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Tag: masses

  • Osinbajo opens ‘Wish Notebooks’ for masses

    Osinbajo opens ‘Wish Notebooks’ for masses

    Ahead of the March 28 presidential election, the All Progressives Congress (APC) vice presidential candidate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has opened a Wish Notebooks in his campaign office  on Ojo Road,  Ifelodun Local Devalopment Area, Lagos State. Prof. Osinbajo is Vice – President to General Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in the elections.

    Osinbajo said: “The Idea of the Wish Notebooks is get closer to the masses,  to  the people at the grassroots, aggregate their views and eventually carry them along in the process of governance.

    “This class of people will  come to our  office, write down their needs  and expectations from the government, so when you hear from the masses, you empathise with them and  consequently work with them to satisfy their needs.”

    On why he opened a campaign office in Ajegunle, Osinbajo said: “ Opening a campaign office in Ajegunle is to stay close to the masses to be able to appreciate their feelings, to feel their pulse and carry them along, this is democracy in action

    “The Notes are here so that all the masses from whichever tribe or religion will come here record their feelings, needs, demands and go back to their house. By the time they write their wishes here, we shall be able to address and attend to such wishes together.‘’

  • ‘Masses want power shift’

    ‘Masses want power shift’

    In the Third Republic, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu was the governor of Abia State. He is a former presidential candidate and the National Chairman of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He was also the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Screening Committee that cleared Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and other aspirants to contest the primaries.  He spoke with  TONY AKOWE in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on the preparations for the general elections and APC’s chances at the polls.

    Recently, the presidential candidates signed the Abuja Accord and a few days after that, the President was pelted with stones in Katsina. Would you say that your party has violated the accord?

    It is unfair to attribute that to the APC. Don’t forget that Katsina is a state governed by the PDP and there could be disgruntled persons and so, you do not attribute that the APC. Moreover, we are not a violent party. The constitution of the APC is very clear that the party does not tolerate violence. So, even without that pact that was signed, once you are a member of the party, you must subscribe to the constitution and so, you cannot be violent because, if you are violent, you will be disciplined.

    Many are calling for the postponement of the elections. What is your take on that?

    Some are saying that INEC is not ready because many have not collected their PVCs and others are saying because of the insurgents.

    But, that is not the solution. If you look at the issue of insurgency, you will discover that there are countries with serious war situations. Bad as what we are experiencing in this country at the moment is, there are countries like Afghanistan. Iraq, Syria with worse situation and yet, they held elections. When it comes to INEC, the Chairman told us that they are ready. For the PVC, they initially put the end of the month for everybody to collect their own. Now, they have extended it to give enough time for people to collect their PVCs. I think that is a better approach, rather than say you will postpone it. Even if you postpone, how are you sure that more people will go and collect the PVCs. So, we can’t create constitutional crisis for the nation because of problems we should not have, if we manage ourselves well.

    Having followed the campaign thus far, what will you says are the chances of the APC in the elections.

    We have very bright chances. The truth of the matter is that Nigerians are tired of broken promises. A government has credibility only when it makes promises and fulfill those promises. So, if you make promises and for 16 years, people see that repeatedly, those promises are not kept, they will simply want change. Really, Nigerians deserve change because, if you have two things, there is no way you will know which is better, until you are able to make changes. APC has a wonderful chance to win this election for the benefit of our nation.

    There are fears of post election violence, the magnitude of which may be more than the one of 2011 and many people are presently relocating their families from the north, especially people from the south east who are known to do business outside their home region. What is your take on this.

    This is a matter of making sure that elections are free and fair. If we have our elections that are free and fair, there will be no violence. So, we urge our government to make sure that everything is done to have free and fair elections in the country.

    There is this feeling that, when you win, the elections are fee and fair. But, when you don’t win, they are not free and fair. How do you view this against the accusation by the PDP that the APC is already preparing ground for post -lection violence?

    The orientation you have talked about is not right. If elections are truly free and fair, I don’t think that anybody will say that they were not free because he did not win. We believe that we can organise free and fair elections in Nigeria. If Ghana, Senegal and many other African countries can organise free and fair election, I don’t see why we cannot organise free and fair elections. Let us not forget that our inability to organise free and fair elections in Nigeria is one of the reasons why we have been having problems of governance. It is extremely important that we are able to have free and fair elections in the country.

    Do you subscribe to forming a Government of National Unity as against the winner take all syndrome?

    The APC would like a situation where we have the opportunity to put into effect the manifestos of the party. We are running a manifesto, which we presented in Lagos. There was a summit we held here in Abuja where we modified that manifesto to sought the requirement of the 2015 elections. So, it is very important that the government will now be able to implement that manifesto so that Nigerians will be able to know the difference between the PAC and the PDP.

    So, you don’t subscribe to the Government of National Unity?

    As an individual, I don’t, but that is not a party position.

    You were the Chairman of the Presidential Screening Committee of the APC and, barely a month after the presidential primaries, there are fireworks from the ruling party about the certificates of your presidential candidate. We want you to put this in proper perspective.

    Really, that issue should not create the type of problem we are seeing in the polity. This matter came before us in the Presidential Screening Committee and we had to rely on the constitution of the country. To qualify to be President of the country, you have to be a Nigerian by birth,you have to be 40 years of age, you have to be a member of a political party and that party should sponsor you and finally, you should obtain education of, at least, secondary school certificate level or its equivalent. We have a man who had attended military schools in Nigeria, the United Kingdom, in India and in the United States of America and, in America, he attended the the United States Army War College. So, there isn’t any reason to create this type of problem we now have in the polity.

    Did the committee demand for a copy of the certificate?

    As part of the screening, we demanded for a copy of the certificate, but there was an affidavit and, once you swear to an affidavit, it gives you whatever protection you need on any matter and not just on this issue. We were not doing this for this opposition, we were doing it for Nigeria. This is a man who will be President of Nigeria and there is a supreme law, which is the constitution that guides us. The issue of qualification is, at least, school certificate. So, if there is evidence that somebody has attended military schools that are tertiary institutions in lauding the war college of the United States of America, why should you be going into the issue of school certificate and so on? The Army has shown that he applied in Form Six. Many of you don’t know that we use to have form six. I attended higher schools. That is what it was called and you spend two years and you can’t go to form six, unless you have completed your form five and obtained the relevant credits in the relevant subjects. All these are in his file, and so, I really don’t see why we should be thinking in this direction because the problem before the nation are enormous. We should be looking at how do we solve the problem of insecurity in a country that is the largest and most populous black nation in the world, the largest economy in Africa and you have flags that are unknown to the constitution flying in our territory. There is an Islamic caliphate and that is a very serious challenge for the nation. We have unemployment, we have an economy that has not been managed properly. I am a chemical engineer and it paid me that for 16 years, we abandoned our refineries and import petroleum products. We are the sixth largest exporters of crude oil in the world. Then we import refined petroleum products. You have all these chemical engineers and so, what else do you need? We have four refineries and we can’t even keep them running for 16 years. This is very disturbing.

    Why do you think that the issue of certificate suddenly became an issue?

    This has become an issue not because the ruling party knows that a lot of Nigerians are yearning for change. This desire has been there for a very long time, but because there was no viable alternative, it could not be actualised. Now, there is a viable alternative. The APC has shown that it is the viable alternative that Nigerians have been looking for. The APC has two of the most populous stars in the country and we have shown that we have capacity. Our manifesto is very rich. We are very original, very creative and Nigerians know that we are men and women of integrity with the capacity to change Nigeria for good. We can become that nation that God had destined us to be. There is also the argument that you don’t submit the original of your certificates to your employers and that you only give a photocopy.

    Do you think that the argument that the original certificate is with the Army is tenable?

    On the argument that the originals should not have given out, he said “actually, our concern was not on these points. We wanted to be sure that we respected the constitution and that there was no where we were in breach of the Electoral Act. As far as the certificate is concerned, what the constitution required of anybody’s who wanted to be President was that the person should have at least secondary school certificate or its equivalent. You see, people forget that operational word, which is, at least. So, it did not say it must be a secondary school certificate. It says, at least, and I want people to go and read section 131 of the constitution. You don’t have to be a lawyer to read it. The operational word is, at least. We were satisfied that he had that educational qualification. You see, when you attend a military school, it is all education. It does not means that it is only when you go to Primary or secondary school. Any military school can be the education you are acquiring normally after the secondary school level, we were satisfied that he meet the requirement. However, don’t forget that anybody can misplace his original certificate or something can happen to it. But that is not the issue now”.

    Many Nigerians still see the APC as a northern party. As someone from the South, especially the Southeast. How would you react to this?

    You know that the ruling party has what I may call a core base within the Southeast and Southsouth. But gradually, they are now seeing the there is the need for them to embrace the APC the same way they embrace the PDP before. But, let us not forget that the APC is relatively a young party even though it is made up of old parties. So, there is a gradual change in the orientation of the people of that area.

    So, what are the chances of the party in that region?

    We have very good chances, but you know that changes takes time. We expect that the Presidential candidate of the APC will do far. More better in the south east and south south this time than he did in the past.

    If you have the opportunity to address Nigerians, ahead of the election, what will you tell them?

    As a matter of fact, the APC is going to do very well in the country and will perform very well in every geopolitical zone. What I was trying to say about the south east and south south is that the performance of the APC will be far better because the candidate will be running for election for the fourth time now and if you take the performance that he is going to have in those regions, it will be far better and a serious improvement than in the past. It will not be the same in some other parts of the country.

    People are playing back the some of the words credited to your Presidential candidate in the past. Don’t you think that is capable of affecting your chances?

    I don’t think so. Our candidate is a person that quite a number of persons misunderstand. He is a man of very strong character, a man of high integrity, a man of discipline and these are the qualities we need now in the country to solve the problems that we have now. For example, this free and fair election that we are talking about, if you don’t have somebody that is disciplined, he can’t work for it. Look at the fight against corruption, so that you can have enough resources to deliver on infrastructure. You need somebody like General Buhari in other to get the nation to be on the journey that it is presently, to realizing its full potentials.

  • Between the masses and the moneybags

    What’s the fuss about President Goodluck Jonathan’s reelection campaign war chest of at least N21bn, to go by the figures of the December 20 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Fund Raising Dinner held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Vila, Abuja? Indeed, the outcome of the money spinner may be considered anticlimactic, given the known capitalistic orientation of the Jonathan administration and its major supporters. It is instructive that the Chief Fund Raiser and Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, who is listed among the world’s wealthiest persons, was reportedly out of the country; and  his representative, Mr. Joseph Makanju, was said to have assured the organisers of the event that Dangote would live up to their expectations when he returned.

    Jonathan was quoted as saying, “I thank everyone who made donation tonight.” He probably had a good reason to be grateful, considering the dimensions of the donors and the significance of their donations, which included: N5bn from players in the Oil and Gas sector; Real Estate and Building, N4bn; Transport and Aviation, N1bn; Roads and Construction, N560m; Power, N500m; Food and Agriculture, N500m; Automotive Association, N450m; PDP Governors N1.05bn; Jerry Gana and others, N5bn; and Tunde Ayeni and others, N2bn.

    Also, what’s the commotion about the possible legal implications of the grand collection? The Jonathan administration is not particularly known for its adherence to the letter and spirit of the law, and may ultimately exceed the lawful N1bn spending limit for presidential campaigns without compunction.

    It is intriguing that the scale of financial support appeared to contradict any negative perception of the Jonathan presidency. If the intention was to make a statement about the backing Jonathan ostensibly enjoys, the message was strikingly delivered.  Also fascinating is the remarkable donor anonymity, which introduced an impersonal angle; paradoxically, it would suggest that the individuals who gave money wished to be faceless. In this connection, it is food for thought that Balarabe Musa, a former governor of Kaduna State, said: “It is money stolen from the government. The money could not have been donated by someone who earned it legitimately. They are monies stolen from the public fund. Can they say the money is from their pocket?” Beyond the question of whether the humongous resources came from questionable sources, it is thought-provoking that the donors in question went so far in providing a pillar for the administration, which suggests that the opposition has an intimidating power contest ahead in next year’s general elections.

    Against the background of Musa’s far-reaching conclusions, it is interesting to note that former President Olusegun Obasanjo who recently released   his explosively controversial three-volume autobiography, My Watch, wrote of the Jonathan presidency in the most unflattering terms.  Obasanjo said:  ”Under Jonathan we seem to have gone from frying pan to fire. If in the past corruption was in the corridors of power, it would seem now to be in the sitting room, dining room and bedroom of power. If what is called ‘corruption’ is stealing, under the watch of Goodluck Jonathan, then government has become legalised and protected robbery.”

    This vignette is particularly persuasive in the context of the news that Transparency International (TI), the respected watchdog, this month ranked Nigeria 136th on its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) focused on 175 countries. The assessment was based on the presumed extent of public sector corruption in the countries. Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks, and was listed as the 39th most corrupt nation in the world. Particularly relevant to the country is the TI observation: “A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.” TI Chairman, José Ugaz, said: “The 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that economic growth is undermined and efforts to stop corruption fade when leaders and high level officials abuse power to appropriate public funds for personal gain.”

    Ironically, the projection of finance-driven strength might well be an indication of weakness in the critical area of people appeal. It is logical to observe that money by itself is unlikely to win the presidential election for Jonathan next year, especially given his provably poor performance in office.

    It is noteworthy that under Jonathan, for instance, the country’s poverty profile is tragically inexcusable for an oil-rich country. Of relevance is the observation by the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim at the April IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, where he restated that Nigeria was among the top five countries with the largest number of the poor. Scandalously, the country ranks third on this list of infamy behind India (with 33 percent of the world’s poor) and China (13 percent). With 7 percent of the “wretched of the earth”, the country is ahead of Bangladesh (6 percent) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (5 percent). Together these countries are home to nearly 760 million impoverished people.

    For a picture of poverty, the World Bank’s definition is clarifying. According to the institution, “Poverty is an income level below some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This minimum level is usually called the “poverty line”. What is necessary to satisfy basic needs varies across time and societies. Therefore, poverty lines vary in time and place, and each country uses lines which are appropriate to its level of development, societal norms and values. But the content of the needs is more or less the same everywhere.” It further said: “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom.”

    There is no doubt that the majority of Nigerians can understand what the World Bank says about poverty, and even what it has not said. The poverty of leadership, which has so devastatingly levelled the country, requires urgent redemption.

    It is eye-opening to contrast the Crowd Funding Project of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, with Jonathan’s moneybags financing scheme. Buhari said: My strength mainly is the ordinary people. N100 is plenty of money for them and I know that they are going to make the sacrifice required for the change we are looking for, especially when I made them a promise to be transparent and personally responsible for the money.” He disclosed that the people had contributed N54.4 million, and declared, “So far so good.” In the end, it will be a battle between the masses and the moneybags.

  • Masses, not leaders are Nigeria’s problem

    SIR: It is obvious that all is not well with our economy. Almost every sector of the economy is rotten. Education is in shambles. ASUU is on strike and students are compelled to stay at home. Also, power supply is erratic.

    The aviation sector is nothing to write home about. Five plane crashes within 14 months. As if that is not enough, the NCAA bought two armoured cars which were not budgeted for at a cost of N255million. Yet a certain Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala claimed there is no money to cater for the demands of university lecturers. But, there is money to pay federal lawmakers’ wardrobe, newspaper, entertainment, vehicle maintenance, hardship, personal assistants and domestic staff allowances.

    Insecurity has attained its most terrifying state with Boko Haram in the North and kidnappers in the South-south and South-east.

    Why is this happening to Nigeria despite the numerous resources we are endowed with? Many have attributed our problems to corruption which people like Chinua Achebe said is accounted for by leadership failure. But, the question that has not been answered is that: “who caused the leadership failure”?

    We, the masses are the architect of leadership failure. Yes! When it’s election time, politicians will distribute money, recharge cards and do all sorts of things just to get people’s votes. This is like the PHCN bringing electricity consistently when the month is running to an end just to encourage people to pay up their bills only to return to their epileptic ways thereafter.

    Our problems start when we fall for the tricks and deceit of politicians. The latest slavery index shows that many Nigerians are swimming in the pool of poverty. Unless we enthrone leaders who are ready to take the bull by the horn, the number of these swimmers will continue to rise.

    We are the employers of our leaders. This means that we can hire and fire them anytime. Nigerians should not trade away their votes on the altar of religion or ethnic sentiments. They should for for merit.

    • Idowu Esho Jamiu,

    Eruwa, Oyo State.

     

  • We’ve abandoned the masses for too long, says Ojudu

    •Senator mourns Agagu, Falae, Okusanya, others

     

    Senator Babafemi Ojudu (Ekiti Central District) has commiserated with the families of last Thursday’s plane crash victims.

    A plane conveying the remains of former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Agagu and about 20 people crashed in Lagos shortly after take off.

    In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, Ojudu described the late Agagu as a brother and nimble-minded fellow.

    He said although death was inevitable for everyone, he found it difficult to accept that Agagu was dead.

    Ojudu said although he disagreed with the late Agagu on some occasions, he marvelled at his “intelligence, depth of reasoning and ability to take in so much at a time, even when one thinks he is not paying attention”.

    He condoled with the Falae family, saying: “The death of Deji Falae is a depreciation in Nigeria’s torch of hope, as he represented the best the country had to offer. At a time as this, one can only draw strength from God, believing, though difficult, that he has a reason for everything.”

    Ojudu sympathised with the family of the owner of MIC Caskets, Mr. Tunji Okusanya, who died with his son, Tunji (Junior), in the crash.

    He said the late Okusanya’s friends and associates would miss his large heart.

    Ojudu said it was time leaders started paying attention to the welfare of Nigerians, who “had been neglected for too long”.

    He said: “We must realise that we breathe the same air, use the same roads and airspace. The same things that affect the masses also affect us, hence the need for a coordinated and conscientious policy to make the welfare of the masses the fulcrum of all government programmes.

    “We, members of the ruling class have to come down from our high horse by realising that we do not have a separate airspace or roads. Thus, we must make them good for everyone, so that we and our children can have peace.

    “Even when we send our children to school abroad, they will one day return home and, God forbid, the nemesis of our actions and inactions might end up catching up with them.”

    Ojudu said any member of the ruling class, who believes he is invincible or untouchable, was foolish and might end up being the next victim of the decadence in the land.