Second Republic lawmaker Dr Junaid Muhammed has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to allow power brokers in the corridors of power to truncate his administration’s fight against corruption.
Speaking in an interview with our reporter, Junaid alleged that the cabal is using their influence to prevent the President from making public the report of the panel that probed arms contracts in the army during the last administration. He said their argument was that if the report was released, it would embarrass the government.
The fiery politician reasoned that not making the report public would amount to double standards, since a similar report concerning the navy has been released, with the retired and serving officers implicated now facing charges in court.
According to him, the cabal has convinced the President not to make the report public. “If President Buhari eventually succumbs to the idea, it will affect the credibility of his anti-corruption crusade,” he added.
Mohammed suggested that serving army officers involved in arm contracts should step aside in the interest of justice and fairness. He said making the report public will clear the air on the involvement of the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubike Ihejirika and his successor, General Kenneth Minima, who were suspected to have been involved.
Similarly, he said releasing the report will also clear the air about whether or not the Minister of Interior, Gen. AbdulRahaman Dambazau who served as Chief of Army Staff under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and the current office holder, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, were involved.
Mohammed said it is necessary for Dambazau to step aside, because, as Minister of Interior, he oversees the police affairs and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). He added: “Otherwise, it amounts to Dambazau presiding over the organisation investigating him; he cannot be a judge and prosecutor in his own case.”
As for Gen. Buratai, the radical politician said he should be investigated, because he was a former Director of Procurement at the Defence Headquarters. He said: “He should be investigated against the background of alleged properties acquired in Dubai and Abuja. Buratai should tell us what his total earnings were since day one he joined the army.
“Both Dambazau and Buratai must be investigated and they should vacate their offices, pending the outcome of the report; anyone being suspected for anything should step aside to enhance the credibility of the Buhari’s administration anti-graft war.”
SIR: I may not be able to convince die-hard APC members and sympathizers, but I need to remind the APC government that some of the reasons we voted them into political power are that we trusted President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) can quickly resolve the following perennial problems: fuel scarcity, electricity crisis, Boko Haram and reasonably reduce corruption. For 11 months now, the government has achieved only one: the decimation of Boko Haram. Now I buy fuel N350 per litre in Abuja, electric light is seen only on an average of three hours every two days (in the midst of Abuja’s terrible hot weather), and all we hear about corruption are streaming allegations on pages of newspapers from a very unserious and incompetent Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) who did practically nothing during ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s (GEJ) regime; now the agency is rolling over itself with allegations of corruption that took place during that regime. Where was EFCC when these funds were allegedly stolen? Why should EFCC work only when they suspect the President abhors corruption? That means they have no business being there ab initio. What Nigerians need to hear are convictions and imprisonments. We are fed-up hearing of allegations alone.
Also I thought that PMB with time will arrest the fast-steady falling social morality in Nigeria. Where is the so-called National Orientation Agency (NOA)? That agency is the most dysfunctional, non-working and unserious government agency in the land. If you sit down and consider the amount of damage being inflicted on Nigeria by immorality, you surely will weep for our country. The majestic reign of immorality has ushered in fathers having sexual relationship with their daughters; debasement of religious relationships; abundance of extreme social behaviours like cultic killings, kidnapping and raping; the shaming practice of girl-child wives; sharp unethical practices in schools, banks, telecom networks; complete lack of values in the homes; abandonment of children upbringing to deadly housemaids who made sure the children suffer infinitum; reckless and whimsical disrespect for elders by youths; stealing of public funds by even military officers; payment of monthly electric bills without light; common presence of homosexuality even among primary school pupils; a well organized begging industry across the land; pornography and seductive behaviours as norms in female wears and dressings (that harass human psychological emotions daily) etc.
Yes we expected too much from PMB, but that is not abnormal from a people down for too long. PMB knew we have been down for too long and that was why he stubbornly asked to lead us for four times. I thank and praise him for his doggedness. Having got there, we cannot afford to lose it. PMB can do best by dealing extraordinarily and summarily with the fuel and electricity wahalas within one year and his name will be written in gold. Otherwise, EFCC and NOA may be working to bring down PMB as a man of integrity. Time is PMB’s chief enemy here, and I believe Nigerians are his best friends. Patience is limited by the Ides of March.
Frying or cooking locally-processed cheese before eating and avoiding the intake of raw and locally-made milk would reduce the risk of either or both microbial and organic contamination.
Dr. Eniola Fabusoro of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), disclosed this while explaining his research findings on Consumers Perception of Microbial and Organic Contamination of Milk, locally produced by Fulani pastoralists, whom he had worked with for the past 10 years.
According to Dr. Fabusoro, his team members made their observation based on the previous study and their experiences that Fulani milk and cheese, popularly known as Nunu and Wara are usually processed under unhygienic environment. He noted that milk and cheese, which are common food items in both urban and rural Nigeria, are the major sources of livelihood for the Fulani women, who generate the sum of between N600 and N700 daily. This, he added, was more than the World Bank poverty line of $2 per day, as of the time of the study. Normally, this income helped in taking care of their households and assisting their children. He also found out that the cows were usually milked everyday around 6am by the men, while the women processed them around 8am as well as between 8.30am and 9am, when the product is ready for sale.
Dr. Fabusoro, who is also the Acting Head, Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, disclosed that his team tried to find out if the consumers were aware that the milk and cheese they were consuming were contaminated as established by the previous studies such as those of Omotayo et al (2005). He asked, if the people were aware, why are they still consuming them? He added that they decided to look at the Concept of Health Belief of different people and they found out that some continue to consume the items because of economic reasons. To some, it is their only affordable source of protein, To some, they have been taking them for years and have not experienced any health-related problems after consumption, adding that the consumers have low knowledge of the health risk associated with the continuous consumption of contaminated food.
The university don said that their study went further to determine bacteria contamination in milk and cheese, determination of heavy metal contamination in milk and cheese, determination of phthalate esters in cheese, consumers perception of safety of the milk and cheese plus their health beliefs.
According to the researcher, they looked at the contamination level, the extent of the microbial and bacterial contamination, heavy metals and phthalate, He said phthalate are esters of phthalic acid and are mainly used as plasticisers (substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity). He added that they are organic substances, which if injected at a certain level to human body, could cause cancer. So, they checked to see if phthalate had entered the cheese as a result of increase in temperature from the sun since they are packed in nylon, put in a plastic and hawked under the sun. Dr. Fabusoro further disclosed that after they tested the Wara, they found out that phthalate had entered into it, adding that heavy metals, which are substances that can be taken from the soil by the cattle when they are grazing in a farm, spread with chemicals for pest control, the residue of these chemicals in the soil might enter the plant and when eaten by the cattle, it will go into their blood streams and pass into the milk. When they tested the Wara, they found out that they were contaminated with heavy metals like Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Lead, Copper and Zinc. Three bacterial were seen, out of the six that were investigated, the three are Escherichia coli, Coliform bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus.
The researcher said that after analysing their findings, they were in a dilemma since they found out that Wara and pastoral milk prepared by Fulani women were not fit for human consumption, because of the high level of contaminations by heavy metals, bacteria and phthalate esters. Yet, these products were the main source of income for the women.
He added that these contaminations have grievous implications on public health. Though the perception of the consumers is favourable to the continued consumption of the products, the risk factor for public nutrition and health should be of concern to policy makers and development experts in Nigeria. He noted that continued consumption implies low knowledge of food safety issues among consumers, adding that reducing the level of contaminations in pastoral milk and cheese should be of high priority to government and development experts as the livelihoods of Fulani women depended on it. He noted that it will be important to ensure a balance between public health issues and livelihoods security of pastoral Fulani.
The researcher added that the major challenges he encountered were getting to know that there were other contaminants apart from bacterial contamination, identifying the level of contamination and why people were still consuming it. He further noted that the research was of great benefit to the economy because when you empower a woman, they will cater for the children and the entire household, noting that improved processing of these products would promote food security and Gross Domestic Product of the country.
He called on government agencies, extension organisations, research institutes and development partners to invest in trainings, seminars and workshops for the general public and Fulani pastoralists on food safety awareness and attitudinal change towards contaminated food substances, adding that the capacity of Fulanis should be developed to carry out food safety practices during milking and processing.
Dr. Fabusoro also called on the government to assist in improving the technology base of processing these products so that the Fulanis will be able to process their milk, free of contamination, which would give the products more commercial value, safer for consumption by providing enough income for their upkeep. He also suggested that more studies should be done to identify critical points like the grazing point, milking point, processing point and storage point, adding that more permanent schools should be built for them so that their children would be better informed and educated.
•Reports of strange herdsmen in Benue State call for prompt action by the immigration and security forces
Latest news from Benue State that aliens posing as cattle rearers have been found around the state in large numbers calls for immediate response by relevant government agencies. This is especially so, coming on the heels of despoliation of the environment, destruction of farmlands by rampaging cattle and violent attacks on innocent citizens by nomadic herdsmen in various parts of the country.
It is unfortunate that the outcry by the people in the north, south, east and west that Fulani herdsmen are beginning to behave uncharacteristically has not elicited the kind of response expected from the federal and state authorities.
In the west, the abduction of Chief Olu Falae, indiscriminate grazing on farmlands in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State and killing of innocent citizens in other parts of the region led to the warning that unless such acts were checked, the Fulanis would be expelled from the zone. The riposte by the Arewa Consultative Forum nearly led to inter-ethnic strife. There are now reports that in the face of similar experiences in the east and the south-south, such warnings may also be issued. Even in Adamawa State, herdsmen were said to have visited mayhem on villages and towns in Girei Local Government Area; yet the government has failed to act.
Nigerians were amazed when it was reported that about 500,000 pupils have dropped out of school owing again to activities of murderous gangs of herdsmen. The social, political and economic consequences of such a development are better imagined, even as the authorities in Plateau and other states in the north central have warned of possibility of this extending to their states.
The dimension of strange herdsmen, possibly from neighbouring Chad, Niger and Cameroon republics entering the country en masse has introduced a fresh element that should not be ignored. At a time the country is confronted with a consuming war of attrition in the North-East, we cannot afford to leave this fire on the roof. The report must be thoroughly investigated with a view to averting disaster.
We call on the immigration service to devise new strategy and tactics of checking undue movements across the borders. While we recognise the Economic Community of West African States’ (ECOWAS) Protocol on Free Movement of Citizens, this should not be at the expense of national survival and security. We also call on the Department of State Security (DSS) to move swiftly to Benue and other surrounding states and, if necessary, make arrests.
The police and other security forces in Lagos State ought to find the news instructive. In view of its population and importance as commercial nerve-centre of the country, lorry loads of cattle are daily moved into the city. In the process, these strange elements could easily sneak into the city, with dire consequences for the country’s economy. The time to act is now. Our security officials must learn to be more proactive if the most populous country in Africa is to survive the current challenge of insecurity.
This issue is serious enough to warrant a special sitting by the country’s security teams with the president to deliberate on the way forward and when this is done, a restive public must not be kept in the dark. Government, indeed, has a duty to reassure citizens, allay their fears and act decisively on the matter.
Almost everyday, traffic robbers who masquerade as hawkers are nabbed by the police in Lagos. These “Ember” months, it is feared that they will become more daring. OLUKOREDE YISHAU writes that residents are advised to be extra-vigilant as the next traffic hawker could be a robber or a terrorist.
The Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Fulvio Rustico sees Lagos as the most challenging and most fascinating state any public office holder in the world can lead. The Italian envoy spoke at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja when he visited Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
He added that the enormous challenges of governing the state, which is not only the power house of Nigeria and the fourth economy in Africa, would continue to mount with the projection that it would be the second or third largest city in the world by 2050; with 450 million inhabitants. It has over 21 million people at present.
“I envy you Mr Governor because you have one of the most challenging and most fascinating tasks anywhere in the world. You have a fantastic city,” Rustico said.
The envoy’s observations are not easily lost on keen observers of the cosmopolitan state.
Of the challenges, one that is of concern to all inhabitants of the state is security. Because of its cosmopolitan nature, the state houses people from all over the world. A large chunk of the inhabitants mean well for it. But there are a few bad eggs that make it look bad. They are traffic robbers who, most times, pose as street or traffic traders to wreak havoc.
These robbers, under the guise of hawking gala, plantain chips, plastic table water, soft drinks and other edibles during traffic jams, unleash terrors on their victims. From Ojota to the Third Mainland Bridge to Ijora Bridge and several parts of Lagos, these robbers who pretend, most of the times, to be hawkers, rob people of their valuables.
Addressing Government House Correspondents shortly after an emergency Security Council Meeting which he chaired, Ambode said it had become evident that traffic crimes and robbery are mostly as a result of the menace of motorcycle operators popularly known as okada riders and street hawkers.
•Ambode
The governor said the government would not allow a few notorious elements to cause a breakdown in law and order and upset the peace that the state has enjoyed over the years.
Ambode also admonished residents of the state to see the last two months of the year as a period that calls for vigilance and a changed attitude towards issues relating to crime and terrorism.
He urged residents to co-operate with the government at all times, just as he warned them against the dangers of patronising street and in-traffic hawkers.
“The next hawker could be a robber or terrorist. You are now well-advised. If we all co-operate and decide not to buy, gradually and collectively, the hawkers will not come to the highways and streets anymore. Our roads will definitely become safer.”
Ambode, who said the government is also working hard to restrict street hawking, urged the people to stop patronising them, so as to discourage street traders from the highways.
“We have already hit the ground running. I’m deeply concerned about the issues that Lagosians are sending back to me and the issues range from security, traffic gridlock and the environment itself. But again, just as we are looking at the immediate solutions to them, there are medium-term solutions that Lagosians will see in the next few weeks that we will roll out.
“As we are now in the ‘Ember’ months, I just want to appeal to Lagosians to be more vigilant, and cooperate with us in all the measures we will be carrying out,” Ambode said.
The governor’s concern will make sense when considered side by side traffic robbers who are in the police net. Some days back, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos Police Command arrested three ex–convicts for traffic robbery in Oshodi.
The robbery suspects, Adekunle Mustapha, 21, Popoola Olumide, 20 and Femi Amusa, 20, were arrested following a tip-off from their victim, Olasunkanmi Oyelakin, who alerted the police that his blackberry phone was stolen by the suspects during early morning traffic around Bolade, Oshodi.
Oyelakin was quoted by the police as saying: “I was on my way to Ajah at 6:30 a.m. I saw Adekunle Mustapha passed by the bus I boarded. Unknown to me, he was monitoring me. A few minutes later, I noticed a missed call on my phone, and as I brought out the phone, Mustapha took the phone from me through the bus window and ran away. Because there was traffic, I made no attempt to struggle with him, but got down from the nearest bus-stop and I began to monitor him. I noticed that he had regrouped with his friends and one of them was telling him to hand over the phone he stole from me.
“I knew I couldn’t handle the three of them all alone. So, I informed the RRS operatives who followed me down to the place where he was arrested.”
Mustapha said he was driven by frustration to steal the handset from him.
“I am a bus conductor in Oshodi. I am from Ibadan and a secondary school dropout. I sleep in Ojuwoye. I am an ex-convict. I don’t want to go to prison again. Government should please have mercy on me. I was frustrated into traffic robbery. I won’t do it again,” he said.
Also, early this month, the RRS apprehended suspects alleged to be members of traffic robbery syndicate terrorising commuters and motorists around Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi.
The suspects are Joseph Edem, 24, Jamilu Musa, 29 and Gambo Yunusa, 30. They were arrested on November 7.
The RRS Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Olatunji Disu, said: “Following the complaints from members of the public of incessant in-traffic robbery attacks around the axis; our men laid an ambush on them which led to the arrest of the suspects, while others managed to escape the dragnet of the police. When the policemen combed the area, different kinds of weapon were recovered from their hideouts.”
Another traffic robber in police net is Timothy Ojomandu, 22. He is alleged to be a member of a three-man syndicate who hide under gridlock to attack and rob law-abiding motorists around Mile 2 area in the state.
The suspect was caught early this month by a team of policemen from RRS, who responded to distress call made by the driver of Mitsubishi Canter with registration number FKJ 676 XF, after the suspect and his gang members had successfully stolen one carton of cell battery from the truck.
The lorry driver, Mr. Ajiboye Mogaji, told the police that he sighted the suspect from the side mirror of his vehicle when he sneaked in through the back of the truck.
He said: “When I saw him sneaking in to my truck, I pretended as if I didn’t see him. While inside the truck, he passed one carton to his partner who was moving beside the vehicle. As soon as I saw him passing one carton to his partner on the ground, I rushed down on motion.
“However, when his partner saw me alighting from the vehicle suddenly, he absconded with that one carton, and I held the suspect by his trousers when he wanted to jump down from the truck. Then, I shouted for help and the policemen from RRS who were patrolling the area responded swiftly to the distress call.”
The suspect, who confessed to the crime, said that he was recruited into the group about two months ago.
“Our robbery syndicate was in the habit of stealing handsets and other valuables from pedestrians and motorists during the peak period of traffic congestion along the area.
The RRS on Tuesday, August 25, apprehended Tijani Taofeek, 26, suspected to be a member of gridlock robbery syndicate in Ojota.
The suspect, who hails from Ogbomosho in Oyo State, said he was a bus conductor, and that the income from bus conducting business was no longer enough for him.
For the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Environment, Oluwatoyin Onisarotu, traders who fail to abide by State Environmental Sanitation Law would henceforth be seriously dealt with.
He said: “It is disheartening to see how our major roads and highways such as Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Ikorodu Road, Agege Motor Road, Victoria Island, Ikoyi-Obalende, Ojuelegba–Stadium, Surulere, Oyingbo, Carter Bridge, Idumota, Oshodi, Ketu, Mile 12, Third Mainland Bridge, Cele, Iyana-Ipaja, Agbado Oke-Odo, Airport Road and Ikeja, among others have been converted to illegal markets.”
Onisarotu warned traders engaging in this illegal act to desist from it as the government would not compromise any act that may derail the effort of the government in achieving a cleaner environment.
The Permanent Secretary further said the State Environmental Sanitation Law forbade anybody from converting the road median, setbacks and walkways to any trading activities.
According to Onisarotu, Ambode has mandated law enforcement officers and regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with the provision of the state sanitation laws forthwith.
The Chairman of the State Task Force on Environmental and other Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), Mr. Olubukola Abe, said the government would reduce traffic congestion on the highways, often caused by the activities of hawkers.
Abe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that Section 1 of the Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law, 2003, restricted street trading and hawking in the metropolis.
“Sections 7 and 8 of the same law give jurisdiction and power to the special court to order the seizure and public auction of items impounded during street trading.
“Section 10 of the law prescribes the sum of N5, 000 as fine or three months’ imprisonment upon conviction.
Aside the criminal aspect of street trading, Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni warned of the health hazards of patronising such hawkers. He cited the recent arrest of five men who were caught selling adulterated plastic table water and coca-cola.
Owoseni said operatives of the RRS, acting on a tip-off, arrested five persons, including three accomplices, who specialised in adulteration of dispensable jar water and sachet water at No. 3, Adesola Street, Ago Palace Way, Okota, Isolo, Lagos. They were arrested on Thursday, October 22. The two prime suspects were identified as Chukwuma Uzor, 48 and Ofonime Ikpe 44.
“The law on street trading also affects its patrons. People should stop patronising street hawkers. The products are adulterated and in order to prevent robberies in traffic jams and also to protect people from being poisoned, they should stop patronising them,” the CP said.
A royal family in Ogba, Lagos, has raised the alarm over alleged attempts by some people to usurp a vacant royal stool and cause a breach of peace in the state.
Praising efforts by Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, to keep the peace in Lagos communities, the Ashade Descendant Family of Ogbaland advised in a statement yesterday that it has not conceded the stool of Ologba to any unknown ruling house as it is being rumoured.
The statement reads in part: “The authentic chieftaincy declaration of the Ologba of Ogbaland title was in a gazette prepared by the minister of chieftaincy affairs in the then western region of Nigeria in 1976. The official gazette which approved the appointment of the late Oba Suberu Babalola Ashade by Lagos State Government dated 30th August, 1997, with commencement on 10th May, 1979.
“A chieftaincy declaration is like the constitution of a country guiding the conduct of the people so it is in our community. After the demise of the late Oba Ibrahim Sanni Ashade, the Arolagbade fourth as Ologba of Ogbaland in November 2014, we noticed the unusual.
“However, Ashade family wrote a letter to the executive secretary of Agege Local Government on January 13, 2015 informing the council of our intention to forward the name of a candidate to fill the vacant stool, in accordance with the stipulated law of 30 days. It was then that the secretary, Chieftaincy Committee at Agege Local Government, showed the Ashade Royal family secretary a declaration made in the year 2000 containing three ruling houses namely: Ashade Ruling House, Idowu Oro Ruling House, and Osho Anifowoshe Ruling House in order of rotation.
“The purported declaration was done secretly without the knowledge of the entire Ashade Descendant Family. The emergence of that declaration with its order of rotation, aside from being incorrect and misleading, totally offends and disconnects the traditional values and the method of selection to the stool, thus prompting us to write two petitions to the Lagos State government.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Ologba stool has ever been by the descendants of Ashade till date who are the original owner of the land.
“Ashade reigned from 1880-1930 as Bale of Ogba, and was given a Union Jack by the Queen of England as a mark of honour and recognition by the then colonial master on his contributions to the development of the entire Ikeja Division. He was then being paid a stipend of 30 Shillings monthly and given a police post with two police officers attached.
“After the demises of Bale Ashade, the stool of Ogba as ever been occupied by his descendants thus: Ojelade Ashade from Ebo Aweri Ruling house ruled from 1941-1956 as Bale of Ogba; Suberu Babalola Ashade from Oku Ruling house ruled from 1971 to 1980 as Oba Ologba of Ogba, approved by Lagos State government in a gazette of the 10th May 1979; Ibrahim Sanni Ashade ruled from 2001-2014 from Ajayi Ruling House as the 4th Ologba of Ogba.
“If it is well observed, there had been several gaps of vacancies in between the periods of one ruler on the throne to another, never has any family in Ogbaland filled the gap, because the vacant stool was an inheritance of the descendants of Ashade family of Ogbaland.
“As a kind of response to our letter dated January 13, 2015 and received by the executive secretary of Agege Local Government, to our surprise there was a publication from the office of the executive secretary dated March 17, 2015 inviting people who might be interested in occupying the stool of Ologba of Ogba. The content of this strange public notice is totally against the long standing customs and tradition of how we present candidate to fill the stool of Ologba of Ogbaland. Having challenged the public notice, we were then presented with a declaration that is alien to Ogba community and unknown to the Ashade family, also to our tradition. Based on this development, the Ashade descendant family instituted a court action challenging the validity and legality of the declaration dated May 22, 2000. The case is presently pending in Ikeja division of Lagos High Court.
“Going down memory lane, it is acclaimed that this is not the first time that Ashade Royal family will be cheated. The late Bale Ashade was a friend to the late Herbert Macaulay of blessed memory, who was then head of the NCNC that was an opposition party to the government of Western Region of Nigeria. Due to that relationship, a non-indigene was crowned as First Class Oba of Agege Kingdom in 1953.
“The said kingdom actually formed part of the land area belonging to the Ashade Family’’.
The Enugu State police command has alerted residents of the state on the new tactics employed by rogues to rob unsuspecting members of the public: masquerades
The police said robbers disguised as masquerades now attack members of the public.
In a bulletin, the spokesman of the command, Ebere Amaraizu, said, “The hoodlums who hide under the guise of masquerades attack and unleash mayhem and at times rob unsuspecting citizens of their valuables.
“The command in this regard wishes to make it clear that in as much as it will not interfere in the traditional activities of communities in the state such as the masquerade festivals amongst other things, it will not fold its arms and watch innocent and good people of the state pass through pains in the hands of individuals or group of persons in the name of masquerade as well as other traditional activities.”
It warned perpetrators “to desist from such unwholesome act by sticking to the tenet of the rule of law while engaging themselves in masquerade and traditional activities as anyone or group of persons caught will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”
The command reminded the people of the state desirous of enlisting into the police force that recruitment has not started, but it warned candidates to watch out for online fraudsters who may take advantage of the recruitment information to defraud them.
This is a column that seeks to mold, shape societal values and to protect the interests of consumers, citizens and touch other broader relevant topics under the column: ‘TRUE VALUE 360’. It is an interactive column as suggestions, complaints; day to day experiences are welcome.
This week’s edition is CITIZENS BEWARE
It has been crystal clear that Nigerian citizens have been on their own (OYO – On Your Own) in the past decades as long as basic utilities are concerned. We have all become a full fledged government of our own; generating water, power, school fees, providing school furniture to take to school, playing fast ones to generate extra income to ‘chillax’.
I stumbled upon a most disheartening revelation in a client’s office recently; he asked me to taste two different canned fish sauce in different plates, one a high quality, the other a lower quality. Of course they tasted differently; the most painful part was they were both approved for sale in our market for the same price. If you remove the paper of the two distinct brands, the tin and size are the same. The brand of fish written on the label was different from what was sealed inside.
It was further alleged that there is a particular key department in the regulatory body on quality control of such items that overlooks quality control for a piece of cake.
Furthermore, prospective new comers into canned fish sauce industry are encouraged by the cartel to go for a lower quality in order to break even and even maximize profit margin, knowing full well that a better quality will throw them out of the market.
We thought all these stopped a decade ago but it seems we clearly need an independent inspection agency to check the lame watchdogs before citizens are murdered out of greed for kickbacks, talk about watching the watchdogs.
Who are the primary consumers of the various canned fish sauce mackerel which abound in the market?
Our Children.
Nothing stops us from having a better quality at a higher price; consumers will still patronize the slightly more expensive brand if the inferior cheaper ones are not available. The body language of the current leadership must extend to all nooks and corners and save our citizens. The heartless quality control officers must be changed if they cannot join the Nigerian Change Wagon.
On further investigation, it was realized that it did not stop with canned food; it also extends to red wine. The unit cost of production for an empty bottle of red wine here in Nigeria excluding content costs N450.00 per unit, to import same costs about N400.00. Now you find a bottle of red wine in the market for N450/N500. How did that happen? What is the quality content? Even if content is ‘paraga’ and coloring? What is the marginal cost of quality control? What is the unit cost of content per bottle? Who is responsible for damaging our kidneys? How did such quality of wine sneak into the market to the unsuspecting public? Enough is enough!
We implore our appropriate bodies to wake up from slumber and beam the searchlights on various quality control departments and regulatory bodies as we may be gradually killing our own citizens with consumption of fake and unapproved food and beverages. A chief executive officer is also the chief responsibility officer of any organization; if your staff has been compromising successfully without being caught or detected, it simply means appropriate structures are not in place and the CEO is liable. Pronto!
Of course Nigerians are not totally guilty, we have been pushed to the wall with lack of basic amenities by the various past governments, and the environment has been super hostile to business men and women. At each stage of business cycle, bribes are given and taken, both giver and taker are guilty. This trend has made most people resort to various tricks to generate income at any cost. Of course foreign business men love Nigeria to pieces as they get away with 200% of what they cannot even try in their countries.
I have in the past worked with a foreign conglomerate; my then foreign boss used to tell me that ‘nothing is impossible in Nigeria’ and that everyone had a price tag. Of course, he was right as I see hitherto disciplined personalities melt at the sight of ‘Ghana must go bags’. We need stop selling your souls for money that will injure the economy and lives of citizens. When we all go abroad for business, we abide by their rules because they will not move they rules for anyone, citizens or foreigners. The onus is on the leadership to lay appropriate rules and apply the laws of checks and balances.
There is no point making rules if offenders are not brought to book.
Do you have a nasty experience with any service provider or a regulatory body? Send us a mail today.
Former governor of Ebonyi State, Martin Elechi has urged governor Dave Umahi to be watchful so as not be misled by sycophants.
Elechi spoke at his Echi-Alike country home at a reception in his honour at the weekend.
“My successor, Umahi, should give people the freedom to agree or disagree with him; to say their mind without pretending otherwise, sycophants will deceive him and it is not good. “He should be forthright with the people and analyse every advise to avoid being misled by sycophants because there are many of them out there,” Elechi said.
Elechi insisted he did not borrow foolishly, adding that by the end of July, the N16 billion he borrowed from the capital market will be liquidated.
Could it be termed an African fraud this prevalent misconception that only a woman can determine the father of her baby? As far as I am concerned, that assertion fosters a conducive environment that gives undue advantage to promiscuous young girls to perpetrate paternity scams against any promising young man who unwittingly fall into their hands.
No woman can tell whose wild oat is blooming in her womb especially if she had had sex with more than one man around the time of conception. After all, a lot of women don’t even get to know they are pregnant for weeks, so how could they tell whose seed is growing in their wombs ( of course I am referring to situations of infidelity which is almost the norm today). A very good percentage of women don’t even know much about their reproductive system; when they are ovulating or about to menstruate, neither do they know their dry or free period.
The advantage that phony belief gives to women is that a promiscuous woman can wantonly sleep around, get pregnant and simply point to the one man she knows has all the resources she can feast on.
I can’t but wonder how many children have been born to homes and husbands who must take responsibility for seeds they genuinely cannot account for, thanks to this fraudulent African science.
Such situation would make one suspicious of most of the first borns in many African homes were pregnancy was the catalyst for the wedding(welding), in a culture where women have the infallible sole privilege to determine the paternity of the infant.
For the record, new statistics indicates that about 30 to 40 percent of children in most Nigerian homes have paternal issues, especially the first born in cases where there were any kinds of delay in conception. Considering the intense pressure they always suffer when after nine month of marriage there is no yelling infant, women, though not meaning to cheat, but also being mindful of the brewing trouble, try to get pregnant by all means.
They actually go all out visiting everywhere imaginable to get help. And the help giver most of the time are far from sympathetic. Sometimes they include sex with their clients as a necessary part of the solutions. And who is going to argue? Am I advocating a massive shift of wealth to doctors by going for aggressive DNA test? Not really, all I am saying is, as far as paternal accuracy is concerned the woman do not have the power ascribed to her.
This same issue was raised in a little gathering of friends, two weekends ago. Hmm, a friend who has been caught in such a messy situation opened up to tell his story. At that point, I was so ashamed of how cheap and deceitful some girls could be. According to Stephen, he was in his third year in the university when one of the girls he was ‘playing’ games with told him he was pregnant for him. Because he claimed to come from a strict home where shedding of the innocent blood of unborn babies is regarded as a taboo, he accepted the responsibility, took her to his parents and started making plans on how to be a student-father in the next nine months.
It was later discovered that the girl who was the only child of her parents was on her second journey of being pregnant in school. She had earlier terminated the first pregnancy and almost lost her life in the process, so when Stephen ‘impregnated’ her again, and her parents got to know, she was warned not to tamper with the growing fetus. All care and support were promised to her as long as she remained a good expectant mother.
With mixed feelings, Stephen’s parents accepted their son’s mistake in good faith and often visited and sent regards to their prospective daughter-in-law. Few days to the EDD (Expected Date of Delivery), the whole family was apprehensive as they awaited the arrival of the latest member of the family.
Fortunately for Stephen and unfortunately for the young girl, she delivered a bouncing baby boy who was more or less an albino. It was then remembered that a particular guy often came to the university campus to visit the new mother. And then they had a situation whereby the new born was 90 percent a spit image of the mulatto-like young man. The jigsaw fell into place.
Overjoyed, Stephen threw a party for his friends for such timely ‘deliverance’ from the shackles of pregnancy scam. He would have been the father of another man’s baby and probably live in regrets.
There are other instances of this kind of situation. If you are woman and you are reading this article, you better be careful. There is always a punishment for any woman who deceived an innocent man into accepting another man’s blood. It might take 10 or 20 years before nemesis catch up with you, but be assured that the disgrace would be thunderous. Ladies, dont try the pregnancy scam on any man. If you played around and got yourself impregnated, if you were such a multi-player Domitilla ‘whose ground was tilled’ by more than one man days before you took in, simply do a DNA test and get the child’s paternity right.
