The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerians

  • ‘APC empathises with suffering Nigerians’

    ‘APC empathises with suffering Nigerians’

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun has said the party is not unaware of the suffering of Nigerians, saying the pains were genuine. But he appealed for patience from the people.

    Speaking at a dinner in his honour by Saint Patrick’s College (SPC), Asaba, Old Boys Association (Abuja Branch), Oyegun assured Nigerians that the programmes of the Buhari administration to cater for the poorest and vulnerable and other economic initiatives aimed at diversifying the economy would be implemented in their interest.

    The APC chairman said: “We are not shutting our eyes to the pains of the Nigerian people because they are real. They are genuine. We can only plead for patience. Thank God, the APC government has its first national budget and the implementation of that budget will be passionately pursued.

    “In the coming months, the safety net created by the administration to cater for the poorest and vulnerable Nigerians and other economic initiatives aimed at diversifying and boosting the economy will be implemented. The result at the end of the day is going to be a more vibrant nation which every Nigerian will be proud of”.

    Oyegun said the APC government would execute the railway projects contained in the assented N6.06 trillion budget which, he said, is one of the priorities of President Buhari.

    While recalling that 30 per cent of the provisions was committed to capital projects, the APC national chairman identified the railway projects as a critical infrastructural focus of the administration.

    He said: “As at today, the economy is in the process of being reflated; meaning that money is being put into the system. Contractors are being mobilised to work. New contracts will be awarded. The railway will be first priorities. We will go from Kano to Lagos through Benin City all the way to Calabar by rail.”

    He said the administration was building a foundation and credible image for the country and appealed for patience and cooperation from Nigerians.

    President of SPC Old Boys Association (Abuja Branch) Ogbuefi Tony Anyameluhor hailed what the focused leadership of the APC national chairman, which led the party’s victory in 2015.

    He urged Nigerians to be patient as the administration rebuilds the country, saying “Many Nigerians will appreciate what God has done by bringing in a party with zero tolerance for corruption, a party that upholds the principle of one person one vote, and grounded in free and fair elections.

    “Less than one year of this administration, looted funds are being repatriated and they are going to be used for Nigerians. No doubt, the APC administration is faced with challenges which it inherited. What is required from Nigerians is patience as it is easier to destroy than to rebuild.”

    Delivering the dinner lecture, National President of SPC Old Boys Association Col. Paul Ogbebor identified technology as a key driver to achieving economic transformation in the country.

    Ogbebor urged President Muhammadu Buhari to establish a national construction bank, in line with the infrastructure drive of the administration, adding that the bank would check corruption in the payment for contracts.

    Dignitaries at the dinner included APC Woman leader Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani Aliyu; National Organising Secretary Osita Izunaso; Chairman, Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory, Dino Melaye; Senator Domingo Obende; Chief of Staff to APC National Chairman, Edwin Ikhinmwin, the Ojisi of Ogwashi Ukwu and Patron SPC Old Boys Association (Abuja Branch), Chief A.O Okafor.

  • 100 young Nigerians selected for entrepreneurship, leadership in U.S.

    United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr James Entwistle, says 100 young Nigerians have been selected for entrepreneurship and leadership training in the 2016 Mandela Washington Fellowship in U.S.

    Entwistle, stated this in Abuja during a reception organised by the U.S. Embassy for the participants who were selected from six geo-political zones in the country and the Federal Capital Territory.

    He said that the participants would participate in an intensive, six-week programme on academic excellence and leadership on business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, public management, and renewable energy at U.S. colleges and universities.

    “The Mandela Washington Fellowship is the flagship programme of the President’s Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) and a key component of President Barack Obama’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa.
    “YALI is an integral part of President Obama’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa.

    “The White House developed this initiative in recognition of the critical and increasing role that young Africans are playing in strengthening democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, and enhancing peace and security in Africa,” he said.

    The envoy congratulated the new fellows on their competitive selection amongst 10,000 Nigerian applicants and tens of thousands of others throughout Africa.
    “Our goal is to select a diverse group, both geographically and socio-economically, representing all segments of Nigeria.
    “You represent the best of Nigeria’s youth and the future of the country.

    “Your selection says a lot about who you are as young leaders and the level of impact you are having on your communities as entrepreneurs, civic leaders, public servants, and champions of renewable energy,” he said.

    He said that 86 Nigerians have participated in the Mandela Washington Fellowship since 2014.

    He urged the participants to share what they learn with members of their communities upon returns.

    “We hope that you will leverage the U.S. and African connections you have established to their maximum potential,” he said.

  • Invest in real estate, Nigerians in diaspora urged

    The Managing Director of Livelihood Homes Limited, a Lagos-based real estate firm, Mr .

    Kelly Nwogu, has advised Nigerians living abroad to invest in landed property.

    He said Nigerians in the diaspora should channel part of their resources to owning or building a personal house in their country for a better future when they return home.

    He identified lack of trust and challenges of processing necessary documents as the major problem that scares Nigerians in foreign countries from purchasing landed property in Nigeria.

    “So many people have been duped by their friends, relatives and quacks in the process of trying to help them purchase properties. A number of others have also been frustrated by cumbersome processing of necessary title documents on landed property while on short visit to the country, hence, not a few of them want to buy properties anymore in Nigeria,” Nwogu said, advising Nigerians in diaspora to patronise registered real estate firms when buying landed property in the country.

    He explained that there are plans by his company to engage Nigerians living in South Africa on how best to own property in Nigeria without stress, especially through its various housing projects.

  • Nigerians’ lot getting worse

    Sir: How heartless the wheel of destiny looks when it catapults man to sudden fate. The living condition of an average Nigerian is becoming worse by the day due not only to the economic meltdown but largely to kleptomania by some of our leaders. Our past leaders failed to learn from the ant which provides its meat in the summer and gathers its food in the harvest. It provides for the rainy days. The result of larcenous leadership is that today, many Nigerians find it difficult to eat twice a day. The three basics of life-shelter, clothing and food have continued to elude Nigerians. Many are living in slums put together by Shylock house owners. They are looking finer in second-hand clothing without minding the health hazards. Why would they mind? They have no choice. The money to buy “original” is not just there and they cannot go out wide. It is shameful that many citizens now wear “Tokunbo” undies. It is appalling.

    We expected our elected representatives to exhibit an austere lifestyle in line with the global oil glut that stares us in the face but Nigerians are startled to hear that their senators have made utility cars available to each of the 109 senators at N36m totalling N3.924bn. It is insulting to Nigerians who have become enmeshed in the ocean of poverty. Does this reflect the quality of good leaders in a dwindling economy? The Prime Minister of a country was reported to have gone to his office on bicycle till his tenure ended. But why can’t our senators borrow a leaf from President Muhammadu Buhari who rejected the bait of procuring new fleet of cars for the Presidency? We know that democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions; it only guarantees equality of opportunity. But a brave dog deserves a good bone.

    Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th US President once said “When they call the roll in the senate, the senators do not know whether to answer ‘present’ or “not guilty”. The belief of Nigerians is that the political class is only living on Nigeria and for it. If not, why the delay in passing the 2016 federal budget which could have alleviated the sufferings of the proletariat?

    Anyway, everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else. Many senior citizens have gone west without getting their entitlement. Workers are owed many months salaries in nearly all the states of the federation. The cost of living has gone to the roof. Fuel scarcity bites harder. Our transportation system is bad. Farmers / herdsmen imbroglio remains unresolved. Chibok girls are still in the den of Boko Haram.

    We beseech the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria especially its leadership to look into all the above and many others that will add value to the existence of Nigerians. It is necessary to forestall further death by hunger. A hungry man does not have ears to hear.

     

    • Adelani Olawuyi,

    Odooba Ogbomoso.

  • ‘Nigerians should be patient with government’

    ‘Nigerians should be patient with government’

    House of Representatives member Hon. Rotimi Agunsoye (Kosofe Constituency), in this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, explains the controversy surrounding the budget, his constituency projects and contributions on the floor of the House.     

    What can you say about the acrimony between the National Assembly and the executive over the budget?

    The executive said the budget was padded. As a legislator, I can only tell you what happened to the budget during the committee meetings, because I attended the meetings. But, when segments were brought together in the House, I also attended the meetings. But, I can’t tell you much about the details of the budget; the appropriation committees of the two houses are in a position to explain it better.

    Don’t you think the delay in passing the budget is affecting government programmes?

    This is the first year of the APC government. We implemented the budget that we met on ground. Don’t forget that government has the power to spend within the limit of what it proposes in the budget. What has happened is for the good of the country. What has transpired between the executive and legislature is for good governance. So, what is going on is expected; even the situation that we are in the country is not entirely unexpected. We thank God for it, because every Nigerian is thinking of how to move the country forward. We now have our thinking cap on; in the past it was not so. The executive is always thinking of how to improve what is on the ground. Similarly, the legislature is always thinking of how to move the country forward.

    What is the position of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus at the National Assembly on the budget?

    What I will tell you is that everybody is working as one, to move the country forward on the budget.

    It appears that the controversy on the budget has further damaged the relationship between the executive and legislature…

    In a situation where you have the kind of leadership that we are talking about, I mean better relationship — not rubber stamp relationship — it has to go this way. There is time for everything under the sun. There is a time to be happy and a time for sombre reflection. This is our turn for sombre reflection on certain things, which have gone wrong in the past. For instance, you are contributing your quota, as per what you are doing right now, to let people know my position about the budget. The truth of the matter is that the executive as well might have erred in one way or the other, concerning the budget in the first instance. If the executive thinks that something is wrong in what we have sent to them, it has its reason. If it says the budget is padded, then it has to be reviewed to put things right. I don’t see anything wrong with that. That is my own humble opinion. What will move Nigeria forward is what I stand for and we should not in any way create a gap to move the country forward.

    What is affecting the budget has been attributed to the way the leadership of the National Assembly emerged…

    You are the one saying that. That is your opinion that it is the sour relationship between the legislature and the executive that created the scenario we are.

    How have you represented your constituency in the last one year?

    I see myself as a servant of my people and what I promised them is exactly what I am doing. I promised them quality representation and by the grace of God, He has given me the grace to let my people hear my voice there. As regards, my contributions or the motions I have moved there, I think I am on course. I am working on bills in areas of maintenance of public facilities. For instance, what killed former Minister of State for Labour, James Ocholi, was due to lack of maintenance. It was not just a mere accident. It was an accident that was caused by bad road. So, if our people can imbibe the culture of maintenance, things will be better. As we are constructing roads, there should be a system in place to maintain the roads. Some weeks ago, I assembled over 200 youths for employment. We have been working on these and have been sorting out challenges affecting our people. We have collaborated with National Directorate of Employment (NDE) for the training of youths. We have been giving them skills, so that they can be able to stand on their own. We have purchased ambulances to service the three local government areas under my constituency. If there is any emergency, the ambulances would be made available to the people. We have also distributed materials to some artisans, to alleviate poverty.

    You raised some objections concerning training of civil servants overseas…

    Somebody brought that on the floor of the House, that government is poised to train some civil servants abroad. Some people supported it, but I kicked against it, because of the present economic situation of the country. I said government should bring experts from abroad to train the civil servants here. For instance, if five or six of them are coming from the United Kingdom or China, to train about 100 or 200 people here, we would be able to save money for the country. If you are sending them abroad, you will pay for more tickets, accommodation and certainly they will get estacode. This will impact on the economy of the country they are travelling to. When I explained the implications to those who support the idea, they later kicked against it and supported my position.

    How will you assess Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s first year?

    He is a fantastic governor; a man of little words, but large performance. He is an achiever. My position hasn’t changed, because that was my take before he became the governor. I told people that, look this man is somebody that I know very well. He is a performer; don’t forget that we worked together before. He does not talk much, he believes in performance. Show what you have and people will regard you for that. That is exactly what he is doing right now. He is turning Lagos around and I thank God for giving Lagosians this man.

    Government kept giving excuses on fuel problem, how can this be addressed?

    This present government has not given any excuse. The only reason, I went against the Minister of State Petroleum Resource, Ibe Kachukwu, who is a brilliant and knowledgeable man, is that he has to work on his public relations. He has to learn how to address people. He should thank God for the opportunity given him to serve the people. Does he know the number of people running helter skelter to take up his job? When he made that statement that he is not a magician, I was going to attack him on the floor of the House, but when he apologised I changed by position. You will know that he has the stuff to make things happen in the ministry. And don’t forget that what we are experiencing now about the fuel scarcity did not just emerge yesterday. What we should be telling our people is not to forget about what happened in the past. This cannot be solved in one day, but I can assure you that in the next six months, Nigeria will begin to enjoy steady supply.

  • ‘We want to empower many Nigerians’

    Infinity Supreme Alliance, (ISA) a Philippine-based company which offers opportunities in health product and service marketing has been launched in Nigeria.

    Established 17 years ago in Philippine, the company began as a small start-up company to be a revolutionary in the field of online marketing and direct sales.

    Speaking during the launch, the President of the organisation, Rogelio Santillana said the company was launched in the country to create opportunities for Nigerians to live better lives by ensuring financial success for its members, while adhering to the most stringent standards and ethics of the industry.

    “ISA opens its doors to all talented and diligent professionals who believe in the infinite possibility of success. The key mission of ISA is to capacitate its members and provide them with limitless opportunities to create the largest and most sustainable network of Nigerian entrepreneurs who believe in ISA vision,” Santillana said.

    He further noted that the organisation envisions a new breed of entrepreneurs–a class that believes that economic success is possible with the strategic utilisation of time, money and effort to share limitless opportunities that ISA has provided to other individuals who had shown interest in the ISA vision.

    Also speaking during the launch, the Country Director of ISA, Gregory Ashibuogu said he was motivated to join ISA because of what he has engaged in in the past.

    He said: “The opportunity we are bringing to Nigerians is what everybody who is in need of financial freedom can key into. It is a platform where people can be their own boss, make good money and be healthy when they use the product.

    Ashibuogu affirmed further that multilevel marketing is a billion-dollar industry that all Nigerians should take advantage of, even as he said it is one of the reasons for the launch of the company in Nigeria.

    He said the management of the organisation has good managerial policy that cannot be traded for anything.

    He promised that by the time the company celebrates its one year anniversary; more Nigerians would have become multi-millionaires through the organisation.

    “I have been in this business since 1998. I have seen companies collapsed. When we saw that companies were collapsing, we came up to draw a viable marketing system to build a company that will stand for years,” he said.

    The Vice-President of the organisation, Francis Chaves said companies that collapse in the industry fail because of management greediness and lack of vision.

    He said: “We have built a non-collapsing system and structure that will make everybody in our system to be taken care of. Nigeria is the first country where the product has been launched because Nigerians are great people and we want to help them out of poverty.”

    Chaves said he invented the newest revolution in the MLM Binary Industry in 2014, the Dynamic Progression Control System (DPCS) which removes the need for maximum pairs per day and need for “daily flush out”, and removes the need for 5th pair gimmick, and yet keeps the system totally stable in the long run.

  • 85 percent of Nigerians live in poverty – Ngige

    85 percent of Nigerians live in poverty – Ngige

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige said Tuesday that about 85 percent of Nigerians were living in poverty, but was however quick to add that the Buhari government was taking concrete steps to address the high level of poverty in the land.

    The Minister who spoke at a productivity awareness lecture for staff of the Ministry assured that the present government was a government for the down trodden in the society and will stop at nothing to ensure a better life for Nigerians.

    According to him, the Buhari government came into office based on its three cardinal campaign promises of addressing insecurity, revamping the economy and fighting corruption in the land.

    While saying that the primary purpose of government was the security and welfare of the people, the Minister said the Buhari government was fighting insurgency in the country with a lot of vigor, giving assurance that the government will be civil service friendly.

    The Minister announced the introduction of complaint boxes in all agencies and departments of the Ministry to serve as cross fertilization of ideas between the staff and the Minister, saying “I will read all the letters you drop in the box. But don’t write frivolous petitions because I don’t like such things.”

    Senator Ngige told the workers that productivity is universally acknowledged as crucial and critical to a country’s competitiveness and its integration into the global economy.

    He said further that it has also been acknowledged that economic downturn, decline and stagnation can be traced to low productivity, saying “It is in realization of this fact that the federal government has continued to invest heavily on reform programmes directed at transforming the public service to tackle head on the various challenges that have threatened our survival as a nation, impaired our productive growth and denied us the full dividends of democracy.

    “There is no doubt that the service needs to be attuned to its responsibilities not only as a source of policy advice and primary executor of programmes, but as the custodian of data and information on which decisions are to be based. It is a matter if regret that rather than record incremental improvement in the discharge of these and other statutory responsibilities, productivities, productivity has remained extremely low in the sector.”

    He stressed that the concept of productivity as it relates to the management of human and material resources is an issue that must be tackled assiduously in the public service in order to obtain optimal performance.

    He told them that the overall objective of the awareness lecture is to sharpen the skills and competence of the human resources in the Ministry and its agencies as well as to build their knowledge on productivity improvement tools and techniques in order to enhance their capacity for efficient and effective service delivery.

    Director General of the National Productivity Centre, Kashim Yunusa Akor said the agency was established to facilitate socio economic growth and development. Through productivity improvement.

    He said the lecture is seen as a veritable tool for the centre to implement the presidential directive on the establishment of productivity units in the public service as well as assist in the development and training of productivity practitioners who will then serve as agents to be used in spreading the productivity message.

  • APC: Nigerians back govt’s desire for a realistic budget

    APC: Nigerians back govt’s desire for a realistic budget

    All Progressives Congress (APC) National Secretary Alhaji Maimala Buni has said the support Nigerians are giving President Muhammadu Buhari in his quest for a realistic budget reflect the people’s faith in the administration.

    Maimala, who spoke in Damaturu, said Nigerians understood the desire of government to have a workable document, which implementation would improve their lives.

    “It is evident that there is trust in government now and, Nigeria’s image has greatly improved before the international community, with an increased interest by foreign investors to invest in the country.

    “Every country is looking forward to doing business with Nigeria because we now have a President, who is transparent, committed, incorruptible and trusted by Nigerians and the international community,” he said in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    The party secretary said Nigerians’ belief in the APC government was further demonstrated by the large turnout of voters in the Saturday by-election in Yobe.

    Maimala said: “The large turnout in yesterday’s election and APC’s victory at the polls has consolidated the people’s faith in the party and President Buhari to improve their lives.

    “In spite of the hardships suffered by the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), they came out massively to elect APC because of their strong faith in the party and the leadership.”

    The secretary hailed the President for supporting the security forces in the fight against insurgency.

    He added that the security situation in the Northeast had improved significantly.

  • Nigerians are hungry

    SIR: One popular Yoruba dictum says “When you subtract hunger from poverty, poverty is almost defeated”. The “modulus vivendi” of Nigerians especially the “hoi polloi” is made worse by lack of food to eat. The topsy-turvy over the 2016 federal budget is not helping matters. The buck-passing between the presidency and the National Assembly (NASS) on the issue is like the proverbial fowl that perches on a rope, neither the rope nor the fowl shall know peace. Only the parties know the reason(s) for this. But some people insinuate that it is pecuniary others opine that it has to do with 2019 general election.

    If it is so, is it not too early in the day to be inebriated? But the conclusion of an average Nigerian is his government does not love him. A government is in place to improve the living condition of its citizens and not to impoverish them the more. The cost is living is all time high; people now trek to their various destinations due to poverty and or dearth of premium motor spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol. Where it is available at all, people cannot afford it.

    All our elected representatives are hereby reminded of the French phrase which says “Noblesse Oblige”. Our senators should think of millions of Nigerians who are living from hand to mouth. The abracadabra over the passage of 2016 budget has dire consequences on the nation’s economy. Civil servants are owed many months salaries. Senior citizens in nearly all the states of the federation are the worst hit. The way out is the prompt and regular payment of workers entitlements. When one pours water on the head, it must definitely come down to the legs. The impasse must be resolved without further delay for Nigerians to have confidence in their political leaders. We already have enough challenges arising from insurgency, ethnic militia and formers/herdsmen brouhaha. The executive and the legislature should ruminate on the words of Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) – “What’s a man? A foolish boy, vanity strives, fights and frets, demanding all, deferring nothing, one small grave he gets”. We voted our leaders in; they should not pierce the eyes of their benefactors with sticks. The praise-singers, boot-lickers and hangers on will not say the truth. Majority of Nigerians are hungry and are, therefore, in the narrow cells of emotional jail. Poverty makes some verdure difficult, it makes others unattainable. Many Nigerians are fast becoming scavengers. It is time to make food available on the tables Nigerians.

     

    • Adelani Olawuyi

    Odo-Oba, Ogbomoso.

  • Do not over-dress in humid weather- Don

    Prof. Adetayo Talabi of the Department of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin, has advised Nigerians not to over-dress in humid weather to avoid dehydration.

     

    Talabi gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ilorin.

     

    He said that hot and humid environment being currently experienced in the country could cause more loss of water from the body system.

     

    Talabi said that over-clothing in hot humid environment would disturb the cooling effect of the body which could lead to dehydration.

     

    “It also reduces the circulatory and temperature regulating mechanisms in the body,’’ he told NAN.

     

    The don explained that improved hydration helped weight loss and the ability to tolerate stress.

     

    “Regular intake of water all day long guarantees that one sweats well, urinates well, faeces do not become hard, skin does not crack and flesh is moist all the time.

     

    “Water is the body’s most important nutrient and 40 to 60 per cent of an individual’s body weight is water,” he said.

     

    Talabi warned that without water, death would occur within days at hot temperature.

     

    He said that water had tremendous heat stabilising qualities such as lubricating the joint and revitalising body tissues.