The Nation Newspaper

Tag: INSECURITY

  • Insecurity: Why Fed Govt needs $1b loan, by Omeri

    Insecurity: Why Fed Govt needs $1b loan, by Omeri

    The Coordinator of the National Information Centre (NIC), Mr Mike Omeri, has said the proposed $1 billion loan the Federal Government is seeking will not be handed down to the government in cash.

    Omeri said the loan is an arrangement involving governments.

    He said the arrangement was common among world powers.

    Omeri said: “The loan request is not for the government of Nigeria to go and collect cash. It is a long-term arrangement which most super powers are involve in.

    “This long-term process being put together by the government is to ensure that there is transparency in it. It is used for the purpose it is meant for.”

    The NIC chief allayed the fear that the loan would be misused.

    He said: “It is not just to fight Boko Haram, it is aimed at supporting  the Armed Forces for surveillance and training, among others.

    “It is a long-term facility that could involve government to government processes. I am not sure that any government will give out money to another government so that they could misdirect its usage.”

    Omeri explained that following the successful extradition of the suspected co-mastermind of the April 14 Nyanya, Abuja bomb blast, Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, to Nigeria, another suspect, Rufai Tsiga, is on Interpol’s watch list.

    The agency chief said the security forces were on the trail of Tsiga and other personalities aiding terrorism in the country.

    “The chief mastermind of Nyanya bomb blast, popularly known as Dr. Tsiga, is still on our watch list. The security forces are on his trail. Whenever we succeed in arresting him, we will make it public, like that of Ogwuche. For now, he remains a wanted person,” he said.

    Responding to questions on when Ogwuche’s trial is likely to begin, Omeri said the suspect would be tried on Nigeria’s laws.

    According to him, where the need arises, other legal processes, which demand international standard, could be applied.

    On the Wednesday’s kidnap of a German national in Adamawa State, Omeri said the act was criminal, distasteful and must be rejected by Nigerians.

    He said the government would investigate the matter and take necessary actions to protect its citizens.

  • Insecurity: Plateau shuts major streets

    Insecurity: Plateau shuts major streets

    The last time the terrorists struck in Jos, the Plateau State capital, on May 20, they chose a crowded part of Murtala Muhammed Way. Over 100 people died in the twin blasts, many more injured.  A large number of people were either buying or selling on one of the city’s four major business streets at the time of the explosions. That is why the state government and the security authorities have closed the major streets to trading. The affected routes are Murtala Muhammed Way, Ahmadu Bello way, Rwang Pam Street and Tafawa Balewa Street, which are usually busy round the clock.

    The terrorists set off two bombs on Murtala Mohammed Way targeting the crowd. The explosions brought down most of the shops along the street.

    Why was there such a huge crowd there in the first place? It is one of the major streets near the sprawling site of the burnt ultra-modern Terminus Market. Since the market was not rebuilt, former shop owners and others found business space anywhere they could, provided it was near the famous market site. The traders’ crowd began to spread to nearby streets, Murtala Mohammed Way being one of them. Old Bukuru Park and Bauchi Road also host the influx.

    As a result, security agencies had to cordon off the affected streets for weeks. Following the closure of business activities on Murtala Muhammed Way, traders who survived the blasts relocated their business to the next street, Ahmadu Bello Way. In a few weeks there was another heavy concentration of people at Ahmadu Bello Way, triggering concern that in the event of another attack on that street, there could be more casualties.

    The threat of a suicide attack led to a temporary closure of some of the adjoining streets by security agencies when it was rumoured that some Improvised Explosive Devices or IEDs may have been planted there. The military operations lasted almost a whole day. Affected streets include Murtala Mohammed Way, Ahmadu Bello Way, Beach Road, Bank Road, Yantaya Junction, ECWA Good News Road, Old Bukuru Junction, Terminus Junction, Rwang Pam Street, Kashim Ibrahim Junction by Ahmadu Bello Way, Ahmadu Bello Way (including Hamaz and Unity Bank Junction), Murtala Mohammed Way (University of Jos old campus), and Beach Road by Zenith Bank.

    The Special Task Force (STF) on Jos crisis, codenamed ‘Operation Safe Haven’ which led the military operation on these streets, said, “While the STF will not relent on its part to ensure that peace is achieved and this phase passes quickly, it relies on the provision of prompt information to ensure that no group of terrorists will cause harm to the populace.”

    Though the security agencies refused to disclose their findings in the military operation, it was learnt that a number of high-capacity explosives were evacuated from the streets during the exercise.

    But as soon as the military operations were over the traders returned to the streets for business. This has compelled the security agencies in collaboration with the state government to contemplate applying force to decongest the city centre. The state police command had earlier issued a quit notice to all traders around the Terminus Market. This was followed by an announcement by the state government that a task force was about to start evacuating traders from the troubled zone.

    State Commissioner for Information, Olivia Dazyem at a media briefing, said, “The general public will recall that in the aftermath of the last bomb blast in Jos and other security challenges, the Plateau State government came up with some measures aimed at ensuring safety and promoting peace and security within the Jos city centre. These include the ban on street trading, operation of illegal motor parks and indiscriminate parking of vehicles along major streets in the city centre.

    “Also government had earlier placed a ban on the operation of commercial motorcycles within the greater Jos Master Plan Areas.

    “In order for all stakeholders to appreciate the gravity of our security challenges, government and security chiefs met with leaders of traders Association and the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on the 25th of June 2014. At the meeting, it was resolved that the streets within Jos city center should be cleared of illegal traders, hawkers and motor parks and indiscriminate parking of vehicles be stopped to avoid a repeat of the collateral damages to lives and properties that accompanied the 20th May 2014 twin bomb blasts.

    “Based on this resolution, a task force was on the same day inaugurated by the state commissioner of police to enforce the ban.

    “Since then, security chiefs have been monitoring closely the security situation in the state as there have been threats of security breach. The strengthening of the task force has become urgent and necessary.

    “It is based on this that the Plateau State police command has put the general public on notice that the task force is set to swing into action immediately. For example, operators of illegal motor parks, illegal traders, and motorists engaged in illegal parking around Terminus areas down to Plateau Riders, Ahmadu Bello Way, Tafawa Balewa, ECWA Good News, Old Bukuru Park, Murtala Muhammed Way, Rwang Pam Street, and Gangeri road are strongly advised to comply.

    “Shop owners along the mentioned areas and other motorists are also advised to find alternative areas to park their vehicles.

    “I also wish to inform occupants of the JMDB shopping complex along Murtala Muhammed Way that experts from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have declared the facilities unsafe. This is due to the impact of the 29th May bomb blasts. Those renting shops at the complex are advised to contact JMDB and the Ministry of Commerce for further directives. For the avoidance of doubt, alternative shops are available at the Kwararafa New Market and the Kabong Satellite Market.

    “I wish to say here that all these measures are in no way punitive aimed at ensuring public safety, sanity, economic prosperity and the general well being of all people.

    “Therefore, I wish to solicit the support, cooperation and understanding of all to make Jos the hub of business and an example of plateau state being the undisputed home of peace and tourism.

    With this development, the famous Jos business streets are gone for fear of Boko Haram. But the affected traders are not pleased with the enforcement of the ban. Chinedu Onu who owns a shop at the affected streets said, “In as much as we don’t want suicide bombers to seek the opportunity of heavy traffic of people and strike, we don’t also want government to close this market because everybody in the city prefers to shop here; people are not used to the alternative market where they are forcing us to go”

    Most of the women who sell vegetables along the streets are not happy either. They said their family depends on the little gain they make from their petty trade.

    Esther Marcus said, “Instead of driving us from the street, they are supposed to provide security for us, if we leave here we will never have space in the new markets, government is just punishing us”

    It was tough for motorists as the task force moved out to enforce the ban, almost all the streets within the city centre were cordoned off to keep traders away. Motorists were left with few roads to ply and the traffic gridlock was another terrible experience for citizens.had earlier issued a quit notice to all traders around the Terminus Market. This was followed by an announcement by the state government that a task force was about to start evacuating traders from the troubled zone.

  • Insecurity stops Ejide from joining Hapoel Beer

    Insecurity stops Ejide from joining Hapoel Beer

    The security situation in Israel has prevented Nigeria international Austin Ejide from returning to Hapoel Beer Sheva, ahead of their match up with NK Split of Croatia on Thursday in the Europa League, according to reports in Israel.

    The former Gabros, Nnewi custodian was due to have arrived in Israel last  Saturday to begin preparations for the second qualifying round fixture.

    But the management of the Camels has authorized the Super Eagle to join the team in Croatia a few days to the clash.

    Hapoel Beer Sheva, who qualified to represent Israel in the Europa League after finishing runners-up in the League, were supposed to host the first leg tie before UEFA reversed the two games, with the Croatians welcoming the team first after the ruling.

    Ejide, who was in goal 33 times last season, is presently in Warsaw, Poland training on his own.

  • ‘Presidency is politicising insecurity’

    ‘Presidency is politicising insecurity’

    Bamidele  Faparusi, representing Ekiti South Federal Constituency II at the House of Representatives, speaks with Adetutu Audu on the outcome of the last gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, the task before the incoming governor and the state of security in the country. Excerpts

    I cannot say categorically if INEC is ready. The Ekiti June 24th election to me was over militarised. The military were used to victimise APC leaders. I was also a victim of such victimisation because on several occasions I had to leave my house. A lot of my colleagues were humiliated, some were arrested. In my local government, a lot of APC leaders were arrested and were released immediately the election was over. The fact that people were saying that the election was free and fair has come to questioning because the environment was not conducive for a free and fair election because it was over militarised, and the military was operating based on an instruction from above to destabilise the party structure and arrest the party hierarchy so that there would not be proper co-ordination of activities on the day of election. This may also account for the outcome of that election. I want to ask Nigerians, if we are having election concurrently across Nigeria, how it will be possible to militarise all the states across Nigeria the way Ekiti was militarised. It has shown that if care is not taken, 2015 election will not come out pleasant. If Fayemi is not acceptable to the people, people will not be defecting to the APC. During the administration of ex-governor Otunba Niyi Adebayo, people left AD for the PDP and the former governor still won in 13 local government areas. So, the results of the last guber election in Ekiti should be queried.

    The outgoing governor, Fayemi, just created Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in Ekiti State. The opposition party and the governor-elect, Ayo Fayose, are of the view that he shouldn’t have done that. What is your take?

    I see no reason why they are crying foul because the tenure of Fayemi will be ending in October and nothing has happened. He is still the governor of Ekiti State and he can decide anything between now and when he leaves office.  Let the whole world know that the process of creating local council has been on for a year now and he did not just wake up today and decide to do that. This administration wants to make sure that it does not leave any unfinished business for the incoming administration and so everything has been timed to end at the expiration of the administration’s tenure. I want to commend him for keeping up with what he promised the Ekiti people that he would do, because it takes a lion heart to do that and if Fayose is afraid already to govern Ekiiti State, it is not too late to throw in the towel because governing Ekiti State is not a tea party and he should be ready to do the work. The creation of LCDAs is to bring development closer to the people and I think any good thinking politician should embrace it and so I wonder why Mr. Fayose is jittery about the issue.

    You said earlier that Ekiti was over militarised. What is your take on state police now that the on-going National Conference has recommended it?

    On the floor of the house, when the issue came up, I made it categorically clear that if we get it now, sometime in the future it will be embraced. State police will give balance of power between the federal and the states. What we have now is federal controlling power. Although people are arguing that if state police is created the state government will use it to intimidate opposition, what we have now is federal government using federal forces to intimidate opposition states and so if states should have their own forces, it will balance up the power between the federal and the states and we will have normalcy. I think the awareness is growing and then someday, in the nearest future, the parliament will agree to the fact that there is state police. It is because it is coming from the progressives; the conservatives are seeing no reason why we should have it because they want to have control of the centre and as long as they are controlling the centre, they want to have that force to intimidate opposition at the state level. But a time is coming when some of the people who think they can control the centre will be at the state and cannot control the centre. We should look at this state police not on partisan basis or regional basis; we should look at it as an issue and we see that objectively we need to have state police because we are closer to the people, we understand our culture and it is very easy to cub crimes rather than get anybody from the federal who knows little about the environment where he has come to work.

    Recently, you did some things described as empowerment for your constituency and you said then that APC is the only party that can banish poverty. With the empowerment programme, do you think you have done enough already?

    We have not done enough and I don’t think I will be able to do enough because the demand to uplift the standard of our people will always be there and we can always do our best and leave the rest and as far as I am concerned, I am doing my best for my people. The empowerment I did last month was the second of its kind and it is just to give back to the people and to alleviate their poverty and provide equipment for them to be able to earn a living. I think this should continue and I am telling my constituents that we will continue with this as part of my initiative to intervene in various areas. I have done a lot in the education system, job creation, entrepreneurial development and training, and giving out equipment now is one of my plans to fight poverty in the constituency and I will continue to do this.

    It is almost four years since you were elected to represent Gbonyin/Ekiti East/Emure Federal Constituency. How would you describe the journey so far?

    The journey has been pleasant, challenging, educative, informative and I have a better perspective of the state called Nigeria and also a better perspective of a Nigerian politician. Expectation of the people from your constituency are so high; some  expect that overnight you should turn them to multi millionaires, people expect you to buy houses for them, to buy cars for them, pay their school fees, pay their hospital bills and just to take care of them as if you are government beyond being a parliamentarian.  They expect you to take care of all their needs and we are trying our best within the limited resources God has provided us with. But most importantly is the need to help to shape the direction of the country because what will affect the people is what is more important to me than what will benefit individuals. And policy formulation runs in forms of bills, in form of motions are the responsibility of legislators that will definitely impact positively on the lives of the people and unfortunately people are not even looking at that. Even if you move a thousand bills or pass a thousand motions, all they are expecting is for you to come from Abuja with the Ghana-must-go and begin to share the money. Unfortunately, there is no money to share and we hope that our people will understand that we are limited as parliamentarians and not executives and so our responsibility is to make laws for the benefit of the people.

    What striking law or motions can you say you have moved?

    I have moved several motions I cannot begin to count for the past four years, but at least let me name three motions; one on the increase in tariff by the then PHCN. When we came in, PHCN then wanted to increase the tariff and we realised that there was no proper metering before such increment can be allowed all houses must take  pre-paid metres so that you can pay for what you are using, not what you don’t use and so that was one motion that generated a lot of attention. Another motion was on education. The quality of education in Nigeria is of great concern to me and I want the parliament to look at it and in that motion I did say that if it is possible to compel public office holders to send their children to public schools because it is then that more attention will be drawn to develop the public schools rather than sending their wards to private schools. The two motions are the key motions that I moved out of many others.

    The state of security in Nigeria is of utmost concern, it is over 78 days that the Chibok girls were kidnapped and it is said that the president seems not to be really bothered. Some say that soldiers deployed to Ekiti for the election are enough to bring those girls back from Sambisa forest.  What is your take on the state of insecurity in Nigeria?

    The state of security in Nigeria is worrisome. Especially the fact that the presidency has politicised it and lives are being lost every day and our economy is suffering greatly because of this. Despite the fact that it is over 78 days that the Chibok girls have been kidnapped, the presidency did not believe that the girls were kidnapped until it became an international issue. That is to tell you the sensitivity of the presidency to the plight of Nigerians because his number one responsibility is to protect lives of the citizens even if he does not do any other thing. The government has failed the people on this. What baffles me is that everything is going as if nothing has happened. I cannot say that nothing is being done, but we are not seeing result, what Nigerians need is result. Not that we are doing something about it, we have made arrests. Nigerians are tired of stories and rhetoric, they need result. I am also making this demand that the federal government, led by President Goodluck Jonathan, should ‘bring back our girls’. What is most disturbing is the arrest of the people campaigning for the return of the girls. Are they saying that these girls have gone and we should forget about them? And if the president does not bring these girls back, posterity will judge him.

    Some people have accused your party, APC, as being a sponsor of Boko Haram. How true is this?

    As I said earlier, the presidency is politicising insecurity. You will recall that the late Army Chief, Owoye Azazi, specifically said the problem of Boko Haram was PDP; he was relieved of his office and was subsequently killed. If we want to tag anybody, we know whom. Our party does not believe in politicising security, from all indications, PDP is perfect in this.

     

  • ‘Food insecurity may persist in the North’

    AN industrialist Dr  Hyke Ochia has warned that increased terrorism is capable of threatening food security.

    Speaking with The Nation, the  former President, Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the prevailing insecurity could lead to collapse in the region’s  food production.

    He said the insurgency has placed farmers where they struggle to be productive.

    Unless the government succeeds in checkmating the insurgency, Ochia said the prospects of addressing the situation are dim.

    He urged the government to  avoid  severe risks and increased damage that threaten human health, reduce labour productivity and strain electricity grids.

    As high price of food-grains continues to bother the common man, he urged  the government  to  accord topmost priority to contain food inflation through tough measures quickly.

    This will require making an adequate contingency plan to save the farm sector in deficient rainfall situation in the North as it affect the  supply side of food-grains.

    The  industrialist urged  the  government  to improve the supply side of various agro and agro-based products.

    He said  focus  should be on long pending irrigation projects ensuring optimal use of  water resources to prevent the recurrence of floods and drought.

    Ochia  implored  the  government to raise the level of their rice stocks to help stabilise prices and improve food security.

    According to him, one way to lower risks is to increase reserves. He explained that building larger reserves would help the region to use the stockpiles to cushion price shocks.

    He said residents need to have   access to adequate food from the market is not  expensive.

    Ochia called for the implementation of some innovative ideas which may not only increase farm production through use of technology but also by reclaiming ‘non-cultivable land’ in scientific manner under a national policy.

    This along with other measures will   increase investment in agri-infrastructure — like setting up specialised agri-rail networks for perishable farm products.

    According to him, massive irrigation projects at village level at the  North  will  help  agricultural  production.

    On the whole,  he  urged  the  government to  see implementation of some innovative ideas which may not only increase farm production through use of  technology but also by reclaiming ‘non-cultivable land’ in scientific manner under a national policy.

    Right now, there are reports of continued conflicts over land ownership in some areas, inadequate irrigation support, poor pricing, transport problems and climate change, he said.

    The consequences  is   grave  given the fact that farmers have so far struggled to make ends meet. To survive as well as be productive under the trying economic conditions, farmers are experimenting with various options.

  • Why insecurity persists, by ex-Speaker

    The former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Kelechi Nwagwu has blamed the mounting insecurity and other criminal activities like armed robbery and kidnapping in the country on poverty and unemployment.

    Chief Nwagwu argued that if the youth were meaningfully engaged, they would no longer be used to perpetrate insurgency or political crisis in any part of the country, adding that the high rate of crime in the society is driven by hunger and frustration.

    The former Speaker, who stated this at his private residence in Owerri, the Imo state capital, during an interactive section with journalists, disclosed that he had decided to join the Senatorial race to influence legislations that will address poverty, unemployment and hunger, stressing that “if hunger and poverty are squarely addressed, only the greedy ones will be involved in crime.”

    Blaming members of the National Assembly from Southeast for the marginalisation and under-development of the zone, the former Speaker assured that if elected to represent Owerri Senatorial zone, he would attract adequate attention to the challenges of infrastructure and youth unemployment in the zone.

    Making reference to the ecological problems in Imo State, Nwagwu, who is aspiring on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), promised that if elected, he would go beyond the legislative circle to explore other means of tackling the menace.

    Chief Nwagwu also assured that if elected a Senator, he would deploy all the contacts and connections he has even beyond the legislative circles such as non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant national and international organisations to tackle ecological degradation which is ravaging some communities.

    “I have been in and out of government, so I can appreciate and appraise situations and act accordingly with humility and human face. My status as a former Speaker will give me an edge over others because  I will be a ranking member of the Senate if elected by the people and that will be a plus to my Senatorial zone,” he said.

  • ‘Blame insecurity on politicians’

    Academics and lawmakers who attended a conference in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, have traced the cause of insecurity in the country to politicians, who they also accuse of using religion to divide Nigerians.

    The conferees cautioned government at all levels to treat religion with care “otherwise we shall be having a big religious insecurity in our hands.”

    The event was the third joint national conference of Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin organised by the Institutes of General Studies and Finance Management Studies.

    The four-day conference was entitled “Nigeria Security Challenges: Issues on National Concerns.”

    In his paper dubbed “Essentials of Managing National Security,” Prof of Biblical Studies, United Missionary Theological College of Africa (UMTCA), Ilorin, Michael Akangbe blamed the country’s current travails of cultural, linguistic, religious and historical heterogeneity.

    Prof Akangbe said the activities of the Islamist Boko Haram sect stemmed from the ‘do or die’ politics of the elites.

    Said he: “Politics has become more complex in our hands from local to national and global levels; it is now more than simple acquisition of power for the administration of men and materials. It has become a big time politics where all sorts of vices are employed to play. Politics is made up of series of promises not fulfilled, denials of previous statements made by leaders and blame games.

    “Religion has become a stormy petrel, a harbinger of evil and a source of insecurity in our hands. It has not become volatile alone, but also dicey and difficult to define and handle well. There can be as many streams as possible of a single religion without a clear understanding within their theological differences and ideologies.

    “When religion steps out of the domain of providing explanation to the mystery of the divine entering into human and co-exist peacefully the end result is always chaos, catastrophe, maiming of people and outright killings in some cases or even war. In this regard, governments at all levels are to walk softly where angels are careful to walk at all otherwise we shall be having a big religious insecurity in our hands.”

    Another factor that breeds insecurity and other vices according to academic is corruption

    “Corruption is the major bane of our activities in this country. While there may be pocket of honest individuals here and there, corruption surely pervades almost every area of our economic and political spheres. In as much as it may be argued that corruption is a worldwide phenomenon, its high level in Nigeria has affected our development grossly,” he said.

    On unemployment, he said “like politics and religion, employment can become explosive and constitute a heavy security threats and Gordian knot on our hands. We need to handle with not an array of modern and sophisticated weapons but with great tact and wisdom of God before the bubble blows open and turns into another wild and untamed ‘haram’ in our hands.”

    In a remark, the Education Committee chair, Kwara state House of Assembly, Hajia Nimota Ibraheem said: “Our country has been polarized on religious lines by the Nigerian politicians. Even as small as I am we didn’t experience this when we were growing up. I went to a school established by an Islamic organization. In my class we had two Christians, a boy and girl and we did everything together as brothers and sisters.

  • Why insecurity persists, by ex-Speaker

    The former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly, Chief Kelechi Nwagwu has blamed the mounting insecurity and other criminal activities like armed robbery and kidnapping in the country on poverty and unemployment.

    Chief Nwagwu argued that if the youth were meaningfully engaged, they would no longer be used to perpetrate insurgency or political crisis in any part of the country, adding that the high rate of crime in the society is driven by hunger and frustration.

    The former Speaker, who stated this at his private residence in Owerri, the Imo state capital, during an interactive section with journalists, disclosed that he had decided to join the Senatorial race to influence legislations that will address poverty, unemployment and hunger, stressing that “if hunger and poverty are squarely addressed, only the greedy ones will be involved in crime.”

    Blaming members of the National Assembly from Southeast for the marginalisation and under-development of the zone, the former Speaker assured that if elected to represent Owerri Senatorial zone, he would attract adequate attention to the challenges of infrastructure and youth unemployment in the zone.

    Making reference to the ecological problems in Imo State, Nwagwu, who is aspiring on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), promised that if elected, he would go beyond the legislative circle to explore other means of tackling the menace.

    Chief Nwagwu also assured that if elected a Senator, he would deploy all the contacts and connections he has even beyond the legislative circles such as non- governmental organisations (NGOs) and relevant national and international organisations to tackle ecological degradation which is ravaging some communities.

    “I have been in and out of government, so I can appreciate and appraise situations and act accordingly with humility and human face. My status as a former Speaker will give me an edge over others because  I will be a ranking member of the Senate if elected by the people and that will be a plus to my Senatorial zone,” he said.

  • Insecurity: Fed Govt introduces machine readable cards at airports

    Insecurity: Fed Govt introduces machine readable cards at airports

    The Federal Government has introduced machine-readable cards at the country’s five international airports for passengers.

    The airport are in Lagos, Kano, Enugu, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.

    It said the measure was intended to create a database for the movement of persons across borders in the face of challenges.

    The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian  Immigration Services (NIS), David Paradang,  said  at the launch of the cards at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, last weekend, that the cards would ensure accurate data on movement, boost security profiling, and ensure easy facilitation of passengers at the airports.

    He said it took the organisation  some time with its partners to design the cards, which  would ensure Nigeria joins other global players in deploying new technology for passenger facilitation at airports.

    He said the number of international migrants and  security threats have increased over the years, hence, the need for the cards.

    Paradang added that with the development, Nigeria had responded to emerging trends, adding that for the cards to remain relevant, NIS has to look for experts who are proficient in French and Spanish languages.

    He said: “The need to accurate data of foreigners coming into the country and those going out, easy analysis of data, easy facilitation and sharing of data among sister agency.”

    He said the cards would also make simultaneous scanning of passengers possible, and could attract tourists and business organisations into the country.

    Paradang said:  “The machine readable cards are completely different in general from what we used to have before. It was quite a long list, scan them and make facilitation very difficult. The key issue about the current cards is to have facilitation matched with security and the machine readable passports are working with the machine readable cards .

    “It makes it faster for people to move through the airport processes and it can generate information that would be used and shared with all security agencies.

    “Facilitation and security now marry very seamlessly and the question of procurement is not an issue at all because we as immigration service are very key in attracting tourism and investment into this country. We want as many people as possible to choose Nigeria  and that would make our airport faster in processing passengers and in getting the right information faster. More people will like to come to Nigeria.”

    He noted that all NIS staff have been adequately trained on the new system, maintaining that the migration to the latest technology began as early as 2007.

    Commenting on the cards, the Assistant Comptroller-General, NIS, Zone A, Lagos, Mr. Nuhu Ibrahim, said  the cards were designed to complement operations at borders and enhance security.

    He explained that the service would continue to take advantage of new technology in order to boost security points across the country.

  • APC: Jonathan goofed by blaming insecurity on APC governors

    APC: Jonathan goofed by blaming insecurity on APC governors

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said President Goodluck Jonathan goofed badly by taking a partisan stand on the insurgency in the country, instead of seeing it properly a national problem.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said President Jonathan’s attempt to blame APC governors for the insurgency “amounts to an unfortunate politicisation and trivialisation of a serious national problem”.

    The party noted that this explained why the President had been exhibiting sheer cluelessness and total incompetence in tackling the crisis.

    It said the comments credited to the President also showed that he had little or no appreciation of his role as the father of the nation, who should regard the entire country as his constituency, rather than exulting in being a chieftain of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “President Jonathan did not speak with facts when he gave the impression that insecurity in the country is restricted to states controlled by our party. Had he allowed himself to be guided by facts rather than fiction, he would have realised that Plateau State, which has witnessed perhaps the highest quantum of killing of innocent people in any single state in recent times, is not an APC state; neither is Benue, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom or Enugu, where separatists recently attempted to forcefully take over a radio station.

    ‘’Talking of Akwa Ibom, President Jonathan has either forgotten the content of his government’s White Paper on the ‘’Report of the Federal  Government Investigation Panel on the 2011 Election Violence and Disturbances”, which fingered the PDP-controlled state as the source of the sophisticated weapons used in the unrest, or he decided to deliberately distort the facts just to smear the opposition,’’ APC said.

    Quoting from the White Paper, the party said: ‘’The panel also observed that some memoranda received from Akwa Ibom State alleged that there is a large scale arms running going on in the state… The panel recommends that government should conduct an in-depth investigation into the allegations of large scale arms running in Akwa Ibom  State to stem the tide of illegal arms flow into the country and ensure proper monitoring and licensing of local manufacturers of firearms and dealers.’’

    It urged Jonathan to stop embarrassing himself and the  nation by making indiscreet comments that do not accentuate his position as the leader of Africa’s most populous nation.

    ‘’Can anyone imagine U.S President Barack Obama publicly blaming governors elected under the aegis of the Republican Party for cases of deadly shooting in schools in his country?

    “Can anyone imagine the U.S President giving a partisan coloration to the 1993 raid on the religious sect, Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, for violating federal law?

    ‘’President Jonathan must always resist the temptation to act in an unpresidential manner, to say things that will embarrass his nation and her people, to act more like a party chairman than a President, to make comments that can easily be debunked and to say things that divide his people along religious and ethnic lines.

    ‘’The truth is that President Jonathan, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, controls the nation’s entire security apparatus.

    “Therefore, he bears the ultimate responsibility for the security of  all Nigerians, whether they are members of the APC, PDP, Labour Party or any party whatsoever. Insecurity in Adamawa, Borno, Benue, Plateau or Enugu state is a failure of the President, not that of the Governors of those states,’’ APC said.

    The party said the reason the Boko Haram insurgency had festered was that President Jonathan, instead of showing leadership in tackling it, has engaged in finger pointing and apportioning blames.

    ‘’Mr. President, we have said this before and we will repeat it: the buck stops at your desk. You must learn to take responsibility instead of constantly dodging it. After all, it was Winston Churchill who said: ‘The price of greatness is responsibility’,’’ it said.