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Tag: Jonathan

  • 2015: Jonathan’ll value the support of any Niger Deltan

    2015: Jonathan’ll value the support of any Niger Deltan

    The chairman of Centenary Exhibition Committee, Apostle Romel Eric Emenike, has said President Goodluck Jonathan, will value the support of every Niger Deltan for his re-election bid.

    Emenike, who spoke at his residence in Port Harcourt, the River State capital, urged politicians in the Niger Delta to stop playing politics with 2015 and focus on how to bring about change and development in the region.

    He said the need to focus on development has made Jonathan not to consider 2015 election a priority now.

    He said as the Chairman of Centenary Exhibition Committee his focus is on the growth of the economy.

    He said: “ Jonathan loves the people of Niger Delta and he values every support that comes from this region. Though, he has not started talking about 2015 but about the economy. Recently, my committee met with Bill Gate, the American billionaire, to discuss how his organisations could support Nigeria in the area of agriculture. The committee has taken the responsibility of contacting great men all over the world to participate in next year’s centenary celebration.”

    He said the committee was also working hard to ensure that many foreign investors would participate in the centenary celebration to meet with their Nigeria counterparts and discuss the way forward for the economy.

    He said the need to transform agricultural sector made his committee to place more emphasis on investors who could partner Nigeria’s vision to make agriculture the biggest source of Nigeria’s revenue.

    He said: “Our task as the Centenary Exhibition Committee is to focus on the economy; so, there is positive response from efforts made so far. But the most important thing is to showcase Nigeria’s ingenuity and greatness.”

    He urged those who want to take the job of the President when his tenure was not over to thread carefully. He said many people have tried it in the past but they did not succeed instead their political careers were brought down.

    He said the Niger Delta for many years clamoured to become the President of this country, adding that it would be wrong for any other Niger Delta man to become a stumbling block in the wheel of progress in the region.

    “It is a shame that desperate politicians in the region are raising their head and fighting against the president all in the name of 2015. Where were they when this region was crying to taste the seat of Presidency? Where were they when the North retained power for many years? I think they should learn more about history; those who challenged the president in the past never ended well in their political careers. The job of Mr. President in this country is a naked wire; it has consumed many people.”

    On oil theft, Emenike, who is also a stakeholder in the oil and gas sector,

    said the stealing of crude oil at the creek is not significant compared to the rebranded oil stealing called ‘topping’ at Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

    He argued that the illegal ‘topping’ formula, which only benefits those at the top in NNPC and security personnel, cannot cause the shortfall incurred in oil theft.

    “Topping is an indirect way of stealing, if somebody has a contract with NNPC to lift one million barrel of oil, he or she will now enter into illegal arrangement with NPPC and the security men to lift more than it was agreed. If they can end this stealing, even the stealing at the creek will be insignificant.”

  • Crises hinder Nigeria’s development, says Jonathan

    Crises hinder Nigeria’s development, says Jonathan

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday maintained that terrorists’ activities in the North, kidnapping and militancy in the South and other types crises were hampering the nation’s development.

    The President spoke in Abuja when he received this year’s Africa Peace Award from the United Religions Initiatives (URI) at the Presidential Villa.

    He said no economic development would take place where there were crises, adding that there must be internal democracy and stability for economic stability to take root.

    He stressed that differences can never be resolved through the barrels of the gun.

    He said: “Even when countries are fighting at the end of the day they will still come on the dialogue table to resolve. They have hardly solve them through the barrel of the gun, even if you had the most sophisticated weapon to fight, they will still come to negotiate otherwise you can never live in peace.”

    “So, let me call on all Nigerians especially the young people, if you come to the South part of this country you hear about militancy, kidnapping and if you go to the North you have this issue of Boko Haram. For us to develop our country we must all embrace peace.”

  • Jonathan and otherVIPs

    Jonathan and otherVIPs

    EXCEPT for the brouhaha over the purchase of N255m bulletproof cars for Aviation Minister Stella Oduah, all was quiet last week on the executive’s side.

    The weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting went without much excitement. There were, quite alright, the usual scenes of ministers cracking jokes, laughing, pumping hands and posing for photographs in their exquisite local apparels and Oxford Street suits. But, no earthshaking contract was announced. No policy statement was made. In fact, for reporters, it was a drought.

    The President was away in Israel on a pilgrimage. With him were a host of other Very Important Pilgrims (VIPs), including governors and ministers.

    It was a very busy time for His Excellency, Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, JP – of course. His media team did a fantastic job of ensuring that those who were not privileged to be in Israel did not miss the events. We were bombarded with photographs of the holy trip. There was one of the President and other VIPs singing on Mount Olive. A cheeky fellow grinned: “What manner of songs – praise (for personal blessings) or lamentation (for Nigeria’s parlous state, despite her huge blessings?”)

    Trust Nigerians; they have launched into a wild criticism of the pilgrimage, attacking every step the special pilgrims took. How much did this cost? Was it provided for in the budget? What benefit will Nigeria derive from this jamboree decked in a spiritual dress? What informed the choice of the entourage? Were they all on holiday? Shouldn’t this be a private affair? It’s all so irritating.

    They never saw the image of the President returning from the pilgrimage more compassionate, more forgiving and more spiritual, ready, as they say here, to move Nigeria forward. All they saw was a jamboree.

    It was, indeed, a humbling sight: Mr Pesident and the others, including Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN) President Ayo Oritsejafor, Governors Theodore Orji (Abia), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Martin Elechi (Ebonyi), Jonah Jang (Pleateau) and Gabriel Suswam (Benue) – JPs all – heads bowed and eyes shut, praying at the Dominus Flevit (the place where Jesus wept over Jerusalem).

    To those critics, of whom I had earlier spoken, who will never mind their own business, it was not enough for these leaders to just bow and pray here. One asked: “Did Jonathan weep over Nigeria there?” Another said: “If Jerusalem, rustic, calm and peaceful, attracted the Lord’s tears at that time, does Nigeria today not deserve wailing and crying from our leaders? But will such tears be genuine?”

    C’mon folks, today’s leaders are not like babies crying for lollipop. No. When confronted by those little hitches you guys describe as problems, they simply frown a bit, swear for a while shrug their shoulders and walk away. If they feel irritated, often by public outcry, they set up a probe panel, issue some nebulous directives – they are called terms of reference – and get on with their ever demanding jobs.

    His Excellency and the other excellencies were also photographed at the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (where Peter denied Jesus three times). They all stood there, their arms clasped either behind them or in front and their faces betraying unmistakable reverence. Some kind of submission. Another armchair critic, obviously one of those envious people who may never be able to afford such a pilgrimage, said the faces of the distinguished pilgrims may have been a betrayal of incredulity at Apostle Peter’s fate. He quoted the VIPs as thinking: “Shuo! Just for denying his master three times? Haba. Don’t we deny our godfathers a million times? Just three times and the poor guy earned a place in history? Na wa o. Isn’t treachery part of our political menu?”

    At the Wailing Wall, the VIPs – skull caps and all – were again praying. Some merely touched the wall; others slammed their two palms on it, murmuring their petitions in the belief that the angels would fly in to move them all to heaven for the Almighty to sanction. Trust the spoilsports. They launched into an elaborate guess work on what the VIPs were asking God to do for them.

    Jonathan, they said, must have been praying that God should remove all the obstacles on his way to 2015. In fact, one fellow with a dubious claim to telepathy quoted the President as saying: “O Lord, I know you have favoured me, making me the luckiest of all my people. I thank you. And I pray that you should not get tired of helping your son. This 2015 matter, now it’s a bit tough, but I know nothing is difficult for you to handle. Father, handle it for me well well o. Clear all obstacles and make me lucky, once again – in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.”

    What were the others praying for? Was Jang seeking forgiveness for his role in the Governor’s Forum election debacte where he was the poster boy of the group that said 16 was bigger than 19, a position they defended up till the very day they embarked on the pilgrimage? Was Akpabio asking for God’s will –or his own will – in his bid to be a senator? Was he confessing his role as the ring leader of the 16-is-bigger-than-19 Governor’s Forum faction, which turned logic on its head and created the trouble from which the forum is yet to recover? Was Peter Obi praying for his candidate’s success in the November 16 election, knowing that Willie Obiano will find in Dr Chris Ngige a Goliath of an opponent? Uduaghan may have spared a thought on his role in the Governors’ Forum crisis. He was the Electoral Officer—sorry, an error there—the Returning Officer, who supervised it all, but joined the group that said 16, not 19, carried the day.

    Suswam is eager to be a senator. Was he begging God to help him beat Barnabas Germade, the incumbent and former PDP chair?

    Mr John Kennedy Okpara, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Pilgrims Commission, urged the pilgrims to see their trip as a time for spiritual rebirth and a time for divine encounter.

    Nonsense, another of those envious fellows of whom I had spoken, roared. In his view, the pilgrimage should be seen as a trip to a purgatory, a kind of reformation for the confession of sins. Restitution. He then began, without any attempt to differentiate between official and personal matters, to list those to whom he felt the pilgrimage should have been of immense benefit.

    Works Minister Mike Onolememen should have been on the pilgrimage, said the fellow, to seek forgiveness for what he called the criminal negligence of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on which many great dreams have been terminated. He mentioned also the East-West road, saying there was no reason for allowing these roads to become the death traps they now are.

    Education Minister Nyesom Wike was not on the trip. He should have, said our man, who insisted that the chief should have sought forgiveness for pursuing a personal political goal while all parents are looking up to him to lead the resolution of the crisis that has got the universities shut for more than four months.

    The busybody went on. He said Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was a sure candidate for the pilgrimage for, according to him, not telling the truth about the economy. He could not fathom why the economy could be doing “so well” and yet many are out of job and states would go on for three months without their statutory allocations. Besides, he accused the lady of telling university teachers to take what the government offered or go to hell – a statement the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy denied.

    Our man, the interloper, was glad that Ms Oduah made the trip. It must have afforded her the opportunity to seek God’s face in the face of a huge assault on her integrity, he thought. Besides, some confession and penitence won’t be a bad idea. Buying N255m bulletproof toys – sorry, a wrong word there – cars in a country where many go to bed hungry and universities are shut down by a massive strike and doctors are pushing for better pay and poor electricity supply has killed many factories, is, no doubt, a big sin that requires some ethereal intervention to cleanse.

    And talking about Oduah. I wonder how President Jonathan shunned her – as reported in the media – in the Holy Land. Wouldn’t that have been sinful, negating the whole idea of the long spiritual peregrination? I saw Ms Oduah in one of those pictures, a big hat on her head, her face covered by the cream hat, a smart-fit shirt on a pair of trousers, just two rows behind Dr Jonathan. If His Excellency had looked back, I bet he would have been all smiles; those harmless smiles that often brighten his face.

    It is good to have our VIPs back. Now a thought for ASUU, Boko Haram – over 100 died in Yobe while you were away – extrajudicial killings, political intolerance – Federal Capital Territory (FCT) authorities are threatening to demolish New Peoples Democratic Party’s office in Abuja – and corruption.

    Shallom!

  • Jonathan in Israel

    Jonathan in Israel

    It is heartwarming that the Presidency last week denied reports that President Goodluck Jonathan would lead 19 state governors, some serving ministers as well as some 30,000 intending Nigerian pilgrims to Israel. Although what made the story somewhat ridiculous were the 30,000 Nigerians that reports said the President would lead to the holy land; it was still regarded as a possibility given the President’s antecedents of travelling with unusually large entourage. He has been criticised for this times without number without any change of heart.

    But the Presidency’s rebuttal of the story on October 22 somewhat calmed frayed nerves. A statement by Reuben Abati, President Jonathan’s special adviser on media and publicity, clarified the position: “irrespective of President Jonathan’s visit, thousands of Nigerians visit Israel annually during the pilgrimage season which goes on for months and they will undoubtedly do so again between now and early next year”. Apparently, the President’s trip to Israel had been mixed up with that of about 30,000 Nigerians who are to be in Israel for the pilgrimage this year.

    But this is not the only issue with the trip to Israel. There is also the question of the President’s mission in the place. Shortly before he left for Israel, President Jonathan had said he would be in that country partly to pray for Nigeria and partly to discuss bilateral issues with the Israeli leaders. “Nigeria needs both political and spiritual transformation. The country is facing a lot of challenges, hence this pilgrimage exercise will serve as an intercessory tool for the nation to seek the face of God in this trying moment of our national life. Christ is a winner and conqueror! I have no doubt that this exercise would help the nation overcome its current challenges,” he said.

    We do not intend to deny the President his entitlement to his faith, but we hasten to add that much as Nigeria needs spiritual transformation, most of the problems the country is facing are self-inflicted and clearly avoidable. For instance, do we need spiritual transformation to know that it is wrong to buy bullet-proof cars for a minister at highly inflated costs? Do we need spiritual transformation to know what to do with people close to the seat of power who loot pension and other funds? Do we need spiritual transformation to know that vendetta politics is bad for the system?

    These are issues within the purview of man and particularly the leadership. The way we are going, we may soon get to a situation where people will begin to ask God when to eat, what to eat and stuff like that.

    Well, now that President Jonathan has travelled to Israel since he believes he would find answers to our crisis of nationhood there, Nigerians expect to see a brand new administration fresh from the anointing in the holy land.

    Beyond all these, however, is the propriety or otherwise of government spending public funds to transport people on pilgrimage. Although this has been an age-long practice in our country, it does not make it right. Pilgrimage is a personal thing and since the country is recognised constitutionally as a secular state, governments should stay off religious matters, including funding of pilgrimage.

    People intending to go on pilgrimage should be able to foot the bill. None of the two dominant religions in the country makes it mandatory for people to go on pilgrimage whether they can afford it or not. This practice is in itself a form of corruption, especially when it involves public servants. Worse still, the religious exhibitionism has not resulted in good governance in the country. So, why waste public funds on it?

  • David-West to Jonathan: Call police to order over G-7 governors

    David-West to Jonathan: Call police to order over G-7 governors

    A former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to call police to order on their alleged unconstitutional acts.

    David-West was reacting to the news of how police allegedly aborted a planned meeting of seven governors opposed to Jonathan in Abuja Sunday evening.

    The governors belong to a new faction within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They are Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Babangida Aliyu (Niger), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto) Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa) and Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara).

    The meeting was slated for Sokoto State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja but they were forced to relocate to another location for the meeting.

    David-West decried the act and described it as “unconstitutional and illegal.”

    He stated that the act was against the constitution that guarantees freedom of association and assembly for all Nigerians.

    He said: “Police have no right whatsoever to stop the G-7 meeting. Their action is unconstitutional and illegal and should be condemned by all peace-loving Nigerians. Section 40 of the Constitution of Nigeria guarantees all Nigerians freedom of association and assembly.

    Section 41 guarantees right to freedom of movement and these are under fundamental rights and guiding principles of the constitution of Nigeria. So what the police have done is not only against the constitution but should be condemned.”

    The former minister urged Jonathan to call the police to order, stressing that his failure to do so amounts to giving “tacit support” to the illegalities which, he said, is contrary to his oath to protect the constitution of the country.

    “President Jonathan should condemn the police for their unconstitutional and illegal act against the G-7 governors meeting. If he fails to do so, it means he also tacitly supported the unconstitutional act.

    “I will remind Mr. President that he swore to protect the constitution of Nigeria. So if he gives tacit support to the police in preventing Nigerians from enjoying their constitutional rights, he should resign because that is what he swore to protect,” David-West said.

     

  • Jonathan greets Oba Akiolu at 70

    Jonathan greets Oba Akiolu at 70

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday congratulated Oba Rilwan Babatunde Akiolu I of Lagos as he attains the age of 70 years on Tuesday.

    In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President noted Oba Akiolu’s exemplary dedication to service.

    He joined the people of Lagos and Oba Akiolu’s friends, associates and peers across the country in felicitating with the monarch who has “exhibited exemplary wisdom, courage, selflessness, philanthropy and dedication to the service of his people” since his ascension to the revered throne over ten years ago.

    According to him, the Federal Government will continue to work diligently and cooperate with all other tiers of government towards progressively improving the living conditions of people in his domain and all other parts of Nigeria.

    “President Jonathan prays that God Almighty will grant Oba Akiolu continued good health and many more years of commendable service to the people of Lagos and Nigeria,” the statement said.

     

  • NFF to golden Eaglets: Win World Cup for Jonathan

    NFF to golden Eaglets: Win World Cup for Jonathan

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Aminu Maigari has charged the Golden Eaglets to win the ongoing FIFA U- 17 World Cup for President Goodluck Jonathan.

    The NFF boss, who disclosed this to SportingLife in Dubai, also expressed optimism that the team will deliver as expected by President Jonathan and all football-loving Nigerians that have been supporting the team to do well in the competition in the United Arab Emirates.

    “We have prepared this team well, not only to go far in this competition but to win it, and our aspiration is for the team to win this tournament for our dear President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan who has done so much for all our national teams.

    “I am using this rare privilege to thank President Jonathan for his support for all our national teams and for the Golden Eaglets in this U- 17 World Cup currently going on in the United Arab Emirates”, Maigari stated.

    The NFF boss also commended the players for displaying champions stuff since the commencement of this competition and urged them not to rest on their oars until the trophy is won and brought to Nigeria. He also showered encomiums on the Manu Garba-led technical crew of the team for the disciplined they have instilled in the players and the way they have propelled the team to dazzle all in the competition.

    Maigari concluded by soliciting for support and prayers from all Nigerians for the team to excel in the competition. “We need the prayers and support of all Nigerians home and abroad for this team to win this competition. I am also using this medium to thank Nigerians based in Dubai for their support so far to this team”.

  • Jonathan’s angels

    Jonathan’s angels

    Not many persons, including this writer, believe that the committee President Goodluck Jonathan set up will ever indict Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah. Quite obviously, we did not hear, not from the president, nor any top government official, any statement of moral umbrage in the first few days of the scandal.

    The media had to badger and the civil society had to roil first. Apparently cornered, we began to hear rhetoric of defence and promises of official action. Some facts were not in dispute even before the committee swung into being. First, the car was already procured. Two, the minister did not reject them; hence her spokesperson said the purpose was to offer security for Oduah in the light of threats. Three, Coscharis sold the cars. Four, First Bank anointed it. Five, the NCAA processed the buy.

    These facts, now available in the public domain, could not be invisible to the presidency. Even if it did not condemn the minister, it ought, at least, to have condemned the purchase for its material exhibitionism, even if no one was legally guilty or erred in the process of procurement.

    Matters of this moral magnitude did not require spokespersons’ voice. It hit the bulls’ eye of public service. So both President Jonathan and Oduah should have met the media and said something, or had question-and-answer sessions, however brief. Rather, both persons travelled to Israel to pray under the belly of the heavens. Even if the minister were not guilty, both should not have travelled together. It did not matter that it was to sign an inauspicious treaty about airspace with Israel. The president should have preserved the cathedral grandeur of the office unstained by any suggestion of partiality.

    A leadership should lead by example. But here the presidency responded to morality and conscience from below. The tail wagged the dog. We have seen this too many times, whether in the case of the empress of oil, Diezani Alison-Madueke, or the extortionist pension saga of Maina or its clasping of unrepentant convicts in its bosom, or in the president’s rhetoric of surrender recently when he downplayed corruption as a major challenge.

    The presidency waited for civil disapproval before, in some of them, taking token actions. In both Madueke’s and its convicts as well as in Maina, the presidency waited for the storm to fizz into silence. But a circus of scandal has emerged, and tragically it involves the President’s angels. They are four. The first lady, Dame Patience, the oil empress Alison-Madueke, the air hostess Stella Oduah and the Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. The fourth is an intellectual scandal, and that is the worst.

    Okonjo Iweala reminds me of other top Harvard types who appropriate to themselves the superior answer to the African problem. She reminds me especially of Nicephore Soglo of Benin Republic who swept into power in the early 1990s in a landslide victory while flinty despot Matheiu Kerekou sulked. He marketed his Harvard pedigree but when he mounted the throne, he did not deliver. There have been others like that. They forget that Harvard and World Bank operate on an economic philosophery that applauds Western domination. So, her intelligence is servile. That is the scandal. How come we employ as our economic czar the slave of Western ideas?

    They also forget that society determines economics and not vice versa. How much of Nigerian economic history did Okonjo-Iweala learn in the U.S.? And from what perspective? She is presiding over an economy that cannot pay its bills, and, under President Obasanjo, we paid heavy loans while we could not offer Nigerians dividends of democracy in roads, power, health care? Did she not know that payment of loans is not always good economics? Economics is for the people and not the people for the economy. She said in a Thisday interview that the economy is strong with vulnerabilities. What does that mean? Has she weighed the vulnerabilities against the strengths? If more youths are out of jobs and more roads out of joint, where are the strengths? Is she not presiding over an economy that cannot pay the universities now on strike for four months while wastage happens everywhere, including the recent car scandal and the empress of oil junketing around the world on a N2 billion bill?

    The story of Dame is quite common? Governor Rotimi Amaechi has posed a question, how come a first lady has so much power as to preside over meetings and give orders to a commissioner of police? It is the tyranny of the President’s first angel. The sins are many, and they are common knowledge.

    Oduah’s story is pathetic because she is not the first to inflate or benefit from inflated numbers. She comes across as a scapegoat to her supporters, and they may be right. What she has done happens everywhere in this country, irrespective of state or party. But the nature of the scapegoat is that it has to be sacrificed. Oduah has not helped matters with her failure to perform. She could say that the recent air crash was an act of God, what of the purchase of the cars? Are they acts of God, too?

    But other than her own scandal, what of Coscharis? What company is allowed to sell two cars of that nature for N255 million? They are not Bentleys or any of the sort that James Bond exhibits, and even those do not cost that much. Is that not price gouging? Is that expected of any company anywhere in the civilized world? Economies are supposed to work according to ethical principles. If Coscharis sold it at that price, it is because it knows the government can pay anything for anything. What of the First Bank that presided over the transaction? Is it not supposed to follow strict ethical guidelines in approving such deals? The United States has nailed companies accused of taking advantage of a government-sponsored healthcare programme for profiteering. Did the bank find out the real value of the cars before accepting to finance them?

    This sort of deal exposes the different legs of government corruption. It begins with the government official, then a private concern and, finally, a bank. The Oduah N255m saga is a metaphor.

    The story of Allison-Madueke has been allowed to simmer to death. The peacock lady did not make any statement. She just ignored everyone. In the television series, Charlie’s Angels, it is Charlie the boss who sends the girls on redemptive missions. It is not clear yet, but it seems each of Jonathan’s angels is on her individual errands.

    What we see here is called hubris, which means the exercise of pride to impose suffering on others. It is rooted in Greek mythology and history, and anyone found guilty of it was punished according to the law. It is not a crime in modern sense but its damage is no less immense. The opposite is called nemesis, which means pride goes before a fall.

    What we see in Oduah’s and other cases is hubris. The people are calling for nemesis. But neither the query from, nor the committee set up by, the president gives any hope.

  • Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal others honour Ekwunife at mother’s burial

    Jonathan, Mark, Tambuwal others honour Ekwunife at mother’s burial

    President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President David Mark and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Waziri Tambuwal, have said that the life lived by Hon. Uche Ekwunife’s mother, the late Lucy Chinyere Ogudebe, should be emulated.

    Although the President, who is in Israel with 18 governors including that of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, was not at the burial ceremony at Igboukwu in Anambra State yesterday, he was represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim.

    Tambuwal’s deputy, Emeka Ihedioha; Governor Peter Obi’s wife, Margret; former Vice President, Dr. Alex Ekwueme and former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife, were all present.

    The Minister of Women Affairs, Hajia Maina Mana, represented the wife of the President, Dame Patience Jonathan.

    Anyim, who read Jonathan’s condolence message to the congregation at St. Barnabas Anglican Church Igboukwu yesterday, prayed that the Almighty God would give the Ekwunife and Ogudebe families the strength and wisdom to cope with the pain of the loss of their matriarch.

    For Mark, the children and others could not have asked for a more meaningful and pleasing life time than that of Mama, who he described as the epitome of honour and Christian values.

    In his sermon, the Archbishop Emeritus of Diocese of the Niger and Dean, Church of Nigeria, Most Rev. Maxwell Anikwenwa, said that it was not how long one lived on earth that mattered but how well.

    He said that there was need for Nigerians to pray fervently to overcome the challenges facing the nation today and indeed put Anambra State in the same prayers as the date for the governorship election draws close.

    Mrs. Obi, who represented Governor Peter Obi, called on the Ogudebe family not to allow the exemplary life lived by their mother to be in vain.

    Obi added that though her loss was an irrepressible one to the people of Igboukwu, Anambra and indeed Nigeria, having lived up to 84 years, Mama Ogudebe fulfilled all she intended to accomplish in life.

    He said: “Though we are mourning, we are happy and grateful to God for the life Mama Ogudebe had lived on earth.”

    He described the late woman as a great instrument to her children and family.

    In her short speech, Ekwunife, who represents Anaocha/Njikoka/ Dunukofia Federal Constituency described her mother as a quintessential person.

    “We have been crying for two months and we cannot stop crying. Mama loved us and we must continue to cherish her wherever she may be,” she said.

    Others at the burial ceremony yesterday included former governors of Anambra State, Dame Virgy Etiaba; Sen. Chris Ngige, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the November 16 election.

    there were also the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; National Chairman of All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Victor Umeh; former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu and former Deputy Governor of Anambra State, Dame Stella Odife.

    Former Minister of Health, Tim Menakaya; Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson; Senator Andy Uba; Abia State Deputy Governor, Emeka Ananaba; wife of Adamawa State Governor, Halima Murtala Nyako; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Former Rivers State Governor, Celestine Umehia and Labour Party Candidate, Ifeanyi Ubah were also present.

    The deputy governors of Akwa Ibom and Ebonyi states and Anambra State’s Secretary to the Government, Oseloka Obaze, were also among the dignitaries.

  • We are tired of staying at home – Students

    We are tired of staying at home – Students

    With no end in sight to the over two months old strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), some Nigerian students spoke to The Nation on the effect of the strike and why the Federal Government should respond to the demands of ASUU with a view to making them return to the classroom.
    Lekan Aluko, 300 Level, Microbiology (OAU)
    My stay at home has been a terrible experience for me.  While in school, I used to do some business like download of android games and sell to some interested students but that cannot work here. Instead, I walk around hopelessly not doing anything.
    Chidinma Maduka, 100 Level, Culture and Tourism (UNIPORT)
    The strike has been good and bad in several ways. The good effect of the strike is the opportunity I have to eat my mother’s food. This has made me gain more weight than I used to be. Another good effect is the fact that I have more time to sleep, think, learn some skills and continue writing my yet to be published book.
    On the other hand, I should have rounded off my second semester examinations by now. Also, my modeling contract which was to start by July could not happen as the strike aborted it and no hope in sight.
    Tolulope Owokade, 200 level, International Relations (OAU)
    In fact, I am looking for a job to keep me from walking about aimlessly on the streets. When I was in school, I sell female wears, shower caps and undies and others as a source of generating income, but now I can’t do any of such here and hope of making money is not there at all. All I can do is to manage the little stipend I get from my parents.
    Akhigbe Paul (UNIBEN)
    I was in support of the strike, but now, I am no more in support of it. The strike has affected me negatively. There are a lot of things I should have done in school. The federal government should listen to what ASUU is demanding. After heeding to their request, the government should monitor everything ASUU does with the money and make sure they put in place everything they promised, like the infrastructure.
    Naomi Olamakinde, 300 level, Economics (UNILAG)
    This current ASUU Strike has provided me the opportunity to read at my own pace. I have also had the time to attend other programmes.
    Abiodun Aderibigbe   (FUTA)
    The strike has affected me greatly, but I am in support of it, they have to fight for their right and we have to take it in good faith. Though I am not happy staying at home, but I am in support of it because these people have been working, they should be rewarded.
    Uthman Bello, 200 level, Chemistry, University of Ibadan
    This strike has brought boredom and idleness. I’ve forgotten many things we did within 3 week.
     
    Olayinka Abdul   (UNAB)
    It has affected me negatively, it has really prolonged the period I am to use in school. I hope they can suspend the strike by reaching an agreement with ASUU soon, so that we can get back to our various schools.
    Adeyemo Adeleye, 200 level, Mass Communication, (UNILAG)
    The realization that this strike is still on seems to me that the authorities that are in power are not doing anything to avert this crisis.  It has affected almost all undergraduates in a similar way. Academic situation in our tertiary institutions are grounded. This is sad.
    Joel Otuyelu (UNILAG)
    This strike has affected me positively; I have time to put some things in place.
    Ihunanya Erondu, 300 level, (UNIPORT)
    I hate staying at home. This strike has kept me at home against my own wish. I want the strike to be called off immediately.
    Osatohanmhen Eghonghon Odigwe, (UNILAG)I just feel that the government does not truly see us as very important to the economy. I believe a better way can be used by ASUU to achieve their demands. With the way ASUU is pursuing our interest I’m not sure this is the best way.