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Tag: Jonathan

  • Jonathan and Borno elders

    Jonathan and Borno elders

    Whoever advised on the visit by President Goodluck Jonathan to the troubled North-east states of Yobe and Borno last week ought to have realised by now that the visit did neither the administration nor the states any good. Merely on account of its advertised objectives, the visit was an unmitigated disaster – a public relations fiasco for the visitor as much as for the hosts.

    Whereas no one expected that the chasm between the federal government and the stakeholders in the two states would be bridged on mere account of a presidential visit; it was certainly not expected that disagreements would blow open as it did both in Damaturu and Maiduguri. In both places, the two sides not only blew the chance to advance the cause of peace, the outcome lent little optimism to any prospects of peace in the foreseeable future.

    Of course, it is disappointing that the visiting leader had nothing of soothing words for the people. For the hapless throng that have endured the affliction of the Boko Haram, the president neither saw need to offer his words of comfort nor did he find it necessary to express solidarity.

    His hosts on the other hand seemed utterly ill-prepared for what was supposed to be a long anticipated visit. As it turned out, neither side offered practical suggestions or roadmaps on the way forward. Representatives of stakeholders in the two states in fact stopped short of declaring the insurgency as more tolerable than the operations of the military Joint Task Force (JTF), recycling as it were, their age-long request for the JTF to be removed from the streets without telling the government what plans they had in place to secure the peace – a demand the President wisely rejected.

    As it is, there will be no shortage of finger-pointing as to who to hold responsible for the bungled visit. The natural tendency for most Nigerians is to revert to their default settings in heaping all the blames on the federal government. However, the event of the past week has not only borne out my contention that the leaders in the region have not been entirely helpful, the signs are that they are no less complicit in the crime of abdication than the federal government that they are wont to accuse.

    Let’s look at what the leaders suggested as the way forward out of the crisis. Like the militants in the Niger Delta, the leaders want amnesty for the terrorists. Now, I must say here that I’m open to the debate on the shape of amnesty to be granted to mass murderers. The debate might as well begin, even now. However, my questions are – suppose the government proclaims amnesty, how about the fundamentalist ideology which feeds the insurgency? Would it also be the responsibility of the federal government to extirpate it?

    Now to another equally contentious issue – the demand for the withdrawal of the JTF. I recognise the deliberate misplacement of ‘effect’ for ‘cause’, an elite problem designed to obfuscate issues. So the JTF is the problem because a handful of service personnel violate the rules of engagement? And that to constitute the ground to demand for the withdrawal of the personnel on internal security duties? What happens after? Turn out the vast territories to the Boko Haram or their cousins the AQIM?

    It is hard to imagine that the elders actually believe that the JTF is the problem. No doubt, internal security operations are by their nature, fraught with unique challenges. While these are not deniable, the challenge is for the elders to highlight them so that they could be dealt with. What should not be missed is the larger picture: these men were drafted in to deal with a problem that went out of control. I shudder to imagine what the situation will be without the men of the JTF. Or would the elders have preferred that Boko Haram overrun the region with the federal government left to negotiate the status of the region after?

    Finally, on this point, has anyone bothered to ask the primary targets of those terror attacks what they think of the JTF? I mean the churches and other so-called symbols of western civilisation which the sect finds to offensive? Are these institutions not entitled to the protection of the law also?

    Here is a word for those who look up to Abuja for solution to the problem. Abuja is a wrong place to look for solutions. First, the fat cats in the territory have no ideas to give; not with so much security funds to gobble! Secondly, the problems are by their very nature, local!

    At best, what Abuja can do is give federal muscle to local initiatives. No matter what anyone thinks, Abuja is in the least position to take on the fundamentalist ideology driving the insurgency. Community and opinion leaders will do a far better job of that. The same is true of the search for peace; it cannot be imposed from Abuja. The people have to be willing to assist security agencies to do their job. Ditto for development. The people just have to be willing to give it a shot.

    Last week, I heard Borno Governor Kashim Shettima talk about a Marshall Plan for the North-east. That is at least good thinking. I hope he’s not referring to a plan crafted in Abuja for the people of Borno – a plan that can only help feed the fat boys in Abuja. He should get to work to produce a roadmap for development for his dear state. When all is said and done, he will find that good ideas have a way of attracting cash. Ask the people of Niger Delta where cash seems to be looking for good ideas. Dare to ask if the people have seen development with trillions of federal money poured into the region post amnesty. I assume of course that the North-east would not succumb to the template of appeasement made for the Niger Delta.

    Now, what do I think of the role of the revered elders? Simple: they need to get back to the drawing board. Asking Jonathan to impose peace on their region is tantamount to abdication – worse than death. The same way that their request on the President to surrender the law enforcement option is unhelpful and counterproductive. Surely, some things must be better than politics. Beyond politics, what the leaders need at this time are courage and openness. After all, the fire is right at their door-steps.

  • Jonathan urges fairness in pilgrims’ sponsorship

    Jonathan urges fairness in pilgrims’ sponsorship

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday urged state governors to ensure fairness in the sponsorship of pilgrimages to Saudi Arabia and Israel.

    The President made the call when he received the report of the Federal Government delegation to the 2012 Christians pilgrimage at the State House, Abuja.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Jonathan was responding to an observation by the delegation that some states were not fair in the sponsorship of pilgrimages.

    The President advised state governments to ensure equity in the exercise.

    He said that though the Federal Government could not coerce states to sponsor pilgrims, the governors must ensure that every citizen gets equal right.

    The president said, “You talk of some states not sponsoring pilgrims. The issue of religion is private; so government cannot force states to sponsor pilgrims if they don’t want to.

    “But I will plead with the governors because we are running a secular country.

    “If a state government decides to pull out from sponsoring pilgrims there is nothing you can do, you can only plead.

    “But if may be some Southern states are sponsoring Christians and not sponsoring Muslims, or some Northern states are sponsoring Muslims and not sponsoring Christians, that is not in line with our laws.

    “The country is secular and all the tiers of government – federal, state and local governments – must be run as secular governments to ensure that every citizen of that state has equal rights.

    “So, if any state is sponsoring one, it must sponsor the other too, but if they decide to pull out completely from sponsoring any we can only plead with them, we cannot force them.

    “I will ask the governors to discuss this matter among themselves that they must run their government like a secular government so that you don’t show discrimination because that is against the constitution of the Federal Republic.’’

    President Jonathan, who promised to participate in the 2013 pilgrimage, said he would seize the opportunity to ensure the signing of Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) with Israel.

     

  • Ezekwesili snubbed Jonathan’s ministerial offer, says el-Rufai

    Ezekwesili snubbed Jonathan’s ministerial offer, says el-Rufai

    A  former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has dismissed claims that he and some other ‘yesterday’s men’ are criticising the Jonathan administration because they were not given appointments.

    He says that on the contrary, some of them were approached by the administration with ministerial offers which they declined.

    El-Rufai, who made the submissions in an interview with the current edition of METROPOLE Magazine published by a member of ThisDay Editorial Board, Mr. Waziri Adio, specifically picked on the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Dr.Reuben Abati and said: “So who is he referring to as yesterday’s men? Is it Oby that left the government and went to the World Bank and made a name for herself and came back and still has a decent job?

    “Before Segun Aganga was offered Minister of Finance, it was Oby that was offered. President Jonathan offered her the job and I am putting it out in the public for them to deny it. It was Oby that suggested Segun Aganga and another young man in Africa Development Bank.

    “And that was how Segun Aganga became finance minister when Jonathan became acting president. And after he was elected as president, they still followed Oby to South Africa to offer her the minister of power. Does that sound like yesterday’s men?

    “We chose not to be in this government. I can speak for myself and Oby. It’s not because of anything, but you can’t sit back and your country is being ruined by people and you don’t say anything. And when you say something, their response is to smear you. They expect that will work. We will speak next week and the week after and the week after, till they improve. We want them to improve because nobody wants to destroy them. We have been there before them and we know what it takes to get the job done. They should just do it. It’s not impossible.”

    Dismissing Abati’s claim as absolute nonsense, el-Rufai added: “There are two reasons why I haven’t responded to that. First for me when you write a sketch and you are too cowardly to mention my name I won’t respond. I don’t respond to cowards. That article was simply cowardly because if you want to say I allocated land to myself, wife and companies come out and say so, and we will meet in court. That is the same way the same Reuben Abati wrote about General Buhari and when his lawyers wrote to him he ran around town begging.

    “When I want to write about him, I will mention his name. Secondly, I don’t respond to staff. I respond to presidents. I will not respond to him. Others will respond to him and they have been responding. There is no reason responding to anyone who thinks that we are yesterday’s men because we are not running the show.”

    El-Rufai explained that he was not expelled from PDP. According to him, “I simply walked away. If I want to be in the scheme of things, does it not make sense to remain in PDP? Why would I leave PDP to join an opposition party in a country where opposition parties have never been able to unseat the ruling party? He should at least give me credit for having a brain.

    “I chose to leave PDP voluntarily because I can no longer live with the kind of characters and the thinking within PDP.”

    He challenged former President Olusegun Obasanjo in whose administration he served as minister to open up and tell his own story since he is denying the third term agenda.

    The author of the controversial book Accidental Public Servant said most of the problems facing the country today have their roots in the third term bid.

    He said: “I was in General Abdulsalami Abubakar’s government and we briefed Obasanjo for a whole month. Each ministry had one day to brief the incoming president. But when we were handing over to Yar’Adua, each minister had 30 minutes.

    “Tell me, how you can brief an incoming president on the activities of any ministry in 30 minutes? I think I was the only one that got close to one hour because apart from the FCT, there were the public service reforms and others that I handled. All this is part of the problem that we are still living with. So for me, Third Term was just an adventure that this country didn’t need and I do not have any doubt in my mind that we did the right thing.”

    On the allegation by Obasanjo’s supporters that he is vengeful because the former President did not hand over power to him, el-Rufai insisted he had never aspired to be President.

    He added “I am a permanent suspect, you know. The late Yar’Adua went after me because of that. I have stopped explaining myself or defending myself on that. I have written my book and those that say this is the reason should write their own book and prove that I wanted to be president at any time. I am not an aspirant and I am not a contestant for any office. I have said so and nobody believes me and people have gone after me, people are still going after me because of that.”

    He insisted that his account in the book was balanced and that many were surprised that he lasted that long in Obasanjo’s cabinet because he always argued with him. He, however, admitted, “He (Obasanjo) is very important to me and he gave me the opportunity to be in public service. I will always be grateful to him. But I can’t pretend that Obasanjo as president was perfect.”

  • President Jonathan’s extemporaneous love note to Borno, Yobe

    From what I gathered from the governor of Yobe during my visit, the problem is coming down (abating). It is coming down in Adamawa, in Gombe, in Bauchi and in Niger. But in Borno, we still have some problems. So, if you elders will not condemn it, you will continue to suffer under the terror of Boko Haram, because without peace, we cannot develop Borno. Myself and any head of the security agencies do not want to pay one day allowance to anybody… We need that money to do other important things that will change the economy of this country. We need that money to fund agriculture and to create wealth across this country, including Borno State.

    “We are not happy to be spending so much money in the Niger Delta, keeping the JTF there. We are not happy to be spending so much money keeping the JTF in Borno State and other places. Definitely, we are not. In fact, if the elders agree now to come and sign agreement with me that I should move out all the JTF, but if anybody dies in Borno State, I will hold them responsible, I will sign and I will move, and I will do it. If somebody dies, yes, I will take you. I am going to remove the JTF, but come and sign and I will remove the JTF and you guarantee the safety of life and property of individuals. When you do that today, as I am going, the JTF will start moving to their barracks. But you must guarantee, if anything happens to anybody that you must be held responsible. If the circumstances that brought the soldiers are no longer there, that day, they will all leave.

    “Let me be very frank, because the analogy that oh, when one soldier is killed the soldiers come and kill scores of people, we have always been admonishing that. We always tell the soldiers to conduct themselves because they are doing internal security job that ordinarily soldiers are supposed not to be involved in. But because of the calibre of weapons the militants are using, the police alone cannot stand. And government will never sit down quietly and wait for insurgents, for some people to take up arms and take a part of this country. Never.

    “Whether it is in the Niger Delta, and I have given the directive to security services, I don’t want to hear that one soldier is killed in the Niger Delta, I don’t want to hear that one security officer is killed in the South East kidnapping, I don’t want to hear that one soldier is killed in Borno State or any part of this country. I cannot preside over this country as a president and my security officers are killed. This people leave their families, stay on the roads and the bush so that we will sleep and I will not want to hear that one of them is killed.

    “We will not allow it and I will not celebrate death of one security officer anywhere in this country, whether it is in Bayelsa State, whether it is in the Niger Delta, Anambra State, South East, South West, North West, North Central, anywhere. We will not, and I repeat, will not accommodate it. So, if we the elders of Borno State will not condemn it, we will continue to suffer under the terror of Boko Haram, and without stopping Boko Haram, without peace in Borno State, we cannot develop Borno State. Who will come and invest in Borno State? You award road contracts, who will come and work? Nobody! So, let us not play to the gallery.”

     

  • Jonathan infuriates Northeast the more

    Jonathan infuriates Northeast the more

    Given the central position the Northeast occupies in Nigeria’s insecurity map, it was expected that once the crown settled over his ears, President Goodluck Jonathan would dash to the region unsettled by Boko Haram insurgency to pacify it, or at least meet minds with stakeholders to devise a way out of the seething cauldron. He did nothing of such, preferring apparently to live in denial of the problem and its horrendous effects. He had wearied himself sending condolences to the dead and dying, and issuing ‘strongly-worded statements’ promising to ‘bring to book’ those instigating the killings in the affected states. It got to a point that even words seemed to fail. Then, finally, he appeared to resign himself only to ruminative contemplation of the scale and scope of the killings, waiting for the day in which both the killers and the killed in the Boko Haram states would exhaust themselves and foreswear both violence and victimhood.

    But just when living in denial seemed the perfect strategy for the president to engage the Northeast drama, out came nine ‘meddlesome’ and ‘politicking’ All Progressives Congress (APC) governors embarking on a daring and timely visit to the hot spots of the Boko Haram insurgency. The visit, which came amidst bomb explosions, was conducted with some defiant pageantry. The governors strolled through Maiduguri’s main square and market, waved to crowds of beleaguered north easterners who thought the rest of the country had forgotten about them, and issued mocking statements deploring presidential paralysis in the face of crippling insecurity. Cut to the quick, the presidency replied with unexampled insolence, equally denouncing the governors it claimed had specialised in enunciating policies and actions that were nothing but caviar to the general. It was clear that for the presidency, and given the intensity of the fight in the Northeast, discretion was the better part of valour.

    And so, after almost two years of issuing boring press releases and tepid, repetitive condolences, the president finally stirred himself and visited Borno and Yobe States, the epicentres of the Boko Haram insurgency. The APC governors had, according to a columnist with this newspaper, stolen the president’s thunder, but not to visit the region at all would have been even more provocative and indefensible than the poor judgement of visiting after the nine governors prompted a rethink of presidential tactics. For two days last week, therefore, the president shuffled around the two states, promising nothing and getting no commitments in return. If his recent manoeuvres within the ruling party, which led to the enthronement of dinosaurs like Chief Tony Anenih, presaged his interest in 2015, his utterances during his Northeast visit all but indicated he had given up on that entire region. The region had given him the worst headache, such that some of his aides and Niger Delta supporters believed an ethnic conspiracy was afoot to deny him the ‘enjoyment’ of his presidency. If the headache graduated from secret plots to open loathing, the president probably reasoned, it was merely a reflection of the region’s violent character.

    Jonathan’s visit was expected to trump the visit of the nine APC governors in financial and material succour, soothing words, empathy, and peace initiatives. He needed to speak peaceably with them. Instead, perhaps because of the said sour relationship between the president and the region, Jonathan unapologetically exchanged diatribe with the zone’s elders. There were no peace initiatives, and there was scant empathy. Indeed, he left the region so infuriated by his brusque remarks and dismissive, if not sardonic, characterisation of their requests that the states’ elders would have preferred he didn’t come. On the real reason the Borno Elders asked for the withdrawal of the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) from Borno and Yobe streets, which is connected with the alleged indiscriminate reprisal killings by soldiers, the president feigned ignorance. All the president deigned to say (See Box) was this: “Let me be very frank, because the analogy that oh, when one soldier is killed the soldiers come and kill scores of people, we have always been admonishing that. We always tell the soldiers to conduct themselves because they are doing internal security job that ordinarily soldiers are supposed not to be involved in.” What about promising investigation into the actions of soldiers who breached the rules of engagement? Nothing. How about sparing a thought and a modicum of human feeling for those extra-judicially murdered? Also, nothing. Sadly – and the president should know better – he seemed to have given the JTF carte blanche to rewrite the rules of engagement. He gave the impression that he felt more for soldiers who died in combat than civilians caught in the crossfire, as if one was any less a Nigerian than the other. Worse, he appallingly and scornfully downplayed the allegation that JTF carried out unlawful killings.

    More humiliating to the elders was the president’s direct response to the request for JTF’s withdrawal from Borno State. He incredulously wanted the elders to indemnify him against any loss of life once the JTF was withdrawn. The president puts it very inelegantly in his convoluted lexical fashion: “If the elders agree now to come and sign agreement with me that I should move out all the JTF, but if anybody dies in Borno State, I will hold them responsible. I will sign and I will move, and I will do it. If somebody dies, yes, I will take you. I am going to remove the JTF, but come and sign and I will remove the JTF and you guarantee the safety of life and property of individuals. When you do that today, as I am going, the JTF will start moving to their barracks. But you must guarantee, if anything happens to anybody, that you must be held responsible.” Not only did the president imply that the elders had the power to guarantee peace, he also gave the impression that he could cavalierly withdraw security agents from Borno simply because a few elders gave their word. Were this the way the world fought crime and governed their people, anarchy would have since taken over.

    Perhaps the most ominous statement the president made was his reaction to the killing of security agents. Why and how he thought anybody believed he celebrated the death of a security agent by showing restraint is hard to fathom. This is what he had to say on the subject: “I have given the directive to security services, I don’t want to hear that one soldier is killed in the Niger Delta; I don’t want to hear that one security officer is killed in the South East kidnapping; I don’t want to hear that one soldier is killed in Borno State or any part of this country. I cannot preside over this country as a president and my security officers are killed. This people leave their families, stay on the roads and the bush so that we will sleep and I will not want to hear that one of them is killed. We will not allow it and I will not celebrate death of one security officer anywhere in this country…We will not, and I repeat, will not accommodate it.”

    Now, Borno Elders probably understand why the president delayed his visit. He was obviously too angry to visit before now; and the visit when it finally came was to read the riot act, not only to the Boko Haram states, but to any other state where security agents are killed. His priority is, by implication, to guarantee the lives of security agents. So, now, will the president begin applying the Odi method perfected by Chief Olusgeun Obasanjo, and which he himself condemned as ineffective? If anyone still holds out hope that Jonathan has the depth and judgement to rule a complex nation, especially one facing dire ethnic and religious challenges, I offer to the optimist the president’s view on the consequences of killing security agents. And if anyone thinks we are not in even deeper trouble than we imagine, I offer the same presidential remark as an example. Let every community in the country beware; even their deviants cannot afford to bite a soldier, protest against police tyranny, or fight a security official to the death.

    After the president’s visit, Borno and other states oppressed by Boko Haram terror now know where they stand. They stand alone; and the peace overtures they faintly hoped the president would bring, consequent upon the salutary visit of the APC governors, has become a chimera. Dr Jonathan has all but abdicated his responsibility as a president. He thinks that that responsibility lies with the people and leaders of the states groaning under Boko Haram terror. He probably believes that if the elders tell the fundamentalists to sheathe their swords, the militants would instantly do so. Nigeria would be a paradise the day a few elders had such sweeping moral and political force to command obedience from the populace. What is indeed clear from the president’s visit is that he has absolutely no idea left on how to solve the Boko Haram menace. Worse, he has served notice that state application of terror as a response to fundamentalist terror would henceforth serve as effective deterrence. God help Nigeria as Jonathan embraces Lord Lugard’s Indirect Rule and prepares the ground for fascism.

    Considering all these troubling things, it is tempting to ask who the president’s advisers are, and what kind of advice they give him. In fact, more appropriately, we should ask who Jonathan really is; what his mind is made of; and whether in 2011 we didn’t after all buy a pig in a poke.

     

  • Jonathan gives conditions for withdrawal of soldiers in Borno

    Jonathan gives conditions for withdrawal of soldiers in Borno

    … Wants firm commitment from Borno elders on peace

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday told the elders of Borno State that the choice of getting the soldiers off the streets of Maiduguri is entirely theirs as he was willing to withdraw them immediately.

    However, to achieve this, the elders will enter a commitment with the Federal Government that they should be held accountable for any killing in the state.

    Responding to requests for the withdrawal of the Joint Task Force from the state , at a Town Hall meeting in Maiduguri, on Friday, the president said he was dissatisfied with the appeal of the people without due consideration to the security situation in the state.

    He said, “I am not impressed with the way some spoke especially on the issue of bunkers. Who made this? No one would be interested in building this and bringing soldiers to Maiduguri.”

    The president asked that: “Do you think the federal government is comfortable paying the allowances of soldiers that were deployed here?”

    “From what I gathered from the governor of Yobe during my visit, the problem is coming down. It is coming down in Adamawa, in Gombe, in Bauchi and in Niger. But in Borno we still have some problems so if you elders will not condemn it you will continue to suffer under the terror of Boko Haram because without peace we cannot develop Borno.”

    The stakeholders at the meeting had asked for amnesty for the sect, withdrawal of soldiers and institution of Marshall plan, among others.

     

  • Boko Haram: No amnesty for ghosts, says Jonathan

    Boko Haram: No amnesty for ghosts, says Jonathan

    Proponents of amnesty for Boko Haram members got a piece of bad news yesterday.

    President Goodluck Jonathan said the government would not give amnesty to “ghosts”.

    The issue cannot be discussed, for now, he said emphatically.

    Dr. Jonathan spoke in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, on the first leg of his visit to the twin states of Borno and Yobe – epicentre of Boko Haram insurgency.

    The government, he said, cannot grant amnesty to “ghosts”, adding that there is no parallel between the Boko Harma insurgency and the militancy in the Niger Delta, which was tackled with amnesty programme by the Yar’Adua administration when he was vice president.

    The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and a committee of the North’s elders set up by the Northern Governors have urged the President to grant amnesty to the sect’s members to end the insurgency and killings being carried out by the sect.

    No fewer than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed by the sect, in addition to paralysing the economies of the two states.

    The President denied that he had deliberately refused to visit Yobe and Borno states.

    He met with stakeholders in a Town Hall Meeting at the Wawa Hall of the Government House in Damaturu, saying he does not discriminate against any section of the country.

    He said: “Even the media said the President was going to Yobe to declare amnesty… you cannot declare amnesty for ghosts. Boko Haram is still operating as ghosts. You don’t see the person. I am from the Niger Delta and I know the amnesty issue of the Niger Delta. Some of these names you hear- Asari Dokubo, Tom Ateke – I never knew them before, until when I was a deputy governor and went to Abuja for a meeting with President Olusegun Obasanjo at the villa. I never knew them, even though I’m from Bayelsa State, the hotbed of the militancy at the time.

    “What I am saying is that in the Niger Delta, if you call them, they will come and tell you their grievances, whether rightly or wrongly, but they will be there to tell you that this is what we want and this is why we are doing this.

    “But the Boko Haram, you don’t see anybody who says he is a Boko Haram (member). As such, you cannot declare amnesty. For you to declare amnesty, you have to be communicating with people. You cannot declare amnesty for people that are operating under a veil, so we cannot even discuss the issue of amnesty.

    “Let them come, let us discuss how we solve the problem. If amnesty will solve the problem, no problem about it. We can define what the amnesty is. I say so because even the Niger Delta amnesty was poorly managed with a lot of challenges. If I were not from the Niger Delta, the whole thing would have been disastrous by now because of the way it was poorly managed,” the President said.

    Explaining his inability to visit Yobe until yesterday the President said: “I would have visited Yobe State long ago and even Borno State much much earlier. You can ask Col. Sambo Dasuki, the National Security Adviser (NSA) even before he took over, I said ‘look, we must go to these states’. When he (the NSA) took over, I had no time and he had to rush on a visit not quite one week after he assumed office.

    “My visit is to re-assure the people of Yobe that there is no difference between the Federal Government and any other part of the country. There are some kinds of insinuations that President doesn’t want to go to the northeast.

    “Following the crisis of Boko Haram, I visited two states outside those incidents that happened in Abuja. When the police headquarters was bombed, I had to go there. When the United Nations (UN) building was bombed, I visited and, of course, the first major attack on a religious centre was when the Catholic Church was bombed in Niger State and the kind of signals I had could have provoked actions. I had to rush down and declare that emergency. And, of course, when there was one major attack in Kano, I also visited.

    “But somehow I have not visited Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi and Gombe states I have not and sometimes people are insinuating that the president doesn’t like these states, no.

    “My coming is to reassure the people of Yobe State that I don’t discriminate between the sections of the country. I took an oath of office to treat Nigeria as one and what affects Yobe State affects the rest of the country.

    “The issues of terror, if you listen to my public statement, even outside Nigeria, I normally emphasise that when there is a terrorist situation in any part of the world, it affects the whole world because the victims may not necessary come from that part of the world. If one state or one community is under a terrorist attack, it affects the rest. Look at what happened in Bauchi State where some expatriate workers of Setraco were kidnapped. I get calls from the presidents of the countries where these people come from.

    “There is no way a president, whether he is Jonathan or anybody, will say he will not care about what happens in any part of the federation. We must care; it has nothing to do with politics. I really want to use this opportunity to reassure my brothers and sister in Yobe State that because I had not visited Yobe does not mean that I am less concerned. I am happy today that we are interacting,” he said.

    President Jonathan met with Governor Ibrahim Gaidam and they discussed how to resolve the crisis in the state. The President also met privately with the Emirs and other traditional rulers.

    Dr. Jonathan inaugurated the 300 housing units and a library at the Yobe State University named after him. He donated N200million to the school.

    The President left Yobe for Borno where he was received by Governor Kashim Shettima.

  • Jonathan vows to break gender barriers

    Jonathan vows to break gender barriers

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reassured women that his administration will continue to take significant steps to fulfill his promise of affirmative action towards empowering them.

    Jonathan, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media & Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, felicitated with all Nigerian women as they join others across the world in celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day.

    According to him, his administration will continue to build on its achievements and do all within its powers to curb violence against women.

    The statement reads: “In keeping with the theme –

    ‘A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women’, chosen by the United Nations for International Women’s Day this year, President Jonathan wishes to reassure Nigerian women that having already taken very significant steps to fulfill his promise of affirmative action to further empower Nigerian women, his administration will continue to build on its achievements in this regard and do all within its powers to curb violence against women.

    “The President also seizes the opportunity of the occasion to pledge the Federal Government’s full support for ‘COMMIT’– the new United Nations (UN) initiative which calls on leaders worldwide to take a stand to end violence against women and girls.

    “President Jonathan fully believes that Nigerian women can be equal partners with men in the implementation of his administration’s Agenda for National Transformation and will therefore carry on doing everything possible to ensure that they are politically and economically empowered to contribute even more positively to the national development effort.

    “Having already broken gender barriers by appointing women to key positions in government including the first female Chief Justice of the Federation and female ministers for very important ministries such as Finance, Petroleum, Communications Technology, Education, Water Resources, Housing, Environment, Power, Defence, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and authorising the admission of women to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and their commissioning as combatants in the Armed Forces, the President assures Nigerian women that he is determined to take their empowerment a step forward by working to ensure that they also get better representation in elective offices in future.

    “As International Women’s Day 2013 is marked, President Jonathan also reaffirms his personal commitment to the accelerated reduction of maternal and infant mortality in the country and assures women that the Government will continue to work for its attainment through the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies, as well as international organisations such as the United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children which he co-chairs.”

    Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday said that women across the world are marginalised, stressing that it has affected their acquisition of leadership experience. He called for greater representation for women in politics and government in the spirit of fairness and equity.

    Oshiomhole spoke at this year’s annual lecture of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), held at the Muson Centre, Lagos. He promised to look into the case of a man sentenced to five years imprisonment in Edo State for stealing roasted rabbit.

    At the event were Information Communication Technology (ICT) Minister, Mrs Mobola Johnson, Chairperson, WIMBIZ, Mrs Adeola Azeez, Chairman, Edo State Economic Team, Godwin Obaseki, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Women Affairs, Risikatu Akiode, former Edo State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Osanyenye, member, WIMBIZ board of directors, Yewande Zaccheaus and Director, Edo State ICT, Yemi Keri.

    The governor, who noted that Nigeria’s situation was more compelling, attributed the challenges women face to hostile socio-cultural, legal and political environment. He urged women to stand up and kick against the indigenisation law which denies women the right to vie for certain offices in their husbands states.

    Oshiomhole noted that only 20.4 per cent of political positions are held by women worldwide, just as he maintained that women have proven to be more courageous and goal-driven.

    “There is need for special attention to women issues; re-order the environment so that women can have equal opportunities because no nation can adequately attain the desired developmental level or pursue policies that will confine poverty to history if men and women do not have equal opportunities.

    In her opening remark, Mrs Azeez said that WIMBIZ was interested in creating a platform for women to realise their full potentials, just as she noted that there was need for more women doing more.

    She said:“There are wonderful gifts and talents that God has deposited in every woman. What we need is an enabling environment, the support from our spouses as well as retrain ourselves, be courageous, articulate and smart.

    “WIMBIZ is creating the platform to engage women, to get into their consciousness and let them know they do not need to fold their alms and watch. We anger them, provoke them, inspire them and impact on them to stop sitting in their comfort zones and start impacting on their society.

    “We are also breaking some of those cultural barriers especially in the North to make more of the northern women come out of their shell. As a matter of fact, we have appointed a northern woman on our board and we shall disclose her identity later.

    “We cannot sit back and not take part in politics and governance. We cannot sit and criticise Nigeria for not getting to where we expect it. Women must come out and effect that change. WIMBIZ has partnered with an organisation ahead of the 2015 election to talk to women and ensure that those who have merit and credibility are positioned for certain positions.

    Foreign Secretary in the British High Commission, Abuja, William Hague, called for greater international action to tackle sexual violence in conflict.

    Hague is billed to mark the day with a vow to redouble efforts to tackle the culture of impunity surrounding sexual violence in conflict and ensure survivors’ voices can be heard.

    The Foreign Secretary’s Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI), a key foreign affairs priority for the UK’s G8 Presidency this year, aims to increase the number of perpetrators facing justice, push for greater international action and help countries improve their efforts to tackle these crimes and support survivors.

    The Foreign Secretary said: “International Women’s Day is a chance to celebrate women’s achievements, but also to highlight where more work needs to be done.

    “Sexual violence as a weapon of war is not just a crime against women. But the majority of attacks are against women and girls, with hundreds of thousands suffering appalling sexual crimes in conflict zones. It is a sad truth that too often the perpetrators go unpunished.

    “My pledge during the UK’s G8 Presidency year and beyond is to work to end the culture of impunity that exists around these crimes and to galvanise the international community to greater action.

    Also, the Under-Secretary-General and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director, Babatunde Osotimehin, has renewed the commitment of UNFPA, to strengthen and intensify efforts to an end gender-based violence.

    He said, the global statistics given on female violence are unacceptable, as up to 50 per cent of sexual assaults are committed against girls age below 16.

    Globally, 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not yet considered a crime and up to 70 per cent of women in the world report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime, while 60 million girls worldwide are child brides, married before the age of 18.

    Osotimehin said in the face of such unacceptable figures, gender-based violence remained a major health and human rights concern and that no human development can be achieved as long as women and girls continue to suffer from violence or live in fear of it.

    UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé said that ending violence against women is not only an urgent human rights need—it is critical to ending AIDS.

    Sidibé’s remark was contained in a statement yesterday by UNAIDS on the international women’s day.

    It reads: “Studies carried out by UNAIDS has shown that majority of the people living with Human Immune Virus (HIV) are women. This is due to the fact that every minute a young woman is infected with HIV.”

    Sidibe said that an equal world is one where all women and men have access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. It is one where women and men can equally protect themselves from HIV.

    The Director also advised that husbands and partners, brothers and sons, must all be part of the solution to build a world where women and men are equal.

    Her words: “Only when we value a girl’s health and welfare as highly as a boy’s, only when we listen and act equally to women’s voices—then can we have a chance at ending this epidemic.”

    She urged everyone to stand together as caring communities in other to reach for shared dignity, mutual respect and a renewed commitment to end violence against women and girls.

    Mrs Funmi Falana, a lawyer, lamented that Nigeria has not provided the right atmosphere for equal participation for women in public offices as contained in Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Article 7 of the Convention of Eliminates of All Forum Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

    According to her, the number of women in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) is a proof that women are still being marginalised.

    Her words: ‘Regrettably’ under the present political dispensation, out of 42 ministers, only 11 are women. In the 36 states, no state has up to five women in its executive council and of the 36 Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) nominated in 2011, only three are women. The struggle for gender equality is far from being won”.

    She urged the National Assembly to use the opportunity of the ongoing Constitution review to eliminate all discriminatory laws and practices against women.

     

  • Jonathan to send proposal on budget amendment to NASS – Okonjo-Iweala

    Jonathan to send proposal on budget amendment to NASS – Okonjo-Iweala

    The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Thursday said that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon send a proposal to amend the 2013 budget to the National Assembly.

    Okonjo Iweala, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, disclosed this while speaking at a press briefing on the breakdown of the 2013 budget in Abuja.

    She said the 2013 budget had three major challenges.

    “At the beginning of the year, when we reviewed the National Assembly’s version, there were several challenges which had to be revisited.

    “ There were three main challenging areas, namely reductions in the wage bill, major capital expenditures which had been re-allocated and reallocations of the budget,’’ the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the minister as saying at the briefing.

    She said that this led to the late passage of the appropriation bill by President Jonathan, adding that the president led in the discussions between the Executive and the Legislature.

    “We took the time to look at the budget. If you remember last year, there were many issues on implementation of budget.

    “We wanted to make sure that whatever the budget we get out in 2013, will be able to implement,’’ she said

    On the zero allocation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), she said that the National Assembly was still looking into it.

    “You mentioned some clauses and the SEC budget; it will not prevent us from moving on. It will not stop us from implementing the budget.

    “This is a budget of a country and we will not allow one issue to derail it, we have been having discussions on that and we will continue,’’ she said.

    She said that part of the amendment that would be sent to National Assembly included some salaries that were moved around, composition of projects and the SURE-P.

  • Jonathan mourns Chavez

    Jonathan mourns Chavez

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday commiserated with the government and people of Venezuela on the death of President Hugo Chavez.

    The President, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, noted that Chavez gave the very best so that he could to uplift his people and his country in his 14 years tenure.

    He called on political leaders in the country to ensure that the Venezuelan Constitution is strictly followed to ensure peaceful and orderly emergence of a worthy successor to the late president.

    The statement reads: “On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan extended sincere commiserations to the government and people of Venezuela on the death on Tuesday of President Hugo Chavez.

    “President Jonathan and Nigerians joined the brotherly people of Venezuela in mourning President Chavez who greatly endeared himself to the ordinary people of his country with his admirable efforts to improve the living conditions of underprivileged Venezuelans.

    “As they observe the seven-day period of mourning which has been declared for late President Chavez, President Jonathan urged members of his family, officials of his administration, members of his political party – the United Socialist Party, his supporters and all Venezuelans to take solace in the knowledge that he did the very best that he could to uplift his people and country in the 14 years of his Presidency.”

    “The President also called on Venezuela’s political leaders, institutions of governance and security agencies to ensure that the procedures stipulated in the Venezuelan Constitution are strictly followed to ensure the peaceful and orderly emergence of a worthy successor to President Chavez.”

    “He prayed that God Almighty will receive President Chavez’s soul and grant him eternal rest.”