The Nation Newspaper

Tag: enemies

  • ‘My kids and I are friends, enemies’

    ‘My kids and I are friends, enemies’

    There are two peculiarities with the S.T. and T. Regency Schools, Ikeja. Pupils are encouraged to speak their minds and express themselves in the classrooms and they are never expelled, no matter the offences.

    Director of the institution, Dr Maggie Ibru, said her school teaches pupils to speak their minds, because that was the only way to know their thoughts and guide them aright.

    Speaking with The Nation at the secondary school’s sixth graduation, she said: “My kids and I are friends and enemies at the same time. I love them and they love me, and I give names and call them all kinds of names. They know that this is not a school where we expel students. We do not expel you for doing whatsoever, we work you through your mistakes and we believe God that you will change. We know that it’s not only the best students in conduct that make the world, but students, who have had the privilege of being pardoned are being forgiven.”

    Ms Ibru urged the graduating pupils to stand for what they believe in.

    “To my children, we have given you confidence, so learn to say ‘no’ strongly when you must. Just be who you are. Learn not to move with the crowd, rather learn to move people to be like you. Don’t behave like other people because you are moving to a world where everyone’s opinion counts and you don’t want yours to look like nothing. If you believe in what you stand for, then stand by it,’’ she said.

    The pupils studied character and etiquette as each child bowed and courtsied when receiving their certificates and medals of graduation.

    The head boy, Olawale Fadero, who aspires to be an electronic engineer, narrated his eye-opening experience from the crèche till he graduated from the same school.

    “My advice to my peers is to never give up, always put your head in the game, whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well,” he said.

    The head girl and valedictorian, Muoyowa Egbe, said she cherished memories gained at STTR and hopes to put lessons learned into use when she  secures admission to study Petroleum Geology later in the university.

    The school’s Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Vice Chairman, Pastor Ekpeyoung Duke, said he was proud of his daughter’s set.

    He said: “I feel very proud and confident. Ms Maggie encourages her children to speak their minds. I have witnessed several instances where she had to reprehend teachers for trying to shout the children down. It is not all about academics, but morals, discipline, comportment, attitude and your focus in life that are important.”

  • Forgive your enemies —APC chieftain

    As muslims all over the world celebrate Eid-el-Fitr, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Niyi Adeagbo, has urged people to embrace peace and forgive one another as done during the holy month of Ramadan.

    The security expert in his sallah statement made available in his Otu, Itesiwaju country home, said that it was by embracing peace that the society could be better off, adding that people should imbibe what they learned during the just concluded holy month of Ramadan.

    He said: “People should forgive each other and be united in a positive cause. By so doing, the much needed developmental projects would trickle in. We should continue to live in unity. Ramadan teaches patience, love, humility, forgiveness and unity.”

    He urged people to continue to support Governor Abiola Ajimobi in his quest to continue the developmental strides in all facets of life in the state.

  • Rifles, enemies, certificates and Kirikiri

    For many months, some vested interest groups, on realizing the imminent possibility of a successful Barack Obama candidacy for the presidency of the United States, sponsored the throwing of different arrows to puncture same. They either claimed that he was not a bona fide US citizen or was a Muslim, Kenyan or Indonesian or such inanities. Obama refused to answer those ‘issues’ and it was from him I first heard the phrase ‘silly season’ – meaning (in my view) the ‘hot’ period leading up to an election where people get so confused by a myriad of issues and personalities, that they will rather ‘cool off’ and enjoy more salacious jibes and mudslinging. In Nigeria there is no shortage of supplies of arrows and it will appear that even President Goodluck Jonathan whilst he detests ‘opposition’ and social media arrows, has his own arsenal and now fancies throwing a few himself. The problem with throwing arrows is that if an arrow is blunt no matter how poisoned or poisonous the thrower is, the target will suffer at most minor bruises and at times a backfiring may occur. Another problem I see is that Buhari like Obama being of similar frame provide very slim targets and often even the blunt arrow will miss the target!

    So an angry president in a fit of rhetorical soap box excitability, hollers– ‘when “they” were there how many rifles did ‘they’ buy for the military? ‘they did not buy even a single rifle!’ Does it mean that our President is of the considered view that a stock of rifles bought 30 years ago would have solved the insecurity problem? The criticism of the President on this matter goes beyond ‘buying rifles’ and is based on the non-exhibition of the desired empathy and demonstrable commitment to effectively being a Commander in Chief. It does not help when former President Obasanjo claims in My Watch that our President at least initially felt unconcerned because it was a ‘Northern’ problem. It does not help when highly audible international voices like Hilary Clinton pass a judgment of unseriousness on our President in the war against terror.  If it was a matter of rifles, the mountain of rifles seized or returned by the Niger Delta militants in exchange for an amnesty program may have gone a long way if transferred to the Nigerian Army. The current security challenges go beyond the buying of rifles or indeed shooting people with rifles. And even if shooting rifles is a component part of the war against terror, it is ammunition and not rifles that you need to keep restocking! The rifle buying arrow will have the effect of directing people’s minds to a comparative analysis of who might be better equipped as Commander in Chief to tame the insurgency. Buhari’s military background and demonstrable history of battlefield command successes, suggests it is not a comparison the president should invite. He would have been better off outlining concrete all-embracing plans to tame the insurgency including his touted Almajiri schools.

    Our amiable president, in Ibadan, a city famed for political enmities and violent political eruptions, hollered – ‘I have no enemies, I have no enemies I want to throw into jail!’ If that is an arrow aimed at drawing a distinction with Buhari, it represents a sadly mistaken reading of the mood of not only Ibadan people but of Nigerians generally. Nigerians need a president who is not afraid to make enemies. Nigeria has enemies, so why should our president not have enemies? All the locusts stealing Nigeria dry are enemies of Nigerians. All those election riggers and fixers who deny the people their democratic rights by stealing their sovereignty are enemies of Nigerians. The President needs to understand that in this battle for Nigeria’s survival, the friend of the peoples’ enemy is the peoples’ enemy! The concept of imprisonment is a long standing and pivotal ingredient of the rule of law required for cohesive social coexistence. There is no virtue in denying that fact or indeed in glorifying an attitude of condonation. Is the President saying that Boko Haram and the sponsors are not his enemies? Haba Mr President! These are the real enemies you need to have, not Rotimi Amaechi!

    So Buhari does not have School Certificate and he wants to contest against a PhD holder? A mismatch which should be evident to all and guarantee an easy victory for the PhD holder. So why the noise from the PhD holder’s camp? Why not go to court and have Buhari disqualified before or after the election and make the entire election a no-contest? Or could it be the case that the constitutional requirement is to ensure that aspirants to that office are educated up to at least secondary school level. If I was contesting for instance and I am eminently qualified to do so, and it is a fact that I have not bothered to collect my School Certificate from WAEC, am I doomed thereby? What if I swore to an affidavit that I am educated up to at least secondary school level and that I participated in the NYSC programme in 1985 (when Babangida overthrew Buhari!) but that I do not have the NYSC discharge certificate? Will evidence of my participation in NYSC not be sufficient proof of my education up to at least secondary school level? Having duly sworn to the fact of my educational eligibility on oath, is it not incumbent on any objectors to approach the NYSC to confirm or disprove my participation and hence educational eligibility? An aspirant to that office must also be above a certain age. I do not know but I suspect that our dear president does not have a Birth Certificate and therefore will have an affidavit. As it is silly season, if I start shouting that the president is below the minimum age and that he must produce his birth certificate to prove otherwise will I be taken seriously? Or will the retort be- how can someone who contested as Deputy Governor, Governor, Vice President and President not have met the age requirement? Have his opponents or INEC or the general public been sleeping?

    Lest we mislead some of our people, the constitutional requirement for showing education up to a certain level is different from say the requirements for gaining admission into a university. In the latter case, the certificate and the grades matter because it is a competitive academic exercise. There is actually no constitutional requirement that you must have passed secondary school leaving exams! If that were to be the intention, what amounts to a pass would also have been clearly stated. Or is it the case that a certificate showing a parallel F9 result will suffice? In fact, in my view a testimonial from a secondary school that you duly attended the school till the end will suffice and so too will an affidavit in lieu of the testimonial. It may appear somewhat of a watery requirement and easy to meet and the wording is suggestive of that intention.

    Lastly, Kirikiri! Many years ago I travelled in company of friends to Gashua. Anytime I asked a resident to show me Gashua prison, they got irritable and I kept hearing ‘Gashua is not a prison’. Indeed it is not and residents of Kirikiri must feel the same way. Being home to a nice golf course and significant Navy base, President Jonathan need not read meanings to and take umbrage at ‘sending people to Kirikiri!  Indeed I am going to Kirikiri on my own volition this weekend – to play golf. If on my way there and if ‘God does not forbid bad thing’, I drive too fast and knock down an innocent pedestrian and still end up in Kirikiri, that will not be the fault of those whose duty it is to send me to Kirikiri. It will be my fault and nobody should cry for me! If the bad thing becomes so bad that I knock down and kill 10 people, that is more serious wahala (on paper). If the sentence by the judge is 30 years on each of the 10 counts, then my total sentence is 300 years! Running concurrently though the total prison time is 30 years! That is the way the law works and even in Buhari’s time! At the Lagos rally, an aide behind the President (can’t say who) whispered into the microphone, 300 YEARS! And the President collected the arrow and lobbed it!

    Mr President, you should only listen to a soldier when discussing rifles not law! If not your 300 arrows will miss the Bourdillon Road gathering place of your targets and end up in the nearby Lagos Lagoon!

     

    • Ukpong is a Lagos-based legal practitioner.
  • We’ve proved our enemies wrong, says Akume

    We’ve proved our enemies wrong, says Akume

    Senate Minority Leader George Akume has said Nigeria still remains united in the face of several challenges and against the predictions of its enemies.

    In a statement yesterday on the nation’s Democracy Day, the distinguished senator expressed joy that Nigeria had triumphed over major incidents that caused the downfall of some other nations.

    He decried the poverty and insecurity, among other challenges, facing the nation.

    The statement reads: “It is a thing of immense joy to me as I believe it is to every other peace-loving Nigerian as we mark yet another anniversary of our democratic experience. I wish to felicitate with all Nigerians on this important occasion.

    “This year’s commemoration to me is very unique. It is for no other reason than that against the predictions of many, we remain a nation still united more than ever against the very evils that orchestrated the death of many other nations.

    “Furthermore, this commemoration avails us an opportunity to reflect deeply on the character of our dear nation and to take stock of how well the democracy we celebrate today has served us. It will be untrue to say that we all are having it good and easy in the face of the prevailing circumstances, such as the daunting security challenges, the deplorable state of infrastructures, the rising hunger, poverty and general discontent, unemployment and corruption, among other negative economic indices.

    “However, as we have shown, our unity is only getting strengthened by these many challenges and I am certain that if we can conquer these tempestuous times together, then there will be no nation greater than Nigeria.

    “I, therefore, urge all of us to continue to hold the government accountable for its actions and inactions, remain resilient and steadfast in our quest for peace, tolerance, equity, justice and the change that is necessary to move this nation forward and ensure that it is an ideal and a safe place for all to dwell.”

  • The military and its ‘enemies’

    The military and its ‘enemies’

    The Nigerian military finds itself in an unusual position. Over the last fifty odd years it has often been cast in the role of saviour. It fought the Biafran secession and preserved the Nigerian federation – a feat that many Civil War veterans would never let us forget.

    It has, for the bulk of our years as an independent nation taken it upon itself, to ‘rescue’ the country in moments of ‘drift’, plunging headlong into the extra-constitutional role of governance. Truly, on many of those occasions when the soldiers stepped in the populace were only too relieved to see bungling politicians tossed out on their ears.

    Even when the military was not meddling in government, its competence was often celebrated internationally as Nigerian troops excelled in a number of continental and United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping operations.

    For such an institution used to receiving plaudits, it is hard to be humble. It is even harder when you have come to accept your billing as this great fighting machine, to suddenly be at the receiving end of trenchant criticism that raises questions about your competence.

    Dealing with this awkward situation has proven a test over which the military and its spokesmen have not handled well. Suddenly, they see grand conspiracies and enemies everywhere.

    Against the backdrop of unprecedented international focus on the country following the bombing at the Nyanya, Abuja motorpark, as well as the abduction of over 270 Chibok schoolgirls, the most readily identifiable “foes” of this powerful institution have become the media – local and foreign – and the hashtag activists seeking the release of the abductees.

    This last week, Director of Army Public Relations, Brig-Gen. Olajide Laleye, repeated statements that suggest the military truly believe some people want to destroy it as an institution. Speaking in Abuja at the monthly briefing on the activities of the army in the North-East where the Boko Haram insurgency has been raging, he said: ‘The Nigerian Army has been under a deliberate and concerted effort by some individuals, bodies and organisations to tarnish its good image.

    “These groups and their international collaborators are trying hard to portray the Nigerian military as corrupt with myriad of problems and challenges ranging from morale of troops, equipment and troops welfare.”

    The general argued that the campaigns were calculated to undermine the corporate existence of the army and downplay its achievements. The army which he said was one of the binding forces uniting the country was far from weak and ineffective.

    Interestingly, the same week when Laleye was thumping his chest, the army’s Chief of Account and Budget, Major General Abdullahi Muraina, while speaking at the opening of the 2014 training week of the Nigerian Army Finance Corps (NAFC) for Warrant Officer/Senior Non-Commissioned Officers at Jaji, Kaduna State, said current budgetary allocation to the military was inadequate to meet the contemporary security challenges and cater for the welfare of the army.

    Muraina broke it down for journalists this way. “The army budget for this year is just N4.8billion. Now, to provide only one item for the troops engaged in the operation in the North-East… Assuming we committed 20,000 troops, the jacket and the helmet is on the average of about $1,000. If you change that to naira, it is about N150, 000. This means they are going to spend about $20million and that is about N3billion.

    “N3billion as a percentage of N4.8billion which is the capital budget for this year is more than 50 per cent and that is just one item.  We are not talking about uniforms; we are not talking about boots, we are not talking about structures where they will stay. We are not talking about training – because training is key to enhancing the capability of the force.”

    The issues of adequately funding and proper equipment was alluded to by Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima a while back and defensive Federal Government officials – including President Goodluck Jonathan – laid into him for suggesting that Boko Haram fighters were better equipped than our troops. Now we have the army’s purse keeper going on record to say they have issues with money.

    There are serious problems hampering the effectiveness of the military’s campaign in the North-East – and they are not limited to finance alone. Those challenges are the real enemies to be attacked, not the media, #Bring Back Our Girls protesters and their so-called “foreign collaborators.”

    For anyone to suggest that the media are the issue is downright ludicrous. What would be the motive driving this imaginary agenda of destroying the military?

    For these charges to stick motive must be established. Anyone who understands the way the media works knows that it is virtually impossible to get them to rally behind one agenda because of conflicting proprietary interest, political affiliations and worldview.

    The real problem for Nigeria’s military is that it is yet to understand that intense scrutiny is inevitable in the relentless 24/7 news cycle. Does anyone honestly expect the media not to report when troops turn their guns on the General Officer Commanding (GOC) as reportedly happened in Borno recently?

    What newspaper worth its salt would refuse to report the Nyanya bomb blast that claimed 100 lives? What sort of news medium would not analyse the context in which the attack happened and ask questions about the role of the military and political leadership?

    The snatching of over 270 Chibok schoolgirls from their dormitory by brutal terrorists is unprecedented anywhere in the world. It is a gripping human drama that no news organisation can ignore. It is the power of the story that attracted the CNNs, Aljazeeras and BBCs of this world. They have not focused on an anonymous village in Southern Borno ‘just to destroy Nigeria’s military.’

    Whatever they have done over the Chibok story, they have done in Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine and in their own countries. It is almost two years since Libyan gunmen stormed the United States consulate in Benghazi, killing the ambassador. The story of that tragic incident has refused to die because of media and congressional scrutiny. The same thing with America’s intervention in Afghanistan… No one has suggested that this scrutiny is intended to destroy the US military.

    It is this same mentality that led spokesmen of the Jonathan administration to accuse the opposition of treason just because they made certain caustic and critical comments!

    Unfortunately for our political establishment who don’t want to be accountable to anybody, intrusive reporting and uncommon scrutiny of their actions is here to stay. Terror is the issue of the 21st century and the world is interested. Thanks to Boko Haram’s brutality Nigeria has become the latest terrorism frontier – meaning she’ll be trapped in the global spotlight for years to come.

    Politicians, the military and all those managing this insurgency must be prepared to answer questions. We opened the door when we failed to tackle what we had advertised as a local issue. Now that we have begged for foreign help, we must realise it is not a freebie. It comes with a price: scrutiny and accountability.

  • No time for APC to seek enemies

    SIR: The Yoruba say a prince should not ask who killed my father until he becomes the king, otherwise, he may be killed like his father. So, why is the All Progressive Congress (APC) said to be aiming at probing ex-Presidents? Indeed the Yoruba maxim that I would expect the APC to adopt is that a person should seek more friends rather than more enemies, particularly now that many conscientious members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) realize that their party has derailed and lost the moral justification to seek the votes of Nigerians in 2015.

    The PDP has been deceiving Nigerians about electricity and other amenities since 1999 till date. What else has the party got to say? You can deceive a people many times but not forever. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan went as far as promising he would transform Nigeria into paradise. But I knew he could not enjoy divine blessing, because God is opposed to destabilization which his truncation of rotational presidency represented.

    The APC has done well if truly it adopted whatever is good in the PDP’s manifesto. That would mean that the party is not sentimental. After all, nobody has monopoly of knowledge. Did the PDP itself conjure the manifesto? Only God knows the original author of each item in a manifesto. It is even possible that what the PDP is protesting is no more than certain coincidences in the APC’s manifesto.

    More importantly, of what use is a manifesto that the PDP has not made to benefit Nigeria but only its own self-aggrandizement? Note how all the major opposition political parties supported PDP’s rotational presidency, only for the PDP itself to truncate it after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua! I enjoin the APC to reinstate rotational presidency for order, peace, and progress.

    The APC should not hesitate in fielding General Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, because Nigeria needs their integrity for genuine transformation. A Buhari/Tinubu presidential ticket will mark the beginning of the end of religious bigotry in Nigeria. Henceforth, politicization of religion must stop; people must be judged by the content of their characters, not religious or ethnic sentimentalism. In rotational presidency, Nigeria must elect suitable persons from each zone (South-east in 2019, etc.).

    Towards success, APC must woo friends, not make enemies. The focus is not probe but transformation through eradication of corruption.

     

    • Pius Oyeniran Abioje, Ph. D,

    University of Ilorin.

     

  • ‘Our enemies are political profiteers’

    In the name of the Supreme Council of the Revolution of the Nigerian Armed Forces, I declare martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria.

    The constitution is suspended and the regional governments and elected assemblies are hereby dissolved. All political, cultural, tribal and trade union activitites, together with all demonstrations and unauthorized gatherings, excluding religious worship, are banned until further notice.

    The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife. Our method of achieving this is strictly military, but we have no doubt that every Nigerian will give us maximum cooperation by assisting the regime and not disturbing the peace during the slight changes that are taking place.

    I am to assure all foreigners living and working in this part of Nigeria that their rights will continue to be respected. All treaty obligations previously entered into with any foreign nation will be respected and we hope that such nations will respect our country’s territorial integrity and will avoid taking sides with enemies of the revolution and enemies of the people.

    My dear countrymen, you will hear, and probably see a lot being done by certain bodies charged by the Supreme Council with the duties of national integration, supreme justice, general security and property recovery. As an interim measure, all permanent secretaries, corporation charimen and senior heads of departments are allowed to make decisions, until the new organs are functioning, so long as such decisions are not contrary to the aims and wishes of the Supreme Council. No Minister or Parliamentary Secretary possesses administrative or other forms of control over any Ministry, even if they are not considered too dangerous to be arrested.

    This is not a time for long speech-making and so, let me acquaint you with ten proclamations in the Extraordinary Orders of the Day, which the Supreme Council has promulgated. These will be modified as the situation improves.

    You are hereby warned that looting, arson, homosexuality, rape, embezzlement, bribery or corruption, obstruction of the revolution, sabotage, subversion, false alarms and assistance to foreign invaders, are all offences punishable by death sentence.

    Demonstrations and unauthorized assembly, non-cooperation with revolutionary troops are punishable in grave manner up to death.

    Refusal or neglect to perform normal duties or any task that may of necessity be ordered by local military commanders in support of the change will be punishable by a sentence imposed by the local military commander.

    Spying, harmful or injurious publications, and broadcasts of troop movements or actions, will be punished by any suitable sentence deemed fit by the local military commander.”