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Tag: Goodluck Jonathan

  • Where is National Conference heading to?

    Where is National Conference heading to?

    The National Conference has been described as a jamboree by many stakeholders. Other critics have also said that it is a mere talk shop. But, President Goodluck Jonathan, who set it up, has insisted that the delegates can chart the way forward for the country. The opposition has objected, saying that the President was trying to shore up his battered image, ahead of the next presidential election. Since the conference started its deliberations, it has faced many challenges. There are mutual distrust and suspicion between delegates from the South and North. The voting pattern has also generated controversy. There are fears that the outcome may not even see the light of the day. Correspondents ONYEDI OJIABOR and DELE ANOFI examines other obstacles against consensus building at the conference.

    When President Goodluck Jonathan set up the National Conference many stakeholders dismissed it as another fruitless search for a new order. A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Pally Iriase from Edo/Owan East/West Constituency, Edo State, said the conference was diversionary. In his view, the President was trying to divert attention from his inadequacy as a leader. He said nothing would come out of the conference.

    Explaining his objection to the conference, Iriase said: “We are a country ruled by the law and the constitution is clear. Legislative powers reside with the National Assembly. But, there is no legal framework for the conference.”

    Another lawmaker, who spoke on a condition of anonymity, pointed out that the National Assembly has not appropriated any fund for the exercise. He explained that the budget for the conference is hidden under the nebulous Service Wide Vote. “Since there is no legal backing, you cannot draw money for it from the national coffers”, he added.

    Since the deliberation kicked off, delegates have not found any common ground on preliminary issues. It is not certain whether the report of the conference will be subjected to a referendum or to the National Assembly. When some delegates called for a debate on the vexed issue, it polarised the conference.

    Also, mundane issues, including sitting arrangement, have led to disagreement. On Monday, two delegates were fighting over a seat, although the seats are not labeled. Muslim leaders have also protested to the President that Christians are dominating the conference. The controversy, said Iriase, has not been resolved.

    Unlike in the past, when Nigeria savoured temporary peace when a conference was in place, the current exercise has not appealed to the Boko Haram sect. Killings by the dreadful sect has continued unabated in the North. “This means that people are only asking for good governance, instead of playing to the gallery”, added the legislator.

    The Secretary-General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Prof Ishaq Oloyede, who is a delegate, agreed that the conference may pale into a wild goose chase. He said that the handling of proceedings by the conference leadership is worrisome. Oloyede lamented that that some delegates are even demanding extra-ordinary privileges at the conference.

    “I have reservations about issues raised, how they were being raised, how insensitive some of the delegates have become. Nigeria needs more attention than this. I watched the drift of the debate and the resolution and I see how pedestrian most of the issues we are going to tackle would turn out to be,” he said.

    The conference has also been divided by religion. Efforts to provide a place of worship for Muslims sparked off quarrel as Christians, who are observing the lent period, demanded the same from the leadership. It is still an outstanding issue at the conference.

    However, a delegate, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, former governor of Anambra State. said that what has transpired at the conference was normal in democracy. He said the conference will foster unity and understanding among the ethnic groups.

    Other delegates, including Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, Pastor Tunee Bakare, radical lawyer Femi Falana, and Hassan Riwan, a youth leader from the North, have criticised the procedure adopted for the deliberation by the Chairman, Justice Idris Kutigi (rtd). Senator Ita-Giwa said that the conference did not kick off on a good note.”This confab is as a result of anger. There are people here who may not have the opportunity to this microphone and present their mission statement in the three months we are here. I suggest that two or three minutes should be given to each and every delegate to present his mission statement. Otherwise, you allow delegates to submit written statements”, she said.

    Falana was in the same frame of mind. He said: “There are 492 delegates here, brought here from all walks of life and you must expect all manners of contributions. The only unfortunate thing from the proceeding, so far, is the tendency of the secretariat to recycle those who brought Nigeria to her kneels, considering the composition of the 49- member committee that has just been drawn up.

    “The same people of expired ideas, who have fixations about Nigeria. It’s not about the Nigerian youth or women. In a committee of 492 people, only three women and no youth. Anyway, as they are consulting, we are also consulting.

    “Someone can say his territory extends to Cameroon. This is the time I expect the Chairman to say stop there, this is not the forum for that, but a conference of Nigerian. But, that is why we have not made any appreciable progress”.

    The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Dan Nwanyanwu, said that, if the conference is properly managed, it will achieve success. “We are trying to build consensus, but, it is difficult. We have seen the mutual suspicion and lack of love among the geo-political zones. This suspicion is fueled by the huge number of old people who have been in this business for so many years and are bent on using the same system that has not worked. They want us to continue to use that system that has not made us to develop, but we are saying no”, he added.

    Rilwan, said the conference was designed for the old men. He said the youths are marginalised at the debate. He also said that these elderly Nigerians were heating up the polity. He said the statement by the Lamido of Adamawa, Dr. Muhammadu Mustapha, on secession, was unnecessary. “This conference is something that must be properly worked out. This is a Nigerian project. The South and North have to come together and make sure it works for the future of this country. I want to believe that we won’t get to a situation where anyone or group would want to walk out of the Conference”, he said.

     

  • The Nigerian Agenda

    The Nigerian Agenda

    When President Goodluck Jonathan dropped the hint that a national conference was in the offing in October, last year, the whole country erupted into a frenzy of debates. Many thought it was a tall ambition. They, therefore, spared the President no chance at all. To them, it was impossible. Others viewed it differently. To this other category of people, it was worth a trial. Both groups then went the whole hog to canvass their positions, but the President did not blink, he stuck to his guns.

    First, he set up a consultative forum of eminent and not-so-eminent Nigerians. Their mandate was to gauge the pulse of the people, collate their opinions and see the desirability of holding the conference in the second quarter of the year. Though there were some stumbling blocks on its way, the committee toured the six geo-political zones of the country in a record time. Everywhere it went, the scenarios were different. When the committee was done with its consultations, it presented a report to the President in which it assured him that the consensus of people was that they were willing to dialogue.

    Pronto, the President, through Anyim Pius Anyim, former Senate President and now the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, quickly puts modalities in place. The result was the inauguration of the 492-man conference inside the hallowed hall of the National Judicial Council Secretariat in Abuja on Monday, March 17.

    The conference started with great optimism but there was also skepticism among discerning Nigerians who were not so sure that the exercise could produce the desired result which would allay the fears of the citizenry about the political acronym called Nigeria. This stems from the fact that there appears to be a conflict within and among the ethnic nationalities that were corralled together 100 years ago in the political definition called Nigeria. Since then, this ethnic conglomeration has flourished under the atmosphere of mutual suspicion and sometimes disdain for one another.

    In the last two weeks, series of events bordering on muscle-flexing and playing to the gallery have punctuated the conference as various speakers, one after the other, scheme to foster hidden agendas. Come to think of it, the trend of events is not entirely new in an exercise such as this. History is replete with several examples where diplomatic discussions have dragged on for several years, over several round-table conferences, before the desired breakthroughs were achieved.

    The country recently celebrated its 100th year of nationhood. What used to be Southern and Northern Protectorates were woven together in a holy wedlock (or is it unholy?) by the British-born Lord Frederick Lugard. In 1960, the country became independent, free from the clutches of British imperialism and with a new Constitution. That singular event did not come overnight. It was preceded by three conferences at Lancaster House in London in 1957, 1958 and 1959 before the actual Independence Conference, where Sir Ahmadu Bello, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, all now late, finally put pen to paper to seal the union that produced Nigeria.

    In 1963, the constitution was amended but it later followed an unpalatable path as it was being gradually and systematically destroyed by the vaulting ambition of some of the dramatis personae of the country’s evolution. When late Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola broke pact with Chief Awolowo of the Action Group in the early 60s, since he needed the then Federal Government to protect him against Awolowo and his group, he literarily signed away so many things to the northern oligarchy.

    Therefore, since July 1966, the constitution of the country has always been a North-dominated constitution. Gradually, the North has moved from being one-third of the country at Independence, to six out of the 12 states decreed by General Yakubu Gowon (retd.), who became the Head of State in July 1966. From then on, it has moved gradually until late General Sani Abacha made the North 19 states out of the 36 states of the country in 1996. The old Western Region got eight states, while the old Eastern Region got nine states. What this means is that the north has assumed control over more than 50% of the country, leaving less than 50% to the rest of the country.

    For many years, whatever the North said became law. Now, ever since, this is the first time that the country is discussing. Hitherto, the military had dominated the whole period with the North always having the upper hand in everything and every coup in the country. What I believe is subtly playing out at the ongoing National Conference is the fear of the North that the South might treat them the way they had been treating the South all this while.

    In several conversations I had with some of the key delegates at the conference, across the country last week, it was clear that the climate of mutual suspicion, distrust and mistrust pervading this conference is so thick that it could be sliced with a knife. This is simply a manifestation of the old and archaic belief that one section of the country is superior to the others. The truth of the matter is that, in the reality of the present-day Nigeria, that assumption is no longer tenable as it is unacceptable. It is no longer “what we have, we keep”. This conference should afford each side of the divide the ample opportunity to state what they want. It is now left to the moderators, who are men of excellent pedigree, men who have distinguished and acquainted themselves creditably in their various professional careers, to pilot the conference successfully and steer it out of rancour and unnecessary acrimony.

    It is on record that when the issue of voting pattern erupted, the moderators quickly came to the rescue by constituting a balanced committee of 50 wise men to pave way for a compromise. Initially, the South wanted 66 percent votes to constitute a simple majority, while the North stuck to 75 percent as proposed by the President. After much consultation and arguments for and against, the North conceded 5 percent and came down to 70 percent while the South moved up by 3 percent or so. It will be good enough if they can reach a compromise on 70 percent. Like a Yoruba adage says: “Oju lasan ko la fi ngbomo lowo ekuro,” meaning “it is not easy to extract palm kernel from palm fruit.”

    So, for the Lamidos of this world and his ilk, we must all bear it in mind that we are living together in the same country. It is the responsibility of all of us to preserve and protect what we have. That was why probably the President said so much at the inauguration of the conference that the only agenda should be a “Nigerian Agenda,” not a Northern or Southern agenda. Whatever may be our desires, and I suppose they are reasonable ones, we should endeavour to canvass our positions without issuing vague threats; we must negotiate, we must be flexible, and we must concede where necessary.

    The North would have to realise that it can no longer force anything, just any concoction, down people’s throats. Let us accept the reality that history and sociology conferred on our multi-ethnic and multi-cultural existence, which we must guard jealously in order to preserve the bond of nationhood that binds us together. This is because in our diversity lies our strength as a nation and that is if we are able to rise above primordial and or clannish interests.

    Above all, all the delegates at the conference should take cognisance of one thing: “hungry and angry boys” are out there waiting restlessly for the outcome of this jaw-jaw. Therefore, let us stick to the rule of commonsense and avoid plunging the country into a needless vicious circle of conflict and bloodshed. Let us remember that the greatest wars in history ended up on a conference table where binding decisions are taken. At the end of the day, deaths and destructions that usually accompany all devastating wars become regrettable features of our lives. I think we can do without that in this country.

  • Jonathan for EU-Africa summit in Brussels

    Jonathan for EU-Africa summit in Brussels

    President Goodluck Jonathan is scheduled to travel to Brussels Tuesday as the head of Nigeria’s delegation to the Fourth European Union-Africa Summit scheduled to open in the Belgian capital on April 2, 2014.

    According to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the summit has “Investing in People, Prosperity and Peace” as its theme.

    Other participants at the summit, the statement said include the President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Commission, Mr. Jose Manuel Barroso, other Heads of State and Government of the European Union and Africa as well as leaders of the European Union and African Union Institutions.

    They will be discussing ways of stimulating further growth and creating more jobs in Nigeria and other African countries.

    The statement reads: “Education and training, women and youth, legal and illegal migrant flows between both continents, investments in peace and ways to enhance EU support for African capacities to manage security on the continent are also on the agenda of the summit.!

    “The Brussels Summit will also provide an opportunity for participants to review EU-Africa relations based on the Joint Africa-EU Strategy which was adopted in Lisbon in 2007 and explore options for greater mutually-beneficial cooperation between Africa and Europe,” It said

    President Jonathan whose entourage will include the Minister of Defence, Lt.-Gen Aliyu Gusau (rtd.), the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga will hold bilateral talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and some other participating heads of state and government.

    He is expected back in Abuja on Wednesday night.

  • Insecurity: Jonathan blames governors

    Insecurity: Jonathan blames governors

    President Goodluck Jonathan has taken a swipe at governors of states plagued with insecurity in the North East part of the country accusing them of failing in their duties.

    Apparently referring to Governor Kashim  Shettima of Borno State and Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, Jonathan at  the  North East Zonal Rally of the PDP in Bauchi on Saturday,  Jonathan said it was wrong for the governors to blame the federal governor for the situation in the states.

    He however noted that the Federal Government will not rest on its oars in bringing an end to the insurgency in the region.

    “It is shameful for a governor who has stayed in power in his state for up to six years or more to come to me and talk about bad leadership when you have youths in your state that more than half have not attended primary and you are doing nothing about it.

    “State Governors should be ashamed when our children do not go to primary and secondary schools and they decided to carry arms. We had insecurity challenges in Bayelsa when I was deputy governor and later governor   and we handled them. It is not the duty of FG to send children to Primary and Secondary schools but it is the constitutional right of the Federal Government to make sure children attend tertiary institutions which we have done, “Jonathan said.

    The President said the situation in the North East is sad but assured that peace will be restored in the affected states soon.

    Speaking on the fortunes of the PDP come 2015, the President boasted that his party will surely reclaim Adamawa, retain Taraba and take over Borno and Yobe States.

    He noted that those claiming to be strong opposition in Adamawa state are only “leaving with one vote”.

    Other Speakers who spoke at the zonal rally acknowledged the insecurity in the region.

    The National Chairman of the PDP Ahmadu Adamu Muazu called on the aspirants in the party to go back to their villages and solicit for their mandate, stressing that there is no God Father in PDP today. Only the God of Adam and Eve that can give you power.

  • COMMENTS

    COMMENTS

    For Olatunji Dare

    The Immigration bloodshed is a big national tragedy. For how long shall we continue to appoint incompetent people into high government offices in the name of politics? Abba Moro and his collaborators must not go unpunished. From Benson Nwobum,Kaduna

    Good morning sir, it is a great disaster. lndeed, why did the Immigration allow 520,000 candidates to apply for just 4,556 jobs. The ideal thing is to give the chances to just 5,000 appliicants in the country, but greed will not allow us. From Josephine lbi

    God bless you for speakìng my mìnd. May the souls of those who died during the shoddy exercise rest in peace and may God console their families. Since the minìster and the NIS boss have refused to resign on their own, President Goodluck Jonathan should sack them and make them refund ten-fold to each applicant the amount extorted from them. The Federal Government should also compensate the victims’ families by providing automatic employment to a member of each deceased’s family. From Reverend Abbayo Dogo , Kaduna.

    Your ‘’Our much-abused job seekers, again’’ was interesting. You did well in educating us and advising them. But my heart goes to the victims and sympathise with their families. I equally pity the mass of other candidates who ‘wasted’ their time, energy and resources. Yes, because in the final analysis, candidates of ministers, senators, representatives and others who did not even show up for the exercise would make the final list. The way politicians are recycling themselves in the services, ministries, departments and agencies does not leave room for the poor. This is dangerous. From Tope Vincent, Akure.

    What we need from government in a situation like this is mass employment for every applicant who applied and has the qualification. From Innocent Okede, Port-Harcourt

    Moro said what he said just to save his job. Let’s assume that some people went to the recruitment centre without applying for the job, is that the right thing to say by a minister of the Federal Republic. I expected him to apologise to the families of those who lost their loved ones. It also debunked the claims of the Minister of Finance that the government was creating jobs that don’t exist. From Gode Shehu, Jos

    It is most unfair to call out innocent citizens of Nigeria for an employment test only to send them to their early graves and turn around to blame them. Abba Moro should be made to pay for it. From David King, Uyo.

    Dare, there is no doubt the recruitment centre of Immigration Department, was a disaster. The Minister’s comment also was inconsiderate. But, in such circumstances, many people in his position usually misfire in their defence of the embarrassment unleashed on their offices. As a minister, he is a mere supervisor of the service. The administrative head of Immigration, who organised the recruitment exercise should bear the brunt; particularly with the hindsight of a similar scenario some years back. You too have a share of culpability on the issue. Perhaps a repeat of your piece of August 19, 2008, prior to the excercise, would have reduced the fatalities at the centres; if you were aware of the exercise ahead. However, families of the dead and injured should be well compensated. From Lai Ashadele.

    Dear sir, loss of lives at the Immigration job interview: May the souls of the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in perfect peace, amen. May God give the families of the dead, the fortitude to bear the great loss, amen. The Minister of Interior and the Comptroller General must carry this ‘can.’ For once, some people must be sanctioned for the great lapse in organisation and admnistration in Nigeria. The passing game must stop. However, every disaster or setback is an opportunity for us all to learn. Mistakes are opportunities for us to re-appraise our modus operandi and vivendi. Yes, blames will come, but the most important is to rise after each fall. To dwell only on blames will be missing the lessons of the disaster in this particular case — Crowd Control and Disaster Management.Thanks. From Chukwuma Dioka. Owerri, Imo State.

    Further research would prove that the list of those that “passed” the exam had long been compiled. Naturally, such “successful” candidates never bothered to turn up for that murderous test. From Don Julian.

    Thanks for your write-up. The agitation for Moro and NIS boss’ sack should be sustained because what they did is an insult to Nigerian intellectuals. From Osigbemhe,I.G.

    One other wicked thing that attends this type of exercise is that many who will be considered for the job would not have participated in the recruitment.They are on the ‘Executive List’.The majority of Nigerian ‘children’ are not cared for and the truth is that no country can be truly great if it does not care for its children. From Eseyin

    I just read your write-up on our much-abused job seekers again. Are you surprised at the verbal outburst of Abba Moro. Shame on this rudder-less government. From Anonymous

    What is the morality of the Interior Ministry taking money from applicants to consultant’s bankers instead of from the internally generated revenue of the ministry. Anonymous

    It is unthinkable in this computer, electronic, internet and online wonders. Nigeria’s blind, greedy, archaic and senseless leaders can gather over 700,000 applicants in about 15 stadia to write a test. It is sad, indeed. Anonymous

    The massacre of over l2 jobless Nigerians by the Nigeria lmmigration Service remains an embarrassment to Nigeria and points to the leadership’s inertia.The world’s fifth largest oil producing nation cannot find jobs for it’s people, because of pyschotic corruption. After the ‘talk shop’ what’s next? The political armaggedon is around the corner and it must come to pass! May their souls hunt their killers. Enough is Enough. From Chief Bobson Gbinije,Warri.

     

    For Gbenga Omotoso

    Splendid piece, sir. The crass insensivity and chilling imperiousnes of comments by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and members of his administration are ridiculous and appalling to say the least. From Chike, Uyo

    The truth of the matter is that 85 percent of Nigerians are jobless.Madam Okonjo-Iweala and President Goodluck Jonthan are aware of this. But because we are living for politics, campaigsn and elections, our leaders are afraid of telling the truth. Unknown to Nigerians, the intimidating number of job-seekers that Saturday was only those with paper qualifications. If the opportunity was extended to all the youth, including those who are not graduates but are looking for jobs, we would have needed thrice Abuja Stadium in each state to accommodate them for such job recruitment. This is the mess PDP has plunged us into in the name of democracy. From Ifeanyi O. Ifeanyichukwu, Abuja.

    I read your write up”An extraordinary march” I dont know where the ship of the country will berth. Human live is like those of chickens or dogs. Who is ready to die for his or her country? So, if you cannot die for your country, who is ready to fight to protect it. America hardly jokes with its citizens, hence, they go the extra mile to defend their country. But in Nigeria we pass-by. The government is playing a game that terrifies the youth. Death is nothing to the president. May be scanty votes will mean much to him. Their game plan is do-or-die. I think the latter will eventually manifest. From Akinyemi J.A

    Abba Moro’s resignation or sack is not enough in other climes. Prosecutions will follow. But, in Nigeria, other considerations play out, mostly 2015. From Biodun, Bayelsa

    Your Editorial Notebook is an extraordinary stinging satire on this adminstration. But does the man and his inexperienced crew care? Only time will tell. From Frank Eghomien, Delta State.

    Maybe, we are expecting another month of rebirth, ahead. Anoymous

    Three jobs for the families of the NIS job tragedy, yes good ones. Help me ask the government:What of the families of the soldiers and policemen who lost their lives fighting Boko Haram? What is their fate? Anonymous

    Well done! Mr editor. I just finished reading your Editorial Notebook, entitled: “An extraordnary March.” I say more grease to your elbow. Plese find out from Mr S D Tapgun, Mr Abbah Moro, Mr David Paradang, the fate of the long-stagnated officers in NIS who have stayed over 17 years on one rank because they do not have additional qualification? What does the Civil Service Rule say concerning anyone who does not have additional qualification? Are they supposed to be stagnant? Would they not have used those vacancies to give tripple promotions to the officers? This is suicidal and the attention of the National Assembly/Presidency should be drawn to this for their probe, please. Anonymous

    Re-”An Extraordinary March.” You captured, excellently, the occurrences of March 2014. Maladministration in the country persists, only God would save ‘the People’. The various electricity distribution companies are yet to yield the expected/desirable results. Output is worsening than the then PHCN! So, who will liberate us from the clutches of suffering? Another gory tale is the loss of 19 lives at the Immigration Service recruitment. May Almighty God make them rest in peace, amen and lead Nigeria onto the right path, amen. From Lanre Oseni.

    “An extraordinary March’ is a month nobody is praying for again. However, I hope your joke is real, because with the quoted sum on offer, millions of Nigerians are ready to take the risk. I am especially prepared to save Nigerians from the dangers of Boko Haram. Where is the form? We are waiting. From Alhaji Hon Ade Corsim, Oshodi, Lagos.

     

    For Tunji Adegboyega

    Re: ‘Immigration of death’. In as much as I agree that people must be up and doing in their respective official capacities/responsibilities, it is apparent that beheading is not the solution to migraine. I disagree that every failure or error or accident must be penalisd with a sack, a forced resignation or dismissal except in cases of theft, fraud and glaring disobedience/non-compliance to rules. Death or and injury of some applicants for NIS jobs, quite unfortunate, I remain a minority who still admire the Immigration agency for at least advertising and seeking that tests must be written, insinuations that some would have been favoured ab initio notwithstanding. Where are other agencies, parastatals ,ministries, National Assembly, the judiciary and Aso Rock /Presidency? How have they been employing? By advertising? Man-know-man? Back door? Let us make suggestions to the NIS, police, army, etc. where mass recruitment may take place in future. If the manner of just wanting any government official to resign becomes a reality and if Moro should be made to resign, then, Okonjo-Iweala, and Mr. President must because that is the chain. From Lanre Oseni.

    Thanks for your speaking truth to power. The painful truth is that the authorities involved in this scam knew that they were not interested in giving anybody job. The reason for taking these young Nigerians to their early graves in the name of job recruitment was to extort money from them. The cabal must have calculated how much they would rake in by selling that falsehood to the desperate job seekers. Don’t forget that 2015 election is around the corner; politicians are scrambling for cash. From now on, I will keep my ears to the ground to know when the PDP-led Federal Government will organise another recruitment exercise so that I will go and die for three of my siblings who have been vegetating at home without jobs four years after graduation, to be given automatic employment. I love this country (apologies to Steve Nwosu). From Favour Ifeanyichukwu Jnr., Abuja.

    The very Nigerian strain of corruption is at the root of the NIS recruitment tragedy. The situation is made hopeless by the fact that those promising change are only nominally different . Jumbo pay highlights the moral bankruptcy of the legislative arm, and the fact that corruption is not just a PDP thing. It has become the vogue for a legislator to brag about helping constituents secure jobs that were never advertised. Such is the patronage that defines the Nigerian system and the odds against genuine job seekers. From Kuteyi R.R., Ondo.

    Let’s assume resignation is not in our dictionary, should the minister of interior and other people behind the Immigration recruitment stampede wouldn’t remain in office with what happened on March 15? They should have resigned honourably and apologised to Nigerians on the incident instead of waiting for Nigerians to tell them to resign. What a country! More than five hundred thousand people scrambling for only about 5,000 jobs, and paying a mandatory levy of N1,000 per person. What for? Collecting money from people looking for jobs? This is a clear indication that all is not well in job creation. We always believe in probe; let the government investigate the remote causes of the stampede and bring culprits to book, to serve as a deterrent to others who might intend to do the same thing tomorrow. From Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, Abia State.

    Job seekers are dying and the president, the father of the nation went to Namibia! Who do we turn to now? Our leaders have turned to AIDS threatening the existence of Nigerians. Let us stand up against this impunity, otherwise, one day this dangerous government will consume all of us one day. From Hamza Ozi Momoh, Apapal, Lagos.

    Tunji, just imagine how many unemployed graduates would have been employed directly and indirectly if we refine our oil locally for local consumption and export. Then imagine how much each household spends on fuelling and maintaining generators. If they are able to refine oil locally and fix power supply to at least 85 percent, no one will talk of subsidy again. From Kabir Ayodeji, Ibadan.

     

  • Bayelsa indigenes to Jonathan: you must contest

    Bayelsa indigenes to Jonathan: you must contest

    Bayelsa State indigenes from Ogbia, President Goodluck Jonathan’s local government, insisted yesterday that the President must seek reelection, “whether he likes it or not”. They dismissed claims of poor performance against their kinsman, saying Jonathan remains the best president ever. According to them, there is sentiment in politics and they will not settle for any other person. The indigenes took the decision in Ogbia Town, where they gathered to pass a vote of confidence on the President. Two lectures, a rally and a book presentation on Jonathan’s achievements were the landmarks of the event that was organised by the Ogbia Graduates Forum for Positive Change. Delivering a lecture on “A call for President Jonathan’s re-election bid: A collective responsibility”, Awudumapu Agorodi, said there was no vacancy in Aso Rock. He said people trying to intimidate Jonathan out of office would fail, noting that the Ijaw nation would resist moves to deny the first Ijaw president a second opportunity. Agorodi said: “We must not forget that it is no secret that Nigeria is the six largest producer of oil and petroleum in the world, and that is the mainstay of the economy. “This accounts for well over 90 per cent of the exports and more than 95 per cent of the oil is drilled from the Ijaw soil. Ijaw soil has been feeding Nigeria for over 50 years. “Our resources are good for the country but we are not qualified enough to be president. “Despite the financial meltdown, Boko Haram, militancy, piracy, and opposition antics against the programmes of Jonathan, he has remained unruffled. “Returning Jonathan in 2015 is a collective responsibility. Let’s work together for the actualisation of the Jonathan presidency in 2015. There is strength in togetherness,” he said. Also in his own lecture, an aide to Governor Seriake Dickson on Mobilisation, Austin Iworibo, insisted that Jonathan must run. “He must run whether he likes it or not because our lives and destinies are in his hands. 2015 is a must project, though it is not a do-or-die affair,” he said. Speaking on “The roles of graduates toward the realisation of 2015”, he appealed to graduates to reach out to their colleagues from other ethnic groups to galvanise support for Jonathan.

  • Jonathan kicks against nuclear terrorism

    Jonathan kicks against nuclear terrorism

    •Backs nuclear energy for developmental purposes

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reaffirmed Nigeria’s full commitment to the global fight against the threat of nuclear terrorism.

    He said Nigeria would continue to pursue efforts to harness nuclear energy and technology for socio-economic development.

    A statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said the president spoke at the third global security summit at the Hague in the Netherlands.

    He said: “As a developing country, Nigeria needs to harness nuclear technology for socio-economic development. It is for this reason we subscribe to the view that international and regional cooperation efforts should be based on the principle of maintaining a balance between nuclear non-proliferation obligations and the inalienable right of States to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy for development purposes.”

    “While this is important, we would also like to draw attention to the need to maintain the highest standards of nuclear safety and security in establishing peaceful nuclear facilities.

    “Nigeria accords high priority to all global efforts towards ending the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, including nuclear weapons.

    “To this end, Nigeria has since the last Summit in Seoul, strengthened the legal framework for fighting terrorism through the adoption in 2013, of an amendment to its Terrorism (Prevention) Act, thus ensuring the implementation of more robust counter-terrorism measures in the country.

    “Nigeria’s ratification of some international treaties and conventions in the realm of nuclear safety, security and safeguards has necessitated the review of the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority Act resulting in the recent decision of the Government to submit a new Bill to Parliament for consideration and passage into law in order to accommodate our obligations under these instruments.”

    “The instruments include the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and its amended version of 2005, the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. The intention of the bill is to ensure the fulfilment of Nigeria’s international and national Nuclear Safety, Security, Safeguards and radiation protection obligations, by domesticating the international treaties.”

     

    The bill is presently awaiting passage by the National Assembly.”

    “Furthermore, as part of the outcome of the 2nd Nuclear Security Summit held in Seoul, South Korea in 2010, States Parties were urged on voluntary basis, to embark on the process of converting their reactors from the use of Highly Enriched Uranium to Lowly Enriched Uranium.

    “Consequently, Nigeria is working in collaboration with the United States of America and China for the conversion of Nigeria’s limited stock of Highly Enriched Uranium used in its research reactor to Lowly Enriched Uranium,” Jonathan said.

    According to him, one of the main objectives of the Nuclear Security Summit was to reduce the amount of dangerous nuclear materials in the world by preventing materials that can be used to produce nuclear weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists and unauthorized non-state actors.

    He said that Nigeria supports the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations on a “non-discriminatory, multi-lateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons”.

    He commended the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki Moon for establishing a Group of Governmental Experts which will begin work in Geneva next week on the proposal.

     

    He said: “Nigeria shares the view that fewer nuclear weapons translate into more nuclear security while at the same time reducing the risk of proliferation.”

     

    “But it is even more important that States as represented at this Summit demonstrate the necessary political will to embark on the path towards the ultimate goal of total and complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control,” Jonathan stated.

     

    He thanked the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte for hosting the summit and commended President Barack Obama who was present at the opening ceremony “for his continued leadership of this important project”

     

    Other world leaders participating in the summit include President Xi Jinping of China, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Francois Hollande of France, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, the President of South Korea, Ms. Park Geun-hye and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon.

     

    END

     

  • ‘Don’t bring Mr. President into this’

    ‘Don’t bring Mr. President into this’

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State has said President Goodluck Jonathan had nothing to do with the emergence of former Governor Ayo Fayose as the party’s standard bearer for the June 21 governorship poll.

    Reacting to the Governor Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation’s (APC’s) allegation that the Presidency masterminded Fayose’s emergence, PDP’s Director of Publicity Mr. Gboyega Aribisoga said: “Fayose is the choice of the Ekiti people.”

    Aribisogan said: “PDP members in Ekiti , on their own, decided on a candidate of their choice in accordance with the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

    “Mr. President, the National Chairman and the National Working Committee advocated a constitutional arrangement and stood by it.

    “If Fayemi is alleging that Fayose is being foisted on Ekiti, it goes to show that he is jittery. Fayemi is being mischievous by mentioning a case that has been decided by a competent court of law. Mr. President should not be brought into this issue at all.”

     

  • My injury as passport to NIS job

    My injury as passport to NIS job

    SIR: If injuries are now the credentials one needs to acquire before getting a job in Nigeria, I believe I qualify. I was at the National Stadium Abuja to participate in the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) examinations exercise but it turned out to be waste of time, energy and resources. Now, President Goodluck Jonathan has canceled the entire exercise without even thinking twice.

    From the information I have gathered from the media, the examinations have been canceled due to the poor coordination of the exams at the different centres across the country the result of which some people were sent to their early graves with countless other left with serious injuries.

    President Jonathan has since promised automatic employments to those that sustained injuries including compensation to the families who lost their relations during the exercise with additional offer of automatic employments to three of their relations.

    I wish to bring to the kind attention of the President that some injured persons at the National Stadium Abuja, where I did the examinations were neglected by the rescuing officers; only few were taken to the hospital for treatment. Therefore, how would the President get the accurate number of the injured applicants?

    I was one of those injured; my friend Godspower who narrowly survived the stampede like many others was neglected by the rescuing officers at the National Stadium. We are now treating ourselves at home. So, what is our fate of getting automatic employments that you promised for injured applicants?

    Dear President, I will wait to monitor and watch with keen interest to see you fulfill your promise of giving the automatic employments to the affected applicants. My friend Godspower and I look forward to that promise of automatic employment.

     

    • Awunah Pius Terwase

    Makurdi, Benue State.

     

  • NC and the return to the basics

    NC and the return to the basics

    You see that Benz sitting at the rich’s end?
    Ha! That motoka is a motoka
    It belongs to the Minister for Fairness
    Who yesterday was loaded with a doctorate
    At Makerere with whiskey and I don’t know what
    Plus I hear the literate thighs of an undergraduate — Theo Luzuka, “The Motoka”

    All of a sudden, the National Conference (NC) buzzes with a fervour of patriotism and Nigerianness, that you doubt if the whole exercise was not a wilful waste of time, energy and resources.

    If Nigeria were such a model country, and its citizens proud and sated patriots, why then the eternal agonising over its possible failure, that has forced a consistent clamour for a Sovereign National Conference (SNC), in response to which the Goodluck Jonathan National Conference (NC) has been called, with all its perceived booby traps?

    Of course, such cheap patriotic grandstanding, in the face of nation-threatening fundamental problems, is no different from vainglorious personal emptiness aptly demonstrated in the Ugandan Theo Luzuka’s poem, “The Motoka” (which opening lines are quoted to begin this piece); and in Nigerian Nkem Nwankwo’s novel, My Mercedes is Bigger than Yours.

    All too sudden, our NC conferees have become excellent citizens of an excellent country. Yet, resource-parched Nigerians, whose longsuffering youth gain death for fighting the pain of joblessness, are being forced to cough out N7 billion to purportedly fix their eternally sick country!

    It is indeed, a rhapsody of patriotism! Some happily declared themselves ethnic vacuums, and that, their formidable ammo to fix Nigeria.

    Others said, rather glumly, they wouldn’t clamber on board if they weren’t sure Nigeria was on the right track.

    Yet others solemnly swore “Nigerian unity” — that comic-tragic fixation that often begs the question, and may yet end in costly disillusionment — was beyond question. And all of these from “elder statesmen” who had earlier contributed more than a fair quota to the Nigerian fiasco!

    But before our esteemed delegates get too carried away by their own illusory poetry, it is high time someone jolted them back to the stark reality.

    Every Nigerian indeed dreams of a great Nigeria, a country that would compete with the best in the world, and deliver prosperity to its citizens. But right now, Nigeria is starkly opposite what it should be. That is why it needs urgent fixing.

    A good example of the Nigeria dissonance is the NC legal status. Right now, there is no legal plank on which the NC stands. But that is no accident. It is because, even as Lugard’s contraption shows signs of acute, if not terminal distress, there is no pan-Nigeria consensus on how to save it.

    That is no country deserving of glum patriotic gushing. It is a country in acute trauma; and the earlier the NC delegates see themselves as life-saving emergency medics, the better for everyone.

    Then, take the dysfunctional presidency. Even before President Jonathan, the presidency — democratic or military — has been a terrible breed. The “military presidency” of Ibrahim Babangida annulled Nigeria’s freest election; and nearly plunged the country into needless war and avoidable destruction. Under another Khaki presidency, Sani Abacha stole the country blind, so much so that his thick odour of infamy still oozes from his grave.

    Olusegun Obasanjo, even as elected president, suborned the Nigerian economic bluebloods to fund a personal project, thus grossly abusing his high office. The other day, President Jonathan himself declared, in the heat of the Sanusi Lamido Sanusi saga, that he had “absolute powers”! Absolute powers, in a democracy, with supposed institutional checks and balances?

    That, to be sure, was an un-presidential Freudian slip. But that is what the Nigerian Presidency has been all about: rakishly insensitive, bordering on the tyrannical — and parasitical to boot!

    That is no prime organ to crow about, in a model state, that by its performance should earn the love and affection of its citizens. Nigeria is no such model state. That is why it needs urgent fixing.

    But the Jonathan presidential temper is a grand irony, given that a cabal of the Umaru Yar’Adua presidency nearly made a Jonathan presidency a still-birth. At the height of that presidential criminality — in the name of a gentle but dying president, who did not know what was going on — brutal realpolitik trounced constitutional legality, which should, as routine, be supreme. Until the Senate came with its “doctrine of necessity”, the almighty state was at the mercy of the rogue few.

    A country that relies on realpolitik, rather than manifest justness and the routine triumph of its laws, is terribly ill. A people given to cutting ugly compromises, rather than an uncompromising national ethos of justice, equity and fair play, are endangered.

    Nigeria is such a country. Nigerians are such a people. Both need urgent fixing.

    But even as the Senate’s legal contraption dislodged the Yar’Adua power cabal, the Jonathan presidential emergence has implanted another future power bomb.

    Jonathan’s 2011 presidential candidacy issued from a toxic fountain of lies and damn lies, against the zoning formula of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which ironically fetched Jonathan the vice-presidency under Yar’Adua.

    Jonathan’s 2011 presidential win issued from a near-hysterical South-Middle Belt Vs North emotive electoral sentiments, even with Jonathan’s so-called pan-Nigeria mandate, loudly touted by his Neighbour-to-Neighbour campaign lobby.

    Now, all Jonathan craves is an encore, when he knows all he has done is earn himself a massive electoral shellacking, even if he wins PDP nomination.

    But even if he gets his desire, that future danger still looms. A wounded North would feel no obligation to follow any future political arrangement, strictly outside the Constitution. More noxious: there is this abiding centrist mindset among the northern political elite, which tends to long for central power as it is, despite the clamour for federalism and restructuring.

    Now, if the North does get power back as it is, and political zoning is out, what happens? The North can try power in perpetuity — which it can ill sustain — claiming it has the population to do it. But other parts of the country too will be up in arms against such, but they have lost any pro-zoning argument by their 2011 anti-zoning conspiracy.

    That would be a recipe for disaster.

    That is why NC delegates must suspend their showy patriotism and alter the present format for good. A future time bomb ticks. But only restructuring can defuse it.

    That would turn Nigeria into a productive federation, pare down the presidency, drain the centre of excess cash and change the revenue relationship from revenue allocation (by the centre to states) to revenue contribution (from regions/states to the centre).

    That is how Nigeria can emerge the country of our collective dream; and have a fair chance to scale its second century, after the fiasco of the first.