The Nation Newspaper

Tag: insurgency

  • Insurgency: ‘What the church must do’

    The President, Council of Foursquare Men (CFM) of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Churchill Peters-Ayerume, has urged church leaders to unite in prayer against insurgency.

    He said rather than criticise the government, all churches, irrespective of denomination, should beseech God for divine intervention, especially in efforts to rescue the abducted school girls in Chibok, Borno State.

    Peters-Ayerume spoke in Lagos at a news briefing on CFM’s 2014 Annual Men’s Retreat to be held at the Foursquare Camp, Ajebo, Ogun State from Wednesday till Friday, with the theme: Encounter for divine turnaround.

    He said: “Christians should do more on their needs than criticise the government. When certain apostles were arrested, we were told that the church was mobilised to pray. The Bible records that the building where they were shook, and of course these men were released.

    “I believe that the church, if we’re not separated by denomination, can gather to pray. If the leaders can set aside this denominational thing, and they mobilise the church to pray, this insurgency problem will be solved.

    “I think all that the church needs to do is for us to set aside those things that tend to divide us, then come together to pray. I’m sure heaven will hear. But I’ve not seen it.”

    Peters-Ayerume said the retreat would be a time of divine visitation, restoration, revival, empowerment for business and financial breakthroughs, healing and message of hope to the lost.

    “Come and experience the encounter for divine turnaround that will give you a new name, a new direction and passion that will drive your new vision to fulfillment,” CFM said.

  • Lawmaker wants end to insurgency

    A lawmaker representing Lagos Island State Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Wahab Alawiye-King, has urged Muslims to pray for an end to insurgency and safe return of the abducted Chibok girls.

    Ramadan, he said, is a holy month, urging the faithful to seize the opportunity for special request from Allah.

    “Ramadan, as we were made to know, is a solemn period, a period of sober reflection, which is used to move closer to God. Since Ramadan is a period that opens door for supplication and prayers to God, Nigerians should maximise the period and use it to pray for the unity of the country to surmount all the challenges facing it,” the lawmaker said.

    Alawiye-King, who is the Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Education, Science and Technology, enjoined Muslims not to return to vices they have abandoned during the period when the fasting ends.

  • ‘Government alone can’t tackle insurgency’

    The District Governor, Lions Club International District 404A Nigeria, Tokunbo Jegede has said the security challenges facing the country may persist unless Nigerians agree that it is not the duty of government alone to protect lives and property.

    He noted that a situation whereby people would only blame government alone each time there was a security challenge without contributing their quota in curbing the menace may make it so difficult for such country to tackle the problem.

    Jegede spoke at the Charter Presentation and Installation of the Royal Lions Club in Owo local government area of Ondo State. At the event, the club successfully elected a new executive led by Mr. Moses Philips Otuaga (an engineer).

    The District Governor said those nations which had at one time or the other faced the problem of insecurity were able to tackle the challenges due to the maximum cooperation given to them by their citizens.

    The District Governor explained that the Lions Club has not been able to do more for victims of the insurgency currently ravaging some parts of northern Nigeria because the club had not expanded yet to that region.

    His words, “One of the principal things we do, is to rise to the occasion when there are challenges like natural disaster in a community. Of course Nigeria has been facing such issues in some part of the country. We are still making plan to open up the club in the northern part of Nigeria. Apart from Abuja and Benue we do not have any Lions Club at all in the northern region. We are trying to form the club there as soon as possible.

    “There is no way we can assist if Lions Club is not functioning in such areas. For instance, the Club in Ondo State, there is no way we can gather relief materials to the areas where we have challenges in the north. We must be very careful. You can’t say because you want to give service, you kill yourself in the course of that, but you render service when you know the resources are there. Due to this, we are always with them in prayers and condemning the bombing and killing acts.”

    The new Owo Charter President, Otuaga described the association as a service club that is committed to adding value to our communities.

    Otuaga, whose tenure would end in 2015, said, his administration intends to conduct free eye screening exercise, donate to the physically challenged schools and hospitals as well as beautify Owo community.

    Six eminent Nigerians, who have one way or the other rendered services to their fatherland were honoured at the event. They include the Rector of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Prof. Igbekele Ajibefun, wife of the Lion District Governor, Mrs. Kofo Jegede and Pro-Chancellor and Chairman Governing Council, Achievers University, Owo, Dr. Bode Ayorinde.

  • Insurgency: Ondo CP seeks pact with school owners

    In a bid to secure primary and secondary schools in Ondo State, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Isaac Eke has called on the proprietors of schools to cooperate with the police command.

    The commissioner gave the advice at the stakeholders’ meeting with proprietors of schools and other security agencies, in Akure, the state capital.

    Eke, who noted that the issue of security should not be left with the security agencies alone, said the directive to hold the meeting  came from the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, adding that it was one of the efforts at tackling the security challenges facing the country in the recent times.

    The police boss urged the proprietors to erect high fence around their schools premises in order not to give room for intruders  to perpetrate criminal act, especially kidnapping of the pupils.

    He said: “I urge all school proprietors to instruct their security guards not to allow anybody to enter their premises to take away any child without any concrete identification.

    “The school authorities should not allow any student to roam about the streets during the school hours because there is tendency for students that are not in schools while others are in schools to join bad gangs. We have to be very vigilant on our wards.”

    He added: “There is a need for parents and teachers  to be checking the bags of these young children regularly.  On our part, we have been trying our best in this Command to ensure that cultism among the pupils of primary and secondary schools are checkmated to the barest minimum.”

    On the issue of social media, the commissioner also cautioned parents not to be buying phones that may expose their children to negative content of the internet so as not to corrupt them.

    He said school proprietors will be meeting with the Divisional Police Officers (DPO) of their areas on the issue of security while the police patrol team will visit the schools on regular basis. According to him, this will go a long way in checking the security challenges.

    He appealed to them to always feed the police with useful information that could lead to the arrest of criminals in their environment, saying security matters should not be left with police alone.

  • Yuguda: insurgency not defying solution

    Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda has said the security situation is not defying solutions.

    He spoke when he visited the Emir of Gombe, Abubakar Shehu Abubakar, on the demise of his father and his coronation.

    “I want to assure you that it is just a matter of time for the situation to come to an end. There is time to start something and there is time to end it.

    “Nigeria is not the only nation with security challenges; I know that very soon there would be an end to these challenges, particularly the insurgency in the Northeast.

    “I want to urge Nigerians to be patient and supportive of governments’ efforts to remedy the situation,” Yuguda said.

    The governor described the late Emir as a father and leader with the fear of God. He told the emir to emulate his father.

  • How to fight insurgency, by don

    To counter the Boko Haram insurgency, former Nigerian permanent representative to the United Nations, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, has counseled the Federal Government to invest in the development of impoverished people and their communities.

    Speaking at the second convocation of the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete at the weekend, Gambari said military action is not enough to address the problem and warned that the insurgency is threatening Nigeria’s stability.

    He recalled that he had made some remarks on the state of the nation 15 years ago that are still relevant to resolve the crisis today.

    Then, he said he had advised that the government should provide the most basic needs for it citizens, invest in human capital, provide infrastructure that would allow the citizens to realise their potential and evolve social safety nets that take adequate care of the downtrodden and those who fall into bad times.

    “A house divided against itself cannot stand. Political tolerance, religious tolerance and strict adherence to the secular nature of the Nigerian state and respect for the diversity of our nation are the pre-requisite for a republic that is at peace with itself and consolidates its unity,” he said.

    He also recommended collective national response to the insurgency in the northeast, which he described as a national emergency.

    “We must regard the insurgency in the Northeast as a national emergency demanding a collective national response which is comprehensive, carefully calibrated and sustained.  In my view, it would be a great mistake to regard the Boko Haram insurgency as a problem of the Northeast of our country. Let us be clear: the Nigerian state is under serious and unprecedented attack,” he said.

    Three hundred and forty-nine graduands of the institution bagged first degrees in various disciplines.

    Gambari, who is the chancellor of the university, congratulated the graduands for having the courage, perseverance and resoluteness to complete their programes. He charged them to “prove to be worthy ambassadors” of their alma mater.

    In his speech, the Kwara State Governor and visitor to the university, Abdulfatah Ahmed, praised the institution for the progress it has made in its five years of existence, and restated commitment of his administration to continue to develop the school.

    Ahmed who was represented by his deputy, Peter Kishira, charged the graduands to brace up for the challenges of life after school.  He also congratulated their parents for investing in their future.

    Earlier, KWASU’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, urged the graduands to make use of the entrepreneurial training they received in the school to become self-employed instead of seeking for jobs.

    He said: “This is the time to be creative and innovative just as you have been trained in KWASU to be employers of labour rather than job seekers. These days, no one sympathises with a graduate who cannot be of use to the society.

    “You have no business roaming the streets (I will repeat this); and it will be a dishonour to your university if you are found not using your entrepreneurship skills to create wealth for yourself and your community whenever you do not take employment from government and industry. You are your own industry.”

  • Governors’ wives rise against insurgency

    With the abduction of over 200 secondary schoolgirls in Chibok, Borno State, insurgency has reached its peak and must be brought to an end.”

    These were the words of wives of northern governors as they met to seek a solution to the menace of insurgency in northern part of the country.

    This resolution was reached at the 14th meeting of the Northern Governors’ Wives Forum (NGWF) held at the Nasarawa State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja. Wife of the Nasarawa State Governor, Hajiya Salamatu Almakura hosted the governors’ wives.

    They maintained that the abducted girls must be returned by “all means,” adding: “Since the terrorists have caused sleepless nights for mothers and the country, we must ensure members of this terrorist group and their sponsors are brought to justice.”

    In attendance were the forum’s chairperson, Dooshima Yemisi Suswam (Benue), Hajiya Adama Dankwambo (Gombe), Hajiya Jummai Aliyu (Niger), Hajiya Asmau Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) and Hajiya Fatima Yero (Kaduna), Hajiya Halima Wada (Kogi) and Hajiya Salamatu Almakura (Nasarawa), among others.

    Mrs. Suswam said mothers in Nigeria have been saddened and heartbroken since 2009 when the insurgency began. Their agony, she said, worsened with the news of the dreams of innocent children terminated while asleep in their school dormitories in Buni-Yadi in Yobe State.

    “Our agony went deeper with the news of the abduction of over 200 girls of Government Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State.

    “It is our sincere prayer that the insurgency has reached its climax with the abduction of the school girls,” Mrs. Suswam said.

    The forum condemned terrorism and described the abduction of the Chibok school girls as “cowardly, inhuman, uncivil, heinous and ungodly,” adding “insurgency must be stopped.”

    Mrs. Suswam commended Nigerians and the international community for their unwavering support and resolve to see the abducted girls brought back alive.

    She praised the unity being demonstrated by Nigerians in condemning the girls’ abduction, even as they demanded an end to insurgency. She urged Nigerians to bury their pride and differences for the good of the country.

    “We should maintain the momentum and support our security personnel as they go about the task of finding the abducted girls.

    “The acceptance of help from the international community by the Federal Government is highly commendable,” she said, explaining that the rural people who are largely farmers are the most affected by insurgency, having fled their homes and farmlands.

  • ‘Insurgency affecting school children’

    The Boko Haram insurgency is making children in the country live in morbid fear, the principal of Christ the Redeemers College (CRC), Pastor Antoinette Omo-Osagie, has said.

    She advised the federal government to rescue the abducted school girls so as to inspire confidence among children again.

    Omo- Osagie spoke at the praise and prayer service organised by the school management to intercede for the abducted Chibok girls last week.

    She called on government to increase measures aimed at finding the abducted girls.

    The national coordinator of the youth wing in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Mr. Ayo Bello, noted that Nigerians need prayer.

    He noted that though churches, human rights activists and women have prayed, the involvement of children in the prayer exercise will move God to act.

    He urged every child not to lose hope, adding that there is a great future for them regardless of current trends in the nation.

  • Group holds special prayer session against insurgency

    Muslims and Christians in Plateau state have reiterated their commitment to peaceful coexistence and the principle of non-retaliation or revenge mission, because it is counter-productive and serves the interest of conflict industrialists and political opportunists.

    The group  took the  position  in Jos yesterday while mounting posters of non-violence in various parts of the city.

    The group said the public enlightenment campaign  became necessary in view of the  May 20th and 24th 2014 bomb blasts.

    The group also held an inter-faith prayer for  peace in the state and Nigeria.

    The Rev Gideon Para-Mallam who led the prayer group said: “This our declaration that the two religions are one on the plateau and no amount of attack from outside the state will tear us apart as citizens of Plateau state.”

    The group asked parents,teachers and religious  leaders to teach the younger ones about the sanctity of life and recommend educational regulators to include same in school curricula.

    It  condoled  those who lost  their loved ones in the Jos bomb blasts and prayed for the quick recovery of  those who are still hospitalized and are recuperating.

    It advised government to adopt some strategies to curb  the current security challenges by  installing close circuit and other security devices to detect criminal activities and enhance the security of  the citizenry.

  • Insurgency affects NIPOST’s finances

    Insurgency affects NIPOST’s finances

    The continuous activities of the members of the Boko Haram sect in the Northeast of the country have adversely affected the financial profile of the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) and the movement of mails and other postal services.

    The service has also suffered because of the number of retirees who  served the agency and disrupted the operations of the service which equally affected the earnings of the service in the past one year.

    Speaking in Umuahia, Abia State capital, during the Southeast zonal merit award ceremony for deserving staff of the service, the Post Master General (PMG) Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba said that despite the challenges, they have been able to forge ahead through the efforts of the dutiful staff.

    The PMG said, “These challenges notwithstanding, you demonstrated unalloyed commitment to duty and undaunted resolved to move the organisation forward through improving on your services to our numerous customers”.

    The PMG who was represented by the deputy DPMG mails, Leonard Nwankwo said that the zonal awards programme has been made a yearly event, “Because of management’s belief that it will impact on the morale of staff and also boost productivity”.

    Baba noted that the award programme has also generated intense and healthy competition among the staff and bringing out the best in them in terms of innovations and better ways of improving on the productivity level of all levels of staff in the service.

    He said that the occasion of the award programme is based on the belief of the NIPOST that their staffers are their greatest asset, which is the reason behind the management idea to introduce the programme as a way of showing gratitude to the staff who had distinguished themselves in their various duties.

    The PMG told them that management had continued to explore ways of improving on the condition o the workers, which they has exemplified in the recent payment of outstanding bonuses owed to staff, “Despite our precarious financial condition”.

    Baba regretted that some of the staff have refused to change their ugly attitude to work, “Like coming to work late, loitering around from office to office peddling rumors, counter officers eating while at the counter and exhibiting rudeness and lack of courtesy to our customers”.

    Earlier in his welcome speech, the Area Postal Manager, Abia territory, Ignatius Umeadi said that the employee reward is a monetary or non monetary recognition that an organisation provides to its employees in order to express appreciation form good performance or behaviour.

    Umeadi said that it is also a systematic approach to employee rewarding, which is a part of corporate strategy which stands for continual rising of the performance level of the whole organisation.

    He said, “The token gifts that will be presented to you today are not intended to compensate your hard work, but to serve as symbolic tonic to stimulate and motivate you to work harder, while those who did not make it should work harder to make it next time”.

    On the reason for choosing the war museum for the occasion, Umeadi said, “This venue was chosen especially for those who are not from this territory and who were not born or were too young during the civil war to use the opportunity to see and know about the 30-month civil war”.