly hurt. Why? No one is listening to them even though they started crying out well over a decade ago.

    Two brothers of the Igwemadu family in Urumabiam community in Ozubulu have died of a heart attack, the latest victims, the people said, of their horrible present and an uncertain future.

    Their appeals spanning over 10  years to the federal and state governments have done nothing to address their pain.

    The people recall that only the Peter Obi administration made an attempt to look their way but even then, it was in the twilight of his second term: too little, too late.

    The House of Assembly member representing the people, Hon Pauly Onyeka has been in tears over what his people are going through.

    Onyeka said his people believe that Governor Willie Obiano will one day visit the suffering people and begin palliative work on the sites since they know that the situation is beyond the state government.

    One of the elders in Ihembosi community, 74-year-old Ichie Ezekwem Ezeana, told The Nation that the community alone has about 14 erosion sites, and that  the residents have been living in fear.

    When The Nation visited the area, the sites were horrible to behold. The agony of the people is immense.

    The old man, in tears, said, “I cannot say that our government is a listening one, otherwise it would have noticed the devastation in these areas”

    “We do not want to lose more lives before they come to help us. To tell you the truth, what we are doing in Ekwusigo is suffering and smiling.”

    “Our major concern is every time election comes, all of them including the governor will come and promise heaven and earth, but after voting them in, they will abandon those that voted them to die slowly; it is unfortunate”.

    Also, the building belonging to 76 year old Pa Onyejiaka Anazodo is at the verge of being swept away by the same menace and the septuagenarian is in his knees begging Obiano and other governments for help.

    The fence of the building is already gone. Should the house cave in, the man and his family have nowhere to go.

    Furthermore, The Nation was told that the traditional ruler of the area, Igwe Dr. Daniel Udoji has made appeals and representatives to the government, all to no avail.

    Chukwulobe Ifeanyi said the erosion problem in the area began in 1996 and then escalated because of the activities of the construction firm, Consolidated Construction Company (CCC) when it began reconstructing Onitsha- Owerri  Road, a federal way.

    He said, “the construction company failed to direct the erosion to Ekulo River, so all the water from Ichi, Ifite, Oraifite were all channelled to this place”

    “And if the thing is allowed to continue, by next rainy season, this area will be swallowed and many lives will be lost, while uncountable numbers of buildings will equally go.”

    It was discovered that the erosion problem has cut off some communities from others, two of them being Awo and Ifite.

    A student of Saint Paul University Ufondu Emenike told The Nation that Awo Road linking Ifite was passable up till 2012 until the rains came and swept off the place.

    The erosion menace has equally consumed the house of one Gabriel Asuzu. The site of the erosion is believed to be the longest in West Africa, measuring about four kilometers.

    It is also said that the building belonging to one Ikechukwu Asuzu is on the verge of being swallowed up by the erosion.

    Speaking with The Nation, one of the rural women, Mrs. Catherine Mbonu said the problem began about 15 years ago and has attracted no form of help from anybody or government.

    Following the rapid surge of the erosion, one of the residents of Ozubulu community, Anaeto Echezona said that many people in the area have started what he called movement of Jah people (Exodus) to other communities.

    “We are almost dead in these areas, we need somebody to rescue us from this problem of erosion; the people of the different communities do not feel comfortable any more in their own land.”

    However, The Nation discovered that some of the erosion sites were man-made, caused by land excavation especially at Egbema Ozubulu which had gone five feet deep, while others are caused by natural disasters.

    Chief Goddy Ulasi, the Vice president General of Ozubulu Development Union (ODU), told The Nation that the Urumabiam erosion site had been there for the past 20 years.

    He claims that some of the people have relocated to other areas where they would be safe, while the government at any level allowed people to be consumed.

    “This erosion has cut off brothers, sisters, relations and neighbours from their people, this village is no more, we have suffered in this place, we can no longer communicate with our people”

    The lawmaker, while lamenting in tears, told The Nation that it is unfortunate that villages and communities that used to live in harmony had been separated by erosion, yet the governments are still adamant.

    “Before now, our former Governor, Mr. Peter Obi sent a delegation for palliative measure before he left office and I know that our Governor now, Chief Willie Obiano (Akpokuedike) is an environment friendly Governor and will not allow his subjects to perish”.

    “We cannot continue in this manner nobody knows what the future holds for these people, every community in this my constituency in Ekwusigo has at least 10 erosion sites, therefore, we need help and urgent attention”

    “What we are doing is to bring them to the notice of the state, Federal Government, International Donor agencies, before now, Anambra State had been known as erosion ravaged place from Oko to Nanka to Agulu but today, it is Ekwusigo, we are half dead”

    “This place should be declared erosion disaster area, all the erosions in other areas combined cannot equate those of Ekwusigo, these communities need help” Onyeka lamented.

  • Agony on Arochukwu Road

    Agony on Arochukwu Road

    A failed major road in Abia State remains a pain to residents as well as Akwa Ibom and Cross River commuters since its contract was awarded to Beks Kimse, a local construction firm. After series of fruitless appeals, the community’s monarch has petitioned the Works minister, writes CHRIS OJI

    Few issues hurt Arochukwu and Ohafia residents more than their failed road. It links both communities in Abia State and also connects Akwa Ibom and Cross River. For years, it has been impassable. Owners of small vehicles learned many years ago not to put them on the road; truck drivers who dared had themselves to blame, for their vehicles often got stuck, their journeys terminated. The road has claimed many casualties, including wasted vehicles and goods.

    Arochukwu has a rich history. Many once came from distant lands to consult its Long Juju, whose site has become a tourist attraction. But the community’s tourism profile has suffered, no thanks to the poor road. Residents have made futile appeals to the Federal Government. Last year, they told President Goodluck Jonathan not to count on their votes for his second term bid if he failed to fix the road, regarded as probably the worst in the country. Then, the president had not declared any intention to run. Now he has, but the road has worsened.

    Now, the paramount and spiritual leader of the Arochukwu Kingdom, His Majesty, Mazi Ogbonnaya Okoro has petitioned the Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen to reconsider the contract awarded to Beks Kimse Nigeria Ltd to fix the road.

    Since 2012, the construction company could not build up to 2km of the 27km stretch from Ohafia to Arochukwu. Beks Kimse has a former special adviser to the president as its chief executive.

    The contract, flagged with much fanfare, was estimated at N4.8 billion with only 10 months completion time. The situation today is that the ancient town of Arochukwu with its neighbours of Ihechiowa, Ututu, Isu and some Cross River and Akwa Ibom communities habe been completely cut off from the rest of the country. The present condition of the road was was the result of the heavy downpour this rainy season. Arochukwu is in the same rain belt zone as Calabar.

    The Eze Aro, who rarely make public comments could no longer bear it anymore as his subjects both at home and in Diaspora cannot access their ancestral home. Thus the letter to the minister which was copied to the Senate President, David Mark, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Ayogu Eze. Also copied were all the senators of Abia State extraction, Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, Chairman, Works Committee, Hon. Ozomgbachi and the representative of Arochukwu/Ohafia federal constituency, Arua Arunsi. It reads:

    Dear Hon. Minister,

    “I write you this letter in the overriding public interest as a traditional ruler of Arochukwu Kingdom, on behalf of fellow citizens, my subjects and members of Nzuko Arochukwu. Honourable Minister, may I painfully inform you that Arochukwu, an ancient kingdom in Abia State, is presently cut-off from the rest of the country. The only major Federal road that connects Aro with the rest of the country is in a deplorable state. The 27 kilometer road from the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan military barracks in Ohafia to Arochukwu has been neglected for over 30 years. It has no major obstacles like bridges or difficult terrain. The only problem of the road over these years can easily be traced to promises made and promises broken!

    “Sir, for us, it is a sad commentary that a well-known community like Arochukwu reputed in history as the cradle of Igbo civilisation has found itself in such a sorry state in terms of bad roads.”

     

    Pains and frustration

     The petition reads further: In “its present terrible state, a journey from Ohafia to Arochuwku that should not last more than 20 minutes, now drags for over three hours. There is no doubt that Arochukwu-Ohafia road in its current condition is perhaps the worst Federal road in Nigeria, and this is not an exaggeration. A trip on this road is a terrible experience that no one is prepared to recommend even to one’s worst enemy. This is why for some time now many of us from Arochukwu neither travel home nor risk the shame of inviting friends and well-wishers to visit our community.

    “Our people hibernate in major cities across the world in regret while our kith and kin at home especially commuters who must use the road on a daily basis groan in fury and penury. In recent times, the residents of Arochukwu have been cut off from supply of essential goods and services from parts of Abia State and beyond because of access road.

    “In the same vein, transportation of farm produce which are in abundance in commercial quantity from Aro, Ihechiowa, Ututu, Ohafia in Abia State and the neighbouring communities in Akwa Ibom and Cross River states is jeopardised. Other implications include access to medical care and help on similar emergencies in Aro and the affected communities with far reaching consequences on women and children, the old and the aged.”

     

    Fed. Govt’s response

     “In November 2012, our joy knew no bounds when the Jonathan administration awarded a contract for reconstruction of the road to one indigenous company BEKS KIMSE Nigeria Ltd at the cost of about N4.8 billion. The project was expected to be completed within a period of 24 months from the date the contract was signed between the Federal Ministry of Works and the company. We in Arochukwu, Ihechiowa, Ututu, Isu, Abam, Ohafia and our neighbours in Akwa Ibom and Cross River State went into jubilation believing that a “Daniel had finally come to judgment”. We thought that our pains, frustration and anguish on the road were over. While publicly appreciating the Federal government’s gesture, Arochukwu in particular offered to provide any required assistance and support to the contractor to avoid excuses in getting the important job done.

     

    Contractor failure

    “Unfortunately, Honourable Minister, it is sad, a big shame and disappointment that this company, Beks Kimse Nigeria Ltd, has failed itself, Arochukwu community and the Federal Government that gave it the opportunity to make an important contribution to national development in this part of the country. We are utterly disappointed over the performance of Beks Kimse Nigeria Ltd. The firm has shown neither skill, competence, commitment nor sensitivity to our plight. We are shocked that this contractor has only two dilapidated bulldozers and one roller on site. As a result of poor experience and ill equipped infrastructure, they have done so much havoc on the road by scrapping the surface of about eight kilometers and abandoned same.

    With the rains, the unprotected areas has been washed off, creating deep gullies which have cut off the community from the rest of the country. The scrapping of the road by the contractor without overlaying is the worst thing that has ever happened to the road and our community. All we have seen so far after the havoc by Beks Kimse Nigeria Ltd, are the two archaic caterpillars, a few shovels, some wheel barrows and diggers which the company abandoned near the Arochukwu local government headquarters since the past 18 months.

    In the circumstance, less than a quarter of a kilometer of the job has been done after nearly two years. There is every reason to believe that Beks Kimse Nigeria Ltd lacks the capacity and competence to handle this project with the kind of analogue equipment they parade on site in a construction industry that has gone completely digital. While we have no information on what their specific problem may be, we have also seen no signs, equipment, skilled manpower or any form of commitment on the part of this company to execute the project. The character and performance of this company has eroded our confidence on the campaign to give equal opportunities to indigenous contractors. We are deeply concerned that this contract that we all hoped on has been rendered a failed project.

    Indeed no one, not even the contractor, has offered any explanation for this shoddy performance. To worsen our situation, there appears to be some conspiracy of silence around this project. The suspicion of our community is high, as all those who should speak out have chosen to keep quiet while the benefitting communities die slowly in silence. I wish to add that the road is currently impassable following the shoddy activities of the company. The condition of the road at the moment is worse than the way the company met it. We lack words to explain the damage which this ill-equipped company has done to the road.

     

     

  • Agony of monogamy

    It was at the church service for the 90th birthday of the legendary matriarch of the Awo dynasty Chief Dr Hannah Dideolu Awolowo in Ikenne that the thoughts that prompted this article began. Some well known highly placed gentlemen and their wives were called upon to partake in the wine sipping, bread breaking ritual called Holy Communion. As soon as these respectable ladies and gentlemen, all of them past age 70, and amongst whom were renowned professors, high court judges, legal luminaries and business moguls, finished their spiritual blessing and were returning to their seats, they caught a pitiable sight in their over-flowing garb of hypocrisy.

    They wore forlorn mien plastered with furrowed frowned faces like some one afflicted with putrid smell of heavy dose of fart. They looked as if they were mourning a three-year-old boy mistakenly killed by his own father, or the passing of a poor woman who has just succumbed to excruciatingly painful cancer.

    They clung to their wives as if they were newly wedded. I temporarily forgot that I was in a holy church, the spiritual enclave of Christians. I almost laughed my head off because I knew each of the ‘holy’ ‘monogamous’ men intimately and by Jove, I knew of their second, third or fourth wives/liaisons/mistresses with whom they had sired several children. To the whole world they were champions of monogamy, but to their hearts and conscience they were celebrated polygamists, or at best, serial monogamists. Pshaw!

    I saw pain written all over them, the agony of living a lie, the unease of hypocrisy, and the shame of going through life pretending to be what you are not.

    This is the sort of agony a lot of the so-called monogamists go through all their lives. The series of lies they sell to their wives, and the double life they present to their pastors and church leaders, most of whom are actually equally guilty of hypocrisy and double life living.

    This piece is not set out to condemn or criticise monogamy. Monogamy is perfect for those who believe in its concept and can genuinely keep to it. I too have been married to one lovely woman for almost 45 years and it has been like a marriage made in heaven. I happen also to be the promoter along with some friends the 35-year-old Family Club of Nigeria which is dedicated to the upliftment and celebration of marriage and family values.

    The article is designed to expose the hypocrisy and pain associated with embracing false notions which are really not observed by any culture in the world, and to advise those who erroneously sentence themselves to a life of sadness and emptiness because they were deceived to believe that there is some utopia somewhere called monogamy.

    I am very much aware that this article will generate a lot of controversy most especially from those who live holier-than-thou life and have continued to deceive the world that they are upholders of a doctrine that is not supported by true and enlightened interpretation of any religious doctrine.

    The white men, I am yet to see any human being whose skin colour is like that of chalk, came and told the unfortunate lands they invaded that the cherished cultures, traditions and religions of such lands were rubbish, and instead indoctrinated them with values which they themselves never believed in or truly practiced. We know of King Henry Vlll, and several major historical figures in ‘Christian’ Europe who had more than one wife in  addition of a string of wives who their ‘laws’ forbade them to address as wives but who nonetheless perform all the functions of wife minus name.

    God bless President Mitterrand who openly confessed to having two women in his life, with the one in the other house with whom he fathered an 18-year-old daughter at the time he passed on.

    I have schooled, worked and lived virtually in all the continents of the world and I make bold to say with all emphasis at my disposal that no culture on planet earth truly practices monogamy. My Greek, Italian, Russian, British, American and other Caucasians routinely visit their other wives [called by other names] with whom they have children. But back in the homes shared with the one carrying the ring, they are monogamists!

    If God had wanted humanity to be monogamous, He or She would not have made the pigeon the only monogamous creature.

    The cultures that practice polygamy had always known that at any given time, the number of available marriageable women far out number available men plus the fact that an 80-year-old man, if he has money, is still very much in the market whereas a 60-year-old woman may not be that lucky. The biological limitation to a woman’s productive age is also a factor. Why should a woman therefore remain on the shelf till age 45 when she could jolly well get married as second or sixth wife to a man who can afford to share life’s responsibilities with her? Why should a woman leave a man with whom she is No 1, simply because took a second wife and end up being numberless in the hands of several men with whom she naturally shares bed just because of some doctrine she hardly understands?

    All the women who should go and marry but are saying they do not want to share their man with another woman in a polygamous setting, are sharing current boyfriends with several other women. Where is the logic?

    The argument that children in a polygamous house are always at each other’s throat does not hold water. Many siblings of monogamous families are known to have had worse and irresolvable, irreconcilable squabble, with dirty bitterness over inheritance than children from different mothers.

    The agony suffered by both men and women in the hand of unnatural laws and doctrines is too stifling for comfort. In 2002, 502 Reverend mothers were reported to have died while procuring abortion in Rome. Nigerian Tribune wrote an editorial on the unfortunate incident. And stories of Reverend fathers having children and sodomising young men in their care are legion! Why the hypocrisy? Why should the world continue to live the life of Ostrich?

    A well known Nigerian journalist hid his other wives from his wife because his religion would not permit of it and his wife, living in monogamy should not hear of it. At his funeral service, other wives surfaced and the woman parading the ring collapsed. It was the grace of God that prevented double interment that day!

    The Western world which had not learnt the art of living amicably with more than one partner under the same roof has indulged in multiple serial marriages, divorcing innocent wives under flimsy excuses so that another woman can move in should not be measure of standard for the world. Thank God Hillary Clinton in the US and Mrs Cook in England were very much wiser. They refused to allow some indiscretion on the part of their husbands to ruin their marriages.

    There was a well known American actor who passed on about a decade ago and all his 11 ex-wives with their numerous children attended his funeral. To ridicule the lie of their hypocritical existence, all the women were recognised and addressed as wives. As far as records show, the man had 11 wives!

    Society must rethink this issue of pretentious monogamy vis-à-vis polygamy so that in the not-too-distant future we do not end up with millions of unmarried women whose life style would be worse than prostitutes’ and millions of children whose fathers would be nowhere to be found.

  • Agony of displaced Taraba Tiv farmers

    Agony of displaced Taraba Tiv farmers

    Hundreds of Tiv farmers in Taraba State have been killed and thousands severely injured in clashes with Fulani herdsmen. Survivors relived their physical and emotional torment, when Senior Correspondent FANEN IHYONGO visited their camps

    They looked hungry, weak and ill. Some looked terrified and emotionally drained. Many were unable to speak. They sleep on the floor in stuffy relief camp rooms. Mosquitoes bite them every night. Tiv farmers of Taraba State who survived the Fulani attacks are having the worst of times in their camps.

    They used to till the land, using the proceeds to look after their families.  They supplied the markets with yams, maize, soya beans, guinea corn, rice and cassava, among others.

    Farming was their life. Now, their means of livelihood is cut off and they have become destitute, terrorised in the central district of the state which they call home.  Today, their Fulani neighbours who once made jokes and merriment with them, have become their assailants and killers.

    “I don’t know the meaning of existence anymore,” one of the victims told this reporter.

    They have become endangered species in their own state. Some of them wonder if they are seen as aliens.

    Since the beginning of this year, Fulani insurgents, sometimes perceived to be largely mercenaries, reportedly numbering over 6,000 besieged the southern and central districts of the state. Tiv villagers became their prey. The insurgents, sometimes clad in military camouflage, attacked anytime of the day or night. They have killed thousands of Tiv farmers, wounded many more and forced the rest from their homes. Not a few Tiv women and girls have been raped and degraded by the herdsmen.

    Even in the relief camps the victims are afraid of discussing what has befallen them for fear of divulging information to perceived spies from the enemy camp.

    Little children who found something to eat were seen playing; some were crying but many generally looked pale and ill.

    Two children and a woman were said to have died, added to the 14 who passed on earlier. They reportedly died of hunger and disease. Their bodies were seen being evacuated, but no one could say exactly where they would be buried.

    An 82-year old man was said to have lost his mind in the camp after reportedly losing his wife and four children to Fulani attacks. Their assailants allegedly burnt them alive in a house where they were hiding.

    Members of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and SEMA, the state arm of the organisation, brought relief materials but they could not serve even a quarter of the camp population in the five locations. Concerned officials from the local government council also prepared food for weak children  but the Fulani militia broke into the camp demanding to be served first. The invaders took the food away with a promise to attack the people in the evening if they remained in the camp. This reporter saw the camp officials pleading with the marauders to have mercy on the children. They did not. The camp’s location near a police station did not deter them.

    Bem Iorleva, 36, has been sleeping in the bush. He furtively goes to the camp only at noon hours to see his people. But these days he could not go as the militants reportedly began to trail him. He is said to be among six on hit list of Fulani herdsmen. The six were reckoned to have incurred the wrath of invaders when they reportedly condemned and resisted their attack.

    “They want to turn us from defencelessness to a worse state. Those of us who are of the active age, enlightened and have some sources of wealth are the major target; they want our heads by all means,” Iorleva said.

    Iorleva who has a wife and three children, has been lucky to have escaped the slaughter, but his sources of livelihood have been wiped out.

    “There is no safety even in the camps. The authorities have told us in clear terms they cannot protect us. You could be fetched and killed right there any time and nothing would be done,” he said.

    He added that some of the culprits who were arrested by security agents have been released.

    “We see them (their attackers) walking freely. They attack us in the villages, and yet they come here to torment us…Look at some of them (pointing to a group of four Fulani youngsters wearing black vests on one motorcycle).

    Iorleva, a principal at Rock Foundation Primary and Secondary School, had also been operating a bookshop and a barbing shop to augment his income. One day, the bookshop and saloon were attacked and vandalised by Fulani assailants. His home in Mai-Haula and the 17-year-old school where he taught were reduced to rubble. His proprietor, Peter Terna Ukpo is also taking refuge in the bush.

    Iorleva said: “Ukpo’s case is worse. They said they will butcher him if they see him.”

    Popularly known as Orlando, Ukpo is the president of Tiv youths in Bali. He is said to have lost “everything” to Fulani fighters.

    “Some of us would have been killed since, but for God. I had to run as I never did since I was born in order to escape death. They came with heavy weapons, some wielding guns, some long cutlasses and axes. They began to shoot and kill any Tiv person they sighted, without provocation.”

    As the Tiv residents ran for their dear life, the attackers looted and set their homes ablaze.

    Now, with the hellish life in the camps, the displaced want to leave for Benue where the bulk of their folks are, but transport fare is ptohibitive, even as some of them do not know where they are really going. The fare, per individual, from the camp St. Paul Catholic Church, Bali, to Zaki-Biam is N2000. From the camp to Gboko is N2,500 and N3,000 getting to Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Cargoes like a nine-inch mattress or a goat are charged N2000. So, one is left with the option of abandoning one’s bags of rice, groundnuts, corn, livestock and household appliances behind if one must survive.

    Meanwhile, their attackers have continued to either take over their properties or destroy them. Even on the road, the Tiv are often attacked  by herdsmen mounting roadblocks.

    Some help has come for them, though. Minister for Niger Delta Affairs, Darius Dickson Ishaku, has donated relief materials and cash to the displaced persons.

    Darius, an architect, is from Takum Local Government Area of southern Taraba.

    His representative, Stephen Ibrahim Agya said the donation, included wrappers, foodstuff and cash.

    The traditional ruler of the Tiv in Bali, HRM David Gbaa, received the items on behalf of the displaced. Gbaa who praised the minister for the gesture said he would share the materials fairly among the five camps in Bali where the displaced are taking refuge.

    Agya added that the minister is making an arrangement to also assist displaced persons from Gassol and Ibi local government areas.

    Agya said he stumbled on the victims fleeing their homes so he informed the minister who quickly disbursed funds and materials to alleviate their deplorable condition.

    “I wept when I saw the Tiv victims in the camps. The old, women and kids; they looked stranded and emotionally wrecked. I saw their homes destroyed. It was pathetic.

    So, when I phoned the minister (Darius) he was saddened over the development. He promptly empowered and directed me to provide relief to the victims,” Agya said, adding that Darius has condemned the attacks and killings.

    In Bali where the minister donated relief materials, over 80 Tiv residents were gunned down and a Catholic catechist axed to death. Police said they recovered 46 bodies and that 6,086 houses were torched when they combed the area in search of the attackers.

    “Many of our people are still missing,” said Torver, one of the 148,036 displaced persons taking refuge in Kungwana area of Bali.

  • Agony of the youth

    Agony of the youth

    It is over four years now that I was admitted into the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). When the list of admitted students came out, my dad called me and advised me on how to behave in school.

    He told me never to play with my studies. I still remember those words: “Suffer for four years and enjoy forever.” I could understand the mood of my father; I know he wanted me to study hard so that I can come off in flying colours at the end of four years. He wanted me to get good grades and graduate with a first class or a second class (Upper Division).

    Each time I went home for holiday, my father would always remind me of his admonition. He would say whatever inconvenience one faces during a sojourn should be borne gallantly, because inconvenience would be compensated in the end. He would say when one gets a good grade, he would be rewarded by lucrative employment, which would make him enjoy good things of life.

    The current situation in the country is discouraging to assert that my fathers’ advice isn’t genuine, given the fate of millions of youths still roaming the street with First Class and Second Class is a case study.

    The other day, I came across an advert in Lagos, requesting for a sales boy or girl. But to the surprise of many, the advert requested a university degree as the minimum qualification for applicants. Then, it dawned on me the decline of university certificate.

    More nauseating is the ordeal of some graduates, who graduated five year before I gained admission. No job; they roam the street to look for their daily bread. They are yet to ‘enjoy’ the product of their good grades. Should I say my father read the situation wrongly?

    A lot of brilliant, smart, hardworking and ambitious youths abound in this country but the nation does not give them opportunity to unleash their potentials. What is their crime? The extreme corruption in the country has not only weakened their resolve to aim for the best, it has also changed their mentality and destroyed their hopes.

    The $20 billion allegedly disappeared from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) can provide millions of jobs for the youth with great return. The funds could help graduates to access loan to start medium scale businesses to become Michael Zuckerbergs of this world. But do the people who knew one thing or the other about the missing funds concern?

    Many young people have lofty dreams and aspirations to conquer the world of innovation and become the next Bill Gate in accomplishing something that would affect the world and perhaps put the country on the world map.

    As a student of Zoology, I wished to conquer the animal world, explore the world of parasites causing illness to human being. I dreamt to proffer lasting solution spread of endemic parasitic infection such as malaria, onchocariasis, trypanosomiasis and the likes but my country does not support the dream.

    There is totally absence of advance technology to make me excel if I had embarked on the research. In fact, I never operate an electron microscope as students of Zoology. My hope of becoming a world-class researcher is slim.

    Today, I wonder what a 20-year-old Nigerian can create. From all indications, particularly from our decayed education system and defected governance system, it appears to me that Nigeria is the Siberia for the genius. It has resources to be the dreamland of academics and researchers, but its leadership has failed to create a viable environment to promote innovation and enterprise.

    Despite criticism of young people in Nigeria, most of them are hardworking, but they are rarely getting reward for their effort. What makes the situation in Nigeria sadder and pitiful is the constant and seemingly endless report of corruption from high places; leaders siphoning public funds and getting away with it. This is killing the spirit of hard work in young people.

    A former governor stole billions and was handed a two years sentence. He received a state pardon and return to government. A serving minister was alleged to have used billions of taxpayers’ money to purchase private jet in a country where millions live below $1 per day. She still sits magisterially and bark out orders.

    Young people can just groan like a toothless dog. It appears we don’t even have a voice to challenge these people. More painful is the fact that we don’t have trust in getting justice from a lopsided judicial system. Who will help young people of Nigeria from this cycle of corrupt leaders?

     

    Ibrahim, 400-Level Zoology, UDUS

  • Agony of Igbos in Benue

    Agony of Igbos in Benue

    They are torn between two worlds. Being of the Igbo stock, their soul is in the Southeast, but their bodies and homes are in Benue State, in the Northcentral. That is not all. In Benue, where they are quartered, more for political considerations than for cultural reaons, they lament their lack: no roads, no water, hardly any sign of modern life.

    They are Igbos of the Ezza, Izzi and Effium stock. Their kith and kin are in other parts of the Southeast, particularly Ebonyi State. They claim they are not fewer than one million scattered in four local governments of Benue State. And for close to 50 years since they were excised from their kinsmen, they have been living primitive lives.

    Their pathetic plight is that the authorities in Benue, from the state to the local governments, have not seen them as part of the state ostensibly because they speak Igbo. On the other hand, the Ebonyi State government where they should have rightly belonged is helpless as they are not under its area of administration and authority.

    The people allege that since their inclusion into Benue State they have not felt any government presence. None of their people were considered for employment in any of the two tiers of government. Indeed, in their lamentation, they are not in the scheme of things as far as government business is concerned in Benue.

    “We have been on our own. No roads, no water, no electricity, no employment. We just wander about to help ourselves in our own way,” an octogenarian, Pa Nwankwo Aloh said, clutching a bucket in search of water.

    Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam is said to have acknowledged their existence and concerns, even promising to address them, but that was during his first term in office.

    Also, Mr Ogbu Igelega, spokesman of Ado Local Government Area, one of the councils where the Igbos are found in Benue, told our reporter on the telephone that one of the obstacles to the development of the Igbo-speaking areas of the state is their difficult terrain. Igelega said this makes access difficult, adding that the few places which do not present such challenges get government attention.

    The spokesman cited the example of Etenyi which has 90 per cent Igbo population, saying the community “is being electrified at the cost of N17m”. He also said the Igbos occupy “important offices” in the council, adding that the assistant head of Revenue Development is Igbo, while the Senior Special Assistant on Inter-ethnic Relations is also Igbo.

    The reporter met with the president, Benue Igbo Development Union, Nweke Cedrick Ifeanyi who narrated their ordeal. He said all they want is for the Benue State government to accept them since fate has lumped them together. He is of the view that if they can be given a sense of belonging, they would all wholeheartedly join in the effort to develop the state.

    Ifeanyi does not expressly condemn their inclusion in Benue State, be he said if the other ethnic groups do not want them in Benue, the Federal Government should set up a machinery immediately to return them to their kith and kin in the Southeast, particularly Ebonyi State.

    He sent a save-or-soul message to the Senate president, David Mark and Governor Suswam to come and save them from “this ignoble plight”, adding: “We are neither here nor there.”

    In Nweke’s words: “The Igbos in Benue State particularly those in Ado, Oju, Obi and Okpoku LGAs of the state were in existence before the advent of Christian religion in Nigeria.

    The Igbo found in Benue are:  Umuezeokoha, Umuezeoka, Oriuzor, Umuoghara, Amaekka and Amaezekwe all in Ezza communities, Izzi, Ezzamgbo and Effium, these are the people who would have been in present-day Ebonyi State but due for the fact that the Nigerian government then carved us into Benue in order to use our population to suppress our Eastern population. Apart from the Ezza-speaking clan, particularly the people of Umuezeokoha that has over 300 villages, if you are to calculate the number of Igbo-speaking villages, you find out that we are more than 600 villages because three of the biggest markets in our area are all in the Igbo-speaking part.

    The markets are as follows: Inikiri Ichari, Iddah, Iduokpe.

    ”But in all these places, we have been facing a lot of deprivation of our fundamental human rights to the extent that we do not have any project attracted by the government, be it local, state or federal. In fact we have become the rejected part of the country because local government identification letters are not given to us any longer.

    “Before now we used to witness governmental attention in everything during and after colonial administration but since after the civil war we were dumped by the successive governments just because of our language difference.

    “We do not have any drinking water, our source of water here is a dam which Fulani herdsmen do carry their cow to drink at the same place with us because the water is not covered.

    “In the process of stopping them from coming to the water with their cow, it later resulted in the loss of five lives.

    “We have no representative in local, state and federal levels. Mosquito nets that were given free of charge to roll back malaria have been sold to our people at the sum of N6,000 each. We have become slaves to our brothers because of language difference. No hospital, let alone health centre, we are seeing hell here in Benue State because of our language. I do not know whether it is a curse for someone to have fallen under a particular tribe like Ezza, Izzi, Ezzamgbo and Effium.

    “Our women are dying every day during labour. Also our children are dying for lack of polio immunisation programme and other medical treatment needed to be given to a child at  a tender age.

    “Our roads are not passable. We have contributed so much not only to the development of Benue State but Nigeria at large. At least a place with over one million people in population has no primary school. We are therefore as a matter of urgency calling on federal government, our Southeastern brothers and any other corporate  bodies to rush to our aid before water will come to our neck.

    It is obvious that if we are speaking the same language with them we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this forbidden and undeserved situation like this one we are now.

    An area with over 50 polling units, but we are benefiting nothing even on every of our market days they do come and sell their ticket (tax). We have been regarded as slaves in the country of our birth and our fore-fathers, we are also calling on our able president of the senate David mark to come to our help because after God we also contributed in making him what he is today and even Gabriel Suswan.

    We can never regret why we are Igbos or deny being Igbo people before we are recognized in the country of our fore-fathers.”

  • Agony as fire kills woman, sister

    TWO weeks after a mother of seven and her younger sister lost their lives in a fire incident at Iyana-Ejigbo, a Lagos suburb, their family is yet to recover from the trauma.

    The fire was allegedly ignited following the activities of “black market” fuel dealers in their bid to make quick money during the recent fuel crisis in the country. The tragedy took place on March 19.

    It was gathered that the deceased, Mrs Evelyn Akpan and her younger sister, who was simply identified as Comfort, were doing their frying and selling bean cake at the junction a fortnight ago, when death came calling.

    Eyewitness told The Nation that the mother of seven and her sister met their untimely death when a tricycle, popularly known as Keke Marwa, loaded with gallons of fuel, ran into a nearby pot=hole and lost control.

    The Nation learnt that one of the gallons containing the fuel fell on the road and was smashed by an oncoming vehicle. The fuel spilled and attracted fire from the local stove that Madam Akpan was using to fry her bean cake.

    The late Madam Akpan and Comfort sustained first-degree burns from the ensuing inferno, but they later died a few days later in the hospital.

    Her husband, Anthony Akpan, said his wife and her sister would have survived if there was money to procure the best of medical treatment for them.

    Akpan, who hails from Ebonyi State, also said: “On March 19, my wife was hale and hearty while leaving for her shop at Iyana-Ejigbo. There was no premonition that death was lurking around. Before I got to the scene of the incident, some Good Samaritans had rushed my wife and her sister to a private hospital. When I got to the hospital, seeing the level of the burns, I wept.”

    “I noticed that the treatment they were given was not okay; I took them to the General Hospital, Isolo, from where we were referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Yaba. They were treated but unfortunately, as in the first hospital, I was asked to also deposit N500,000 on each of them. When I could not raise the money, I was referred to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Mushin, where my wife gave up the ghost.

    “As I speak, my wife is lying at a mortuary in Ebonyi State, where we took her body. Since her death, things have not been easy for me and my children because she would take care of our home, even when I did not give her money for the upkeep of our children – two boys and five girls,” he said.

    Urging fellow Nigerians to come to his aid on the children, he added: “My wife’s death is a big loss for me and my children because the burden she left behind for me is too much to bear. I love my wife so much that I would still marry again if given a second chance.”

    One of his daughters, Nneka, said her mother’s death came to her and her siblings as a surprise. “We never expected her to die in that manner,” she said.

  • Agony of a widow whose husband was ‘murdered’ by police

    Agony of a widow whose husband was ‘murdered’ by police

    •Takes refuge with her eight children at uncompleted building

    Her world was turned upside the day her husband, Ndubuisi Obisike, was allegedly murdered by a team of police officers on patrol along Igbo-Etche junction in Rivers State.

    Mrs. Nkechi Obisike, the widow of the deceased, now lives a helpless life. She and her eight children now sleep in an uncompleted building.

    Efforts to ensure that those who killed her husband were brought to book have yielded no fruit. Speaking with Niger Delta Report, she said her condition would not stop her from fighting the officers who killed her husband.

    She said: “I want those arrested before now in connection with the death of my husband to face the law and to compensate me for killing an innocent man. I will continue to tell people that my husband is innocent; this is a man who cannot hurt a fly. He was murdered at Igo-Etche in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State while returning from work last year. When I petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, those officers suspected were arrested but were later released without any reason behind it. That is why after one year of my husband’s death, I have decided to approach the human right lawyers for advice and my interest is to go to court. Look at me today, I am living in an uncompleted building with my children and somebody is somewhere saying I should forget about the death, I can’t bear it.

    “Some of these officers have been posted out of Rivers State; police did well by identifying them to us but all we are saying is that police should tell us the reason behind the delay for their prosecution.”

    Narrating the genesis of how the late husband was murdered, Mrs. Obisike said an eyewitness told her that: “A white colour Toyota Hummer Hiace, with registration number RV192A01 was conveying some men of the Nigerian Police under the Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) division at about 5 am to 6am when they saw her husband at the Igbo Etche/Eleme junction. The officers alighted from their vehicle and confronted my husband who was loading the vehicle of his friend having closed from work. The policemen engaged him with argument of obstruction of traffic from where he parked his car. It was through that argument that one of the officers stabbed him on the abdomen. He was left alone in a pool of blood when the officers zoomed off. Efforts were made to ensure the arrest of the above officers but the issue is that they have failed to produce who among them stabbed my husband; that is the reason I am heading to court.”

    A human right lawyer, Higher King said: “Investigation revealed that the said Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) Official bus stopped at Igbo Etche Eleme Junction and a certain police man came down and stabbed the deceased to death. This, according to the report, was also confirmed by the police authority through their investigation. But the question that remains unanswered till date is that who is this mysterious police officer that stabbed the deceased and could not be identified by police till date? This is the crux of the matter,” he noted.

    When contacted, the Rivers State Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), DSP Ahmad Mohammad, said the incident took place when he was not the PPRO of Rivers State police Command and it would be unprofessional for him to comment on a matter. He added that: “If she wants to go to court, there is nothing wrong to seek a redress over her matter. I will make further inquiry on the matter; that is all I have to say for now.”

  • Agony of Bakassi returnees

    Agony of Bakassi returnees

    Exactly one year ago today, they woke up to pandemonium. It was sheer agony for the Nigerians living in Efut Obot Ikot in the ceded Bakassi Peninsula.

    These Nigerians, Bakassi indigenes, recounted that on this day Cameroonian gendarmes allegedly invaded their community in the wee hours, forcing them to leave their land. Houses were burnt, people were killed and loved ones went missing, they lamented.

    For those who survived the alleged onslaught, they mostly arrived from Efut Obot Ikot by six hour canoe trip to Ifiang community in Akpabuyo from where they embarked on another two hour trek through the bushes to the St Marks Primary School, Akwa Ikot Edem in Akpabuyo local government area where they are presently huddled.

    As a result of school being in session, the returnees had to give up some of the classrooms they were sleeping in to accommodate the pupils. A secondary school nearby offered some of its classrooms for the people to reside, hence presently they people are in two camps in Akpabuyo.

    Now most of the over 2, 000 returnees sleep on the cold, hard floors of exposed primary and secondary school classrooms exposed to the elements.

    Although the federal and state governments have made efforts to assuage their pains, they still have witnessed a fair share of grief. Individuals such as Florence Ita-Giwa from the area have also contributed their lot in making life easier for the people. They have temporary refuge, but their agony still runs deep.

    Presently, the state government through the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) bears the main burden of taking care of their basic needs through the provision relief materials and foodstuff, mostly staple. SEMA has also facilitated the registration of the returnee’s children in primary and secondary schools in Akpabuyo. Some drugs are also made available for them by the state government.

    But parents at the camp say their children ask them a simple question they cannot answer, “When are we going to stop begging SEMA food and have our own place?” Camp leader, Etim Ene, said, “Honestly I don’t know what to answer when my children ask me that. I think that question should be meant for the Federal Government to answer.”

    Ene said so far 38 babies have been delivered in the camp while 15 are heavily pregnant. Meanwhile, the sanitary conditions leave so much to be desired.

    So far one death has been recorded in the camp, and the returnees fingered the poor sanitary conditions of the environment.

    Fifteen year old Blessing Okon died in October last year. Blessing who was huddling up with other returnees in the classrooms, developed a strange ailment in April which left her a distended stomach and swollen feet.

    Father of the deceased, Mr Edet Okon, lamented being abandoned by relevant authorities when he approached them for help when his daughter was ill.

    Okon, who said his daughter died at the Paediatric section of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), said he had written to the state government through the relevant ministry and made other spirited efforts to raise funds for the treatment of his daughter but to no avail.

    He said when they first noticed that their daughter was not feeling fine, she was first of all taken to the St Joseph Hospital in Akpabuyo before she was referred the UCTH, where she died.

    He said having been displaced they did not have any money surviving only on relief materials provided by the government and other agencies at their camp.

    He said he borrowed over N600, 000 which was not sufficient to save his daughter from death.

    Okon’s grief did not end with his daughter’s death. One of his creditors he borrowed N200, 000 from he said, has “seized” another daughter of his, 12-year old Mary as collateral. He said he could not afford to pay the money now.

    His words: “The man I collected the money from collected my second daughter as guarantor. She is there working for the man and not going to school. The government was supposed to help me but they are not even listening to me now. I need my daughter back so that she can go back to school. That is my problem. I spent so much even after she died. I paid for her funeral. The people of the land said I had to buy a goat and bought land for her to be buried and so on. I spent so much.”

    The camp leader, Ene, said they had wanted to carry the corpse in protest to the governor’s office and dump it there but they were seriously warned by the SSS not to attempt it.

    He said: “It is a terrible situation. One sister has died and if another sister dies as a result of the hard labour she is under now, her blood would be on the head of the Health Commissioner whose responsibility it is to handle this. Something should be done about it and urgently.”

    From natural disasters to outbreaks of diseases, especially among the children in the camp due to the poor sanitary conditions, the returnees feel they have had enough and the only prayer the people need answered now is the need for proper resettlement in an environment that make them thrive in their business, which is fishing.

    They rued the seeming foot-dragging of the Federal Government to resettle them in Dayspring which they say is a seaward area that would aid them carry on with their lives.

    Ene said: “We need our heritage. We need a home and empowerment. We are not getting any of these at the moment. What we need is proper resettlement. We are suffering here. They should empower us. They should employ some of our youths. We may not gave graduates but we have carpenters, iron benders, seamstresses and so on and these people are good. They should take us to Dayspring. Even if they cannot develop it, let them give us building materials we would do it on our own before they come in. they should also give us fishing materials to enable us carry on with our occupation and be independent.

    “Some of us had children in the universities but they have all dropped out because we have nothing. We are doing nothing so we have nothing. If we are empowered we would be able to send our children to school.”

    Other returnees, who spoke with this reporter, also stressed the need for them to be resettled permanently.

     

  • Agony in the Philippines

    Agony in the Philippines

    Five days after one of the worst typhoons on record hit the Philippines, the magnitude of the catastrophe is barely captured in the preliminary statistics: nearly 2,000 people listed as dead and many thousands more missing; more than 600,000 people displaced; countless homes and roads crushed by surging water.

    News photographs of the dead lying in city streets are heartbreaking. Relief efforts are facing serious obstacles as huge numbers of survivors grow desperate for food, water, medical care and shelter. The situation is so bad that Filipino troops have been deployed to Tacloban, the devastated coastal capital of Leyte Province, to guard against unrest.

    The United Nations has called for more than $300 million in aid, and many reliable past donors — the United States ($20 million), Japan ($10 million), Australia ($9.3 million), Britain ($16 million) — are again proving generous. One exception is China, the world’s second-largest economy after the United States. China is at odds with the Philippines over claims to the South China Sea and has offered a paltry $200,000. But delivering relief supplies to victims has been severely hampered by impassable roads, a collapsed infrastructure and, reportedly, a shortage of aircraft capable of landing on a short runway.

    President Obama offered on Tuesday to provide American help as quickly as possible. The United States has already dispatched an aircraft carrier with 5,000 sailors along with more than 80 aircraft and four other ships, which are expected to arrive in two or three days. Britain has also sent warships. But even heavy-duty help does not guarantee a successful response, and Philippine officials came under criticism on Tuesday for moving too slowly.

    The ferocious winds and tsunami-like ocean surge that flattened the central region of the Philippines will not be the last. The 7,000-island archipelago is in the middle of the world’s most storm-prone area. And while it is difficult to link any single weather event to climate change, there is little doubt that rising sea levels caused by global warming will worsen the dangers. And experts say expanding urban populations, poor construction and poverty exacerbate the vulnerability of low-lying coastal cities everywhere.

    Once the crisis is past, Philippine officials, working with the international organizations, must re-examine early warning systems and evacuation procedures. In the near term, faster evacuation may be the only way to save more lives in this kind of calamity.

     

    – New York Times