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  • 100 years of Nigeria’s food culture

    100 years of Nigeria’s food culture

    AS the centenary celebration continues all over he country, Nigeria’s food and cuisines came into focus. This was during the maiden edition of  an event tagged Nigerian Food and Cultural Fair. It was held at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja by the National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism (NIHOTOUR)  this week.

    It was a fair that vividly tried to replicate the country’s food and culinary transition in the last 100 years, starting from the farm where food is grown to table for consumption.

    The fair was attended by organisations from the public and private sectors. NIHOTOUR set the ball rolling by recreating the transition that our food culture has made in the last 100 years, starting from the time cooking was done, using stone and wood to make the pot stand  on fire to the current period when gas and electric burners are used to cook and prepare food. Visitors also had the opportunity to see  cuisines and delicacies from different parts of the country.

    The grsin food and soups like miyan kuka, taushe, kubewa and so on were on display.  The local delicacies  with modern packaging  were also on display.

    Many Nigerians are used to the Hausa delicacy, fura da nunu, a kind of gruel prepared with millet and fresh cow milk and sugar. But the image of this meal goes with a Fulani woman carrying fresh milk on a big, intricately designed calabash on her head. A company in Kano, at the fair, displayed a well- packaged fura da nunu that could be kept and it will last for many months. Innovations with moi moi by a lady from Bayelsa State, Anthea Pretu, were also there.

    While giving the keynote address, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke, said a nation cannot be 100 years without being nutured by food. He said the fair was also to pay homage to the farmers that cultivate the food and also the women folk that translate the food grown into delicious meals on the table of families. Duke said  in celebrating Nigeria’s centenary, it was important for the Nigeria to export her food culture internationally. According to him, countries have extended their areas of influence through exporting their food culture.

    America did it with the fast food comapnies like KFC, Macdonald’s and others. Also, there was hardly a stand one would enter without seeing a Chnese or Indian restaurant.

    “They are using it as a tool for cultural diplomacy and extension of influence. That is why Americans are going around the world selling franchise.

    For Nigeria, we must look inward. We have 170 million people to feed. Because Nigerians love their food, we have started spreading Nigerian restaurants across the world, “he said.

    In his speech, a Nollywood star and board chairman of NIHOTOUR, Chief Kanayo O. Kanayo, said Nigeria was blessed  with an array of food compared to other African countries and it was therefore necessary to bring them to the fore and celebrate them both locally and internationally.

    He said: “China, for example, has the largest economy in Asia followed by India. Chinese and Indians are found almost everywhere in the world, and anywhere you go, as long as Chinese and Indians are there, you will always find a Chinse or an Indian restaurant. Nigeria, with the largest economy in Africa, deserves no less”

    Kanayo said NIHOTOUR was identifying with the vision of President Goodluck Jonathan  to transform Nigeria in its entire ramfications. He said Nigeria could expand through patronage and appreciation of the country’s cuisines.

    NIHOTOUR’s Director General, Alhaji Munzali Dantata , added that the fair was supposed to have been held but for some logistic challenges. He said it was a direct response to the Federal Government’s call for participation in the celebration of Nigeria’s centenary.

    He said: “This is an event which has taken long in coming. If I go back to the beginning, it is a response to the call by Mr. President. It is a centenary event. A lot of people think that the centenary is over with the grand finale by the Federal Government about three months ago. I like to mention that the whole year is a centenary year like it is customary worldwide.

     

    “We look inward in NIHOTOUR. We are a capacity-building organisation and the chief programmes we have are in the hotel restaurants and so on. Among our major students are those learning to cook , wait and genrally work in hotels. So we decided to give an account of the 100 years of food culture and hospitality. The exhibition has been a success, if you look at the calibre of companies we’ve brought together.”

    Generally, many individuals and families that attended the fair left with a better appreciation of Nigerian cuisines and food, and the general impression was that with the  food at the country’s disposal, it is high time the country started exporting its food culture like many other countries have done.

  • ICC prosecutor condemns abductors of Nigerian schoolgirls

    An International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor has condemned the recent abduction of 234 Nigerian schoolgirls by extremist Islamic group, Boko Haram.

    Fatou Bensouda said crimes by the group, which has committed a large number of atrocities in recent years, fall within ICC’s jurisdiction.

    Boko Haram, a sect which seeks to enshrine Islamic Sharia law in the constitution, claimed responsibility for the mid-April kidnapping in Chibok in a video released on Monday.

    Claiming the girls as “slaves’’, the group threatened to sell them “in the market’’ and “marry them off’’.

    “The troubling phenomenon of targeting females during conflict cannot be tolerated and must be stopped,’’ said Bensouda.

    She urged all-out efforts to bring those responsible for such acts to justice either in Nigeria or at the ICC.

    She expressed her support for the victims’ families and the Nigerian people, and demanded the group return the girls unharmed to their communities.

    The incident has already drawn several pledges of help from the international community.

    Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is currently grappling with security challenges, including the Boko Haram insurgency.

    Last Thursday, at least 20 people were killed in a blast in the capital, Abuja, which hosted the World Economic Forum on Africa on May 7 to 9.

    As Nigeria is a party to the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed on the territory of Nigeria since mid-2002.

    In August 2013, the Office of the ICC Prosecutor issued a report concluding there was a reasonable basis to believe Boko Haram had been committing crimes against humanity since July 2009.

  • Uhuru Kenyatta: ICC delays trial till October

    Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta’s trial at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been postponed to October.

    The delay was intended to give the the government more time to “provide certain records” to the prosecution, the ICC said in a statement.

    Mr Kenyatta is charged with being behind the ethnic violence surrounding the presidential election in 2007.

    He denies organising the clashes in which 1,200 people died.

    This is the third time the trial has been postponed.

    “The purpose of the adjournment is to provide the government of Kenya with a further, time-limited opportunity to provide certain records, which the prosecution had previously requested,” the ICC said.

    In January, the prosecution was granted a three-month delay so that it could collect more evidence.

     

    Mr Kenyatta – backed by the African Union (AU) – has pushed for the case to be dropped.

    He accuses the ICC of being political, and undermining Kenya’s sovereignty.

    The ICC denies the allegation, saying it is trying to achieve justice for victims of the violence.

    In December, the prosecution said it needed more time to carry out investigations following the loss of two key witnesses.

    One witness had refused to testify and the other had given false evidence, it said.

    Mr Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto, is on trial on similar charges at the ICC.

    He and Mr Ruto were on opposite sides of the 2007 election, but formed an alliance for the 2013 election that propelled them to power.

  • We’ve deployed troops in 32 states, says NSA Dasuki

    We’ve deployed troops in 32 states, says NSA Dasuki

    TYhe National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, yesterday said armed forces have been deployed in 32 out of the 36 states of the federation to check security challenges.

    He also said efforts are being made to tackle Boko Haram insurgency in the Norteast.

    He, however, assured that the Federal Government will encourage troops to observe human rights, and international humanitarian law norms in their engagement.

    Dasuki spoke at an international seminar on the Imperatives of the Observance of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law Norms in Internal Security Operations, jointly organised by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and the National Security Adviser.

    The seminar, holding at the National Defence College in Abuja, is being attended by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda

    He said: “As you are well aware, our great country has been grappling with a plethora of security challenges occasioning loss of lives and property.

    “These civil disturbances, ethnic tensions and recently, terrorism and insurgency in the North East geopolitical zone have engaged the attention of the government and security agencies as concerted efforts are being made to contain the situation and restore normalcy in the affected parts of the country.

    “The declaration of a State of Emergency by Mr. President with the support and approval of the National Assembly in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States is one of the several initiatives implemented to address these security challenges.

    “While these efforts are ongoing, experience has shown from a post-mortem of the crises situations and robust interaction with the affected communities that although, civil authorities often employ their best endeavours in tackling these crises, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the degree of sophistication both in terms of operational modality and weaponry used by the perpetrators of these crises.

    “In the circumstances, it has become imperative to deploy the armed forces in aid of civil authority. It is significant to note that our armed forces are presently involved in internal security operations in about 32 states of the federation.

    “I have no doubt that our participation in this seminar is a demonstration of our collective will and commitment to put an end to the spate of mindless killings taking place across the country and to build a progressive and stable society, where we can all sleep under the cover of peace and security. It is our fervent hope that we will realise this objective.”

    Dasuki, however, assured that the Federal Government will encourage troops to observe human rights, and international humanitarian law norms in their engagement.

    He added: “The frequent interaction between the armed forces and the civilian population has also come at a cost in terms of human lives and material resources. Allegations of human rights abuses and proportionality of military response to crises situations are issues that have been thrown up within the country, as well as, the international community.

    “While the observance of appropriate rules of engagement has been institutionalised in the training of members of the armed forces, it is our conviction, particularly, while organising this seminar, that frequent sensitisation will go a long way to encourage the armed forces to imbibe these norms and promote voluntary compliance.

    The NSA said the seminar became compelling to guide commanders and troops on their responsibilities; treatment of victims and other vulnerable groups during conflict situations

    He said: “The seminar is therefore designed to sensitise the armed forces and other security agencies on the imperatives of observing human rights, international humanitarian law norms and interrogate issues with the potential of reducing the risk of exposure to prosecution or other unpleasant consequences that could flow from the disregard of these norms.

    “This is consistent with our national laws and the obligations imposed by various international legal instruments, including but not limited to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which Nigeria is a State Party.

    “As a State Party to these instruments, Nigeria has the obligation to teach its rules and norms to her armed forces and the general public.

    “We are duty bound not only to prevent violations, but also, punish the perpetrators when they occur.”

  • Northern elders and Ihejirika

    Northern elders and Ihejirika

    It is our duty to raise an alarm when birds cease to cry like birds. That is why we are worried by the statement credited to the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) to the effect that the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Azubike Ihejirika should be dragged to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over military operations against terrorists in the North.

    Chairman of the NEF, Professor Ango Abdullahi, had said in a statement that the group would take Ihejirika to the ICC for “extra-judicial killings by soldiers in Bama and the act of strangulating civilians in Giwa Barracks, using an underground detention centre, while depositing the corpses in hospital.”

    Expectedly, the statement has attracted criticisms and, understandably, one of the first critics of the NEF is Senator Uche Chukwumerije who, at a forum in Abuja dared the NEF to go ahead with its plan adding however that should the NEF go ahead with its threat, it would be a good opportunity for other aggrieved regions and people in the country to knock at the doors of the ICC for redress over one form of injustice or the other.

    These included the Igbo who would take the massacre of over two million Ndigbo during the civil war to the court, while the other groups would also table their own cases before the international court. “As Ango Abdullahi’s team opens the doors and walks into the hall of the world court, let them realise that they have at last opened the Pandora’s Box”, Chukwumerije said.

    We are however happy that the pan-Northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), is not in agreement with the position of the NEF. Indeed, we align with every point raised by the ACF in dissociating itself from the NEF position on this matter. This tells us that the thinking of the elders’ forum may not necessarily be the position of the entire northern region on the matter; which is heartwarming.

    As the ACF rightly noted through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Anthony Sani,:”The campaigns by the military against the insurgence could not reasonably be personalised against the former Chief of Army Staff. And that is why the military has its own way of bringing to book those soldiers who cross the line in any of such campaigns”. The elders’ forum did not tell us the basis of its conclusion or why the former chief of army staff should be held personally responsible for whatever crimes the soldiers might have committed.

    This issue is similar to the claims of marginalisation that nearly every region in the country has been complaining about. If, as Senator Chukwumerije noted, any group decides to approach the ICC for redress over any matter, a lot of past wounds will be reopened because hardly is there any group or section in the country that does not have one grievance or the other to report at the international court. We particularly deplore the ethnic flavour introduced into the matter by the elders’ forum and commend the ACF for its timely dissociating with the forum’s position.

    What we would urge, and indeed insist on, is strict compliance with rules of engagement in all military campaign, especially the ones against insurgents, whether in the north or any part of the country for that matter. Where there are breaches, the military should be able to decide those and address them appropriately. This is what we expect the elders to demand instead of fanning the embers of hatred and disunity. It’is high time elders started acting in a statesman-like manner and as the true elders that they are.

     

  • AU urges united stand on ICC

    AU urges united stand on ICC

    The African Union urged its members to “speak with one voice” to prevent criminal proceedings at the International Criminal Court against sitting presidents, according to a statement Saturday.

    The 54-nation organisation said it was disappointed that a request to the U.N. Security Council to defer the trials of Kenya’s leaders “has not yielded the positive result expected.” The African Union also has sought the deferral of criminal proceedings against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who has been charged with genocide in Darfur.

    Only Botswana has opposed the stand taken by the African Union, made in a statement received Saturday after a summit in Ethiopia attended by 34 leaders.

    “African states parties should comply with African Union decisions on the ICC and continue to speak with one voice,” the statement said, adding “There is an imperative need for all member states to ensure that they adhere to and articulate commonly agreed positions …”

    Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto face charges of crimes against humanity at the international court at The Hague for allegedly orchestrating post-election violence that killed more than 1,000 people following a disputed presidential election in late 2007. Both men deny the charges.

    The International Criminal Court has recently come under strong criticism from African leaders who accuse it of racism in indicting only Africans. Countries such as Uganda have suggested they may decide to sever ties with the court in solidarity with Kenya. Some Africans also argue that the Kenyan leaders need to concentrate on governing their countries to ensure stability as the region faces unprecedented terrorist challenges.

     

    Ruto’s trial continues at The Hague but the case against Kenyatta may collapse. Kenyatta’s trial was to start in November but was postponed to February after the prosecution and defense teams said they needed more time to prepare. The prosecutor in December asked for an additional three-month adjournment after one witness withdrew and another said they gave false evidence.

     

    A Kenyan court on Friday refused to stop the arrest of a journalist wanted by the international court for allegedly interfering with prosecution witnesses in the case against Ruto.

     

  • Echoes of 1966

    Echoes of 1966

    No, echoes of 1966 do not hint at some military adventurism, which with hindsight was — and, to those not able to think through Nigeria’s eternal political crisis, could still be — some grim deus-ex-machina.

    But for Nigeria and other countries beggared by military rule, the plague is no more than harebrained zooming to, harebrained zooming fro, and on the balance, rooted on the same spot! In Nigeria’s peculiar case, it could well be net retardation!

    So, it needs no especial acuity to realise any such suggestion is a barren desert, when what is needed is a spring of ideas to think through the problem — no matter how grim and dire it appears — and arrive at sustainable solutions.

    But echoes of 1966 could well and truly be gleaned from the latest Northern Elders Forum, NEF’s psychological war against the Goodluck Jonathan Presidency, by its threat to drag Lt-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, former chief of Army staff (COAS), to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged human rights abuses, of the Nigerian Army under him, in the Boko Haram anti-terror campaign.

    Just as well, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has decried the NEF threat, but all the elements, back in 1966, are here: ethnic grandstanding, regional confrontation, cultural chauvinism and political rascality, all pressed into service in the zero-sum power game.

    The warring camps may have changed, but the war logic — or illogic — remains constant.

    Back then, it was the North versus the West, with the East in the Northern camp, to crush a common enemy.

    But right now, the alliance is altered: it is the “North” versus the East — “East”, meaning the old Eastern Region: present South East and South-South; with the West (present day South West) enjoying its newfound entente with the traditional North, with which it fought to the death in the First Republic.

    Again, the clear motive (on both sides) is to crush a common (power) enemy; and the grand prize is the toxic Presidency — definitely more toxic than the Prime Minister’s office of the Tafawa Balewa era.

    So, it is natural that the likes of Comrade-Senator Uche Chukwumerije would, in reaction to the Ango Abdullahi challenge, rise in defence of Gen. Ihejirika, an Ndigbo son.

    Senator Chukwumerije’s riposte, that anyone thinking of heading for ICC, would do well to watch his back; for following closely might well be ghoulish tales of genocide, dating back to the pre-Civil War northern massacre of the Igbo, a pogrom that morphed into alleged Igbo genocide during the Civil War (1967-1970) itself.

    That would fall pat into the theory propagated by the late Chinua Achebe, in his swansong There Was A Country, and by the even more blood-chilling documentation by Emma Okocha, in his Blood on the Niger, a well documented tale of the Asaba massacre, by Nigerian soldiers, of Western Igbo civilians: never accepted as full Igbo by Biafra; never accepted as full Nigerians by Nigeria either!

    It was a neither-nor zone of death that, according to Okocha, turned the waters of River Niger crimson with innocent blood of defenceless civilians.

    But that claim was no less proudly negated by Brig-Gen. Alabi Isama, in his Civil War memoir, The Tragedy of Victory, in which he claimed the Third Marine Commando Division, where he was chief of staff under the mercurial Brig-Gen. Benjamin Adekunle, never massacred any Igbo, as Biafra’s propaganda claimed, to hold on to its eastern-most reaches, in the face of federal troops’ onslaught.

    But there is no contradiction in the two claims: First Division (which Okocha’s book accused of genocide) and Third Marine Division (which Alabi-Isama cleared) fought at different theatres of the war.

    But all these justifications and counter-justifications would appear not so important in Prof. Abdullahi’s NEF latest campaign. The target is not Ihejirika per se. It is rather President Jonathan, his commander-in-chief (c-in-c).

    Gen. Ihejirika was only the Army chief. Above COAS, in the command chain, is the chief of defence staff, the Defence minister, before the ultimate boss, the C-in-C. So, if Ihejirika is frog-jumped to the ICC, Jonathan too is endangered — and he might well be the ultimate catch!

    But Prof. Abdullahi’s merry riposte to Senator Chukwumerije’s grim historical reminder appears suggestive of a grander agenda. Talks of alleged genocide at Odi and Zaki-Biam, at ICC, could also suggest a dragnet for former President Olusegun Obasanjo, unrepentant C-in-C when the terrible deeds were done.

    Obasanjo is, of course, the northern friend turned fiend, regarded by many in the aggrieved northern camp as the region’s nemesis, the perceived orchestrator-in-chief of the present power cul-de-sac the “North” now finds itself.

    An ironic casualty, should Odi and Zaki-Biam get to ICC, could be Gen. Victor Malu, one of President Obasanjo’s COAS’s, who would double as victim and alleged perpetrator. As COAS, the Odi massacre was under his charge. But he only realised the evil after the pacification guns turned on his own people at Zaki-Biam! So long for selective principle!

    Not a few have, therefore, suggested that after the physical trauma of mindless Boko Haram butchery of innocent Nigerians, making the president appear incompetent and clueless, his northern traducers have upped the ante to psychological trauma of post-office ICC trouble.

    If that indeed is the case, no pity for President Jonathan from here. Sure, the Nigerian presidency is such a stressful job that about anyone on that hot seat deserves citizens’ empathy. But Jonathan is hardly anyone’s model president, a notorious fact even his most uncritical supporters would concede.

    But that is not why he is undeserving of pity. Even after being a victim of impunity from the so-called Yar’Adua cabal, during the late president’s last days, he himself has erected a devil-may-care presidency of impunity, with the brazen criminality his supporters are unleashing in Rivers State. That gravely desecrates his high office, pours odium on institutions of state and endangers democracy. The president as hideous bully, misusing lawful coercion for partisan scores, seldom earns citizens’ endearment.

    But Jonathan’s most unforgivable flaw is, as a minority president whose native region bears the brunt of Nigeria’s petroleum mismanagement, he has proved more comfy with the president’s near-imperial powers rather than work towards altering the fundamentals for the greater good.

    All too soon, he would cease to be president. Perhaps then he would develop the Malu syndrome: victim of the bestiality of the status quo, when he had, as president, a fighting chance to change it for the better.

    Ay, a national dialogue is afoot. But it is almost an open secret that it would be little more than a sop for Jonathan’s presidential re-run credentials, with nary much changing.

    But the Jonathan attitude appears no different from his opponents’. Everyone appears bent on having a go at the toxic presidency, despite its clear toxicity!

    Yet, without first fixing it, with the dysfunctional current “federalism” that gave birth to it, the future is less than assured, despite the pervasive din of democratic(?) bickering, ala 1966.

  • ‘On my first day in secondary school, I was already 21’

    ‘On my first day in secondary school, I was already 21’

    Taunted by poverty and want, Isaac Mathew took to life as an apprentice in an auto-mechanic workshop. Impressed by the personality of the late law czar Chief Gani Fawehinmi, he left to work in two factories where he was able to save money to attend secondary school. To him, life is you make of it. Hannah Ojo met him.

    WHEN Isaac Mathew walked into the British Council office in Ikoyi to audition for ‘The Debaters Reality TV show’ in 2009, his appearance and comportment gave him away as someone who could actively compete among the teeming pool of ambitious young people, aspiring for greatness based on their power of oratory. Although he didn’t make the selection, he forged ahead studying and attending events which caught his interest in his quest to acquire knowledge as a Law undergraduate of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye. You can’t but notice his appearance with his smart tailored suit, a ‘packaging’ which acts as the façade covering the drudgery and toils that he contends with from time to time in his quest to live his dream against all odds.

    Fast forward to November 29, 2013 at the expansive International Conference Centre (ICC), Abuja where the high and mighty gathered to witness the Call to Bar of deserving lawyers. Seated amongst those to be honoured was this gentleman; the son of a security man from Manejo in Ankpa LGA of Kogi State who was called to the Nigerian Bar as a Solicitor and Advocate of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    This was a man whose first contact with secondary school was at age 21, a time when some of have already obtained their university graduation certificate. Rather than bemoan the delay, the young man carries himself with an aura of confidence and gratitude to God while also using his story to inspire other young people, especially teenagers to thirst for greatness by not letting their background pin them to the ground.

    The story of his beginning is best left to be told in his own voice: “My growing up in Lagos was full of pains, challenges, frustrations and trials. As a teenager, my dad sent me to a mechanic workshop as an apprentice to learn how to repair motor cars at Ile-Zik bus-stop, Ikeja, Lagos. That was from the year 1998-2000. I only had primary school education then. I was always standing in the street admiring and watching students in their lovely dresses with their school bags. I greatly desired to dress in a school uniform and go to school too like other children but it was difficult for me. I also worked as a factory worker in two different factories in Ikeja. I was always praying to God to change the pattern of my life for good. I never wanted to end up like my parents who never went to school. My father is a security guard and my mother a petty trader.”

     

    The journey to Ile-Zik

    Ile-Zik bus-stop, Ikeja is the place Mathew took himself to start as an auto mechanic apprentice under one Mr. Dennis from Edo State. Finishing his primary school education in a village, he came back to Lagos in 1997. The possibility of progressing further with his education became dim since there was no money. At a time, he was helping his mother with her petty trading but the advice of a friend spurred him to make the move to the mechanic shop where he started in 1998. He was there for more than a year before calling it quits when the incessant plea of his boss to pay his apprenticeship fee became an embarrassment. His parents couldn’t help so he left to eke out a living as a factory worker to be able to save up money for school. As at then, he was 19.

    With the help of one Mr. Icheku, a mathematics teacher, he was admitted into Saint Joseph Secondary School, Mangoro, Agege in 2001. “I wanted to start from JSS 1 but my cousin advised me against it saying I was too old. She said I could cope in the senior class since I like reading. Luckily I had been attending lesson with some students every afternoon in preparation for school. I took an entrance exam and failed but was considered for admission nevertheless, owing to the goodwill of some teachers. The first week I resumed, I became the class captain,” he said. Asked to recall any unpleasant experience he witnessed as a result of the age gap he said; “It was difficult relating to some of my class mates in terms of experience. Sometimes they behave childish. At that age, I knew I brought myself to secondary school so I was more eager to read. Most times they were always afraid of me because I keep to myself a lot.”

     

    Streaks of divine intervention

    His first shot at JAMB resulted in a 199 score. Spurred on by his determination to become a lawyer like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, he took the exam again and made 259. He would go on to describe January 15 as a day that something dramatic happened which paved way for his admission into Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU). “I attended a Gani Fawehinmi event on January 15, 2005. I was coming from Airport Hotel with my friend. Along Awolowo road at Ikeja and I saw a car parked at my back. Something told me to go and meet the person in the car. When I got there, I saw a woman, a driver and another security orderly. I greeted her and told her how I chose OOU and the admission has been so difficult. She was surprised and then asked; “What do you want me to do for you? I told her my story and gave her my contact details which she requested for. It was on being handed her card that I realized the person I was discussing with is the Senior Special Adviser Ogun State Governor on Employment, Chief Maria Sokenu (now late). She later died alongside other 166 passengers on board the ill-fated Bellview aircraft that crashed in Lisa, Ifo Ogun state. Mathew made frequents visits to her office and her private residence at Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi but it still came to him as a pleasant surprise when his name came out on the admission list for Law because at a time, he could not keep in constant touch with her to remind her of the promise to call the Vice Chancellor.

    For Mathew who is now set to practise the legal profession in Abuja, life has taught him to believe that when God gives a vision, he gives divine provision alongside too. The joy of admission was almost killed when getting the money to facilitate his studies became a herculean task. To pay his acceptance fee, a special offering of N14, 000 was raised for him at the New Testament Gospel Church, Ile-Zik, Ikeja. As a student, he also had to battle with the challenge of putting up with a cohabiting student’s couple as he couldn’t afford to pay for accommodation since OOU runs a non- residential campus system. However, God raised a helper for him in the person of his uncle, Mr. Abdul Salami, the current Commissioner of Police, Budget, Police Force Headquarters, Abuja who took an interest in him and was sending money to him even without having set eyes on him.

    “I am the first lawyer, not in my family, community only but in about nine other communities in my local government in Kogi State. I urge every Nigerian youth to keep hope alive. Until a man is divinely helped by God, he has no strategy,” he enthuses.

  • Igbos dare Northern elders on Ihejirika

    Igbos dare Northern elders on Ihejirika

    Igbo elders on Wednesday dared Northern elders to carry through their threat to drag former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, to The Hague over alleged human rights abuses in the fight against terrorism in the country.

    The South East elders also asked President Goodluck Jonathan to redress the omission of “Ndigbo in the council of security chiefs of the country.

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, spoke on behalf of Igbo elders at a news conference in Abuja.

    Chukwumerije said the threat of Northern Elders Forum to drag the immediate past COAS and six others to the International Criminal Court of Justice (ICC) in The Hague is capable of unleashing a national ill-wind that will do no one any good in the country.

    He noted that the approach of the Northern Elder Forum to a national problem is “selective, patently biased, apparently in search of preconceived culprits, pointedly indifferent to the demands of national unity, and highly provocative to the sensibilities of all who genuinely desire the unity and stability of this country.”

    Though he emphasized that senseless sacrifice of a human life is indefensible, the lawmaker noted that violations of human rights have remained the bane of Africa.

    He said, “A society that has no respect for human life is nearer the status of a community of animals. But the situation in the universally acknowledged difficult terrain of a borderless war such as terrorism, counter terrorism and guerilla-like conflicts offers a unique challenge.”

    Chukwumerije, who spoke at the National Assembly added: “The motives of Prof. Ango Abdullahi and co are obviously beyond concerns about violations of human rights. This is so because the incident of Bama (Baga) has been investigated and put to rest long ago.

    “For instance, the Senate sent a strong team to the area in June 2013 after the incident. After a thorough on-the-spot investigation which extended to interviews with all concerned officials (Director of SSS, State Governor, Commander of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, and stakeholders of the community) and visit to the grave yard, the Senate Committee concluded as follows: ‘the death toll of 185 was exaggerated but there may be more than 37 deaths.”

    Chukwumerije, who said the Senate endorsed the report noted that “definitely, there were no massacres to the scale that demanded the judicial sanctions of The Hague.

    He posed three questions: “Why the blatantly selective search for responsibility in Bama (Baga) and why so personal?

    “Every citizen (including Prof. Ango Abdullahi) knows that the anti-terrorism campaign in the North is a joint-military operation under the command of the Chief of Defence Staff.

    “In singling out Lt. General Ihejirika, the then Army boss, the likes of Prof. Ango Abdullahi are merely betraying old prejudices and embarking on new hazardous search for bad names to hang hated dogs.

    “Besides, the fact that Prof. Ango Abdullahi and co sprung into action immediately Lt. General Ihejirika and ‘six others’ left their commands has revealed the depth of long-smoldering resentment of the campaign against Boko Haram by the self-proclaimed leaders of the North.

    The position of the Northern Elders Forum, he said, “raises a question about where their sympathy lies in this battle” against Boko Haram.

    Chukwumerije further asked, “Why single out Bama (Baga) incident for Hague’s adjudication?”

     

  • ICC rules against Kenyan deputy president

    ICC rules against Kenyan deputy president

    The International Criminal Court has told Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto he must attend most of his trial on charges of crimes against humanity.

    Prosecutors had appealed against an earlier decision which would have let him spend most of his time in Kenya.

    While he must appear at most of his trial, the court ruled he can be excused on a “case by case” basis.

    Mr. Ruto’s lawyers argued he was needed in Kenya after the attack by Islamist militants on the Westgate centre.

    He denies responsibility for post-election violence in 2007 and 2008. An estimated 1,200 people were killed in the ethnic bloodshed and about 600,000 fled their homes.

    BBC reports that his lawyers argued that justice could be met in his absence.

    At least 67 people were killed when militants believed to be from the Somali al-Shabab group stormed the shopping centre last month.

    In their ruling on Friday, judges were critical of the initial decision to give the deputy president a “blanket excusal” before the trial had even commenced.

    He will be allowed to apply to miss portions of the case but his absence will only be allowed when it is absolutely necessary.