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Tag: dialogue

  • Middle Belt Dialogue lists 10 conditions for Boko Haram to get amnesty

    Middle Belt Dialogue lists 10 conditions for Boko Haram to get amnesty

    •Opposes amnesty without justice for Christians
    •Protests killing of 1,250 Christians in three years

     

    A group, Middle Belt Dialogue, has objected to the planned amnesty for Boko Haram, citing the sect’s alleged atrocities against Christians in the north over the last three years.

    In a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, the group claimed that Boko Haram torched 200 churches and killed over 1,250 Christians during the period.

    This, it said, is enough to deny the sect any reprieve.

    In the letter entitled “Please rethink that journey to nowhere with Boko Haram,” and signed by one Emmanuel Alamu, the group said there is no basis for comparing a political/economic, based agitation by Niger Delta militants with a religious/political ideological- based struggle of Boko Haram.

    Alamu did not say who he is, neither did he disclose the identity of other members of the group. Nothing was equally said about the group: its objectives, when it was formed, and when it met to take a position on the move by government to grant amnesty to Boko Haram.

    The Middle Belt Dialogue which gave its address as Suite 21,Silla Seka Plaza, Adebayo Adedeji Plaza, Utako, Abuja, and its e-mail address as info@middlebeltdialogue.com, said it does not see how the planned amnesty will work in view of Boko Haram’s link with Al-Qaeda.

    It, however, said that should President Jonathan decide to go ahead with his plan, Boko Haram must be made to meet 10 conditions.

    These are: the leadership of the group(s) must come out of the closet; all factions of the group must be involved in the negotiations; renunciation of violence by Boko Haram; they must undertake to submit to the federal government a register of all their members; they must surrender to the federal government all arms and ammunition in their possession; they must disclose their source(s) of finance and arms; they must sign an undertaking to never revert to violence; they must undertake to repay the assessed cost of damages wreaked on private properties and places of worship; and they must offer unconditional apology to Nigerians for the damage that has been done to their psyche through their activities.

    The Middle Belt Dialogue also called for the rebuilding of all churches and houses destroyed by the sect and the resettlement of all displaced communities.

    It said: “The Boko Haram, even as the champions of this amnesty are on the campaign trail, has in the last seven days attacked and destroyed Middle Belt communities in Southern Kaduna State, Adamawa State (where the village of the Deputy Governor and the house of the deputy Governor, a Christian were targeted and destroyed), Riyom in Plateau State, parts of Taraba, Nasarawa and Benue states.”

    The group attributed the Boko Haram attacks to the outcome of 2011 general elections and said: “Indeed, statistics released by international agencies show that more Christians were killed in Nigeria in the year 2012 for their faith than the rest of the world combined. It may be noted that the Boko Haram attacks spiked after the April11, 2011 elections.”

     

  • Embrace dialogue, VC tells union leaders

    Embrace dialogue, VC tells union leaders

    The Vice-Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Oluwafemi Mimiko, has urged leaders of the institution’s Students’ Union Government (SUG) to always embrace dialogue and not violence in demanding for students’ welfare from the management.

    The VC gave the charge after the union leaders were sworn in at a ceremony held in the school’s Multipurpose Hall. The VC said problems confronting students’ unionism in any institution could only be solved on a negotiation table if union leaders cooperated with management.

    He noted that the election which ushered in the new leaders was a demonstration of the commitment of his administration towards the leadership training and development of youths. He praised students for ensuring peace during the election.

    The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Oluyemisi Adebowale, charged the union executive to see their election as a call to duty and not an opportunity to harass and molest students. “Be aware of the challenges ahead and maintain the integrity of the university. Also help us maintain strict adherence and compliance to the rules and regulation of the university, especially in the students’ use of identity card and dress code,” she said.

    Responding, president of the union, Julius Adeniyi assured the management of the union’s readiness for collaboration to ensure smooth running of the school’s academic calendar. “The union is ready to collaborate with the management to ensure there is no hindrance in the running of the academic calendar,’ he said.

    Julius sought the cooperation of the students towards achieving the union’s goals, urging them to stand for the vision of his administration.

    Other members of the union include Oluwaseun Emaye, Vice President, Samuel Oyegoke, General Secretary, Olajide Akinnibosun, Assistant General Secretary, Oladeji Bamishile, Welfare Director, Tolulope Betiku, Sport Director, Femi Nejo, Social Director, Olanrewaju Aiyelero, Treasurer and Ofunime Aiyegunle, Public Relations Officer.

  • We need national dialogue, says Obi

    We need national dialogue, says Obi

    Senator Ben Obi is the Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter-Party Affairs. In this interview with AUGUSTINE AVWODE, he stresses the imperative of a national dialogue for the country to move forward.

     

     

    As a member of the Patriot canvassing a national dialogue before the 2015 general election, why do you think we so badly need it?

    Yes, I am a member of the Patriots and we are committed and determined to pursue the national dialogue or national conference for obvious reasons. Things have been going back and forth with the Nigerian nation and it is important that we have this dialogue now to move Nigeria forward. And if you tie this to the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan, the Patriot, which is a body of elder statesmen, viewed part of the ‘transformation’ as a situation where we can sit down at a round table and discuss the future of the country.

    The body has been making consultations with other groups, including the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF). I am also aware that our chairman, Professor Ben Nwabueze, has also written to some eminent Nigerians, former Heads of State and others who enjoy international audience to join hands with the Patriots to really sit down and discuss how we can make this country a great nation. To that extent, I don’t see why anybody will have any inhibitions as to the need for a dialogue. I am certain that the President is not against the holding of such a dialogue.

    But like I have also said to my elder colleagues in the Patriots, there is the need to also approach, not only the President, but the leadership of the National Assembly. It is good to make them understand what the dialogue is all about so that they can be partners in progress.

    If it is held today, what would be the kernel of the dialogue?

    It is simple. How do we run this country? We talk of ethnic nationalities, we talk of zones, we talk about rotation. People want to know how we want the country to be governed, instead of beating about the bush. Now, we are practising the presidential system of government, but is it the best for the country? The constitution we are operating today, is it a people’s constitution. How did we come about it? The issue of indigeneship, for instance, how do we deal with it? How do you deal with the issue of somebody who has been staying in a place for 20 years and paying his taxes, what is he going to benefit from it. These are the main issues we want put to rest and there is no better time for this than now.

    You said you are optimistic that the Presidency is not averse…

    No, no, no. Even the President when he was the special guest of honour at the launch of Dr Tunji Braithwaite’s ‘The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles’, said that much. He said that he is not against the national dialogue. But then, the procedure has to be clear. And that is where we have a President that is different. He likes to consult widely and think things through. So, if we can consult with both the Presidency and the leadership of the National Assembly and secure their understanding and support, then, it is as good as done.

    Who sets the ball rolling?

    Those who are championing the call for the dialogue should just get the consent of the Presidency and the National Assembly by meeting them and providing answers to all their questions and we can start from there.

    It is just about two years to May 29, 2015

    I agree with you. But don’t forget that the journey of forty years starts with a step.

    What is your position on the clamour for the zoning of the governorship to Anambra North in the next election in your state?

    I have said it again and again that I feel for the people of Anambra North. Ordinarily one can say that, yes, it is their turn. But these things are not given on a platter of gold. It is not a piece of cake. I would like to see them lead and champion the call for such a proposition. There is a saying in my place that the man who wants to go to the loo is always the one at the front. We must also remember thatb the issue of zoning is not cast in iron; or that there is a law somewhere that can be enforced. So, for them to have it, they must be able to make a very strong case coupled with intensive consultation and appeal to the other stakeholders in other zones; meet them and make them see reason why they should back down. Importantly, it is not a thing you try to force down the throat of anybody, you cannot bulldoze your way through, you can only make appeals and whatever comes out of your appeal you take it.

    What kind of Anambra do you expect in the post-Peter Obi era?

    Governor Peter Obi has set some standards that are pretty attractive and I don’t see how anybody who will emerge in 2014 can afford to go down below such a standard. I don’t see the people of Anambra condoning or accommodating anybody who will not exceed the performance of Governor Peter Obi. I can tell you that the good people of Anambra State will be looking forward to the type of person who will double the performance of the present governor. That is what we need so that soon, the state will be in the league of the most developed state in the country. And all I can do is to pray that God in His infinite mercy will help us to get the right candidate to emerge as the next governor of Anambra State in the post Obi era?

    Your office was able to bring to the round table all the contending parties in the two governorship elections such that at the end of the day, the much hyped possibility of large scale violence became a non-issue. What is on ground for Anambra State?

    We would be doing the same thing in Anambra State, no doubt. The issue is whether you have the tacit support of your principal, in this case the President. Of course, yes. It is not Rocket Science; these things are pretty open to all. All you need to do is go to him and tell him you need his permission to do this and that, and that this is why it is necessary, you state the when and how. But, I must say that the President is even the one who reminded me, in this previous outing that we have to do in Ondo State what we did in Edo State. He said, Senator, this thing you did in Edo State, go and do it in Ondo because I want the issue of free, fair and credible election, void of violence to be part of our culture. So, the President is committed to that. For me, it is a thing of joy because over the years, what we have been screaming at is the issue of lack of transparent election. But that is gradually becoming a thing of the past. We all know that he is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But for him, that does not impose any obligation on him to support anything that undermines free and fair election. And because he is for it, he is often the first to congratulate the winner. Whoever it is, from whichever party, his concern is let the process be free, fair and devoid of violence and bloodshed and you get your congratulatory message right away. So, we would be doing the same thing in Anambra, in Ekiti and Osun states.

    Many people are of the opinion that one more state should be created for the Southeast region for the sake of equity. But from the look of things, the issue of state creation seems not to enjoy much enthusiasm in public discourse…

    I have been pursuing this issue in the last 15 years and I will not give up, until it is given to the zone. I have no apology to make for this clamour. We will not stop talking about this injustice being meted out to the zone. It is unfair, it is unjust and it a classic case of inequity. The implication of the injustice that the Nigerian nation is inflicting on the Southeast zone is to turn a majority into a minority. When you do this type of thing, you can hardly get far. I mean when you inflict this type of injustice on a people whose capacity and entrepreneurial skill are almost infinite, then, you should be to also contend with the aversion that comes with it. Take a look at any community in this country. There is no zone or region where you don’t find the Ndigbo. And, everywhere they are found, in any locality at all, if the economy of the place is not managed by the people of the place, it is being managed by the Ndigbo. So, what it means is that they go every where and help to develop that environment and society. Look, it is when this kind of injustice is perpetrated that peace becomes a scarce thing. When you deny people their rights, what comes to the fore is complete chaos and anarchy. So, for me, until that injustice is corrected, we cannot say we have gotten it right in this country.

    Given the insecurity in the country, do you support the call for state police ?

    First, I was born in a barracks and I love all the things I saw my father did as a policeman, until he became a Commissioner of Police. I went everywhere with him. Besides, I have also had the opportunity of working with a former National Security Adviser (NSA) of this country. So, from my knowledge and experience of what I know about security, I will not support State Police for now. When we have attained a particular height of development in the future, then it can be considered. But for now, not yet.

    What do you think should be done to deepen democracy in Nigeria?

    I would say provision should be made for independent candidates to contest in our elections. Over my 35 years of politicking, I have been lucky to have joined and founded three political parties. And I have been national secretary of the three of them. The way political parties are managed today is not what we used to know. Political parties no longer enjoy internal democracy. When that is absent, it leads to the imposition of unpopular candidates. And where an unpopular candidate is imposed and you have free and fair election, he would lose. If a popular candidate is dropped because the party leader does not want to see his face, then there should be a platform for him to go before the people as an independent candidate to realise his political ambition. I think this is one thing we should do as a matter of urgency to promote and deepen our democratic parcatice.

     

     

  • ‘Forget Sharia, if you want dialogue’

    ‘Forget Sharia, if you want dialogue’

    Former Military Governor of Kaduna State Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd) spoke with Assistant Editor GBADE OGUNWALE on the Boko Haram crises in the North and how the Federal Government can reposition the polity by fighting corruption and mass unemployment.

     

    Former Military Governor of Kaduna State Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd) has told leaders and members of the Boko Haram sect to forget their demand for Sharia in the North, if they are serious about talks with the Federal Government.

    But Col. Umar advises the Federal Government to show commitment in the fight against corruption and unemployment – if indeed the government is sincere in its quest to end the insecurity in the land.

    In a telephone interview with our correspondent at the weekend, Col. Umar blamed both the Federal Government and Boko Haram (western education is a sin) for the strings of deaths and destruction of property brought about by the bombings across many states in the North, particularly in the Northeastern.

    According to the radical former military governor, it will be futile for Boko Haram to insist on Islamisation of any part of the North as the sect has often demanded as one of its conditions for peace.

    He reminded the sect’s members of the secularity of the Nigerian state as enshrined in the constitution, stressing that there is no state in the North that does not have its own fair share of indigenous Christian and Moslem population.

    Col. Umar said: “They should not forget that the constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. That means we cannot run the country as a theocracy; otherwise, we cannot remain as one.

    “They should also know that the North is neither a purely Islamic territory nor a Christian territory. So, if they are seeking to impose Sharia on any part of the country as a condition for dialogue, it will never work.

    “Let them imagine what Nigeria will be like, if every religious organisation seeks to impose its own doctrine on any part of the country. If that happens, then we can no longer remain as one country. Northern Nigeria cannot be cut off from the rest.

    “So, if the institutionalisation of Sharia in the North is one of the conditions the leaders of Boko Haram are projecting for dialogue, then they should perish the thought because that is not achievable.”

    The retired soldier similarly faulted claims by members of the Boko Haram that their bombing escapades are meant to avenge the killing of their leader, the late Mohammed Yusuf, who was extra judicially eliminated in captivity by security agents in 2009.

    He called on the sect’s members to make a conservative estimate of the number of people they have killed in their quest for vengeance on the death of Yusuf, saying the “frightening” number of casualties from their bombings is enough for them to stop the killings.

    “Can they count the number of innocent people they have killed in the course of avenging the killing of Mohammed Yusuf? They should know that this country has witnessed so much bloodshed and instability on account of their activities.

    So, if they don’t ceasefire, then, what in the name of Allah, do they want to achieve?”

    Col. Umar reminded the sect that the elimination of Yusuf was carried out under the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and not under President Goodluck Jonathan, who the sect has vowed to fight to the finish.

    Col. Umar urged the Federal Government to address the hydra headed challenges confronting the nation in the most critical sectors of the economy and the polity.

    He identified corruption and unemployment as the two dangerous monsters that must be tamed for any dialogue to be meaningful and for the country to enjoy relative stability.

    To him, the Federal Government’s approach to the anti-corruption war and job creation is insincere in the approach has thrown up a situation where about 80 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, he said.

    Col. Umar lamented a situation where public servants and politicians conspire to loot the treasury, thereby depriving a teeming population of the nation’s youths the opportunities for gainful employment.

    “There is an urgent need for the Federal Government to address the terrible economic situation in which about 80 percent of the population live below the poverty line.

    “For now, there is total shutdown on employment. Public servants and politicians are cornering the available resources in the country. For you to get employment, you must be connected to a politician or a top public servant.

    “When these unemployed youths realise they have no access to employment opportunities, they engage in drugs and other anti-social activities, like robbery, kidnapping, bombing and others, with dangerous consequences for the larger society.

    “People are graduating from the university and other higher institutions only to find out that there is no job for them. In situations like this, there can only be chaos, instability and restiveness among the youth,” Col. Umar said.

    He warned that if care is not taken, the entire country may implode under the weight of corruption, stressing that even the judiciary that the people look up to for salvation has continued to fail the nation.

    To Col. Umar, the two-year jail term with an option of N750,000 fine handed a former police pension boss, Yakubu Yusufu, convicted for N32 billion fraud by an Abuja High Court is ridiculous.

    Col. Umar however praised the cautious stance of the Federal Government on the dialogue offer proposed by the Boko Haram, as enunciated by the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim.

    Dr. Marshal Ibrahim said that the Federal Government would watch the sect for at least one month to be sure that it is sincere about the ceasefire and dialogue offer.

    Col. Umar urged the government to accept the dialogue offer, if the sect is eventually proved to be sincere and if its leaders are ready to make themselves available. “It is left for the Boko Haram leaders to prove to the whole world that they are sincere about dialogue,” he said.

  • Umar to Boko Haram: Forget Sharia if ….

    Umar to Boko Haram: Forget Sharia if ….

    Former military governor of Kaduna State, Col. Abubakar Umar (rtd) has told leaders and members of the Boko Haram sect to forget their demand for the institutionalization Sharia law for states in northern Nigeria if they are serious about dialoguing with the Federal Government.

    On the other hand, Umar also charged the Federal Government to show commitment in the fight against corruption and unemployment if indeed the government is sincere in its quest to end the spate of insecurity in the land.

    In a telephone interview with our correspondent on Thursday, Umar blamed both the Federal Government and Boko Haram for the number of deaths and destruction of property brought about by bombings across many states in the north, particularly in the north east.

    According to the radical former military governor, it would be futile and unreasonable for Boko Haram to insist on Islamisation of any part of the north as the sect had often demanded as one of the conditions for peace.

    He reminded the sect members on the secularity of the Nigerian state as enshrined in the Constitution, stressing that there is no state in northern Nigeria that does not have its own fair share of indigenous Christian and Moslem population.

    Umar said, “They should not forget that the Constitution says Nigeria is a secular state. That means we cannot run the country as a theocracy, otherwise we cannot remain as one.

    “They should also know that the north is neither a purely Islamic territory nor a Christian territory. So if they are seeking to impose Sharia on any part of the country as a condition for dialogue, it will never work.

    “Let them imagine what Nigeria will be like if every religious organisation seeks to impose its own doctrine on any party of the country. If that happens, then we can no longer remain as one country. Northern Nigeria cannot be cut off from the rest.

    “So if the institutionalization of Sharia in the north is one of the conditions the leaders of Boko Haram are projecting for dialogue, then they should perish the thought because that is not achievable.”

     

  • President Traore welcomes dialogue

    President Traore welcomes dialogue

    INTERIM President Dioncounda Traore has ruled out negotiations with any of the Islamist groups that are being chased from the North of the country with the help of French forces.

    In an interview with Radio France Internationale (RFI) Traore said he “initially thought we could negotiate with groups that were essentially composed of Malians.”

    “But almost all these groups have disqualified themselves, except maybe the MNLA,” he said, referring to the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, a secular Tuareg nationalist movement that initially joined forces with the fundamentalists and later fell out with them.

    The “disqualified”groups included Ansar Dine, a Malian Islamist group led by a former Tuareg independence fighter, Iyad ag Ghali, who allied himself with two al-Qaeda-linked groups.

    The three groups that took control of Northern Mali last year are now on the run from French and Malian forces.

    President Traore gave a condition for the open dialogue with the autonomy-seeking Tuareg MNLA. He said they must dropped any claim for independence.

    “Today, the only group that we could think of negotiating with is certainly the MNLA. But, of course, on condition that the MNLA drops any pretence to a territorial claim,” Traore told French Radio International (RFI).

    “For Ansar Dine, I think the only solution for them is to formally announce that they are rejecting the application of the Sharia Law,’’ Traore said.

    Asked about the whereabout of Ansar Dine’s leader, Traore said he heard the rebel leader had retreated into the Tirarar mountains, near the Algerian border.

    A rebellion started in the North last year by the Tuaregs was hijacked by Islamist radicals, who seized two-thirds of the Sahel nation, following a military coup in the capital, Bamako.

    A three-week ground and air offensive by French and Malian forces has broken the 10-month grip of the Islamist alliance — grouping Ansar Dine, MUJWA and al Qaeda’s in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) — over the cities in the North of Mali.

    The MNLA said this week that they had taken control of Kidal, the last of the Islamist strongholds after the militants abandoned the town.

  • Sultan seeks dialogue as CJN urges peace

    Sultan seeks dialogue as CJN urges peace

    Dialogue remains the best solution to end the Boko Haram insurgency, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, said yesterday.

    The Sultan spoke in Sokoto when he received Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika.

    He also spoke in Abuja at the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Peace and Security Summit 2013, which the Chief Justice chaired.

    At the summit, the Sultan was represented by Senator Isa Mohammed.

    Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, also spoke on why the fight against the sect has been difficult.

    The Sultan told the Army chief that it was necessary for the Federal Government to hold talks with the sect, which has declared a ceasefire, adding that “the dialogue would serve as a means of getting across to the other splinter groups within the sect.”

    Describing the ceasefire as a welcome development, he said: “That is why when a few days ago, we heard of a purported ceasefire by a faction within the Boko Haram sect, we welcomed it and I believe it is an issue we have to open up to.”

    The Sultan assured his guest that Nigeria would not break up.

    “Nigeria will remain one entity. Those clamouring for the division of the country are just making noise, seeking for relevance. God cannot be wrong by bringing us together. He has a reason why he brought us together as Muslims and Christians. There are many issues that bind us together; there are many reasons why we should remain together as brothers and sisters in this country.”

    To Gen. Ihejirika, Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.

    Justice Mukhtar said dialogue remains the best solution to agitation. The Sultan said leaders of thought and good conscience must come together, irrespective of their beliefs, to find a lasting solution to the insurgency.

    But former Director General of the State Security Service (SSS) and Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) Chief Albert Horsfall warned the country against seeking support from the United States Defence and Intelligence.

    He also warned governors against the call for state police because they could become victims of power games in the hands of their political opponents after leaving office.

    Horsfall said what the country needs from America is technical and intelligence support.

    “We do not need the United States defence and intelligence presence locally” because it will internationalise the Boko Haram and invite Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to the country.

    “What we further need to do to neutralise the threat of Boko Haram and other violent organisations in the country is justice, good and effective governance at all levels; good international cooperation and collaboration,” he said.

    NBA President, Okey Wali (SAN) said the summit was convened to search for enduring answers to the challenges to peace and security in Nigeria.

    He also said the Bar would investigate the case of 18 bodies found floating in River Ezu, in Anambra State on January 19.

    “Nobody, to date, has accounted for who they are and how they came floating in the river. This is happening in 2013 in Nigeria. What a shame,” Wali said.

    Former Head of State and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, in his goodwill message, said Nigeria is blessed with both human and material resources to be better in the black world.

    To achieve peace, Justice Mukhtar said: “A way must be found to transform the pervasive zero-sum, winner-takes-all mentality that is both the cause and the product of conflict. In Nigeria, this factor has contributed in no small measure in fuelling the insecurity in the country.”

    Represented by Senator Mohammed, the Sultan said the challenges facing the country could be overcome with the cooperation of eminent people.

    “We need to recognise the fact that if there is any problem in this country, it will not affect only the perpetrators, it will affect all of us,” he said.

    He urged the government to license preachers “because it is through preaching that some people get indoctrinated”.

    “We should to continue to preach peace. Our youths must be told that taking up arms against their brothers is criminal, the Sultan said.

    Horsfall said “home grown insurgency in collusion and collaboration with external terrorism networks constitute the greatest threat to peace and security in Nigeria.

    According to him, the Niger Delta insurgency is political; Boko Haram is religious and ideological.

    Horsfall canvassed psychological re-orientation and a publicity programme for the Boko Haram members to bring them back into the mainstream of Islamic beliefs and practices.

  • Boko Haram: Dialogue only option for govt to end crisis, say experts

    Boko Haram: Dialogue only option for govt to end crisis, say experts

    Experts have said the only way to end the insurgency of Boko Haram and promote peace and social justice in the society is by adopting the principles of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence by both the Federal Government and the media.

    The experts also stressed the need to infiltrate the camps, hearts and thoughts of the insurgents with the rhyme of love.

    Speaking at a one day conference titled: ‘The Role of the Media in Education in Nigeria’ organised by the Nigerian Turkish Nile University (NTNU) yesterday in Abuja, Dr. Chigozie Enwere, the Head of Political Science NTNU tasked the media on uniting the nation by its peaceful reportage

    In his paper on “Reportism and the Role of the Media in Conflict Resolution in Developing Countries: A Gulen Conceptual Approach”, Enwere said: “there exists a mutual interdependence between media reports and the operations of violent conflict. The reportage of acts of violence attracts wide readership leading to unprecedented increase in sales and maximization of profit.

    “Conflict is escalated when the media adopts the Concept of Realism in its reporting styles, the Machiavellian principle of Double Morality; the use of stereotyping in its reporting strategies and Portrayal of violent actions of the parties”.

    Enwere said reporting conflicts in developing countries should take strategic approach based on the component of fairness.

    According to him: “the issue of applying strategy in the media reporting to achieve a define objectivity is inevitable; the objective could either be constructive or destructive depending on the style of report and the object of the conflict.

    “For this reason, we are soliciting that the only method of reporting in resolving conflicts is through the issue of dialogue because one thing is sure: conflict is inevitable when dialogue fails, in order to revive peace in any society we develop the institutional proponent of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence as enumerated by Gulen theory.

  • Rangers call for dialogue over Agbim, Mba

    Rangers call for dialogue over Agbim, Mba

    Enugu Rangers FC have opened doors for dialogue with Warri Wolves FC over the clearance of goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim and forward Sunday Mba.

    There have been dispute between the two clubs over the switch of Agbim and Mba from Wolves to Rangers, as the Warri side have claimed the players have not been officially cleared to the Enugu club, and threatened to take the matter to the authorities.

    Reports had it on Wednesday that Wolves officially reported the case to the Nigerian Football Federation and the Nigerian Premier League, and were waiting for a response from the authorities.

    But media officer of Rangers FC Foster Chime informed that the Enugu side has written to Wolves for dialogue.

    “We have written to Warri Wolves to commence dialogue,” Chime told futaa.com.

    Chime said the fee being demanded by Warri Wolves is outrageous, and the club will not pay such huge amount.

    “They are demanding N13 million for Agbim, and N14 million for Mba. That’s outrageous.

    “Not that the club cannot afford it, but we can’t pay such huge amout for the players.

    “We know we’re going to pay for the players but definitely not that amount of money,” he told futaa.com

    Rangers will be campaigning in the CAF Champions League this year, while Wolves will play in the NPL.

  • Govt must dialogue with Boko Haram, says senator

    Govt must dialogue with Boko Haram, says senator

    A senator has told the Federal Government that there is no solution to the Boko Haram insurgency except dialogue with the sect.

    According to Senator Abba Bukar Ibrahim, who was twice governor of Yobe State – which, along with Borno, is the epicentre of the activities of the sect – it will be difficult to fight and defeat the sect.

    Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for bombings in which about 3,000 people have died.

    The sect’s men have bombed churches, public institutions and telecommunication masts.

    The government’s plan to go into dialogue with the sect was aborted because “the group is faceless”. The sect set conditions for the dialogue.

    It named prominent Nigerians, including Senator Ibrahim and former Head of State Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, as mediators. It also proposed Saudi Arabia as venue of the talks.

    Boko Haram (western education is a sin) said it wanted to islamise Nigeria.

    Ibrahim told reporters in Abuja yesterday that the government should be committed to dialogue with the sect.

    The member of the Board of Trustees of the All Nigeria People Party (ANPP) insisted that fighting the sect cannot stop the insurgency.

    He insisted that the reason for the actions of the sect is inequality, neglect and injustice. “These are fundamental issues, which every country should really embrace in order to have a permanent peace,” he said.

    The senator vowed to do everything possible to ensure that peace returns to the country especially to the North, if the government is serious about dialogue.

    “My advice to the Federal Government is, when a situation like this arises anywhere in the world, you cannot fight and defeat this kind of thing by force, so, dialogue, I believe, is the best solution. Yes, they (Boko Haram) are faceless but I believe there must be a way, if government is totally committed to finding a away out.

    “We can find a way really, to help dialogue with this group; after all, they are all Nigerians at least, as far as we know; even if there are foreigners, but obviously, the vast majority of them (sect members) must be Nigerians. The fundamental thing is anywhere you see this kind of thing rearing its ugly head, it is a product of inequality and injustice. These are fundamental issues, which every country should really embrace in order to have a permanent peace.

    “When you go to the Northeast geopolitical zone, you’ll know, nobody need to tell you that this is the most neglected, the most marginalised part of this country as of today. Of course, all zones have at one time or another complained about marginalisation, but for the current situation we’re in now, the Northeast is terribly neglected, marginalise and nearly completely abandoned.

    Senator Ibrahim again denied having any contact with the group. He said: “I don’t know them. I don’t know anybody who knows the Boko Haram physically, and as you’ve rightly said, they are not even in one group; they seem to be divided. So, whichever group or faction that has decided that there should be dialogue in Saudi Arabia, what I’m saying is that through the Saudi Arabian government, the Federal Government can get to these people; it may not be direct as they’ve refused to come out for Nigerians and Nigeria’s government to know them.”