The Nation Newspaper

Tag: problems

  • The problems with Kenyan elections

    THe Kenyan election committee yesterday said it was bothered by the high number of votes rejected during this week’s presidential election.

    Kenyans voted Monday in the first national elections under new laws meant to address the violence that erupted following 2007 elections. Thousands of people were killed in political violence in 2007.

    Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga is in a tight race for president with Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenyatta could face trial at the International Criminal Court for his alleged role in the 2007 crisis.

    Monday’s elections were described as relatively peaceful, though more than a dozen people died during clashes with rebel forces along the Kenyan coast.

    Ahmed Issack Hassan, chairman of the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission, said Tuesday that more than 15 percent of the 4.8 million votes have been rejected, reports Kenyan newspaper The Daily Nation.

    He attributed much of the problem to a complex ballot. Kenyans cast votes for five other positions ranging from governors to senators, in addition to president.

     

     

     

  • Abdulsalami: bombings, killings worsen North’s problems

    A former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, yesterday said the bombings and killings in the North have continued to worsen the economic and other aspects of the North’s situation.

    The retired military chief noted that unless northern leaders tackle the growing insecurity in the region, efforts to revamp its economy would remain futile.

    Gen. Abubakar said the spate of insecurity in the North has further weakened its fragile economy.

    The former Head of State spoke at the inauguration of the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Fund of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai.

    Governor Babangida Aliyu inaugurated the fund yesterday.

    Abubakar said insecurity has further worsened the “night economy” of the North, adding that night life used to generate huge income for the region.

    According to him, “night economy” accounted for a reasonable percentage of the economy of the region in the past.

    He said: “There is no town in the North where there is night life anymore. We all know the type of economy the North derived from its night life. But now, there is no more night economy in the North. This is not good for us and for our development.”

    The former Head of the State, who is the Chairman of Board of Trustees, explained that the persistent bombings and killing are destroying the little the North had for its economy and development.

    He urged those with grievances against any government to dialogue instead of killing fellow beings and destroying property.

    Abubakar said: “All these bombings and killings do not solve the problem. We should think about our children and grandchildren. What will we leave for them, if we destroy the little we have now?”

    The former military leader attributed the problems of the country to lack of discipline.

    He noted that if the standard that has been laid down has been maintained, the nation would not be experiencing what it is passing through now.

    On the Yuletide saeson, Abdulsalam, said: “I am appealing to Nigerians to maintain the peace as we celebrate the Yuletide. For without peace, there can be no country.”

    He promised that the board would make the institution one of the best in Nigeria and beyond.

    Aliyu urged the board members to follow global best practices as exemplified by the University of Ibadan (UI) Endowment Fund.

  • ‘Hunger and anger’ll cause problems’

    Primate Theopihilus Olabayo of the Evangelical Church of Yahweh, Lagos, has decried the spate of corruption in the nation.

    Speaking yesterday at a special spiritual retreat, the cleric said corruption has left the country on the path of destruction.

    “The revolution I prophesied has come to stay with us and people are now seeing it.

    “It’s unfortunate but I predicted the decline of statehood in Nigeria in the past, hoping that the Federal Government will take leadership serious.

    “But it didn’t, and after a while I told them that God will unleash on them another formidable terrorist group.

    “And that has come to pass with the menace of Boko Haram.

    “But there is no hope in sight as to when the government will have the political will to take on corruption in this country.

    “What I see next is that the poor will face the rich and between now and next year, things will escalate.

    “God is not happy about this situation. The cry of Nigerians going to bed hungry is getting to God.

    “Those who want to say the truth cannot do so anymore, so truth is no longer being said, people are afraid for their lives.

    “They are afraid of being killed. Like I’ve said, hunger and anger will soon destroy this nation.”

    The cleric advised President Goodluck Jonathan to stop talking about the 2015 election.

    “If I were him, I would not be talking about 2015 elections.

    “If I were him, I would forget about that election and that’s even if there’s going to be an election, because there will be anarchy.

    “There will be problems. Jonathan has to be careful because the country will be divided over his contesting or not contesting.”

     

  • Only ACN can solve Nigeria’s problems, says Aregbesola

    Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola yesterday said Nigeria may not overcome its challenges unless the progressives take over government at the federal level.

    Aregbesola spoke at a one-day capacity building workshop organised for executive members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) at the local and state government levels by the Ola Oni Centre for Social Research.

    Explaining that the Federal Government has failed to solve the nation’s problems, he said only the ACN can provide solutions to Nigeria’s challenges.

    Describing the ACN as the only truly democratic party in the country, Aregbesola, who was represented by his Assistant Chief of Staff, Mr. Adejare Adebisi, said the ACN has dedicated members, who can “weather Nigeria’s storm”.

    He said: “This is the tradition that began with the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and has passed on. Our members are rugged, fiercely loyal and indefatigable. They are as constant as the Northern Star in good times, bad times and in-between. In persecution, in power and in opposition, they are constant. They are incurably optimistic and resilient in the face of the vilest persecution.

    “At the times we are in, there has never been a greater challenge for our party and all progressives. At the national level, the ship of the state is in stormy waters and floundering.

    “In states outside our party’s control, the people are increasingly becoming disoriented and their investment of hope is turning to despair. While Nigeria is one of the richest countries in Africa, Nigerians are among the poorest, living on less than $350 per annum.

    “There are other shameful data on national underdevelopment. Nigeria is the eighth largest producer of oil in the world with daily production in the excess of two billion barrels, yet the country is a major importer of refined fuel. Even this the Federal Government cannot do successfully and truthfully.

    “There are fuel queues everywhere indicating acute scarcity on one hand and a scam of over N1 trillion indicating a mindless fleecing of the country on the other.

    “There are mind boggling security challenges and various parts of the country have turned to huge killing fields, but the Federal Government seems not to have the slightest clue on how to stop them.”

    Urging ACN members to be prepared for the challenge of taking over the Federal Government, Aregbesola said: “The task requires that we be prepared and ready. Our engine must be primed and we must be firing on all cylinders. We must be organised and our communication skills must be at the optimum.”

    Acting Osun ACN Chairman Mr. Adelowo Adebiyi stressed the need for members to work in unity to sustain the party’s glory.

    The party’s Publicity Director, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, said the achievements of the Aregbesola administration speak volumes and urged members to work together for the progress of the party and the state.

  • Buhari-Tinubu ticket solution to Nigeria’s problems, says ACN chieftain

    Buhari-Tinubu ticket solution to Nigeria’s problems, says ACN chieftain

    A chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kano State, Dr. Baffa Baba Dan-Agundi, has provided a solution to the leadership problem in Nigeria.

    He urged the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the last general election and two-time presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), General Muhammadu Buhari and the National Leader of the ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to team up and rescue the country from the clutches of the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) misrule.

    Dan-Agundi, a former legal adviser to the ANPP but now an ACN member, told our reporter in Kano yesterday that the former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Tinubu and General Buhari are the messiahs to salvage the country.

    He said for Nigerians to experience development and transformation, the duo must forget their political differences and unite to save the country from the mal-administration of the ruling party.

    Dan-Agundi, a former sole administrator of the Kano Municipal Local Government and a House of Assembly aspirant on the platform of the ACN, noted that only a merger between the ACN and CPC can unseat the PDP, adding that the solution to Nigeria’s problems lies in the hands of Tinubu and Buhari.

    He said: “The only person the masses in the North respect and believe in is General Buhari. Just like Tinubu is the only person people in the Southwest believe in and respect. So the ticket of the two politicians will be excellent for Nigeria. It is the only way to unseat the PDP.

    “What I want them to do is to prevent anybody from interfering in their differences because Buhari is the leader of the CPC, while the leader of the ACN is Tinubu. The merger talks should be between the two political bigwigs.”

    Dr. Dan-Agundi suggested that a rotational system between the duo should be adopted whereby Buhari would contest as the presidential candidate, while Tinubu would be his running mate, and at the end of his tenure, it would be the turn of Tinubu. He noted that there should be a written agreement to avoid betrayal of trust.

    “If Buhari is not willing to contest the presidential election, let him tell the entire world, because from all indications, the majority of Nigerians believe in Tinubu because he can be entrusted with the leadership of the country. He did well in Lagos, which Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola is building on,” Dan-Agundi said.

    According to him, some people view the ACN as a regional party, “but to be candid, it is not, as Tinubu unconditionally financed our campaign as Northerners. He has done a lot for us by sponsoring the ACN candidates in the North.

    “For example, I am not a Yoruba, but Tinubu has done a lot for me. Nobody can equal what he has done for me. ACN is not a regional party as far as I am concerned. If we have different views, we can have different platforms, just as we can agree and disagree. It’s all politics.”