The Nation Newspaper

Tag: drama

  • Drama as police parade 319 youths nabbed in Lagos

    There was mild drama at the Lagos State Police Command yesterday during the parade of 319 youths arrested during raids of various hideouts.

    The suspects, some of whom had just towels on them, protested their arrests by the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental Sanitation, insisting that they were innocent.

    Shouting at the top of their voices, the suspects claimed they were either apprehended in their homes or while they were running errands on the streets.

    Some suspected drug addicts, cultists, prostitutes and miscreants were also paraded.

    One of the suspects, Afeez Jimoh, said he was arrested in his room in Ajah while he was sleeping.

    The suspects
    The suspects

    He said: “You can see that I am tying a towel. I was in my room in Ajah sleeping peacefully when policemen broke in and arrested me. They did not allow me to wear a short or trouser. I asked them why they are arresting me but they told me to shut up.

    “I was dragged into a van and brought to the command. I am not a criminal. I am a welder and married with two children.”

    Another suspect Franca Agambu also claimed she was arrested in her room at Omiyale in Ajah, adding that her kids aged two and five were alone.

    She said: “Police arrested me in my room at Omiyale area in Ajah. I begged them to allow me take my two young daughters but they refused. I have been begging and crying to the police to go and check my children. I do not know how they are doing and I have been crying because there is nobody to take care of them.”

    A female basketball player said she was returning from training when they picked her and forced her into the van. A woman, who was alleged to be a prostitute, said she was arrested in her home with her husband at Elemoro in Ajah.

    The suspects were however cajoled by Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, who assured them that a screening would be conducted and those innocent freed.

    Edgal said the raid was carried out in line with the command’s commitment to rid the state of miscreants, hoodlums as election year approaches.

    He said: “Ahead of the election, we are carrying out raid of criminal hideouts and black spots to rid the state of criminal elements. A total number of 319 suspects were arrested.

    “It is not out of place that in a raid like this, some innocent persons might be raided. That is why we are going to profile them and those who have no links with crime would be freed. We have told them to

  • Drama as Innoson boss shuns court for fourth time

    A MILD drama ensued yesterday at an Ikeja Special Offences Court as Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited Chairman Innocent Chukwu failed to appear in court for his arraignment for the fourth time.

    Innoson had previously failed to face charges of alleged fraud preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission on January 17, February 9 and March 14.

    At the last sitting of the court on March 14, Innoson through his counsel, Mr. George Uwechue (SAN) was said to have petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) against Justice Mojisola Dada, the judge trying the case.

    He was said to have expressed doubts of getting a fair trial before the judge.

    At resumed sitting of the court yesterday, Justice Dada told Innoson’s defence team led by Uwechue that she would not hear any application brought by them in the absence of the defendant.

    “No application will be moved in the absence of the defendant; my position remains the same.

    “You can bring a thousand applications before me for all I care but no application can be heard in this court without the presence of the defendant,” Justice Dada said.

    Uwechue had moved that the defence has an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the charges brought against his client by the EFCC.

    He argued: “Where there is an application before the court challenging jurisdiction, the court has a duty to hear the application even in the absence of the defendant.”

    Justice Dada, however, insisted that she would not hear any application until Innoson was present in court.

    Uwechue, apparently taken aback by the response of the trial judge, insisted that his application must be taken by the court.

    “You cannot stand me down My Lord. You cannot stampede me My Lord. I’m an octogenarian, I’m 50 plus years at the bar,” Uwechue shouted.

    But Justice Dada would not be moved with the outburst of the defence counsel but rather retorted that was the more reason why Uwechue should be better composed and comported, and must not injure himself.

    The heat generated by Uwechue’s outburst, further led to an exchange of words between the senior lawyer, Prof. J. N Mbadugha and the lead prosecuting counsel for the EFCC, Mr. Anselem Ozioko.

    At a point, Uwechue threatened to quit legal practice because of the conduct of Ozioko, the EFCC counsel.

    The EFCC prosecutor added that the anti-graft commission was taking steps to ensure Innoson’s attendance in the next court’s date.

    Chukwuma and his company, Innoson Motors Nigeria Limited, are to be arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses, obtaining property by false pretenses, stealing and forgery.

    According to the charge sheet, the defendants committed the offences between 2009 and July 2011 in Lagos.

  • Drama as 51-yr-old woman loses phone, N558, 000 to robber

    Drama as 51-yr-old woman loses phone, N558, 000 to robber

    A Lagos-based surveyor, Mrs Halimot Awosika, is now distraught after a sum of N558, 000 was taken from her bank account shortly after losing her phone to a robber on January 9,2018.

    Awosika, who resides at Ketu-Ijanikin area of Lagos, had gone out to purchase some items for one of her daughters who was to resume in the Lagos State Model College, Kankon, Badagry, when she was dispossessed of her Techno android mobile phone by an unidentified robber inside a bus she boarded.

    It was while she was still trying to come to terms with the reality of the robbery a few hours later that she received the alert on a new phone she bought that the money had been withdrawn by the robber.

    She said: ” I was preparing to buy things for one of my daughters who is returning to her school, Lagos State Model College at Kankon, Badagry, so I visited an ATM centre in Okokomaiko to cash a sum of N8,000 for the shopping.

    ” I never knew that I was being trailed by the robber who boarded the same bus with me, disposed me of my phone and hurriedly jumped out of the bus. Before I knew it the robber withdrew all the money in my bank account with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) totaling a sum of N558,000 through online mobile transections using different phone numbers.”

    Awosika said she reported the matter to Okokomaiko Police Division on February 2 but nothing has come out of police investigation so far.

    ” I also reported the matter to my bank and even obtained my bank statement showing how the money was taken from my account using different phone numbers. The money belongs to some of my clients and they have been disturbing me to refund the money if I cannot carry out their jobs; I don’t know what to do.”

    She added: ” I have also visited several police formations and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in order to apprehend the culprit but all my visits have not yielded fruits at all.”

  • Drama over Anambra central senatorial re-run

    Will Saturday’s Anambra Central senatorial rerun hold? This is the question many are asking because of the conflicting judgements on the poll. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) appears determined to go ahead with the election, despite the objection of some political parties. Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU reports.

    The much-awaited Anambra Central senatorial rerun election is scheduled to hold on Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The seat has been vacant for the past two- and-a-half years,  following series of legal battles.

    Former Senator Uche Ekwunife who represented the zone was shoved aside by the Appeal Court sitting in Enugu in November 2015. The court declared that she was not properly nominated by her former party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Her removal followed the case instituted by Chief Victor Umeh of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) that he won the March 2015 election.

    The court also ruled that a re-run should be held among the other candidates, excluding Ekwunife and her party.

    There was also a caveat that the All Progressives Congress (APC) would not present any other candidate, except Senator Chris Ngige decided to re-contest. He was  the party’s flag bearer in the election, before he was nominated to serve as a minister in the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

    The implication is that the Minister of Labour and Employment  would have to resign his appointment.

    Thus, from all indications, it looks like the coast is clear for the APGA candidate, Umeh, because the other 12 political parties and their  candidates are not ready for the battle.

    Against this background, legal luminaries had been coming up with all sorts of delay tactics to prevent INEC from organising the election.

    Despite the judgement of the Appeal Court, which provides the possibility to hold the election, INEC is confused over the matter, because of the numerous court cases still pending over the matter.

    For instance, about two weeks ago, a Federal High Court in Abuja,  presided over by Justice John Tsoho, declared Chief Obiora Okonkwo of the PDP as the authentic winner of of the election.

    The court also ordered the Senate to immediately swear Obiora in. It also ordered INEC to issue him certificate of return.

    There are also other legal battles confronting the Anambra Central rerun, which had frustrated some of the candidates.

    These legal battles have muddled up the preparations for the contest. For instance, while some of the political parties, particularly the small ones, are putting their acts together for the election, others are busy kicking against it.

    For Chief Anayo Nweke of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), who is the flag bearer of the party in the election, believes the judiciary is being unfair to Ekwunife.

    Though he is still in the race, he said INEC is biased in its interpretation of the numerous court processes concerning the election.

    Nkem Ekweozor,  a lawyer and candidate of Mega Progressive People’s Party (MPPP),  who led other political parties on a protest in Awka on Monday,  said the election should be suspended, following unsettled court processes.

    Ekweozor maintained that there are other political parties in the race which had equally voiced out opinions on the Anambra Central senatorial election and questioned why INEC was bent on going ahead with the conduct of the election, even though many of the court cases are still unresolved.

    Despite heavy opposition from some political parties, INEC insists that the January 13 date for the contest remains sacrosanct.

    The Anambra Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dr Nkwachukwu Orji, said the commission is ready for the election, unless it received counter orders any moment before the proposed date.

    Already,  the APGA candidate,  Chief Umeh, is unrelenting, as he has continued to campaign vigorously for the election. Umeh has been enjoying the support of Governor Willie Obiano in the campaign.

    The duo, alongside other APGA chieftains had traversed all the nooks and crannies of the senatorial district, appealing to the electorate to support Umeh’s candidature.

    Thus, the unresolved court cases appear to have reduced the enthusiasm of many political parties in campaigning for the election.

    The electorate are willing to come out to vote,  though from the look of things,  the election is likely to face voter apathy. There are still doubts whether it will eventually hold.

    Will the Senate adhere to the judgement of the lower court? Or will INEC stick to the judgement of the Appeal Court and conduct the election?

    The people of Nigeria are anxiously awaiting the final decision on the matter and only time will tell. But, if eventually holds, it is likely to be a coronation for Umeh, given the confusion surrounding the conduct of the election and the triumph of APGA in the recent governorship election

     

  • INTELS and drama of ‘cannibal’ politics

    Keyhole views of the mass hysteria generated by the termination of the pilotage contract between Integrated Logistics Services (INTELS) Nigeria Limited, and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) make it appear as a mere politicization of policy issues. However, a parallax view shows it is a drama of cannibalistic politics. This claim is best appreciated against the backdrop of the alleged role of the management of NPA.  According to INTELS, the NPA deliberately frustrated attempts to address the issues raised by the introduction of the TSA in the execution of its pilotage agency agreement.

    Some public commentators are strongly advancing the notion that the political ambition of former Vice President of Nigeria, and ex-presidential aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar (GCON), who is a co-founder of INTELS is the root cause of the ongoing debacle.  Worrisomely, there are no evidences that decisively relegate this popular view to counterfactual realm of reality. One thing is evident; its popularity shows that many Nigerians think instruments of state are often used to achieve malevolent political and economic goals.

    The termination of the pilotage contract between INTELS Nigeria Limited, and NPA presents grave security concerns. It could fuel social anomie in the Niger Delta region. It may spur restive youths to engage in violent economic crimes, when they become jobless. This point was succinctly underscored by Niger Delta youths. Recently, under the auspice of Niger Delta Youths Coalition (NDYC), they appealed to the federal government to rethink its directive to terminate the agreement. In a similar fashion, the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide (IYC) has asked for a peaceful resolution of the debacle. The spokesman of the group, Daniel Dasimaka, notes: “We are calling on the management of NPA and the federal government to rethink their decision to give Intels Nigeria Limited, three months to round up and hand over the pilotage services to the NPA. As of today, thanks to Intels, the Onne Port is about the only port in Nigeria outside Lagos that is viable, thus, any attempt to stifle it is considered an attempt to cripple the port.”

    This contract termination without due consultation to resolve the disputes arising from the implementation of TSA policy is antithetic to Nigeria’s quest to foster economic development through foreign direct investment. Economic victimization of political actors vying for public offices does not only narrow the orbit of participation, it makes a mockery of economic development plans. It also makes the business environment inordinately hostile, gravely infantilizes public institutions, and erodes the confidence of local and foreign investors.

    The urgent need of the moment is public-private sector partnership for economic revamping, partnership that would create jobs. The possibility of the agreement reversal to plunge 15,000 Nigerian families to the morass of destitution has inspired the House of Representatives, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), the Maritime Energy Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MEMPON), and a broad consortium of stakeholders in the sector to denounce it in unison.

    The President-General, Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Adewale Adeyanju, rightly enjoined the federal government to “avoid anything that will send wrong signals to investors that Nigeria’s environment is not safe and conducive for business.”  Furthermore, he noted that: “Most of these employees are Nigerians with families and responsibilities. We are therefore, worried that if this issue is not resolved amicably, their jobs could be on the line. The socio-economic implications of most of them losing their jobs in a volatile area like Rivers State can be better imagined than experienced,”

    The ethics of citizen-centred politics proscribes anything that can undermine people’s right to flourish economically. There is a human cost to this raging subterranean political battle. If the antics to bury INTELS succeed, inadvertently, it would bury the happiness and dreams of countless Nigerian families. The essence of politics is self-defeating, if it thwarts the socioeconomic well-being of citizens.  Destroying people’s means of livelihood, because of intra-elite squabbles is a relapse to Stone Age morality.

    Expecting elephants to fly seems more plausible than expecting politicians to fight ethically. Campaigns that heralded recent elections and referenda around the world, Nigeria’s 2015 election included were festivals of shame. In telling manners, they demonstrated how lust for power turns men into political cannibals, and deluded them into thinking that political cannibalism is essential to human flourishing, moral renewal, national transformation, and cultural revivalism.

    As 2019 approaches, the likelihood of economic disruption and political parricides becoming commonplace is very high.  It seems that INTELS ordeal is a prelude.   Already, the political elite are shifting allegiance, and secretly encoding their modus   operandi. Shortly,   this might ignite a contagion of betrayal and gruesome exploitation. This poses a question: Must the quest for political supremacy be debased to the low level of dog-eat-dog?

    Sadly, some men of conscience would say yes. For they have become staunch defenders of this retrograde practice that mainly fans the flames of primitivism. The only reason why some of them have not manifestly lost their equanimity of mind is their tendency to rationalize that they are “savage” for a noble cause.  It assuages the pang of their conscience.

    The amazing growth of INTELS from a container office at Apapa Port, Lagos is a glowing tribute to the tenacity and resourcefulness of the Nigerian spirit. Its incremental yet astounding growth right of over 30 years shows that clarity of vision is an essential growth incentive. It negates the notion that Nigeria’s business environment is hostile to long term investment.

    As Nigeria seeks to position herself at the front end of knowledge-driven service economy, companies like INTELS should be showcased as model of business success.  As Hon. Hassan Saleh (Benue, PDP) rightly noted “it is saddening that an indigenous firm is undergoing such disdainful treatment.”  He also noted that it is puzzling that “the relevant authorities failed to renegotiate the terms of the contract before terminating it.”

    If there is any reason for optimism, it is the fact that history shows that INTELS is not unacquainted with the perils of cannibalistic politics. During the Abacha era, it suffered untold economic hardship.  The pro-democratic crusader, late Shehu Yar’Adua, was a director in the company, which was known as Nigeria Container Services (NICOTES). When Shehu Yar’Adua demanded that General Sani Abacha should announce a date of restoration of democratic rule, NICOTES became a victim of the machinations of state actors.

    Atiku Abubakar’s refusal to disassociate from Shehu Yar’Adua made the regime to seize the company, and render it almost comatose. Atiku Abubakar and his allies were unlawfully dismissed from the board. However, in 1998, General Abdusalami Abubakar returned NICOTES to her legal owners, then it was renamed, INTELS.

    This historical parallel has deluded some public commentator into thinking that President Buhari is a moral equivalent of Abacha. This is most untrue and uncharitable. His illustrious pedigree and record of altruistic services put him in an echelon of nobility that Abacha could not aspire to. In fact, ethical prudence is a lodestar of Buhari’s enterprising quest to provide good governance.

    Those pigeonholing Buhari into Abacha’s moral category should desist from doing so. They have failed to factor in the roles of political zealots that inadvertently inflict reputational harm on their heroes. The tragedians who scripted this drama should hearken to the voices of reason and history. They should toss the script to the trash can of history, at least, for the unblemished moral honors of President Buhari.

    They should consider the fact that the logical outworking of the doctrine of political cannibalism is dreadful.  It exudes the possibility to push Nigeria to the backwaters of civilization. If unchecked, it could destroy the spiritual, moral, and material building blocks of a thriving economy. Retrogression is foreseeable when vendetta animates economic regulators.

     

    • Ibie is a Lagos-based public commentator.

     

  • THE WOMEN: FAST AND FURIOUS OF A DRAMA

    I have seen well-intended get-together of friends turning awry in movies like ‘Family Album’, ‘Truth Hall’, and perhaps, ‘Waiting to Exhale’ – they are all tragicomedies of dirty secrets, causing unprecedented diminishing return at the rise of fun.

    Omo (Ufuoma McDermott) must celebrate her 40th birthday, no matter what it takes. Hell is let loose when Teni (Omoni Oboli) discovers her husband is the secret sponsor of her friend’s birthday. Omo, down and fearing no fall, spills the milk of secrets supposedly covered in a delicate calabash, smearing, not just Teni, but Ene (Kate Henshaw) and Rose (Katherine Obiang), who, in Omo’s estimation, are Teni’s accomplices.

    Although Blessing Egbe’s ‘The Women’ is one of those stories, it has been able to stand out with ‘dissimilar resemblance’.

    ‘The Women’ may not claim to be an outright comedy, it does more than an intersperse of comic reliefs, and with considerable good pace, Egbe blows hot and cold in 90 minutes, leaving us on the edge of our seat.

    In favour of a director’s creative license, it is safe to say that although Egbe’s familiar style as a TV series producer robs on this movie effort, it is finely garnished by a smart pace that dishes riot and fun in one breathe. More so, this is a golden age in storytelling, and I guess what determines a great production is content, not genre.

    Because ‘The Women’, a familiar theme, is intelligently done, it warms its way into us with a refreshing storyline, good acting, smart jokes, and some shameful revelations uncovered at the point of jollification.

    During the daring moment that punctured their fun, everybody must go down with Omo, unless there is one without blemish. That is what Teni gets for casting the first stone… how well are the husbands able to handle shocking confessions of covetousness, adultery, child abuse, mental health issues and all- well, we didn’t see the world coming to an end here, yet we didn’t get the impression that Egbe is eulogizing vices.

    In ‘The Women’, the filmmaker didn’t just hit us with the tragic element, the buildups make for a progression that prepares the viewer for the bomb, and how you know a good movie is, even when the suspense is not so watertight, you are still stunned by the outcome.

    Egbe strikes me as a story teller and gifted director, because ‘The Women’ delivers on a good script, and smart visual interpretation.

    If she lost it anywhere, and seemingly so, the fifth lady and model at the getaway event, is a distraction, as her character is to the story, giving us an inkling of a series whose sequel could bud from her scene in the whole drama.

    And apart from a few sound glitches too, there is more to take home from ‘The Women’.

    It is interesting to note that Femi Branch (Ayo, husband to Rose), who has the tendency to overact, keeps it decent and fitting, even in his vernacular lines. Give it to all the male actors whose roles are not dwarfed by the fire brand ladies: Talk of Kalu Ikeagwu – (Bez, husband to Teni); Gregory Ojefua (Chubby, husband to Ene) and Anthony Monjaro (Maro, husband to Omo).

    While indeed all actors are in the lead role, it is safe to say that with the anchor character Omo, Ufuoma McDermott was in her element. The way I have never seen her in any movie…

     

  • Drama over Qatar Airways’ failure to airlift passengers

    THERE was confusion at the Departure Hall of Lagos International Airport yesterday over Qatar Airways’ failure to airlift stranded passengers for two-day running.

    The aggrieved passengers besieged the airline’s check-in counter demanding to be put on any available flight to enable them meet up with their engagements outside the country.

    They had on Sunday boarded the flight at 10a.m en-route Doha to connect to their respective destinations only to be disembarked due to operational reasons.

    One of the passengers, Rev. Segun Agbetuyi, said they were taken to the hotel later on Sunday.

    “They woke us all up at 4.30a.m this morning (yesterday) to bring us to the airport for boarding only to get to the airport and find that little arrangement had been made,” he said.

    Lagos Airport Police Command spokesperson Joseph Alabi, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP), who confirmed the development, said the issue had been resolved.

    He said: “They have left since and the issue has been resolved. I learnt that there was a delay and the passengers were not happy.

    “However, when I arrived, I saw things moving smoothly at the check-in and I was informed that arrangement had been made to convey them to their destinations.”

    On his part, a media consultant to the airline who simply gave his name as Mr. Mike, said the passengers were agitated because they had been in the hotel for two days and their flights had been delayed.

    “They need to get to their destinations and so when they came in here, it was crowded. But we have sorted out the issue and put some of them on the flight. The few of them that is remaining, we are taking them to other airlines,” he said.

  • Dance, drama at Indian cultural fiesta

    Dance, drama at Indian cultural fiesta

    The Indian High Commission, in collaboration with the Indian Cultural Association last weekend held a musical festival tagged: Goa Musical Fiesta, at the premises of the High Commission of India in Lagos.

    The event featured dances from a Goa troupe from the Kala Academy. They were brought into Nigeria by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations in an effort to nurture cultural ties amongst nations such as Nigeria that host a large Indian Community.

    According to President of the Indian Cultural Association, Chief Sanjay Jain, the event will boost the relations between the host community and then through variety of dances that give a glimpse into the beautiful Goan culture.

    While explaining further, he noted that Goa lies on the west coast of India and presents a happy blend of eastern and western culture with a rich tradition of folklore; art and architecture combined with contemporary designs, media and cuisine.

    “We have the Lamp Dance which will give an insight into Goan grace, skill, handicraft and art. We also have the act on Veerbhadra that promises to make us revisit the Hindu mythology; the Zagor that leaves us with the nuances of the Marathi theatre scene and the spectacular Ghode Modini, which is a dance that recapitulates the successful exploits of the Goan warriors of yesteryears.”

    Head of Chancery of the Commission, Kapoor Jagdish was optimistic that the performance and passion of the dance left many clapping and dancing to the rhythm of the beat.

    Another highlight of the event was a raffle draw, where two won Afrione branded made in Nigeria android phones.

  • Beyond the drama of recovered billions

    Left alone to face his own demons, ex-President Jonathan has gone through severe stress and stains in the past two years. He has had to account for the monumental looting of our national resources during his presidency. Some of our stolen funds, according to EFCC, have been traced to his aides, trusted ministers, governors and even his immediate family members. This development seems to have overshadowed his act of statesmanship in conceding defeat after the 2015 General Election despite Elder Orubebe and other PDP stalwarts’ resolve to pull the edifice down over their heads rather than allow power they had sworn to hold for 60 years slip away. If we forgot Jonathan’s huge sacrifice because of his current travails, some of his sympathisers have reminded us. First was Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto Catholic Archdiocese who reminded us that the nation owes Jonathan some respect for conceding defeat instead of behaving like his other African leaders who would rather turn their nations into a killing field than relinquish power after losing election. A few days ago, Col, Umar Kangiwa, former military governor of Kaduna State who along with embattled. Col. Sambo Dasuki sold Buhari to slippery Babangida during the night of long knives in 1985 also reminded us of Jonathan graceful exit.

    However, majority of Nigerians hold Jonathan responsible for the level of debauchery that took place during his presidency. First it was the $2.2b arms funds said to have been ferried in boxes under the watchful eyes of the current CBN governor, brought in to replace cantankerous and stiff Lamido Sanusi who had just then raised an alarm about missing $20b from NNPC account to the office of Dasuki, Jonathan’s National Security Adviser.

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has since asked Jonathan to explain to Nigerians what he “knew or had reason to know on the apparent diversion and sharing of over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms to fight Boko Haram.”.There was Diezani Alison-Madueke, his minister of petroleum who according to EFCC invested huge sums of money she allegedly pilfered from NNPC on properties in and outside Nigeria.  His closest confidants including t Babangida Aliu, the self-styled chief servant of Niger State that was dragged to court by EFCC two days ago over an alleged theft of N3billion are in various courts trying to defend their honour. Before then, huge sum of funds had been traced to Jonathan’s wife, cousin and other relatives.   Some N1b, $2m and 4m pounds suspected to be stolen funds were seized by EFCC between Buhari’s inauguration in May 2015 and Dec 2016. Following the introduction of government’s whistle blowing  policy, the haulage has been in droves with about  N145 b, $217m  and 2m pounds  raked in between December 2016 and April this year according to SB  Morgen Intelligence.

    But shoeless, ex-President Jonathan, in spite of the haulage of these huge sums of loose is funds is just a symptom of our problem. The rain started beating us long before he became President. All Jonathan, who admitted he was caged by PDP all through his presidency did, was to build on the legacies of his predecessors beginning with General Babangida, the man he described as his ‘father’ and General Obasanjo who he once described as the third greatest influence on his life after God and his biological father. These two leaders should be held responsible for our current nightmare. They presided over systematic sales of our national assets and sharing of a national patrimony, handed over to Balewa, Zik and Awo by the departing colonial masters which they in turn preserved for our children.

    Our nightmare started with IBB who along with his military prefects sold off many of our once viable companies covering hospitality, pharmaceutical beverages and other industries to themselves and their fronts sometimes at less than the cost of land on which they were built. Obasanjo and Atiku under the ill-managed privatization exercise sold off what IBB could not sell off before he was forced by Nigerians and civil society to step aside after he had annulled the most credible election in our nation’s history.  El Rufai, current governor of Kaduna State who presided over BPE at the period , is on record as having told a House of Representatives probe that  what the nation recouped from an investment of over $100b was just a little over $1.5b.

    President Jonathan was programmed by those who imposed him on the nation to continue with the legacies of his predecessors. Unfortunately there was little left to sell or share by the time he got into office. Tormented and harassed by those he claimed caged him, he came up with his crooked, logic that ‘stealing of government funds is not corruption’.  From then on, Jonathan was unrestrained. The huge earnings from the oil sector which dwarfed the total accruable to the nation between 1999 and 2010 ended up in the pockets of politicians and their fronts. Jonathan did not forget his family members. Only this week, it was revealed that the sum of $43.4million haul made from the Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, was part of the $289 million allegedly withdrawn from the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) Company’s accounts then headed by Jonathan’s kinsman.

    While aggrieved Nigerians most of whom live below $2 a day have the luxury of engaging in the drama about alleged stolen billions traced to peoples’ homes, abandoned at airports or bureau de changes offices, or buried in cemeteries, Buhari and his APC were given a mandate to resolve our economic crisis and our crisis of nationhood through politics and not through the judiciary which we all know has remained the scourge of the nation since independence.

    And here, no one is asking Buhari and APC to invent the wheel. Faced with similar crisis a few years ago, Russia under Putin chose politics over judiciary. Like many other nations did before him, he refused to engage in a battle with the enemies of his nation who subscribed to the rule of the jungle, using rule of law. He was however fair to those who had turned Russia into a candidate for western aids. Those who shared Russian national patrimony through dubious privatisation programme under drunken Yeltsin and who had failed to keep to the terms of sales were forced to cede the confiscated assets to the state. We have more than enough evidence that our nation was short-changed during the ill-implemented privatization programme. We know many of the new investors embarked on asset stripping while some others have gone ahead to sell the confiscated national assets to foreigners. These are some of the reasons why our graduates roam the street while we import the labour of other societies in form of fake products including drugs. Recovered billions can change this narrative.

    Those who brought our nation to its knees did so by exploiting political power. This was why we gave President Buhari and his APC political power to resolve our economic crisis and our crisis of nationhood through restructuring. They have spent two years unable to appreciate the value of political power at their disposal. In less than two years, they will have to face the electorate to account for their stewardship. Drama about recovered billions will be an appendix.

  • Anambra: Drama over Speaker’s seat lingers

    Anambra: Drama over Speaker’s seat lingers

    Major actors in the impeachment drama in Anambra State House of Assembly have retired to the rural communities to perfect their final plans in the battle to either save or impeach the embattled Speaker, report Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu and Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan

    For about a month before the Thursday, April 6, 2017 report of the impeachment drama in Anambra State House of Assembly, there were clear indications that all was no longer well in the House which used to pride itself as one of the most united and peaceful in the country.

    According to an insider source, by middle of March this year, it has become obvious that even some influential All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) committee chairmen and members, who were known as the Speaker’s close associates, were beginning to express openly, their dissatisfaction with the way things were going on in the House. Our source confided that both the leadership of the House and the governor seemed not to realise how deep the expressed sentiments had degenerated. So, the lawmakers’ sentiments remained mere complaints until that fateful Tuesday, when the Speaker, Hon. Rita Maduagwu, got wind of his colleagues’ determination to impeach her that day.

    To frustrate the move, she bolted with the Mace before the commencement of the day’s plenary, leaving behind about 28 lawmakers, who waited endlessly for her entrance into the hallowed chamber. What followed was anger and swearing to pursue to its logical conclusion, their resolve to change leadership.

    To appease the anger of the lawmakers, who felt insulted by the Speaker’s action, Governor Willie Obiano had to drive to the House that morning to address the lawmakers. At the end of the drama and the parley, Majority Leader, Victor Jideoffor Okoye, moved a motion for the House to reconvene on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Hon. Onyebuchi Offor seconded the motion.  That was just the first scene of the Anambra State Assembly impeachment drama.

    A week after the curtain opened, The Nation learnt that the drama that ensued has become more complicated with the business of the Assembly put on hold while lawmakers and people of the state are left to wonder over the whereabouts of both the Speaker and the Mace.

    Last Tuesday, Maduagwu, believed to be worried over the said plot by her colleagues to impeach her, remained underground and failed to reconvene the House. This is in spite of the fact that the House had last week adjourned sitting to the same Tuesday. Sources close to her also declined to disclose her whereabouts when asked by The Nation.

    This is amidst growing allegations that she eloped from the Assembly during the last sitting with the Mace. Just as her current location is unknown, the whereabouts of the Mace, the Assembly’s instrument of authority, is also shrouded in controversial secrecy.

    When contacted by reporters during the week, the embattled Speaker, who refused to say anything on the ongoing drama or her whereabouts, merely allayed any fear over her safety as she continuously affirmed that she is very safe where she is. “I am safe. I am ok,” she kept saying.

    But no concrete word of explanation has emerged from her camp over the failure of the Assembly to sit last Tuesday, except one of her aides, who said off record that the lawmakers could not sit because of the Easter festivities.

    However, speculations continue to thrive as observers of the politics of the state predict more confusion for the legislative arm in the days ahead.

    A member of the Assembly, speaking to The Nation on condition of anonymity, said the inability of the House to sit on Tuesday is because the crisis within the Assembly is yet to be resolved. The lawmaker from Anambra Central said the disagreement between the camps of pro and anti Maduagwu lawmakers in the House is assuming a more serious dimension on a daily basis.

    “As a member of the Assembly, I am worried. As a citizen of Anambra, I am bothered. This is because what is happening is not healthy for us, especially at a time like this. We have tried to get our members to sit down and discuss in the interest of the people, but politics is being allowed to destroy the business of legislation,” he lamented.

    It would be recalled that last Thursday, the Speaker allegedly disappeared with the Mace, the  symbol of authority of the House, to her Ukpor country home in Nnewi South Local Government  Area when she sensed that her colleagues had concluded plans to impeach her over alleged highhandedness and other sundry offences.

    More drama amidst confusion

    The Nation learnt that in her bid to forestall her possible impeachment by her colleagues at Tuesday’s planned sitting, the Speaker had caused a bulk SMS message to be sent to all legislators, as well as staff of the House of Assembly, to the effect that there will be no plenary on the said day.

    The messages, according to sources, were sent on Monday, a day before the adjourned day. And when surprised lawmakers made efforts to reach the hiding Speaker for clarification, they met a brick-wall as all effort to get her comment on the development reportedly yielded no fruit.

    “We didn’t sit on Tuesday. I don’t know why we didn’t sit really but I got a text message on Monday that there will be no sitting. I asked around and discovered that all other members got same message. I didn’t hear from the Speaker but those who tried to ask her said they didn’t get to hear much from her.

    You will recall that at the last sitting, we adjourned, through a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Victor Jideoffor Okoye, and seconded by Onyebuchi Offor, to reconvene Tuesday this week. But the text message changed all that and the sitting did not hold,” he said.

    But Honourable Chigbo Enwezor, the member representing Onitsha North 1 State Constituency, explained that he got a text that the House would not sit on Tuesday because they were on Easter break. According to him, though it is true that the House agreed to reconvene that day, the text message actually gave the Easter holiday as a reason for the cancellation.

    The House, he said, is likely to reconvene after the Easter break. But findings by The Nation revealed that unless the leadership crisis rocking the Assembly is resolved before then, the hope of the House sitting soon after the holiday may remain a mere wish.

    It was gathered that several efforts by prominent individuals, including Governor Willy Obiano, to nip the crisis in the bud, have failed as lawmakers opposed to the continued reign of Mrs. Speaker are insisting on her impeachment. “The only option they gave her is for her to resign,” a source said.

    This, The Nation learnt, is just as Maduagwu on her part, vowed not to resign her position. According to sources close to her, her refusal to accept the resignation option is due to her insistence that all the allegations against her are politically motivated.

    Search for the Mace

    And as the whereabouts of the Mace remained unknown, speculations are rife about the possible places the Assembly’s symbol of authority could be hidden by the embattled Speaker in her determination to ensure that she is not impeached by her colleagues.

    Recently, following insinuations that the Mace may have been hidden away in some unexpected public places, including caves and shrines, the Chief Priest of Ogbunike Cave, in Oyi Local Government Council Area of the state, had to clear the air that the Assembly’s Mace is not in the revered cave.

    According to a report in one of the national dailies, the Chief Priest said: “You should look for the Mace at Nnewi; the Speaker is not from Ogbunike. Maybe she kept it in Nnewi. They have their own god that looks after them and their properties.”

    In the same report, former President- General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dr. Dozie Ikedife, urged those looking for the Mace to look in the direction of places like the Akpo Ogwugwu Ukpor, because since the embattled Speaker is from Ukpor, she is most likely to hide the Mace closer home.

    “The Speaker of Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Agwu, is not an indigene of Nnewi as speculated in some quarters. She is from Ukpor, which is in Ekwusigo Local Government Area. They should look for the Mace at Akpo Ogwugwu Ukpor and not Ogbunike Cave because she must have taken a cue from the former Senate President, the late Chuba Okadigbo,” he said.

    But another member of the Assembly told The Nation that all the allegations that the Speaker hid the Mace in any of the places being mentioned are mere snide remarks. The lawmaker from the Awka zone of the state accused those opposed to Maduagwu of spreading false rumour about her.

    “It is unimaginable to say the Speaker is hiding in a cave or shrine with the Mace. She has said severally that she is not on the run. The House is on holiday and it will be reconvened at the appropriate time. Those who want Maduagwu out at all cost are the ones spreading all these lies,” he said.

    But a lawyer and Human Rights activist, Onyebuchi Uzoma, told The Nation on Thursday that the crisis in Anambra State House of Assembly has become complicated following what he called “immaturity of the members.” Before now, he said, “it has become obvious to every informed observer that most of the members of Anambra State House of Assembly had become either completely dissatisfied with the way things were going, or were ill informed on the fundamental proceedings of the legislative House. That is why many of them are constantly absent at both plenary and committee meetings. They only appear to collect allowances. They exhibited their inexperience by the way they went about the ill-fated impeachment. To worsen the matter, when the Speaker foiled the bid, the overzealous lawmakers, especially the Majority Leader adjourned the alleged sitting and fixed a date to reconvene. This action was faulty ab initio. This is because you cannot adjourn a plenary that never held.”

    According to him, it was not enough for the Majority Leader to announce an adjournment. What they needed was to ensure there was a properly elected presiding officer, perhaps, the Deputy Speaker, to authenticate their meeting that day before announcing an adjournment.

    “Also, I agree with the observers who said the action of the 28 lawmakers, who allegedly brought in an old wooden Mace, in place of the missing Mace, in order to carry out the alleged sitting was not just unacceptable but criminal. Except you are merely acting in a drama, you can’t smuggle in a contrivance, and call it the Mace, the authority of an authentic legislative House of a state. That was the height of the display of immaturity that has complicated the Anambra impeachment saga,” he said.

    Before the present face-off, the current Anambra State House of Assembly, which has majority APGA members, was considered to be very peaceful and united. Ozo Ray, an analyst, commenting on the unity of the legislative House last October had said, “To all intents and purposes , the 6th Anambra State House of Assembly could be rated amongst the most peaceful , vibrant and proactive state  legislatures in the country, devoid of confusion and rancour. Issues of balcanisation, impeachment moves, secret plots as well as other anti-democratic tendencies are none existent in the current state assembly. This is largely due to the way and manner in which the incumbent Speaker, Rt.Hon. Rita Maduagwu, pilots the affairs of the House.” All that has since changed as most of the members have vowed to take on the Maduagwu-led leadership of the Assembly.

    Our investigation during the week however shows that the seed of discord, now threatening the unity of the House did not just start overnight.

    Even Ray had in his assessment of the Assembly last year pointed out that “the present crop of lawmakers could be categorised into active and passive lawmakers.”

    According to him, “while some of the lawmakers spend the greater part of the legislative year making oversea trips, a handful of others blatantly absent themselves frequently from plenary despite promises of quality representation to constituents during electioneering periods. Some lawmakers have become strangers to their constituents. For some of those who endeavour to attend legislative sessions ended up keeping mute during discussions and debates, only to approach the accounts department thereafter to collect sitting allowance.”

    These are part of the suppressed sentiments that set the stage for the current impeachment plot as critics of Maduagwu accuse her of not carrying them along. But her supporters insist she is a wonderful leader, whose current travail has more political roots than issue of leadership ability.

    As the Speaker’s supporters retire to the rural communities in the state to meet with grassroots leaders and work behind the scene during this Easter holiday in order to resolve the matter peaceably before the lawmakers’ resumption, it has become obvious that the last has not been heard of the impeachment drama in Awka. Can Maduagwu appease her colleagues and retain the plum seat? That is the question that remains to be answered.