The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Asaba

  • Scholarships for Delta private university students

    Scholarships for Delta private university students

    Scholarships for Delta private university students

    Students from privately owned institutions in Delta State now have an opportunity to benefit from the state’s government scholarship and bursary schemes.

    The decision was made known by the state governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan last week when he received a delegation from Novena University, Ogume in Asaba.

    The governor, who expressed surprise when he heard that students from privately owned institutions were unjustly excluded from the scheme, said the scholarship and bursaries were meant for all Deltans regardless of their institutions.

    He directed the State Ministry of Education and Scholarship Board to ensure that that all higher institutions in the state whether public or private be included in the scheme.

    “I am surprised to hear that students of private institutions were not benefitting from the bursary and scholarship programmes. The programmes are for all students of Delta State origin in higher institutions whether owned by government or private individuals,” the governor stated.

    Delighted by the governor’s decision some students from privately owned institutions who spoke with our correspondents said the bursary and scholarship scheme will ease the financial burdens of their parents and enable them enjoy some benefits available to their counterparts in government owned institutions”.

    Blessing Lawrence, a student of Western Delta University, Oghara said if implemented, the governor’s gesture will give students in private universities a sense of belonging. “I’m very happy because if the governor’s orders are implemented it will give those of us in private institutions a sense of belonging. We will be able to enjoy the benefits our counterparts in government owned schools enjoy.”

    For Daniel Okodua, a third year student of Novena University Ogume, participating in the bursary and scholarship schemes will ease the financial burdens of parents who have children in private institutions. He said: “If we can get scholarships and bursaries like those in public universities, it will go a long way in easing the financial burdens of our parents. They will be able to save money in order to meet other needs”.

  • Asaba, Calabar: A tale of two cities

    Asaba, Calabar: A tale of two cities

    In line with the determination of  states to boost their tourism profiles by developing  cultural, historical and eco-tourism products capable of attracting local and international tourists, two cities-Asaba and Calabar- are claiming to be the first capital of Nigeria, and they give facts  to prove their cases. Okorie Uguru, who visited both places, looks at the merits or otherwise of these claims.

    During a tour by the Naija Seven Wonders expedition team to Delta State, part of the team’s itinerary was a tour of Asaba Museum. There, the tour guide confidently said: ”Welcome to Asaba, ‘Nigeria’s first capital.’ “ Many in the team were a bit surprised, mindful of the fact that Calabar, the Cross River State capital, had always claimed to being the Nigeria’s first capital before the seat of power was transferred to Lagos.

    Last month, while receiving delegations from Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago for the annual December festival, the acting governor of Cross River State, Mr. Efiok Cobham, had welcomed the visitors to ‘Nigeria’s first capital.’

    At Asaba Museum are structures said to be the administrative headquarters of Royal Niger Company from where the whole of the Niger Coast Protectorate was administered. One of these structures is the Mungo Park building. The building is old and in need of restoration.It is said to be the the former administrative building of Royal Niger Company.

    This was where Sir George Taubman Goldie who was in control of Asaba and its environs used as base. The building is currently under the the National Commision of Museums and Monuments. It also housed other artefacts of that era.

    In Calabar, built in 1884 on top of Consular Hill, the building is a prefabricated structure of Scandinavian red-pine wood shipped in knockdown parts from Britain to old Calabar. This building was the seat of the British colonial administration for the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria.

    The old colonial building in Calabar is well preserved and has been drawing tourists from different parts of the world. It was put in place about 130 years ago,and it is still in good shape and gives one a better understanding of the kind of buildings the colonial masters were staying in.

    For a tourist, such claims by both Asaba and Calabar could be a bit confusing, leaving one to wonder which among these two cities was actually the first capital of Nigeria and which among the two is making a wrong claim.

    To understand this, one needs to go back to the 19th century. Sir Goldie formed United African Company in 1879. He persuaded other traders to join him in the ownership of the company which later became Royal Niger Company. The company was granted a charter by the British government in July 1886 after the so-called Berlin Conference in 1885.

    By this act, Royal Niger Company started administering the Southern Protectorate on behalf of the British government. This was done from Asaba, thereby making Asaba, at that point in time, the seat of government and the capital.

    Tourists interested in Nigerian history should note, however, at this point in time that Royal Niger Company was administering the territory on behalf of the British government.

    Asaba city is rich in structures and materials of that era. It makes an interesting experience to visit the Delta State capital to see some of these.

    However, the charter of Royal Niger Company was revoked in 1899 by the British government.The Oil River Protectorate was formally established in 1891 with Calabar as its capital. It was merged with the chartered territories of Royal Niger Company on January 1, 1900 to form the Southern Nigeria Protectorate.

    Calabar later became the first capital of Nigeria. Due to her early role in international trade and colonial administration, the earliest military barracks, the first Presbyterian church (Church of Scotland Mission) in 1846, the first monorail and the first modern road network in Nigeria were all in Calabar. The city also boasts of the first public hospital in Nigeria – St. Margaret Hospital, the oldest post office and one of the first two botanical gardens in the country.

    The capital of the Southern Nigeria Protectorate under the direct rule of the British government was moved from Calabar to Lagos in 1906.

    So when either Asaba or Calabar claims to be the first capital of Nigeria, it is very important for one to fully understand the basis for such claim. Although the British never ruled Nigeria directly with Asaba as the capital, Royal Niger Company carried out this mandate on its behalf. The British government directly administered the Southern Nigeria protectorate ( Niger Coast Protectorate and Oil River Protectorate) from Calabar before it was moved to Lagos, making Calabar the first capital.

  • Okonjo: Crack squad of detectives storm Asaba

    Okonjo: Crack squad of detectives storm Asaba

    A detachment of special detectives from the Police Headquarters, Abuja arrived Asaba, Delta state capital as the manhunt for the abductors of Prof. Kamene Okonjo, mother of the Finance Minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala intensifies

    Efforts to locate the whereabouts of the 82-year old grandmother appear to have stalled, but the State Police Commissioner, Ikechukwu Aduba is upbeat that a breakthrough is in the offing.

    Aduba who confirmed the arrival of the detectives said the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar deployed the team to complement what officers of the state command were already doing to rescue the abducted wife of the traditional ruler of Ugwashi- Ukwu.

    He however did not give further details on the deployment of the special detectives but expressed confidence that with the reinforcement; the hoodlums would soon be ‘smoked-out’ of their hide-out.

    “The IG is concerned and worried about what is happening and he has sent the special squad from Abuja to assist us. We have special squad across the federation but the person involved is of global significance and the IG wants to get the results as fast as possible, that is all.”

    He reiterated the command’s earlier position that the “police has never and will never encourage the payment of ransom,” insisting that he was unaware if the kidnappers have contacted the royal family to negotiate payment.

    Aduba urged the public to cooperate with security agencies by providing useful information that could lead to whereabouts of Mrs. Okonjo.

    Prof. Okonjo, 82 was kidnapped by ten gunmen last Sunday afternoon at the palace of her husband and the Obi of Ugwashi-Ukwu in Aniocha South Local Government Area of Delta State.

     

  • Asaba: Beautiful without ‘Okada’

    Asaba: Beautiful without ‘Okada’

    Asaba, the capital city of Delta State always amazes me. I don’t know whether to say that it is a city that is often on the threshold of history or a city that attracts history to itself. Whichever one it is, Asaba sits in a vintage place where it enjoys the cynosure of activities not only from Niger Deltans but Igbos across the Niger. For Asaba, its major beauty and attractive tendency lies basically on that well-known handshake across the Niger, a handshake that breeds good neighbourliness, love and peace.

    But that is even besides the point here now. I hadn’t been to this wonderful city in the past couple of months. When I arrived there a few days ago to board a bus back to Lagos, the sparkling cleanliness and the orderliness of the town stunned me to my marrow. For many years, Asaba had been a place I held so dear to my heart. Due to a nasty experience I had in the hands of thugs and motor park touts when I was in the university many years ago, I never bothered to stop over at Upper Iweka section of Onitsha, Anambra State to board a bus to Lagos. For me Upper Iweka is a no-go area, a nightmare, a total contrast to the peaceful orderliness of Asaba.

    So, as usual on Sunday, the 25th of last month I headed to Asaba from Onitsha for an onward journey to Lagos. As soon as I arrived Asaba, two issues, very basic ones at that, quickly arrested my attention. One, I immediately noticed that there were no Okadas (Motor bikes) plying the roads. Second, I noticed that there were a lot of Keke NAPEP (Tricycles) stationed at different road junctions in the city.

    I was a bit taken aback when I asked and was told that I couldn’t enjoy a quick ride on a motorbike from that end of Ogbo-ogologo to Ibusa junction by Asaba – Benin Expressway. Traditionally I love to ply on Okada because it is easier and faster to get to my destination. Secondly I don’t usually need any protocol to make it happen. And so for me Okada is it especially at the point of emergency.

    So you can imagine how disorganized and perplexed I was on that early Sunday morning. However, the truth is that the ban on Okada has made Asaba more dignifying. Orderliness is the second nature of the town now. There is total respect for pedestrians and for human lives. People stroll and trek without fear of being run over by Okada. The level of decorum and decency in the city truly brought me back to my undue ‘love’ for Okada. For me then and even now, Okada constitutes evil; it belongs to the past as far as city transportation is concerned.

    Here is a city thriving now on good organization, good transport system which makes a total mockery of why we even degenerated to the level of allowing Okada to operate in the first place. What is the essence of Okada in a place like Asaba where there is plenty net work of good roads? Now with the introduction of Keke NAPEP, movement has completely become more secured, more assured and more pleasantly enjoyable.

    As I stood there pondering over what to do, a good Samaritan, for Asaba has a dose of such people, strolled over to me to find out what was amiss. After I told him my dilemma, he beckoned on me to follow him. At the junction not too far from the spot, he pointed to a Keke NAPEP park opposite. “They’ll solve your problem over there,” he said gently and then took his leave. With this, I was again reassured.

    With just N200, I boarded one Keke to the Ibusa highway junction to get a bus to Lagos. For me, it was the best form of picking a taxi drop. My interaction with the Keke NAPEP Operator was also instructive. Not only that the guy, who gave his name simply as Ikenna, is a native of Ogbunike, in Anambra State, he was equally more relaxed driving his Keke gently than being on the fast lane for which Okada is known.

    “My brother,” he said to me in the course of our conversation, “it is good to do what I am doing now. Okada is no good. In fact let’s give kudos to Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan whose love for the lives of the people first informed his decision to ban Okada,” Ikenna squirmed.

    He admitted that when the ban was first made, they almost went mad with anger. Everybody said it would not work. People kicked against it. Even some called the governor names, saying he was against the people. But it is a different story today. Asaba is cool, like a maiden on the threshold of her wedding. The city bubbles with clean smell and fresh coziness. You can’t take it away from Governor Uduaghan, a thorough-bred medical doctor who understands the ugliness of the Okada menace and how they have rendered a lot of people dead, legless, lifeless, handless and so on. The menace, the governor said, had to stop.

    Asaba now beckons on tourists. It welcomes lovers of peace, and promoters of good things of life. No wonder the city is now home to more people who flock into it to develop and invest. Good soup, na money make am, as we usually say in our local parlance. Let the bubble continue as the governor is also set to dismantle a lot of illegal and roadside motor parks in the city. If Asaba will truly wear the toga of an ideal state capital, that should be the next action by the governor.

    Illegal motor parks truly make mince meat of the governor’s efforts to decongest and make Asaba a model and modern town. Not only that the illegal motor park operators extort money from travelers, they usually hoodwink them into believing that what they do is decent and proper.

    Governor Uduaghan has to wade in now to create the necessary imprint. Especially those parks by Ibusa junction, along Asaba – Benin highway, where they usually deceive passengers who would board and may never get to their destinations. They operate with antiquated vehicles and hike fares, promising what they cannot provide.

    If these parks are destroyed forthwith, in no distant time, the city of Asaba will be among, if not the most ideal tourist destination in the country. For those who want to be away from their homes for a while, a stroll to the city of Asaba now provides the required tonic to make life worth living.

    • Azuka is a native of Okoh, Delta State.

     

  • Delta commissioner back in Asaba

    Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education Prof. Hope Eghagha has returned to Asaba, the state capital, it was learnt yesterday.

    Eghagha was freed on Monday at about 7pm in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area, 15 days after he was abducted.

    He was kidnapped on September 30 at Owa-Ekei by gunmen, who killed his police guard and injured his driver.

    A source said a large ransom was paid for his release.

    Police spokesman Charles Muka confirmed the release, but refused to comment on whether ransom was paid.

    He said: “You know the police do not encourage the payment of ransom. I am not aware if any money was paid or not before the kidnappers released him. We will certainly arrest the kidnappers and bring them to justice.”

    Information Commissioner Chike Ogeah said Eghagha was back in Asaba.

    He said: “Eghagha is fine. I learnt he has returned to Asaba. He is still in a state of shock and needs to take good care of his health after being kidnapped for 15 days. He has to rest.”

  • Delta Commissioner kidnapped, security aide killed

    Delta Commissioner kidnapped, security aide killed

    Delta State Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Hope Eghagha was kidnapped on Sunday by suspected gunmen at Abavo, lka South on his way to Asaba to attend 52nd Independence anniversary thanksgiving service.

    His security aide Mr. Innocent Odah, a sergeant was reportedly killed by the suspected kidnappers while his driver  hit by bullets is presently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

    It was learnt that his official car which was riddled with bullets and his telephone handsets were abandoned by the kidnappers.

    The commissioner was driven off to yet unknown destination in the Toyota Camry of the gunmen but there has not been call yet between the kidnappers and the family members.

    When contacted, the State police spokesman Charles Muka confirmed the kidnap of  the commissioner and said he was intercepted by the suspected kidnappers who trailed him from Warri to Abavo.