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  • Now, kidnappers hit close to home

    Now, kidnappers hit close to home

    Sooner or later, kidnappers were expected to do something more daring than the usual snatching of wealthy Nigerians for a few negotiated millions of naira. Like drug barons, pool betters and lottery maniacs, the urge by kidnappers for a big jackpot had always been irresistible. Finally, on Sunday, our worst nightmare came to pass when Professor Kamene Okonjo, 82, mother of the Finance minister, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped in broad daylight. She was reportedly seized in front of her home by a gang of armed men. In a brazen display of disrespect for traditional institutions, the kidnapping even took place at the palace of her husband, Obi Chukwuka Okonjo Agbogidi, a retired professor of economics, and traditional ruler of the Ogwashi-Uku kingdom in Delta State. The trauma can best be imagined.

    A few theories have been suggested as motivating what is probably the most high profile kidnapping ever in Nigeria. The police are refusing to be drawn into speculations, preferring for now to assume it is nothing but a clear case of kidnapping. A few others think it was politically motivated, but they have not been forthcoming on what sort of politics could have motivated the crime. Yet others believe the crime could have been motivated by the minister’s reported delay of subsidy payments to some oil importers having trouble verifying their payments. All these theories are, however, far-fetched. It is unlikely oil importers would take the extraordinary step of kidnapping the minister’s mum to pressure her. Surely, at a point they would have been forced to disclose their reasons, and invariably become suspects. After all, frustrated fuel importers are known.

    The police have more sensibly restricted themselves to the theory of kidnapping for ransom. But given the sheer weight of law enforcement logistics that are being deployed to free Mrs Okonjo, it is not known whether the kidnappers would have the courage to name a price. If they do, the elderly woman would doubtless be worth a pretty penny, far beyond what anyone has heard so far, and so costly that it would be hard to see the kidnappers retiring safely to their lair to enjoy the loot. Indeed, going by the nearness of this incident to President Goodluck Jonathan, and considering that Okonjo-Iweala is one of his most influential ministers, it would be a surprise if the kidnappers make a success of this audacious caper. The presidency would already be feeling embarrassed, frustrated and incensed. For a government’s reputation, some things, such as this latest kidnapping, had better not happen.

    When it began in the days of the Niger Delta struggles, kidnapping was essentially targeted at foreign oil workers. Then the target became any oil worker; then children became primary victims; and then finally, anyone was game. The kidnappers themselves have not been discouraged by the prospect of facing the death penalty, just like robbers also casually shrug off capital punishment. Even the novel method propounded in some parts of the Southeast to enact laws authorising the demolition of Kidnap suspects’ properties has also been ineffectual. After absorbing all the punishments the government could throw at them, kidnappers have happily gone on to perfect the template of their lucrative business. Even if they come to grief in this latest effort, they will still carry on their nefarious trade in human articles with only slight modifications.

    The reasons are not far to seek. First, the chance of success far outweighs the risk of capture, thanks to ineffective policing methods and inadequate crime fighting tools. Second, and more importantly, kidnapping, like most other crimes such as Boko Haram terrorism, requires a holistic approach rather than routine law enforcement tactics. That holistic approach entails re-engineering the polity to take advantage of lower cost of governance, foster stability, and engender economic growth to cater for rising population. Until these things are done, terrorism will increase, kidnapping will thrive, and other sundry crimes will also flourish. As unpalatable as it may sound, the Okonjo kidnap indeed hit close to home, and is one more disquieting indication of creeping state failure.

     

     

  • Bayelsa flood victims eager to return home

    Bayelsa flood victims eager to return home

    Flood-affected victims in Bayelsa State are desperate to go back to their communities as the flood recedes in snail-like progression. This is coming on the heels of waiting for government’s final package to enable them go and settle in their respective communities.

    A visit to some of the camps in Yenagoa, the state capital, revealed that most of the inmates are tired of staying in temporary abodes.

    This is even as some alleged that government is trying to force them out of the camps as indicated by the supply of meager materials to the camps.

    But government attributed the problem to acts of mischief by some people asked to assist government to ensure proper coordination.

    A visit to the camps also revealed that some of the victims had started going back to assess the extent of damage in their communities.

    Mr. Nikki Maworuya, the Coordinator of the Sports Complex Camp of the flood victims in Yenagoa said 99 percent of the inmates are set to go back to their various communities but they are waiting for government to provide transport to enable them move.

    According to him, though some had returned to their communities but those still remaining have had their names compiled while waiting for response from government.

    He also disclosed that four women successfully gave birth to babies.

    On some items that are not readily made available even though they were applied for, he said government provided everything.

    But investigations revealed that those in charge of providing them were not forthcoming with them.

    “Mattresses are there but even when we applied, we have not received them,” a source who pleaded not to be named, disclosed.

    Also commenting on how the displaced persons in the camp are eager to go back to their Communities, Dr. Duenebiyah Udisi, the Coordinator of the BDGS Camp of the flood victims in Yenagoa, also disclosed that they were waiting for a package from the government to enable them take care of their homes that had been ravaged by the flood.

     

  • Oronsaye: Go home

    Oronsaye: Go home

    You could mistake it for a scene in a chartbuster Nollywood movie. The only difference is that, this time around, the actors on parade are technocrats and highly revered top civil servants who have dominated Nigeria’s civil service like colossus for many years. And watching the drama as it unfolded with ‘ruptured’ attention was the President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan including cabinet members, other top government officials and television-viewing public worldwide who were all dazed with amazement.

    The setting of this theatre of the absurd last Friday was the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Present were three powerful committees set up by the President to look into different aspects of our national life. These are Special Task Force on Governance and Control, Refineries Special Task Force and the Petroleum Revenue Task Force. They were there to submit their reports.

    Prior to that ceremony, Reuters, an international news agency, had gone to town on its website with some ‘scoops’ from the report of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force headed by the former anti-corruption czar, Nuhu Ribadu. The report was also widely circulated by several newspapers. This extensive publicity sparked off instant public debates which seriously rattled the government. As tongues continued to wag over the report, the government knew that it needed to do something quickly to stem the tide of negative commentary.

    Perhaps, to save its face, the government fixed last Friday for the submission of the report in which monumental corruption has been unearthed. But rather than work, the strategy actually boomerang and created more embarrassment for the Presidency. This was underscored by the confusion and avoidable altercation that ensued between Ribadu and Steve Oronsaye, the man who rose from the ranks to become the head of service of the civil service of the federation before he retired a few years ago.

    The dilemma started during Ribadu’s presentation. First, he saluted the President for his courage in setting up the three committees and expressed the hope that Jonathan would find the courage to implement the various recommendations. While focusing on his own report, Ribadu assured the President that all the issues in the report were handled with sincerity, and that if properly implemented, they would set the country free from economic bondage. This, according to him, is because the recommendations would strengthen institutions and increase government revenue. He lauded the President’s anti-corruption and reforms agenda but emphasized that more needed to be done to fight the hydra-headed monster which corruption has assumed in Nigeria, adding that carrying out such reforms requires integrity.

    As soon as Ribadu moved towards to Diezani Allison-Madueke, the petroleum resources minister, to present the report, an apparently uncomfortable Oronsaye, who served as deputy chairman to the committee, raised up his hand like a schoolboy in a classroom, to signify his intention to say something. But it was after Ribadu had handed over a copy of the report to the minister, that the President recognised Oronsaye, who had then become so desperate to speak. With subdued anger, Orosanye alleged that the process leading to the production of the report was flawed. He claimed, it did not pass through due process. This jolted everybody. The position of Oronsaye was supported by Ben Oti, another member of the committee.

    Though infuriated by Oronsaye and Oti’s position, Ribadu calmly said Oronsaye, “never participated even (for) one day in the deliberations of this committee”. He then added a caveat: “During the work of the committee, Oronsaye got himself appointed on the board of the NNPC. The other gentleman, Oti, became the Director of Finance of NNPC, and they decided to, more or less, bully everybody to take over. And they wanted us to write for them, but the Committee members refused.” Ribadu added,“Steve (Oronsaye) has not been in the country. He flew in this morning for him to come and do this and I think our president deserves more respect than what you have done now.”

    Ribadu’s position was corroborated by Samaila Subairu, the acting secretary of the committee and Ignatius Adegunle, another member. Subairu said the report was, indeed, the product of a joint effort of all members. Like Ribadu, he accused Oronsaye of staying away from most of the committee’s meetings. On his part, Adegunle said he was of the view that the forum was not the proper place for the issues canvassed by Oronsaye.

    However, what is clear from the melodrama between Ribadu and Oronsaye is that many people entrusted with sensitive national assignments have always found it difficult to separate personal emotions and self-preservation from such assignments. Or how does one explain the fact that it was during this type of assignment that Oronsaye and Oti came on the board of NNPC, a department that was under probe.

    It was quite astonishing viewing the video clips especially where Oronsaye repeatedly kept on hollering “the President said you should submit, and so what!”, with all the emphasis heaped on “so what!” That statement was contemptuous of the office of the president. Whichever way it is viewed, it shows lack of reverence for that office. What Oronsaye actually meant was that Ribadu and other committee members should have ignored the President’s directive. Perhaps, it was when this dawned on him, that he made spirited efforts to explain his “so what” just immediately after he said so repeatedly.

    A consummate civil servant that he is, a man who once sat at the pinnacle of the nation’s civil service rule as it relates to such an issue, Oronsaye should not, and he cannot, simply interrupt the submission of the report the way he did it. If at all he had any reservation, since he has access to either the minister or the president himself, he could have sought appointment with the president and voice out his resentment. This way, that show of shame he exhibited under television klieg lights would have been avoided. After all in the civil service, you can only communicate by writing not by engaging in reckless vituperation right in the presence of your superiors, not to talk of exhibiting such gross misdemeanor right before the President. If such a scene had enacted itself in the presence of the man who appointed Oronsaye head of service during his tenure as president, I am sure he would have dressed him down and reprimand him for his ‘bad behaviour’.

    The lesson from this is that Oronsaye and his cliques who have served their fatherland for more than 30 years should now take a back seat and allow those who are more vibrant, focused and result-oriented to take the centre-stage in piloting the affairs of this nation. Nigerians can no longer be bogged down by those who prefer to operate under archaic bureaucratic redtapism.

    All these appointments here and there, including even that of NNPC, which Ribadu said should have necessitated Oronsaye’s resignation from the committee in order to avoid being compromised, are no longer for spent bullets like him. Resignation would have been the most honourable thing for him to do rather than constitute a public nuisance. The same thing applies to Oti, his comrade in disgrace.

    With what the whole nation witnessed last Friday, Oronsaye need not be told any longer that he seems to have over-stayed his welcome in national affairs. The only option left for him at this moment is to devote his time to his community’s affairs back in Edo State, where his wealth of experience in the public service can make a whole lot of difference. I believe there are many things waiting for attention in Oronsaye’s community – youth counselling, community development, chieftaincy matters, settling matrimonial squabble and all that. It is time for him to retire from active public life and assume a father-figure. That it is why he should go home!

  • Flood victims won’t go home empty-handed, says Uduaghan

    Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan yesterday assured flood victims that they would not go home empty-handed when the water recedes.

    He gave the assurance when he visited the camp at Oharisi Primary School in Ughelli North Local Government Area.

    Explaining that life must continue after the camp, Uduaghan said the victims would be given some money, no matter how small.

    While hosting members of the Southsouth Traditional Rulers’ Forum, led by the Chairman, Dr. Edmond Dakuro, in his office in Asaba, the state capital, on Tuesday, Uduaghan said 630 primary and secondary schools were submerged.

    Lamenting the damage done by the floods, Uduaghan said: “It has not been easy taking care of the victims. The state lost 450 primary schools and 180 secondary schools to the floods. They have all been submerged.”

    He thanked the Federal Government for approving N500 million for the care of the victims and said the state government had set up a committee to manage the funds.

    The governor thanked the traditional rulers for their role in maintaining peace and security and urged them to sustain the effort.

    Dakuro said the purpose of their visit was to partner the government in tightening security and to find out how the problems caused by the floods were being managed.

    Also on Tuesday, the governor ordered a government official to refund money he collected for the management of Illah rehabilitation camp.

    Uduaghan gave the order at the Government House, Asaba, during a “Flood Situation Review” meeting with political office holders.

    He directed the Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Tony Nwaka, to enforce the order.

    Uduaghan said the official, who was deployed in the camp from the Bureau for Special Duties, should be removed from the camp immediately.

    “I am surprised that the man was allowed to remain in that camp for so long,” he added.

    The governor decried the mismanagement of funds meant for the management of relief camps.

    He said: “Any official misappropriating camp money, flood will run in the person’s stomach. If you enrich yourself at the expense of the victims, you will regret it.

    “It is inhuman for anyone to deprive the victims of food. People doing this will reap the reward. If it does not affect you now, it will do someday.

    “You cannot short-change the flood victims to make money for yourself. Such money will never be useful to you. Henceforth, I will be announcing the figures allocated to each of the 24 camps openly at our meetings.”

  • Badagry, home of all trades

    The Agbalata International Market, Badagry, is one of the major markets in Lagos. From the town’s highly revered mat, succulent coconut, to affordable foodstuffs, it is a place where you can get just about everything you want. OLAJUMOKE AZZAN was there.

    Just like every other market, it is always busy. The difference is that it is busier than most. The Badagry Market is majorly occupied by the Egun whose traditional occupations are farming and animal husbandry. Some of the major crops cultivated are maize, cassava, beans, oil palm, coconut and royal palms. Also, trading activities feature prominently in the area. Some of the major markets in Badagry are the Agbalata International Market, Hunto, Verekete and Ajara. Indeed, Agbalata has continued to play a leading role in the economic development of Badagry and its environs.

    The market is a beehive; all kinds of trading are done there. Since it is very close to the port and the boundary, it makes it easy for people from far and near to access the market. It is very large and accommodates people who come from far and near to buy and sell. It is spacious enough and one can find every single thing you want to buy at a reasonable price.

    All the traders have their various sections. For instance, shoe sellers are at the extreme of the market, pepper and food stuff sellers are the ones you would first see when you enter the market. The market is well organised in such a way that people selling the same product can stay in same place.

    Food stuffs are very cheap at Agbalata. One can get rice, beans, garri, yam flour and pepper, among others, at very cheap and affordable prices, which makes life easy for the inhabitants of Badagry. Where you will find clothes, shoes, bags and jewelleries are in two sections.

    There is a section where the new ones are sold and another where the fairly-used ones are sold. Good clothes, shoes and bags can be gotten from both sections but the difference is that prices differ. Various types of electronics are also sold with full guaranty and at a cheaper rate. There are also various shops where wine and soft drinks are sold.

    A very popular item sold at the market is the mat which has become very well known over the years and it is now popularly called Agbada mats. The mat is produced in various sizes. Other items are coconuts, fish, shoes, bags, rice, and groundnut oil, as well as smuggled goods.

    Mrs Funmilayo Jaweshola, a wholesaler of drinks at the market said: “Sales have been great, we get customers from various places, sometimes sales are dull but nevertheless we still sell. We all know the way things are now, so we can’t really predict sales. But here at the market, things are really moving. The Badagry market is a great place to trade because the atmosphere is conducive for trading and any other activity”.

    Mr Aliu Ajao, a watch seller and repairer said: “I am involved in a small business but still I have come to see that this market is a great place for buying and selling of any item. But the thing is the fact that Badagry is far and towards the outskirt of Lagos is another problem we have. We don’t find out about the things in vogue quickly.”

  • A tale of waterfront home-owners

    In most countries, waterfront homes depict luxury, which only the super rich can afford. In Nigeria, the waterfront is synonymous with poverty and filth. It is an eyesore unbefitting of human habitation. The Lagos State Government is cleaning up the waterfronts to make them habitable and environment-friendly. OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE reports

    For some, living on the waterfront is a show of class and affluence.
    The environment is serene; beautiful and convenient. There’s ample space to connect with nature, and surf, especially for those who love water sports.

    For others, it translates to squalor, fifith and deprivation. Most waterfront homes in the United States (US), Britain, Spain, Amsterdam, Paris, Italy, Venice and others have every feature one could possibly “ever want including a clean beach, clean air and nice place to work out.”

    It also provides a source of inspiration for artists and writers, especially articles dealing with nature. Proximity to the waterfront also means easy access to water sports, some have linked it to wellness of the body and soul.

    But the above is certainly not the case in Nigeria. Here people are exposed to foul odour from debris washed out from the sea. It is often the abode of criminals and layabouts who use the waterfront as launch pads to attack residents and visitors alike.
    For those who desire to live by the sea side, realtors have advised them on some facts they should consider.
    Mr. Ugo Emechere, and Mrs. Evelyn Osita all realtors in Lagos spoke on the possibility of damage to homes from hurricanes and tropical storms and wash-outs by erosion. This they say may result in loss of lives as was witnessed at the Lagos Bar Beach some weeks back.

    In Nigeria, majority of those live on waterfronts not because of their love for nature per se but because they are ply their business on the water. The nation’s waterfront is inhabited by the urban poor who are united in poverty, sharing a kindred spirit of ‘hope for a better future’ that never materializes.

    Others live there because they cannot afford accommodation elsewhere in a decent environment; some take up abodes for economic activities like what obtained at the Kuramo Beach in Lagos before the residents were sent packing by the state government.

    The state government cited insecurity of lives and the fact that people simply formed colonies illegally without recourse to the laws governing the state waterfronts.

    Luck ran out on some of them when an early morning ocean surge sacked them, leaving several persons dead and others missing.

    The Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, Mr Segun Oniru, while urging the residents to leave Kuramo Beach for their safety to avoid future disaster, argued that it was in their best interest and that of the government to tarnsform the beach fronts to what it should be as it is in advanced world.

    He said the government’s ongoing infrastructure plan for the waterfront has no place for shanties and riotous living that is seen on most of the beaches.

    Oniru said the residents didn’t secure government’s permission before settling down with their families to transact their businesses, which has lasted for years. He also ordered the relocation of residents of Badagry and Ojo waterfronts, Goshen Estate, Maiyegun and Alpha Beach to safer places.

    But an artiste, Nse Ekpenyong, said rather than criminalising those who live on the waterfronts, the government should be blamed for turning its eyes the other way while the communities grew not only on Lagos coastlines but on other coastlines of Port Harcourt and others, noting that nature abhors vacuum.

    She wondered why resorts could not be built along the sea coasts with deliberate plans put in place to develop waterfronts to aid what she called great works of arts against the poor story lines in most movies in Nollywood and novels. She regretted the poor infrastructure provision in Makoko/Iwaya, a waterfront community of about 30,000 urban poor families, who were mainly fishermen recently sacked by the governor after an eviction notice.

    She agreed the place was an eyesore that did not befit human habitation. Nse, however, asked the state government to transform the waterfront as: “There are fishermen in developed countries who live decently and not in filth and high grade limitattions, she added.”

    An environmentalist, Mr Silas Peters, accused the government of not preserving the waterfronts from natural and human destruction. He noted that aside the vagaries of nature on the coastlines, the inaction of successive government’s had made the waterfronts an eye sore.

    He stressed that while the waterfront is the exclusive preserve of the rich and powerful in developed countries, here, it represents the depraved and the very low in the income bracket who live by the day.

    He urged the government to muster the necessary political will and improve the façade to encourage tourism, which is a great income earner.

    On those who traditionally live around water and have been dislocated by the government, he asked that they be reoriented and encouraged to pursue other economic rewarding ventures and move on.

    He decried the negative activities associated with the waterfronts, noting that they are not only economically harmful but environmentally dangerous.

    The environmetalist insisted that except there was a positive change from the public and the government, the waterfront would remain in limbo.

    He said: “Our waterfronts have no reason not to be as economically rewarding as the city of Florida in the United States and others in major cities of the world because the economic potential of our waterfronts is still untapped.”