The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rescue

  • NEMAP to the rescue

    NEMAP to the rescue

    •The North East Marshall Plan is imperative. But the government must get it right

    The Federal Government, on October 27, announced a redevelopment plan for the Boko Haram-ravaged North East.  Dubbed the North East Marshall Plan (NEMAP), it has short, medium and long-term components, complete with a “strategic national communication” segment, aimed at de-radicalising the local populace.

    The Office of the National Security Adviser announced NEMAP at a two-day media parley it tagged “Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) Media Roundtable; Reporting Responsibly on Violent Extremism.”

    The Guardian newspaper reported NEMAP has estimated N92.2 billion to fund intervention projects in immediate, intermediate and long-term economic reconstruction, emergency assistance and sundry development programmes, across the North East.

    Much of the medium-term plan is targeted at rehabilitating the more than two million internally displaced persons (IDPs), ensuring most of them return to their former bases and occupations.  But a segment of NEMAP will also address the needs of IDPs with no intention of returning to their former bases, in the epicentres of the insurrection: Borno, Yobe and Adamawa.  Another N116.4 billion is, in the long run, projected to resettle this set of IDPs, together with other interventionist programmes in physical and social infrastructure.

    But perhaps the most strategic of the NEMAP components is its communication segment, aimed at winning the war for the mind of the local populace.  Faced with grinding poverty,  neglect and sheer hopelessness, they had fallen for Boko Haram’s destructive charm.  Indeed, NEMAP would have been grossly incomplete without a communication component.  After clearing the environment of the insurrection-trigger of joblessness, poverty and hopelessness, the mind too should be cleared of the corresponding cobwebs.

    NEMAP is, therefore, not only welcome, it is must-do.  After falling under the spell of Boko Haram destruction and cruelty, the least the Nigerian state owes this much-repressed and depressed set of citizens is this intervention, to re-establish its dutiful presence.

    But a plan is just a plan,  unless it is rigorously implemented.  This is even very true of NEMAP, given the trauma the local population have gone through; and the high penchant to doubt if there would ever be any change for the better, beyond mere rhetoric.

    That is why the Federal Government should be very sure of NEMAP’s funding.  Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said a part of it would come from Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (NSWF), managed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); the sovereign funds of other nations, interested in investing in NEMAP; local and foreign investors, and, of course, international development  and donor agencies.

    But if NSIA is involved, then the Federal Government needs to consult extensively with the states.  The NSWF belongs to the central government and all of the states.  So, no party takes from that fund, without the say-so of all of the owners. So, while the Federal Government should be less cavalier pushing NEMAP as some example of “manifest goodness”, the states too should be patriotic in giving their approval.

    The North East might indeed be a geographical area; but the principle of damage to one, damage to all should apply here.  Besides, a destroyed North East, as a component part of Nigeria, sooner than later comes to haunt the whole polity.  Aside, citizens from all over Nigeria live there.  So, its rehabilitation should be the prime concern of all.

    But even with funding secure, NEMAP’s success may not be guaranteed.  A rigorous structure must therefore drive the programme.  On this score, its timeline of two years is reassuring.  That means everything must be done, within that time frame, to attain its set goals.  To make this possible, however, there must be a driver — a specific person to drive the project; someone on whose table the buck stops: for praise; or for blame.  The Marshall Plan of post-World War 2 Europe was run that way.  There is no reason NEMAP should not.

    NEMAP is serious business.  The Buhari Presidency should ensure it doesn’t peter down to some illicit pork.  The North East must be fixed and Boko Haram totally defeated.  Then Nigeria can resume its normal development process, very demanding, even at the best of times.

     

  • Who will rescue the police?

    The recent spate of kidnappings across the country has once again exposed the incompetence of the Nigeria Police. Particularly galling is the resort by police to lies, to cover up the enormous institutional challenges, the police face, instead of asking for help. The most recent embarrassment, was the claim by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase, that his men rescued Chief Olu Falae, kidnapped late last month, by marauding Fulani cattle herdsmen, in Ondo State. But, according to Chief Falae, the former secretary to the Federal Government, he was “let go the day after ransom was collected”, and the Chief spent four days with the kidnappers, before his release.

    As a face-saving measure, after the freed Chief told the world what happened, the IGP released a statement, saying: “As professionals, it is our conviction that the unprecedented and massive deployment of police resources and men to support search and rescue operations put pressure on the criminals to release the elder statesman.” In essence, what the IGP subsequently admitted is that the police did not actually spring the Chief from his abductors, as he earlier claimed, but that the Chief was released following the pressure on the bandits, by the police.

    So, why did the IGP release the earlier false report that his men had following the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), successfully rescued the eminent Yoruba traditional ruler, from his abductors? Fear? Insecurity? Psychological disorder? Why the false claim? For this column, while the traumatised victim of the kidnap, deserve our collective sympathy, the greater sympathy goes to the police. Indeed, this column recommends that the federal government should set up a committee of psychologists, sociologists and related disciplines, to understudy the Nigeria police, and recommend ways to rescue it, from this cover-up syndrome.

    As a rule of thumb, the immediate reaction of the police to any unwholesome or inefficient conduct, by any member of their rank and file, is to cover the tracks. That reaction is instinctive, even when the action is manifestly criminal, and abundantly committed in bad faith. The commonest and most gruesome occurrences are what is commonly referred to as “accidental discharge”. An ‘accidental discharge’, can roughly be described, as a terminology used by the police to justify, either a clandestine or intentional or reckless shooting of a victim, most times at police checkpoints, or at other police action spots, for insignificant or no just cause.

    When such a shooting happens, the police authority will most times, without any investigation, even a wish washy one; issue a statement exculpating their own official, and indicting the victim. Nearly at all such times, the police public relations officer, will without any iota of guilt, lie that the shooting occurred in the line of their official, discharging his/her police duties. Where, however, arising from public pressure for justice, the culprit is hauled to account for the so called ‘accidental discharge’, the police will reluctantly change the story, and admit negligence of their official, without any reprimand for those who earlier wholesomely misled the people and the state.

    This scenario is not a one-off occurrence, it is rather the standard practice. Perhaps the commonest explanation for such behavioural pattern, could be a sense of insecurity. Job insecurity? We know that until the advent of democracy, the police were treated like scums by the marauding military regimes. This hangover seems to have refused to go away, even with the advent of democracy, since 1999. The result is a police afflicted by low morale. While one can sympathize with the lower ranks, it is worrisome, if the highest ranking police official, feels it is necessary to lay false claims, apparently to keep his job.

    The possibility of job-insecurity or any other form of insecurity affecting the integrity of the police officer, should be discouraged by the president and other high officials of state, who are in superior positions of influence to the police. Whatever makes the police feel or act inferior to their stature under the law of the country, should be tamed. In the Falae instance, while the IGP is obligated to obey the directives of the president to mobilize, to free the Chief; he should be encouraged to speak-up, if there are any impediments or challenges or limitations to his capacity to deliver, on the directive.

    For instance has the governments at all levels, particularly the federal government, provided the requisite technology to the police, for it to be able to quickly track down marauders, as in the case of Chief Falae? Does the police formations have the latest Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, to track and pin point the location of the telephone signals, with which the criminals were demanding for ransom, for instance? Has the federal government provided the resources to train and equip special police squads that the IGP can swiftly deploy for counter-insurgency, anti-kidnapping and anti-robbery assignments?

    If the Federal Government is remiss, in getting the police ready, to answer to nationwide emergencies; then it will amount to a presidential joke, for this president or any president to order the IGP to solve any criminal offence that embarrasses the federal government, like Chief Falae’s kidnap, within a time frame. Well, unless the IGP at his employment interview, had offered himself up, as a sorcerer, in addition to his other trainings.

    In fairness to PMB, his government is not responsible for the massive fraud, represented to Nigeria, recently, as the installation of security gadgets, in major metropolises across the country, to aid effective policing. But to have efficient policing, across Nigeria, the best of men and materials, must be put in place, soonest.

     

     

     

  • Rescue our brother, family begs Police

    Rescue our brother, family begs Police

    The family of an industrialist, Sir James Uduji, at the weekend, expressed worry that more than 20 days after, he is still being held by kidnappers.

    The family urged the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase and the Lagos Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to facilitate his freedom.

    Udujim, the Group Executive Officer (CEO) of Cometstar Manufacturing Company in Lagos was kidnapped on his way home on September 7. Chief Uduji’s car was blocked at his 7th avenue residence in Festac Town.

    His driver and another occupant were shot while the gang whisked him away to an unknown destination.

    Family members reported the kidnap at the Area Command in Festac.

    Residents of Festac Town are being terrorised by kidnappers. A week ago, a business man escaped after four his car tyres were riddled with bullets.

  • Trial delays… New Criminal Justice Act to the rescue

    Trial delays… New Criminal Justice Act to the rescue

    On August 27, Chad sentenced 10 Boko Haram members to death on terror charges after a three-day trial. The convicts were executed by firing squad two days after. Will such swift trial be possible in Nigeria? But, there is hope that things may improve with the new Administration of Criminal Justice Act of 2015, writes JOSEPH JIBUEZE.

    In June, twin bomb attacks rocked N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, Nigeria’s ally in the battle against terror. Dead were at least 38 people.

    The attacks were the first by Boko Haram militants in Chad, which hosts the headquarters of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a regional force set up to fight the insurgents.

    The June attacks were followed by a blast that killed 15 people at a market a month later. The Chadian government wasted no time in its quest for justice. It re-introduced the death penalty for acts of terror in July and banned the wearing of full-face veil by women.

    The trial of those arrested in connection with the June attacks was to last for eight days, but due to security reasons, it was accelerated. The country, it was learnt, did not want to be hobbled by any delay.

    On August 27, about two months after the attack, 10 Boko Haram members were convicted over their roles in the act. They were found guilty of criminal conspiracy, killings, wilful destruction with explosives, fraud, illegal possessions of arms and ammunition, and using psychotropic substances.

    Two days after their conviction, they were executed.

    The executions were the first application of death penalty in Chad since the country declared a moratorium in 2003. Expectedly, the coalition of opposition forces and civil liberties groups criticised the new anti-terror legislation, saying it could be used to suppress civil rights.

    The United Nations (UN) Human Rights Office raised concern about the speed with which the executions were carried out. Its spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly wondered whether those executed “had access to lawyers and were able to appeal against their death sentence.”

    The UN agency also called on Chad to review its anti-terrorism law which it says contains a very vague definition of terrorism, which may not be legal internationally, and potentially could put many people at risk of execution.

     

    The Nigerian experience

     

    There have also been some relatively convictions of insurgents in Nigeria. For instance, in December 2013, Boko Haram kingpin Kabiru Umar (a.ka. Sokoto) was sentenced to life imprisonment over the December 25, 2011 bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State.

    His trial lasted eight months, having been arraigned on April 19, 2013. He was, however, kept in detention for about a year following his re-arrest in February 2012.another Boko Haram member – Mustapha Umar – who bombed a plaza, housing the offices of some newspapers in Kaduna. He was jailed for life on November 15, 2013, having been arraigned on February 5, 2013. His conviction came almost a year after his arrest in April 2012.

    On October 1, last year, the Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced three Boko Haram members – Ali Mohammed, Adamu Karumi, Ibrahim Usman – to 25 years imprisonment each. Their trial lasted for 11 months as they were arraigned on November 27, 2013.

    The suspects, arrested at Lekki Phase I and at Ijora Oloye, Apapa-Iganmu, Lagos, were charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism, illegal possession of firearms, including three packets of explosive construction pipes, 15 detonators and 11 AK-47 rifles with 30 rounds of live ammunition, and for being members of a proscribed organisation.

    However, thousands of Boko Haram suspects have been in detention for years. For instance, on September 7, 2010, there was a jail break at the Bauchi prison following an attack by 50 gunmen, suspected to be insurgents. No fewer than 721 prisoners escaped and majority of the inmates were allegedly involved in a sectarian violence in 2009. Some of them were later re-arrested.

    There was also controversy over where to keep the rising number of arrested insurgents. A plan to relocate 47 of them to prison facilities  in Ekwulobia in Anambra State and  Calabar in Cross River State, sparked  a huge outrage.

     

    Endless corruption trials

     

    Several high-profile corruption cases have been stalled due to frequent adjournments, interlocutory appeals, weak prosecution, judges’ transfer and other deliberate ploys to delay justice.

    Courts halt trials while interlocutory appeals are decided by higher courts. ‘Skilled’ defence lawyers exploit this to secure  months, or even years of delays in any given case.

    The cases of some former governors fall within this category. Other cases are frustrated due to transfer of judges, or their elevation to higher courts, in which case trials have to start afresh.

    For instance, during the trial of former Intercontinental Bank Managing Director Erastus Akingbola, Justice Habib Abiru had adjourned till November 15, 2012, for the adoption of final written addresses. A date for judgment would have been fixed that day.

    However, it was announced on November 2, 2012 that Justice Abiru had been elevated to the Court of Appeal. Akingbola was re-arraigned before Justice Adeniyi Onigbanjo on February 26, 2013. Again, the prosecution went through the process of recalling its witnesses, some of whom were no longer available.

     

    Interlocutory appeals

     

    It can take years for the Supreme Court to rule on interlocutory appeals. For instance, the Federal Government charged Mohammed, son of the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court for receiving money stolen from the government’s coffers by his late father between 1995 and 1998.

    The defendant sought to quash the charge on the ground that the immunity that his father enjoyed  in office covered  the acts which constituted the offence for which he (the son) was charged.

    It took over 10 years for the Supreme Court to rule on the interlocutory appeal, numbered SC.40/2006.

    Not long after the ruling, the Federal Government withdrew the N446.3 billion theft charge instituted against Abacha.

     

    Negative consequences

     

    Interminable delays reduce the chances of ever concluding cases in a satisfactory manner. Witnesses lose interest. The public lose faith in the judiciary. Investors keep off.

    In a web of corruption, investigating police officers are sometimes deliberately transferred outside of the states where the offences were committed. It is not unusual to hear prosecutors make excuses that witnesses could not attend court sessions, or could not be reached. Judges are also sometimes transferred to other divisions and cases must start de novo (afresh).

     

    Incompetence

     

    A frontline lawyer, Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) once said that corruption in the judiciary and the incompetence of some lawyers and judges work against quick justice delivery.

    An ill-prepared lawyer will seek an adjournment at the first opportunity, and a judge who lacks the intellectual capacity to adjudicate a case will indulge such lawyers and adjourn even the simplest of rulings.

    Intelligent lawyers and judges are not difficult to know but ill-prepared lawyers find excuses to seek an adjournment. Hardworking judges rule instantly on bail applications following a familiar template. The lazy ones will adjourn for two weeks or more. Some judges also sit very late, further causing delays. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has vowed to report such judges to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    According to Babalola, before a judge can dispense justice, he must possess the necessary judicial qualities of integrity, deep knowledge of the law, honesty and a sense of justice itself. Unfortunately, many of them, he said, lack such qualities.

     

    Antiquated methods

     

    Most courts are burdened with antiquated physical and legal infrastructure that renders them extremely slow and inefficient. Lack of courtroom technology is also a challenge. Most judges still write in long hand.

    In some states, lack of adequate number of courtrooms force judges to share spaces, alternating sitting times. This leads to unsecured storage of court documents, leading to “loss” of case files, and provides room for corruption.

    Lack of adequate institutional reforms and modernisation; low investment in information and communication technology; lack of political will and commitment to a better society; use of archaic and outdated laws, procedures and processes that are riddled with loopholes are some of the problems the judiciary is faced with.

    For instance, the 42-year-old Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Oyinkan Abayomi Drive, Ikoyi can no longer cope with mordern realities. It is a tale of daily agony for lawyers, litigants and other court users.

    To get a seat at the Federal High Court in Lagos, an interested party must arrive, at least an hour before the 9am resumption time.

    To get a seat in court is a privilege that one must guard jealously, because all it takes to lose the seat is just to stand up for a moment.

    For those who are able to get into the courtroom at all, it is best to remain  till court rises for the day. It is not unusual to see lawyers standing outside for hours.

    Some of the courtrooms are so small that the docks and the witness boxes, meant for accused persons and witnesses have been converted into file shelves. Accused persons now stand outside the dock.

    Lawyers have to fight their ways through crowded corridors into the courtroom. And due to extremely fully dockets, most times the court is unable take all the cases listed for the day. The situation is worse anytime  Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN)  have cases to argue. By the time they are done with, the day is far gone.

    As a way out, an ultra-modern nine-storeycourthouse is being developed under  at Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos.  The project, which began in 2012, is billed to be delivered next year and the judges are expected to relocate there. But, due to what is believed to be poor funding, the project is moving at snail’s speed.

    Funding of the judiciary from the Federal Government has reportedly witnessed a steady decline since 2010, from N95 billion in that year to N85 billion in 2011, then N75 bilion in 2012 and dropped again in the 2013 budget to N67 billion. With the tumbling crude oil prices at the international market,  the subventions may further shrink.

     

    Jurisdictional loopholes

     

    Commencement of criminal proceedings is usually complicated by issues of jurisdiction. Preliminary objections can be filed on the basis that the case ought to be tried at the state High Court rather than the Federal High Court, or at a special tribunal.

    A charge can also be challenged because it was filed outside where an alleged crime occurred. Jurisdiction is very paramount in a case and often times, a lot of time is wasted on it before the proper commencement of the case.

    To exhaust the complete remedy in a case from trial court to Supreme Court could take up to 20 years with the original litigants dead and substituted and in some cases, the substitutes also dead and substituted.

    The process of interlocutory appeals aggravates the situation to the extent that by the time the Supreme Court decides that the case be continued in trial court, most of the witnesses might have died or are alive but senile, with documents no longer traceable.

    Decrying this situation, Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption Prof Itsay Sagay (SAN) said: “Another thing is that we now have a new genre of senior advocates, whose sole means of existence is to stall cases, especially corruption cases.

    “And the way they stall cases is very simple: once the charges are filed, they look at the charge. Instead of tackling the charge and providing answers for the issues raised, they simply file a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the case.

    “And many judges, in my view, foolishly in the past, play along with these senior advocates. They abandon the main case and concentrate on the preliminary objection, which may take perhaps a year or two. Meanwhile, the substantive issue of corruption is suspended.

    “When the judge finally arrives at the conclusion or judgment or ruling that he has the jurisdiction, the chap (defendant) appeals straightaway – still abandoning the substantive issue for the issue of jurisdiction – to the Court of Appeal. At the Court of Appeal, if he fails, he takes it to the Supreme Court.

    “By the time the Supreme Court finally decides that the court has jurisdiction, 12 years or so might have elapsed. By then, the investigating police officer (prosecutor) is retired; the officials of the Ministry of Justice, who handled it (the case) at the early stages in the High Court, would have been promoted and the judges themselves could have retired.

     

     

  • The need to rescue Nigeria 

    SIR: I want to call on President Muhammadu Buhari, other leaders in all tiers of government, alongside the followers in the country, on the need for joint efforts to rescue Nigeria from the socio – economic and political problems facing the country.

        If all the negatives troubling Nigeria are to be tackled, then every one of us must have the fear of God and be righteous.

        Things are not as expected in Nigeria now, and we (Nigerians) expect much from President Buhari’s government and the truth is that he (Buhari) cannot do it alone, everybody must be involved.

        The truth is that, there is mismanagement of public funds as a result of leadership failure. In fact, every Nigerian needs a bailout. We should all call on God for divine intervention. Let everyone of us work for the interest of the nation.

        I also want to urge Buhari to tackle poverty –  it is too alarming and disturbing –  as it will encourage growth and sustenance of democracy in the country.

           In my view, the Buhari-led government should fix the oil and power sector, shore up value of Naira to the dollar, infrastructure development, diversification of the economy, security matters and address the unemployment.

        To rescue Nigeria from her problems, every Nigerian must live according to their religious injunctions in order for things to take shape, and prosper as an indivisible united nation.

    • Prophet Oladipupo Funmilade – Joel, Lagos
  • ‘Okorocha on rescue mission in Imo’

    ‘Okorocha on rescue mission in Imo’

    Imo State Deputy Governor Eze Madumere spoke with reporters in Lagos on the challenge of governance, the cash crunch and how the government is implementing the manifesto of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Southeast state. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    How have been coping as the deputy governor of Imo State?

    We give God the glory for everything that He has provided us. The Almighty Father is the ultimate who makes all things possible. So, we are grateful to God, for wherever I have found myself today, it is God first and the next person is Rochas Okorocha.

    In Imo, what has really worked for us is that you have a man that is focused. We have a man who believes and who made us to believe that the best way we can achieve anything in stipulated time is through a task force process. And that is why people say we do things in unconventional way. We do it and we achieve results. We have a new Imo State.

    Having said that, in my journey so far, it has been a matter of going through tutelage. I am following a man who has the vision, a leader, who has the mantle of leadership. And we being the apostles of Rescue Mission, we are playing the best supporting role to make sure we succeed as a team. And this, to the glory of God, is where my role lies.

    For me also, coming from the private sector and finding oneself a public servant is quite challenging. But, anything that has to do with service to the people is quite interesting and you learn every day.

    But, people see you as a strongman in your constituency…

    My federal constituency, Mbaitoli/Ikeduru (Mbaike), used to be predominantly PDP. But, when we came in 2011, we were then in the APGA. Of course, we won Mbaitoli, which was my local government. The other part of my federal constituency, which is Ikeduru, we lost that. And we had to do a lot on the ground. Because of the infrastructure, some of the things the governor did; the dividends of democracy that was extended. There is no ward in my federal constituency or in Imo State that you will not see text of rescue mission. And that alone speaks louder than could be said. And how can you defeat free education, from primary to tertiary level? These are the hallmark. How can you defeat 27 General Hospitals in all the local governments? How can you defeat 305 primary schools? These are the hallmarks of what we have to remind our people because they already know about it.

    Why is Owerri zone not agitating for governor again?

    Rochas Okorocha is quite an example of a detribalised leader and not a zonal leader. My leader, our leader, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is a man inspiration. Why did I say that? Today, more than 75 per cent of the infrastructure is in Owerri zone. The other 25 per cent is shared between Okigwe and Orlu. You have a governor who believes in putting projects not because of where he comes from, but based on the fact that it is good for Imo State.

    Today, for example, we are talking about industry, industry, industry, factory, factory, factory! We have gone back to bring back the old Mbakwe factories. For instance, card board packaging industry is in Owerri not in Orlu. We have recovered that. De Raising Paint is in Mbaise here, Owerri zone, we have recovered that. These things will now start coming in place. We have got some Italians trying to bring back those apex factories. These are the things that are lying fallow for over thirty years. Now, this governor is not thinking about his village. He is not thinking about his own person. This is a governor who makes sacrifice, who goes through pains every day, just to make sure that Imo people and Ndi Igbo are recognized in this country. And that is why when people say that he is a governor for Imo, not a governor for a zone or a local government, people do not agitate.

    The issue of 2019 is an issue that is quite too far. This is 2015. We just got re-elected. We have not even constituted a government and people are talking about 2019. The team with which Owelle Rochas Okorocha and Madumere were elected have not been constituted for the second tenure. You are thinking of something that is not even in the pipeline yet. This is like placing the cart before the horse. I am not that type of person that people can just try to mesmerize into desperation. No. I am focused; we are on a mission, and our mission for the next four years is factory, factory, factory, industry, industry, industry. That is the focus and, with God helping us, we shall get there.

    How do you relate tot he opposition leaders in Imo?

    There are two ways to this. One of the things I have learnt over time is never to join issues. What is at stake is never personal and should never be treated as such. For me, we have to distinguish ourselves and show a positive way out for others to learn. We do politics without bitterness.  Politics is about constructive issues, not about personal issues. Everybody who has vied for any position knows that. Let me give you example. When I ran for Senate under Action Alliance, many years ago, I was the only candidate who visited fellow candidates and others from opposing political parties to discuss issues of general interest. I went to their houses and ate breakfast. It doesn’t happen in most quarters these days. That is my background. That is how I am taught and that is the way of my leader; if we mean that we are in this business for our people, then, play politics of no bitterness. That is what the people want. Nigeria is changing. The idea that you lose election and you cannot pick up a phone and congratulate the winner is becoming a thing of the past.

    Could you tell us a bit about your private sector experience?

    Back in the United States, I worked with Pepsi Incorporated. I was the Head of Channels Development of various chains, and travelled wide in many countries. I actually worked in many countries. I travelled to well over 50 countries, where I worked. And at a time, when I got married in 1996, I felt it was time to step closer to your family. I had to come back and I left the job. I established a trading consulting company and a trading company. This is so because I have always had flair for business? I have always had a small business which I do.

    How would you describe Okorocha?

    The man, Rochas Okorocha is a philanthropist. He is a family man. He is a man you will love to be close to. Rochas Okorocha I know is vehement but his brain is faster than clock. For you to be able to meet up with him, you must come a little closer. Just imagine, someone you’ve been with for over two decades, by now I could have told you I have a PhD on him. No, I do not. By the time, you get closer; my boss will keep shifting the goal post. He is a man who likes challenges. He is an adventurer. He believes in a thing, then, it is achievable. He is not too perfect a person. He is a man who is also very eager and open to learning from you. As he is holding a conversation with you, he is picking up one or two things from you, but you don’t know. The day he will use them, he will say remember the day you said. That is the man, Owelle Rochas Anayochukwu Okorocha.

    Within the context of the Imo Rescue Mission, have you developed your personal vision for Imo?

    My oga’s vision subsumes mine. And that is the way it is. As much as I operate with my oga, you only have one captain at a time.

    Your Excellency, going from this discussion, one thing we can deduce is loyalty. As a leader, what are the issues that have been driving you?

    Number one, my upbringing has got a lot to say about me. I came from a home that my father is a disciplinarian. My father is in charge. My father came from nowhere to somewhere. He made himself and became a name for himself, from a very poor family. His father died while he was still a little boy. His father did not see him through as a man. But, grandmother saw my father through farming and business of palm kernel and raised some amount of shillings to help his grandson to start selling building materials. So, it was with that upbringing that my father impacted in us. Can you believe that my father built the Imo State Commissioners’ quarters as a government contractor. This Deputy Governor’s Lodge where I am living now was built in 1977. I worked as a student and my job was to dispense drugs to the labourers who were called Kiri Mbum. Can you believe that later in life, I would live in one of the houses I participated in building from the foundation, casting the decking. I also did a lot of menial job just to make my own money. My father didn’t know about this. I also was one-time my father’s personal driver, after secondary school. I drove my father till I sat for my school certificate exam.

    How is the government implementing the APC manifesto?

    Free education has run for four years now, and free education has come to stay. It is what people never believed it was possible. The opposition never believed that it could happen and the doubt is with them till today. I don’t think that we as a government have done very well in giving free education the publicity it deserves. Many people outside the direct beneficiaries are the ones that can say yes, this is free education. It seems like there is this shadow as if there is, may be, a thing of Rochas magic. No, there is a practical thing on the ground. We have three major tertiary institutions owned by the State – one of them, Imo State University. It is free from admission to your first degree. It is free. It is hundred percent free. The same thing applies to Imo State polytechnic, Umuagwo, Imo State University, School of Health Sciences, Amaigbo and other State owned tertiary institutions. The same thing applies to Imo College of Health Science, Okporo, Orlu and School of Nursing, Amigbo.

    What effort is being made by the government to boost the Internal General Revenue (IGR)?

    Like I said, this state has not done very well in IGR for obvious reasons. We have instituted a committee trying to make sure that the state does well in IGR. We are generating about 600, 000 may be 500, 000 or a little bit over 500, 000 monthly. It is not supposed to be so. A State like Imo should have a minimum of N2billion IGR. Look at Edo, look at Cross River. You can say these are contemporary States. You don’t expect us to be the same with Lagos or Kano for instance. What they have, we don’t have them. But the contemporaries States are the ones to be used to create a template or a benchmark to judge Imo State. It is Edo and Cross River. This sabotage is as a result of internal sabotage that they put up. Those are some of the loopholes we are trying to block. Some of the laws are there. Some are outdated. Some we need to change. We are working on it to change some enforcement. The governor is focused. He is acting on everything. We created some kind of committees. There is an angle that I am leading just to make sure we do that. The governor is personally involved in IGR revitalisation.

  • Emefiele: A mission to rescue the naira

    Emefiele: A mission to rescue the naira

    The job of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was cut out from day one. He oversees the control and administration of the monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.

    Emefiele assumed leadership of the apex bank at a time the economy was sorely troubled. The naira was sinking deeper and deeper against the dollar, crude oil prices and foreign exchange reserves were crumbling and foreign investors were leaving the country in droves.

    Although some of these indicators are not directly under the CBN’s control, Emefiele, a man who acts more than he talks, has taken strategic steps to ensure their implications do not distort his vision for the economy and the financial sector.

    His priority seems to have been to oversee a central bank that is professionally run, apolitical and people-focused. That way, the apex bank will help in reducing poverty, create jobs and ensure macroeconomic stability.

    The CBN under Emefiele seeks to achieve monetary and price stability, maintain sufficient external reserves to safeguard the international value of the naira, promote sound financial system and provide financial advice to the Federal Government. It also craves for high standards of banking practice through its surveillance activities as well as the promotion of an efficient payment system.

    Therefore, the apex bank is instituting a broad spectrum of financial instruments to boost specific enterprise areas in agriculture, manufacturing, health, oil and gas as well as building a Secured Transaction and National Collateral Registry that improves access to information on borrowers and assist lenders to make good credit decisions.

    For the naira, there has been far reaching measures to curtail its slide. In a country stricken by 9.2 per cent inflation as at July, one of the world’s worst; and declining foreign exchange reserves now at $30.5 billion from about $42 billion a year ago, its currency must be guided jealously especially now that oil revenues are falling.

    Nigeria’s dependence on crude oil (currently above 80 per cent of total foreign exchange earnings) makes economic growth susceptible to oil price shocks, directly impacting on external reserves, creating negative effect that leads to capital flight, thus depreciating the naira.

    It was the need to stem it that prompted the CBN chief to look inwards in finding solutions to Nigeria’s currency and economic crises.

    To achieve exchange rate stability, he banned the sale of foreign exchange by banks to importers, stating that all imports involving electronics, finished products, information technology, generators, telecommunication equipment and invisible transactions would be funded from the interbank foreign exchange market only.

    The objective was to maintain stability in foreign exchange market and strengthen the various policy measures already initiated, including the regulation of the Bureau De Change (BDCs) that cut dollar supply to operators from $75,000 to $50,000 weekly.

    For him, government will continue to intervene to keep the exchange rate stable because of the dire consequences of doing otherwise. Besides, allowing the local currency to find its level will not be in the interest of the economy and the larger population. Today, the naira is still exchanging at N197 to a dollar at the official market, and about N215 to a dollar at the parallel market. It was already heading towards N245 to a dollar before the CBN boss moved against FOREX speculators, promising them hell in return for the harm they were doing to the economy and the foreign reserves.

    The CBN boss believes that the foreign reserves remain Nigeria’s common wealth that must be protected even as he seeks stakeholders support to protect them and prevent speculators and rent seekers from plundering them.

    Hence, it was expected when the CBN banned import of 41 items, including toothpicks, private jets and rice from using official FOREX markets to fund their imports. For Emefiele, such controls would help stabilise the naira, replenish reserves and boost manufacturing, amidst criticisms that the measures are harming the economy.

    But the CBN boss insisted that importers desirous of importing the affected items are free to do so using their funds without any recourse to the official FOREX market window. He wants Nigeria to produce those things it is importing today.

    “We must diversify the structure of our economy from being import dependent to being an economy that produces what she consumes. We will try as much as possible not to hurt your business, but we need to be able to work together,” he told BDC operators and bank chief executive officers at a joint FOREX meeting in Lagos.

    Besides exchange rate stability, the modernisation of the payment system is also Emefiele’s priority. The cash-less policy which now runs in six states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja was initiated against the backdrop of cash dominance in the payments system.

    It was a critical part of the payment system modernisation designed to promote the use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, web payment, online transfers and even mobile money in banking transactions instead of relying on cash.

    He created more confidence in the cash-less policy by sustaining the Bank Verification Number (BVN) project initiated by his predecessor and removing three per cent charge on cash deposits above N500, 000 for individuals and N3 million for corporate customers which are the sanctions prescribed for defaulters. Today, more people are embracing cash-less banking in the overall interest of the economy.

    Creating BVN

    The BVN is meant to fix the rising cases of fraud in the financial sector and the need to protect customers’ transactions integrity. Emefiele said the BVN, a biometric technology driven project, involves the process of recording a person’s unique physical traits such as fingerprints and facial features. This record, he said, can then be used to correctly identify the person afterwards.

    The project became exigent following increasing incidents of compromise on conventional security systems like password and Personal Identification Number (PIN) of bank customers, which has led to loss of funds. There is therefore a high demand for greater security for access to sensitive or personal information in the banking system. The BVN would make it extremely difficult for the fraud perpetrators to succeed.

    Beyond banking security, the CBN under him continues to support the growth of the economy by supporting reforms in the power sector and supporting small businesses as well as agriculture.

    For the power sector, the CBN boss linked the challenge faced by the sector to unattractive pricing of domestic gas and legacy debts that has inhibited investment in gas supply and infrastructure.

    That prompted the CBN boss to institute the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) where N213 billion has been mapped out and is being disbursed to settle legacy gas debts and shortfalls in revenue for operators to boost power supply.

    Money laundering and basic travel allowance (BTA)

    The CBN under him has also taken the fight against money laundering very seriously. It has read the riot act to travellers carrying more than $10,000 maximum cash or negotiable instruments across Nigeria’s borders.

    The CBN under him also stopped banks from accepting foreign currency cash deposits into customers’ accounts. The policy shift is in line with CBN’s continued efforts to stop illicit financial flows in the Nigerian banking system which aligns with the anti-money laundering stance of the Federal Government.

  • Soldiers rescue female kidnap victim in Aba

    Soldiers rescue female kidnap victim in Aba

    Soldiers serving in 144, Asa under Ohafia 14 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Abia State have recorded another success in their quest to tackle rising crime and insecurity in the state.

    The soldiers it was gathered rescued a female victim identified as Mrs. Rita Anaekwe, killed a member of the gang and arrested two others.

    Nation gathered that Mrs. Anaekwe, a business woman was abducted in her house on Anaekwe Street, Umuleta village, Obinkwu in Ukwa West Local Government after the gang had access into the woman’s compound through the backyard’s fence that they broke.

    They were said to have killed the family’s dog that had confronted them before they have full control of the house even as it was gathered that the woman’s husband was not at home when the incident happened.

    The hoodlums it was gathered collected the woman’s jewelries, cash and other valuables and later abducted her to their hideout with the family’s Pathfinder SUV

    Soldiers at 144 battalion was said to have been alerted over the development by a family source immediately after the incident, causing them to swing into action on how to rescue the woman.

    It was gathered that the hoodlums on sighting the army personnel, engaged them in a shootout but was however overpowered by the soldiers, killing a member of the kidnapping gang and arrested two members of the kidnapping gang.

    The woman was said to have been rescued unhurt while police from the Aba Area Command having been alerted of the incident also recovered her vehicle which had since been given back to her.

    The Commanding officer of 144 battalion, Lt. Col. Kasim Umar Sidi confirmed the incident and added that they were investigating the matter.

     

    Sidi added that his men were after fleeing members of the gang whom he said would soon be tracked down and arrested.

  • Bayelsa police rescue two kidnapped Lebanese

    Two expatriates abducted in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, have been rescued by the police.

    The Lebanese nationals, identified as Sarki Abi Chmouli and Ibrahim Abi Pherem, were kidnapped by eight gunmen on Wednesday at the waterside of Onuegbum.

    The bandits, in the process of whisking away their targets, who are employees of a construction company, Pache, killed two policemen.

    The slain policemen were identified by their ranks, as a sergeant and a corporal.

    The gunmen, numbering eight, invaded the company’s dredging site, located close to the community at about 12.20pm in two speedboats, and created panic in the area by firing their guns repeatedly into the air to scare away the people.

    Speaking on the two Lebanese were rescued, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr. Butswat Asinim, said the police pursued the fleeing gunmen and forced them to abandon their victims on Thursday.

    He said the Lebanese were abandoned at Okodi, a riverine community in Ogbia Local Government Area because of the manhunt.

    He said: “On the 25 June, 2015, at about 1500hrs, the two Lebanese expatriates; Ibrahim Abi Phrem and Sarkis Abi Chmooni, were abducted on the 24 June, 2015 at Ogbia LGA of Bayelsa State.

    “They were abandoned by their abductors at Okodi riverine community in Ogbia LGA, due to the massive manhunt by the police. They are hale and hearty and they have been reunited with their families.”

    Reacting to the development, the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Ogbia clan, commended the police for quickly intervening to rescue the abducted expatriates.

    The Chairman of the clan, Mr. Osanya B. Osanya, however, mourned the death of the two policemen and commiserated with their families.

    Osanya warned youths who engage in kidnapping and other criminality to desist from dastardly act and seek legitimate means of livelihood.

    “We are warning youths in our area to be of good conduct and sustain the peace in the Niger Delta region. We won’t hesitate to assist the police to fish out whoever engages in criminality because we can’t fold our hands and watch a few people damage our name,” he said.

  • ‘Rescue them now’

    A lawyer and human rights campaigner, Mrs Funmi Falana, has called for the rescue of the Chibok schoolgirls.

    Mrs Falana’s statement reads: “A year ago, the Boko Haram troops invaded Chibok secondary school and abducted over 200 girls. Even though the illegal abduction was reported by the media the Federal Government dismissed the story. So soon thereafter, the army resorted to feeding the public with lies. Initially, the army claimed to have rescued the girls.

    When the fluke was exposed, Nigerians were informed that the girls had been located but that the armed forces were being careful not to free them forcefully. Later, the Government claimed to have struck a deal with the terrorists which would lead to the release of the girls. TheBringBackOurGirls campaigners were harassed by the Government.

    They were physically molested by hired thugs. When they refused to be intimidated Mr.Joseph  Mbu, the then Commissioner of Police, banned  peaceful rallies at the Federal Capital Territory.  The BringBackOurGirls successfully challenged the illegal ban against rallies in Court. In view of the hostile attitude of the Federal Government to the BringBackOurGirls campaign it is indisputable that the efforts made to rescue the Chibok girls were not genuine. Since the Goodluck Jonathan Administration has categorically confirmed that the Chibok girls are being kept in the Sambisa forest in Borno State the armed forces should intensify efforts to rescue and bring back our girls, safe and alive.”