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Tag: conquer

  • Kumuyi urges members, others to conquer with Christ

    Kumuyi urges members, others to conquer with Christ

    The General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Folorunsho Kumuyi, has said would-be participants at the church’s national Easter retreat of God’s special empowerment should conquer life’s challenges in these perilous times.

    Pastor Kumuyi, who expressed optimism that the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead will liberate participants from bondage, announced that the event with the theme, ‘Conquering with the Crucified King’ will  take place from Thursday, April 23 to Sunday, April 26, 2017 at the Deeper Life Conference Centre (DLCC) on KM 48, Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

    According to the cleric, the programme will take place simultaneously in all the states, regions and local government camp grounds within Nigeria, other locations in Africa and beyond.

    In a statement signed by him, the General Superintendent promised that just as Christ conquered death and all his enemies when he declared “it is finished” on the cross of Calvary, even so shall all participants have their life challenges torn asunder and uprooted at the retreat.

    “We live in perilous times, when societies are filled with cries of agony, stories of anguish, terror, sadness and of hopelessness; when frustration is driving many people to take their own lives; when people are having their expectations and hopes dashed; miseries and confusion have become the order of the day, and governments of many countries have come to a crossroads.

    “It has become clear to many people that there is no solution from man. We hear about cases of kidnapping, assassinations, bare-faced wickedness, even as many experience insecurity and extreme poverty. The world at best is in turmoil. These are the fulfillments of the scriptures. But we are not alarmed because, Christ our mighty Captain declared with a loud voice on the cross of Calvary that ‘it is finished’. We have nothing to fear,” Pastor Kumuyi further added.

    According to him, “the theme of this year’s Easter Retreat, like others before it, has been carefully thought through, given the goings on around the globe. What this retreat means to us as members of the church is to take a break from the prevailing hustling and bustling  for spiritual rearmament and refocusing . This is because, no one can be triumphant in this sin-filled and challenging world without divine empowerment. Again, for visitors, the retreat will help them to discover themselves and then realise that by strength shall no man prevail. The retreat promises to be a time of refreshing for both old and new, members and non-members alike.”

    He urged Nigerians to “look up to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith”, particularly at a time when the country is ploughing through one of its worst epochs since Independence.

    “The point at which we are in the country demands divine intervention. That may not be quick in coming unless we all intercede for Nigeria and resolve to do things in a better, different way.”

  • Ganduje: Buhari will conquer economic challenges

    Ganduje: Buhari will conquer economic challenges

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje is hopeful President Muhammadu Buhari will turn around the country’s economic misfortune.

    According to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Muhammad Garba, Ganduje stated this yesterday while delivering his New Year message to the people.

    The statement noted that Ganduje welcomed the people to 2017 and prayed that the year will be full of opportunities, blessings and happiness for everyone.

    The statement reads: “The past year has indeed not been very smooth in view of the challenging realities we found ourselves in, as a result of the recession. I am, however, optimistic that with the dogged commitment of our President, Muhammadu Buhari, to turn around the economy after many years of mismanagement, good days are very close by.

    “Our administration, like all other states in the country, is feeling the crunch, as a result of the dwindling revenue from the federation account. But notwithstanding the hard times, we have been able to judiciously utilise the little resources we are receiving along with our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to initiate and finance laudable and beneficial projects and programmes.

    “Our commitment in this direction is very clear, particularly in terms of completion of inherited projects, initiation of new roads and bridges, underpass and flyover, water supply, health, agriculture youth and women development, education, rural development, sanitation and environmental protection.”

    The governor thanked the people for their understanding and support for the government’s policies, even as he urged them to continue to pay their taxes to enable the government execute more human-oriented projects for an improved welfare.

  • PMB’s will to conquer terrorism

    One can never forget the second bombing incident in Nigeria when a terrorist attempted to bring down the Louis Edet House, the headquarter of Nigeria Police Force in the nation’s capital city, Abuja. This was to be the first suicide mission in Nigeria and a new dimension in the activities of the terror group – the Boko Haram –  in its deadly operations in Nigeria.

    This incident opened the door for our country’s descent into despondency and a long running show of shame. It exposed Nigeria’s numerous weaknesses to the world as the other security agencies were forced to build siege walls with artificial barriers like blocks, stones and other instruments to barricade their complexes. Each security outfit became wary and were willing to do the ridiculous if only to avoid any embarrassment from Boko Haram and their suicide bombers.

    If the siege mentality in the nation’s capital was troubling, then the news from the war front in the North-east, the Boko Haram heartland was dismal. There were countless number of stories of soldiers fleeing battles, widespread desertion, horrendous casualty and a band of terrorists that took on invincibility. The situation was bad enough that constitutionally scheduled general elections were placed on hold for six weeks under the guise of fighting a group that had grown the capacity to attack any part of the country at will.

    The coming of President Muhammadu Buhari marked the beginning of the end of Boko Haram. The inauguration of President Buhari and subsequent appointment of Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai remains that turning point in the war against the fanatical murderers. It marked the point when the commanders of the extremists, who decorated themselves without the sophistication and training of the Nigerian Army that was proudly rated as the best in Africa sequel to the evil ascendancy of Boko Haram being addressed as mere criminals.

    One can therefore not be blamed to have found the declaration by the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, six months after the inception of the administration, that Boko Haram has been technically defeated. The Minister of Information, hitherto known for his persistent outspokenness during his days as the All Progressives Congress, APC spokesman demonstrated what he meant with a visit to Maiduguri. The city, until the exit of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan was the administrative headquarters of Boko Haram just like Washington DC is to the United States of America. Senior officials of the previous administration had technically declared the North-east a no go area, even for those who are originally from the place.

    It was adequately reported, quoting multiple intelligence sources and operational reports, that the terrorists were all coordinated from this town while Sambisa Forest served as their armoury and Bite as the spiritual headquarters from where all their Imams and Alfas coordinating prayers for their success against our army. Ironically, mere prayer warriors can only win battles when there is no army like the renewed Nigerian Army under President Buhari and his able chief, officers and soldiers have made us to understand today.

    Just as the Boko Haram black flag has been taken down and burnt in areas that were once their strongholds, making it possible for life to return to normal, the siege around military facilities and other national assets in Abujais being lifted. The barricades have disappeared from Agura Hotel and other barricades are disappearing from around other facilities. Institutions that still have barricades in place either are not in tune with the mood of the times.

    Those days when we hear the then Minister of Information, Labaran Maku of the Jonathan administration declare the defeat of Boko Haram, Nigerians run to Agura Hotel to confirm if the double lane, which was sealed off to protect military offices in the vicinity, has been reopened to traffic or not.

    It is on this note that must appreciate President Buhari’s right choice in appointing General Buratai as COAS. The events that followed showed that the General shared the same trait of decisiveness with the older General that appointed him. This explains why Buratai was able to bring on board leadership with a focus.

    As opposed to when Boko Haram was fought from the comfort of air-conditioned hotel suites and the lobby of expansive duplexes and well-stocked ballrooms, President Buhar’s directive as implemented by Buratai, who demonstrated a clear understanding of guerrilla warfare yielded the quick turnaround that ensured that all the prophets of doom are put to shame as their prediction of doom for Nigeria amounted to nought. With the introduction of motorbike battalion under his command, something that is comparatively cheaper but was never contemplated, soldiers are now able to move quickly to wherever the terrorists are before they can cause much havoc.

    That these feats were achieved can also be situated in the anti-corruption stance of President Buhari, which Buratai has dedicatedly implemented as he exhibited intolerance for corruption anywhere in the Army. It must be noted that this anti-corruption component goes beyond not diverting money meant for arms purchase and personnel welfare as it also include rebuilding values to engender germane qualities not seen in any military formations anywhere in Africa.

    With the benefit of hindsight, the current administration might not have made the required mark in other sectors in relation to citizens’ expectations, but the fact that we can now sleep with our eyes closed is commendable as an achievement that should make any objective assessor score President Muhammadu Buhari the required first class performance. We must salute his will and determination to return Nigeria to being a stable and peaceful country.

     

    • Suleiman writes from Jos Road, Bauchi State.

  • Time to conquer TB

    Nigeria must re-strategize in its fight against this infection

    Nigeria’s successful conquest of the Ebola Viral Disease (EVD) has apparently had the paradoxical effect of blinding it to the importance of addressing other ailments, even more deadly when reckoned in terms of lost human lives.

    While the depredations of malaria are well-known, it appears that tuberculosis (TB) poses similarly crucial health challenges for the country.

    Nigeria was ranked third-highest in the world’s TB-prevalent countries in 2014, and the most heavily-infected in Africa. Some four million cases are expected to develop between 2015 and 2020, with a quarter of them co-occurring with Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV).

    A significant proportion of TB cases are of the version called Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB), which is harder to treat. About 170,000 of the current 570,000 TB cases occurring in the country are fatal.  That fatality is slightly more than one in every four cases.

    That would be a dire harvest in needless deaths, were Nigeria to get right the environment to prevent the disease; and the right medicare to treat and eventually cure it.  With the present parlous position, that appears a daunting challenge.  But it is not impossible to scale.

    The prevalence of TB in the country is due to several complementary factors: poor public sanitation, low levels of personal hygiene, overcrowding and poor immune systems.

    These factors become even more significant in the wake of the widespread social disruption caused by the Boko Haram insurgency, and communal clashes which occur across the country.

    If Nigeria is to properly come to grips with the TB challenge, it will first have to understand that it is facing a medical crisis that is as urgent as the one it encountered with EVD. Indeed, in some respects, the TB epidemic is far more serious.

    Ebola claimed eight lives, compared to TB which accounts for 0.17 million annually. Tuberculosis is far more insidious, and can manifest as the symptom-free latent TB that silently infects others. It can serve to accelerate the spread of HIV, and in its MDR-TB form, it can complicate treatment regimens and exponentially increase the cost of treatment.

    Besides, when HIV morphs into AIDS (but it need not, if the right counseling procedure and treatment regime are taken), TB is one of those virulent opportunistic infections that tears away at the patient’s body.  That explains why latter-day integrated HIV-AIDS preventive campaigns include TB and malaria.  It is dubbed HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) prevention campaigns.

    A viable anti-TB campaign, therefore, requires a comprehensively integrated approach, which incorporates extensive immunisation, improved reporting systems and better nutrition, as well as education and enlightenment programmes, and, of course, better treatment.

    Since adolescents and children are disproportionately affected by TB in Nigeria, they should be given correspondingly greater priority. The country’s health system must return to its stress on primary health care, with emphasis on child immunization, that it enjoyed during the tenure of the late Professor Olikoye Ransome-Kuti as Minister of Health.

    Greater attention should also  be paid to school-feeding programmes to enable children obtain at least one nutritionally-balanced meal a day, thereby improving their immune systems. That means, even if to roll back TB alone, the Buhari presidency should urgently implement the nationwide schools feeding programme.

    Slum redevelopment and urban renewal are crucial to tackling the overcrowding and insanitary conditions that prevail in far too many of the country’s urban areas.

    Comprehensive enlightenment programmes must also be developed to show the citizenry how to avoid contracting the disease; and how to recognize its symptoms.

    The country’s healthcare facilities must give the anti-TB fight the same prominence that they currently devote to malaria. TB treatment should be heavily subsidised, if not completely free; drugs and therapies must be made widely available, especially in public health institutions. It is particularly important that patients be aware of the vital need to complete treatment regimes so as to avoid Multi-Drug Resistant TB.

    But none of these control measures will succeed without adequate funding. According to the WHO, the country’s national TB programme budget is put at US $228 million, of which 13 per cent is locally funded, 16 per cent internationally funded, while 68 per cent is unfunded.

    This a huge gap.  If over two-thirds of the anti-TB budget is not financed, very little progress can be made in combatting it. The Buhari administration must, therefore, ensure that the anti-TB campaign gets the money it needs in order to be effective.

    The battle against disease is a never-ending one. Nigeria’s globally-hailed victories over EVD and polio demonstrate that it has the capacity to win the current war against tuberculosis.  So, it’s time to attack and vanquished TB.  With determination and resolve, it can be done.

  • Gentlemen can’t conquer corruption

    When official corruption becomes fashionable, that is a corruption of fashion. It is a fashion that should be made unfashionable. Corruption-related news here and there not only illustrates the fashion of corruption but also the failure of containment.

    Understandably, the corruption-related spotlight on former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, which was activated in London, caused a sensation that is continuing sensationally. Yesterday’s powerful woman remains free, but her freedom is chained. Against the backdrop of ongoing investigation of her corruption status, she reportedly cannot leave the UK based on judicial restriction.

    Perhaps also understandable is a defensive familial statement, on October 8, by Oscar M. Onwudiwe, on behalf of the Agama and Madueke families. The statement said: “It is worth emphasising that Mrs. Alison-Madueke was never arrested or detained and her passport was never seized. She was merely invited, and she honoured it promptly.”  Of course, euphemism is allowed in such a defensive situation, even when the euphemistic is not euphonistic.

    The statement’s apparent clarification of Alison-Madueke’s health status is not just of particular interest; it is of public interest. It said: “Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke has been receiving treatment for cancer in the UK which started while she was in office. The health crisis has unfortunately exacerbated in recent times. She completed months of chemotherapy just last week and she is scheduled to undergo surgery next week in London.”

    This information should silence those who alleged that the poor woman was on the run, and had run away to the UK to escape a probe at home. But her cancer status must not arrest investigation of her corruption status.

    Cancer seems a penetrating metaphor for the operation of official corruption in Nigeria’s corridors of power.  The devastating potency of the disease and its destructive metastasis make it a vivid image of the power of corruption among the powerful. Literally and figuratively speaking, if corruption doesn’t kill the corrupt and the corrupted, they are unlikely to kill corruption.

    The idea that corruption can be seen as a cancer spreading among the country’s power elite is perhaps reinforced by a publicised 88-page petition to the Senate against a high-profile ministerial nominee, former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi.  The petition, aimed at rubbishing Amaechi’s nomination and stopping his confirmation, came from a Non-Governmental Organisation, “The Integrity Group,” based in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    It is striking that the petition’s title is corruption-related: “Petition against ministerial nominee: Chibuke Rotimi Amaechi: Demand to withdraw and reject his nomination and appointment on grounds of corruption, criminal breach of trust, unlawful enrichment and conversion of over N70 billion Rivers peoples’ monies by the former governor of Rivers State.”

    On the surface, this move to discredit Amaechi may be politically inspired, considering the continuing conflict between the All Progressives Congress (APC), his party, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the state’s ruling party. But beneath the surface, and beyond the surface, there may be dirt. In other words, the anti-Amaechi petition may not necessarily be anti-corruption, but that is not to say it is merely a tool to corrupt Amaechi’s screening for ministerial office.

    Essentially, these narratives concerning Alison-Madueke and Amaechi, irrespective of their innocence or guilt, show that the possibility of corruption transcends political complexion.

    How President Muhammadu Buhari will confront corruption is critical to the future of corruption. There is no question that a confrontational spearhead is compulsory for the conquest of corruption. Interestingly, a corroboration of this necessity came from an unlikely figure when Ijaw leader Chief Edwin Clark hosted the Think Nigeria First Initiative Group at his Asokoro home in Abuja. Clark spoke about the anti-corruption failure of former President Goodluck Jonathan, whose leadership he had supported unapologetically. Clark reportedly said: “Jonathan is a gentleman. He is too gentle. Drivers under his administration are now living in palatial buildings. In advanced countries, when you are living above your means, people will query you. This is not so in Nigeria…Jonathan meant well for this country, but the willpower to fight corruption was not there…Being a gentleman is not enough to govern this country.”

    For the avoidance of distraction, Clark’s message deserves public attention more than the confusion of the messenger. It is unclear whether Clark’s revealing portraiture is a revelation he has just had. It is also unclear whether Clark’s clarity is connected with the new period of political change and the fierce anti-corruption position of the Buhari administration.

    However, it is clear enough that the country has been corrupted by a chain of corruption-friendly governments and sponsors of corruption-friendly governance. Some months before Jonathan was dumped by the electorate in March, he identified what he described as “two main problems confronting us as a nation.”  It was at a special New Year service at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Abuja. According to Jonathan, “There are two main problems confronting us as a nation: The issue of insecurity in the North where we have the Boko Haram terrorists and in the South where we have commercial kidnapping. The next thing that people worry about after security is the issue of corruption.”

    Jonathan had boasted: “We are coming out with programmes and plans to clean up.” He was quoted as saying: “These are things you just don’t use a magical wand to wave off; otherwise even before I became President, there wouldn’t have been corruption in Nigeria.”

    It would appear that the country, contrary to Jonathan’s reasoning, is in dire need of a magic wand that is magical enough to correct the corrupt condition of corruption. Perhaps even more than a magic wand, the country deserves a magician of wonders. The mentality of a magician is absolutely necessary because a magic wand without a magician with a solid determination to use it to achieve magical results is ultimately of no use.

  • Can we conquer the specter of educational kwashiorkor as we did that of the Ebola pandemic?

    Can we conquer the specter of educational kwashiorkor as we did that of the Ebola pandemic?

    Specter:

    1. An object of terror or dread: the specter of famine or disease.
    2. A mental image of something extremely menacing: the specter of an epidemic disease
    Dictionary.com (online)

    This past week, the declaration of the World Health Organization (WHO) that Nigeria is free of the specter of an Ebola pandemic finally hit the airwaves of the Western media in a big way. On radio, on television, in newspapers and in the virtual but ubiquitous universe of the Internet, the news finally broke and pervaded reports in every broadcast medium that Nigeria was no longer one of the West African countries to be avoided. This development gave me a relief of such immensity that I knew that something was involved that was much greater than my simple but profound joy in the realization that people would not be dying in their thousands or hundreds of thousands from an Ebola pandemic in our country. That “something” was the thought that we actually might have in us the capacity, the will to fight and conquer all the social evils that plague us now and seem impregnable, things like endemic, miasmic corruption; Boko Haram; a whole generation of young people with future prospects worse than the frightening present; and the metaphoric kwashiorkor that has made the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of education in our country one of the worst in the world.

    In thinking about what to write, what to include in this piece, I consciously made the decision that first of all, I must give in to and express my great joy and relief that we beat the specter of the Ebola pandemic. The removal of Nigeria and Senegal from the zone of “West Africa of Ebola” is the single best piece of news from our continent in a long time. This is all the more exceptional because for the most part, we did it on our own. We did get some assistance from foreign medical personnel and the active interest of the WHO, but no one can deny the fact that it was the work and dedication of heroic and selfless Nigerians that made this achievement possible. Thus, my mind goes back again to that woman of extraordinary bravery, courage and selflessness, Dr. Ameyo Adadevoh. From there, my mind wanders to the inspirational story of Dr. Adah Igonoh’s survival from the near-death clutches of an Ebola attack. And then to the Lagos State Government, with some help from the Federal Ministry of Health. As I write these words, I am filled with a pride, a faith in my country and its human capacities the like of which I have not felt in a long while. Indeed, in writing these words, I have a strong intimation that many of those reading this piece also feel, as I do, that beating the threat of the Ebola pandemic is the best and most positively portentous news that we have had in Nigeria in perhaps the last half of a decade.

    Only now that we seem to have beaten the threat of an Ebola pandemic does it come with a startling revelation that in actuality, it was the specter, not the reality of a pandemic that inspired us to dig deep into our collective selves and find the capacities we have in us to beat the threat. For unlike Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea that are countries facing the grim reality of the Ebola pandemic, we had only seven deaths. And after the initial spread of the disease beyond the index carrier, Patrick Sawyer, the figure of real and suspected secondary cases of infection never exceeded a couple of hundreds. That is why, at least in hindsight, one realizes now that it was the specter of being overwhelmed by the reality of the pandemic raging in those three countries that spurred us.

    Is this a general law, a general feature of human affairs, that people are often far more frightened and prompted to action by the threat and not the reality of great, surpassing calamity? On this account, calamity itself – and not its specter – leaves little or no room for redeeming, curative action. This, it seems, is because with the threat, the specter of calamity, you are not yet overwhelmed by its actuality; you still have breathing room to act decisively. I think this is a false and unhelpful assumption but because we have just experienced the specter and not the reality of an Ebola pandemic, I wish to probe a little further into the matter through the example of what I am calling in this essay the kwashiorkor of a colossal fall in educational standards in our country.

    I chose the metaphor, the image of kwashiorkor deliberately. This is a disease that comes from extreme malnutrition whose victims are, overwhelmingly, children. More spectral is the visual image of kwashiorkor stricken children: the belly is grotesquely bloated, making the head look shrunken or naturally undersize. This then makes it seem as if there is nothing in the head, the seat of knowledge, while the belly, the seat of nourishment for the whole body, is full, sated. But of course in kwashiorkor the belly is also empty as, indeed, is the whole human frame and mass. Thus, in kwashiorkor you have the perfect image for an undernourishment that is so severe that in both the bloated and shrunken parts of the body, there is nothing of value left to sustain the body and, indeed, life itself.

    I first thought of this image as an appropriate metaphor for the collapse in education at all levels in our country when, in the year 2009, I read that the failure rate of those who sat for the NECO exams for the year was 98.2% which meant that only 1.8% passed. Since then, other facts, figures and actualities of educational doldrums in our country have added to the appropriateness of the kwashiorkor metaphor. One statistic is the fact that the passing rate for English and Mathematics in NECO exams in the last five years has never risen above 35%. Yet another fact is perpetual complaint of employers of labour in Nigeria that the graduates being produced in our tertiary institutions are so mediocre that they are virtually “unemployable”. Add to that the fact that not only very rich Nigerians but also those who are only moderately well off are abandoning Nigerian universities and sending their children to foreign universities where “foreign” here includes African countries like Ghana and South Africa. Finally, there is this fact: even though everyone connected with education in Nigeria agrees that the standards of performance, of teaching by our primary and secondary teachers are very low, the teachers themselves are very resistant to re-training and re-professionalization.

    The reasons for this educational kwashiorkor are many, but most significant of all is the fact that public funds, or national wealth that could have been used to adequately fund education at all levels in our country are being massively looted and diverted to the private local and foreign bank accounts of a few thousands of members of the political class and their cronies in the private sector. I think this is why our educational kwashiorkor has gone far beyond a specter to an overwhelming and crippling actuality. The most telling indication of this is the fact that, as far as I am aware, no Federal Minster of Education and no Commissioner of Education in any of the states of the federation has ever raised an alarm at the terrible failure rate of our secondary school leavers. I mean, when the specter has become a pervasive reality, why raise an alarm, why worry, especially if you are amongst and within the ranks of those causing the severe malnourishment to education in our country? In most countries of the world, a failure rate of 98.2% would have caused the powers that be to bring all stakeholders together to devise a strategy to avert the possibility of the specter becoming an overwhelming and crippling reality.

    Specters constitute a very complex, very interesting phenomenon in human individual and mass psychology. Because I have not been in the country since July when I came twice, I have been informed by reliable friends that since the Ebola threat or specter, standards of public hygiene have improved considerably in many parts of the country, especially in public spaces and venues. If that is the case, we can assert that specters sometimes have beneficial uses and in the case of the Ebola scare, the specter was spectacular in the degree of civic mindedness that it inspired in thousands of Nigerians. All the same, we must realize that it is a desperate and failing state that needs a specter in order to do what is right, what will be of lasting value to Nigerians of living generations and generations yet to be born. And there is always the fact that specters are never completely laid to rest. We have beaten back the first specter of an Ebola pandemic that came with Patrick Sawyer, but who is to say that another “Sawyer” will never come into the country and start the scare, the specter all over again? Indeed, specters arise not only from what is yet to come but also from what has already come and is raging in the land. So that even as terrible as the undernourishment of education is in our country now, there is the specter of the fact that it could get far worse than what we are experiencing now. Thus, it is never too late to arrest a worsening situation; we are not trapped irrevocably between the specter and its reality. This coming week, there is going to be a National Education Summit (NES) to be hosted by ASUU and the NLC. This piece is written with fervent hopes that the Summit will end in a resounding success.

     

     

    Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • Rawlings: how Africa can conquer corruption

    Rawlings: how Africa can conquer corruption

    E was the cynosure of all eyes. Staff and students defied the scorching sun to welcome former Ghanaian President Jerry Rawlings to the campus.

    Rawlings, who is now an African Union (AU) envoy to Somalia, was there as the guest speaker at the second edition of Zik Lecture Series held at the Faculty of Social Sciences. He was received by a crowd of students, who waited at the entrance of the main auditorium, the venue of the programme.

    By 8am, guests had started filing into the expansive auditorium. Their pensive looks showed their readiness to tackle the theme of the lecture: Eradicating corruption in Africa.

    The host and the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof Austin Nnonyelu, described the lecture as timely given the spread of corruption in public and private life. According to him, the lecture, which was instituted by Senator Ben Obi, is to promote the philosophy of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, one of the founding fathers of Nigeria.

    The lecture is held quarterly to examine Africa’s development and democratic challenges and to tackle the continent’s problems. Nnonyelu said the theme of the lecture was “prudently selected” as corruption was one of the hurdles against Africa’s development.

    Rawlings defined corruption as a deviation from the moral or spiritual norm, stressing that the vice stemmed from deliberate refusal to operate based on set rules, regulations and laws. With a wicked intention, he added, corrupt officials circumvent the punitive actions that come with such deliberate deviation from the norm.

    He said it was the willingness to tolerate the intolerable that motivated persons or institutions with influence to perpetrate corruption. He pointed out that corruption by those in government directly affected the rule of law and debased the moral right of political leadership to serve as a respected regulator of the affairs of the state.

    He urged Africans not to overlook the scourge of corruption, saying the continent would witness real development if its leaders expressed genuine desire to combat the vice.

    Speaking on Terrorism and democracy, Prof Okwudiba Nnoli, a political scientist, noted that disloyalty to democratic principles gave vent to the violent agitation by groups of extremists across the country.

    Prof Humphery Assisi Assobie, a political scientist, also delivered a lecture. Other guests also spoke, urging African governments to fight corruption. Dignitaries at event included the governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, Senator Obi, Senator Chris Ngige and the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Boniface Egboka, among others.

    In his address, Prof Egboka said the theme of the lecture was relevant and addressed the political life of the African countries. He said leaders’ attention should be on the attainment of the millennium development goals and how to free the continent from the shackles of poverty, ignorance and disease.

    Gov. Obi said: “Corruption in Africa is endemic and should be fought vehemently by every patriotic African.”

  • OPERATION CONQUER KENYA: Eagles’ list out February 28

    OPERATION CONQUER KENYA: Eagles’ list out February 28

    The list of the Super Eagles players who will battle Kenya in a 2014 World Cup qualifier in March will be announced this month end, officials have said.

    Nigeria will host the Harambee Stars of Kenya in Calabar on March 23 and a training camp will be opened in Abuja soon.

    It is believed coach Stephen Keshi will keep faith with the squad who won the 2013 AFCON in South Africa recently.

    Eagles spokesman Ben Alaiya said a date has not been fixed when the camping will begin, but he is hopeful the list of call-ups for the match will be released by the end of the month.

    “The list of the players who will play the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Kenya should be made public before the end of the month,” he disclosed.

    “The game is on March 23 and as usual the home-based players will be the first set of players to resume while their foreign-based counterparts will join up later. There is no cause for alarm as our foreign-based players are back at their clubs and doing well, while the home lads are with their club preparing for the new NPL season.”

    Nigeria lead their qualifying group with four points from two matches, a point ahead of closest rivals Namibia. Malawi are third on two points, while Kenya have a point.

  • Imoke charges Eaglets to conquer Guinea

    Imoke charges Eaglets to conquer Guinea

    Senator Liyel Imoke, the Governor of Cross River State, has charged the Golden Eaglets to go for an outright win when they meet Guinea on Sunday.

    The Nigerian youngsters take a 3-0 lead to Conakry for the second leg of their African Under-17 Junior championship qualifier and the governor has enthused that his adopted team has the capability to beat Guinea yet again.

    The Governor spoke through the State’s commissioner of sports, Hon. Patrick Ugbe who met the team before their final training session at the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium on Wednesday.

    “Once again, I congratulate you for your wonderful performance in your last match against Guinea and you know we are happy to have you with us in Calabar but first and foremost, I bring to you greetings from His Excellency, Governor Liyel Imoke,” Ugbe said. “As you conclude your preparation for the second leg game in Conakry, we are here to bid you farewell and wish you the best of luck.”

    He said he was optimistic of the chances of the Golden Eaglets judging by their last performance asking them however, never to be complacent.

    “We believe that there is no way Guinea can stop you and you must not allow Guinea to stop you. For us in Calabar, we are expecting your return because we know you still have one more country to play before your qualification for the Under-17 tournament in Morocco,” he said.

    “Don’t fear Guinea, just go there with determination and do the country proud as you have been doing since the beginning of your campaign.”

    Ugbe further made a clarion call on the players to play for the collective good of the team.

    “Lastly, don’t forget to play as a team. There are going to be eleven of you on the field but you can only succeed if you play as a team. Don’t be selfish, play as a team because that is the part to success. We wish you well as you go to Conakry,” he added.