The Nation Newspaper

Tag: New Year

  • Yuletide blues in Nigeria

    In a Nigerian state, a crowd of excited citizens at a motor park clusters around a bus revving to take them to a holiday destination for Christmas and New Year celebrations. But a female Jihadist bomber thinks otherwise. Feigning to be a passenger, she sneaks into their midst and detonates the lethal luggage on her body. She is blown into a thousand and one pieces. Scores of others suffer the same fate. Those who don’t die instantly will die slowly, maimed, scarred and glued to gory memories of anguish for life. Are they luckier than those who experience prompt dispatch to the great beyond?

    Same scene elsewhere: at a busy central market, an explosion rocks shops and sheds, sparking an inferno that kills many of those shopping for Christmas and New Year. Health personnel race the wounded and the dead away in ambulances to medical centres and mortuaries. Global news agency, Reuters, tells the world “there are unknown numbers of casualties” in the tragedy.

    Dateline: Geidam, Yobe, December 21, 2014, the Yuletide week. Several people are feared dead and many public buildings torched as suspected Boko Haram insurgents invade a community. It’s a blind typhoon-like attack, targeting no one but inflicting death and destruction and disaster on all.

    Besides the dead and those dismembered by these assaults, we have a great army of grieving family folk, friends, loved ones, neighbours and a large population of internally displaced persons. Among them are those joining the ranks of orphans, widows and widowers.

    But there are other hues of the Christmas blues not heaped on us by the mad militants of Boko Haram and other men and women angry with society. One is the irreverent conception that  Christmas is the season to spend, outspend  and revel, the period to show off expensive new apparel, the time to inflict further pain on the poor by hiking the cost of goods and services. Another is to hold parties that are veritable platforms for debauchery that mock the Man whose birth we claim we are celebrating.

    The innocent poor and the underprivileged are also unfortunately lured into such gatherings to spend their meagre resources on drinks, drugs and women, vices that sap them and leave them more alienated from the joy they seek during the season. They get drunk on wine the way the rich get drunk.

    Are the so-called affluent who can afford to buy up the glittering tinsel of Christmas baggage spared its blues? No! They have a similar fate with mixed fortunes despite a fleeting stay on the laps of pleasure. At Christmas they set out on a journey armed with much trust in the power of their wealth to bring them joy. But alas, they don’t get it! True joy isn’t a product of bribery or immorality or in seasonal indulgency in hedonism. So they end up frustrated in not getting what they desired. Their money disappoints them and they wake from a drunken sleep unfulfilled. In other words, despite all the razzmatazz Christmas and New Year festival throws up, they don’t offer the satisfaction they promise. They box us with what has been described as “an unfinished business”.

    According to the 19th Century American philosopher and psychologist, William James, “There is nothing so fatiguing as an uncompleted task.” All we do at Christmas is to spend and overeat and over-drink and get senselessly drunk and flaunt our wealth in the midst of poverty and in the face of those who do not have. But we should shed the weight of wealth by sharing with the needy. If we don’t, yuletide would always bring its grief in addition to the anguish unleashed on us by Boko Haram and other criminal gangs we have created by our unjust social system.

    Let us also make it clear that while we make ourselves sad at Christmas through our excesses we are also causing pain to the Soul of our Lord Jesus Christ. We say we are honouring Him in remembering His advent to the world to save fallen man. This can’t be so. How can we adore or pay homage to a Holy Personage through the unholy acts we perpetrate at Christmas? How do you celebrate Jesus, the Friend of the poor when at yuletide a great number of His friends fare even worse on His so-termed birthday than at other times? We give His loved ones crumbs at yuletide. We make Him grieve when the poor, those He associates with, are denied the earth’s goodies because the rich, powerful and influential have cornered all the resources of the society.

    This avaricious spirit is contrary to the purpose of God as revealed in the Bible: “…the profit (the wealth, the resources, the supplies, the riches) of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.” (Ecclesiastes 5:9).

    The church in our day hasn’t helped matters. Its leaders aren’t forcefully and sincerely preaching and practising the message that would make the rich reduce their carnal carriage of wealth to balance the socio-economic equation. So although the two classes are in the temple physically on worship days, their souls are poles apart, both scheming with two eyes opened at prayer time, to outwit each other.

    Do we revere the Name of the Lord and what He stands for, with this attitude whether at Christmas at any other time? Of course not! Rather, we crucify Him the second time as we claim to celebrate His Birth our wanton festivities.

     

    • Ojewale is a writer based in Ota, Ogun State.

  • Happy New Year

    The appearance of today’s title in this column once in a year often looks strange and even odd to most Nigerian readers because it does not fall in January.  In Nigeria, like in most other African countries, South of the Sahara, the idea of ‘New Year’ is ignorantly believed to be peculiar to January which is the first month of Gregorian calendar. That is the effect of colonial scar on the body of   our continent.

    From whichever angle it is viewed, European colonialism has a thick Christian coloration that still portrays African culture in a rainbow of colonial Christian religion and tradition. For instance, it is a well known fact that out of the 104 days of official religious holidays in Nigeria today Islamic religion enjoys only five   days (two days for Eidul Fitr, two days for Eidul Adha and one day for Mawlidun-Nabiyy). Yet, the Nigerian Christians continue to incessantly allege islamization of the country especially whenever a Muslim happens to be the President.

    Even at the state level, the sour but monotonous song of islamization gets loudest whenever a Muslim is elected as Governor. And the hatchet job is invariably done by the Christian dominated media. Incidentally, this irredentism occurs mainly in the Southwest (the enclave of the media) where Muslims have the largest population in Southern Nigeria.

     

    The Colonial Era

    Throughout the 99 years of the British colonial era in Nigeria, the Southern Muslims were never allowed any public holiday to celeberate their festivals. It took Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to address that malicious injustice by granting religious holidays officially to Islamic festivals nationally after independence. Hitherto, the only recognized festivals and granted public holidays by the British colonialists were the Christian Eater and Christmas. And the Nigerian Christians of today still believe that changing that status quo was a religious aberration amounting to islamization of Nigeria. Isn’t that laughable? Yet, some people will claim to be working with conscience .

     

    Islamic Calendar

    Islam has its own calendar. And, like in other calendars of the world, there is a beginning and an end for every Islamic year. However, unlike those other calendars, the Islamic calendar, otherwise known as Hijrah calendar, is divinely ordained. This is confirmed in chapter 9, verse 36 of the Qur’an as follows: “Surely, the number of months ordained by Allah when He created the heavens and the earth is twelve. Therefore, do not wrong yourselves in them….”

     

    The Months of Islamic Calendar

    The twelve months of the Islamic calendar are as follows: Muharram; Safar; Rabiul Awwal; Rabiu- th -Thani; Jumadal Ula; Jumada- th -Thaniyah; Rajab; Shaban; Ramadan; Shawwal; Dhul Qadah; and Dhul Hijjah.

    Out of these 12 months, four are specifically designated as sacred. They are the last four months of the Islamic calendar: Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qa’dah and Dhul Hijjah. Some of these months have 30 days. Others have 29. No more, no less.

    Last Tuesday, September 11, 2018 was the first day of year 1440 of Hijrah calendar. That day followed the last day of Dhul Hijjah which ended on Monday, September 10, 2018.  Dhul Hijjah is the last month of Hijrah calendar. It takes a well educated person to understand this and relate it to his/her life. This is what prompted the Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni  Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola to be the first Nigerian Governor to declare a public holiday for   new year in Islamic calendar.

    That historic declaration by Ogbeni Aregbesola   was not only an exhibition of knowledge and civility, it was also a clear evidence of justice which had hitherto been denied to Nigerian Muslims despite their demographic majority in the country.

    However, to demonstrate similar justice, either out of conviction or for political reason, some other Governors have thought it wise to join the train of sanity along that line. And it is only pertinent here to say kudos to them for tolling the right path.

     

    Genesis of Hijrah Calendar

    Hijrah calendar took its name from Prophet Muhammad’s migration from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE (Hijrah means migration).

    The use of Hijrah calendar began when Umar Bn Khattab, the second Caliph, advised that Islam should have its own distinctive calendar and suggested Hijrah, the Prophet’s migration, as its basis concluding that such a landmark event in Islam deserved to be credited with a special calendar. As a matter of fact, Hijrah is one of the three main factors responsible for the survival of the religion of Islam. The second was the victory of the Muslims in the battle of Badr which was waged against them in Madinah, (about 500 kilometrs away from Makkah), by the pagans of Makah shortly after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. And the third is Allah’s great promise that became an everlasting fulfilment . That promise is contained in Chapter 15 verse 9 of the Qur’an thus:

    “It was ‘We’ (Allah) who revealed the Qur’an and it is ‘We’ who will ensure its preservation…”.

     

    Comment

    Now, after about 1500 years of   revelation of that divine religion that was ushered into the world by the sacred Book called the Qur’an, who can doubt the ability of the Almighty Allah to promise and fulfil ?. But for these three fundamental factors, perhaps Islam or the Qur’an would have joined the legion of defunct religions in human history. It is only with Allah that all things are possible.

     

    Significance of Hijrah Calendar

    The first day of the Hijrah month (Muharram) is one of the most significant days in Islam. Without ‘the great Message of Islam’ Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would have had no cause to migrate from Makkah to Madinah.

    It was that Great Message which compelled him to migrate that eventually made him the greatest man that ever lived.

     

    Benefits of Hijrah Calendar

    Basically Hijrah institutionalized three important aspects of Muslim lives. These are social, economic and political. In the social aspect when the first revelation was made to the Prophet (SAW), a period of twelve (12) years was devoted by him towards incubating the religion in the minds of individuals at a time when no pattern of a collective life based on true religious concepts could be presented to the world. As a result, the status of the Muslim individuals in Makkah at that time gave rise to the misconception that Islam, or rather, believing in the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was one’s personal affair. This was believed to pertain only to the hereafter which had nothing to do with people’s collective life.

     

    Social Effect

    It was only after the Prophet’s migration (Hijrah) that people began to see Islam clearly as a total way of life which paid attention to and reformed every facet of human existence. It then became evident that Islam was the religion that gave mankind directions regarding almost every moment of a believer’s conscious life. Hijrah also enabled the Arabs in particular to see what a Muslim’s matrimonial home should be in a Muslim society. Hence, it was only after the Prophet’s migration that the world could see the aspect of human social decency and decorum prescribed by Islam.

    The second reason for the importance of Hijrah is its economic significance which manifested in the lifestyle of the pioneer Muslims’ who were led by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself in migrating to Madinah. The unsurpassable hospitality of the people of Madinah towards the Muslim emigrants at that time did not only provide a new peaceful home for the immigrants, it also showed the hosts’ passionate self-sacrifice in philanthropic gesture. And with Hijrah, those immigrants vividly came in contact with advanced agricultural acumen and ingenuous artisanship which they never experienced before.  These resulted in an unprecedented economic revolution for the city. Since the hosts shared virtually everything they had with the immigrants when the latter first arrived, a lesson was learnt by those immigrants not to continue to be a burden on their brotherly hosts. Thus, every one of them adopted legitimate ways of earning righteous income as the city’s economy attained an unprecedented boom.

     

    Moral Effect of Hijrah

    Initially, the Muslim Immigrants in Madinah worked as labourers in the agricultural fields, and construction sites. But later, they, being traditional traders, started small trading activities which brought them into an economic competition with the Jews of Madinah. One aspect of the Islamic economic revolution was that the Muslim immigrants paid the right price for every product they consumed since the Prophet had forbidden the practice of acquiring products on reduced prices in return for loans given to the artisans or to the land cultivators as was the practice in Madinah before Hijrah. That practice was prohibited because it was considered to be a form of usury.

    Thus, it was only after Hijrah that agriculture, industry and trade freely helped the Muslims to bring about an integrated, balanced but unfettered economy to the Ummah.

     

    Judicial Effect

    The third reason which made Hijrah a very important event is the enjoyment of political freedom by the Muslims. Before Hijrah, the Muslims in Makkah had no say in any matter, internal or external. They were a minority against whom the hearts of the majority were full of poisonous enmity simply because they were considered to be an insignificant part of the dominating unbelievers’ society in Makkah.

    It was Hijrah, therefore, that made the Muslims masters of their own internal affairs, external relations as well as other matters relating to war and peace. If there was any disagreement between the Muslims and the non-Muslims in Madinah at that time, the final decision was to be made by the Prophet who was an unbiased mediator. This indicated a kind of autonomy enjoyed by the Muslims for the first time in their Islamic religious lives. And thus, Madinah became the nucleus of a city-state which, within a period of ten years 622-632 CE, in the life time of the Prophet, expanded to the entire Arabian Peninsula. It is therefore evident that the event of Hijrah turned a few hundred Muslims resident in Madinah into a highly successful society in commerce and agriculture.

     

    An Erroneous Act

    If the Nigerian Muslim leaders of the colonial era were adequately informed at the time they were negotiating religious holidays for Nigerian Muslim Ummah they would have asked for Hijrah rather than Mawlidun-Nabiyyi holiday. After all, apart from coming into the world through birth like any other human being, what value did the birth of  Muhammad add to his unprecedented   divine mission   called Islam when he became a Prophet? And, the Prophet himself did not believe in the aristocracy of birth which celebration of birthday is all about. That was why he (the Prophet) never celebrated his own birthday the way many Muslims do on his behalf today. What is more, the Prophet’s birthday is never celebrated in Saudi Arabia where he was born because he was not born as a Prophet. What has rather been celebrated in Saudi Arabia for centuries is the first day of Hijrah calendar every year.

    Whereas Mawlidun-Nabiyyi is about the personal life of Prophet Muhammad alone, Hijrah is about Islam and the entire Muslim Ummah.

     

    Observation

    While celebrating Mawlidun-Nabiyyi, you can only praise the Prophet and nothing more. But when celebrating the Hijrah day, you are celebrating not only the Prophet’s migration but also the triumph of Islam as the everlasting password of the Universe. That is why we exchange pleasantries by congratulating one another and by chanting the slogan HAPPY NEW YEAR!

  • To their Excellencies

    To their Excellencies

    I would have written you all individually. But since you are all brothers from the Southsouth, I have taken the liberty to make it a joint New Year missive.

    Consider this my New Year contribution to the development of the goose that lays the golden egg, which has made us all lazy and unable to diversify.

    Permit me to start from Akwa Ibom. Governor Udom Emmanuel, please pardon me for poke-nosing into your affairs. Why? It is all about the Uyo Church tragedy on which I have written a couple of times.  In the spirit of the New Year sir, ensure the victims of the tragedy do not die in vain by punishing those complicit.

    Sir, last December marked the first anniversary of the tragedy at the Reigners Bible Church. On the occasion of the anniversary, I had raised some posers:  Will we ever see the White Paper of the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry, which you received on July 7, last year? That day when  Justice Umoekoyo Essang, who chaired the panel, presented the report to you at the Executive Council Chamber, Government House Uyo, you said: “I want to thank you for this great job that you have done and to assure you once again that the recommendations of this report would be taken seriously. We would do everything to implement and prevent future occurrence of this tragedy. May this affliction never occur the second time”.

    You also used the occasion to commiserate with families of those who lost their loved ones in the tragedy.

    Sir, one of those it took away was Josephine Effiom. You too survived by the grace of God. The founder of the church, Pastor Akan Weeks, had his leg broken.

    Effiom, who was a polytechnic student, a friend said, “was one of the first three brilliant chaps in my class”. Effiom was the face of a tragedy in a house of God, where fear should have been the last thing on anyone’s mind.

    As typical of our nation, no one appears sure of how many people died. The day after, we saw figures as high as 160 in the media. It was attributed to the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, who later denied it. Police gave the figure as 29. Commissioner for Health Dominic Ukpong said 26 people died in the unfortunate incident.

    Your men who crawled out of death’s hole had interesting testimonies to share. Your Chief Press Secretary Ekerette Udoh said an iron rod nearly cut his neck, but eventually hit him on the back. The cap of his left knee was broken and pains travelled all over his body.

    Your Commissioner for Information, Charles Udoh, who joined the State Executive Council only some one week earlier, thought he was watching a movie when the pillars started coming down. He was on his way out of the church to catch a flight when tragedy struck.

    The Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) said the tragedy was caused by shoddiness. Sir, I want to plead that you should please ensure that those who overtly or covertly contributed to the tragedy must be punished. The Reigners Bible Church Int’l Inc tragedy must not happen again. One way to do this is to implement the recommendations of the Justice Essang panel. Anything short of this will be a disservice to the memories of the dead.

    Let me move to your brother in Rivers, Governor Nyeson Ezenwo Wike. Sir, I write this with fear in my mind because the last time I wrote you, my friend who is your media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, described me in terms I am still contemplating.

    But that notwithstanding I will make my New Year request. On Monday, you addressed the good people of Rivers State on the January 1 killings in Omoku. 23 innocent persons were killed.

    In that broadcast, you released a list of 32 who you accused of being responsible for violence in various local government areas of your state. According to you, some of them embraced the Amnesty Programme you initiated but later reneged.

    You offered to pay N20 million to any person who volunteers useful information that will lead to the arrest and prosecution of any of the 32. You had harsh words for the late Don Wanny, who you described as “notorious cultist, kidnapper, terrorist and murderer”.

    You also assured the security agencies of your determination to continue supporting them to have these criminals apprehended and brought to justice.

    My request Your Excellency is that you should work with all possible to see that the bad boys are run out of town or arrested and prosecuted. Rivers is a beautiful state and should be for only beautiful people. The ‘ugly’ ones should have no peace.

    Let me stop there Your Excellency before I write anything that will incur Nwakaudu’s anger. Your Excellency, Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson, my request is simple: find a way to manage the former First Family. I know you will disagree with me about your not-too-good relationship with the former First Family, especially embattled ex-First Lady Dame Patience Jonathan.

    I foresee a situation your loyalists and the former First Family’s will be at war over who gets what in the state.

    My next stop is at the doorstep of Your Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki. Sir, towards the end of last year, a battle broke out between two business moguls, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu over a mining site in Okpella.

    Since the battle started I have had cause to feel that the state government is taking sides with one of the parties.

    Your Excellency, I want to believe that these signs are not clear enough. May be I need to change my eye-glasses. That notwithstanding, my plea is that both Rabiu and Dangote have contributed immensely to our economy. They are men who without many will be jobless. So, when a dispute arises between them, the right thing is to allow it to be resolved through civilised means. There is a court case over the dispute and I plead that the law should be allowed to take its course.

    Your Excellency, I am troubled each time your media aide issues statements which give the impression that you are willing to sacrifice one of these men. Please, let the law take its course. Abeg!

    Delta is a state dear to my heart. A part of my wife comes from there. I don’t have a request Your Excellency, Governor Patrick Okowa. Let me just congratulate you for allowing the train of charade called local government elections in Nigeria to berth in your state. I will not expatiate.

    I end this all with Cross River helmsman Prof. Ben Ayade. My request is simple: get the doctors back to work. The Cross River State Branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) earlier in the week directed all its members to immediately withdraw their services following the abduction of another of its member, Dr Emem Udoh, in Calabar.

    Yes, this is not Your Excellency’s fault largely but as the chief security officer, it is your duty to ensure safety of life and property. On this basis, do more to end kidnapping and other crimes in the state.

    The doctors must come back to work to ensure innocent lives are not lost to non-availability of medical hands to attend to emergency cases.

    I also appeal to Your Excellency to work with the Cross River State House of Assembly to pass a law prescribing severe punishment for those convicted of kidnapping in the state. They should be made to lose the proceeds of the crime, such as houses, hotels and so on.

    Bye for now, Your Excellencies.

     

  • New year, old woes

    New year, old woes

    By December, the last month of every year, most people would have crossed into the New Year in their thoughts, fine-tuning plans and invoking new energy to meet the challenges of the coming year. Unfortunately, this last December, many Nigerians could not even muster the mental stimulation to prepare for a new year of opportunities as we were all bogged down by tiring old woes.

    Crippling fuel scarcity fouled the holiday mood early in December and persisted right into the New Year. After dealing with many disturbing developments and mind-boggling actions of the political class all year round, Nigerians were denied a stress-free end to the year. Familiar fuel queues returned to the country’s filling stations with biting force as the cost of transportation doubled or tripled in many places and cars simply could not get any fuel. It was a sordid end to 2017 and a frustrating beginning for the year 2018.

    The New Year also saw loss of lives in mindless killings in Omoku, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, renewed massacres by suspected herdsmen in Guma and Logo Local Government Areas of Benue State. There was also bloodbath in Southern Kaduna and other similar skirmishes all over the country. The attacks were followed by the usual empty words of reassurance that Nigerians have come to expect from the government, further dampening spirits as we proceed into the year.

    The bleak picture already forming in 2018 is unfortunate enough as it is. If anything, it is being accompanied by a chronic lack of faith in the government and the expectations of even worse things to come. So, without radical changes at the highest levels of government, it promises to be another long, forlorn year ahead. Even though Nigerians have consistently been listed amongst the happiest people in the world despite all odds, the woe-defying happiness may soon wear out.

    It is quite sad that the response of the government to the myriad of problems bedevilling the country, has, no doubt, immeasurably contributed to the pain and anguish of having to live with these situations. For instance, after the queues began at filling stations across the country, Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was forced to leave his cosy office to embark on a ‘road show’. The purpose was to create the impression of concern and control over the situation. While on one of these public ‘shows’, he unwittingly let slip that the country had resorted to resume paying some subsidy to petroleum marketers.

    Before then and up till now, Nigerians had not been informed that yet another major promise of the government would be rescinded. At inception in 2015, the Muhammadu Buhari administration had rubbished the payment of subsidies to petroleum marketers with a promise to stop the payments. Consequently, the price of fuel jumped to N145 at the pumps. We are now being inundated that the landing price of petroleum has increased, thereby making it impracticable for the pump price to remain at N145.

    From Baru’s explanation, the government has been covering the difference between the new landing cost and the old cost to ensure that pump price remains at N145. But reports from the filling stations suggest otherwise. Contrary to Baru’s claims, petroleum marketers were bearing the new cost. This is what has resulted into hiking or hoarding the product.

    Considering the two differing accounts, it is obvious that the government has been engaged in a deceitful game on this fuel issue. While new ‘subsidy’ has not been fully reflected in costs to the petroleum marketers, the government had issued a draconian order for pump price to remain the same. That was simply why the marketers resorted to self-help until such a time when the government would come good on its subsidy.

    What this boils down to is that this government has still not perfected the art of diplomacy and negotiations. Worse still, it has failed to learn the practice of transparency and open government by carrying people along at every point a major change that will affect their lives occurs or is likely to occur. Many of these issues could have been solved through effective communication and education of the populace on government processes.

    As if this was not enough, even while on long queues during the holidays, Nigerians were again taken aback by the apparent appointment of dead individuals in the government’s latest list of board appointees. Even the most ardent believer in this government would have had cause to pause, in the midst of all of this, to wonder what 2018 has in store for the country.

    As usual, the government was ever so reluctant to admit its failure, apologise and make swift amends. Instead, absurd excuses started to pour out of government channels. The claim that it was impossible to vet the 3000 long list before eventual release and that those making outright obnoxious remarks were “Lilliputians” and trouble makers with nothing better to do, was a puerile and unintelligent defence. In a country looking to grow its international image, it was an embarrassment of epic proportions that ought to have led to a sack in a sane country.

    Some government spokesmen even claimed that the deaths were too recent to have been caught by the ‘diligent’ people responsible. Francis Okpozo, a former senator, posthumously appointed to chair the Nigeria Press Council, died as far back as 2016, and the president himself mourned his passing-on in December 2016. There are not one, two or three dead appointees, but about nine of them, which ridicules the whole exercise.

    For any part of this government to publicly say anything else that is not an apology and promise to do better in the future, is embarrassing. Yet, the tone of the government is so unapologetic that it stirs anger, dismay and bewilderment in the minds of reasonable Nigerians. What is more disturbing is that this is the same attitude that has accompanied everything wrong that has been done in the present administration, so much that it seems the government has a penchant for making costly but avoidable mistakes.

    One now thinks that the ministerial list that took so long to produce could have been determined the night of the election victory too, as it eventually came with no surprises or evidence of any deep search or vetting. Similarly, the way the issues of herdsmen, fuel scarcity, insecurity and general government communications have been handled betrays a lack of regard for proper handling or meticulous governance that the administration promised before taking power.

    Perhaps, of greater worry is the recurring decimal of herdsmen belligerence, bellicosity, intransigence and melancholy now on display across the country with the attendant bloodletting and destruction of property on a scale never envisaged before in the country. Now that the police hierarchy has clearly confirmed through the Inspector General of Police that this rampaging herdsmen are indeed, Nigerians, it is fuelling speculations that the issue of herdsmen, farmers’ clashes being witnessed on a large scale all over the country, may have a jihadist inclination and political undertone. And the government has, so far, not shown any readiness to confront this issue headlong as thousands of lives are being wasted in the ongoing genocide and pogrom all over the place.

    Coming so close to the election year of 2019, one can only expect more disruption and greater scrutiny of this government. No matter what side of the pond one belongs, the truth is that stability will benefit this country more than constant change that is not aligned to any philosophy.

    The truth is that while many positive strides have been taken in the past couple of years, the nonchalance in other areas and lack of cohesion threatens to unravel any good work that has been done. It is a new year, and the least Nigerians deserve is peace of mind at this time to forge ahead, especially as there is likely to be none this time next year.

  • New year, fresh start

    Congratulations, we made it to 2018! Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. There is something interesting about life- it is a never-ending cycle. Towards the end of 2017, there was an excitement about ending the year. We all looked forward to it as though we had lived the entire year just to see it end. Now, 2017 has ended and we have entered into a new year. The race has begun again. A few minutes before 12am on January 1, 2018, we waited and prayed. We held our breath as though awaiting the unveiling of a special package. Now the package has been unveiled; it is time to make the best of it.

    Believe me, 2018 is worth the wait because this is your year. If you’ve ever dreamt of achieving something great, this is your opportunity. There is something special about beginnings. The foundation of a building determines how high it rises. This is the opportunity you’ve always prayed for. My intention is not to stir up your emotion so that you can feel good about yourself. If you feel good after reading this piece, consider it a bonus. What I hope to achieve is to make you see that you have a fresh opportunity to take the right steps that can take you to a desirable destination.

    A lot of people pray for miracles to change their fortune; unfortunately, they are expecting a magic. People want their lives to change without their commitment to do anything about it. You can’t succeed without your involvement. Les Brown, one of the world’s leading motivational speakers, told the story of a young man who walked past a family sitting on a porch, with a dog groaning at their feet. Out of curiosity, he went back and asked the man of the house, “Sir, why is the dog groaning?” “Because he’s lying on a nail” the man answered. “So why didn’t he get up?” he asked, confused. “Because it doesn’t hurt enough for him to get up” the man replied. Have you ever met people who were not satisfied with their lives, jobs, relationships, etc, and they did nothing but moan about it? No one ever changes undesirable situations by complaining.

    Zig Ziglar said he spoke to people in Psychology, Psychiatry and Ministry who had experience in counselling, and they all agreed that not everyone who came to them with a problem wanted it solved.  A lot of people just wanted to tell someone about it to get sympathy. Zig said that if you solve the problem, you spoilt it for them because they won’t be able tell people about it anymore. According to him, “They want the attention that goes with the problem”. I have even heard of people who preferred to be ill because they got the attention of some people they felt had previously ignored them. The big question is this: “Are you complaining about something you can change, without being willing to change it?”

    This is your year, but you must be ready to do what you have never done. How can you keep doing the same thing or do nothing and expect a different result? You may not be able to change other people, but you can change yourself and how you react to circumstances. Take responsibility for your life in 2018. I wish you a fulfilling and prosperous year. I look forward to us having a great time on this column this year. Share your views with me by visiting www.olanreamodu. com and following me on twitter @lanreamodu.

  • Ahmed directs committee to investigate New Year attack

    Ahmed directs committee to investigate New Year attack

    Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara has directed the State Committee on Religious Matters to investigate the circumstances leading to the attack on some worshippers on New Year day in Ilorin.

    Ahmed gave the directive in a statement by Dr Muyideen Akorede, his Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Media, on Thursday in Ilorin.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that two places of worship were attacked by suspected gunmen during the New Year service along Taiwo Road, Ilorin.

    NAN also reports that property worth millions of naira was destroyed, while many worshippers were severely injured.

    Akorede said that the directive was in keeping with the governor’s pledge to religious leaders in the state during a meeting held in his office on Tuesday in the aftermath of the attack.

    The committee is headed by Alhaji M. S. Koro, while Chief P. A. O. Olorunisola will serve as the Vice-Chairman.

    Ahmed said that the move was to unravel the remote and immediate causes of the mayhem.

    The governor said that the committee would also ascertain the level of damages to lives and property, identify the culprits in the crises and make adequate recommendations to the state government.

    The committee is expected to submit its report within two weeks.

  • 1,000 people benefit from free healthcare services in Kwara

    1,000 people benefit from free healthcare services in Kwara

    No fewer than 1,000 people have benefited from free healthcare services, including eye examination and care and other different eye ailments in Omu-Aran, Kwara.

    Reports say that the two-day free healthcare services, being the fifth in the series since its inception in 2013, was organised by an NGO, Aro Bamgbose Empowerment Foundation.

    Its Coordinator, Dr Musa Bello, said that it was a programme set up to coincide with the Sallah, Christmas and New Year periods in order to cover large number of beneficiaries.

    Bello said that the programme also attracted residents from the three wards of Omu-Aran and other neighbouring communities of Ajase, Oko, Oke-Onigbin, Oro, Ipetu, Aran-Orin, among others.

    According to him, apart from free diagnosis, treatment and drugs, beneficiaries were also offered basic tips and rudiments on fire safety and prevention.

    He said that the beneficiaries also received detailed counselling on A to Z of Lassa Fever and similar diseases in order to guide against unwarranted infections.

    Read also: Aisha Buhari provides free medical services for 3,000 patients in Zamfara

    Bello said that most of the beneficiaries received free medical test, treatment and drugs for diseases like malaria, typhoid fever, hypertension, arthritis and diabetes, among others.

    He said that the programme was basically targeted at bringing healthcare delivery closer to people in the rural communities, especially the less privileged.

    “The free healthcare services are designed to complement the government’s efforts geared toward improving the health status of people, especially in the rural areas.

    Bello said that the foundation was in the process of making a comprehensive documentation and analysis of its medical findings over the years as a reference point for improving healthcare delivery.

    “It is our hope that this documentary will, in no small measures, assist the governments and other relevant health institutions to strategise and plan ahead.

    “We were able to discover that malaria, arthritis and hypertension are more prevalence among the people.

    “Many of the beneficiaries, especially those from remote villages and communities, are ignorant of their health conditions.

    “This is why the foundation organised this programme as part of its support to ensure unhindered access to improved healthcare delivery to people at the grassroots,” he said.

    In his remarks, Chief Adekunle Oyinloye, the foundation chairman, said that the programme was his way of contributing to the development of the society.

    Oyinloye, who is also the Managing Director, Infrastructure Bank, Abuja, urged Nigerians to always avail themselves of the benefit of free healthcare services being provided nationwide.

    “I got to know that many people, as a result of financial challenge, have turned away from the hospitals in seeking medical assistance.

    “Many of them have become bed-ridden and lost hope, even over an ailment that could not cost more than N1, 000 to treat and manage.

    “So, it is our hope that if we can assist to bear their medical needs to some extent, they can then channel their resources to other things as education and welfare of their wards,” he added.

    NAN

  • New Year: StarTimes preaches love, tolerance among Nigerians

    New Year: StarTimes preaches love, tolerance among Nigerians

    StarTimes Nigeria has urged Nigerians to imbibe the attitude of love, peace and tolerance in the New Year 2018.

    In a goodwill message issued on Sunday, StarTimes Nigeria CEO, Justin Zhang noted that the basic necessity of a successful and peaceful nation is love and tolerance, urging Nigerians to go into the new year showing love to one another.

    The statement reads: “In 2018, we should always remember that no community or nation can truly exist without love and tolerance. As Nigerians, we must love one another unconditionally in the new year and beyond.

    ‘We wish every Nigerian a happy 2018 as we continue to live together in love and harmony.”

    The company also assured Nigerians of a memorable 2018, nnoting that it will broadcast all the 32 matches of the FIFA 2018 Russia world cup live and in addition to improved entertainment, kiddies and religious content for the entire family.

  • Consumers’ expectations for the New Year

    Today is the last day in the year 2017. It’s been a year of mixed blessings, depending on how you look at it. Yes, things got tougher. Many people have lost their jobs, companies have shut down and we had never recorded the number of suicides we did in this country this year but there are still many reasons to thank God.

    Well as we consumers usher in the year 2018, we do so with many expectations. We are looking forward to better and greater customer service from manufacturers, retailers and service providers.

    Companies should place a great deal of importance on meeting customer expectations. Providing a good customer experience should be a top strategic priority, which can also be used as a competitive advantage.

    But it is a big, crowded marketplace out there, full of consumers that want different things at different times via different channels. Given that, you would think that it is hard to make a sweeping generalisation about what “all customers” want, where customer service is concerned. Luckily, research tells us that there are some commonalities we can look at when setting the bar.

    Customers want you to meet their expectations.

    It is complicated, and yet it’s simple. Customer frustration stems from a discontinuity between the expectation of a service interaction, and what is actually delivered.

    A customer expectation of service from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] Sloan Review found that customer expectations had two levels: desired (what the customer hopes to obtain) and sufficient (what the customer would actually find acceptable). But of course, there is a third level: unsatisfactory, where companies miss the mark entirely.  The difference between these relative levels is significant and is surely something reflected in the corporate bottom line.

    The key is to measure and understand customer expectations; only then can you begin to manage them. Many businesses have learned that it is often advantageous to “underpromise and overdeliver” in order to increase the likelihood of exceeding customer expectations. Others take pride in high expectations, knowing full well that they can deliver the goods.

    Regardless of the approach, it’s imperative for companies to manage customer satisfaction.

    Customers want options in how they contact you.

    There is a wealth of recent data citing the importance of channel preference on customer satisfaction. In a nutshell, customers expect companies to communicate with them on their preferred channel, be it in person, online, or on the phone.

    Studies show that channel preference depends on the type of interaction. For example, for “simple” inquiries (like “what’s my bank balance?”) online self-serve and email are the preferred channel. However, as the inquiry gets more complex, speaking with a live agent becomes the dominant channel choice.

    Being where the customer is, wherever that may be is the key to meeting customer expectations.

    Customers expect a timely response.

    It does not matter if you are in a store, on the phone, or online, no one likes to wait. Accordingly, the response times of channels you provide service on should be reasonable.

    What is reasonable, of course, depends on your customers and their channel preference.

    Customers want relationships (or, at least, a personalised experience).

    Though we live in a seemingly anonymous culture (where “self-service” is so prevalent), customers increasingly want a personalised experience when it matters most. For example, a study by Wells Fargo found that outlook of banking transactions are made by customers who still prefer to do business with a teller (prompting Wells Fargo to tie their various platforms – ATM, online and in-person – together, to create a seamless, personalised experience between channels).

    Today, technologies allow businesses to extend relationships with customers to the call centre. For example, agents can greet callers by name and have a complete history of their interactions with the company (purchases, transaction history, etc.), so those customers don’t have to repeat information every time they call.

    This approach can also extend to proactively contacting customers, for example, sending electronic communication about relevant promotions, follow-up calls to ensure satisfaction, etcetera.

    Fostering relationships with customers can significantly increase the likelihood of exceeding their expectations, turning them in to advocates of your brand.

    Customers want you to solve their problems!

    At the root of every customer inquiry is a desire for a quick resolution. It does not take a rocket scientist to understand that customers do not want to jump through hoops to get their problems fixed and questions answered.

    Empowering your front-line agents so they have the ability to resolve customer issues is key. With each transfer, subsequent call or email, customers lose patience with your organisation, resulting in a loss of goodwill which can significantly affect your ability to retain and grow your customer base.

    Solving customer problems right away is a sure-fire way to avoid issues from your customers down the line.

    Wishing you a fruitful 2018. Additional report from MIT Sloan Review.

  • PDP to APC: Nigerians are tired of your failed New Year promises

    PDP to APC: Nigerians are tired of your failed New Year promises

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government not to issue any New Year promises to Nigerians since they have not fulfilled any of the promises contained in their previous messages since assumption of office.

    In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, the party said Nigerians have become overstretched by the litany of woes visited on them in the last two years by the incompetent and pretentious APC administration.

    It stressed that it would be the height of callousness for the ruling party and its government to spew another round of propaganda and false hope in the name of new year messages.

    “What else would they tell Nigerians apart from inventing new lies and propaganda as they had always done, particularly at the turn of each New Year”, the statement added.

    The PDP noted that the administration has been reeling out false promises year-in-year-out even when it has no intention of fulfilling them.

    The statement said: “What is the need for their yearly assurances when the only thing we see is an arrogant and incompetent government plunging the nation into economic recession and visiting the citizens with the worst forms of untold hardship.

    “What seriousness should any Nigerian attach to a government that takes governance for granted, puts off its Federal Executive Meeting meeting at the slightest whims and blame imaginary invasion of its offices by rats for the inability to meet required statutory functions?”