The Nation Newspaper

Tag: path

  • Breach of agreement: Lekki Gardens, subscriber on collision path

    Breach of agreement: Lekki Gardens, subscriber on collision path

    When Mrs. Oluwafunmilayo Ogunnaike-Bello, a subscriber to one of the Lekki Gardens Estate scheme, signed the dotted lines for a three-bedroom apartment, she was confident that her dream of owning a comfortable home with ease has materialised.

    With firm commitment to the project, Ogunnaike-Bello had paid up the N20 million asking price for the apartment, exclusive of VAT/Withholding tax- paid by the Purchaser to Lekki Gardens (Vendor), leading to the signing of an agreement between the parties on September 18, 2013.  But this date seeme to have been the last happy moment for the buyer in the transaction.

    According to her, the first infraction by the Vendor is on the specified period for delivery. As contained in the agreement in Section 2.3, the Vendor shall “deliver the property in Shell-Unit specifications as listed in the first schedule not later than 14 months effective from 18/09/2013.”

    This means that by November 17, 2014, the house ought to have been delivered to the Purchaser. It however took two years and five months after the deadline before Ogunnaike-Bello could get her apartment, precisely on March 29, 2017.

    Her disappointment has been further fuelled as the Vendor, she maintained, has failed to adhere to the provisions for default / remedy as contained in the agreement. Specifically, Section 4 (i) of the agreement says that “where the Vendor defaults in the delivery of the property, it shall pay a monthly penalty fee of 0.7 percent interest on the total instalment received from the Purchaser not exceeding three months thereafter within which delivery shall be made without which the Purchaser shall determine the Agreement and all money paid by the purchaser shall be due  and payable in 12 weeks.”

    Yet, the delivery of the apartment, Block D2, Flat 5, Horizon II Extension, Lekki Gardens Estate, to the Purchaser, Ogunnaike-Bello said, has been anything but satisfactory. For instance, before she finally got the keys to the house, the Purchaser said the Vendor made her to pay N250,000 for “water connection” to the apartment. A copy of the Zenith Bank teller, number 4036118, with which the payment was made to the Vendor, dated March 28, 2017, and acknowledged by a certain Adenekan Adebola on behalf of the Vendor, was sighted by The Nation.

    The elder sibling of the Purchaser, Mr. Olarigbigbe Bello, interfaces with Lekki Gardens on behalf of his sister when she is not available. Bello told The Nation that it has not been a palatable experience dealing with the Vendor. He regretted that, after making full payments, and in spite of the several correspondence to, and meetings with, the Vendor, the situation has remained the same.

    “Imagine that the developer failed to connect the apartment to electricity; neither has the entire apartment been connected to water supply even though they collected N250,000 for this from us; this money they demanded was not in anyway contained in the original agreement. We asked them for electrical wires so we could do our connections, but they failed to supply same; only a part of the apartment has water now, like in the kitchen water is not flowing. Its such a shame of a job done,” a bitter Bello said. He added that even the spiral step fitter at the back of the building is anything but beautiful.

    He further explained that he complained to a staff of the Vendor, Mr. Sunday Adeyanju, who is the facility manager, but nothing has been done.

    When The Nation contacted Adeyanju on phone last Monday, he confirmed receiving the complaints about the apartment from Bello. He also said he had since forwarded the complaints to his line manager for further action.

    “Yes I got their complaints, and I have followed protocol by sending same to my line manager. I am awaiting further directive from my boss,” Adeyanju told The Nation in a telephone chat.

    Bello listed other defaults by the Vendor to include failure to do the electrical works in the flat; non painting of the apartment and non fitting of POP ceiling, all contained in the First Schedule which specified what the Shell Unit of the house will contain. Under the second schedule, Bello said the Vendor was in default of providing electricity in the flat; failure to connect the drainage and gutters appropriately leading to heavy flooding in the block and estate in May/June this year; and failure to provide clinic and school.

    At the onset of this development, precisely June 2017, The Nation contacted the Indigo PR, the communications and public relations consultants to Lekki Gardens, for clarification on the incident. Its Managing Director, Mr. Bolaji Abimbola, appealed for time on behalf of his client, assuring the Purchaser and her proxy that he had the assurances of his clients that the needful would be done. “Please give my clients till August 2017 ending, that is two months from now, and everything will be sorted out. My clients are very credible people and they will work on the Purchaser’s observation,” he had assured.

    However, two months after the appeal for extension, the story has remained the same, as the Vendor has not done anything to improve the apartment it collected N20 million for.

    According to Abimbola, there was delay in delivering the house to Ogunnaike_Bello due to some circumstances. He explained that the company apologised to the customer in question. “As you may be aware, the company had a crisis recently and work on all our sites was stopped for a while by the regulatory agency, but we have since returned to work and committed to deliver homes to all our customers. On this note, we would like to seek her understanding,” Abimbola explained.

    However, his position on this was carpeted by Bello. “The apartment ought to have been delivered in November 2014- a clear one year and four months before the Lekki Gardens building collapse of March 8, 2016, which the company is now trying to use as an excuse for the delay,” he said.

    On the N250, 000 fee, Abimbola explained this as the connection fee for infrastructure like water, drainage, sewage and electricity, which he said is not peculiar to the customer, but charged all apartment owners in the estate. “The fee is not extra payment and it is usually paid at the point of key collection,” he explained. Again Bello disagreed on this, claiming that such was not indicated in the agreement signed. “This is fraud and deceit; why didn’t they include this in the agreement we signed, only for them to change the goal post not in the middle of a match but at the end? So are they saying they would deliver a house with basic infrastructure like water without the payment? he asked rhetorically.

    Abimbola explained that the developer is currently working to connect  all the block of flats in the estate to electricity supply, assuring that it would be completed in a “couple of weeks.” While He explained further that the company is only responsible for the painting of the exterior of the blocks while the customers are expected to do the finishing of their unit to their taste. He said the estate was built with adequate drainage plan but the recent rising of water levels and the impact of other construction work around the area was responsible for the flooding.

    “In a nutshell, we would like to appeal to her for understanding as we would ensure that we  resolve all the issues,” Abimbola pleaded.

    For now, Ogunnaike-Bello said the option before her is to institute litigation against the Vendor, and ensure that every breach in the agreement is addressed accordingly.

  • A wrong path

    A wrong path

    Nnamdi Kanu burst on to the scene from nowhere. Like Daniel Kanu of the Abacha for president fame, he saw an opening and grabbed it with both hands to change the course of his life. All we were told is that Nnamdi Kanu was one of the lieutenants of Raph Uwazuruike, founder of the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB). But he was said to have fallen out with Uwazuruike following irreconcilable differences.

    Kanu started his own movement. He had learnt the ropes from master. So setting up in business was not difficult.  He did what all people with such mission do. Kanu first established a radio station in London.  He jammed the radio wave of other stations back home in order to reach his people. His people were the Igbo at home and in the Diaspora. But he needed those at home more because he knew he could only realise his Biafra dream with their support.

    For you to believe in his cause, you must be part of the struggle at home, which he knew was not going to be easy. But he played on his people sentimental attachment to Biafra to rally them round himself.  The average Igbo man, whether old or young,  man or woman, is forever tied to Biafra. Even the youths among them who do not know the story of Biafra, the creation of the late Chukwuemeka Odumegu-Ojukwu, go gaga once the name, Biafra, is mentioned. What makes Biafra turn the head of the Igbo?

    The Igbo are not the only marginalised ethnic group in the country. If we look around us, we can even argue that their lot is better than that of many other ethnic nationalities. What will the almost forgotten minorities in the country say if the Igbo claim that they are being unfairly treated? The fact is the Igbo boxed themselves into the corner they are today.  They are the architects of their own problem.  Before Ojukwu came up with the Biafra idea in 1967, the  Igbo were at the commanding heights in every area of human endeavour.

    They were in commerce, politics and the military. Anywhere you turned to, you found the imprint of the Igbo.  But we live in an interdependent world. The Igbo thrived in what they did because they enjoyed the support and understanding of others around them. The Igbo did not depend solely on their fellow Igbo to survive.  They lived, worked and played with people from other parts of the country,  who extended their hands of fellowship to them. They broke that bond with Biafra. We may say that Biafra in 1967 was a child of circumstance; an accident of history,  but can we say that of the Biafra Nnamdi Kanu and his ilk now want to create?

    What Kanu does not seem to realise is that Biafra as a nation is dead and buried. He and his co-travellers can only ruminate on what would have been if Ojukwu had succeeded. Kanu is free to dream about having Biafra. And the truth is Biafra as a nation will forever remain a dream. The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)  should stop deluding itself about recreating a republic of Biafra 47 years after the hurriedly put together nation surrendered to Nigeria. Biafra was defeated  in a war it instigated,  but today, it is not being treated as a conquered nation because of the magnanimity of former head of state Gen Yakubu Gowon.

    After the war, Gowon declared that there was no victor, no vanquished and initiated what he called the three Rs (reintegration, reconstruction and rehabilitation). The process is to ensure the reintegration of the Igbo into the society and that process has been on in the past 47 years. War is not a good thing. It took us three years to fight the civil war, but for nearly 50 years, we have been trying to make peace without success. This is why it is unwise of Kanu to have exhumed the ghost of Biafra. He did not think about the consequences of his action and the painful thing is that those who should have dissuaded him either kept quiet or tacitly supported him.

    Kanu took the wrong path and the elders of his region rather than call him to order to save their zone lined up behind him as their new found messiah. The young man has broken the laws of the land with his misguided mission. What does the Igbo want? Can they not bring their demands to the table? There can be no better time than now when the conversation is all about restructuring for the Igbo to make their grievances known. But, as we have argued in this space before,  secession, which Kanu is advocating, is not the same thing as restructuring.

    Secession is a treasonable offence and there is no government anywhere in the world that will allow that because once the secessionists succeed they will take over power. Fela did not do a quarter of what Kanu is doing today before his music empire – Kalakuta republic – was razed by soldiers in 1978. His offence : creating a republic within a Republic. There cannot be two captains in  a ship. That is not possible. How can there be a Biafra republic with its own head of state in a sovereignty like Nigeria? This is the implication of what Kanu wants to do.

    If the Igbo do not want to be part of Nigeria any more,  there are better ways of making their position known. And I do not think that Kanu or his creation, IPOB, can speak for the Igbo on such a grave issue. In any case,  many Igbo seem to be happy with their union with Nigeria. But unfortunately,  they are afraid of speaking out against Kanu for fear being attacked.  Is that the leader they want? A leader that will cow the young and old into submission?

    The Igbo do not seem to know what they want. If they do, they won’t have waited for Operation Python Dance before letting Kanu know that he was playing with fire with his romance with Biafra. Now, he has gone underground after creating a problem for his people. That is what they all do when their activities catch up with them. I appeal that we use this to pull his ears and allow him to return home or wherever he likes to pick up the pieces of his life.

  • Restructuring as path to Nirvana?

    SIR: Everybody in Nigeria at the moment is on the restructuring train. Former leaders who once ruled this country and had the golden chance but failed to do so are on that train. So also are cultural groups such as ‘Afenifere’ and ‘Ohaneze’ Ndigbo. Agitators for a Biafran nation haven’t stopped daring the state with calls for secession. And South-south militants never tire to clamour for resource control. Others have said that the implementation of the 2014 confab report is what Nigeria needs to stop all problems threatening the sanctity of Nigeria.

    However, opponents of restructuring have wondered if restructuring as is being hammered – is the solution to Nigeria’s problems.

    Didn’t we practice the parliamentary system of government in the First Republic with a weak centre? The Western Region under Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the first region in Africa to set up a TV station. In the Eastern Region led by Dr. Michael Opara, it was once rated as the fastest growing region in the world. The Northern Region under Sir Ahmadu Bello was better than some of the Gulf states today.

    But the in-fighting amongst the regional leaders who were interested in regional power and relevance led to the decline of nationalism, occasioned by the alliance and counter alliance by northern and southern leaders, which birthed two coups, and a civil war.

    In 1861, 11 southern states of the US decided to secede because of the closely held belief that the federal government was interfering with their way of life. Slavery was the backbone of the economy in the breakaway south. It took a bloody civil war which killed two-percent of the population to bring the rebel states back to the country.

    Quebec once held a referendum to decide whether they wanted to be part of Canada. So also did Scotland on relationship with Britain. Now we have Catalonia agitating for a referendum with Spain, Corsica chafing under France, and in northern part of Italy.

    Agitation(s) aren’t restricted to only Nigeria.  There are 244 countries in the world today. Of these, 193 are members of the United Nations. Out of the lot, 163 run a unitary system of government. There is a myth that majority of countries in the world practice the federal system of government, or to put it lightly, our own idea of, “true federalism.” This is not true.

    What is the guarantee that the South-south states wouldn’t want to leave Nigeria and form a new country since control of their oil and gas resources would make them self-sufficient in the event of restructuring?

    Lagos has the fifth highest G.D.P in Africa. It is the only state that can survive without federal allocations. The state pays over 65 percent of Nigeria’s taxes and 70 percent of Nigeria’s economic activities are carried out in Lagos. How can we know for sure that the Yoruba, thanks to the successes of Lagos, wouldn’t begin to agitate for a new country in future?

    The problem with Nigeria over time is that she has been unfortunate to have had visionless leaders. So visionless that under them corruption became endemic, poverty became a way of life and violence an attribute of state. It is still a wonder that we still haven’t been classed amongst failed states.

    Even if we restructure Nigeria, nothing would change, unless we import a new set of leaders from Mars.

    Ghana, nearby, with the same system as Nigeria is more stable than Nigeria even though Nigeria is richer than Ghana. It is either we clamour for parliamentary system of government today, restructuring tomorrow or are in lost Island, a day after.

    Look to quality leaders not restructuring. But where are the leaders from north to south? I don’t see any.

     

    • Essien Idiong,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

  • Path to economic growth, by Ooni, others

    Path to economic growth, by Ooni, others

    How can Nigeria remain competitive in food  production? It is by improving supply, say experts.

    They spoke at the second  Mike Omotosho Annual Lecture in Abuja. The event had as theme: “Increased agricultural productivity for sustainable economic growth”.

    They   unfolded an agenda for  strengthening public and market institutions to achieve the goals for the nation ’s agricultural system.

    Delivering a keynote address at the event, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, called on Nigerians to return to agriculture, saying it is the only sustainable business capable of ending the recession in the country.

    According to the monarch, “you don’t need dollars to plant crops. Our land is fertile and you don’t even need to apply fertiliser in some places, so let us go back to the farm”.

    He said: “God has endowed Nigeria with the best weather in the world and the country’s agricultural products – cocoa, banana, plantain, vegetables, snails etc. are the best.”  He added that there were many areas to invest in agriculture.

    According to Oba Ogunwusi, agriculture provides the largest employment platform, adding that thousands of youths have been brought back to farms and there is peace in his kingdom.

    He urged Nigerians to promote the country’s products, stop blaming the government and do something to help themselves and the nation.

    All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) President, Kabir Ibrahim, who noted that  agriculture policies worked more in rhetorics than reality, said for the sector to perform effectively, 10 per cent  budgetary allocation as stipulated by the Maputo Declaration, should be adhered to.

    He said an enabling environment for production and value addition should be created for actors in the entire value chain to increase production and reduce wastage of farm produce.

    He urged the government to deploy effective combination of better incentives and streamlined services to stimulate  greater agricultural growth, create and maintain enabling environment for agribusiness and make the modernisation of the agro-food system smoother.

    Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG)Vice-President, Emmanuel Ijewere, urged stakeholders to carry out research on post-harvest losses.

    He called on the government to  provide quality seeds, fertiliser and other farm inputs to boost agricultural production.

    Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) Registrar, Prof. Eustace Iyayi, said research, proper policy co-ordination, sincerity and youth empowerment were strong ingredients for boosting agriculture production in the country.

    For him, attracting youths to the sector by transforming it into a business and offering them new avenues and opportunities to engage the agriculture value chain should be the focus of the government.

    He stressed the need to tackle problems associated with production through research.

    Fresh Direct Produce and Agro-Allied Services Chief Executive,  Oluwayimika Angel Adelaja, said inclusive and demand-driven innovation were tools that would  help farmers in production and marketing of their produce.

    According to her, empowering youths  to get  involved  in  agro-ventures offers lots of scope for entrepreneurship and employment opportunities.

    Experts from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI), Dr. Olasupo Musa and Mr. Cyril Anyanwu, agreed that agriculture needed proper financing, adding that their  banks were doing a lot to boost funding for farming and food processing.

    Earlier,  Mike Omotosho Foundation founder,  Dr. Mike Omotosho,  said  there was urgent need for increased agricultural productivity for local  consumption and export.

    Co-Chair of the occasion, Prof. Jacob Olupona, said the neglect of agriculture drove the nation to  recession, calling for agricultural revolution and farmers’ empowerment.

  • Risky path toward theocracy (1)

    Risky path toward theocracy (1)

    In the past week, I had two divergent emotional experiences, no thanks to the uneven messages contained in the substance of our national discourse.

    On the first occasion a week ago, I received the full text of an inspiring lecture given by Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, the Honourable Minister of Power, Works, and Housing. It was the Convocation Lecture he delivered at his alma mater, the University of Benin. Coming from a Minister of the Federal Republic, a distinguished lawyer, and a former Governor of the Centre of Excellence, who is also a practising Muslim, I felt so elated about his position on religion and the affairs of the state that I quickly sent a note of congratulations to him. Over the years, Fashola has intervened in important matters with his signature clarity and commonsensical approach to issues.

    Fast forward to this past Tuesday, I perused the Internet for the news of the day, and I couldn’t be more depressed with the first item that caught my attention on the web site of Premium Times. It read: “Bill to establish Christian Court scales second reading”. “Is this a joke?” I asked myself repeatedly. I tried to surf more pages on the Internet thinking, perhaps, Premium Times got the whole story wrong. Seeing no other related news at the time, I wanted to be reassured that it was not true. I sent a message to my good friend, Distinguished Senator, Professor Sola Adeyeye, who promised to find out and get back to me. However, before he could get back, I got a confirmation from The Nation, which carried even more details, including some of the main clauses of the bill and its rationale.

    Juxtaposing the inspiring lecture of Minister Fashola and the depressing news of the legislative priority of the People’s Representatives was a hard nut for me to crack.

    Fashola’s message is “most profound”, to quote Senator Sola Adeyeye, a born-again Christian, who kindly sent the text of the lecture to me and who had himself had his share of frustration as a member of the House years ago, also on the matter of religion and our national obsession that sometimes defy logic and commonsense. We resort to prayer sessions and leave unsolved the clearly mechanical problem and human errors that cause motor accidents. Fashola’s objective was to encourage the graduating students to free themselves from fear or what Francis Bacon referred to as idols of the theatre—the menacing impact of false beliefs from orthodox doctrines on our private and public lives.

    It is important to keep distinct and separate three issues in this discussion: religion in private life (within and beyond the limits of reason), religion in public life, and civil religion. My position is that every human being has a right to have a religious belief in the privacy of their lives as well as a right to freely worship whatever is the object of their beliefs. Of course, should they choose, each also has a right to not hold a belief in God or Gods. And society has no right to punish anyone on account of his or her belief or lack thereof. Francis Bacon who warned against the Idols of the Theatre also famously defended religious belief: “a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.” Fashola’s philosophy professor is probably deep in this Baconian understanding of life.

    In view of the well-known character of philosophy, Fashola’s narration of his encounter with his philosophy professor should not come as a surprise. The mission of philosophy in the Socratic tradition is to critically examine issues from an objective perspective and not be satisfied with an opinion that has not been subjected to the crucible of fiery questions. But we are also wired to believe in non-demonstrable and non-evidential ideas, including spiritual and religious ideas. We easily traverse the universe of science that is evidence-based, and the world of religion that is faith-based. As long as we are aware of the difference and we are able to navigate the chasm between them, we should be fine.

    The challenge is that, out of an irrational anxiety and a tragic deficit of self-reliance, many fail to use their natural endowments and acquired skills and would rather indulge the attitude of dependency on others, and in the ultimate, on the unseen, which is variously named. And in case the expected help from the unseen doesn’t materialise, the human mind easily settles on a soothing explanation that appeals to the irrepressible presence of destiny at best, or fate, at worst. What will be will be!

    There is a more productive way of navigating the chasm. Belief in a divine being does not negate the need for hard work and the use of the intellect which is our gift from the divine. Apostle Paul was clear about this. Neither does faith in a good God negate the struggle for justice in the face of oppression. The prophets of old understood this very well. Therefore, the easy resort of our people to the search for miracles where hard work and intelligent strategising matters is a proven path to failure.

    Unfortunately, the laziness and obsession with shortcuts that characterise our private lives regularly finds its way to the conduct of our public affairs. No public institution is immune from the recourse to the occult, including our citadels of learning where sacrifices often litter cross roads and participation at prayer vigils surpasses class attendance.

    In a passage of the lecture that is especially pertinent to my interest here, Fashola observes as follows:

    “…at least the two faiths are not original to us. They are inherited. The propagators of the faith have made them personal affairs and not public ones.” Then he recalls how the meetings he has attended in the West and in the Middle East had never started or ended with prayers because such meetings for them “represent public undertakings and places of work and productive undertakings to deliver prosperity.” On the other hand in this country “the heads of governments, heads of ministries, and businesses, devote early mornings at work to prayers with their staff while productive man hours tick away.”

    Let me make a friendly modification here, which in no way diminishes the import of the minister’s point because his critique of fear as a motivation of conduct will be applicable wherever it is observed. My modification is that, perhaps unlike other Western nations, the United States, after decades of productive engagement with nature and acting as the leader of the free world is also, no thanks to a substantial vocal segment, becoming progressively engrossed in the deification of superstition and fear.

    Congress has a Chaplain who leads the opening and closing prayers when it is in session. Here, however, despite the extremism of some, a commonsensical balance is maintained between reason and faith. And though the United States is a predominantly Christian country, her leaders are uniformly aware of the diversity of religious sensibilities including the various denominations of the Christian faith. Therefore, most public prayers end “in the name of God”, the common denominator of all faiths, instead of “in the name of Christ” or “in the name of Allah”. Note that I have not denied the existence of extremists of any faith and their mission of spreading hate in public places. Thankfully, most public servants are moderates in the matter of faith and they take seriously their obligation to uphold the constitution in its secularity.

    The difference between Nigeria and the United States is not in the private practice of religion and faith. Just as the majority of believers of different faiths have been moderate in the practice of religion, many citizens in both countries have also embraced a form of religiosity that goes beyond reason in their embrace of fear. But while individuals have the right to believe what they may, it is utterly irresponsible for the public arena to be the locus of fear. But that is precisely what we seem to have turned our nation’s People’s House into.

    To be continued

  • FUTA staff, students on war path

    FUTA staff, students on war path

    Students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State have backed  their embattled Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebiyi Daramola, and Bursar, Mr. Emmanuel Oresegun, as the staff unions continue their protest for the duo to go over fraud allegations. DANIEL OLADELE reports.

    Workers and students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in Ondo State, may be on collision course as the crisis over the invitation of the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Adebiyi Daramola, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) rages.

    The institution was thrown into confusion last week when the news of EFCC’s invitation of the VC and Bursar, Mr Emmanuel Oresegun, hit the campus. Both were summoned by the anti-graft agency for interrogation over alleged misappropriation of  funds.

    The VC and Bursar were released the next day, eliciting protest from members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT). The protesters picketed the Administrative Block, calling on the embattled VC and the Bursar to go.

    The protest, which started at 2p.m., disrupted academic activities. The protesters moved round the campus, chanting anti-management songs.They expressed displeasure with the “leadership style” of Daramola, insisting that he must step down.

    Some members of the staff said: “Prof Daramola cannot be facing corruption allegation and still be the VC; we don’t want another Saraki-style in FUTA”. The protesters also warned the VC against coming to the campus.

    SSANU Chairman Comrade Dele Durojaiye said the union members would not stop the protest until the VC and Bursar stepped down.

    He said: “We forwarded petitions against the management on the monumental fraud and corruption going on this university. And that is what we are fighting for. What we are saying is that the moment you are being investigated by any anti-graft agency, you should step aside. We want the government to dissolve the council, because we believe the council is equally corrupt.

    “We are also telling the government that not until Prof Daramola is removed, this university will be under lock and key. We don’t care if it takes more than three months. We are joining forces with reasonable Nigerians, with President Muhammadu Buhari to fight corruption in this university.”

    The leadership of the protesting unions directed their members not to go back to their duty posts, but to converge in front of the new Senate Building daily until the VC and Bursar are gone.

    The FUTA management, which spoke through the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Prof. Olatunde Arayela, said there was no basis for the protest, because the VC had not been pronounced guilty by any law court. He advised the workers to return to their offices, saying it was unfair for anyone to call for the VC’s resignation over an unproven allegation.

    “The VC and Bursar were only invited for interrogation and as law-abiding citizens. They heeded the invitation but not detained by the anti-graft commission as reported, Prof Arayela said.”

    Students have thrown their weight behind the embattled VC and the Bursar, accusing the union members of sending “frivolous petitions” to the EFCC.

    Students’ Union Government (SUG) President Oluwasegun Oladele, who spoke for the students, said they rose in defence of the embattled VC and Bursar because they found the allegations baseless and an attempt to smear the person of Daramola.

    The students said the workers’ protest could plunge the school into a needless crisis, calling on them to stop it.

    A statement by the SUG president reads: “The Students’ Union deems that the petition against the VC and Bursar as frivolous, baseless and an attempt by the petitioners not to only throw the institution into crisis, but also tarnish and destroy the hard-earned reputation of Prof Adebiyi Daramola.”

    The SUG said members of the staff lied when they claimed the management had not approved their productivity allowances since 2012. Oluwasegun said: “This is totally false. And from our checks, the Governing Council did not approve the payment of the allowances, rather re-appropriated the money to provide services for students.”

    The SUG accused the staff unions of being only interested in “business as usual”, insinuating that SSANU and NASU wanted the management to share the school’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) as welfare packages.

    The SUG highlighted some of the VC’s achievements, saying the management, led by  Daramola, had carried out student-oriented projects which have impacted on academics and students.

    Oluwasegun added: “We advise the staff unions to join hands by supporting the lofty vision of the Vice Chancellor and the university management to develop FUTA.They must know that we are not in any way fighting them, but we want them to be considerate and be partner in progress in FUTA.”

  • A preacher’s path

    Itinerant preaching did not just start today; it is as old as time. You may have come across these itinerant preachers in your neighbourhood as they go about doing their thing, inviting people to the Way. You may not like them, but you cannot hate their messages – if you care to listen. Most times, we are in a hurry, either rushing to work or dashing out to keep that important appointment that we do not have the time for these preachers. With a bell in hand, a megaphone and a Bible, they trudge the streets on evangelism.

    To them, it is all about propagating the faith so that the work of “our Father who art in Heaven” can be done. They do the work zealously. They do not care if their words sear souls. That is the purpose, anyway, so as to get ‘’the lost sheep’’ to change their ways. The Good Book says there is only one way to heaven and that is through Jesus. According to the Bible, he is the “way, the truth and the life”. The preachers’ job is to call people to this Way. Having given their own lives, these preachers believe that they owe it a duty to ‘’save’’ others to free themselves from guilt.

    They are only acting according to God’s admonition in Ezekiel 33 : 8-9 : ‘’When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul’’. The itinerant preacher perceives himself as winning souls for God; this is why he uses the Word to captivate his listeners.

    Whether in the morning or in the evening he has his job cut out for him. ‘’Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’’, he cries to our hearing, but how many of us listen? These days, the itinerant preacher is no longer a lone voice in the wilderness like in the days of John the Baptist. They abound everywhere in the country as they have gone into the world, as directed by Jesus,  ‘’to preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth…shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”. The itinerant preacher is not on a frolic of his own, but carrying out the Lord’s commandment.

    We may despise the preacher, but we cannot disdain his or her God to whom we owe the essence of our being. In the free world we are today, we need the itinerant preacher to awaken us; this does not mean that atheists will cease to exist. But by hearing the word of God, their hearts might be touched and they may give their lives and end up being another Apostle Paul. According to the Bible, we can never say who will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many of us going about wearing our faith as a badge of honour may end up not making it, while latter day converts or even sinners, who repent at the last minute, like the thief on Jesus’ right hand on the Cross of Calvary, may enter God’s Kingdom.

    Through their work, the itinerant preachers are trying to get us to lead a righteous life. But many of us tend to see them as irritants, who disturb our sleep early in the morning or our rest in the evening with their ‘unsolicited’ preaching. ‘’Didn’t the Bible say they should shake the dust off their feet in homes where they are not welcomed?’’ some would ask. The truth is by standing on the streets to preach, they are not in anybody’s home. The public space belongs to them just like any other person. So, we should learn to tolerate them.The problem is we are intolerant when it comes to religion. We always want to have it our own way when religion is at the heart of the matter. The Muslim is intolerant of the Christian and vice versa.

    It is this intolerance that led to the dastardly killing, last Saturday,  of Deaconess Eunice Olawale during her daily “Morning Cry” preaching in Kubwa, a satellite town in Abuja. What could she have done to have warranted been killed in cold blood a few metres away from her home? Was her preaching disturbing anybody? Did such people complain to the community development association (CDA) so that she could be called to order? But no matter how some might have felt about her preaching, killing her was not the solution. Her death will not deter other preachers. Rather, it will embolden them.

    By killing Mrs Olawale, her killers have made her a martyr for Christ. She died doing what she believed in – winning souls for God. I know some would have been touched by her preaching and saved. These ones will always pray for her whenever they remember what she did in their lives. Deaconess Olawale may have died young, but it is not how far, but how well. She fought a good fight and ran a swift race in the Lord’s vineyard and a crown of glory is surely waiting for her. As the Bible says, those who die in Christ are not dead, but sleeping and will rise with Jesus on the Last Day.

    Deaconess Olawale’s death is a challenge to the police. The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command must do everything to bring her killers to book. Someone must have seen or heard something that fateful day. It is the job of the police to ferret out such people so that they can get a lead to crack this case. Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP)  Ibrahim Idris, who assumed duty last month, should also see it as a top priority case, which will define his tenure in office. If he cracks this case, it would earn him kudos and pave the way for his success. If he does not, it would be what he will be remembered by long after he has retired. The police chief should not allow the voice of the ‘’Morning Crier’’ of Kubwa to be stilled without justice being done.

     

  • New path to peace in Gombe

    New path to peace in Gombe

    To stop inter-communal bloodshed over boundaries, do not redraw the borderlines; rekindle the friendliness and respect that existed among the forebears of the communities. VINCENT OHONBAMU reports

    The horrors of the insurgents are receding in Gombe State, giving the residents much-cherished relief. Even political thugs, dreaded for their thirst for blood, are being contained through the state government’s initiatives. But how do you stop the bloodbath on the borderlines, a development which continues to blight the state, costing it not just precious souls but valued properties?

    Many hold that redrawing the borders will help a great deal. But the Mai Kaltungo, Alhaji Mohammed Saleh is not one this lot. The traditional ruler and Deputy Chairman of Gombe State Council of Emirs and Chiefs said there is little to gain from boundary adjustment. The only thing that needs adjustment, he said, is the people’s feeling for one another on both sides of the border.

    People should simply start respecting one another again, and rekindle the friendliness that their ancestors on both sides of the border once shared. That was what ensured peace among communities, not who owned what land.

    One question the Mai Kaltungo likes to ask is, were the borders not there when their ancestors lived happily with one another?

    “We have to be one,” he said. “We are supposed to be one big town without any divisions. If we do not work towards cementing this good relationship, there will be problems.”

    The royal father’s call was necessitated by his concern over the perennial problems of land disputes in Gombe South Senatorial District, especially as it affects his immediate domain – Kaltungo and Shongom local governments on one side, and Billiri Local Government on the other.

    Oftentimes, most parties attempting to proffer solutions have always called for boundary demarcation as a way of finding a lasting peace to the seemingly unending matter.

    The last of such calls came in July from Hon Rambi Ibrahim Ayala who represents Billiri East constituency in Gombe State House of Assembly where he also chairs the House Committee on Land and Water Resources.

    He moved a motion seeking the clear-cut demarcation of boundaries in Gombe South Senatorial District as a means to ending the bloodshed; just as he called for the reinforcement of security as an interim measure while still working at a lasting solution.

    The Emir who was speaking as part of his to the people after Durbar (traditional horse riding and paying/receiving homage) buttressed his point about peaceful coexistence by exemplifying with the traditional hunters that normally participate in the Durbar which he said were predominantly Christians.

    “You see these traditional hunters, about 90% of them are Christians but we celebrate sallah together. This is an Islamic affair. We go to the eid ground with them. They will just stay aside while we pray. After prayers, we all come and celebrate together. That tells you the kind of unity that is here,” he said.

    It is not clear what the state government is planning regarding finding a lasting peace, but Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo as part of the immediate past sallah message told traditional rulers, community and religious leaders and the entire citizenry to continually strive towards sustaining the existing peace in the state.

    He said government as the primary responsibility of providing adequate security for the lives and property of its citizenry would continue to support security agencies to discharge their duties while urging all to “be law abiding and to shun acts capable of disrupting the peaceful co-existence the state is enjoying”.

  • Buhari’s 100 days: Placing Nigeria on the path to recovery

    Buhari’s 100 days: Placing Nigeria on the path to recovery

    All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in this title salute President Muhammadu Buhari’s painstaking slow fix , which he said is meant to set a stronger foundation for economic recovery

    Three months ago, the course of Nigeria’s future changed for the better. The APC won a historic election. Tired of the broken promises and damaged public institutions wrought by sixteen years of PDP misrule, the people demanded change. By virtue of the election, the people reclaimed the primacy of their sovereign will. They demanded that government should serve them before serving itself. That proclaimed that government for the people was not only possible in this land but that its establishment was overdue. The breath of hope was restored to the body politic. On that day, we all stood more proudly and more eager to walk into the new day that had come.

    But change is not made simply by winning an election or ejecting a few bad seeds from office. Change requires the careful removal of the rotted timber that has made national governance such a rickety structure. It requires the bold articulation yet wise implementation of a vision and supporting policies, programs and projects aimed at making our country better, making our people’s lives better.

    Change does not tolerate the high rates of poverty and joblessness that insult our national potential and reduce the lives of too many Nigerians. The change we seek will revive this economy in a way that creates jobs and lifts Nigerians out of poverty that all may enjoy the dignified and secure life promised us.

    Change is not weakening our military to the point where it is too demoralized and ill-equipped to protect our people from terrorist violence.Change is energizing that military with new leadership, better war materiel and the firm mandate to rout Boko Haram. Change is establishing peace and security so that the hundreds of thousands of displaced Nigerians may return home in contemplation of rebuilding their lives in ways better than what was before. And change means fighting corruption in all of its manifestations instead of consorting with it. No longer shall the public treasury, meant for the wellbeing of the many, be treated as the private reserve of the few.

    Nigeria is now 100 days into President Buhari’s leadership. It is clear that he has begun the change Nigeria needs. He has shown the decisiveness, the incorruptibility, security acumen and progressive vision we voted for. He has brought the leadership we desperately need. I shudder to think where we might be had the prior administration been allowed to govern even 100 days more, let alone another four years.

    First, Buhari has turned the table against Boko Haram.He has not hesitated to take the fight to the terrorists, destroying their hideouts, capturing their fighters and equipment while taking the military initiative away from them.  They are on their heels and on the run. To get to this better position, he dismissed general officers who had lost heart and were too hesitant to confront Boko Haram, replacing them with new military commanders selected not on regionalism or favoritism but on the strength of their military leadership and fighting spirit. The president strengthened our security partnerships with Chad, Niger, Cameroon, and the United States to build a much stronger regional and international coalition to uproot the terrorists.  He continues to reach out to other nations to further strengthen that coalition. We are no longer a junior partner in a fight that mostly takes place on our soil. Because of President Buhari, we are at the head of this  multilateral effort, driving it forcefully to successful conclusion. We are already seeing improvements in safety across the Northeast as Boko Haram retreats and retreats. Buhari will not relent until there is no more Boko haram left to fight.

    Buhari is also tackling corruption. Hehas already shown dozens of corrupt officials the exit, demonstrating that he will not tolerate corruption in his government. He is busily plugging the loopholes in the system to prevent the wholesale thievery so common under the predecessor government.The idea of a single federal government account is one such corrective measure.  Moreover, he is studiously tracking where much of the stolen funds went. He is doing this that he may recover these public funds and bring to book those who purloined them.

    He will return that money to the people, using the funds to build schools, roads, and hospitals that Nigeria needs.

    The President is also taking steps to pull our economy from the dangerous brink where the PDP left it and then to strengthen and diversify the economy that it may provide jobs and prosperity to all who are willing to work to improve their lot.  He has fought and already cured much of the indiscipline and subterfuge that plagued the operation of our refineries and power system. Just in the first hundred days, refinery production has increased reasonably, lowering the cost of fuel importation and thus spurring greater economic activity. He also has improved electricity production by holding the power companies accountable.

    By approving a package of emergency fiscal and financial relief, he has stopped the slide of numerous states into economic depression and imminent bankruptcy. By enabling the payment of back salaries to state government civil servants, he has saved millions of Nigerians from sinking into the hunger and poverty. Moreover, the funds paid to these people will be used to purchase goods and services thus energizing local economies that were becoming flaccid due to lack of aggregate consumer demand. The former government should have taken this step months ago, even before the election. However, it let a bad situation fester into impending calamity. Had that government remained in office, it would have allowed the states to slide into bankruptcy, triggering a financial crisis that would have engulfed the banking system if not the entire economy. In his first 100 days, President Buhari staved the financial paralysis of the states and, as such, may have prevented  a sudden and crippling financial crisis. Gone are the days of rebasing falsehood and brazen theft from our treasury.

    In coming weeks, he will reveal his budget. The budget will go far toward honoring his campaign promises to boost domestic industries, improve our schools to prepare our children for the jobs of tomorrow, and invest in infrastructure that will make Nigeria a better place to run a farm, build a factory, drive your car, drink the water, construct a home, and create jobs.

    We have still a lot of work to do. While reeling, Boko Haram is not completely defeated. Ourstolen girls are not back, and too many from the North East are still unable to return home. With regard to corruption, we must not only recoup stolen money, we must rediscover lost public ethics. We need to establish the mindset that corruption is criminal and evil and do away with the mentality that has treated it as correct public etiquette. While actions have been taken to thwart imminent crisis, much needs to be done to place the economy on solid footing over the longer haul.  I look forward with great optimism and enthusiasm to the government coming forward with plans to create jobs, modernize our infrastructure and diversify the economy so that our industrial sector may attain greater prominence.

    I salute and accept the deliberate painstaking slow fix of this government which is meant to set a stronger foundation for quick economic recovery. The effort to stem the primitive pilferation of our commonwealth must attain national priority. The Buhari administration is committed to building a new country.

    Looking at the fragile vehicle they inherited and at the harsh terrain they have been able to navigate, I could not be prouder of what the President, the Vice President and their team have done thus far. If they continue in this manner, they would have done more than justify the people’s faith in them. They would have placed Nigeria on the path to its better self. We cannot ask any more from them than that.

     

  • Path to economic integration in Africa, by Dangote

    Path to economic integration in Africa, by Dangote

    For economic integration to be a real-ity in Africa, barriers  among countries must be broken to allow for free flow of goods, services, and ensure political stability on the continent, Africa’s richest man and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has said.

    Speaking during the inauguration of the new 2.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) Dangote Cement plant in Mugher District in Ethiopia, A1lhaji Dangote said only 14 out of the 54 African countries, offer visa-free, or visa-on-arrival to citizens of all African countries.

    He listed the 14 countries to include Seychelles, Mali, Uganda, Cape Verde, Togo, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, and Mauritania. Others are Rwanda, Burundi, Comoros, Madagascar, Somalia and Senegal.

    Dangote noted that on the other hand, American citizens visiting most African countries, get visa at the point of entry. He described this development as unhealthy for business, arguing that Africa must therefore, relax its visa policies to achieve true economic integration.

    While pointing out that Senegal has started the issuance of visas on arrival to all nationalities, he called on all African countries to follow suit.

    Dangote also stressed the need to make deliberate efforts to encourage Africans, not just foreigners alone, to invest in the continent.

    “For instance, Dangote Cement is currently investing in 16 African countries, with plans to invest in many more over the next few years. There are a number of other successful pan-African brands today such as MTN, Shoprite and Ecobank. We need to encourage this trend to see more investments in Africa by Africans,” he said.

    Dangote further noted that above all, there is the need to encourage the private sector to collaborate with governments across Africa to address the issue of infrastructure deficit, which has plagued the continent for decades.