The Nation Newspaper

Tag: neglect

  • Nigeria loses $132b yearly to coal neglect

    NIGERIA has coal in commercial quantity yet it virtually lives in darkness; and businesses die due to lack of power. It is estimated that the mineral resource found in large quantities in Enugu, Kogi, Gombe and Nassarawa states is enough to provide electricity to the country and for export.

    Coal is highly underutilised in Nigeria despite that it can grow the non oil economy  if policy makers can understand the huge impact it can create in the economy.

    This is the summation of a former Professor of Ceramics Technology at the Ambrose Alli University, Edo State and Managing Director of Epina Technologies Limited, Patrick Oaikhinan.

    He also noted that the country was losing huge revenue, about  $132 billion yearly, through the neglect of the abundant solid mineral deposit.

    According to him, coal is a major contributor to the United States’ economy and it can do the same for Nigeriaiof properly harnessed.

    Oaikhinan, who spoke to The Nation in his office in Lagos yesterday, wondered why the government has failed to develop coal to halt epileptic power supply in the nation, unemployment and poverty.

    “Coal has played a crucial role in industrialisation since time immemorial and it has a significant impact on domestic economies in the world. It has been the key factor in shaping economies across the globe and determining the pace of development for several nations. The monumental amount of coal consumed by the world is used in a wide range of applications such as generating electricity, the production of steel, iron, power, and several manufacturing and transportation industries, but this huge resource is wasting in Nigeria”.

    Furthermore, he said the global market for clay which is also in abundance in Nigeria but untapped in 2018 is worth about $216.9 million.

    Oaikhinan said he could not quantify what the nation had lost because policy makers lacked the will to exploit natural resources like coal, depending solely on oil revenue.

    On other mineral resources, he said the value of Feldspar found everywhere in Nigeria is  worth  $3.2 billion; while Kaolin deposits across the nation  can fetch $5.2 billion, Silica Mica accounts for  $678.2 million, Phosphate is $83.11billion and Silicate $600 million.

    He regretted that all these are not tapped but left to waste without exploitation, adding that the mineral deposits are high employment and wealth generating agent, with a large  with capacity to halt rural urban drift and boost the economy.

    Asked how skills can be developed to exploit mineral deposits, he said the government must know the volume of the mineral deposits and how long  they will last, its characterisation,  including  physical and mechanical properties.

    He said  it was only when  the facts of the mineral deposits are known that a business profile could be prepared, itemising what each mineral can be used for so investors could be wooed to come and invest.

    He criticised the practice of road shows where he alleged that neither experts nor professionals are included in the teams to answer technical questions that may be asked by would-be investors.

    Asked to set agenda for the incoming Solid Minerals Minister, Oaikhinan  said the first thing he  would advise him is to ascertain  how many Nigerians are experts in the solid mineral sector, invite them for a business discussion and form a small team that will come out with a road map for solid mineral development.

    He added that in that road map he will be advised to talk on their characterisation, extent of deposit and business profile.

    He said a minister needs that kind of document to attend investor forum or road show to woo investors or business forum.

  • MOSOP to Buhari: address our injustice, neglect

    GOVEMENT for Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to address injustice and neglect in Ogoniland.

    MOSOP spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt through its Publicity Secretary, Fegalo Nsuke.

    It decried the Federal Government’s inability to clean-up Ogoniland by implementing recommendations of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland.

    MOSOP said with the August 4, 2011, submission of the UNEP report to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, it’s a shame that almost seven years after, the clean-up of Ogoniland was  yet to begin.

    Ogoni people in the four councils of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme, through MOSOP, said: “At the inception of the administration of President Buhari, we (Ogoni people) had anticipated some relief for the Ogoni people, not only because the new President had during his campaign in 2015 pledged to ensure the clean-up of Ogoniland and fully implement the recommendations contained in the UNEP report, but we expected that the clean-up would open discussions on crucial issues affecting the Ogoni people, especially the political right to self determination.

    “We had hope that President Buhari’s integrity, based on what we had heard about him and his uprightness, would not be compromised. We were actually optimistic of a renewed commitment to resolving the Ogoni problems.

    “We were sure that President Buhari was aware that in over 30 years of oil exploration in Ogoniland, an estimated $81 billion had been generated from the area, excluding the huge gas potential of Ogoniland, the revenue from the two seaports, two refineries, a petrochemical complex and two power stations in the area, but Ogoniland has no water, electricity, roads and other social amenities.

    “The Ogoni experience clearly shows the injustice in Nigeria. The shame is that rather than address the injustice, the Federal Government of Nigeria is attempting to deceive the world about the true situation in Ogoniland. Today in Ogoniland, some villages bury as many as 13 persons in a week, because of pollution caused by exploration and exploitation of crude oil and gas since 1958.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria is not bothered about the pathetic situation in Ogoniland, but still pushing for resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, over 25 years after Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) was sent packing from the area. Nigeria government’s primary interest is the Ogoni oil and not the safety and future of the people.”

    It noted that its demand for justice, fairness and equity through non-violent means is taken for granted, saying governments had pushed Ogoni to the wall.

    The umbrella organisation maintained that Ogoni State was not negotiable, stressing that the new state will deliver social equality and justice for the people.

    Renowned environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other activists were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.

     

     

  • Dickson seeks Ijaw unity as Clark decries neglect

    Dickson seeks Ijaw unity as Clark decries neglect

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has made a case for unity among the Ijaw people wherever they may be domiciled in the country.

    He spoke during a New Year visit to Kiagbodo, the Delta State home of Ijaw Leader Edwin Clark.

    Dickson described the visit as partly motivated by the need to consult the leaders on issues of urgent importance to the Ijaw Nation.

    He called for more unity in all the segments of the Ijaw movements especially the Ijaw Youth Council.

    He said: “We will consult on other issues of urgent importance both at the level of Ijaw Nation, and the larger Nigerian Nation. Our leader is there to encourage us, to support us.

    “So apart from bringing season’s greetings and warm felicitations to our leader and our fathers, I am also here to consult our leader because we have an urgent task to put the Ijaw Nation together. We have an urgent duty to put all sections and components of the Ijaw movement together.

    “And so I want to make a public call for unity at all level, I call for unity in the IYC. I want to see greater unity, greater display of dedication at all levels in the course of service to our people. I call for support as we move together to reposition the Ijaw Nation as we move forward.

    “I call for peaceful coexistence in all the states where we have the ijaw nation. We also call for justice, fairness and equity.”

    He promised to work hard to expand the frontiers of stability and development in Bayelsa.

    Present at the event were P prominent writer Prof. JP Clark, the Bolowei òf Gbaramatu Kingdom, Chief Wellington Okrika, the President òf the Ijaw Youth Council, Mr. Pereotubo Oweilaemi and a former Delta PDP Chairman Chief Pius Sinebe.

    Others are Hon. Fred Agbedi and the Speaker of the Bayelsa State House òf Assembly, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Benson, His Deputy, Hon Abraham Ngobere, Assembly members, commissioners, traditional rulers and others.

    Chief Clark said the Federal Government had been unfair to the Ijaw ethnic nationality.

    Clark, a former Federal Commissioner for Information, lamented that the time had come for the Federal Government to address the issue of the long years of neglect to which the Ijaw have been subjected by the Nigerian State.

    Clark prayed for the Federal Government to have the right attitude to address the Ijaw factor in the Nigerian Federation in 2018.

    “This new year will touch the heart of the Federal Government that the Ijaw people have been neglected for too long. Something has to be done for them we want actual appreciation, something has to be done for us,” he said and commended Dickson for excellent leadership and efficient delivery of the dividends of democracy in Bayelsa State.

    Clark hailed Dickson for the construction of the 40 year-old Sagbama Ekeremor Road which he described as a marvel.

    He commended the Dickson Administration for the achievements in the education sector with the introduction of free quality primary and secondary school education in the state.

    Clark said he was touched by the establishment of model boarding secondary schools like the Ijaw National Academy, Kaiama, and others which offer free quality boarding education to Ijaw students.

    He urged the governor not to relent in his bid to develop Bayelsa

    “You are the man who speaks for us, when you speak, we are very proud of you. God will continue to guide you.

    “I listened to the Governor in 2012 when he was declaring an emergency in education and I was waiting to see what that meant. Recently he invited me to Bayelsa to see what he had done; he invited General Gowon and his wife. And what I saw in the field of education, if I don’t say it publicly I will be doing harm to myself.

    “Gowon told me at the airport that he had not seen any school like that. Apart from the building, the students know what they are doing. I was very proud of them, and the governor said that the students are drawn from all Ijaw communities with the head girl coming from Arogbo in Ondo State.”

  • Ijaw-Apoi decry alleged Bini neglect

    Concerned residents of Ijaw-Apoi land in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State at the weekend said the current feud between the Bini and Okomu-Apoi Kingdom in Edo State is unfounded.

    At an emergency media briefing at Sabomi town, the Barate of Igbobini, High Chief Femi Iji, who spoke on behalf of Ijaw-Apoi Traditional Council and other indigenes, regretted that the crisis was not on age-long marginalisation of the Ijaw in Edo State alone but a “brazen denial” of their rights to rule themselves.

    This, he said, was on the basis of “unfounded” history by the Bini, who he said subjected the Ijaw in Edo State to the traditional authority of the Oba of Benin.

    Iji, who is a former Chairman of Ilaje/Ese-Odo Local Government Area, said records showed the “autochthonous” status of Okomu Kingdom as an integral part of Ijaw-Apoi and aboriginal riverine Ijaw ethnic nationality.

    He said: “The Okomu-Apoi, now in Ondo State, are part of autochthonous territory of the Apoi, whose origin predated human memory and recorded history.

    “The Apoi, from which most Ijaw clans took root, were the aboriginal occupiers and owners of a case territory spreading from the ancient Apoi creeks of Southern Ijaw in Bayelsa State and westwards through Delta State, Edo State to Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    “From ancient times, the Ijaw-Apoi nation is politically organised in a confederation of nine principal kingdoms with the Kalasuwe of Ijaw-Apoi, now in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State as the revered paramount ruler.”

    Iji listed the nine principal ancient kingdoms as Okomu, Kiribo/Ipoke, Igbekebo, Igbotu, Inikorogha, Oboro, Sabomi and Igbobini.

    The former council chairman expressed solidarity with indigenes of Okomu-Apoi Kingdom and other Ijaw clans in Edo State in their inalienable political, administrative and traditional independence.

    According to him, Okomu-Apoi will never be a subordinate to any other traditional authority, including the Bini Kingdom and its monarchy.

    The chief urged the Edo State government to accord Okomu Apoi’s monarch its due recognition as a first traditional ruler, as applicable among the Bini, the Ishan, the Afenmai, the Agbor and other ethnic groups in the state.

    The aggrieved Ijaw-Apoi clans urged the Federal Government to intervene in the looming crisis between the Ijaw and the Bini.

    They urged to Edo State government to do justice on the matter in the interest of peace.

  • ‘Cries of neglect won’t end till you join ruling party’

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and former Senate President Ken Nnamani have said the cries of marginalisation across the country, particularly in the Southeast, can only end when the states join the ruling party at the national level.

    They spoke at a reconciliation meeting between the party’s Anambra State governorship candidate, Tony Nwoye, and former aspirants.

    Odigie-Oyegun said: “Until we manage to bring few states into the main stream of progressives politics, we may not see the end of this continued cry of marginalisation.”

    Nnamani said: “Unless you go into the ruling party and make meaningful contributions, you won’t have the moral standing to ask why you don’t have this or that.”

    Hailing the party’s former aspirants for attending the meeting, which was boycotted by Senator Andy Uba, Odigie-Oyegun said there was need to unite so that APC could displace the incumbent governor.

    Nnamani said: “Our national chairman has summarised the purpose of this meeting; he has touched on very critical issues pertaining to the aspirations of the party to make very strong inroad into the Southeast.

    “I totally agree with him, especially on the issue of marginalisation that you cannot stay under the rain when it is pouring heavily and start crying because nobody will observe.

    “Unless you go into the ruling party and make meaningful contributions, you will then have moral standing to ask why don’t we have this or that. I will like to congratulate Mr chairman for initiating this peace move and bringing together those that aspired to govern the state.

    “It requires courage to offer ourselves for service. It is not everybody that has that courage to contest election. It is like wrestling when the umpire signals, it is not every able-bodied person who throw in the towel would like to contest. I congratulate each and everyone of you and hope you harken your what the National chairman had to say.

    “I spoke out of the experience, observation and interest. We have people who have gone through the crisply of planning in Nigeria’s electoral planning. The chairman talked about unity of purpose but I want to add that we need unity of action,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of the former aspirants, one of them, Bart Nwibe said they have been looking forward to the meeting, expressing co five central that at the end,they will be able to build the necessary synergy to help deliver our party in Anambra state.

     

  • Anambra community protests government’s neglect

    •‘Allegations unfounded’

    Youths of Ogbunike community in Oyi Local Government of Anambra State yesterday marched on the streets to protest their alleged neglect by the government.

    According to them, the Wille Obiano-led government had neglected their basic needs, failed to fulfil its electoral promises and played the politics of exclusion.

    The protesters, under the auspices of United Ogbunike Youths Association, marched through Oye Olisa Market junction and the Awka Old road, before receding to the Ogbunike Town Hall, chanting protest songs.

    The chairman, Board of Trustees, Chibuzor Unachukwu said the protest became necessary because the Obiano-led administration had reneged on all the promises it made to the community, though his wife is an Ogbunike daughter.

    He presented an eight-point communique by the aggrieved youths, noting that the first project ever inaugurated in Ogbunike since the inception of the present administration was a toilet facility which, according to him, was sponsored by an oil mogul from Ukpo community, Dunukofia Local Government.

    Unachukwu regretted that after working for Obiano’s success and visiting him, the governor promised the urbanidation of Ogbunike community but they are filled with regret today that all the promises had not been fulfilled.

    But Obiano’s media aide Emeka Ozumba, in a statement yesterday, said there were fears that some opposition elements may have infiltrated the peaceful town of Ogbunike to instigate youths to stage the protest.

    Ozumba said the allegations had no relationship with the truth, and were obviously orchestrated to mislead and incite unsuspecting residents against Mrs. Obiano.

    The statement reads: “The wife of the governor has neither a statutory role nor financial allocation from the government. Her role as the governor’s wife has no executive powers to it. “However, to support her husband’s programmes, she set up an NGO, under whose auspices she does charitable programmes and projects, including the popular CAFÉ Housing Programme for indigent widows.”

    Ozumba said the government had executed several projects, including roads in Ogbunike, which the monarch, Igwe John Umenyiriora, even attested to.

  • Enugu constituency tackles neglect

    Enugu constituency tackles neglect

    ‘We note with regret that despite our undiluted support for the party (PDP) whereby no person from Udi North challenged Governor Sullivan Chime during his elections, he never visited any part of Udi North either on a working visit or friendly tour’

    The people of Udi North in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State have marshalled out strategies to extricate themselves from “centuries of marginalisation and neglect” of their area.

    They pointed the finger of blame at the last administration led by Sullivan Chime, who hails from Udi South.

    At the meeting which saw eminent citizens of the area pouring out their minds, three papers were presented at the occasion tagged “Udi North Leaders’ Forum”. A former secretary to old Anambra State, Prof. Onyema Ochioha presented a Paper on “Development Administration as Vehicle for attainment off Good Governance”, a security chief, Mathew Obodoechi gave a talk on “Security and Vigilance” while a former legislator, Chief Marcel Njeze presented a paper “The price of inaction on the history of marginalisation of Udi North.”

    After a thorough examination of their disadvantaged they claimed to have found themselves in the socio-economic and Political Map of Enugu State the people in a communique, we resolved that Udi North Constituency has been politically and economically marginalised and ignored for too long that it seems they have been forgotten. That “our hope and chances of liberation was dashed by the immediate past administration that discriminatively cut off Udi North from the little development that was brought to Udi Local Government to the extent that the construction of old Opi- 9th mile Onitsha Road was commenced without considering the Udi North side of the road”.

    They further claimed that in “the last eight years prior to the assumption of office by Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi administration, rural roads in Udi North were not considered, Schools were not renovated, school children sit on the bare floor while in many instances, learning was being done under the Mango and Cashew Trees. It is in the same strength that any people with snake bite in Udi North, be it as far as Akpakwume/Nze and Affa must have to travel to Enugu before treatment could be administered because no General Hospital exists in the entire Udi North neither is there any functional Health Center.”

    According to them: “We note with regret that despite our undiluted support for the party (PDP) whereby no person from Udi North challenged Governor Sullivan Chime during his elections, he never visited any part of Udi North either on a working visit or friendly tour throughout his tenure as Governor.

    We also stand to be challenged and make bold to say that the only road done and which Udi North incidentally benefitted is the road from Eke leading to Sullivan Chime’s Expansive Farm/Ranch in Oghu. This was done ostensibly to enable him access to the farm and easy evacuation of his produce.

    Against these backdrops of innate and calculated slavery status that characterized the plight of Udi North since 1999, we view Sullivan’s decision to come to Udi North and declare his joining the All Progressive Congress (APC) as insult to the sensibility of Udi North and a deliberate attempt to put the People of Udi North on collision course with the People Friendly Government of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and the worthy Representation of both Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Hon. Dennis Oguerinwa Amadi.

    We state in clear and unequivocal terms that Udi North has never ever supported any other party but PDP and this we vow to continue doing in support of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Hon. Dennis Amadi We note with joy that in less than two years, the bypass to decongest traffic at the 9th mile, a project conceived by Chimaroke Nnamani but abandoned by Sullivan has been completed by Governor Ugwuanyi. That the Uborji – Ameke Ngwo – Ama bypass which was pegged by Chimaroke, abandoned by Sullivan was done and completed by Governor Ugwuanyi all to the greater benefit of Udi North people as this is the route to our various communities.

    We are also not unaware of some landmark efforts of our brothers in the National Assembly particularly Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Hon. Dennis Oguerinwa Amadi.”

    They sent a save-our-soul message to Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State to come to their rescue in constructing many roads in Udi North especially the Umulumgbe- Amokwu Affa- Ikedimkpa – Egede- Awhum link road, Ebe Junction by Enugu – Nsukka Road to Ebe Market then to Eke- Egede New Road and the completion of Affa-Akpakwume-Nze- Mkpologwu-Aku Road.

    In an apparent spite of former Governor Sullivan Chime who dumped the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) they declared: “In the light of these visible impacts, we state in clear terms that PDP is our party and that we are solidly in support of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and Hon. Dennis Amadi.

  • Bayelsa community protests ‘neglect’

    The people of Egebekiri in Nembe Local Government of Bayelsa State yesterday protested the alleged neglect by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC).

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the protesters disrupted production in oil wells 5, 7, 9 and 12 at Obama Flow Station.

    Chief Karibi MacDonald, an Egebekiri leader, said the oil company has not paid the community royalty since it started exploration over 40 years ago.

    He said the community was tired of writing letters to the company.

    MacDonald said a Supreme Court judgment of July 13, 2007 confirmed the community as the owner of the land hosting the oilfield.

    He alleged that NAOC gave the community’s rights and benefits to residents of neighbouring villages and towns.

    “It is almost 10 years now since that Supreme Court ruling, but NAOC is yet to honour the judgment.

    “They are yet to recognise and deal with us as landlords of the environment where they extract crude from four wells,” MacDonald said.

    Chief Egbe John, another protester, said: “Today, we are saying we are tired after writing over 30 letters to departments, the governor and his special advisers on oil and gas and security.

    “We have also written to the headquarters and sector command of the Joint Task Force, and the commander, Central Naval Command.”

    Mrs. Ofabara Egebe, a member of the community, said Egebekiri could no longer endure the alleged neglect, as it had nothing to show for being an oil-producing community.

    “The only compensation made by Agip was for its destruction of economic trees. We still have receipt of that payment.

    “Nothing more has been given to our community by way of contracts or royalties as landlords hosting four oil wells operated by Agip.

    “We are tired of injustice by Agip. We are suffering. That was why we protested,” she said.

    Contacted on the disruption of oil production, the spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta, Maj. Abubakar Abdullahi, said the military had restored normalcy.

    “Our mandate is clear, this is to protect oil and gas infrastructure.

    “If any community has problems against any company, let them resolve it legally. JTF will not tolerate any threat to its mandate.

    “We handled the matter professionally within our rules of engagement,’’ he said.

    Mr. Fillippo Cotalini, the media relations manager of Eni, NAOC’s parent company, declined comments.

  • My husband beats me for not bearing male child, wife tells court

    A wife, Sayo Akomolafe, on Monday told Ikole-Ekiti Customary Court in Ekiti State that her husband beats her constantly for not having a male child.

    She pleaded with the court to dissolve her marriage to her husband Segun Akomolafe due to neglect, lack of care and constant beating.

    She said trouble started when her husband discovered that she was pregnant with a girl-child for the fifth time.

    The plaintiff said her husband, who never beat her before, used her as punching bag because she could not give him a male child.

    “I gave birth to my first child 13 years ago, but my husband started neglecting me and the children when I gave birth to the fifth girl-child.

    “As a result, he married two other women and ever since they arrived, I have no peace again in the house”, she said.

    She said the two wives also gave birth to female children.

    Sayo added that she later gave birth to the sixth child – a boy- for the same man.

    The defendant, a welder; denied constantly beating her, saying that trouble started when his wife discovered that he married other women.

    The three-member panel of the court headed by Mrs Yemisi Ojo, however, told the husband that the chromosome released by man is what determines the sex of a child.

    Ojo also ruled that the aggrieved parties and their families should go back home to deliberate on how to take care of the six children.

    “The court is disposed to settlement outside court and this case being a fresh matter, parties are given the opportunity to deliberate on how take care of the children”, she said.

    The court ordered that the defendant must not beat his wife again and adjourned the case till May 8, for report of settlement.

  • Unpardonable neglect

    Collapse of Police College building is disgraceful

    A nation just recovering from the  effect of the Reigners Church, Uyo collapse on December 10 was confronted with yet another tragedy, as a building in the Ikeja Police Barracks, Lagos, crumbled on Christmas Day. It was another evidence of the unpardonable neglect of the police as an institution, and the rank and file in particular. A sergeant and a visitor lost their lives as the toilet and the stairway of the building collapsed, while many more were injured and ended up in hospital.

    The police force is a key government agency and is primarily responsible for maintaining internal security. As such, the men are exposed to danger almost all the time. When there are riots or when criminals strike, many policemen are killed. On many occasions, they have been accused of underperformance, unbridled corrupt practices and willful abuse of the rights of ordinary Nigerians. But, in all these, little attention is paid to their poor condition of service.

    The collapse on Christmas Day when Christians all over the world were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ deserves detailed attention. The government should not treat it as just another building collapse, or a minor accident since only a part of the building caved in. Already, both as a preventive measure and an acknowledgement that it is a wide-spread phenomenon, the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, has ordered that the said building and two others that have shown signs of distress be pulled down. The situation in other police formations is no different. Most of the vehicles used by our policemen are dilapidated, offices in the stations do not depict the officers and men in good light and some are poorly cloaked.

    Government has a duty to revamp the situation. Police budget, especially in the recent past should be probed. The Tafa Balogun episode should be an eye opener. The revelation by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and his predecessor over how vehicles bought with money allocated to the force was being spent to fend for the top brass is an indication that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should pay attention to the force once again.

    We are aware of many recommendations by panels set up in the past to review working conditions and redress structural defects in the police force. Failure of the Federal Government to implement the recommendations is responsible for many of the atrocities credited to men of the force.

    In January 2013, a Lagos-based television station came up with a week-long expose on poor feeding, accommodation and training facilities at the Ikeja Police College. Even President Goodluck Jonathan was so shocked that he raced to the college to personally evaluate the setting. He was the more shell shocked by his findings that he queried the commandant. Further investigations showed that the situation was not peculiar to Ikeja Police College. Indeed, all the other six police colleges subjected the recruits and trainee officers to inhuman conditions. When men being brought on board were so treated, how could they be expected to act according to standards in decent settings?

    We are miffed that the indignation shown by Dr. Jonathan did not go beyond painting a few buildings at the college. The recent collapse should be seen as another opportunity to conduct a thorough review of the living conditions of the policemen. It is inconceivable that the men thrown out of the collapsed and collapsing buildings are literally living on the streets. The least that should be done is to immediately make emergency arrangement for their accommodation. Some of them who spoke with newsmen have been quoted as regretting taking up the job of ensuring peace in the country. Our policemen should not be treated as refugees and destitute. Men and women who are not respected cannot be self-respecting, let alone respect others.

    We therefore call on the authorities responsible for granting approvals for building and ensuring that their integrity are not compromised to be alive to their responsibility. Tears in the faces of relations of those who lost their lives in the collapse of the international building at the Synagogue of All Nations, Lagos, in September 2014 remain fresh. The matter is still in court. After that, there have been many building collapses in Lagos, Abuja, Uyo and other parts of the country. The agencies responsible for building standards all over the country should ensure that standards are kept and those who breach the law brought to book.