The Nation Newspaper

Tag: hands

  • Rohr hands No. 10 role to Iwobi

    Rohr hands No. 10 role to Iwobi

    John Obi Mikel absence from Nigeria’s upcoming friendly games against Senegal and Burkina Faso in London has paved way for Alex Iwobi to take his spot in the team.

    Coach of the Super Eagles of Nigeria Gernot Rohr usually deploys Iwobi as a left winger, but will play him just behind the main striker in the upcoming friendly games in London.

    Rohr will most likely rotate his players for the second game against Burkina Faso, but he has already lined up the players he intends to use in the March 23rd friendly game against Senegal.

    Iwobi will reportedly play as part of a midfield three alongside the duo of Eddy Onazi and Leicester City highly rated defensive midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

    Oghenekaro Etebo who has been widely tipped to play behind the striker will now play from the left, while Victor Moses will play from the right according to leaks gathered by Owngoalnigeria.com.

  • Amputate those who stole our money – NLC

    Amputate those who stole our money – NLC

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has  asked the  government to cut off the hands of those found to have stolen public funds to serve as deterrent for others while also naming and shaming them.
    Addressing a protest rally for good governance at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, President of Congress, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said it was unfortunate that a few individuals have stolen the nation’s common wealth, while nothing has been done to bring them to book.
    Wabba said government must take concrete steps to prove to the world that it was serious win the fight against corruption and recover all stolen money, including the 22 billion dollars not remitted to the federation account from sale of oil and gas.
    He said when the hands of such people are amputated, Nigerians will be able to identify them as those who stole public funds and who are responsible for the current economic recession in the country.
    He said: “We must not allow a situation where few, because of their interest will hold the system to ransom. We are demanding increase in electricity supply and they are saying pay more tariff. We are demanding increase in minimum wage and they say they are going to be paying in percentage. We should not be tired.
    “Why should somebody steal one billion naira and walk the street free. We are demanding that they should be named and shamed. We are also demanding that one of their hands be cut off so that when we see them, we will know that they are people that has stolen our money.
    “So, let us not be tired. Not to pay salaries  and pensions is criminal. Not to increase our wages in this condition is corruption  and so, we must demand good governance and support the fight against corruption.”
    According to Wabba: “It is obvious that what we are doing today is in our collect interest. As working class and our families and as Nigerians, we must always make our voice know and heard very clearly.
    “Today, with what is happening in our system, we are actually at the receiving end because there is near absence of good governance and corruption is also fighting back very badly and we have been at the receiving end. Instead of addressing those challenges and paying salaries, what the are doing in some states is paying salaries in percentages.
    “The height of this challenge is the absence of good governance, accountability, transparency and the rule of law, any system that does not have those ingredients, the first group that will suffer is the working class and their families and the citizens.
    “That is why we are matching to canvass for good governance and also to lend our voice to saying that the fight against corruption must continue. If you look at the NEITI report, it states clearly that unremitted fund from the sale of oil and gas amount to another 22 billion dollars.”
    Vice President of Industrial Global Union and General Secretary of National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, comrade Issa Aremu said everything Labour warned Nigerians against during the fuel pride increase in 2016 has come to pass, but expressed happiness that Nigerians have decided to come out and demand accountability from the government.
    Aremu said the only way to get the country out of the current recession was for the government to reflate the economy and pay adequate salary to workers, pointing out that without payment of salaries and allowances to workers, the fight against corruption will not succeed.

  • Their fate in their hands

    Their fate in their hands

    Worsening electricity supply, particularly to industrial zones, is taking its toll on manufacturers, many of which spend between 30 and 40 per cent of production cost on power. They have either shut down or sacked workers. Some have turned to the Independent Power Project (IPP), which they abandoned few years ago, for succour. Assistant Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports.

    Worried by the epileptic power supply that has rendered the real sector prostrate, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has taken its fate in its hands. It has turned to the Independent Power Project (IPP), which many of its members abandoned few years ago, to stay afloat.

    MAN said its members spend between 30 and 40 per cent of their working capital on power because of the epileptic supply, particularly to industrial zones. Some of them, who spoke with The Nation, said they could no longer wait on the Federal Government to improve power generation and distribution as many have gone under with countless job losses.

    MAN started the IPP project in 2006 and stopped work on it in 2013. The IPP was to cost MAN between N10 and N12 billion. The initiative was to provide 808 megawatts of power. But the project was abandoned based on assurances by the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and later Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) that electricity supply would improve.

    However, rather than improve, electricity supply, especially to the industrial zones, worsened, throwing manufacturers into confusion. For instance, Chairman, Manufacturers Power Development Company Limited, a subsidiary of MAN, Mr. Ibrahim Usman, said manufacturers had come together to change the ugly tide that has put some of them out of business.

    At a stakeholders’ meeting on MAN industrial clusters in Lagos last week, he said the security challenges would exacerbate if nothing was done to halt the massive job losses due to lack of power supply to the industrial zones or clusters. The manufacturing clusters include Ikeja and Apapa (Lagos), Agbara/Ota/Abeokuta (Ogun) and Kano Bompai (Kano), among others.

    Usman said after studying the government’s plans and the realities on ground, with transmission towers and cables of over 40 years in disuse, manufacturers could not but come together and partner independent power project providers to take care of business clusters and the over 80 per cent Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) making up the manufacturing sector.

    According to him, the planned power project can be embedded or captive power generation and transmission. He said it would take care of the manufacturing clusters. “We owe it to ourselves to stay in business, especially now that power generation has gone as low as 2, 000 megawatts as against the over 7,000 megawatts needed to remain in business,” he said.

    Recalling May 24 to 26, 2014 when, for the first time in Nigeria, power supply from the national grid hit zero, throwing Africa’s largest economy and some neighboring West African countries into darkness, Usman said no economy can survive in such an uncertain climate.

    “MAN is, therefore, poised towards self-generation of electricity. We are contending with a lot of other issues such as porous borders, unhealthy competition from cheap and sub standard products from other countries, multiple taxation and regulation and other unhealthy environmental business practices that impact our operations,” he said.

    He explained that MAN, in doing so, intends to work closely with international donor agencies, the World Bank and independent power producers and government to build the businesses of its members and grow the economy. He said of the 24 clusters identified, MAN was working on two clusters in Ikeja and Amuwo-Odofin in Lagos with Kano and Katsina hydro power generation almost concluded.

    MAN President Dr. Frank Udemba Jacobs confirmed the association’s plan to revive the IPP. “We are right resuscitating the project and very soon we will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with foreign companies that will help in building it. And this will be mostly for our clusters, that is, areas where we have most of our companies,” he recently said in Lagos.

    According to Jacobs, manufacturers are looking at getting between 50 and 100 Megawatts from the IPP project. He said manufacturers’ energy use constituting 40 per cent of operational cost cripples production and reduces competitiveness of locally-produced goods.

    “This cost is burdensome and could lead, if not checked, to massive shake-up in factories. It could hinder potential investment in the sector, especially as the majority of manufacturing companies are under the SME category,” Jacobs warned.

    How does MAN hope to get round the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) regulation that only distribution companies DisCos can distribute electricity? Usman, an engineer, said MAN would discuss withthe  government and relevant agencies.

    Criticising some of the provisions in the NERC Act and the power sector privatisation, he regreted that they were patterned after the Indian model without going the full hog to do what the Indian government did to make theirs work.

    Usman, insisting that the privatisation process was faulty and that the public should not suffer for government’s indiscretion, argued that if the government had taken time to analyse the process before adopting the model, Nigeria would not have been in this sorry state, with the DisCos complaining of losses caused by lack of due diligence before buying the power assets.

    Pointing out that such claim did not hold water, he said the private investors as businessmen ought to have done proper due diligence before buying the assets. He rejected a situation where Nigerians are made to pay for what they did not consume and wondered how the investors turned back to claim they bought scraps loaded with debts and obsolete equipment when they had time to bid for the projects.

    Usman also faulted the nation’s power mix, insisting that it is evidently a poor policy product. According to him, the imbalance in the power mix is responsible for unstable electricity supply.

    “Our power mix is not right. We should have had coal, wind and solar and not solely dependent on gas, which has, of recent, been the object of sabotage, bringing the nation to her knees.

    “As advanced as the United States is, 50 per cent of her power is from coal, but we didn’t learn that from them,” he said, noting that as a way out of the ugly power supply situation, MAN had invited seven IPP providers to make presentations.

    He said of the lot, MAN would choose what is best for its members. “It can be embedded or captive power, depending on the needs and proximity to one another. As the umbrella body for manufacturers, we have taken the gauntlet to free our members from the suffocating electricity challenge and very soon our members will bounce back in full capacity,” Usman said.

     

    There are challenges

    As optimistic as MAN is that its members would bounce back in full capacity when the project comes on stream, there are challenges. For instance, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Investment Officer, Africa Infrastructure, Mrs. Heidi Ijomah, said MAN’s plan can only succeed if there are credible off takers, credible counter-parts and credit enhancement.

    She said a lot of power developers will need financers. She also said there is the need for the sector to be self –sustaining, adding that DisCos need to be financially viable as in other countries.

    She said: “IFC, a World Bank group has identified Nigerian energy sector as high priority. We are looking at putting a facility together to help the DisCos cut losses, which they claim is in the 50 per cent region and attract investors to the sector.

    “It’s sad the DisCos are reporting losses before actual take-off of their businesses. This cannot attract new investors and if not checked, the sector will remain comatose as the increase that was expected by the DisCos has not come. We must state that it is right for businesses and indeed, individuals to pay for services rendered to them by the DisCos.”

    On the way forward, the IFC boss canvassed private sector funding, including guaranteeing a 70: 30 debt to equity funding and cost effectiveness, arguing that it is the only way the sector can be viable and attract investors.

    According to Ijomah, if there are chronic debtors, theft and vandalism, the growth of the sector will be stalled as new investors will shy away from investing and obsolete machines currently in use will not be improved upon.

    She asked that the DisCos should be encouraged to remain in business to grow not only the productive sector, but the economy as a whole.

    The Chairman Man Ikeja Branch, Mr. Felix Oba Okojie, in his remarks, criticized the vexed issue of price reflectiveness. He queried the rationale behind the DisCos feigning innocence on the condition of the power sector before buying into it. He also wondered why people should be asked to pay for what they did not consume.

    Okojie said manufacturers have taken their fate in their hands to stay in business and will vigorously pursue the path they have chosen as it is evident that government is not up to it.

     

  • Oyo: Why all hands must be on deck

    While the nation was preparing for the 2015 general elections across the country, several political permutations were flying around. Many Nigerians turned political analysts; the rank of strategists swelled as every discussion became what can be described as political gymnastics.

    In Oyo State, one point that dominated public discourse was the hitherto assumption that no civilian governor ever won a second term.  Commentators held on to this assumption with religious fervor and conviction.

    At some point it became a herculean task for the supporters of the incumbent Governor Abiola Ajimobi to persuade the naysayers that it was not cast in stone that a governor cannot rule for two terms of eight years. It was of particular interest that all through the period, not once was Governor Ajimobi accused of incompetence or any other reason adduced on why he should not or could not be given another chance to be at the helms of affairs of the state. Here was a governor who was on top of sundry challenges facing the people in every area of human endeavour, resolving some and ameliorating the  effects of other harsh developments in the socio-economic terrain of the Pace-Setter state which he inherited.

    When Ajimobi mounted the saddle in the Agodi Government House in 2011, the capital city of Ibadan soon began to take on a clean and orderly look that a report actually branded Ibadan as one of the cleanest states in Nigeria! Almost everything that had become chronic negative attribute of the ancient sprawling city began to fade away. From inappropriate parking of vehicles along roadsides which created traffic logjams to criminal activities of notorious and unruly National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) to dumping of wastes which formed mountains that were an eyesore, all disappeared. All because the man at the helm meant well for the state and had plans to make life comfortable for its residents.

    It was a sharp departure from the situation his administration met on ground more in particular in the area of security where criminals nearly ran law abiding citizens out of the streets of the state. Apart from the menace of commercial drivers, mounting robbery incidents turned the previously peaceful state to a lawless society with lives increasingly becoming short and brutish.

    The governor had to deploy his experience in the corporate world with his humble disposition, deep intelligence and good human relations to tackle these and other problems. While some of these problems were man made others were a manifestation of deep seated socio-economic malaise caused by previous maladministration and some cultural peculiarities.

    It was in view of the much visible success that Senator Ajimobi made out of his first term in office that many observers were surprised at the stubborn insistence of those who argued that he would not win the 2015 governorship election. Some of these critics were even from his own party, All Progressive Congress (APC). But he worked hard and had result to show for a successful tenure.

    No doubt, there was a formidable contest from opposition parties significantly, the Peoples democratic Party (PDP), Accord Party (AP), Labour Party (LP) and to a lesser extent, the Social Democratic Party (SDP). At the end of the polls however, the APC which flag the incumbent flew won the highest votes and thus he was declared winner and given the mandate thus breaking the jinx of second term on the governor’s seat in Oyo State.

    Ordinarily, the declaration of a winner in an electoral contest more so in a democracy should have ended with the loser embracing the winner or if desired begin to brace up for the future. But in the case of Oyo State, while other contestants have accepted their fate in good faith, Senator Rasheed Ladoja, a former governor of the state who contested on the ticket of Accord Party went to challenge the result. On the other hand, another former governor, Otunba Christopher Alao-Akala who contested in the same election on the platform of Labour party to which he defected from PDP tugged his personal interest underneath to join hands with Senator Ajimobi to work for the peace, progress and development of the Pace Setter State.

    In all of this, the state chief executive has remained his simple self, focused and strategic in the pragmatic way he administers the state.  In order for the benefit of his systemic approach to governance to percolate to every sector, there is need for all stakeholders to get involved rather than stand aloof or continue to criticize everything government is doing. The opinions one hears in conversations on the street, that is, inside taxis, at newspaper stands, drinking places and after worship chats point to one salient fact: many citizens want much more from government. Unfortunately, these expectations, legitimate as they may be, do not often reflect in the responsibilities the people themselves are willing to embrace. Many people look at government as a machine which is primed only to dispense what they want rather than a system to co-ordinate and provide what the majority need and which require their own input as well. They will rather imagine that they only obliged a leader with their votes and do not see it as an investment in which they have a part to play. What the electorate must know is that they are a critical part of the democratic process from which they expect adequate dividends.

    Or where do affordable healthcare, good education, clean and healthy environment, food and social security come from? These indices of human development are the often quoted benefits of the synergy between a people and their government. After all, governments come and governments go, it is the people that remain. As government works at providing good governance even in the face of dwindling national resources due to global economic distress, the need for support from the people cannot be over emphasized. They must be ready to accept the new paradigm shift in view of the reality that it can no longer be business as usual even though this may sound unpalatable especially in the ears of cynics and detractors. The citizens are being encouraged to appreciate that it would naturally take some time and their co-operation especially in the area of income taxation for government to do such things that make life and living meaningful.

    There is the need to let people know that government can only have the resources to do more for greater number of citizens if public infrastructures are collectively protected from plunderers and vandals, if every community imbibes the spirit of volunteerism and learn to offer useful, constructive and genuine criticism with patriotic and non-sinister motive.

    Finally, one category of Oyo State residents that cannot afford to abstain from the shared responsibility for development is the youth. This is because they are the natural inheritors of the good days ahead if government succeeds in providing good governance. They must not allow their spirit to sink even in the face of evident challenges of unemployment, disappointment in today’s leadership or other hindrances, but they must reinvent, deploy the advantage in new technology to take their place in their respective spheres of influence and take the state to the height of their dream.

    In all, everybody must endeavour to bear the inevitable moment of hunger while the soup cooks properly,   especially when the mother, in this case the state government, is not unconcerned about their plight.

    • Morakinyo writes from Ibadan.     
  • Behold an artist without hands

    Behold an artist without hands

    Shaidatu Abubakar, 19, is unlike many of her peers. Born without hands, she has demonstrated that there is ‘ability in disability’. She paints, draws and designs with her feet. But her dream is to set up her own studio,
    reports OJI ONOKO

    With ease, she picked the drawing pen between her toes. From sitting, she stretched her leg to the pad and began to draw. Soon, a pattern emerged. The audience cheered. But she was not done yet.  This time, an National Gallery of Art (NGA) staff member, Hadiza Muazu, volunteered to be her model. The artist did not waste time in putting an intricate design on the back of her palm known as Henna in Hausa, which is quite popular with women in the North. The design is akin to Uli in the Southeast.

    For those at the Sixth National Visual Art Competition and awards organised by the (NGA at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, that Thursday, the feat was a marvel from a 19-year-old girl born without both hands, who chose to rise above her defects. The attention of the management of NGA was drawn to her special talent during the competition. For this, a Special Award was given her.  As the DG, NGA, Abdullahi Muku, put it: “Abubakar has demonstrated that there is ability in disability. If she is encouraged to set up a studio, she can become an employer.”

    But for the teenage artist, it has been a life of tenacity, doggedness and never-say-die.  A native of Lapai, in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State, Abubakar was born on September 23, 1996 to the family of Ndeji Abubakar. She attended Bani Primary School, Lapai, passing out in 2009.  Thereafter, she proceeded to Government Girls’ Day Secondary School, Lapai where she obtained her National Examination Council (NECO) Certificate in 2014.

    According to Ezekwesili Mgbemene, the NGA Curator in Niger State, who traced her to her 44, Bani Road, Lapai modest home, “though born without hands, Shaidatu is a practising artist, who draws, designs and writes with her feet.  She has in no way resigned to her physical challenge as can be seen with many in this part of the world, but she is always busy drawing, designing, browsing on her lpad and making phone calls;  giving words of encouragement to other people. Daily, she does Kwinchi henna beauty designs on female clients who patronise her at her home.  Her ambition is to own an art studio and to be a renowned artist.”

    Shaidatu has a good command of English language and she is a good conversationalist; what she lost in hands, she has more than made up in words and feet.

    At the event, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Culture, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, promised to use his office to assist the artist.

    Observers said what Shaidatu needs are artificial arms. She awaits succour to come to her through well-meaning Nigerians? For now, Shaidatu paints on with her feet.

     

    • Onoko wrote from Abuja.

  • Buhari’s search for men and women with clean hands 

    SIR: President Buhari has attributed the delay in the formation of his cabinet to scarcity of men and women of integrity.

    Obviously there is a paradigm shift in the polity as the change campaign that ousted the Peoples Democratic Party from the centre is steadily manifesting itself in the country.

    Buhari knows that Nigerians accepted his candidature and voted for him due to his record of integrity, discipline, and perceived sincerity of purpose despite his opponents’ ploy to discredit his person.

    But he cannot do it alone; he needs honest and dedicated individuals to execute the ‘Project Rebuild Nigeria’.

    He has repeatedly said that no unclean hand will work with him!

    They should be men and women of integrity laden with commitment to his course and be ready to take responsibility; they should be personalities that will match their behaviour with values and are prepared to take correction – because often failure leads to success.  Buhari’s men should be people who can initiate good ideas that will better our lot and work with time because we can no longer wait to see, feel and enjoy this moment of ‘Change’.

    As the nomination, selection, screening and collation continue, I urge the President to increase his pace.  For how long will Nigerians have to wait? The President should be cautious; he needs to weigh his options and priorities.

    As he continues with his search for good men, he should note that part of the attributes of excellence is flexibility. Jesus Christ told the man that called him a good man: “… No one is good-except God alone.”

     

    •  Gbenga Olajobi

      Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.

  • Ambode, Jakande to students: future in your hands

    Ambode, Jakande to students: future in your hands

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the state’s first Executive Governor Alhaji Lateef Jakande have challenged secondary school leavers to aim for the best in their academic pursuit.

    The duo enjoined them to stay focused and not be distracted.

    They spoke during the presentation of 250 Free GCE forms to indigent students of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Area at the council secretariat, Ilupeju, Lagos.

    Jakande expressed happiness that the free education introduced during his regime is gaining more acceptability.

    “We never believe that the policy (free education) could go far but we that God that what we started then is being embrace by the populace,” he said.

    He hailed the council’s Executive Secretary Rasaq Ajala for investing in the youths.

    Ambode who was represented by Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Mrs Olabisi Ariyo said the exercise was borne out of the realisation of the importance of education in the development of the people.

    “Since education has been identified as the greatest weapon against poverty, we must do everything within our means to ensure that no child is denied access to education on the basis of his or her socio-economic background,” he said.

    The governor assured Lagosians of his administration’s commitment to providing qualitative education at all levels.

    “It is therefore necessary to appeal to parents to secure the future of their children and themselves by not engaging them in street trading during school hours. This is against the provisions of the Child Rights Law of Lagos State.

    “To the beneficiaries of these Free GCE forms, I enjoin you all to show appreciation by performing well in your examinations through hard work. This is the only way you can make the council and your parents proud,” he said.

    Ajala said the gesture was an evidence that the council is progressing.

    He said: “We are very much conversant with the maxim that education is the best legacy you can bequeath to a soul but the factors militating against it left much to be desired. One major hindrance why many of our youths have unfulfilled dream is because of their inability to meet up with the financial demands of their academic. In this wise, we decided to assist these youths to realise their potentials. We believed so much in the power of knowledge. Education liberates the mind, inspires confidence and gives the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the society.”

    He said the council went through a painstaking process before embarking on the gesture, appealing to the beneficiaries to see it as a golden opportunity to pursue their life time dream.

    “My esteemed students, you must take your academics serious so that you can use it as a tool to free yourself from the shackles of poverty, ignorance, disease and all sorts of vicious vices. You must also inculcate excellent moral such that your immediate community can vouch for you. Do not be swayed by unproductive activities that neither add value nor bring progress to you. The future is yours; therefore I implore you to make maximum use of any worthy opportunity that comes your way. You must see yourself as good ambassadors of this council. We want that stereotyped mindset to change. We want Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye to be projected positively in the committee of Local Councils through your academic achievement and impeccable character,” he said.

  • All hands must be on deck

    All hands must be on deck

    Finally, the die is cast! The emergence of General Mohammadu Buhari as the presidential candidate of the most formidable opposition party in the history of the country – the All Progressives Congress (APC) – has placed our collective dream for a renewed nation on a promising pedestal.

    The long-held jinx regarding the tradition that no sitting presidency was ever beaten by the opposition may be broken at last. Reason: It is obvious that Nigerians are inherently fed up with the President Goodluck Jonathan administration that has woefully failed to bring to bear the positive impact of good governance on the people.

    Nigeria has never had it so egregious. With all sense of modesty, what is happening today in terms of escalating insecurity, economic downturn, devaluation of naira, ravaging poverty, large-scale corruption, largely de-motivated armed forces, endemically partisan and corrupt police institution and inexorable social upheaval are only comparable to what happened during the better-forgotten despotic Sani Abacha regime. Sadly, the memory of that inhuman government has been exhumed by Jonathan with clearly no iota of solution to these festering problems.

    For 16 years of civilian rule, the country never had it so heart-rending. So worrisome is the fact that the dearth of the right opposition candidate to challenge the status quo ante has always been a major problem. The emergence of APC was initially viewed by some as something that would soon collapse. Surprisingly, the party survived the expected hiccups on its path to participating in its first general election in the land.

    Now that General Mohammadu Buhari has emerged through free and fairly transparent primaries, comparable only to the one that produced Akin Ambode, APC governorship candidate in Lagos State, hopes have been very high in the public domain that at no other time in history was the chance of removing an inept incumbent as high as now. In the primaries, Buhari scored 3,430 votes; Rabiu Kwankwaso-974; Atiku Abubakar-954; Rochas Okorocha-624; Sam Nda-lsaiah-10 with voided votes standing at 16. With the erudite Professor Yemi Osinbajo now nominated as his running mate, all discordant tunes should wear off in the interest of majority of Nigerians who are seeking change from the present movement-without-motion government.

    Whoever desires an end to Boko Haram insurgency must vote for Buhari; whoever wants a drastic reduction in unemployment rate in the country must support APC; all that are suffering under the current avoidable devaluation of the naira; the serious oil theft in the face of a sleeping president; the blooming corruption and scandalous power reforms without electricity should come out and vote en masse against the oddity that the President Jonathan administration symbolises.

    Yes, the question could also be asked about what has changed in Buhari or is special about him that gives this column the assurances that Buhari is the man to take over from the incumbent and lead Nigeria to the promise land. The former military ruler, first and foremost, is contesting for the nation’s topmost position on a stronger platform than his previous ANPP and later CPC. Buhari had 12.7 million votes in 2003; scored 6.6 million votes in 2007, and garnered 12.2 million votes in 2011. The votes of four out of six APC states in the Southwest will definitely go to Buhari. The votes from Ondo and Ekiti states will be shared and overall, the pendulum will massively tilt to the side of the retired general.

    And if he could go that far under his former platforms, then, common logic dictates that with support base outside his geo-political zones, the presidency is just within arm’s reach when all hands are on deck. Buhari has personal track records which could not only have been better appreciated than now when leadership has become a bane rather than benefit to the country. Buhari under President Shehu Shagari administration in the eighties successfully battled the Maitasine insurgents to a halt by pursuing the unscrupulous elements to Chad before he was called back. That marked the end of those miscreants.

    Buhari remains one of the few Nigerians despite the plum positions he had occupied, who is truly modest and Spartan in life style. He was federal commissioner for petroleum, head of state and later head, Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). He is in a better position to fight oil theft that the current administration has been complicit. The man of change and leadership integrity seems to be Buhari.

     What prominent Nigerians say about Buhari

    The under-published are statements of fact about the integrity of the man that many Nigerians strongly believe will create the ‘New Nigeria’ that all of us will be proud of. No living Nigerian has been heaped with such sincere panegyrics by fellow leaders nearly three decades after leaving power. Due to the instructive messages inherent in them, yours sincerely has decided to share what he got from the social media with my readers. Enjoy yourself:

    “The army after toppling our democratic regime has no option but to install Buhari as head of state so as to avoid credibility problems, especially in the sight of the international community because of his being an epitome of integrity.” – Ex-President Shehu Shagari.

    General Muhammadu Buhari as a member of the Supreme Military Council and as Head of NNPC was by nature taciturn and introvert. But he took any work that was given to him very seriously. He is reliable as he is hardworking and honest, his path of moral probity and rectitude” Incorruptible

    – President Olusegun Obasanjo, in his book, “Not My Will”.

    “Buhari was a big brother and a father to some extent that mean nothing in life & to the nation always other than good. So, I fear no harm from him.“ – Late President Umaru YAR‘ADUA.

    “Buhari was honest and sincere in all his conduct that perhaps, only very few Nigerians could match in integrity.” –General Abdulsalam Abubakar (Former Head of State.)

    “Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was a true patriot, respected former head of state and elder statesman and a nationalist.“ -President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “I have realised our collective mistake in overthrowing you. I have seen the terrible damage which our inaction caused to the Nigerian psyche. I am most sorry. Please, come and do what is best known about you – patriotic service to the nation.”–Late General Sani Abacha (During his PTF inaugural speech).

    “If Buhari quits PTF job as he promises and as we knew him to mean his words, all along, I support the idea of scrapping PTF as no one else can do the job as him. I respect Buhari. He was my boss. He was an honourable man. And l can say this anywhere.“ –General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

    “As a member PDP BOT, I decided personally to donate the N5, 000,000 to Buhari‘s campaign organization because of my firm believe in his ability to right all the nation wrongs – Alh. Isiyaku Ibrahim

    “The issue of Gen. Buhari‘s presidency was always being derided by the criminals who looted the nation to stupor by embarking upon a campaign of calumny so as to smear his name with a view to denying Nigerians having a leader who can improve their lots.“ –Prof. Tan David-West

    “If the truth must be said; Buhari remains the only real threat to PDP whether he runs for the presidency or not due to his wider followership among the masses that now hit the elite circle.”-Sen. Makarfi.

  • Nigeria’s in our hands to make or mar

    SIR: Nigeria would be better if the leaders and the led change their attitudes, love one another, and turn to God, for Him to heal our land. We all need to turn around and sow in righteousness, so that Nigeria would see better days.

    We should not lose hope in the country, despite the socio-political and economic challenges, but should always be in fervent prayers, repent of our sins, look unto God, have faith in God, for God will shower His blessings and favour on the faithful-believers.

    Our economic management team should adopt policies that have human face and ensure effective utilization of the nation’s resources for the development of the country.

    The leaders and the led should shun selfishness as unbridled capitalism is returning Nigeria to the era of slavery. The antidote is to eschew greed and antagonistic competition in our economic relations.

    The federal government should find the political will to tackle the seemingly insurmountable power problems in the country to fast-track socio-economic and infrastructural development.

    The continued unity of Nigeria is in our hands to determine, Nigeria will be great if we do the right things, by embracing righteousness and Godliesss

    I want to plead that all of us should work seriously to ensure that Nigeria remains one united nation. By 2014 Nigeria will be 100 years old and we just have to make it work, as there is power in number as in China, India, USA and Indonesia.

    We cannot fold our hands and see our unity shattered. Let us all join hands to make Nigeria work. Also, we must all be concerned about the security of our nation that is under threat.

    •Prophet Oladipupo Funmilade-Joel

    Lagos

  • His blood on his hands

    He nailed an innocent man on the cross. So, his blood is on his hands.

    That would be history’s damning verdict on President Goodluck Jonathan, when the odyssey of eminent jurist, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, former president of the Court of Appeal, suspended for the past two years, is written.

    For fleeting partisan glory, the Jonathan Presidency has earned itself eternal stain. It is odium well earned, for a reckless campaign against justice and electoral sanctity.

    If this appears a tad too hard, a refresher on the Justice Salami story will do. His “capital crime”, to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), particularly its reactionary bloc in the South West, was that the Court of Appeal, where Justice Salami was President, flushed out election robbers in Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states.

    That the robbers stole the vote was beyond question. That the Court of Appeal, after the earlier tribunals, found enough evidence to confirm a heist and kick out the robbers was not in doubt.

    The problem was the powers-that-be would rather have a quisling – like Justice(?) Thomas Naron, already dismissed for his judicial malfeasance in the Osun gubernatorial judicial challenge – do bare-faced injustice, which Justice Salami was not.

    For that, they swore to “deal” with him. But the jurist took all of their vicious punches, and still remained on his feet of honour, until he bowed out at the statutory age of 70 on October 15.

    Salami left in a blaze of glory, his integrity undiminished and his place secure among the pantheon of the brave, the committed and the principled, in Nigeria’s often troubled judiciary.

    But his traducers are covered in the odium of their own plotting and conspiracy, so much so that the tattered umbrella is now home to ferocious and conflicting old and new power rascals, dancing naked in the market place.

    Live by injustice, die by injustice! Gather by injustice, scatter by injustice! That would appear a fair epigram to PDP, now in the throes of breaking up.

    It is instructive that a party whose South West rascals swore to destroy Justice Salami is, before our very eyes, itself self-destructing!

    It is sobering lesson, if ever there was one! Live by intrigue, die by intrigue!

    The anti-Salami campaign was started by a newspaper advert by Iyiola Omisore, a former senator and post-Olagunsoye Oyinlola Osun gubernatorial hopeful, in which he made uncouth and reckless allegations against Justice Salami and his Court of Appeal, suggesting the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) partisans had allegedly compromised the court in their party’s victorious appeal.

    To be sure, Omisore was hardly neutral in the matter. For one, he had just been electorally pulverised in the 2011 senatorial race. For another, his bid to succeed the judicially sacked Oyinlola had turned a pipe dream. For the incoming Rauf Aregbesola, he knew, it would not be business as usual.

    Heraclitus-speak, there was no stepping in the Osun river twice. Osun’s political dynamics had changed forever! From politics of rumour-mongering and blackmail, it was morphing into politics of development. In other words, Omisore saw stark political death staring him in the face! That advert was, therefore, a death spasm of sorts; hence it was a study in wildness and recklessness.

    But that spasm sparked other high-tension conspiracies from even higher places. Pronto, came former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu’s strange “promotion” of Justice Salami, a sitting president of the Court of Appeal to a non-ranking member of the Supreme Court!

    Salami rejected the Trojan horse, only to be swarmed by other conspiracies. That climaxed in his suspension, which the National Judicial Council (NJC), through E. I. Odukwu, announced on 18 August 2011. The NJC charge was that Salami had “perjured” Katsina-Alu, simply because Justice Dahiru Musdapher, next in line for CJN Katsina-Alu’s job but alleged witness to Salami’s claim that the CJN asked him to pervert justice in the Sokoto gubernatorial case, would not confirm – nor rigorously deny – the allegation.

    But the same NJC, but now under CJN Musdapher, on 10 May 2012, lifted Justice Salami’s suspension and asked President Jonathan to reinstate the jurist. Was that CJN Musdapher’s brave but nuanced effort to salve his conscience, after opting not to confirm Justice Salami’s allegation? No one is sure now!

    Before this decision, however, the Retired Justice Bola Babalakin Reconciliation Committee had put Salami in the clear. It had also cleared the justices involved in the Osun and Ekiti gubernatorial appeal cases of all wrong doings; but indicted former CJN Katsina-Alu, for going beyond his brief in the Sokoto gubernatorial case.

    For “peace”, however, Justice Salami and indeed all of the parties were advised to withdraw their respective cases on the matter. Inasmuch as Justice Salami’s camp were not averse to withdrawing the cases, they insisted on reinstatement first – and soundly so, if you were dealing with a treacherous presidency.

    It was at this juncture that President Jonathan, himself a beneficiary of justice in his battle against the Umaru Yar’ Adua presidential cabal, decided to vote for injustice, clinging to the cant of sub-judice. He would not reinstate Salami because of cases in court!

    Perhaps, President Jonathan had emotional attachment to the injustice Salami’s Appeal Court was fobbing off? Indeed, during the Ekiti re-run, its Ido-Osi abracadabra and the fleeting heroism of Mrs Christian Conscience, there were media speculations that since President Yar’Adua had grave issues with his health, it was a certain Vice President, hitherto scorned, by the Yar’ Adua cabal as “spare tyre”, was the one flexing his muscles and giving the Ekiti vote robbers the Dutch courage to essay such in-your-face electoral robbery.

    This remains an allegation yet to be proved. But not so, the president’s anti-Salami scheming, using every trick in the book, to stone-wall Justice Salami’s reinstatement, until his statutory retirement.

    But as it happens, injustice and impunity have started consuming their own children.

    Oyinlola, who sat on Aregbesola’s mandate for nearly a whole electoral term, has had his own mandate as PDP national secretary annulled. Even his “election” as “New PDP” national scribe has been judicially pulverised, on account that “nPDP” was unknown to law.

    Olusegun Oni too, gubernatorial impostor in Ekiti, was also shoo-ed off his purported PDP office of South West national vice-chairman. Earlier, Don Quixote Oni had journeyed to nowhere, asking the Supreme Court to rule on a case Salami’s Appeal Court had already concluded. He fell flat on his face.

    And Jonathan himself? He is now undertaker-in-chief of his PDP, the electoral rogues of which he scandalously lent the dignity of his presidential office. Yet, it’s morning yet on comeuppance day, for direr judgments are bound to follow!

    But even as Jonathan and his PDP roil in the cauldron of impunity, it is a case of “two presidents”: one Jonathan, of the Federal Republic, who used his high office to attempt to crush an innocent jurist; and two, Salami, of the Court of Appeal, whose sheer integrity has turned the high-wire plots against him to glory.”

    Jonathan nailed an innocent jurist. Not even all the waters of the Atlantic can clean his hands of his career blood.