The Nation Newspaper

Tag: freedom

  • Group secures freedom for detained inmates

    A human rights organisation,  the Set the Captives Free Foundation International (SCFFI), has secured the release of six awaiting trial inmates.

    The detainees were freed for want of diligent prosecution. One was kept in prison for being unable to meet a N20,000 bail condition;  in two instances, the inmates stayed behind bars after their cases were struck out in their absence by a magistrate.

    Among those released include Hosbert Agara, Usman Alade, Okechukwu Maxi, Chinebere Clark, Sunday Bada, Grace Musa, the foundation’s President, Evangelist C.C. Odo Michael, a lawyer, said in its October 2013-April 2014 report issued in Lagos.

    Agara was charged before a Surulere Magistrate’s Court with alleged indecent assault and rape. He was detained for over one year. The case suffered six adjournments and no prosecution witness ever attended court.

    When SCFFI filed a motion asking that the case be dismissed for want of diligent prosecution, the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) then issued a legal advice upon being served with the motion, and a prosecutor came to the court for the first time at the next hearing.

    Being a bailable offence, the foundation paid the bail bond deposit of N20,000, and Agara was granted temporary freedom on April 9.

    Alade was arraigned on July 5, 2013 for an alleged crime of defilement. No prosecution witness ever attended court to testify. The foundation applied that the case be struck, and the court did so on February 25.

    Maxi’s was also a case of alleged defilement. He was arraigned on July 3, 2013. No witness came forward to testify. On March 31, the case was struck out.

    The story of Clark and Bada is unusual. Their cases were struck cases due to lack of diligent prosecution, but no lawyer was present to represent either the prosecution or defence that day. None of the accused persons was in court.

    Subsequently, the magistrate struck out the case in absence of the defendants. Apparently not aware of the development, prison authorities kept them behind bars for several months.

    SCFFI intervened and discovered that the two had no business remaining in prison custody. It pursued their cases and secured their freedom.

    Musa was arraigned for alleged “breach of peace” by using insulting language against another person. She was arraigned on January 16 and released on bail. The case was adjourned for trial on three occasions and the complainant and prosecution never came to court for once.

    On April 2, SCFFI’s lawyers urged the court to strike out the case for lack of diligent prosecution. The court struck out the case.

    Michael urged judges and magistrates not to strike out cases in the absence of accused persons.

    He said the court could order prison authorities to produce the detainees before striking out their case, to avoid a situation where someone remains in prison for months because the court’s decision was not communicated either to him or the prison authorities.

  • True meaning of freedom

    True meaning of freedom

    Freedom, freedom, everywhere there must be freedom: Freedom for you, freedom for me, everywhere there must be freedom’.

    The short poem above on freedom is not foreign in origin. It was the catchy song and slogan of the NCNC, the leading political party in the heady days of Nigeria’s nationalist movement. The freedom refrain became popular in the mid 1940s when colonial Nigeria was stirred into demanding independence from British colonial rule. The Action Group, the other leading Nigerian Party, also joined the fray with its own slogan of ‘Life more abundant’, or ‘Afenifere,’ that inspired and caught the imagination and nationalist impulse of the Yoruba. Not to be left out, the Trade Union Congress, under the uncompromising and courageous leadership of the indomitable Michael Imoudu, waded into the fray in 1946, or thereabouts, with a hugely successful labour strike for pay increases for the workers. The strike was total and effective. It paralysed the activities of the colonial government and exposed its weakness. It was forced to give way to the demand of the workers for wage increases. This event marked the beginning of the struggle for Nigeria’s independence. But the vision of Nigeria’s early leaders of an independent country in which freedom would flourish has since been abandoned, as has the general welfare of Nigerian workers who now wallow in abject poverty and misery.

    I was a boy growing up in Lagos at the time and saw some of those popular demonstrations, mainly at Tom Jones Hall, Evans Square and Oyingbo in Lagos. The colonial government allowed public demonstrations as long as they were peaceful. That is no longer the case today in Nigeria where peaceful demonstrations are often broken up by the police. My late father, who was then in the colonial civil service, often took me along to watch those political demonstrations against British colonial rule in Nigeria. He tried to explain to me that we were fighting for our freedom. That did not mean much to me at the time as I was too young to understand what freedom meant. The struggle for freedom and against foreign rule gathered momentum everywhere. The British had ruled India for over 300 years. But in 1947, after a bloody colonial war led by Mahatma Gandhi, India was granted its independence. The event was epochal as it presaged the fall of the British Empire and foreign rule in Asia and Africa.

    In Nigeria, the activities of the independence movements were confined largely to Lagos where, over a century, some educated elite of professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, and engineers had emerged. It was this educated African elite that led the struggle for independence in Nigeria. Initially, all that this small educated African elite wanted from the British colonial authorities was representative government, and equality of treatment with white British officials; not outright independence. They had all been educated in England and loved and admired the British way of life. Colonial rule in Nigeria was benign and more visible in Lagos, the seat of the colonial government. It was at the old Bristol Hotel in Lagos that a black West Indian was first offered accommodation when it was thought he was white, but refused later, when he was discovered to be black. The vibrant Lagos press took up the matter, and strongly supported the agitation for freedom from foreign rule. To the credit of British colonial rule in Nigeria only one journalist, Anthony (later Chief) Enahoro, was arrested and convicted for sedition, after he had made a speech at the Tom Jones Hall calling for a revolution in Nigeria against foreign rule.

    Outside Lagos, the pro-independence movements made very little impact as colonial rule and some of its atrocities were not so visible, or rampant. Unlike in India, there were no bloody massacres of the people in colonial Nigeria. But there were a few incidents outside Lagos, such as the tragic Aba women’s riot and the violent demonstration led by Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, over the introduction of local taxation in Abeokuta that led to the Alake being deposed by the colonial authorities. In Northern Nigeria where the British colonial authorities worked closely with the powerful emirates, there was very little agitation for independence. Raji Abdallah in the North was like a lone voice. British rule did not change much there. There was very little sense of the loss of independence or freedom in much of rural Nigeria where British colonial officials ruled through the Obas. Only the black educated elite in the South felt the humiliating impact of colonial rule. In 1960, Nigeria was granted independence with profound goodwill and amity on both sides. Its independence struggle was short and the transition peaceful. After World War II, Britain was hardly in a position to retain its African colonies and decided to let them go. Starting with the old Gold Coast (now Ghana) in 1957, the African colonies all became free from foreign rule. By 1962, British colonial rule in Africa had ended.

    In October 1960, I was a student at the then University College, Ibadan, and was proud to see the British Union Jack unfurled and replaced by Nigeria’s national flag at the Lagos Race Course (now Tafawa Balewa Square). Like many other Nigerians, I believed that the end of colonial rule would usher in freedom and a better future for the people of Nigeria. But in later years, I began to realise that though Nigeria was now free, this did not mean that its people were also free and could really take their destiny into their own hands. This new freedom was, soon after independence in 1960, undermined by new challenges that were not anticipated at independence. Foreign domination had ended, but it was soon replaced by tribal domination and tyranny that was more extensive and vicious than colonial rule. The ‘federal might’ was used to crush the democratically elected AG government of the Western Region, and its leader, Chief Awolowo, jailed for treason in suspicious circumstances. This presaged the 1966 military coup and the ensuing civil war in Nigeria. Tribal colonialism had replaced foreign rule. The freedom from colonial rule in 1960 and respect for fundamental human rights in Nigeria has since proved to be illusory and elusive. Alien rule is evil, repugnant and unacceptable. And we were right in resisting it. But there is less personal freedom today in post-colonial Nigeria than under British colonial rule. Our new rulers care far less about any freedom or liberties for their subjects.

    Now, the true nature of Freedom is often not understood. It is usually regarded as a single and simple idea: let people be free to lead their lives as they will; provided always that they do not interfere with the equal liberties of others. But Freedom is not such a simple idea. If it were, it would be triumphant everywhere. It is not even a single idea; it includes many other ideas, which sometimes may conflict with one another. There is, first, national freedom-the right of a people to determine its own destiny, free from alien domination. There is, secondly, Constitutional freedom-the right of the citizens to manage their political affairs, not subject to a despot or an oligarchy, or tribal domination, but ruled by representatives duly and freely elected by them. There is also personal freedom- the freedom of thought, of speech, of association, of religion; freedom from arbitrary arrest and punishment, and from any form of control, other than that of impartial courts of Law.

    These personal freedoms are the bedrock of a stable society. A truly free man will not stoop to certain despicable ways of behaviour, such as docility, cowardice, servitude, sycophancy, lying, meanness and plain stupidity, all of which abound in Nigeria today. Only enslaved people exhibit those characteristics. And a nation is not made great if its people are enslaved. Great nations can only be built by free men, not enslaved men. Ancient Rome was great because its citizens were free. A free man will defend his freedom and his nation tenaciously, even unto death. He may, like Nelson Mandela, be jailed for his hankering after freedom, but he will still feel a sense of personal freedom, an inner feeling that transcends all physical shackles. And the true attitude of the free man is not to ask more from the state but to see that it is governed justly. A true liberal, or progressive, goes into public life thinking of what he can contribute rather than what he can get from the state.

  • ‘Freedom is not free’

    ‘Freedom is not free’

    Why are you involved in human rights activism?

    It is the society. We live in a society which abhors truth and anybody who takes integrity as a virtue has committed a crime; corruption is celebrated in our society. I want to change this notion through my activities as a human rights crusader. My respect for the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi and the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti spurred my interest to do more.

    When did you start the organisation in the state?

    We just started CDHR in Niger State, but I am being perceived as a rebel and troublemaker in the course of agitating for students’ rights.

    You were arrested by the police recently, why?

    I think some people develop fear whenever they hear my name. That is the best way I can explain it. The management ordered for my arrest because I advised students on social media to identify with the cause of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), so that the Federal Government can be forced to implement the agreement it reached with the lecturers and we can return to school. The students have always been at the receiving end of the lecturers’ action. Some people in school saw my plea as rebellious. I was identified on campus and I was immediately picked up by the security agents. But the national body of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) called for my release.

    Why did you support ASUU ?

    The government is not sincere to the citizens. The country’s constitution guarantees our right to education. But we have unimaginable wealth under our feet, yet the government could not utilise the resources to improve education. We have enough for our needs but not enough for our greed. The government should understand that a nation cannot grow without education. This means there should be proper funding of education and this is what I am campaigning for.

    How would you rate the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan?

    Tragedy is when men are afraid of the light. President Jonathan has performed below expectation because the problems we face remain unsolved. There is still no qualitative education, and the economy is not stable. The country is still not safe, while mass unemployment continues to hunt us. Above all, there is political instability. In a simple sentence,the Jonathan administration is not different from the past regimes.

  • ‘True freedom fighters do not seek personal riches’

    Niger Delta socio-political group, Ijaw Peoples Development Initiative (IPDI) has criticised egocentric attitude of the ex-militant commanders in the region and urged them to emulate the generosity of the late Dr, Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

    The group was angry that the ex-creek warlords were indulging in profligacy, building mansions and frittering their amnesty largesse on expensive lifestyles.

    The group said the current attitude of the ex-militant commanders betrayed the reasons they gave to the world when they engaged in arms struggle against the country.

    The National President, IPDI, Mr. Austin Ozobo, who spoke on Wednesday in Yenagoa, said the ex-militant leaders had betrayed the true essence of freedom fighting.

    He said the “mind-blowing track records of late Dr. Nelson Mandela as a true freedom fighter could serve as flashpoint for the self-acclaimed N-delta freedom fighters who fought to make money for themselves and their immediate families”.

    Ozobo insisted that “no true freedom fighter would amass wealth for the detriment of the poor class he or she claimed to be fighting for”.

    He admonished notable ex-militant leaders such as Government Ekpemupolo (Tompolo), Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, Ebikabowei Boloaf, Ateke Tom, Bibora Shoot-at-sight and others to prove themselves true freedom fighters by helping the poor with their wealth.

    He further lamented that no true freedom fighter would celebrate wealth while his people languished in starvation.

    “A true freedom fighter must be selfless and a person who does not seek personal riches. Looking at how the oil surveillance job was handled, it was the same ex-militants who are in the payroll of the federal government that were the same beneficiaries, the masses they claimed to be fighting for were not considered.

    ‘’In fact, if they are freedom fighters, what is the need for them to fight themselves over oil surveillance and NIMASA security contracts, which could be have been given to the poor masses to handle?

    ‘’The clamour for these contracts by the ex-militants is a betrayal and rebellion against the collective or common wishes of the common N-delta man. A master can not be fighting for himself when his followers are still in pains and agonies.

    “They always shut their doors against those they pretended to have fought for. If these were the attitude of Dr Nelson Madiba Mandela, the world wouldn’t have been celebrating him at death.”

    He faulted the Tompolo’s Foundation and said it only centred around the indigenes of his Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State.

    He said: ‘’Look at Tompolo Foundation, almost all the benefiting communities are from his Gbaramatu kingdom, he is highly discriminatory; he can only attend to you if you are from his kingdom. No equality, but claimed to have fought for equality he did not believe.

    ‘’Look at Asari, he went to establish university in Benin Republic, assuming it was established here it would have created more employment for the people of Nigeria, and could have helped to fight unemployment in the country’.

    ‘’The same discriminative attitude envelop Boyloaf, Ateke Tom and the rest of them.”

  • Is Freedom of Information Act working?

    Is Freedom of Information Act working?

    Application to the Court under this Act shall be determined summarily. Moreover, and happily too, the burden of proof where a public institution denies an application for information lies squarely on the shoulder of that public institution.

    The power of judicial review of the actions of those authorised to supply information makes this Act an interesting one. No one should be a judge in his own case. We have had instances where public servants act with impunity and because there is no other authority to examine their actions, they have often got away with it. Here the court will look at the reasons advanced for refusal or why the public institution have failed to act. The court shall order any institution to disclose the information or part thereof to the applicant:

    (a) If the court determined that the institution is not authorised to deny the application for information.

    (b) Where the institution is so authorised, but the court nevertheless determines that the institution does not have reasonable grounds on which to deny the application or;

    (c) When the court makes a finding that the interest of the public in having the record being made available is greater and more vital than the interest being served if the application is denied in whatever circumstance.

    Of importance and should be mentioned is the protection against civil or criminal prosecution by the Act of public officers in disclosing any information in good faith and they shall not suffer for any consequences that flow from that disclosure, even where and when such public officer becomes a whistle blower and without bad faith discloses to any person an information which he reasonably believes to show:

    (a)A violation of any law, rule or regulation

    (b) Mismanagement, gross waste of funds, fraud, and abuse of authority or;

    (c) A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety notwithstanding that such information was not disclosed pursuant to the provision of this Act.

    Finally no civil or criminal proceedings shall lie against any person receiving the information or further disclosing it.

    The other remaining sections deal with reporting and submission of reports of disclosure and denials to appropriate Authorities. The AG of the Federation and the National Assembly are the Authorities empowered by this Act to ensure compliance of this wonderful Act.

     

    Challenges and prospects

    The signing into law of the freedom of information bill is a victory for transparency, accountability, democracy and good governance in Nigeria. We are welcomed to the age where many files marked ‘Top Secret’ by government officials can now be made available to ordinary Nigerians under the Freedom of Information Act. Now we can know how much is awarded for the perennial and unending repairs called ‘patch-patch’ on the Benin-Ore road. We now can know how much is spent on importation of fuel and how much is paid as subsidy by NNPC. Perhaps, we can now know how much our Governors and even the President collect as security votes monthly. We can now know finally how much our Legislators earn as annual salaries, their allowances, and other perks of office. The list is endless. We now can know. However we must watch out. The Nigerian public officer does not posses the culture of being subjected to public scrutiny – they do not tolerate it. Two recent examples by the Nigerian public officers will suffice here. Governors who declared their assets recently with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) declined to make it available to the public on the ground that the Code of Conduct Act did not mandate them to make their declaration public. The CCB Act seems to go contrary to the FOI Act which makes access to information mandatory.

    Contrary to the Freedom of Information Act, the Code of Conduct Bureau maintained that members of the public may not have access to details of assets declared by Governors or other public Office holders, on the ground that the document still contains personal information. Hear the Secretary of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Alhaji Alhassan Ibrahim: “I will need judicial interpretation to be able to decide whether to disclose the present value of assets declared by public office holders to any member of the public. The same FOI Act exempted public institutions from giving out personal information. Much of the information we have on the asset declaration form is personal and of course assets belonging to the wife or husband of the public office holder which is a third party is protected by the FOI Act from being given to the public”. He declared with finality “anyone may apply for information on asset declaration but we need our legal department’s approval to give out such information”. We are in for a big trouble with this kind of attitude. We all know instances where elected political office holders declare in advance what they set out to steal in office in their assets declaration forms. They declare homes in America, UK, France, Bahamas, etc., they are yet to acquire by future stealing. We also know they steal and use their spouses and children’s names to acquire assets and properties. Yet somebody will tell me that it is a private information for which the public is entitled not to have information. We await eagerly the interpretation of the courts on this issue soon.

    The second instance is the recent mockery made of an applicant from Niger State, who wanted to know how much Governor Babangida Aliyu, collects as security vote. Remember that Governor Kwankwaso of Kano has another name for security votes. He said it is pure stealing by public officers. Alhaji Aliyu boasted that he took time to ridicule the applicant’s letter. According to him, the man had the cheek to ask that the information be sent to him within 14 days. He went further outlining a number of apparently outrageous demands with which his office could hardly have been expected to comply. Is somebody sensing danger with this new law? That has always been the attitude of Nigerian public officers. They detest openness and transparency due to their corrupt ways. Corruption of course thrives in secrecy. Those in darkness will never love light. That Nigeria is corrupt is not a matter of public debate; that the evil doers will want it to remain like that is known to every Dick Tom and Harry. Therefore, their recourse to sadism, reluctance, impunity and obnoxious attitude of frustrating the smooth implementation of this piece of legislation should never be in doubt. Remember that the Official Secret Act was not repealed by this new Act. Eneke the bird had advised that since men have learnt to shoot without missing, he the bird has learnt to fly without perching.

    Vigorous advocacy, stubborn demand for observance of this law and persistent and consistent perseverance by the Nigerian populace for transparency and accountability in governance is the only panacea for the full and due implementation of this wonderful first step in enthroning transparency in the government.

    It is clearly in the interest of the public officers that Nigerians should be carried along in governance, things that pertain to their daily lives. Governance is a social contract involving the governed and those in the government. When participation, knowledge, and involvement of the people are denied, it looses every form of contract. The consequence is that anarchy and evil is loosened upon the land, and no one can be safe in that kind of a nation. Part of what the nation is suffering today stems majorly from lack of transparency in governance and the pervasive corruption of public officials. We demand change of ways if this country must survive.

     

    Prospects

    Access to information is key to democratic governance. It must be recognised that public bodies do not hold information for themselves or for the sake of holding it, rather, it is for the benefit of all members of the public. It is for the sake of good governance. People at all levels should be aware of what government is doing or not doing at any point in time in the spirit of accountability and transparency. The nation stands to gain tremendously from a law like this that guarantees the right to access public held information. Openness in governance engenders just and good government; and just and good government brings about joy, happiness, and positiveness of attitude of the people to the government in particular and to the nation in general. America and some of the European countries demonstrate clear examples of what transparency in government has done to those societies. You can drive freely in the day and night, there is relative safety, there is exhibition of love and mutual respect as a result of government putting the people first in policies and administrations, and empowering the people to participate in policy making processes and decisions that affect their lives.

    Though this law has its pluses and minuses, it is still better than nothing. We recommend that this law needs to be domesticated by all the state governments in all the states to ensure its full impact in good governance. If this is done some of us will begin to know how much actually the state government releases to local governments from the compulsory joint state/local government accounts wrongly imposed by the 1999 constitution upon Nigerians, and several other malfeasance and corruption committed by state and local governments.

    The numerous prospects inherent in this law can only be realised if vigorous workshops, seminars, trainings, dissemination of information to the grassroots, and community based organisations are embarked upon to enlighten the entire populace of the provisions of this law. As private Nigerians are to be educated on the new law, so also it is recommended that public officers should be given pervasive trainings and teachings and re-orientation seminars on the importance of obedience and adherence to the letter and spirit of this law.

    Finally, an active judicial arm willing, ready, possessing the capacity and integrity to shoot down oppressive and impunitive refusals and denials of access to information is what we need to ensure full and adequate implementation with the inherent consequences of good governance, provisions of infrastructures, general well being and international respect to us as a nation. It is only when we do this and succeed in getting everyone to know and obey this new law we can go home and say it is uhuru. The point for now, fellow Nigerians – it is not yet uhuru.

     

  • Freedom Park and Osun’s changing landscape

    Freedom Park and Osun’s changing landscape

    SIR: Having lived in Osogbo in the past seven years and I can attest to the massive government projects going on in last one and a half year or so. Although these projects, especially the road dualisation starting from Old-Garage, have had a disruptive impact on the life we have been used to in Osogbo, but I’m taking it in my stride as well as many others. However, I am particularly impressed by the development of the rail terminal at Old-Garage because I am very familiar with that area, which is my major route of operations.

    The Old-Garage rail terminus, like many others around the country, had for long been allowed to lapse into a state of disrepair. But just a little over a year ago the place started witnessing resuscitation which culminated in the launch of the Aregbesola train sometime in April last year. I had thought that would be the end of the story. I was wrong. Few months later, the bulldozers came calling on the mini-shanty settlement that had developed in and around the rail terminal; and as if one was in a dream the slum had simply disappeared and the placed had been swept clean.

    As if that was not enough new sets of earth-movers, popularly called caterpillars in these parts, came on site with workers who began clearing, digging, shovelling, levelling and paving. The result is that, today, from the ashes of the old sum, a new landscape has risen, called Freedom Park. I find its sheer beauty stunning, to say the least. This is probably because I’m still finding it hard to erase from my memory the ugliness of the dead slum that had given way to the new park. The rail terminal is now a carefully paved and macadamised platform with clearly marked-out parking spaces, complemented by a giant electronic screen where residents can be entertained by satellite TV programmes such as the more comfortable enjoy in the cosiness of their sitting rooms.

    The park’s real beauty comes out at night when the bluish-white flood lights beam down on the vast space. Another impressive side attraction for me is the seal of the state government and the phrase, ‘Osun a dara’, that are beautifully and clearly engraved in stone on one side of the park. The park also serves the additional purpose of separating vehicular traffic coming from Okefia and heading towards Olaiya intersection away from that heading towards Aiyetoro and Igbono, thereby reducing the bottleneck that builds up at the rail crossing.

    The new park is now the talk of the town and it’s a compelling site for those seeing it for the first time. To my mind, if this is what this government is all about, then I think the people of Osun State are in for a new era of positive development.

     

    • Titi Ajayi (Mrs)

    Ilesa, Osun State

     

  • Freedom; Chimamanda’s Americanah; CBN’s MPR and the rest of us

    Thank God for the successful efforts to secure the release of the Rhodes Vivours. We must thank God even as we pray earnestly for the release of all other kidnap victims and a final full stop to this evil method of extortion.

    The wars against the Boko Haram, indigenes in Plateau and farmers on the North-South cattle route go on even as the rest of Nigeria goes on. I read Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah. It is a long good read, covering a wide range of incidents and sites. I was on the Third Mainland Bridge when it came up in the book. Perhaps you will find yourself ‘live action’ in places and scenes mentioned including Obalende, my old haunt. The book discusses race, confirming it is a non-issue in Nigeria, and love- that worldwide problem engaging every reader in one scenario or another. You will find a lot of ‘been-there-done-that’ as my daughter taught me to say.

    It is amazing in love the same action can be so contrastingly cruel and kind, common and individual and cause so much gain and pain, but we all know that anyway. That is not a reason not to read the book. It is nice knowing you are not alone in your gains and pains from love. And you will learn a lot about women’s hair, beautiful and otherwise. In my clinic I tell my patients that small cysts seen on ultrasound are normal signs of womanhood and that without those cysts the women would be men. They immediately cheer-up. Not one of them has wanted to be a man in spite of the dedicated hours regularly spent weave-on-ing. Amazing. This book answers the unasked question ‘why weave-on?’ and many more ‘whys’.

    Meanwhile the inter-bank interest rate MPR, has been kept by the award winning CBN at 12% making bank loans 21-25% to ‘fight inflation’. What inflation? The one in the pockets of millions of Nigerians or the banks statistics caused by corruption? The commercial banks could cut their own additional 10-15% interest even if CBN insists on 12% but they will not –greed. Meanwhile they make billions! How? Who are they doing business with? They screw us out of our money with COT, cheque, ATM and a myriad of other financial burdens invented in the boardrooms by financial wiz kids seeking bonuses. What do Nigerian banks pay as bankers bonuses? The trouble with being a Nigerian when so many are stealing so much is that the average person suffers so much to service the bankers’ greed. In spite of our oil, Nigerians have the highest interest rates loans in the world and the highest energy costs from generators and fuel from imports while government demonstrated a pathological failure to fix refineries –Corruption, Incompetence, Negligence and Selfishness-CINS.

    Most middle class Nigerians could have afforded to buy a new car annually from what they are forced to spend on power substitution at home and in the office during the last 25 years. So the prohibitive cost of doing business through loans, supplying power and corruption are key problems facing every business and entrepreneur. Today we face political whirlwinds among governors seeking dominance at the Governors’ Forum. Who does not know that 19 is democratically more than 16? We face Presidential pronouncements on incumbency and lack of vacancies in Aso Rock made by proxy through political attack dogs and self-appointed ‘Ministers for Presidential Defence’. We face ex-presidents who for many observers were mega-failures in areas of job creation infrastructure like power, road and rail networks, bringing interest rates down, improving the naira value and in human rights particularly during elections and odiously in Odi. Why did the naira fall further even after the dark days of Buhari, Babangida Abacha when it ended at N88 to $1 under Abacha? These pontificating ex-presidents, including ‘civilian/military’ presidents like Obasanjo with eight years of failed hope and disappointing prosperity under their agbadas, are talking boldly of the failings of an incumbent president who appears to be struggling through a multiple minefield laid by the same past governments’ failures in power, political and electric and economic and social responsibility.

    Why did they, our ‘Failed Past Presidents’, not improve education to make Nigerian students them fully employable with easy access to business advice and normal worldwide acceptable interest rates on loans? The problems today were problems created deliberately, ignorantly or negligently for years.  The Nigerian adult now knows that there was money to service education but it was government policy to starve education –exposed by an unappreciated ASUU.  Parents and students preferred a ‘Let My Children Go Ignorantly Into The Future’ policy to supporting ASUU’s fight for better conditions. For years government has manipulated the education situation to make it appear that ASUU was the cause of the poor education situation, when ASUU was fighting for quality-a losing battle against ‘Acada-hating politicians in power’. Ask Jubril Aminu’s opinion. Has he published his memoirs of ‘A Minister of Education in an Ignorant State’ yet?

    On Sunday we followed Pope Francis’s request to all 1+billion Catholics to join him at 5pm to pray among other things for the poor. A person born poor is at an unfair disadvantage but has ignored rights to make demands on government to cross the poverty line- $1 or $2 a day. Government has a failed responsibility to rescue the poor who are getting wiser and more violent.

  • Kidnapped Ejigbo LCDA boss, Bamigbetan, regains freedom

    Kidnapped Ejigbo LCDA boss, Bamigbetan, regains freedom

    The abducted Chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, was late last night released by his captors.

    Although the circumstances of his release were sketchy family sources confirmed his release.

    Earlier in the day when news of his release hit the airwaves, relations, friends, associates and well-wishers gathered in his home with the social media re-cycling the news of the release.

    In no time, handsets came alive with callers passing on the ‘news’.

    It took only a few hours for the 24, Eni iwa Mimo Street, Ejigbo, Lagos residence of the Bamigbetans to begin to feel the impact: sympathisers had descended there in their hundreds to come and share in the joy of the release.

    They danced, sang and exchanged joyful banters, while they awaited for Bamigbetan to show up.

    However, when contacted the Deputy Public Relations Officer of the Lagos Police Command, Damasus Ozoani, said the Command was not aware of the release.

    Inside the house itself, the mood was boisterous, a sharp contrast to the gloom which had pervaded the entire household since the abduction.

    As new visitors arrived, they exchanged congratulatory messages with those already there and some prayed that Bamigbetan would arrive home safely.

    By mid-day, the abducted chairman was nowhere to be seen. Yet some of the sympathisers insisted he was on his way home.

    Soon, the high hope began to thin out. And so was the crowd, leaving only family members and personal aides.

    Now, it was clear it had all been a hoax.

    The Information Officer of Ejigbo LCDA, Rabiu Hassan, who had been quoted by a social media as having confirmed Bamigbetan’s freedom said: “I heard like everyone else that he had been released and that he was on his way home. But he has not called me and I have not seen him that is all I can say.”

    Some party faithful who remained till late evening said they believed the chairman had been released and were prepared to wait for his return to the house.

    His wife, Fatimo, had to switch off her handset following a barrage of calls from those who wanted to confirm her husband’s release.

    At about 6:30 pm, a lorry was driven into the compound to offload canopies and chairs apparently in anticipation of celebration of his freedom.

    His driver who was with him at the time of the abduction, Abiodun Olayiwola said he also is in high spirits to welcome his boss. “I want my boss home, I want him back home alive, I am eagerly waiting for him to come back home.”

    Bamigbetan was abducted on Monday 15th April, 2013 at about 11:30 pm while returning to his Ejigbo home.

     

  • Survivor of attack on policemen regains freedom

    Survivor of attack on policemen regains freedom

    Not all the 12 policemen ambushed in Bayelsa State died, it emerged yesterday.

    Lucky Ebebi, 31, a bachelor from Esama, in Bomadi Local Government Area of Delta State, has been freed by the militants.

    The charred remains of the 11 other ambushed policemen were retrieved on Tuesday from the creeks by a rescue team.

    As at press time last night, the bodies were still at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, the state capital.

    Security sources, who pleaded not to be named, said Ebebi met two expatriates – a Greek and an Indonesian – at the camp of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) in the creek of Azuzuama, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.

    The sources said the hostages were released alongside Ebebi, after payment of the ransom.

    It was alleged that one of the freed expatriates later died as a result of the trauma he suffered at MEND’s camp.

    The source revealed that the policeman and expatriates were held at one of the numerous and highly-fortified camps of MEND in the creeks of Bayelsa.

    At the emergency ward of the FMC where Ebebi was treated, one of the health personnel on duty, who pleaded for anonymity, confirmed that the freed policeman was brought into the hospital.

    Police spokesman Alex Akhigbe, who confirmed the development in a telephone interview at 6:34pm yesterday, insisted that no ransom was paid.

    Akhigbe said: “The policeman who was held hostage by the militants has been released. He sustained gunshot injuries, but he is now in a stable condition.

    “He was released through negotiations, prayers, contacts. We did not pay any ransom before he was set free.

    “We do not have that kind of money. Where do you expect the Bayelsa Police Command to get N1 million to pay to militants as ransom?

    “The policeman met two civilians at the militants’ camp. The families of the expatriates were, as at Wednesday, discussing with the gunmen who kidnapped the two men how they would be released. As at today (yesterday), I do not have information about their release or on the death of one of them.”

    The released police corporal was reportedly admitted at the emergency ward of the FMC, where he was treated for gunshot wounds and discharged.

    A security source said: “The released policeman, after his treatment at the FMC, Yenagoa was discharged yesterday (Thursday) morning and he reported at the Bayelsa police headquarters in Yenagoa, where he was debriefed.”

    Ebebi’s elder brother, Victor, confirmed his release, expressing gratitude to God for sparing the life of the “jolly good fellow”.

    Victor expressed the optimism on Wednesday that his younger brother would later rejoin the family alive.

  • Leadership editors regain freedom

    The Police yesterday released the detained Group News Editor of LEADERSHIP Newspapers, Mr. Tony Amokeodo and a political reporter, Mr. Chibuizor Ukaibe following the intervention of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN).

    But there were indications last night that the newspaper might sue the Police for illegal detention of its editors.

    Three editors and a political reporter were on Monday at the Nigeria Police Headquarters in Abuja.

    They are Mrs. Chinyere Fred-Adegbulugbe (former Editor, LEADERSHIP on Sunday), a Managing Editor, Mr. Chuks Ohuegbe, Group News Editor (Amokeodo) and Ukaibe.

    But Amokeodo and Ukaibe were detained at an annex office behind the Force Headquarters for overnight interrogation.

    Although the police claimed yesterday that they were still investigating a story on a “presidential directive” to attack key opposition leaders, the AGF advised the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to guarantee their rights to bail.

    A source said: “The two detained journalists were released at about 6.30pm. This followed the intervention of the AGF who advised the police to guarantee their rights to bail irrespective of the nature of the investigation being carried out.

    “The journalists have been granted bail while the investigation is ongoing.”

    Narrating his experience, Amokeodo said the police wanted to know the source of the said official directive.

    He said: “We were being kept by three officers from the office of the DIG Peter Gana at the 7th Floor. The three officers asked Chibuzor Ukaibe and I to write statement.

    “We told them they could not compel us because we honoured their invitation.

    “I simply wrote that we received the document in the course of my duties. I also wrote that when the presidency said the story was false, we published the bromide to authenticate the story.

    “When they said I must disclose the source of the bromide, I replied that the ethics of the profession does not permit me to do so.”

    A senior Editor with LEADERSHIP said: “Our newspaper might still go to court to challenge the illegal detention of our Editors.”

    In a statement last night, the management of Leadership Newspapers said:

    After 48 hours of nightmare, four journalists with LEADERSHIP who were detained by the police on the orders of President Goodluck Jonathan were released last night.

    Two of them – Mr. Tony Amokeodo and Mr. ChibuzoUkaibe – were, however, released conditionally: they have been asked to report at the police headquarters by 10am everyday for undisclosed reasons.

    “We wish to restate that these conditions are obnoxious and unacceptable in any democratic society.

    “Our journalists do not work for the police and have no business reporting to the police headquarters while earning their pay at LEADERSHIP.

    “We have it on very good authority that President Jonathan will not be satisfied until the journalists have disclosed their sources and turned in the source document.

    “It is ridiculous that Jonathan’s government should be obsessed with having a document, which its handlers said was fictitious in the first place.

    “We have no intention of indulging their vexatious desires and insist on our constitutional responsibility to hold the government accountable to the people and the inviolacy of the freedom of information law.

    “The police have no right to arrest and illegally detain our journalists – or any other journalist – as they have done; we shall not let this violation go unchallenged.

    “If the police have no time to read the law, they should seek its interpretation elsewhere. Under Nigerian law, the two journalists have freedom of expression and freedom of movement, and they belong to the only profession assigned a role in the constitution to hold the three arms of government accountable to the people.

    “Because we do not intend to obstruct police investigations in any way, we advise the presumed agents of the law to take our staff members to court whenever they find anything incriminating against them. As journalists, they have done their job of reporting the news; they have not been paid to assist security agents in their own investigations.

    “The Nigerian government must understand that this very crude tactic of arresting journalists and invading media houses is dated. Even smaller African countries do not engage in those uncivilised acts anymore. And, certainly, no democracy in the world still does it. No doubt, those who arrested our editors are just giving the country a very bad name in the comity of nations.

    “We wish to convey our gratitude to the men and women of conscience from all corners of the world that have shown solidarity in their condemnation of the illegal arrest and detention of this newspaper’s journalists by the Nigeria Police acting on the orders of President Jonathan.

    “Without their intervention our journalists might still have been in Jonathan’s gulag.