The Nation Newspaper

Tag: chaos

  • Chaos in Delta PDP over primaries, name substitution

    Chaos in Delta PDP over primaries, name substitution

    The Delta State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is in disarray over the outcome of primaries for various offices, including the National and state assemblies.

    The choice of a running mate for the party’s governorship flag bearer, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, is also generating frictions among key players.

    It was learnt that the deputy governorship slot had been ceded to the Ijaw. This allegedly angered Isoko over their perceived relegation in the party’s affairs, particularly as the Ijaw had also got the senatorial slot through Senator James Manager.

    In Delta Central, the Urhobo are unhappy about the alleged directive of President Goodluck Jonathan that delegates should deliver Okowa, from Delta North, against Chief David Edevbia, who was Urhobo’s choice.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that although the primaries are over, winners are still anxious because of ongoing substitution of names by PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC).

    It was gathered that the ticket of a candidate for the House of Representatives in Delta North had been “awarded” to one of the losers in the governorship primary, even though the beneficiary did not contest the December 6 primary.

    Also, it was learnt that House of Assembly Speaker Victor Ochei was angling for a senatorial seat as compensation, after coming third in the governorship primary.

    The December 9 contest for the Delta North senatorial ticket of the party was thrown into controversy, following the invasion of the venue by thugs allegedly working for one of the aspirants.

    A former PDP chairman in the state, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi, who was the clear leader from the results of seven of the nine local government areas counted before the imbroglio, declared himself winner of the contest.

    He had warned that he would be forced to consider his “options” following alleged undue interference of the NWC and the national leadership of the PDP, which reportedly preferred Mrs Marian Ali, wife of the party’s former National Chairman, Dr Ahmadu Ali.

    Worried by the development, a leader of the party from the Delta Central Senatorial District and a former minister, who spoke in confidence, told our correspondent that there were concerns that the party could go into the next election in disarray.

    He said: “The cohesion and unity we have seen in Delta PDP over the past few years is now in tatters. We are in complete confusion, and this can play into the hands of the opposition in the presidential and other elections in the state.”

  • Placement test chaos

    I covered the Lagos State Placement Test on Saturday and marveled at the carelessness of schools and parents that resulted in some pupils missing the examination.

    The test was introduced by the Lagos State government to improve the quality of pupils that cross over from primary to its junior secondary schools.  When the implementation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme started in 2006, the then Minister of Education, Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, announced the end of the National Common Entrance Examination which was written nationwide by Primary 6 pupils basically to admit candidates into the unity schools.  States too conducted their own versions of the examination.

    The NCEE was stopped in the name of implementing the UBE law which requires school aged children to get nine years of compulsory basic (primary and junior secondary) education.  The abolishment of the examination meant that unity schools no longer had junior secondary arms.

    The abrogation of the NCEE (which was generally written by all Primary Six pupils in public and private schools irrespective of whether they would attend the unity colleges) encouraged the culture of mass promotion, particularly in public schools – though private secondary schools still conducted entrance tests for candidates they admitted.

    The NCEE was restored about five years ago after unity school teachers, parents, alumni and others convinced the Federal Government that the examination did not hinder the implementation of the UBE in any way.

    The Lagos State government re-introduced the examination (now called the Placement test) three years ago to reverse poor performance.  Primary Six pupils wishing to do their secondary education in public junior secondary schools have to make at least 50 per cent in English and Mathematics, and cumulatively to scale through.

    It was unbelievable to hear that schools were still trying to register a day before the examination last Saturday.  On the examination, it was no surprise their names were nowhere to be found.

    The Chairman of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) was very upset that some schools and candidates showed up without any proof of having registered.

    First of all, I fault the Lagos State Examination Board for failing to enforce a closing date for the registration for the examination.

    The Education Commissioner, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye had extended the period for registration by one week on June 8.  But that one week extended to July 4, a day before the examination.  If the board forgets any lesson from last Saturday’s experience, it should not fail to forget the need to set a deadline and stick to it.

    For this examination, the third since it was introduced two years ago, the board, in collaboration with the SUBEB and the Ministry of Education worked hard to improve the organisaiton and integrity of the examination by introducing personalized OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) answer scripts, which ensured that each candidate’s bio-data was pre-printed on the sheets.

    Introducing such measure means that a procedure must be followed.  Every candidate must be accounted for.  And such procedure takes time.  Leaving the registration open-ended meant the board accepted candidates it could not possibly produce OMR for at the last minute.

    While it is true that those who did not take the examination (some of whom did not even properly register in the first place), are a minute percentage of the about 140,000 registered, it is important that such incidents are avoided in the future.  If they occur, they should not be traceable to loop holes such as allowing candidates to register till the last minute.

    On the part of the schools, I cannot understand why they had to wait until the very last minute to enter for an examination that a registration timeline of over four months.  Parents of the affected pupils who missed the examination ought to question the schools their wards attend.  This should especially be done because it was gathered that many of the private schools charged far above the N5,000 stipulated by the examination board.

    For our education system to move forward, the rule of law must be respected.  When laws are made then ignored or sidetracked by sacred cows, then we should not expect to make much progress.  I hope all parties involved have indeed learnt their lessons.  We look forward to better conduct of the examination next year.

  • At home amid the chaos

    At home amid the chaos

    LESS than a week after collecting my bags at the domestic terminal at Lagos Murtala Muhammed International Airport, I have come to fully accept that all the warnings and cautionary tales about this chaotic city were little more than old wives’ tales and urban legend.

    Yes, the traffic and roads are insane. The people are loud and aggressive. The nights can certainly get sketchy. And most importantly, it contains pockets of poverty that strain the mind’s ability to comprehend.

    Lagos faces a future fraught with numerous challenges, but any city has its woes, and at its heart, Lagos is like other metropolises in that it is a place where millions of hopeful people flock in order to pay huge amounts of money to live in small, often rundown homes in exchange for the sheer privilege of being there.

    Clearly there’s a reason why we urban-dwellers make that decision, despite all the difficulties and downsides of living in a densely-populated environment that thinks nothing of chewing up and spitting out a person who doesn’t have the talent, means and luck it takes to survive there.

    Some of these reasons are largely based on atmosphere and superficial concerns. Parisians love their city for its beauty, high art and refinement. In Tokyo it’s the brash futurism juxtaposed against the soothing peace of the Japanese approach to life. Romans’ strongest amour is reserved for their country’s spectacular food.

    As for Lagos, part of what draws thousands of new residents to the city every week is its dynamic culture, the spirit of its people and the excitement of its raucous atmosphere, parties and commerce.

    But in Lagos, as in every of the world’s other capital cities, the real draw is the sense that anything is possible — a strong, passionate hope and drive to succeed that persists even among many of its most downtrodden citizens.

     

    Big dreams

    While it is exceedingly difficult to come up from nothing in this teeming city on the Atlantic, every person who makes the decision to pack up their lives and start anew in Lagos must truly believe that they have the capacity to do just that. Given how intimidating this town can seem even to a short-term visitor with sufficient means, it must be terrifying to move here from a small rural village in Borno State or the Republic of Niger with little more than the clothes on your back.

    Yet new success stories are told every day, even as millions of people starve, flounder and struggle to feed their families. In every megalopolis around the globe, it’s that dream of reaching epic heights that drives people to fight through the soul-crushing lows.

    There’s a famous saying about my hometown of New York City that “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.” It’s an apt slogan for the Big Apple, the place where big dreamers go in America, but I believe that it should be passed on to Lagos.

    Lagosians, as I’ve been told countless times since I arrived here this past weekend, often drive upwards of three or four hours each way in exasperating go-slows just to get to and from work. And to top it off, they seem to work longer hours than the people of any other city I’ve visited. It’s why the clubs only really start hopping around 1 a.m. They do what New Yorkers do, only they’ve taken it a step further, and I like where they’ve landed.

    Lagos to me is a heaving, collective organ of striving and selling and enjoying and lamenting. At the same time, it’s an exciting place to visit and explore, and a gateway to the horrors of concentrated urbanity. It’s New York in Africa, and that’s a high compliment coming from a Manhattanite.

     

    The Lagosians

    The people of Lagos will be what I remember best upon my return to the U.S., I’m convinced of it. Dissertations have probably been written by previous Western visitors about how welcoming and personable and lovely people are across Nigeria. These are well-known facts among those who have been here.

    What impresses me most about Lagosians is how much I see myself reflected in them. New York has always seemed like the one place in the world where a fast-talking, loud, aggravating person like myself could fit into the social order, or lack thereof.

    But what blew me away in my interactions with Lagosians is that they are all those things, only magnified. Much as Lagos is bigger, dirtier and more hectic than New York, in my experience, the people of Lagos are often much more interesting, outspoken and more fun than my friends and I tend to be. You very nearly have to assault them if you want to pay the bill, no matter how many Gulders everyone has had, and their energy seemingly knows no limit.

    They read newspapers, listen to the radio and watch movies from Nigeria, America, England and beyond, absorbing a wider range of knowledge than many insular New Yorkers ever do.

    They dance better, they know how to show people a good time, and they want to be your friend the moment you get past their hardened shells, which can be thicker than those of most New Yorkers, but fall away much quicker. Lagosians laugh, scream and cry louder than we do, and they drive in a manner that would have our cabbies handing their taxi medallions in out of pure shame.

    At the same time, much like New Yorkers, they sometimes get a bad rap among their disapproving fellow countrymen for being rude, manic, overly obsessed with money and generally unpleasant. Those negative impressions should be struck from the record in regards to both cities, because though we learn to put up barriers to maintain our sanity in the face of so much humanity, both New Yorkers and Lagosians are just fronting, and that charade of toughness helps us retain our exuberant essence.

     

    The dilemma of progress

    Looking back on the defining moments of my time in Lagos as my journey here nears its unfortunate end, the first things that come to mind are fried croaker with jollof rice and plantains; dancing at Fela Kuti’s shrine and the endless hours spent laughing with new local friends as they manoeuvred their cars through the city’s congested streets.

    But the experiences of one eye-opening day persist in my memory as well, and they are not easily ignored considering how destructive the trend they represent is to the spirit of Lagos, and the ways they clearly illustrate the challenges that lie ahead for the city, its government and its residents.

    Thursday is the day that I began to see clearly why Lagos must change in order for it to respect its people, its heritage and its character.

    My photographer and friend Cameron Barnes and I started the day by visiting the Oto-Ilogbo Extension slum of mainland Lagos, where we found ourselves face-to-face with the reality of a situation that as Americans had always previously existed for us only as a concept and a smattering of pictures and news stories.

    We saw with our own eyes what the poorest Lagosians deal with on a day-to-day basis, walked the trash-strewn streets, spoke with folks who call it home, stood atop the mound where they relieve themselves in full view of their neighbours and friends. We were stunned, saddened and humbled to our cores, and neither of us will ever forget our walk through Oto-Ilogbo.

    But we had to continue to work, and from there, we trekked to Victoria Island for an interview with some of the city’s well-off professionals, young people who thought nothing of spending $25 on a bowl of pasta with pesto. It was a contrast so stark it has stuck with us to this moment, and it mirrors the troublesome wealth divide between much of Africa and the West.

    But this is a story about Lagos and Nigeria, not about international economic forces, which clearly have done next to nothing to help the situation. The wide dichotomy between these two extreme results of modern capitalism’s excesses recalled the myriad news reports I’ve read on corruption and the yawning income gap between the rich few and the impoverished many in Nigeria.

     

    Government’s role

    The need to find a workable situation to the global slum travesty will only grow in coming years, as the United Nations reported in 2003 that nearly a billion people already lived in slums worldwide, and that a third of the world’s population will reside in them by the mid-2030s.

    And yet it appears that Nigeria’s local governments have chosen a slash-burn-redevelop approach to their urban slums. As Barnes and I learned in both Oto-Ilogbo and Mpape, Abuja – which have been targeted for demolition, but have so far escaped that fate – and hundreds of thousands people from Lagos communities from Bar Beach to Badia East know all too well, local governors are more interested in tearing down slums, kicking out their residents and building shiny office buildings and hotels than working with slum-dwellers to find workable solutions.

    The blanket arguments against the slum-dwellers are many and varied: they’re squatters, they’re criminals, they don’t own their land, they shouldn’t be subjected to such horrendous living conditions.

    But in the end, even if many of them were able to be fit neatly into one derisive box or another, the denizens of these marginalised communities are still humans, and they deserve some form of dignity and compensation, if their lives are to be uprooted in the name of making millions for developers and appeasing the wealthy.

    It’s a problem that’s playing out around the world, but if Lagos is to become a world-class city, as its leaders have said they intend for it to be, it needs to find a way to deal with its ballooning slum problem over the coming years, or it will fall victim to its own excesses, as the people of Oto-Ilogbo did long ago.

    Just as Lagos is messy, multi-faceted and impossible to define, so too are my thoughts as I take stock of this mind- and world-expanding trip that I’ve been given the privilege to take part in by the International Center for Journalists, International Press Centre and U.S. State Department.

    There’s no one way to sum up my impressions of Lagos, just as there are so many different versions of the city within its expansive environs.

    Lagos is a place with wonderful qualities and with nearly intractable problems, but as can also sometimes be necessary in the course of human relationships, I have learned to love it in spite of itself.

  • Chaos on Ore-Benin road

    Chaos on Ore-Benin road

    A young man was yesterday crushed to death by a trailer on the Ore-Benin road. The accident occurred at Kajola in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The victim, a footballer, is popularly known as “Mikel”.

    An eye witness said the accident occurred while the deceased was crossing the expressway.

    The villagers set the trailer ablaze, causing a gridlock on the highway for several hours.

    A source said the situation degenerated when some soldiers allegedly shot at the protesters.

    Many people were reportedly injured and vehicles vandalised.

    One of the villagers said: “The protest was hijacked by hoodlums, who extorted money from the stranded motorists. Some drivers and their passengers abandoned their vehicles and fled into the bush. It was an ugly incident.”

    Police spokesman Wole Ogodo confirmed the incident and said the command was on top of the situation.

     

  • Chaos at Rivers Assembly

    Chaos at Rivers Assembly

    -Five lawmakers ‘impeach’ speaker

    -Amaechi moves in to restore order

    -Thugs attack Dep. Governor’s car

     

    Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi moved fast yesterday to stop a major constitutional crisis at the House of Assembly.

    Five lawmakers loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, claimed to have impeached the Speaker. It was all part of the crisis rocking the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    There was a rain of blows at the main chambers of the House of Assembly in Port Harcourt, between the pro and anti-Amaechi lawmakers.

    The five lawmakers loyal to Wike – Michael Okechukwu Chinda (Obio/Akpor II constituency), Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma), Evans Bapakaye Bipi (Ogu/Bolo), Martins Amaewhule (Obio/Akpor I) and Victor Ihunwo (Port Harcourt III) – attempted to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree.

    Bipi was humidly elected speaker, amid tight security provided by the police. He announced the suspension of 15 unnamed lawmakers – in a 32-member Assembly.

    As Bipi mounted the speaker’s seat to give his acceptance/maiden speech, Amaechi, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), stormed the main chambers with Amachree, other lawmakers and security men. Then the fisticuffs began.

    The Speaker and the Leader of the House, Chidi Lloyd, a lawyer, who represents Emohua Constituency and loyal to Amaechi, were attacked. As at press time yesterday, Lloyd was still in the hospital.

    Also seriously injured were two anti-Amaechi lawmakers: Amaewhule and Chinda. They were also hospitalised.

    Amaechi ordered the arrest of Bipi, but the policemen and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS), who were with the Rivers governor, were resisted by the security personnel guarding the “new speaker”.

    A policeman cautioned another for bringing tear gas canister into the main chambers. The policemen were obviously divided in their support for Amaechi and Wike.

    When the punching subsided, the House sat amid very tight security, with 23 pro-Amaechi lawmakers in attendance. Amachree presided. Amaechi left immediately.

    Rivers Deputy Governor Tele Ikuru, an engineer, was ushered into the Assembly chambers at 11:42 pm to present amendments to the 2013 budget, on behalf of Amaechi. This lasted from 11:44 pm till 11:48 pm when it was laid on the table. Ikuru left the main chambers at 11:51 pm.

    The Speaker said the amendments would not affect the earlier figure of N490 billion. Shortly after Ikuru left, the House was adjourned sine die (indefinitely) at 12:01 pm.

    The deputy governor was attacked by thugs around 12:26 pm as he was leaving the Assembly complex on Moscow Road. His car was badly damaged.

    On his way out, after making the presentation, thugs who flooded the complex, chanting war songs and in support of the “new speaker”, descended on Ikuru, in spite of the heavy security presence.

    Other cars in his convoy were also damaged.

    Bipi assaulted a Channels Television cameraman, snatching his camera from him. The camera was released, following the intervention of top politicians.

    As Speaker Amachree was leaving the main chamber, after the sitting, Bipi also punched the representative of Abua/Odual Constituency in the Assembly, Augustine Ngo, near the parking lot. He fell and immediately got up.

    The representative of Rivers Southeast Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, described the attack on the speaker, the leader and other members of the Assembly loyal to Amaechi, “under the watchful eyes of the police”, as a shame and a slap on democracy.

    He urged lovers of democracy and Nigerians to not only condemn the dastardly and barbaric act, but to resist moves being orchestrated by those under democratic oath to make Rivers State ungovernable.

    Abe, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), wondered the kind of democracy being practised in Nigeria, if democratic institutions and those elected to make laws could not be protected.

    The senator, who is a former Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), declared that plans to throw the state into anarchy would not succeed. He admonished well-meaning Rivers people to stand by Amaechi, whom he said was being persecuted for defending the state.

    Chief Victor Tombari Giadom, the Commissioner for Works, described the action of the anti-Amaechi lawmakers as “pure rascality”.

    Speaker Amachree said: “As far as this House is concerned, the leadership of the House has not changed. I am the speaker of Rivers House of Assembly and all the other officers and the clerk are here with me. The leadership of the House is intact and what Evans Bipi told you is pure fallacy, lie.

    “For the House to impeach the speaker, two-thirds of the members must agree. Now, count how many members that are with me here. We are 23 members here; you can count us. No mace was brought into the House.

    “When we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it. But every member knows that we have rules and regulations that guide us in our conduct. I will not say anything yet on attempt to impeach me, but the leadership and members of the House will meet and decide on that.

    “I do not know where the rumour of attempt to impeach Governor Amaechi is coming from. We have just finished our sitting. There was no attempt as far as we are concerned to impeach me or anybody. We are even shocked to hear that. It is not true. Look at us. Can five members sit to impeach the speaker?

    “We are about 27 members here. We do not know what their aims were, but today, in fact, we did not know there would be chaos in the House. So, we went to the House as usual and we were exchanging pleasantries before Evans Bipi attacked me and the leader of the House. Then Hon. Chinda joined him. But we quickly arrested the situation and started our deliberations.

    “It is not compulsory that every member must be present at our sitting everyday. Some obtained permission like the former Speaker, Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry, who is in Paris, France for a conference. Three others did not attend today’s sitting, but they also obtained permission. There was a kind of chaos before we sat today.”

    On the role of the police, Amachree said: “I am so surprised and shocked because yesterday, I officially directed the Clerk of the House to write the Commissioner of Police for security, because of what happened on May 6, when some hoodlums invaded the Assembly.

    “We did not want a repeat of that. So, I directed the Clerk to write to the commissioner of police and also the Brigade Commander, but to my greatest surprise, I did not see one single soldier in the Assembly.

    “The policemen I saw were acting funny. One of my colleagues was even beaten by the police. The computers in the hallowed chambers were all destroyed by the five honourable members (lawmakers).

    “In that hallowed chambers, honourable members can do anything there. It happens in every parliament. What we are concerned about is for a member to bring in hoodlums to attack his fellow members. As colleagues, we can fight in the chambers, but outside the chambers, it is unfortunate that the police will also be there and watch hoodlums attack members.

    “As a House, we will look into it, but we do not have right over the police. What we will do is that we will write to the National Assembly. We will do a presentation or we will send a formal complaint to the National Assembly. The House will continue to sit, but for now, we have adjourned sine die, but we can reconvene anytime.

    “The governor does not have the right to spend money or take money from one sub-head to another. He has to ask for approval and that was what he did today.”

    The five anti-Amaechi lawmakers started arriving the Assembly complex from 8 am and were complete around 9 am, with eight of the 27 pro-Amaechi legislators, led by the House Leader, arriving around 9:40 am.

    The 13 lawmakers were waiting for the speaker to arrive. They started sitting around 10 am. That angered Lloyd and seven other pro-Amaechi lawmakers, who staged a walkout. The anti-Amaechi lawmakers took over the main chambers.

    The representative of Port Harcourt III Constituency, Victor Ihunwo, sat on the speaker’s seat and conducted the affairs, with the members calling for the impeachment of the speaker (Amachree) and the entire leadership, after passing a vote of no confidence in them, with the impeachment immediately effected.

    The Obio/Akpor Constituency I representative, Martins Amaewhule, moved a motion on the election of a new speaker, which was seconded by Kelechi Godspower Nwogu (Omuma Constituency), Bipi was “elected” as the speaker.

    As soon as Bipi moved to the speaker’s seat, Ihunwo stepped out and the new speaker began the business of the day. Then, Amaechi, the legislators loyal to him, his supporters and security personnel stormed the main chambers, forcing the pro-Wike lawmakers to leave. They stayed around the premises with their supporters.

  • PDP is causing chaos

    PDP is causing chaos

    SIR: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is creating political chaos in Nigeria. Note that the principle of rotational presidency was not contested until Dr. Goodluck Jonathan decided to take undue advantage of the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. All the major opposition political parties chose their presidential candidates from the North-west in 2011, to indicate they found rotational presidency reasonable and just.

    Surprisingly, confusionists keep saying rotational presidency is undemocratic, as if democracy implies lack of political order. They also argue that it will lead to choosing mediocres as President; they have not indicated which zones harbour only mediocres, so that we can exclude such zones from the rotation roster. Then, they have not told concerned Nigerians how else the nation can engender political equity, peace, and progress. They should explain also why the Jonathan-led administration has refused to allow an electoral commission whose principal officers are not chosen by the PDP.

    The PDP and its beneficiaries should explain the foregoing, and outline their proposal for equity, peace, and progress in Nigeria. I propose that the President should come from (Yar’Adua’s) North-west zone in 2015 to serve a single term of four years, and afterwards the baton should pass to the South-east, since Jonathan (from South-south) has spent many years in the presidency. Thereafter, the presidency should rotate from zone to zone, on north-south basis.

    The most recent act of intolerance and desperation betrayed by the PDP was the seizing of Offa Local Government from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), using inter-communal clash as an excuse. Offa is the only local government won in Kwara state by the opposition political party (the ACN). The long-standing bad blood between Offa and Erin-Ile (in another local government) which resurfaced recently provided an opportunity the PDP had been looking-for to seize Offa local government.

    The state Governor, AbdulFatah Ahmed, also sacked the other chairman to convey appearance of even-handedness, and replaced both with caretakers. I enjoin the Offa people to endure the humiliation, hold their peace, but never succumb to intimidation and deceptive “gifts”. Nigeria must sack the PDP after many years of chaos, disorientation, and retrogression.

    I appeal to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to solidify rotational presidency, and work for the establishment of a truly independent electoral commission whose principal officers will not be chosen by the partisan President. I enjoin support for General Muhammadu Buhari to be the presidential candidate; he is a highly trustworthy person from the North-west. At worse, there should be primary election, rather than begging the General to drop his ambition.

     

    • Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D,

    University of Ilorin.