The Nation Newspaper

Tag: crisis

  • Identity crisis in Nigeria

    Linguists have identified about 400 distinct languages in Nigeria. Almost three quarters of these languages are found on the Jos Plateau, Southern Zaria of Kaduna State, Bauchi and Adamawa hills and upper Benue River Valley as well as the Cross River valley and Middle Niger River valley. The area so described approximates the Middle Belt region of Nigeria. This is the region of Nigeria’s ethnic minorities. There are of course ethnic minorities in the Southern part of Nigeria especially in the so-called South-south region. Apart from these minorities who together constitute substantial component of Nigeria are the so-called majority groups like the Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba. This group were regarded as the tripodal foundation on which the Nigerian house stood. The federal architectural design for the Nigerian house was built on the fact of this triune nature of Nigeria.

    For a long time this was the accepted reality until the so-called minorities in the three regions even before the exit of the British began to agitate for their own home rule or for special institutions to be created to facilitate their quick economic and educational development.

    The Action Group of Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the first to recognize the potency of this ethnic force by embracing the creation of states as the party’s strategy of winning power at the centre. Chief Awolowo recognized that the only way he could come to power was through a coalition of the various minority groups presumably under the leadership of his largely Yoruba party. The constitutional angle to this strategy was fiscal federalism, meaning a loose federation in which each federating unit managed its financial resources but contributing enough to the centre to run common services like defence, aviation, communication, transportation and currency and no more.

    The other two main parties, the NCNC (National Council of Nigerian Citizens) led by Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe and the NPC (Northern People’s Congress) led by Alhaji  Ahmadu Bello were opposed to creation of states for their  own strategic reasons.  Ahmadu Bello did not want the North, his base of power split. Azikiwe for the same reason wanted the East to remain undivided. He also was opposed to the federal structure of government preferring a unitary constitution as a way of overcoming ethnic divisions in Nigeria. Even though Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello were ideological enemies, they however were staunch supporters of fiscal federalism. Federalism was of course more realistic and Awolowo and Ahmadu Bello wanted control of the agricultural wealth of their regions whereas Azikiwe who led the agriculturally poor Eastern Region wanted Unitarian structure so that the East could benefit from a collective pool of the national wealth.

    This was the political setting that took us to independence in 1960. The story of how the northern and the eastern political forces combined to finish off Awolowo and to send him to jail exploiting the division in the Action Group is well known. During the Action Group crisis and the weakening of the Western Region, the Mid-west Region was created in 1963 from the West while unlike what Awolowo advocated which was, contemporaneous creation of state’s in the three regions, the remaining regions remained intact.

    The civil war gave Awolowo opportunity to see the creation of states as part of the strategy of winning the civil war and perhaps to realize his long held view on state creation. Thus the 12 states structure under Yakubu Gowon gave the minorities in the Eastern Region and in the North something to fight and to die for. Unfortunately, instead of keeping this 12 states structure, each succeeding military ruler has further divided the country into small and unviable states arbitrarily and without rhyme or reason and sometimes to satisfy the desires of those in power. We now have 774 local government areas and 36 states not counting Abuja which is a state but not in name. The result of this is that almost 80 percent of national resources are used in administrative costs of payment of salaries and allowances and humongous payment of federal legislators. There is no money left to maintain nationwide infrastructure of roads, rail, and other infrastructure such as ports, air ports and other means of communication and aviation.  Money so spent on administration would have provided jobs for our teeming population of youths who have now been mobilized into ethnic armies and movements by charlatans looking for what to eat. School dropouts are issuing statements on behalf of nations like the Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa while responsible people for fear for their lives are keeping quiet.

    There is nothing wrong in being patriotic and embracing one’s ethnicity but not to the extent of hating and denigrating fellow countrymen and women. It is my considered opinion that it is the dwindling opportunities for employment that is fuelling the ethnic fissiparous tendencies in the country. It is idle hands that the devil finds work for. It is the frustration that nothing is working and nobody is trying to find solutions to pressing problems that is making people to go back to their ethnic comfort zones. The question is where are the Nigerians and how do we build a country we can all call our own?  Karl Marx is right when he said economics is at the basis of all relationship. You are a good father when you can provide for your family. A country is worth dying for when that country can provide for you and for your descendants. We all want to live and provide for ourselves in a country which has a future for our families. In the absence of this, we look for alternatives. The lack of opportunities and the level of poverty in the land is driving us to the edge of the precipice.

    Looking at Nigeria in historic perspectives shows us that we are not as different from each other as we think. Going from the South-west, the Yoruba has always shared historical ties with the Nupe, Borgawa,, Kanuri, Igalla, the pre-Fulani Gobirawa in the north and the Edo in the south. The Edo had historical relations with the Igbo in the western periphery of their land. The Edo have some relations with the Nupe just as Igalla have with the Nupe. The entire Benue valley was influenced by the Jukun. Sometimes Jukun influence spread to the Hausa states. Hausa land looked eastwards to the Kanuri for enlightenment.  In other words there were chains connecting all our people in the distant past before the advent of British colonialism. We may be speaking different languages today but most of the languages spoken in Nigeria belong to the Kwa group of the Niger-Congo family of languages.

    The material culture of the Nigerian area as seen in the Nok, Ife, Ugbo Ukwu, Benin, Idah, and Bida leaves no doubt about the cultural sameness and uniformity of the Nigerian area before the advent of the British. The concentration of unique African culture of dance, song, cuisine, couture and civilizations in the area at the central Atlantic and at the trigger of the African continent imposes some kind of mission on this area in the leadership of the African people. If all this is true, why then do we have the problems of forging a nation out of the multitude of tongues it has pleased the Almighty to endow us with?

    What we need to do is re-engineering of the country to make it workable. The centre is too strong. We must devolve power to the regions whatever the number of them we collectively agree to have. We must free the resources of this country from over-administration and channel them to physical development and industrialization so as to create jobs for our people.  We must embrace the principle and practice of fiscal and cooperative federalism. If people have jobs and they can fully realize their potentialities, it will not matter to them who is president or prime minister. In any case, the arena of politics should be shifted to the regions while the centre will simply manage affairs collectively assigned to it. We spend too much time on politics and little time for development. It is not so in serious countries like Japan, Germany and Canada to mention a few.

    Whatever we finally agree to do in this country, we must realize that the forces and facts of history and geography have made it impossible for us to separate. We cannot change our neighbours so it is futile to be talking about separation. If we are not happy about our current political structure, we must agree to reconfigure it and this must not be done by threats and blackmail. We are and remain Nigerians.

  • Wiping the Tears of Crisis Victims

    Wiping the Tears of Crisis Victims

    The last few days in Taraba State were not the best anybody could wish for. Peace, one of the most prized achievements of the present administration in the state, was rudely interrupted with the outbreak of hostilities between herdsmen and farmers in Mambilla – the future home of Africa’s largest hydro electricity power project in Sardauna Local Government Council Area.  Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku who was at the time away in Germany holding consultative meetings with foreign experts on some critical programmes of his administration rushed back home to attend to the problem.

    His intervention even before setting out for home led to prompt deployment of security forces to the trouble spots. This, in turn, helped in quickly dousing the conflict and cutting down drastically the amount of casualties that would have resulted. Even then, those who had hoped to make political gains from the crisis were as usual on duty. They pulled out all the materials in their bags of tricks to keep the embers of fire alive and burning in Mambilla but they failed. The crisis was quickly contained to their frustration and dismay.

    The end of the crisis paved the way early for a critical consultative meeting held in the Executive Council Chambers in Jalingo Saturday, June 24. The meeting called and presided over by Governor Ishaku, had in attendance representatives of all communities, traditional and political leaders from Sardauna Local Government Area. It was five hours of frank discussions that eventually led to far-reaching decisions. Leaders on both sides of the conflict resolved to give peace a chance and pledged to prevail on members of their communities to do so. Governor Ishaku, at the end of the meeting, announced the setting up of two ad hoc bodies – a high-powered 14-member committee to be headed by a traditional ruler and made up of community leaders from the area and a Truth and Reconciliation committee whose members and terms of reference will be announced after the Governor has been appropriately guided by relevant legal authorities. These committees are an addition to the Judicial Commission of Enquiry early announced by Governor Ishaku which has two weeks to submit its report to government.

    These steps taken at the meeting were very well received as welcome relief by participants at the meeting and members of the affected communities in Sardauna Council Area.  Many people who later reacted said the decisions were products of strategic thinking and capable of leading to the achievement of lasting peace in the area. The committees are expected to deal with the very critical issue of land ownership which was the point of emphasis at the meeting as a major remote cause of the crisis. Land – the struggle for it for farming and grazing – is a major cause of the strains in the relations between herdsmen and farmers that eventually culminated in the crisis.

    Over the years population of people who need land for farming has grown tremendously. And so is that of cattle, sheep and goats that also depend on land for grazing. But there has been no corresponding increase in land available to meet these rising needs. The committees will be examining how this conundrum can be resolved so that land could become less a source of conflict and more of prosperity for those who depend on it.

    A few days  later, government took another major step to bring care and succour to victims of the crisis. A government delegation led by the Deputy Governor, Engineer Haruna Manu was in Sardauna Local Government area to sympathise with victims and hand-over relief materials provided by government to them. He visited displaced persons in their temporary places of abode and assured them that government would assist in reintegrating them back into their various communities.

    At the palace of the chief of Mambilla, Manu said the crisis came as a big surprise to the state government because the people of Mambilla are very peace-loving. He told the people that the message he brought to them from Governor Ishaku is that there should be no further outbreak of crisis in the area. “What happened is the work of Satan and it must not be allowed again”, he said. He told a large crowd of people who had gathered before his arrival that many good things were in the offing for Mambilla and therefore “you must avoid anything that could hinder those good things from coming.”

    On Sunday June 25, an important political personality from the state, Alhaji Shuaibu Isa Lau, who was a few days earlier declared winner of the 2015 senatorial election in Taraba North came calling on Governor Ishaku at Government House, Jalingo. The venue of the reception which attracted a large crowd of supporters of the Senator (designate) was also the Executive Council Chambers. In a speech, Governor Ishaku said he and the new senator share a common experience of having their mandates subjected to long and tortuous judicial scrutiny. He urged the senator designate not to see the time wasted in the process of regaining his mandate as a loss but an experience that would strengthen his resolve to contribute more to the development of the state.

    Deaths in the House

    It was a period of grief for Governor Ishaku, staff of Government House and the entire people of the state. Sylvanus Giwa, senior special assistant to the governor on media and publicity slumped and died Friday June 23. Giwa had reported for duties that day and had just finished supervising the editing of a television documentary he was packaging when he slumped. He died moments later in a Jalingo hospital where he was rushed to. He is survived by his widow and children.

    While the staff of the Government House were still trying to overcome the shock of Giwa’s sudden death, came yet another news of death – that of Danbaba Suntai, former Governor  of Taraba State. Danbaba’s road to his eventual death on Wednesday June 28 is a long one. A plane which he had personally piloted crashed somewhere near Yola Airport in 2012. He sustained brain injuries and had been in and out of hospitals in Nigeria and overseas many times since then. The crash terminated his second tenure as governor abruptly half way. He never fully recovered from the injuries until his recent death.

  • Lawmakers condemn Gombe South crisis

    Lawmakers and political appointees from Gombe South have condemned the killing and destruction in the zone, describing it as ‘barbaric and unacceptable’.

    Deputy Governor Charles Iliya read out their stand after a meeting to review the recent communal clash between Kaltungo and Tangale Chiefdoms, at the weekend.

    The clash resurfaced about 9pm last Friday, when people from Kaltungo allegedly invaded Tangale farms.

    They condoled with the Commissioner of Police, family of the deceased, and sympathised with the injured and those who lost houses and property.

    A communiqué issued after the meeting reads: “We appeal to the affected Chiefdoms to embrace peace and dialogue as the only means of resolving disputes, and to await the outcome of the government’s steps the state government is embarking upon to resolve the matter.

    “We urge our brothers and sisters to avoid hate speeches, inciting comments on social media and other fora; but campaign for unity and peace, emphasising on our shared historical linguistic and cultural heritage.”

    Iliya said details of the government’s measures will be disclosed in due course as people had been delegated to work out possible solutions.

  • Nigeria: finding a closure to the June 12 crisis

    Nigeria: finding a closure to the June 12 crisis

    Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) Chairman Olawale Oshun chaired an event organised in Akure, Ondo State, to mark the 24th anniversary of the cancellation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Below is text of his remarks at the event.  The remarks of the Second Republic’s House of Representatives member are presented below.

    I will take a cue from Chief. Hon. Anthony Enahoro’s Alternative to Transition treatise delivered on Heroes day February 22, 1996 and start this short speech by paying tribute to our compatriots in the June 12 struggle. Where would one start from but in Ondo State, home of Chief Adekunle Micheal Ajasin, founding member of the Action Group, successor to the immutable Obafemi Awolowo, and a most hard working and disciplined leader of the June 12 Movement. I recall Hon. Chief Anthony Enahoro, the Parliamentarian reputed to have first moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence and NADECO (National Democratic Coalition) chairman, Senator Abraham Adesanya, Deputy NADECO chairman and Afenifere leader, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, and Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, both former military governors who embraced the fight against injustice and turned their backs on military dictatorship .

    I have mentioned some of the leaders but the list is endless, cutting across class, nationality, age and professions. It may be impossible to do justice to all these people who suffered immeasurably, with some loosing freedom, some limbs and in extreme of cases their lives. Permit me therefore to mention a few other names, Chima Ubani, Ayo Opadokun, Abdulsalam Danladi, Femi Aborishade, Adegboruwa Ebun-Oluwa, Adeniji Adele, Olufemi Adesina, Micheal Ajayi, Kunle Ajibade, Samuel Asogwa, Moshood Fayemiwo, Ifowodo Ogaga, Frank Kokori, Olusegun Maiyegun, Sylvester Odeon Akhaine, Ladi Olorunyomi, and Bayo Osinowo. In another class of their own are, General Alani Akinrinade, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, Dr. Amos Akingba, Senator Bola Tinubu, Chief John Oyegun, Dr. Beko Ransomekuti, Shehu Sanni, Gani Fawehinmi and Frederick Fasheun.

    These names can only be representative, they are not exhaustive and I therefore apologize to all those who deserve to be mentioned, but are not, particularly those who lost their lives including the thirty four young men who lost their lives on Ikorodu road, Lagos in a day of sheer madness when the military on the order of Sanni Abacha opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in Lagos.

    When Chief Enahoro spoke on the political heroes day, there was hope and expectations in the air. He was optimistic that the struggle for democracy would be won, and the sovereignty of the people would be restored. He was optimistic that there would be a monument in honour of the heroes, and that a message would reach them that they did not suffer in vain, and that ” by their labours , and their sacrifice, our heroes have earned immortality”.

    Chief Enahoro spoke twenty one years ago, a period when men and women threw themselves into the June 12 struggle, without counting cost. There was a determination that all would be done to ensure the reversal of the annulment of the June 12 elections.

    Chief Enahoro further contended that “whether Nigerians live in peace as respected and self respecting brothers in one family will not be decided by a corruptive primitive selection system.” He had gone on to recommend return to democracy through a three pronged approach, the kernel of which was the convening of a Sovereign National Conference (SNC) to put together “a new Constitution restructuring the Federation of Nigeria”.

    That was clear two and half years before MKO Abiola was murdered, and the new military government of Abdul salaam Abubakar against all entreaties insisted on a transition to civil rule without the pre-condition of restructuring. Abubakar, was however aided in his one sided unitary constitution pursuit by some of our leaders. Those leaders anxious to contest elections, argued, wrongly in my view, that what was necessary was to participate, secure executive or legislative offices and that restructuring would be easily added on to it. In other words, it would be apiece of cake. It was also obvious that if these political adventurers would not have their way, they were ready to throw the bath water away with the baby. I could recall the agony within the NADECO leadership, and how those like Papa Enahoro, Abraham Adesanya, Alani Akinrinade, Bolaji Akinyemi and others anxious to prevent an irretrievable split in the group, for that loomed as an inevitable end to the “let’s contest now or nothing” group that individual members were allowed to act as deemed fit.

     

    Lessons to Learn

    Almost twenty years after, and with many of those who clamoured for “contest now or nothing” attaining various offices in government, Nigeria’s purported federal Constitution hardens daily as a unitary instrument of control and domination by Nigeria’s ruling clique.

    The consequence – continued socio-economic and political decline, as may be considered by any indices of assessment. And because, over ninety percent of Nigerians bear the brunt of sustained misrule and unthought-of depth of corruption, the clamour for restructuring is louder today than it was twenty years ago. President Mohammed Buhari has helped, thankfully, to remove the veil on the depth and complexity of corruption in Nigeria and what is exposed to my mind strengthens the argument to restructure Nigeria. The Central government needs not amass all the nations wealth to itself, when the federating units could more efficiently apply the same resources for the greater benefit of Nigerians.

    Add to this, the recent political developments – IPOB (Indigenous People of Biafra) and MASSOB (Movement for the Actualisation of Sovereign State of Biafra) – focus on seeking to exit from Nigeria,  and with the northern youths’ declaration, albeit a declaration that may be a northern red herring rather than the youths pursuit, that the Igbos leave their domain, the southern militants agitation to take control of their resources, and the still sublime Yoruba request for restructuring, now hardening up to include a hitherto unthought-of confederal arrangement or even exit from the Nigerian nation if restructuring is made impossible.

    And distinguished ladies and gentlemen, what other evidence do you need that the country is in a stranglehold of an invisible ruling clique, if almost 20 years into Abiola’s death, and almost 24 years into the annulment of his election as president of our country, some kind of post-hummus accommodation cannot be found for him. No recognition of his martyrdom, in any form, even by the beneficiaries of his struggle, and to think they argue that what you need is not restructuring. Is it that the country should die for them to exist, and like the parasite feasting on an organ, isn’t the death of the organ a precursor of the death of the parasite?

    Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) in a yearly ritual had been pleading with the ‘unitarised’ government in Abuja to recognise the freely given mandate of June 12, 1993, recognise Abiola’s martyrdom through a posthumous declaration, and build a national monument in his honour. The ruling clique would do nothing of such, as it digs deeper and moves further away from the founding fathers’ federalist concept, the deeper the crisis of nation state gets. We would be glad to have any other contrary evidence!

    Those who clamoured for the restructuring of our country twenty years ago knew there was deep seated crisis ahead of the country if it failed to restructure. I am certain however that they possibly couldn’t have imagined the depth and severity of the crisis now besetting us. If we fail to heed the warning now, can we truly imagine what would beset the country in 20 years’ time.

    And that brings me to what we ordinary citizens perceive should be the role of elected governments in Yorubaland. My message through you, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu to your other colleagues, is that if Nigeria would not acknowledge Abiola’s contribution, you have a responsibility to acknowledge it.

    It is immaterial what political party brought any of you into office, the quest to restructure Nigeria is for the benefit of all Nigerians, but it is remarkably clear also, that it is the only platform on which the Yoruba people can thrive. The question arises all the time, whether the only lot of Yoruba in Nigeria is to go down for any other to thrive. Why can’t we all thrive together.

    We implore you therefore, that you and your colleagues do more in the clamour for restructuring.  What if I may ask stops all Yoruba governments in coming together to build a joint monument in honour of Chief MKO Abiola? If the central government would not do it, should we be too timid to do it. As the various legal challenges ably handled by Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Lagos State, Prof Yemi Osinbajo earlier on, showed the underbelly of the unitary constitution foisted on Nigeria, so is it possible that the six or seven of you can and should act together to test the resolve of those who are determined to enslave other Nigerians. It took the resolve of one governor, Zamfara’s Sani Yerimah to assert the fallibility of the nations’ Constitution as it affects the values and culture of his people and in great measure the inapplicable and nonsensical constitutional declaration on policing and the powerlessness of the unitary government there-on, that you are working together can do more for your people.

    That to me is the challenge of June12, and why we gather here today.

  • FUOYE’s unending crisis

    FUOYE’s unending crisis

    The crisis between the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and the workers has taken a new turn. The school is accussing Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose of fuelling the strike.  ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the scenario.

    The crisis at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) is not over yet. Last week, a new twist was added to the workers-management face-off when the Vice Chancellor, Prof Kayode Soremekun, alleged that the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was fuelling the crisis by instigating the workers against the management.

    As at the time of this report, the gates of the institution have been shut by workers, who are demanding sundry allowances and colleagues’ promotion.

    The twist was added to the crisis on Wednesday, last week, when the union leaders allegedly unleashed terror on memebres of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who were not part of the industrial action. The aggrieved workers allegedly dragged and beat some lecturers for their failure to join the strike. They were also alleged to have hung fetish objects at the main gate of the university, supposedly to scare visitors away.

    According to the management, the development forced it to contact the police, who arrested the chairmen of the three unions – Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) – Mutiu Ademola, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) – Dada Adebayo, and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) – Ekundayo Ajibaye – for disrupting the peace.

    Briefing newsmen last  weekend, Soremekun claimed that the crisis in the university was being fuelled, sponsored and instigated by Fayose. He alleged that the governor used the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Modupe Alade, as a front to secure the release of the union leaders.

    “The unionists were becoming so unruly in recent time. In fact, they beat up some lecturers and we called for their arrest only for the SSG to bail them out, acting on the governor’s directive,” Soremekun told reporters. Nonetheless, Governor Fayose denied it all.

    Speaking on his behalf, his  Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said as the chief security officer of the state, Fayose’s priority was to protect the entire state and not dabble into irrelevances.

    The union leaders have also shot back at Soremekun, saying their release was secured by their national leaders.

    The crisis started in January when workers protested over non-payment of about three months salary arrears and Hazard Allowances. Workers also alleged Soremekun of carrying out questionable employment in contravention of the federal character. They accused the VC of engaging on frequent trips abroad, despite the school’s financial constraint.

    But Soremekun, who denied the allegations, said he sits on boards of many foundations and global bodies across the world, which usually facilitate his trips abroad whenever the need arises.

    The unions claimed that the recent promotion carried out in May was marred by favoritism and irregularities. Workers also kicked against an average score of 85 per cent pass mark set by management as against the  60 per cent entrenched in the Condition of Service for senior staff in the university. They alleged that certain workers, who scored below 85 per cent were promoted, leaving many others, who equally deserved promotion on merit.

    The two parties eventually went for negotiation in February, brokered by the Ekiti State Office of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity. They both agreed that all arrears would be paid within five days of suspending the strike, The Nation learnt.

    Explaining the rationale for last week’s crisis, workers claimed that the VC refused to sign the said agreement, adding that this fuelled their fears that the management was not ready to honour the pact.

    During the briefing, FUOYE management further accused Fayose of sponsoring the union leaders to launch physical attacks on lecturers and other workers in the Registry.

    Soremekun said the unions’ actions almost resulted into anarchy as students wanted to launch a counter-attack, but the management promptly waded in.

    The VC said the union leaders invaded the Bursary Unit, ejected workers forcefully, and deflated tyres of vehicles parked.  He lamented that the incident coincided with the meeting of the university’s Governing Council, which had to relocate to Ado-Akiti to conclude its agenda because of the chaotic atmosphere.

    He listed some of those wounded by the unionists to include: the Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Babatope Alabadan; Dr Ayodele A Fajinmi and Dr Olatunde Oyelawon of the Department of Crop Science and Mechanical Engineering respectively.

    Others were: Messrs. Tunde Ogundana and Olawale Sanni both of Department of Mechanical Engineering; Head of Department of Physics, Dr Olusayo Olubosede and Dr Kikelomo Oluwalola, an adjunct staff member. Another victim, Mr. GabrielOkoli of the Department of Computer Engineering got his car vandalised during the attack, management added.

    According to Soremekun, the Registrar, Mr. Daniel Adeyemo was almost manhandled by the unionists.

    Ahead of last week’s attack, Soremekun recalled that the union leaders were given queries, which they refused to answer, adding that they also shunned a panel set up to investigate their activities.

    The VC accused Fayose of exerting pressure on him while he served as the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the Edo State governorship election by sending one of his (Fayose) aides to him.

    He claimed that Fayose had allegedly been after his life after serving as the CRO in the election last September, which saw Governor Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress defeating the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

    Soremekun said: “I am not a politician and I didn’t expect the governor to be sponsoring violence against me. Before the Ondo State governorship election, it was rumoured that I would be the Chief Returning Officer and before I could blink an eye, Fayose released my phone to the world where all sorts of messages were being sent to me.

    He continued: “Although I occupy a political position, but I am not a politician; the next election held was that of Ondo State and they thought I was going to be the Chief Returning Officer only to be sending horrible text messages to me.

    “As I speak with you now, my life and those of the Registrar and other management members are not safe. It is as bad as that.This fight is meant to save the soul of our university against partisanship. It is a fight against principalities and power of darkness in high places, working to politicise and destabilise our university.”

    Soremekun denied employing over 300 workers. He explained that few numbers of staff were employed to fill some vacancies and in deference to the principle of federal character.

    Fayose challenged Soremekun for having the gut to order the arrest of the protesters.

    “The Vice Chancellor is the one that should search his conscience whether or not he is doing the right thing concerning the management of the university,” Fayose said.

    “Be that as it may, it sounds so illogical that head of a university will stand before the press to say that university staff should be arrested and detained by the police for protesting,”the governor added.

    The union leaders, however, described Soremekun’s allegation as an attempt to gain the sympathy of the federal authorities and the public.

    Ajibaye said the unions were primarily concerned about the welfare of their colleagues and payment of their benefits and promotion of those who deserve it.

    Ajibaye said: “There is no truth in the allegation by the VC that the governor is sponsoring unions in FUOYE. The allegation should be disregarded by the entire public and the authorities.

    “The VC is only trying to deceive the public and the authorities in Abuja to cover his inefficiency. This VC in January stopped the payment of occupational Hazard Allowance to academic technologists in the university.

    “This is an allowance that is component of monthly salary paid by the Federal Government and has been appropriated in the university’s budget. This allowance has been part of the staff salary for four years now in the university.

    “This is a VC who, in the space of one year, has employed over 320 illegally without proper approval. In a bid to cover up this crime, the management recently did a kangaroo regularisation of appointments and forwarded few names to the Federal Character Commission as if due process were followed.”

    Ajibaye claimed that the national representatives of the unions that visited FUOYE management to seek a truce left in frustration because the VC was not cooperative.

    Ademola also denied the union’s involvement in the attacks on lecturers last week. He said workers’ grouse was further fuelled by the VC’s refusal to sign the aforementioned tripartite agreement.

    Agreeing with Ademola, Adebayo said the union was left with no choice than to picket the Bursary Unit, adding that though the agreement stated that workers’ arrears and salaries must be paid within five days of suspending the strike, NASU was disappointed that the management failed to fulfill its part of the bargain 17 days after the unions suspended the strike.

    He said the union found that the management intentionally delayed the payment to punish workers for their participation in the strike earlier in the year.

    Adebayo said: “The general public is hereby informed that the bail of the union leaders illegally arrested was not secured by the SSG, but by representatives of the national bodies of SSANU, NAAT and NASU. The letter written and signed by the representatives is at the police headquarters for the world to see.”

    The university’s Students’ Representative Council (SRC) the equivalent of Student Union Government (SUG), appealed to all parties to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.

    “We want the crisis to be resolved, all parties in the crisis should come to the negotiation table in the interest of all students, who want to graduate at the right time.

    “Unions came to classes last Wednesday and stopped lectures, we are not happy that academic activities are now at a standstill. The earlier the crisis is resolved the better for everybody,” said the Deputy Speaker of FUOYE SRC, Miss Monjolaoluwa Bamiteko.

    Ekiti State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, told The Nation that the union members were invited for clarification and were allowed to go after issues were sorted out.

    Adeyemi explained that the union leaders were not detained at the command’s headquarters.

    “We invited them (union leaders) for clarification and they made their statements and left. That is all I can say for now,” Adeyemi said:

    Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) was one of the nine universities established by the Federal Government in 2011 under former President Goodluck Jonathan. The purpose of their establishment was to make their host states have more Federal presence, while also generating employment opportunities.

    Unfortunately, FUOYE appears to have been more crisis-ridden since inception, owing to frequent showdown between management and the unions.

    Only three Vice Chancellors had presided over FUOYE since the institution was established. Its pioneer VC Prof Chinedu Nebo, left to take up an appointment as Minister of Power under the immediate past administration. However, Nebo’s successor Prof Innocent Asuzu, whose stay at FUOYE was brief, had a running battle with all the unions. Except ASUU, Soremekun’s administration has also been wriggling in crisis by three other unions, leading to strikes and forceful closure of the university.

     

  • How to resolve PDP crisis, by George

    How to resolve PDP crisis, by George

    Former Deputy National Chairman Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Olabode George spoke with reporters in Lagos on ‘Lagos at 50’, the Buhari and Ambode administrations in the last two years and the leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.

    If the Supreme Court judgement favour the factional chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Modu Sheriff,   what will be your next step?

    Let me said this and without prejudice to  the  expected judgement  of the Supreme Court, the issue is what are we fighting for, we are fighting for a constitutional issue, the constitution of our party. That is what we are fighting for, the rule of law in our party, don’t make it the rule of man. If somebody flout the rule of our party and does otherwise, we said old boy don’t do this, he said he is going to court. Okay let us go to the highest court of the land. I pray that God will keep the system going in Nigeria. If it goes otherwise that we cannot follow the tenet. I will call you guys, I will resign from politics and I would go home. That will be the end of my politicking, I will be making comments, you know as time goes on, but for political activities it will be end of story. I will not continue because when you pick your binocular and you see darkness. As a sailor when you see a storm gathering don’t enter that storm o no matter how big your ship is, it will pound it like a yam and you may not survive it. For me it is a decision point, you want to build a system and the system cannot be built, leave it and go back home.  I will never be part of Sheriff’s scheme, never.

    You have said the crisis in PDP could only be resolved by the Supreme Court…

    It is true I said so, but you know Sheriff is a clever wheeler dealer; he is my friend. He called me too but I said my brother let us obey the party rules, he even promised me the party chairmanship, but I insisted we must obey the party rules. Then Oga, Goodluck Jonathan also called me and he was very concerned, genuinely concern that we need a reconciliation rather than court. He got to me in London and he said he want to have this meeting to reconcile all these people.  I said sir it is not time for reconciliation, let us finish the case at the Supreme Court we can then come and do reconciliation. I said Sheriff flouted the party’s constitution, not that he disobeyed me as an individual. What put all of us together is this constitution, rule of law, what you should do and what  you should not do. I said the matter is in the court what are you reconciling. Of course, you saw the outcome of that meeting. He organised the meeting out of genuine love for the party but we are too old in this game to know when you are politicking or you are politricking. It is a world of difference. So when Sheriff stormed out of the meeting while Jonathan, the leader of the party was sitting. It is what I will describe using the words of my History teacher as shingly the beard of the king. It was disgraceful. So everybody now came to the realisation that it has to be court. let the court settle it either way if you still want to stay in the party fine if not goodluck. It is not a secret cult and it is not a compelling association.

    And what are the leaders doing, everybody is waiting now for the judgment. And I pray to God Almighty that fairness, justice and equity will reign.

    Lagos State is 50 years old. What are your reflections?

    I don’t know how much the government has spent to mark the anniversary, but as a human being, 50 years is golden in a person’s life. So, it is worth the celebration and looking back, I was a young man then just entering the University of Lagos when the state was created. General Mobolaji Johnson became the governor as soon as it was created, before then; we used to have Federal Minister of Lagos Affairs. Lagos then comprised of the Lagos Island, part of Apapa, Victoria Island and Mainland. It boundary was at Idi-Oro, Fadeyi was the boundary of Ikorodu. Places like Lekki, Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, Mushin, Ajegunle and Ikeja were part of the Western Region. That is why you still see the impact of what Papa Obafemi Awolowo did in places like Ikeja which include the Ikeja Industrial Estate, the IKeja GRA.  They are very outstanding parts of the Western Region. We used to look at people living in those areas as far away people. That reminds of how the evolving Lagos conducted its affairs. I remember when I and four of my classmates then studying engineering at the University of Lagos: myself, Femi Anibaba, Alex Oni and the others decided to go to government house to demand for scholarship. We agreed to go and see the governor on the issue. Lagos had just been created. We left UNILAG and move to the office of the then governor then at Onikan, where we used to have the Prime Minister’s office. We decided among ourselves that in case the governor locked us up, we would mention the names of our parents and they would come to rescue us. So, when we reached the governor’s office, the security men asked us why we came. We told them that we wanted to see the governor. They asked us from where; we told them we were from UNILAG. In a nutshell, they asked us to bring our names to be presented before the governor for his approval for us to see him. We told them that the Western Region had just given out scholarship to its students, now that Lagos had been created, we needed scholarship for ourselves. I must tell you, that was what led to the establishment of the Lagos State Scholarship Board and we got the scholarship from the government. You can see the concern showed by the then leadership, they could have driven us away but, that was not the case. Though, we did not see the governor but that efforts yielded result and we were satisfied. Today, General Johnson is still alive, that impact he made on us cannot be forgotten. Today who gives scholarship to students? Who care whether you can pay your way to school anymore? We have gone back to the Stone Age. I am really worried and the worst was what happened in some schools in Keffi, Lagos, where students who just finished their Senior School Certificate Examination rapped some female students to celebrate their passing out of school. This is condemnable, it amount to decadence in our system. But, I want to appeal to the governor, who was so mad about what the students did that he should not send them to jail. He should get them and give them Koboko on their bare bottoms. They should be given 100 lashes forever they will remember the mark on their bodies. He should not send them to prison because of the rottenness in our prison system. Rather than send them there and condemn them, they should be given 100 lashes in their bare bottom publicly. If you say human rights because some people will come and talk of their human rights, what about the rights of the children they violated? What are these children going to grow up to be? It is not only about these children committing atrocities, what about some personalities and corporate institutions in our society. Each time you hook up with CNN, you see Nigerians organizations sponsoring event internationally, but have done nothing to promote local development. What they are doing make no sense, when those who need them at home are not enjoying their attention. If government decides not to give scholarship, you think the organizations cannot do that with the kind of money in their possession? The other criminality is that you have an international call, the calls land on your phone, it reads a Nigerian number and it is manipulated to drain money from Nigerians. What is the National Security Adviser doing about that? That is the number one security sabotage by these organisations. The system is so bad that Nigerians are being shortchanged on the charges they get from the services they never enjoyed. Very soon, we celebrate democracy day, what are we celebrating? Are we where we should be? Do we see ourselves as Nigerians? And not as a Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo man? That is the way we see ourselves, so how can there be progress? What are we doing, where are we going? Recently, a Supreme Court Judge was docked, there is nowhere in the civilised world, such a thing will happen, no matter the level of crime involved. We have three equal branches of government, the executive, legislature and judiciary. They are three equal branches. It is out of place to duck a Supreme Court judge because you found money in his home. Where is the sanctity of the judiciary, the third arm of government who should balance the gap between the executive and judiciary? The Judiciary is the only bastion for the poor man. It like you grab an Oba, the symbol of the peoples culture in that village, you remove his cap disgrace him before his people. It is the sign of evil. I don’t want to go to the depth of what he committed and I am not saying he is above the law, but due process should be followed. I don’t know where the man comes from, but he is a Nigerians and to have risen to the level of the Justice of the Supreme Court he had served this nation and should be treated with dignity. His case could be referred to the National Judicial Council (NJC) and he would have a right of reply. The old man was sitting in the dock, looking at the judge, a Judge who probably had not even been to law school. Can you imagine a Sub-Lieutenant trying a Rear Admiral? It was a bad as that.

    General Buratai recent said the military was being encouraged to stage a comeback what do you make of that allegation?

    I will advice my constituency, to steer clear politics. It is very murky and uncertain. Of course, President Buhari left his military toga and took to politics knowing that is the best way to get to governance but, the essence of camaraderie is about the love you have for your comrade. In the force, it does not matter who is your neighbour, all you care is that, he is an officer and gentle man. When you are on course or official duty, your neighbour or colleague, no matter where they come from take good care of your family. There is no tribalism or ethnicity. The issue of Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo does not arise. In my own days, it worked when I was in the force. The officer who took good care of my family when I was not around is from the north and up till now he is still my best friend. When he was away on course, his wife called me and I rushed there to see them and equally do the needful. That was the time you were your brother’s keeper. Today, there are too many ‘politricians’ not politicians. Politics is defined as the management of the resources of the land. You don’t discriminate; you have to support your neighbours or comrade. You must defend your people. You should not allow politicians to trick you or encourage you to take over because they will mess you up. The world is no longer interested in military rule. I am saying this because I have seen both sides of the divide. We are bound to make mistakes as a country but, that is not enough to get the military interested in politics. My concern is that when you make mistakes, you must learn from the mistakes. That means the study of history should be made compulsory in schools. If you don’t learn from history, you are consigned to the dustbin of rubbish because you will not avoid the mistakes of the past. My constituency, the military should face its job squarely and not allowed itself to be lure into politics.

  • LUTH labour crisis over, says CMD

    The Chief Medical Director of Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Chris Bode, has said the labour crisis threatening to cripple the hospital has been resolved.

    According to him, measures have been put in place to make the hospital the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    Prof. Bode spoke against the backdrop of protest by some resident doctors and health workers.

    His words: “The recent crisis that surfaced between the management and some union members at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital has been amicably resolved.

    “The management had a family meeting with the union officials, and a number of confidence-building measures were discussed to consolidate the current successes recorded to reposition LUTH as the preferred destination for Nigerians in need of specialised medical care.

    “This followed the intervention of eminent personalities, who were concerned with the threat to peace within the teaching hospital.

    “All parties agreed that the whole crisis stemmed from a series of misunderstandings and have since resolved to work together towards the common purpose of working hard to achieve the first year of strike-free service after so many years of service disruptions.

    “The Management thanks the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) LUTH Branch, the National Association of Resident Doctors as well as many other Nigerians who played a major role in the successful resolution of this conflict.”

  • Ekiti fuel crisis: NUPENG, IPMAN suspend strike as Aregbesola intervenes

    Ekiti fuel crisis: NUPENG, IPMAN suspend strike as Aregbesola intervenes

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) and the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas (NUPENG) yesterday suspended their three-week-old strike in Ekiti State, following the intervention of Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola.

    Leaders of the two unions and Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose met at the Osun State Government House and signed an agreement to suspend the strike.

    In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the Ekiti State government agreed to pleas for the reversal of some Certificates of Occupancy of landed property on which filling stations were built except those on waterways, canal and where there is no justification for such revocation.

    The communique was signed by Governors Fayose and Aregbesola, NUPENG’s General Secretary Joseph Ogbebor, IPMAN’s Zonal Chairman Debo Ahmed and Petroleum Tanker Drivers Association’s (PTD’s) NUPENG National Vice Chairman Solomon Kilanko.

    The communique said an ad hoc committee, comprising of Ekiti State government and oil and gas marketers would be constituted to spell out the conditions and guidelines for the establishment and operations of filling stations in the state.

    It was also agreed that demolition should stop, pending the outcome of the Committee’s report.

    After the meeting, Fayose, who addressed reporters, expressed happiness with the suspension of the strike.

    The governor hailed Aregbesola for his intervention and prayed for the progress of the country.

    Aregbesola expressed appreciation to the unions for their understanding.

  • Avoidable crisis in the health sector

    SIR: The Nigerian health sector has always been on the news with one problem or the other, with the various professional bodies trying to outdo the other. The problem now is between the radiologists and the radiographers.

    The radiologists are sponsoring a new bill in the National Assembly with the help of their colleagues – the National Council of Radiology and Radiation Medicine Establishment Bill 2017, to regulate radiography practice in Nigeria. This is very wrong

    All professional bodies in the health sector are regulated by their councils or boards. The medical doctors including the specialists are regulated by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN); the nurses are regulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria, the pharmacists are regulated by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, the medical laboratory scientists are regulated by the Medical Laboratory Council of Nigeria, the radiographers are regulated by the Radiographers Registration Board of Nigeria (RRBN), the optometrists are regulated by the Optometrist Board.

    The laboratory scientists work with the pathologists, the pathologists do not regulate them, the optometrists work with the ophthalmologists and the ophthalmologists do not regulate them. The nurses work with medical doctors; the doctors do not regulate them.

    Why now do the radiologists want to take over the functions of the radiographers’ Registration Board of Nigeria? In United Kingdom Germany and others, each profession regulates its members

    The entire wordings of the National Council of Radiology and Radiation Medicine Establishment Bill 2017, is mostly a repetition of the Radiographers (registration etc) Act of 1987 by just removing the word radiographer and replacing it with radiologists. The membership of the NCR bill is twenty (20) with twelve (12) radiologists and only three (3) radiographers.

    The National Assembly is asked to stop this bill. The honourable minister of health is asked to stop this bill. The general public is asked to stop this bill. The nation cannot afford other crisis in the health sector.

     

    • Frank Offor,

    G.R. A. Enugu.

  • Police avert crisis in community

    In a bid to prevent the breakdown of law and order in the ancient town of Igboye land in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, the police have stopped the annual sacrifice to the ancestors of the primordial town till further notice.

    Last Thursday, some persons (names withheld) suspected to be sympathetic to the embattled traditional ruler of the town, Michael Onakoya, had attempted to offer sacrifices to the ancestors (Osi Ilu) of the town at the shrine, claiming to be acting on divination by an oracle.

    It was gathered that these persons cleared the bush surrounding the shrine and hired tents, chairs and bought a goat with which to make the sacrifice.

    The attempt to make the sacrifice came days after the monarch returned to the community following reprieve granted him by the Lagos State government last month.

    The monarch, who came back to the community as “an ordinary citizen”, it was learnt, has since kept a low profile as part of the conditions laid down by the government for his return, pending final determination of various cases in court.

    The Lagos State government, had earlier on May 17, last year, banished Oba Onakoya from Igboye, following two judgments by Justice Habib Abiru in October, 2008 and Justice Iyabo Kasali in April last year deposing Onakoya as the Orijeru of Igboye land.

    The deposition letter signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Sanuth J.A.B., ordered the monarch to stop parading himself “as the Orijeru of Igboye with immediate effect until another judgment setting the two aside is obtained.

    “I am to also advise you to stay away from the community in order to prevent any breakdown of law and order until the situation is reversed.”

    However, before the sacrifice could commence, youths of the community, in retaliation, were said to have swooped on the shrine, stopped the ceremony and chased away the people they met there.

    It was gathered that they insisted that no sacrifice would be allowed to take place at the shrine until there is a substantive king on the throne, more so that the community has not selected and installed a new Olisa after the death of Chief Fatai Mustapha.

    Investigation, however, revealed that those sympathetic to the monarch had earlier in March, this year, prevented some members of the community from celebrating Kilajolu Festival spear-headed by one of the ruling houses and during which they normally make offerings to their ancestors.

    It was learnt that a breakdown of law and order was prevented in the community following the intervention of Alara of Ilara, Oba A.A. Adesanya and the police.

    As a result of the new development, one Alhaji Rasaki Azeez and the youths’ leader (Olori Odo), Mr Toyin Sangosanya, leading some of the youth of the community, lodged a formal complaint at the office of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) and the Divisional Police Station at Oke Oyinbo, Epe.

    During an eventual meeting with the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO), Mrs Akinbo, the monarch reportedly insisted on having nothing to do with the attempt to offer sacrifices in the community.

    The DCO, thereafter, ordered that no sacrifice, under any guise, should hold in the community unless it has the support and approval of all the four ruling houses and until after the Muslim fasting season.

    Oba Onakoya did not pick his phone when contacted on his GSM line for comment on the matter.

    Head of the ruling houses (Olori Ebi Gbogbogbo) and also Head of Osikadewa Ruling House, Chief Safiriyu Bakare, who also confirmed the development, insisted that there is a reigning king in the town.

    Chief Bakare said the monarch left the town a year ago to allow peace to reign.

    He insisted that the monarch has nothing to do with the attempt to offer sacrifice to their ancestors at the shrine but that a new date would be fixed after the Ramadan for the conduct of the sacrifice.

    Acting Head of the Ewade Ruling House and Baba Adinni of Igboye and Odoyangusen, Alhaji Mikhail Kadiri confirmed the events in the town. He alleged that those sympathetic to the embattled monarch breached agreement reached at the police station in March that no family should make any sacrifice until there is a king on the throne.

    “If at all it must hold in the future, it must be subject to the agreement of the four ruling houses on equal terms”, he said, adding “any meeting to which Ewade Ruling House, for instance, is not validly invited on equal terms cannot be in the interest of Igboye land and would not be acceptable”.

    When contacted for comment on the matter, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Mr Ajimuda Olatunji also said   the issue in Igboye land is being handled at the level of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja.