The Nation Newspaper

Tag: checkpoints

  • Checkpoints on border routes

    Checkpoints on border routes

    Multiple checkpoints are a menace on Nigeria’s border corridors. We have the word of stakeholders in Southwest corridors to illustrate that.

    Ogun State House of Assembly recently called on police leadership to scale down 52 checkpoints erected on the Idiroko-Owode route, decrying the situation as oppressive and detrimental to the socio-economic wellbeing of residents and commuters in the border communities. The assembly made the call in a resolution, following a motion by member representing Ipokia/Idiroko state constituency.

    The member, Bisi Oyedele, had said the proliferation of police checkpoints on the route subjected residents, motorists and traders to daily extortion, intimidation and unnecessary delays. He noted that checkpoints along the 20-kilometre stretch increased from about 20 to 52 within weeks, saying: “A trip that should ordinarily last 20 minutes now takes almost two hours due to endless interceptions by security officers who often demand bribe from drivers and traders. Transporters are most affected, paying up to N1,000 per stop – a situation that has led to losses, protests and even a temporary local transport strike recently witnessed.” He added: “The proliferation of checkpoints has crippled local businesses, increased transport fares and worsened the prices of goods and essential commodities in Ipokia Local Government and environs. Perishable goods now get damaged in transit due to unnecessary delays, while traders are forced to factor illegal payments into the cost of their wares, making life increasingly difficult for ordinary citizens.”

    Read Also: Nigeria losing $15bn yearly to oil theft — Experts

    The assembly, in deliberations presided over by Speaker Daisi Elemide, deplored the multiplicity of checkpoints, describing the conduct of some officers manning them as abuse of authority. Its resolution urged Ogun police commissioner to reduce the checkpoints to a reasonable number as would yet guarantee security without inflicting hardship on innocent citizens. It also called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to engage the police command so to address the matter swiftly. The house further resolved to transmit the motion as a petition to the Senate President, House of Representatives Speaker, Police Inspector-General and the National Security Adviser for investigation and necessary action at the federal level.

    Barely a week earlier, the Controller, Seme area command of Nigeria Customs, Wale Adenuga, said multiple checkpoints along Lagos-Badagry expressway were tarnishing the country’s image. Speaking at a stakeholder engagement with security agencies, traditional rulers, community representatives and business partners in Seme, he added that Customs would not rest until the checkpoints are reduced to the barest minimum  on the corridor. “The time wasting along Lagos-Badagry expressway is disturbing. You will see many vehicles queueing for checking by security operatives. It is embarrassing to see as many as 10 Immigration, 20 Police and 15 Customs checkpoints doing same work along the expressway.” He added: “We need  to tell ourselves the bitter truth. The more we facilitate legitimate trade, the better for our country. When trade thrives, crime reduces.”

    Those testimonies say it all.

  • New global checkpoints for leadership and public mood

    From  the shock  of  Brexit  in  the UK  referendum on its membership of  the EU to  the word   of  caution to North  American leaders  by  US  President  Barak  Obama on the electability of  Donald Trump  as US  president  in the 2016 presidential  elections, it is obvious that new global  standards  are emerging  to  judge  governance  and  democracies  globally. Even  in  Nigeria  where  the honeymoon beetween  the   Buhari  Administration   and    the   Nigerian   people is getting  sour   on  the   promised  change, but  for the popular war  against  corruption, it  is  apparent  that  the legislature  is at logger  heads with   the    with   executive  and    the public   mood  is simply   apprehensive on the outcome.  This  is  apparent from  the brickbats from  both sides on the on going  trial  of  the Senate  President  and   his Deputy  as  well  as the language  of  the Secretary  to the government  in  condemning  calls  for a consideration  of  the Report  of the last  National  Conference in the  last Administration  on  the Restructuring  of  Nigeria.

    Brexit  has already  taken   its toll  in terms of  leadership  tussles in  both  the Labor  Party  and  the ruling Conservative  Party  whose leader and  PM  David  Cameron  has  resigned over  the Brexit  result.  More  importantly  the  main  champion  of  the  Brexit  challenge and success Boris  Johnson  has   chickened out  of  the succession  race  for Tory  leadership. Ostensibly  because he   sensed,  and  rightly   too,   that   he will  lose  the  leadership    tussle   as    he  will   be  made a scapegoat  for  the current lamentation  in  Britain in voting  to quit  the EU,   albeit  with  a close referendum  result   of 51%  to  48%  for  Remain.

     As  for the Labor  Party, they  are  virtually  leaderless  as the Parliamentary  caucus  has passed  a vote  of  no  confidence in Labor  Leader  Jeremy  Corbyn.   Although the leader  has refused to resign even  as  contestants  are coming out to  challenge  for  a leadership  position  that is yet  to be vacated  by  the  Labor  leader. Obviously  the  public  mood in  Britain is that  of  resent  over  the vote  for  Brexit but  there is  no denying that the resentment that  led to  the victory of  Brexit  centred  on  frustration  with  the government  and  leadership  of the nation  especially  on  the issue of immigration  and the inevitability  of free movement  inherent in the concept  of a Single  Market  that the EU  represents. In  effect  then the  British  people  can  be compared    on   Brexit  with   the state  of   George  Foreman when  he  recovered from  the knock  out punch  that  Muhammed   Ali  unleashed in the 7TH   round   of  the Rumble  in  the  Jungle  in  Zaire  to  win their  World   Heavy weight Championship  bout.  Foreman  disputed  the count  down  of  ten  because  he has  been  dazed  and  briefly   out of touch  with this world, till  he was counted out mandatorily at  10.  That   was   the state  akin    to  political  stupor   and  quandary  that  the British  found  themselves,  reeling from   the upper  cut they  received from  the Brexit  verdict  on the EU  membership  on  June 23, 2016.

    Since  the Brexit  occurred before  US  President Barak  Obama went on his tour  of North  America  this  week   it  was  pertinent  that  he  should  allay  fears  that the Brexit  roller  coaster  resentment in  Britain  would   not  happen in the  2016  US  presidential  election.   He did  this  with  his usual brilliant  rhetoric that  is nowadays  losing touch  with  the reality  of  his  legacy. Obama  who  had asked the British in vain  not to  leave  the EU   lamented  that  the  world  has  been  seized  with populist  leaders  and ideas.  Such ideas he labeled as nativism, xenophobia and  cynicism.

    It  was not  difficult  to know  that  he   was referring to  Donald  Trump  and his quest  for the US presidency.  When  however the leaders of  Mexico  and  Canada  with  him started  saying  negative  things about  Donald  Trump,   the  same US president  called  them  to  order  and said  they should  be careful  because they will   have  to  deal  with  him  if  he wins the 2016 US  presidential  election. Which  really is the harsh  possibility  that  the Obama  legacy  has dealt  the American  people  and is the albatross that  Hillary  Clinton  has  to  carry  even  though the  US president  who  supports Hillary  and  has been  campaigning  for  her,  has  no  doubt  that Donald  Trump   could defeat  Hillary  in  the 2016  elections  as he said  candidly  in Canada   this week.

    In  addition the  US president  went  on like the proverbial  ostrich  with its  head  buried in  the sand to  say  that globalization  has  come  to  stay. This  is in spite   of   the loss of  US jobs because of globalization and world trade   and which   Donald    Trump   has railed    against. This    certainly  has  made Donald  Trump  popular  with  US  workers     and    the  masses   whose jobs  have been outsourced   to  China and India because of cheap labor  and lower  costs.  Yet  Obama  insisted  that the global  economic integration  of  national  economies is here  and now,  and is  here  to  stay.  That  is what  Trump  has  promised  to  remove  to  bring  relief  to  US workers  and   voters  who  feel  betrayed  by such globalization  and trade  practices.  Such  fears  fuelled  the consummation  of   the   Brexit   victory  in  Britain  and there  is no reason  that such  will  not  torpedo Donald  Trump  to victory  in the US if this is  really   the mind set of  the Hillary political  campaign, propelled  as it  is,  by  the Obama  legacy  and support.

    Similarly  in  Nigeria the incompetence  of  the last Jonathan  propelled  the  Buhari adminstration  to power  on  the slogan  of  change in  2015.  Unfortunately  the  administration  has  not  moved fast enough  to  make  life  better  for  the average  Nigerian. Indeed  the fuel  price  increase  has singularly  made life  worse in terms  of  eking  out  a living  for  the  average Nigerian.  This  is the  bitter  truth.  Yet  the  same Nigerian  has  not  lost  faith  in the leadership of  this  administration  simply  because  of  the war on  corruption  to  sanitise our  polity  and economy.  In  addition  the Nigerian  people  are  with  the government in  the prosecution  of  the leadership  of  the Senate in both  the false declaration  of  assets  case  and  the leadership elections  rule  forgery  case. Nigerians  see  the two  cases  as the sign  that the rule of law is in place and no  Nigerian  no matter  how  highly placed  is  above  the law. Nigerians are  no strangers  to  the  concept  of  separation of  powers and  are  not  befuddled  by  the charge  of interference in the affairs  of  the  senate  by  the defendants. Nigerians  would  love to see the trial  to a logical  conclusion  so  as to mete  out punishment  that will deter  such misdemeanor  in the legislative  chambers.

    In   addition  the government  should  have another  look at  the issue  of restructuring and mind its language in  dismissing  what is not  on  its  programme  for  now to  execute.  For  a Secretary to the Government to  say  that  he cannot find time to  read a Conference Report of the magnitude in question is lazy,  unprofessional, and  shows  scant  respect  for  delegation with  responsibility in managing the affairs  of  state. Journalists   and   Social  Scientists  can talk of  job  for the boys.  It  does  not sound nice on the lips of  a very  high  government  official  like the present Secretary to  the government.

    The  world  has become a global  village and Nigerians know  what  is going  on in the world  and have high  expectations  of  their  leaders and those in  governance  as at  this  point  in  time. As  Brexit  has  shown  no  government  is  above  the wishes of  the people  once  the opportunity  to  make their  choice is before  them. The  times  have  changed and so  have Nigerians   who  expect  their  government  to  put  food on their tables and provide security at all  times to  change  their  lives  for  the better,  as  promised – just  last  year.  Once  again  long  live the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Restore military checkpoints

    SIR: A few weeks ago, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the removal of all the military checkpoints put in place nationwide in the wake of the onslaught by the Boko Haram sect. The president, who gave the directive during a meeting with the service chiefs, noted that the decision was meant to eradicate the hardships being experienced by commuters and motorists due to the existence of the checkpoints. Since then, Nigerians have received the decision with mixed feelings in view of the increased and recent attacks carried out by suicide bombers in many cities in the North such as those that occurred in Kaduna, Borno, Plateau and Yobe states, thereby fuelling fears that the insurgents might have exploited the opportunity of checkpoint removal to be launching further attacks on the nation.

    Honestly, the order by President Buhari that military checkpoints should be dismantled is understandable, sensitive and appreciated, based on the imperative of making the movement of road-users less cumbersome and the premise that the job of internal security actually belongs to the police since the military have enough to cope with in safeguarding sovereignty of the nation. The truth however is that the Nigeria Police, as presently constituted, is incapable of providing adequate internal security for the nation. It is logical to advise that in trying to ameliorate the suffering of the people, though laudable, the government should not be seen as throwing away the baby with the bathwater. On announcing the scrapping of the checkpoints, the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, had stressed that the additional 158 patrol vehicles would be deployed across the country to fill any security vacuum that may occur with the removal of military checkpoints. This may not be assuring enough because the issue of fighting terrorism and national security go beyond the acquisition of additional operational vehicles.

    The complete disengagement of the military from the responsibility of internal security appears too sudden and dangerous for the country. If this would have to be done, it is better to make it a gradual process. Many vulnerable flash points still remain in several parts of the country that cannot be left unsecured without the military. We should not forget that the reason military operatives were involved in internal security in the first place may not be too far from the fact that the police has to contend with the challenge of adequate personnel and its inability to effectively protect lives and property, especially with the introduction of terrorism into the nation’s security landscape. Hence, no vacuum should be created with the removal of checkpoints such that insurgents would deceptively take advantage of the situation to further launch more deadly attacks.

    The police should be better motivated and strengthened. No doubt, there are brilliant and capable officers and men in the Force; With less than 400,000 policemen in a country of about 170 million people, the reality is that the country is grossly under-policed.  Regrettably, a large number of our police personnel are still being attached to private individuals and politicians. There is the need to correct this anomaly that has greatly limited the capability of the police to work optimally.

    Until Nigeria has a police force that is formidable and well-decentralized in the true sense of federalism, effective policing would continue to be a mirage. That is why the idea of state police should be revisited. With the appointment of a new National Security Adviser and other service chiefs, it is hoped that the security situation in the country would improve considerably. For now, to ensure that the nation is not over-run by terrorists, military checkpoints should be restored.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi,

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

  • Residents urge Buhari to restore checkpoints

    Just weeks after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the removal of military checkpoints from roads across the country, some Abuja resident especially those living in satellite towns have asked that the roadblocks be restored.

    Barely two days to last Christmas residents discovered that military security checkpoints had been mounted at various strategic inter-changes and junctions within perimeter of the nation’s capital in addition to some existing checkpoints at various entry points to the city.

    According to findings, the development was due to the prevalence insecurity caused by the Boko Haram sects.

    Throughout the Yuletide and even before the removal of the checkpoints, soldiers mounted roadblocks mounted by soldiers forced motorists to drive at slow speed, while suspicions vehicles were pulled over for checks.

    Pedestrians, especially those carrying bags, were also subjected to extensive scrutiny.

    A cross section of residents, who spoke with Abuja Review in separate interviews, said there are doubts over the rationale to relax security checks, which culminated in the sudden disappearance of the military check points from the city centre.

    The residents argued there is still need for them to continue checking,  because of the increasing mass movement of people (old and new settlers) into the city, giving that the greater percentage of the residents are yet to return from the yuletide break.,

    A resident, Emmanuel Ona who expressed worry over the development, noted that there were still more security threats in the air, as people are still moving into the city with a lot of bags and other things, which may be used to smuggle dangerous weapons into the city.

    He said he was shocked and sad when he discovered that the military check points in Kuje and other parts of the city were nowhere to be found.

    “I was very sad when I discovered that there were no longer military check points that were mounted before Berger and Apo Roundabouts, along the Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway and Kuje.

    “Because the emergence of the check points gave me and other residents a great sense of security in the city, especially while plying the route on a daily basis. And, most of us had wished that the military checkpoints stay.

    “I am appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari to bring back the military check points, to help beef up security within the city centre, given the prevailing security challenges in the land.”

    Another resident, Peace Omole said although, the check points mounted within the city centre and other parts had brought a lot of hardships on commuters, but the current peace we are enjoying is better.

    According to him, the people are ready to pay any kind of sacrifices that would help lessen the current security threats they are faced with, while pursuing their daily bread.

    Omole: “It is better to have these military checks on our streets, if it would allay our fears over the rising insecurity in the country, that’s was why am still to come to terms on the reasons for their sudden removal by the government.”

     

  • IG’s ban on checkpoints excites motorists

    IG’s ban on checkpoints excites motorists

    Motorists are excited over the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Solomon Arase’s ban on checkpoints and road blocks.

    They said yesterday that they were now free from “unnecessary traffic and extortion” by policemen.

    Mr Tunde Alaba, a commercial bus driver, said he was happy that checkpoints had been banned.

    “Thank God the checkpoints are reducing, we will now be able to save more money to earn our living,’’ he said.

    Another commercial bus driver, Mr Sadiq Adekunle, said that he was happy over the withdrawal of police checkpoints but complained about the few still existing.

    “It’s a good thing that the police checkpoints are being withdrawn but some policemen still put up their roadblocks in some inner parts of Lagos,’’ he said.

    An engineer, Deji Adeleke, said banning of checkpoints was good since the police had realised that it was causing Lagosians more pain than good.

    “The ban on checkpoints is a good development. I guess the police have now realised that it’s the policemen at the checkpoints that paint a bad image of the force,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), however, observed that checkpoints were still mounted at nights in some areas.

    At Oshodi, opposite the Nigerian Army Shopping Complex, Arena, at the junction leading to Oshodi Local Government Secretariat, some policemen take advantage of the traffic to extort money from motorists.

    Some experts have argued that the police do not need checkpoints or roadblocks to curb crime.

    Mr Jide Oluwole, a security consultant, said the world had gone beyond setting up roadblocks to check crime.

    “Since it’s certain we can’t be everywhere at the same time, with the use of technology, the crime rate in the state can be minimised,’’ he said.

    Mr Mike Olutayo, Head Operations at Identity Securities, said Close Circuit Television (CCTV) could be installed to monitor crime.

    If those already installed covered Lagos, he said, it could be used with a functional database, adding that the police do not need roadblocks to secure the state.

    But some Lagosians are worried that hoodlums may cash in on the ban to wreck havoc.

     

  • Why Nigeria’s borders are porous

    Why Nigeria’s borders are porous

    Leaky borders and non-compliance with the rules contribute to making it difficult to police Nigeria’s 4,000-km borders with four countries, writes The Economist

    THE drive from Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, to Doula, the biggest city in neighbouring Cameroon, is a 1,320 km (820 mile) rollercoaster ride along dusty highways and muddy jungle tracks replete with bumps, bruises and attempted bribes.

    As Baobab and a friend set off in an ancient Land Rover on a Nigerian national holiday, the roads were almost empty, save for the military checkpoints that have become permanent installations since the resurrection in the past two years of a violent Islamist insurgency, which has claimed hundreds of lives this year alone. Soldiers bunker down in nylon tents or huts with corrugated iron roofs on the roadside. Vests and underpants pinned to a clothesline and a few cooking pots piled on the grass are signs of the new domesticity thrust upon soldiers away from their families for months at a time.

    The journey from Abuja, where tarmac roads are flanked by pristine hedges, to the balmy rainforests on the southeastern border with Cameroon was regularly interrupted by these checkpoints and a feeling that someone was about to request a bribe. Broaching the first barrier in the early hours of the morning, a soldier sporting a ragged stripy jumper was leaning casually on a barricade of sand-bags jutting into the road, an AK-47 slung over his shoulder. He waved the car down.

    How you dey?” he asked, propping his elbow on the window frame. “I dey fine,” Baobab replied. Blood-shot eyes and a leery smile suggested a heavy night. “What do you have for me today?” he asked, peering through the window. “I have a blessing for you.” After a quick calculation he concluded that it was probably not worth messing with the powers above, and he waved us through. We encountered only one serious attempt to extort money at a subsequent checkpoint, and that was quickly resolved by a yoghurt-coated cereal bar.

    A week earlier, a Lagos policeman caught extorting money on camera was sacked. The crime is a familiar one to inhabitants of the metropolis, but this time the passenger recorded the policeman trying to extort $160 from him and uploaded the footage on YouTube. It was a rare victory for the scores of drivers who have been bribed by Nigerian police for imaginary traffic offences.

    Immigration control at Mfum on the border was a damp hovel. Smoke from wood-burning fires cooking stews and Jollof rice clung to the air. Young boys made transactions through the window of our battered jeep, selling bananas and corn-on-the-cob. A handful of men passed through passport control from Cameroon with no papers or identification. “My aunt lives up the road in the next village,” complemented by a subtle slip of cash, was enough to grant passage. Leaky borders are often cited as one of the contributing factors to Nigeria’s insecurity. When the rules are so easily circumvented, it is hard to see how Nigeria will ever be able to control the 4,000-km border it shares with four countries.

    The smooth tarmac road leading to the Cameroonian frontier may lull travellers into a false sense of security. Driving during the rainy season can be a tortuous process. Once over the rickety iron bridge at immigration, a seemingly endless muddy track awaits, worming its way through thick jungle from the border town of Ekok to the next big town, Mamfe, 70km to the east. Deep trenches signal where a new road will, at some point, be built by the Chinese International Water and Electric Board—a project supported by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and the Japanese International Corporation Agency. In the meantime, cars and top-heavy trucks negotiate their way along the crooked track. Many get stuck.

    Slow progress resulted in an overnight stay in Mamfe, infamous for witchcraft. An oppressive Catholic Church looms over the main street, which is bustling with traders in fruit, phone cards and sweets. Restaurants, dimly lit by a single light bulb in some cases, have been cobbled together with wooden planks. A waitress at the hotel directed us to the “best” of the makeshift restaurants for a plate of rice and an eye-watering spicy tomato sauce served by a skinny elderly lady in a floral apron.

    The refurbished road from Mamfe to Bamenda, further east, is a sign of things to come. What was once a two to four day journey now takes a few hours and the smooth tarmac road has halved the cost of transport. But the region’s roads remain a big problem. So much so that during Cameroon’s election last month, the electoral commission, ELECAM, resorted to dropping campaign material by helicopter in parts of the southwest. It probably made little difference to the election’s outcome. The ruling People’s Democratic Movement, headed by President Paul Biya who has led the country since 1982, retained its control of the national assembly, though with a reduced majority. Corruption remains rife and elections lack credibility, but Cameroonians proudly declare that their country is doing better than most of its conflict-ridden neighbours.

    Baobab finally arrived in Douala the following day. Amid the chaotic urban sprawl of honking traffic jams, the quickest, though not always the safest, way to get around is by motorbike. The Marché de Lagos, saturated with people and cheap Chinese goods, resembles its namesake. Women in tight skirts dance energetically to the Nigerian music throbbing through the trendy clubs. “Yaoundé [the capital] sleeps, Douala moves,” say Cameroonians. One way to put their mantra to the test was to request a haircut at 1.30 am. The barman nodded and minutes later a burly Cameroonian dressed in impeccable barber whites arrived, plugging shearers into a socket hanging precariously from the wall by its wires. Baobab’s travelling companion pointed to the neatly shorn head of the barman. The barber nodded solemnly and got to work on his client’s long golden locks

  • Police checkpoints back on Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway

    SIR: Barely two years after the Inspector General of Police, Abubakar Mohammed broke the jinx of police obstinacy of extorting money from motorists by dismantling all illegal police checkpoints along the country’s highways and pronouncing strict punitive measures on any police officer who backslides, the practice has since returned to Aba/Port Harcourt expressway.

    From Imo River Bridge in Rivers State to Alaoji in Abia State, over 10 police checkpoints are mounted there. This development would ordinarily not have been abnormal if they are there to oversee the security of life and property of the people, but they compel motorists, especially the commercial ones to dole out cash at every checkpoint.

    Over the years, the Nigerian Army has never been involved in this extortion syndrome, but this time around, the army officers working with these police officers have joined the bandwagon. Whereas the police officers collect the toll by themselves, the soldiers engage the services of civilians to collect on their behalf.

    This return of the practice at this time that the nation is battling hard to forge ahead with advanced climes should not be swept under the carpet by the federal government. There is therefore the urgent need to nip it on the bud before it spreads over to other parts of the country.

    I call on the Inspector General of Police, to detail his men to patrol the Aba/Port Harcourt expressway with a view to arresting these policemen and their military counterparts and mete out adequate disciplinary measures to them to serve as deterrent to any intending defaulters.

    • Nkemakolam Gabriel

    Port Harcourt

     

  • Slash Political ‘SAP’ by 75%; ‘24 Hour Power’ in 3 months-Solar; Are checkpoints legal?

    Politicians are often selfish but are they ignorant also? Many are playing with fire, insulting the electorate in their lifestyle and speech and expecting praise. Did you not shudder at the Egypt’s political upheaval gunfire? Patience Jonathan’s expensive, traffic snarling ‘Peace Rally’ flies in the face of poverty, angers the nation and is not the answer! Better governance is the only answer! Politicians should see the effect of bad politics on the faces in Egypt and Borno, in Plateau states and the murderous fire fight on the North-South cattle corridor.

    Politicians would be enlightened if Nigerian newspapers kept a ‘Cumulative Death List’ and counted refugees. Blankets and buckets do not replace loved ones or livelihoods. Refugees deserve large cash handouts and business support. Politicians should learn about the killed and kidnapped. They also voted. The dead are not ‘only 25 died’ or mere numbers. They were living people with life ahead. Politicians should calculate the cost of violence inflicted by their decisions. The River’s State crisis mirrors the Oyo State violence four years ago. The peace in Oyo State today is ‘normal’ and credit to Governor Ajimobi’s strategy of saying “No” to thugs’. The NURTW needs re-education, ID cards, speed limit controls and registration.

    Politicians must be reminded that their exorbitant ‘Salaries and Perks’, SAP, scam since 1999, allowed them to ‘legally but immorally steal billions’, distort the economy and precipitate the current national wages crisis.

    As suggested by this column and by NUC, political SAP should be political issue for APC party and the 2015 elections. The citizens should only vote for politicians signing a ‘Personal 50-75% Salary and Perks Reduction Agreement’. Nigeria cannot afford the hundreds of billions of naira spent on politicians. This dividend of democracy, no Nigerians except the politicians want! Meanwhile government politicians have no money for ASUU bills.

    Never forget that since 1999 every single politician of all political parties, without moral exception, appears to have happily taken their allowances or fees for furniture, hotel, vehicle, sitting, standing-in, out-of-station, bush, travel, overnight, per diem, appearance, brown envelope and cash-under-hat as and when due. In fact we should be forcing a change in politics towards cheaper politics, a Parliamentary rather than a Presidential System or at least a ‘Part Time Parliament’ paid per diem.

    Politicians must accept that their Salary and Perks’ structure SAPed Nigeria dry, post Babangida’s SAP, and is the catalyst for nationwide unrest and inflation in rent and other prices. It has increased those in poverty by devaluing the naira and undermining anti-poverty strategies. SAP are the stick beating down the masses for politicians to earn a minimum of N12m/year rising to N30m while millions are on N15,000-18,000/month or N490-590/day.

    ‘Politics’ is just another subject with an examination every four years or so. ‘The Mass Failure’ of politicians cannot be swept aside by elections, bought and paid for by money largely stolen from the electorate and diverted from development. Politicians must know that nothing is secret. They should not be deceived by the Al Mustaphas or the thieves who stole the petroleum and electricity money and are now big philanthropists to cover their tracks.

    Nigeria is in need of ‘Emergency Measures’. Nigeria is populated by millions of hard working Nigerians trying to be self-sufficient who deserve the rights of 21st century human beings, including cheap grid electricity -100,000Mw. The hopeless power situation is not a game or a joke but a Nigerian yoke. Though this government has power it fails to give the citizens power. This government has held ‘Uninterrupted Political Power’ since 1999, and government was held by others before this government. Old or young, the leadership including every single president during the last 30 years is disgraced by this lack of power which has taken up to half of the earnings of many businesses. If Nigerians ran such businesses in a Nigeria with ’24-hour Power’ like in many African countries and worldwide, imagine the savings, profits, service delivery, silence, lack of noise and air pollution and how many Nigerians would be above the poverty line. In spite of this, government demands more taxes. Government complains about food imports but is silent on fuel and generator imports resulting from government’s power incompetence.

    The questions all Nigerians ask are: ‘How dare governments provide every electricity need for its political and civil servant members, using tax funds, to the exclusion of the people’s needs?’ and ‘Why is there no apology?’

    Nigeria’s government has no excuse not to get the USA, UK, Germany and Japan to provide the ‘Emergency Power Supply’. They are also leaders in new solar battery technology. The Japanese replaced the losses at Fujiyama within three months. It got emergency power because Japanese politicians know that the people’s needs today are more important than long term solutions bedevilled by corruption and never-executed contracts. Here Nigerian politicians ignore even God-sent solar power which needs no grid, gas contracts or distribution networks. Government should invite the Japanese as an emergency measure, now!

    The lesson from ‘The Festus Osugwor Extortion Case’ is ‘Always Turn on Phones’. With many Nigerians owning a phone, we can join the anti-corruption war as the FOP, ‘Fear of Phones’ should reduce corruption and save lives. Has the IGP reversed the law banning static police checkpoints? They are back with one nearly permanent checkpoint now on the Ibadan’s Bodija-Awolowo Road, near SSPeter and Paul.

    IGP, is it legal?