The Nation Newspaper

Tag: leader

  • The leader we need in 2015

    The leader we need in 2015

    SIR: Nigeria is one of the most blessed countries in the world, with enough resources to develop its citizens and take them to the Promised Land. But our failure today has been from the corrupt and dishonest politicians we have.

    Can Nigeria have honest and upright leaders in 2015? That is a question that’s worth a million naira. With the present crop of politicians, it will be difficult.

    The president we need must be a person who has the experience, is principled and of course who will listen to the people without creating much gap between the high class and the working class. We cannot afford to go for a lucky man but rather a hardworking man. Our leader must know Nigeria; possibly speak another Nigerian language apart from his native tongue; one with literate and working knowledge of Nigeria.

    Our next president must have carriage and charisma, charm and finesse, bold and courageous and above all, he must have confidence and passion. He must be willing to fire any minister who is incompetent and corrupt, deal with economic issues and oil subsidy thieves.

    We need a leader that in 2015 that will supervise projects and not commissioning.

    How can we identify the honest leader who will take us to the Promised Land? Surely, we can find sincere and upright politicians in the lower echelons of government service. There are also non-politicians who do not have the means or people to prepare them for the 2015 elections, especially when it comes to campaign funding.

    We need to pray and seek for a God-fearing individual who will consider our needs and provide good education, employment, infrastructural development as well as good health for the people.

    •Abdulkadir Zainab

    IBB University, Lapai, Niger State

  • U.S. designates rebel leader ‘specially designated global terrorist’

    U.S. designates rebel leader ‘specially designated global terrorist’

    The United States yesterday designated a Malian rebel leader, Iyad ag Ghali, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

    As a result of the designation, all property subject to U.S. jurisdiction in which Ghali has any interest is blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with him or to his benefit.

    Iyad ag Ghali is the leader of Ansar al-Dine (AAD), an organisation operating in Mali which cooperates closely with al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation. Ghali created AAD in late 2011 because his effort to take over a secular Tuareg organisation failed due to his extremist views.

    Ghali has received backing from AQIM in AAD’s fight against Malian and French forces, most notably in the capture of the Malian towns of Agulhok, Tessalit, Kidal, Gao, and Timbuktu, between January and April 2012. Before the French intervention in January 2013, Malian citizens in towns that had been under AAD’s control who did not comply with AAD’s laws had faced harassment, torture, or execution.

    Ghali is also listed by the United Nations 1267/1989 al-Qa’ida Sanctions Committee. The UN listing requires all member states to implement an assets freeze, a travel ban, and an arms embargo against Ghali. The UN action demonstrates international resolve in eliminating Ghali’s violent activities in Mali and the surrounding region.

    Before creating AAD, Ghali directed a 1990 rebellion against the Malian government by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MPLA). In 1991, he became the secretary general of an MPLA splinter group before becoming the Tuareg community’s leading negotiator with the Malian President’s office after the 1992 peace accords. In 1999 and 2003, he served as an intermediary in the release of western hostages held by the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (a precursor organization to AQIM). In 2006, Ghali took command of the rebel fighters responsible for attacks on military bases in Kidal, Mali.

     

  • ‘Adegbonmire an exemplary leader’

    THE late leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State, Chief Wumi Adegbonmire, has been described as an exemplary leader.

    A chieftain of the party, Chief Adewale Omojuwa, yesterday said the late Adegbonmire brought unprecedented development to the state when he served as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) during the administration of the late Governor Adebayo Adefarati.

    Omojuwa, who is a former Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC), said the late Adegbonmire played a major role in ensuring that Ondo got its entitlements as an oil producing state.

    He said the vacuum created by his demise would be difficult to fill and urged the ACN’s leadership to remain focused and united.

    Omojuwa was positive that the party would be victorious at the governorship election petition tribunal.

  • Ajimobi emerges Ibadan ACN leader

    Ajimobi emerges Ibadan ACN leader

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 11 local government areas of Ibadan land yesterday adopted Governor Abiola Ajimobi as the new leader of the party. The elevation came on the heels of the death of former leader, Alhaji Lamidi Adesina, last month.

    The party also adopted the governor as its governorship candidate in the 2015 election. The state deputy chairman of the party, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, stated this yesterday while reading a communique at a meeting held at the party’s Southwest Secretariat, Alakia, Ibadan.

    Alimi said that members of the party in the 11 local government areas in Ibadan, after series of meetings, passed a vote of confidence on Ajimobi because of his good peformance in the last one and half years in office.

    He said Governor Ajimobi will now continue the work of mobilisation and organisation left behind by the departed leader, Alhaji Lam Adesina. The communique was signed by 11 members representing different zones and council areas in the city. They are Alhaji Isiaq Akeem, Alhaji Ganny Alade, Dr Busari Adebisi, Hon. Oyeniran Oyeniyi, Hon. Awoleye Dada, Hon. Mojeed Olaoya, Alhaji Najeem Abbass, Chief Laoye Sam, Chief Ayo Eniade, Mrs Matel Williams and Chief Jamiu Adewale.

    The communique read in part: “ Further, and in consonance with the tradition of our progressive predecessors and in consonance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we hereby unanimously adopt Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi as the sole candidate of our party in the (11) Local Government consisting Ibadanland in the gubernatorial race for 2015 general election in Oyo State.

    “ We equally pass a vote of confidence on our national leaders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande (National Chairman) and the entire National Executive of the Action Congress of Nigeria”.

    Alimi appealed to the other five political zones in Oyo State to emulate them.

    In his response, the Chairman, Transition Committee, Ibadan South East Local Government, Alhaji Najeem Abbass, said that the agreement was reached after series of meeting with the representatives from the 11 local government areas in Ibadan, adding that it is not too early to endorse the governor as their candidate given his achievements in the past one year in the state.

  • Police arrest Oyo NURTW factional leader Tokyo

    The factional leader of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Oyo State, Alhaji Lateef Akinsola (a.k.a. Tokyo) has been arrested by the police.

    Commissioner of Police Joseph Mbu yesterday said Akinsola was detained to enable the command complete some investigations.

    He said he could be released anytime depending on how the investigations go.

    Mbu said Akinsola willingly reported at the command’s headquarters.

    He said Akinsola’s rival, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi (a.k.a. Auxilliary) has pledged to report himself to the command as soon as he recovers from an illness.

    Deputy Commissioner of Police Clement Adoda, who announced the arrest in a statement, said Akinsola was undergoing interrogation in respect of pending criminal cases against him.

    He said the outcome of the investigation would determine subsequent actions by the police.

    Adoda said there was no need for residents to be apprehensive over the arrest.

    He said: “People are advised to go about their lawful businesses without any fear of molestation.”

    The police chief warned disgruntled elements, who may want to foment trouble, to think twice.

    Adoda said: “The command is combat ready to deal with such a situation and any trouble maker caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law. The interest of Oyo State takes precedence over any other consideration.”

    A police source told The Nation that Akinsola denied earlier provocative statements against the CP and blamed the media for “magnifying his utterances”.

    “He denied all he said in newspapers that the CP could not arrest him. He said journalists only magnified all that he said. He urged the CP not to judge him by those statements,” the source said.

    Akinsola had claimed that Mbu could not arrest him because there is a court order restraining the police from doing so.

    He made the claim when the CP invited him in August.

    The CP has insisted that Akinsola and Lamidi must answer for their roles in the violent crisis that claimed many lives at the height of the NURTW’s crisis last year.

  • Aregbesola, Yuguda, Chime, Northern governors: a great leader is gone

    Aregbesola, Yuguda, Chime, Northern governors: a great leader is gone

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda, Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime and the Northern Governors’ Forum yesterday with the death of Second Republic’s Senate Leader, Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the country has lost a great leader.

    Aregbesola, in a statement by the Director of Communications and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, said the death of Dr. Saraki is a big loss to the nation.

    The governor said Dr. Saraki’s experience, knowledge, versatility and ingenuity in the art and dynamics of lawmaking and politics would be missed greatly.

    The statement reads: “He was a Second Republic Senate leader on the platform of the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Dr. Olusola Saraki for decades bestrode the political firmament of Kwara State like a colossus.

    “During his time, he was a shrewd politician, though a conservative, a medical doctor by training, who excelled more on the political turf; astute administrator, a religious leader, bridge-builder, leader of men, and a firm believer in selfless service to his immediate people of Kwara and by extension Nigeria in general.

    “No doubt, the personality of this great, old political warhorse would be hard to come by again. Indeed, a huge gulf has been created with the demise of Wazirin Ilorin.

    “On behalf of myself and the people of Osun, I offer our condolences to the entire family of Dr. Abubakar Olusola Saraki, the people of Kwara and Nigerians as a whole. We pray that Almighty Allah grants the departed soul Aljaana Firdaus.”

    Yuguda, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Ishola Michael Adeyemi, said: “His knowledge of politics contributed to the success democratic process and the second Republic.”

    Chime commiserated with Senator Bukola Saraki and other members of the deceased’s family over the death of their father and frontline politician.

    The governor, in a message by his Chief Press Secretary, Chukwudi Achife, described the late Turaki of Ilorin as a vibrant and exemplary political leader.

    He said Saraki also worked hard to bring development to his people.

    Chairman of the northern governors and Governor of Niger State, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, in a statement in Minna, commiserated with the government and people of Kwara State over the death of the political giant.

    In the statement by Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Malam Danladi Ndayebo, the forum described Saraki as a man of peace and a rare patriot.

    The forum said: “It is also noteworthy that his over three decades in the nation’s political firmament brought tremendous progress and modernisation to Kwara State and Nigeria.”

  • The leader Nigeria needs

    The leader Nigeria needs

    SIR: Fifty-two years of nationhood is a time for celebration. If for anything that the entity called Nigeria still stands, against the expectations of our detractors. Though this is a time to be merry, yet it is a time for sober reflection, a time for stock-taking, a time for introspection. We are 52, but we all know that we are nowhere close to where we should be as a nation. Many things have helped slow our progress, but the most significant is bad leadership. Nigeria has had a perennial lack of good leadership going forward.

    Our founding fathers made the sacrifices and won us independence, all along showing us the way of good leadership. But we lost the way. If Nigeria must take its rightful place in the comity of nations, then good leadership must be a cardinal aspiration.

    We must start early to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Nigerians must not be driven to vote by anything else but by what, how and when a person will deliver. A political office holder in Nigeria, with all the indices showing failure, still goes into office to complete a term, and even ready to get a second term, if not third term to “correct his mistakes”.

    Nigeria is no guinea pig for charlatans.

    Any politician who does not sit down to have an in-depth analysis of what he is going to face, and proffer solutions even beforehand is no better than the ordinary Nigerian and should not lead those who are perhaps smarter. Nigeria, like any nation is an on-going study. And only a studious and brilliant politician can succeed.

    Politicians should search themselves well before offering themselves to lead. Those with nothing to offer should steer clear, and cheer from behind. And those lucky should hit the ground running. Appointment to political offices should be solely on merit and not to please political godfathers, or any ethnic or religious interest. To a good leader, Nigeria comes first before his political party.

    In addition, manifestoes must be made clear before-hand, and not to foist any policy arbitrarily to blackmail Nigerians when the person has got into office. No matter how the issue of fuel subsidy may seem altruistic to those who understand it, President Goodluck Jonathan would not have gotten one vote if he had as much as hinted it. Any contraption has to go through a referendum. If Nigerians say no, or if Nigerians cannot be convinced or carried along, then so be it. Democracy is about the will of the people. A good leader must know that the more important constituency is his people.

    There cannot be any plausible excuse for non-performance, except ineptitude. Not even insecurity. In war times, flowers bloom and warring couples still have children. Even those that are fighting the government can be won over by good leadership.

    There are many potential great leaders with innovative ideas scattered all around Nigeria who will never get the chance to showcase it because they are not anointed by one godfather or the other or do not belong to a particular party, or affiliation and in the end the country is the loser. This is no way to achieve greatness.

    Sadly, there is hardly any sector of Nigeria that we can give a pass mark. Government in a shoddy manner allowed the former Minister of Power, Prof Barth Nnaji to leave, and since then the little light we saw has disappeared. Just when you think the bombs have stopped exploding, they go off again, taking lives and property with them. Who can stop the killings?

    Youths, and graduates are roaming the streets in search of non available jobs, and in the absence of jobs some have resorted to all sorts of crimes. Who can change that? Nigerian roads have long remained death traps killing Nigerians along the way. Who can fix them? Many Nigerians who may have had dreams now do not believe in their country any more. Who can win them back? Only good leadership can change our fortunes.

    At 52, we must strive to avoid repeating the same mistakes. We must put in power those who have been tested and trusted, irrespective of where they come from, or which party they belong. Leadership is about selflessness, compassion, passion, and vision. Till date, no Nigerian leader is iconic, as far as Africa is concerned. Nigeria deserves more.

    • Dr Cosmas Odoemena

    Lagos

     

  • NGO trains community leaders, youths

    CLEEN Foundation International

    A non-governmental organisation, CLEEN Foundation International, has held a two-day training programme for town union leaders and youths in Owerri, the Imo State capital.

    Over 500 trainees turned for the exercise, drawn from all the autonomous communities in the 27 local government areas of the state.

    They were taught on how to partner with government in the areas of development and their roles as drivers of development in rural communities.

    The conveners sought to bridge the gap between the government and the people, blaming ignorance on the part of the people for poor governance and its attendant consequences.

    In his address, the Head of the Foundation in Owerri, Mr. Ifeanyi Anyanwu, maintained that development of the society by government should not been seen as a charity but as a right of the people, noting that, “a situation where the government fails to provide basic amenities for the people, where it fails to create employment, the only option left is for the people to resort to self help, which often times lead them to crime”.

    Anyanwu said that government will be ac countable to the people if they have the right attitude to development, “a situation where then people does not know their rights and obligations, government may not be accountable to the people and this has greatly impaired the delivery of democracy dividends in the Southeast. This training therefore is to prepare the town union leaders to teach their people at the grassroots on their rights to good services and governance”.

    Blaming poor governance and leadership failure for the mounting insecurity and abject poverty ravaging the states in the Southeast region, Anyanwu, noted that, “a situation where government fails to meet its obligation to the people can become bedrock of crime and apathy to the activities of government”.

    According to him, the near collapse of the industrial sector in the zone, occasioned by bad governance, has resulted to high level of unemployment with its attendant challenges, noting that if government provides an enabling environment through the right policies hinged on accountability, the temptation to take to crime by the youths will be drastically reduced.
    The Foundation also blamed ignorance on the part of the people for the poor economic and social state of the zone, saying that, “this training therefore is aimed at broadening our knowledge of Right-based approach for adoption as a tool in promoting good governance in the Southeast and Nigeria at large”.

    In his presentation, the Chairman of  Association of  Indigenous Imo Town Unions, Chief Emeka Diwe, disclosed  that the collective input of the people through various organized communities, in the development of the zone, far outweighs that of the government especially at the rural a, which forms more than 80 % of the Igbo population and land mass.
    He said that the developmental consciousness among the Igbos has tremendously helped in laying a solid foundation for the government to actualize its development objective but lamented that government has failed to take advantage of the situation.

    Diwe however maintained that the people should recognize and appreciate what their demands and right are to be in a position to hold the government accountable to them, stressing that the Right-based approach will identify and recognize the people’s need, culture, tradition and value system to drive development.

    Speaking at the end of the training, some of the participants, commended the NGO for the initiative, stating that they have been exposed to right-based attitude that will assist them in demanding their rights from government and educating their people on adopting the right approach to governance.