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  • Embrace energy therapy, Nigerians advised

    Embrace energy therapy, Nigerians advised

    Nigerians have been urged to patronise energy medicine.

    According to the pioneer energy therapy (ET) practitioner in Nigeria, Chief Iwowarri James, energy therapy, which is also known as energy medicine or energy psychology offers various treatment’s options.

    He said the name was coined in the late 80s by some clinical psychologists, and energy healers, adding: “In the late 1990s, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the official arm of health policy and implementation in the United States defined areas within Complementary and Alternative Medicine through five subdivisions.

    They are: mind–body medicine, biologically-based practices, energy medicine, manipulative and body-based practices, and whole medical systems.

    ET, he said, is the third leg of medicine in what is now known as integrative medicine, which combines orthodox medicine practice with natural medicinal practice comprising herbal and energy medicine.

    Moreover, energy medicine recognises that everybody is all energy and that our energy field gets clogged with all kinds of negative energy which man generates through emotional outbursts, environmental fields, electromagnetic waves, food we eat and the things we drink.

    The clogging, he said, affects people’s physical and emotional conditions which cause them to become diseased. “We need to clear the energy blockages resulting from the above so that we can be free and healthy, hence Energy Therapy,” he said.

    James said energy medicine is an age-old healing modality. Explaining further, he said it started over 5000 years ago in China and has been active in Indian cultures for over 3000 years. It is currently about 40 years in the US and 30 years in the United Kingdom and other European countries.

    “In Africa, energy therapy is as old as the Continent but because of lack of documentation in traditional African settings, its use was not documented. So we can say it is science of healing, which I now pioneer, it is just about nine years old in Nigeria. I started it in 2005.

    Energy therapy is recognised by the National Health Institute of America under its National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, as a major form of complementary and alternative medicine. Energy therapy is now making inroad into conventional health service provision as a credible alternative and complementary medical knowledge that is vital and supportive of healing and wellbeing. It has been found useful in human behaviour modifications and therefore complements and even replaces active models in this aspect of human resources development strategy. We are delighted to be the champions of this process that supports people in changing and upgrading their lifestyle through the elimination of burdensome thoughts and negative emotions, a veritable step in total physical and emotional healing journey. Naturopathy is a form of energy medicine even because it recognised the element of vibration in the process of restoration of the human system, though it was recognised earlier than the various other components which have become more efficacious in clinical practice such as Tapping.

    James said he introduced ET into Nigeria about  eight years ago.

    The reason why it is not so popular, he said, was because his inability to raise awareness on the profession. “The efforts so far have been one man’s effort,” he noted.

    Besides, I am seeking support from the Federal Government, corporate organisations and individuals to promote it.

    He said ET ensures speedy healing, adding that it handles very wide scope of diseases. “It is a major tool in trauma healing and helps in behaviour modification. More importantly is the fact that it is drugless,” he said.

    He further said that ET involved meetings between the client and the therapist.

    “The therapists has the knowledge of ET, the skill required to dig into the problems, the cause, and how to support the client achieve freedom. The energy therapist must be able to do exploratory diagnosis, know how to tap, understand how to achieve chakra health and in securing clean aura.

    “It is also in overcoming psychological reversals, which prevent people from healing at all levels. Energy Therapy helps the client to remove energy blockages, bring about energetic balance and support the individual to achieve total integration at body, mind, and spirit level.

    He said there are products and machines that can be used to enhance clients energy system. They are Resonance Tuner Card, Tesla Energy Lights, Young Living Essential Oils, Magnetic Bands.

    The products, he said, can be used to enhance energy level, dissolve negative energies and build immune system of people.

    The GIET Institute provides training in the use of these materials which any user must first evaluate energetically to be sure that their frequencies match theirs before use.

    He said treatment is affordable, adding that his Centre for Energy Healing Awareness in Lagos and Port Harcourt are the only centres in Nigeria.

    The other option is to go abroad where my colleagues provide similar service. However, going to the US or the United Kingdom will entail airfare, hotel bills, and associated expences. So doing it in Nigeria will obviously be cheaper even if it is a little pricey.

    James said there are plans in the pipelines to train at the GIET Institute.

    He said the practice has a bright future in Nigeria. This is because the world is moving steadily towards drugless therapies. “Energy Therapy is very well positioned to support Nigerians in their journey to total health and well-being without over reliance on drugs.

    “We need energy healings in schools, government, hospitals, organisations, businesses, sports and politics, among others. Just as we need energy therapists in these areas.

    He said ET does not cure any ailment rather it helps to eliminate negative energies in the human energy system.

    “Negative energies come from or are caused by issues such as anger, grief, worry, anxiety, fears and phobias, very bad feelings from emotional traumas resulting from rape, war, accidents, loss of relations, loss of jobs, loss of positions, and many more.

    “Research has also shown that some ailments of organ failures or organ discomforts start with these negative emotions,” James said.

  • President to Nigerians: we’ll get to Promised Land

    President to Nigerians: we’ll get to Promised Land

    President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday reassured Nigerians that the nation will get to the Promised Land despite the obstacles and challenges.

    He spoke at the thanksgiving service for his daughter, Inebharapu, at the Anglican Church the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp, Gwarinpa, Abuja.

    The President noted that the whole world is currently being challenged and that with the prayer of Nigerians, the country will overcome its challenges.

    He said: “I’m not here to make a political statement but only to thank you my brothers and sisters and to continue to pray for our great country. This is a period in which the whole world is being challenged, just like some of the passages we read. Whenever I think about all these happenings in Nigeria I remember the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land.

    “When God promised they were going to be given a land full of milk and honey, ordinarily one would have expected them to walk in and get the milk and honey. But they had to cross the Red Sea; that was a challenge; they had to meet people like Annas and others; that was a big challenge but because God wanted them to be there they were able to get there.

    “Surely, we’ll get to where we want to go as a nation. We may have the road bumps, we may have the obstacles but we will crush them and pass them. All what we request is your continued support and your prayers, and we promise we’ll continue to do our best.”

    Speaking on the thanksgiving, he said: “We were here before, and today we are here again because my son and my daughter were joined in holy matrimony yesterday by His Grace, who was the presiding priest and assisted by other men of God. It was a joyful occasion because marriage in Christendom takes a long journey.

    “We started this journey in the village where we had to fulfill the traditional obligation to show that a girl was properly given out to the man. Then yesterday we had the real marriage followed by the little reception.

    “All these processes went through successfully. Up to this time, I have not heard of any incident and I ask you to join me to pray as the people are going back home today, there should be no incident.”

    The Church’s Sub-Dean, Ven. Emmanuel Adekola, in his sermon entitled: “Times of stress and the second coming of Christ,” taken from II Timothy 3:1-5, noted that the perilous times are already here.

    Warning that Nigerians have turned away from all that is good, he said the word of God remained the standard for the judgment of all.

    According to him, the deviation from the scriptures and corruption of the word of God being currently witnessed has been in existence before now.

    He warned the congregation to be weary of fake prophets that will masquerade as messiahs in their day-to-day life.

    He said: “Many people will be perturbed with what is happening in the world and false prophets will set in because people are looking for answers. People masquerading as messiahs have come up. We must not be swept off our feet by speculative teachings.

    “Killing in the name of God is ongoing. But the word of Jesus is for us to hold on to our faith.

    “We are witnessing insurgency in the North. People are suffering for the sake of their faith. France had its share last week when some journalists, security agents and hostages were killed.

    “Darkness cannot overshadow light. Evil cannot prevail over good. The promise of Christ’s return will surely come to pass, no matter how long.”

    Adekola urged the congregation to live holy and godly life, saying that is what the nation needs at this time.

    The cleric also charged them to be watchful and be on guard as they anticipate His coming, which he described as the glorious hope of the church.

    The text for the service, taken from II Timothy 3:1-5 was read by the President’s wife, Dame Patience.

    Prayers were rendered for the President, the church and the nation.

    At the service were: Jonathan’s mother, Eunice; the new couple; Chief of Staff to the President, Gen. Jones Arogbofa (rtd.); the President’s Chief Physician, Dr. Fortune Fiberesima; the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Kennedy-Opara; government officials and presidential aides.

  • Knocks for INEC as Nigerians can’t get voter cards

    Knocks for INEC as Nigerians can’t get voter cards

    Barely a month to the February 14 general elections, many of the more than 70 million Nigerians captured as eligible voters are still grappling with a major hurdle – to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) – without which they cannot vote. Managing Editor, Northern Operation, YUSUF ALLI, x-rays the politics of the PVC, challenges facing INEC and implications for the polls.

    The furore over the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) reached its peak on January 5, when President Goodluck Jonathan read the riot act to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega to ensure that all Nigerians have their voter cards on or before the 2015 poll begins on February 14.

    “To the chairman of INEC, luckily you are here, all Nigerians must get their voter cards, we cannot conduct an election where some people will not have the rights to vote…and INEC must do everything possible to make sure that all Nigerians have their voters’ cards because we cannot have a situation where some Nigerians will not vote that day,” Jonathan told the INEC chief.

    The President’s order was the climax of the nationwide protests against alleged irregularities in the distribution of the PVCs by INEC.

    Barely 36 days to the 2015 poll, many eligible voters, including former Heads of State, governors, and the downtrodden are still struggling to get the all-important PVCs.

     

    How electoral body

    opted for PVC

     

    The road to the introduction PVCs began after the filtration of the Voters Register. According to INEC, at the end of the general registration of voters in 2011, 73. 5 million eligible voters were captured, including the records of multiple registrants. But after the de-duplication with the Automated Fingerprint Identification Software (AFIS), the actual figure stood at 70,383,427 voters. The result of the 2011 presidential election showed valid votes of 39,469,484 96.81 with valid votes turnout of 53.7 per cent. The invalid votes were 1,259,506 3.19.

    Thereafter, INEC came up with a 10-year PVC system to eliminate multiple registrations, check rigging through ghost voters and feed the card with biometrics that would prevent impersonation at the polls.  In the beginning, Jega, who addressed an INEC/civil society dialogue,  said: “With the design of the card and specification, it will serve for an average of 10 years, as it could also be used for the 2019 elections. The electronic voters’ card would check people buying voters card,   eliminate multiple voting, electoral fraud and ensure credible and transparent polls.”

     

    Troubled timeline of PVC

     

    Based on INEC’s proposal, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), had in April 2012, awarded the contract for the printing of 40 million PVCs. The INEC’s ICT Director, Mr. Chidi Nwafor, had disclosed that the printing of the 40 million  PVCs would cost N2.6 billion and the production was expected to be handled by Art Technology Limited, with the technical partner “Obature” in France, at the cost of N65 per card. He also said INEC was working toward achieving the 40 million voter cards before the end of 2012 in the first phase of the distribution of the cards. Similarly in 2013, the contract for additional 33.5 million cards was awarded by the FEC.

    Speaking on the timeline, Jega said INEC would commence “the issuance of permanent voters’ card early in 2013, as the contract for the production of 40 million voters registered card out of the 73.5 million registered had been awarded. He said by the middle of last year, all the eligible voters who had registered would have been given their PVC’s.

    He said: “There are 73.5 million eligible voters but for the first phase we will print 40 million and another part of it for completion is in the budget for 2012.”

     

    Why Nigerians have to wait to get voter cards

     

    Several factors accounted for the delay in the distributing of the PVCs. They included: slow production of the cards which affected INEC distribution timelines; logistical challenges in delivery of the cards; disappearance of data in some polling units; high-level insecurity in some states; poor handling by some ad-hoc staff; apathy by some voters who had change residences among others.

    The immediate past Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in Lagos, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola said: “The reason you could not find INEC officials at some polling units was that the data for those units no longer exist. We will be taking our machines to those polling units to re-register the residents, and two machines have been allocated for those units.”

    A top INEC director , who spoke in confidence with our correspondent on Thursday also said: “The truth is that we have been receiving the PVCs in batches. What we did was that instead of waiting for the whole cards, we decided to be distributing the cards piecemeal too. This was what accounted for the complaints by some eligible voters in some states.”

     

    Protests galore over shoddy distribution of cards

     

    If there is any issue that has stained the image of INEC, it is PVC distribution. From Lagos to Niger, Sokoto to Delta, there were complaints and fears of likely disenfranchisement of voters. The Chairman of Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu  said: “As I speak to you, myself, former military President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, have not collected our PVCs.” He asked the nation to stop the use of PVCs in the coming polls.

    Also, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola said: “Honestly, as I said earlier, I have the Temporary Voter Card (TVC). On one hand, you say we should go and register again, but I have already registered, so why should I register again? It does not make any sense, because anyone can then say the governor registered twice.

    “I think INEC should stop hiding behind a finger and tell us truly what their reasons are. They have failed without any logical explanation   for it. The system can’t crash in part. If you store data in one place, it’s either you lose it or recover it. Where is the integrity of INEC if it is telling us that it does not have a data recovery system?

    “This is an exercise INEC told us they are going to be ready in August, then they moved it to September, then November and they still didn’t get it right. If people are feeling that this is a rigging plan, then we need to be careful and know if INEC is nurturing or threatening this democracy. INEC is giving Nigerians the impression that it is a referee with an interest. From the foundation of the election, the participants are saying this is already wrong and we may be heading for trouble.”

    On his part, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun said: “This exercise has not started. It will hold on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Anything short of that is not acceptable to us in Ogun State. This is a mess as you can see yourself that people are complaining, it is everywhere.”

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Party (APC) and former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, also described the distribution process as shoddy.

    He said: “Just as we (APC) merged to form a formidable opposition party, they (INEC) have merged with Jonathan to form a formidable rigging machine. This exercise is a colossal failure.

    “INEC has the responsibility to give us a date when the exercise which they did. They were the ones that picked the date. On the eve of the exercise, they announced they could only carry out the exercise in 11 local government areas out of the 20 recognised by the Federal Government.

    “Rather than outright boycott, we endured the frustration and appealed to the public to participate. Our field report and personal experience indicated that the exercise in those 11 LGAs failed and it is unacceptable. In some instances, you didn’t find INEC and then in some they did not start on time. …to me, this exercise has failed, it is not acceptable, and we consider it as a rigging exercise. INEC has colluded with the presidency and the opposing party to rig the election from the data to the end.”

    Some protesters, under the aegis of Activists for Good Governance (AGG), The Nucleus Group, and TNG added their voice too. Speaking on behalf of the AGG, Comrade Declan Ihekaire said: “2015 is here already and any attempt to disenfranchise Nigerians will mark the beginning of action. What we see is that INEC is short of staff and you are already being nicknamed as trying to rig the election next year. INEC must ensure the PVCs get to the people and  they should not attempt to rig the election. Those in power know that there will be protest votes in 2015 and that is why they are trying to rig the election.”

     

    INEC chair disputes failure

     

    But Jega does not believe that the commission was lagging behind in the distribution of the PVCs. At a meeting with the  Special Representative of the United Nations  (UN) Secretary-General for West and Central Africa, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas, the INEC chairman said the challenges experienced during the third phase of PVCs’ distribution and Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in some states were transient and do not threaten the Commission’s readiness to deliver superlative elections in 2015. He gave insights into what INEC had been doing.

    He said: “Since the 2011 elections, the Commission has devoted a lot of time and energy to keep on improving the processes and setting up policies and mechanisms that can help us have remarkably better elections in 2015. We’ve done quite a lot…Of course, there are challenges; and we have to acknowledge these challenges.

    “One of the key things we have done is that we have updated the register, we have cleaned it up and we have been working very hard to produce and distribute what the law says we should – Permanent Voter Cards. We have gone very far with this.

    “So far, we have produced PVCs and distributed them in 24 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and we have also done an update of the register in those states.

    “The last phase of the distribution of PVCs and updating the register was to cover the remaining 12 states. I must say with regret that we experienced some challenges in the production of those cards within our defined time schedules, and this has necessitated adjustment of the timeline for distribution of the cards.

    “Whereas we had wanted to distribute the cards within the same period in all the remaining 12 states, we now have to stagger it in order to ensure that we have all the cards before they are distributed. And, of course, people have been very anxious and many have been disappointed – not just by the change in the timetable for distribution of the cards but also by the logistical challenges and operational delays experienced in the field.

    “But these are minor challenges as far as we are concerned. We are absolutely sure that before the February elections, every validly registered Nigerian will have his / her PVC to be able to exercise their voting right. And we are doing everything possible to ensure that happens.”

     

    The PVC situation as at last week

     

    Records obtained from INEC on Thursday confirmed that the electoral body had issued  54,341,610 so far; distributed 38,774,391.00 in all the 36 states, representing (71.3 per cent) and had a balance of 15,567,219 to issue to eligible voters. The list is as follows:  Kano(2,771,185); Kaduna (2,643,517); Lagos (2,159,091); Katsina (1,965,840); Bauchi ( 1,509,255); Jigawa (1,460,620); Rivers (1,253,606); Sokoto (1,211,717);  Delta (1,260,728); Akwa Ibom (1,177,910); Oyo (1,141,405);  Benue (1,132,187); Niger (1,089,002) Plateau (1,072,352);  Kebbi (1,035,780) and Abia (1,020,601)

    Other states are Ekiti (481,198); Osun (992,310); Bayelsa ( 370,062);  Enugu (662,445); Gombe (802,959); Kogi (755,775); Taraba (921,637); Zamfara (925,302); Anambra (862,747); Cross River (763,436); Ebonyi (687,402); and FCT (411,935).

    The remaining distribution rates in other states are:  Kwara (670,694); Ondo (824,715); Yobe (740,336); Adamawa (912,312); Edo (930,276); Ogun (672,017); Nasarawa (799,991); and Imo (682,046).

     

     What next for INEC?

     

    Despite the misgivings, INEC has continued to demonstrate the optimistic that it could distribute PVCs to a large number of voters before the elections. The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chair, said: “We are working round the clock to ensure that all those who were registered collect their PVCs. We are hopeful that most of them will have their PVCs.

    “Eligible voters have up to January 31 to collect their PVCs. In fact, we are thinking of adding more days in February to enable Nigerians get these cards.

    “The Electoral Act only stipulates when INEC can display register of voters. There is no time-limit in law for the distribution of the PVCs.”

    Without much ado, it is obvious that INEC may not be able to distribute PVCs to all voters in line with Section 16 of the Electoral Act. The section says: “The commission shall design or cause to be printed and control the issuance of voters’ cards to voters whose names appear in the register. The commission may, whenever it considers it necessary, replace all or any voters’ cards for the time being held by voters.”

    There are four options before the electoral commission: to go ahead with the innovation of PVCs irrespective of those who might be disenfranchised or suspend the use of PVCs by allowing eligible voters to exercise their rights with the TVCs issued for the 2011 poll; and by allowing the acceptance of PVCs and TVCs during the February polls.

    The fourth alternative is to shift the poll until the PVCs are sorted out in order not to disenfranchise some Nigerians. Section 26 of the Electoral Act gives INEC liberty to exercise discretion in such emergencies.

    The Section reads: “Where a date has been appointed for the holding of an election and there is reason to believe that a serious breach of the peace is likely to occur if the election is proceeded with on that date or it is impossible to conduct elections as a result of natural disasters or other emergencies, the commission may postpone the election and shall in respect of the postponed election, provided that such reason for the postponement is cogent and verifiable.”

    An INEC within the electoral body said the commission will go ahead with the use of PVCs because the disenfranchisement might not substantially affect the outcome of elections at all levels. “We will not change our plans to use PVCs for the polls, we have gone far on this project to change our position,” the source added.

     

     Can legal action on pvc invalidate 2015 poll?

     

    Though INEC is adamant on the use of PVCs, it might face legal action from some smart politicians who might not be favoured by the outcome of the polls. Findings however revealed that those likely to be disenfranchised might not win such a matter because once the denial of voting right has no substantial effect on polls’ results, those affected may have no case. It was learnt that the Supreme Court had made a pronouncement on this type of electoral challenge in Bola Ige vs Victor Olunloyo, 1984 1 SC.

    An Abuja-based lawyer, Yoonus Abdulsalam, said: “The disenfranchisement of an eligible voter is an irregularity but to invalidate any election, the irregularity has to be substantial to warrant annulment.”

     

    Will electoral umpire survive poitics of PVC

     

    There may be no legal inhibitions against INEC for disenfranchising some eligible voters but the electoral commission may not be able to survive the attendant politics which such a shoddy exercise might attract. If the PVC problem overwhelms INEC at the last minutes, it can erode the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral umpire, affects its credibility, and it may make the outcome of the poll questionable. The ball is in Jega’s hands to guide INEC to ensure the success of the PVCs and deliver credible polls. Will INEC slump into the booby trap of “failure-seeking” politicians because of PVCs? Only time will tell.

  • Don’t lose hope, Okonkwo charges Nigerians

    The Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission(TREM), Dr Mike Okonkwo, has advised Nigerians to hold on to hope in the face of daunting challenges facing the nation.

    Okonkwo, in a New Year message, said: “I urge every Nigerian to always go to God in prayers and not lose hope because the worst thing that can happen to any person or nation is not to have hope.

    “If you lose hope, then there is no point living at all but since there is hope and a place to run to, then, it is best we seek refuge in that place and be sure of tomorrow.”

    He tasked Nigerians to lift up the nation in prayers on the forthcoming elections.

    “I specially call on all Christians to pray that God will cause us to have credible elections and good governance, because I believe that Nigeria has a great future which God has laidout plans for,” he stressed.

    Okonkwo appealed to Nigerians to obtain their Permanent Voters Card(PVC) to  “re-direct the ship of the nation in the right path.”

    He pleaded with agents of destabilisation involved in suicide bombings and terror attacks to desist and give peace a chance.

     

  • 2015: Nigerians need peace

    “Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.” –  Bob Marley

    The die has been cast; the drums have been rolled out and the dancers have already taken the centre stage. It is a very rough road that leads to Armageddon and some may never even reach there. We have crossed this bridge before and it was not an easy way to Terabithia. General elections in Nigeria are a very serious business – too serious to be left in the hands of politicians alone.

    In the past few weeks, political parties were preoccupied with party primaries across all level of governance. Party tickets have been won and lost. The winners are engulfed with joy and they are looking forward to form more alliances ahead of the February general elections, while some losers are still aggrieved, dissatisfied and angry. Some are even looking for ways to cause chaos during the elections. Only a few of them understood the real meaning of sportsmanship in politics and that brings us to where we presently find ourselves. Many politicians in Nigeria are very selfish and they are always ready at any given time to do whatever it takes to get elected. The life of the poor in our society and the peace of the nation mean nothing to them in as much as the elections did not go in their favour. The opposition will do everything within their arsenals to muscle their way into power, while the incumbents will also use all armaments to keep power. All the dirty tricks in the books will be deployed by all and at the end of the day they leave blood in the streets. Oh yes! We have crossed this bridge before and it never leads to Terabithia.

    The 2011 general elections was marred with wide spread post-election violence in some sections of the country. The Federal Government constituted a 22-man committee headed by a Minna-based former Grand Khadi, Sheikh Ahmad Lemu. Nobody was in any doubt when the highly respected Sheikh presented a very meticulous report with insightful recommendations on how to forestall future occurrences. But very typical of this administration, the report, just like many other committee reports before it, was dumped in a shelf somewhere in a corner of Aso Rock villa. No surprise that nobody heard anything about the Lemu’s report or its recommendations that was submitted to the current president. Ironically, this and many other good intentioned works for promoting peace and religious understanding earned the Sheikh the 2014 King Faisal Prize at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Since then many things have change in this country. The Fulani man carrying a stick before is now carrying a gun. The repentant Niger Delta militants carrying guns before are now warship importers. The Boko Haram carrying AK47 before are now controlling Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and the Ombatse militia of Nasarawa State are now gun runners. Our territories have been annexed by religious extremists that claimed to be fighting for Islam. Weapons, weapons, everywhere, but not enough for the army. Of great concern are the recent serial jailbreaks that took place at different locations in the country. The pattern of these prison breaks have political colouration written all over them. Everyday there is a terror story in Nigeria and no one is feeling secure. Unfortunately, the government of the day has its priorities and providing security to the citizenry is not at the top of their scale of preference. Winning election and retaining their offices is all they have ear for. At the top of these all we are facing a general election in an uncertain, insecure, vulnerable and defenceless situation.

    It is important to point out that no politician is worth dying for and no one deserve to die because of an election. Rewind: actually, not even an ant deserves to die because of an election. I also believe that the security of lives and properties of the citizenry is the responsibility of all, but the buck lies on the table of the Commander-in-Chief and the governors of the states. History shows that the utterances of some political gladiators during electioneering are clear pointers that motivate violent tendencies in the electorates. Therefore, it is high time we start holding our leaders responsible for their unguarded utterances in the run-up to elections. The way and manner some electorates easily become willing tools for political manipulations to cause violence during or after elections calls for a serious concern. It still beat my imaginations that in this year and age some people still participate in political thuggery without their political godfathers and their children leading the way in the streets. It is totally against the law of fairness for politicians to incite the masses to kill themselves on the streets during elections while their children are sent to the most expensive schools abroad studying. Indeed, common sense is not always common.

    The politics of tribe, religion and region is a very sensitive thing to play with in Nigeria, but unfortunately that is what the politicians are using to divide us. The moment any of these is mention, we quickly loose our senses. We quickly take sides depending on which side of the argument we come from. The election is just around the corner, but no one is discussing issues yet. No one is discussing the peace and security of the electorates before, during and after the elections. As far as I am concerned, the security of lives and properties of the citizenry is far more important than the value attached to winning elections. Without peace and security in the nation, there will be no country to rule.

    Let us be our brother’s keepers and let’s shun any act of violence that will jeopardize the peace and tranquillity of the nation. Vote wisely because your vote is your right. This is my #PieceOfPeace.

    • Hamidu wrote in from the Federal University of Technology Minna.

  • Leadership recruitment: APC needs to proceed cautiously

    Leadership recruitment: APC needs to proceed cautiously

    A few months back, many Nigerians, including this columnist and even All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders, probably never imagined that the main opposition party would rise to its present stature, let alone stand at the door of forming the next government. But here they are, a few weeks to the general elections, poised to assume the presidency, and riding on the crest of popular disaffection with the jaded and exhausted ruling party. In consequence, they must begin to face many obligations, some summoning them to extremely high dose of discipline, imaginativeness, organisation and character. How they respond to these obligations will determine how successful they become.

    They already recognise the huge task of formulating a party ideology out of their variegated backgrounds and disparate worldviews, but this is a task, among many other tasks, they seem to have postponed to sometime in the future. But there is one responsibility they can neither ignore nor postpone: the task of fine-tuning their leadership recruitment processes. This is what will define them and help them chart a responsible and successful path into the future. So far, they have approached the matter rather desultorily and offhandedly, an approach that has cost them a lot in terms of prestige and credibility.

    An example is the rather carefree way they welcomed Femi Fani-Kayode, Ali Modu-Sheriff and Dino Melaye into their fold. Mr Melaye is still with them, and is continuing to play a somewhat prominent role in the party. Mr Fani-Kayode was barely two weeks with them, after defecting spectacularly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), when he began to rub elbows with APC leaders and accompany them to high-profile meetings. Mr Fani-Kayode is doubtless eloquent and aggressively eager to defend and advance the interest of his friends; but he is also famously eccentric, polemical, abusive, unreliable and almost wholly without leadership character.

    It will be recalled that he insinuated himself into the confidence of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, reviling and denigrating him until he got a job with that government, and then kept quiet. It required little effort, after a while, for him to reject his PDP friends and praise his way into the APC, where it seemed a man of his combative talent and piquant disposition was needed to serve as a battering ram against the PDP. In the end, it also required very little effort for him to pick a quarrel with the APC leaders, whom he accused of sectarian insensitivity, abuse them thoroughly and denounce them as unprepared for national leadership. Mr Fani-Kayode is now back to his vomit.

    Like Mr Fani-Kayode, Mr Melaye is cantankerous, intrepid, willing to risk everything, and a gifted rabble-rouser. He was swiftly welcomed into the APC fold, where he also began to rub elbows with party leaders, offering to lead many of their escapades designed to irritate, frustrate and suffocate the PDP and its leaders. He is a stump maverick and soapbox virtuoso; but he is also a quintessential eccentric who is just a hair’s breadth away from accomplished thuggishness. He campaigns for probity and character, but at bottom those virtues mean nothing to him, going by his behaviour during the last APC primaries in his home state of Kogi. Because of him, a full revolt is underway against the APC in Kogi West.

    Reflecting its problematic leadership recruitment style and policy, the APC has faced serious leadership challenges, and has barely managed to suppress the rage of its Young Turks, virtually all of them a part of the party’s leadership at state and national levels. The party must urgently mature. It must fine-tune its party ideology, establish parameters for recruiting young politicians and defectors into its leadership cadre, and define rigidly the qualifications and character such leaders must possess. If the party is to minimise discontent and run a tight-knit organisation, it must ensure that defectors and other party faithful are no longer automatically inducted into leadership cadre simply because they possess oratorical gifts, eagerness to fight the enemy, and loyalty, much of it skin deep.

  • ‘ISIS plans to recruit Nigerians’

    ‘ISIS plans to recruit Nigerians’

    THE Federal Government has alerted Nigerians that agents of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are scouting to recruit the nation’s youths as fighters.

    It, therefore, urged the public to be at alert and shun any such recruitment.

    The NOA Director General and Coordinator, National Information Center (NIC), Mr. Mike Omeri said this in a statement yesterday, citing intelligence reports.

    Omeri said intelligence reports indicated that three South Africans were among fighters recruited by ISIS agents operating in the guise of humanitarian support groups for refugees and orphans.

    He noted that ISIS was scouting for fighters around the Islamic world and Africa, urging Nigerians to avoid being deceived into joining the terror group, saying that was contrary to the true nature and spirit of Nigerians.

    The NOA boss said: “Nigerians are known the world over to be selfless, hospitable and humanitarian. We believe in the brotherhood of all mankind and no one should be allowed to take advantage of these virtues or turn them into vices.

    “Nigerians are, therefore, advised to report to security agencies without hesitation, any group or non-governmental agency, whose overt or covert activities are suspicious or have tendencies to jeopardise the innocence of our youth and the security of our people wherever they are in the world.”

    Omeri reassured Nigerians that government was leaving no room to chance in the fight against terror and the protection of lives and property.

    He urged Nigerians to increase their confidence in government’s security efforts, show greater cooperation with security agencies and ensure stricter compliance with security tips, which are running on print and electronic media platforms.

  • Nigerians urged to support less-privileged

    Worried by the level of lack among people, the second Vice-District Governor of Lagos Central Lions Club, Mr Taiwo Adewumi, has urged Nigerians to render helping hands to the downtrodden, even as he advised them to be their brother’s keepers.

    This, he said, is in line with the spirit of African brotherhood which extends hands of fellowship and unconditional love to everyone.

    Mr Adewumi spoke at the installation of the new President of Ikeja Platinum Lion Club, Mr Ola Oluwa Adebiyi. The event was also used to raise funds for charity work and to induct new members.

    He said due to insecurity, political crisis violence and economic down turn, there is the need for all Nigerians to affect positively on the lives of others. The Vice-Governor urged fellow Nigerians to be passionate in touching people’s lives.

    Earlier, the immediate past President of the club, Mr Abiola Ismail Iyanda enumerated his achievements during his tenure to include renovation and equipping of the school library of Mende Junior High School, donation of food stuffs to Correctional Homes for boys at Oregun, Ikeja; cash donations to Nigerian Society for the Blind  Oshodi; sponsorship of Mende Junior High School students to the final of Peace Poster Contest; Integrated Measles Campaign and donation  of gifts to the public at the palace of Olu of Mushin.

    Others, he said, included sponsoring a cataract surgery in Ibadan during the World Sight Day, organising party and donation of gifts to the physically-challenged pupils at Modupe Cole Yaba and donation towards Bolarinwa Football Competition.

    He thanked members of the club for their support during his tenure.

    In his acceptance speech, Lion Adebiyi Ola Oluwa promised to key into the core dream of the club, which entails alleviating the suffering of the people through feeding the less-privileged persons, fund-raising, donation of exercise books to public schools, visitation to orphanage and the inmates in the prisons; donating drugs to health centres, empowerment of youths, championing diabetes awareness campaigns and many others. He solicited the support of members of the club in order to make the dreams come true.

  • Saraki to Nigerians: cast your votes without sentiment

    Saraki to Nigerians: cast your votes without sentiment

    •Buhari/Osinbajo ticket ‘ll restore Nigeria

    Former Kwara State Governor Bukola Saraki has urged Nigerians to eschew sentiments in the 2015 general elections.

    Saraki, a senator and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noted that the victory of the Gen. Muhammadu Buhari/Prof Yemi Osinbajo ticket in next year’s presidential election would restore Nigeria.

    The senator representing Kwara Central, who addressed reporters at the weekend in Ilorin, the state capital, said: “We have now removed religion. Let us look at the candidate, access their character, their capacity, their ability to fight issues that are important. This is not about sentiment, it is about Nigeria; it is not personal.

    “General Buhari and Prof Osinbajo are people who want to restore Nigeria. These are not individuals that are going there to make a mess of themselves. They are going there to restore and make Nigeria better.

    “Now, the difference between APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is clear in the way we conducted our primaries. The way we picked our candidates and the way they emerged. PDP had wanted the elections to be about religion. Now, there is no religious issue. PDP has a Christian and Muslim on the ticket, APC has a Muslim and a Christian on the ticket.

    “The emergence of the APC presidential and vice presidential candidates shows the kind of party that we have. If you go back to about nine months ago, some of the stories that were being given by the PDP were that APC will break; that the party is about people with self interest, a party that is interested in is ambition.

    “When it came to the issue of vice president you all saw again what transpired. The sensitivity of issues of like religion, give and take and integrity were the factors that played the key role. If it was about self ambition, capacity of resources and political structure, you know who would have been the vice president, but these are people who are ready to make that sacrifice. Truly APC is showing that it is an amalgam of people that can make sacrifices. It is a party that really wants to move Nigeria forward.

    “That the party cannot go to a convention or primaries without collapsing; that there will be no unity etc, you all saw democracy at it best; you all saw in the primary how delegates came out in drove to vote. The primary was very transparent and everybody that participated accepted the outcome of the result and those that lost also gallantly approved and recommended and gave their support to the winner.

    “And the party shows unity, it shows it not a party of selfish individuals but a party with people that have the mission to save Nigeria. The presidential primary witnessed internal democracy at its best. You saw what happened at the state primaries across the country. I don’t think there is any state in the entire 36 states in the APC where there were parallel congresses, unlike in PDP where there were parallel congresses, parallel results and parallel result sheets. In some places we have three or four results sheets.

    “For some of us who used to be in the PDP we were stunned at what happened that in some states they had two to three congresses and up till now some are still in court disputing the results.

    “It was even in APC that you would have expected this kind of breakdown, but instead of that, despite all the issues you can see that in most of the state’s primary election results were declared on the spot. It shows you that APC is a party that is ready to serve because the interest of Nigeria and the processes of democracy come first as opposed to selfish interest.”

     

     

  • I hope Nigerians know me now – Sanni Issa

    I hope Nigerians know me now – Sanni Issa

    Sanni Issa has taken the long road in football but has finally won the recognition thanks to his exploits for Auckland City at the Club World Cup.

    The Nigerian scored the winning penalty for the Oceania Champions League holders back in the play-off for the quarter-finals after holding Moghreb Tetouan scoreless for 120 minutes.

    That victory was more than many in the Auckland after being narrowly defeated by San Lorenzo in the semi-finals, following a groundbreaking 1-0 win over African kings ES Setif, Issa and Auckland were at it again.

    With the game tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes, it went to penalty kicks. It was all down to the Nigerian again. Up he strode to place the winning kick high into the net behind Jose Corona.

    “It was really amazing,” Issa told Goal. “I can’t express how much I feel. I won’t forget this moment because it’s unbelievable. When I got the chance to make us win the game, that made me really happy.

    “I am good at penalty kicks so I was really happy to score.”

    That third-place finish capped an amazing set of games for Issa and Auckland, finishing third in a FIFA tournament for the first time and remaining unbeaten over 90 minutes against the reigning champions of Morocco, Asia and Africa.

    Incredibly, Issa was only introduced to his team-mates after arriving in Morocco having signed for the club six days before they touched down in Rabat. He had been playing for Vanuatu side Amicale, who Auckland beat in the OFC Champions League final earlier this year.

    “It was crazy,” he  said. “The first time I saw my team-mates was in Morocco. I didn’t meet them back in New Zealand. This is my first time training with them. So I was trying to adjust to their style, trying to know them better.”

    Coach Ramon Tribulietx was keen to get the 23-year-old on board having recognised his talents in the Pacific tournament.

    “I spent almost three years in Fiji and I spent one year in Vanuatu so when I had the call from Ramon it was really a shock that he wanted me to join Auckland City. To play in a Club World Cup game is something really big.”

    Issa had previously played in Fiji for Ba, with whom he earned the OFC Champions League golden boot, after departing his native Nigeria and is now hoping his performances at the Club World Cup will put him in contention for a Super Eagles slot.

    “No one knows me back home, especially my federation,” he said. “Maybe now they will know. That’s why I was trying to prove myself.

    “I think this is the moment the world might know something about me.”