The Nation Newspaper

Tag: sake

  • For accountability’s sake

    Nigerians have the right to know how defence ministry spends its security vote?s

    Is it proper to jettison transparency and accountability under the guise of managing the affairs of the nation’s defence ministry? That is the message being passed across by the Ministry of Defence that got appropriated funds for security vote but seems not ready to give account of how the vote was spent. But, we consider as cheering the insistence by the Senate Committee on Defence and Army to unearth how the ministry spent over N1.275 billion security vote budget in its 2014 fiscal year.

    Senator George Sekibo, Chairman, Senate Committee on Defence, was unsparing as he pointed out discrepancies in the fund appropriated for the ministry, especially under the subhead of security vote, including operations/ration and allowances for Brigade of Guards. He wondered what could account for ‘duplication since Service Wide Vote, which was provided for in the year under review, covered the issue of security vote for Brigade of Guards.’ Sekibo’s committee also discovered the glitch showing that the ministry always brings to the new budget the same items that were budgeted and supplied in the previous year. The committee, ostensibly in the bid to get to the root of the matter subsequently called off consideration of the ministry’s 2015 budget proposal because of disparity in figure as the ones with the ministry was different from the figure with the committee.’

    Like the committee, we consider as discourteous, General Aliu Gusau, Minister of Defence’s consistent refusal to appear before the committee to defend his ministry’s budget. Rather, Aliyu Ismaila, the permanent secretary in the ministry was always saddled with the duty. Gusau, as the political head should be bold enough to personally defend how money appropriated for his ministry was spent in 2014. Otherwise, this might be misconstrued as arrogance against the Nigerian people that elected those legislators on the Senate’s committee.

    We consider as equally confounding the fact that the ministry could be in possession of N1.275 billion security vote budget last year alone and would still not be able to procure modern weapons for soldiers fighting against Boko Haram in the northeast.

    We ask; what is the rationale behind the provision for security vote that nobody among the recipients at the presidency, among the state governors, local government councils’ chairmen and ministries, amongst others in the land, is willing to share with the public? What does such an obviously uncontrolled fund stand for? More importantly, we are yet to see a clear constitutional provision in the current grundnorm of the country giving legal cover for such vote. This brings up another salient question: How does the country come about security vote that has become a serious drain on public till? Could this be assumed to be a fraud, under the guise of tradition, designed by those in authorities to fleece the country of her hard-earned money?

    There is need, soonest, for a definite pronouncement from whatever quarters, against this illicit official tradition that has not been of any eventful security advantage to the nation at large. We call on not only this Senate committee, in the discharge of its oversight functions, but also the Auditor-General of the Federation, to commence forthwith, a comprehensive audit of previous budgets of the Defence ministry and other beneficiaries of security vote so as to block bleeding avenues in the nation’s haemorrhaging till.

  • For the sake of women

    For the sake of women

    Udemma Chukwuma writes about an exhibition of twenty paintings to celebrate womanhood

    Celebrating the female folks is the main focus of an art exhibition running at the Moorhouse Hotel, Lagos. The show is to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

    The exhibition features about 20 paintings by contemporary Nigerian artist, Mr Olusegun Adejumo, who said the works are dedicated to women all over the world because women deserve to be celebrated. The exhibition titled: Le Festival De Reves (The Festival of Dreams), is supported by Alliance Françoise, Lagos.

    In this exhibition, Adejumo captured the African women and offers the viewer the opportunity to explore some of the important aspects of the southern Nigerian women life. “The southern women are beautiful, they know that they are beautiful, they don’t need you to tell them that they are beautiful. You hardly find men around. The men are around but they appreciate the women from far,” he said.

    The word to use to describe some of the works at the exhibition hall is “daring.”  Series figure paintings of women who could be in their early twenties and late twenties caught the attention of the viewers and some asked the artist if the model was one person, but the artist said no.  “Every woman has something in her that will make you desire her and for a lot of artist, you either paint her or you chase her. We spend a lot of energy to depict that which we desire in our work.  The models are not the same person,” he informed.

    However, the artist refused to put the names of the models on the fascinating pastel series “because of the society we live in, the models might be a little shy to reveal their names.” Many conclusions would be made and some of the viewers will be tempted to think that something intimate happened between the artist and models.

    Another intriguing aspect of the show which is of a particular interest to the viewers is the artist’s ability to conceal a nude woman. In the piece titled Sitting Beauty; you could see a woman who places one hand on neck and place the second hand  on her neck. The hands covered the upper part of her body while the down part of her body was painted with dark colours, leaving the viewers to their imagination.

    Mirroring a story he was told in Dakar, Senegal, a mystifying and attention getting painting was born, titled:… “The Wolof-women have a way which they attract their men, they have beads from coconut shell which they tie around their waists, it is what I was told by the Senegalese people in Dakar. According to them, the women soak the beads in some ointment, like perfume, and it stays there for a month or two. I think they put some incantation into it.  They wear it after all the processes, you could perceive the fragrance and you can’t tell where the smell is coming from. This woman has this particular smell anytime she is around you.  The Senegalese says beware of the Wolof women because they may be an enchantment.”

    The work titled: The Wolof Woman caused much controversy and some of the viewers could not make out what the painting is about. “I can’t see anything, I think there is a piano,” said a female viewer. “There is a face in the painting if you look at it very,” said another artist who was at the show. “I decided to do something mystical, hazy and painting of a girl,” explained Adejumo.

  • …For the sake of Oyo’s future

    …For the sake of Oyo’s future

    This electoral season has thrown up so many issues. One of them is the debate over whether the jinx of second term can be broken by some governors. Oyo is one of the states where it is believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that a sitting governor cannot be re-elected twice. This position did not just come out of the blues. It has empirical foundation in successive administrations in the states whose henchmen – governors – were not given the mandate to run for a second term in office.

    For instance, in the aborted second republic, the late Chief Bola Ige, the first civilian governor of old Oyo State under the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) was voted out in the 1983 general elections. That election, believed to have been rigged for Dr Omololu Olunloyo of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), had serious reverberations round the state and the attendant consequences in Oyo and other southwest states reasonably culminated in the return of the military during that epoch.

    When a military-guided democracy returned in 1991 under military despot Ibrahim Babangida, Chief Kolapo Ishola contested for the seat on the Social Democratic Party (SDP) platform and could not even complete his term before despotic military leader, Sani Abacha carried out a palace coup against the Interim National Government (ING), dissolving all democratic structures in the process. That marked the Nunc dimittis of the Ishola government in Oyo State.

    The Fourth Republic that was guided by General Abdulsalami Abubakar came after the demise of Abacha and the late Lam Adesina of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) emerged as governor in 1999. In the state’s typical fashion, he was voted out in 2003 by the people of that state. Subsequently, Adewolu Ladoja of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) became the governor. His tenure was beleaguered and unfocused and he was eventually succeeded by his deputy, Adebayo Alao-Akala who was also voted out of office after just one term of miliki and igbadun governance. The demise of Alao-Akala government marked the end of PDP reign in that state. Then entered the new and current governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi in 2011 on the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) platform. He is now seeking another term in the  February 28 governorship election under the more formidable All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Yet, most people within and outside the state believe this to be an impossible mission simply because it has never been done. Will the second term jinx be broken this time around? This is the question that this month’s election will provide answer to, particularly in Oyo State where the issue of second term

    jinx is on the front burner. What is going to happen at the end of the day in Oyo State? Will Ajimobi be returned for second term in office as governor? The truth of the matter is that there are some insinuations of misdemeanour on the part of the governor. Some perceive the governor as snooty and elitist; others condemn him for having allegedly given his wife too much latitude in the running of his administration.

    The two allegations are self-adjustable though the governor, in a recent interview in the Sunday title of this paper, denied ever relinquishing the running of his government to his wife whom he said was merely in charge of women affairs, nothing more. He, however, professed his unwavering love for his wife, a passion he had no apology for. His reason: He has just one wife unlike most ofhis other opponents that have wives and uncountable concubines. On the allegation of Ajimobi being conceited, this could as well be realisation of self-worth but by now, the governor ought to realise that in politics, a power holder must come down to the level of the people.

    Whatever some people might perceive as Ajimobi’s misgivings should have been nullified by the fact that nobody has publicly accused him of non-performance or fraud.

    Moreover, the man in nearly four years has performed more than all the governors produced by the state. Anyone who is conversant with Ibadan, capital of Oyo State for instance, will realise that the ante of development has been upped by Ajimobi. The air of freshness and neatness that has engulfed the landscape of Ibadan is something that was alien to that ancient town. Now, Ibadan is reasonably cleaner and neater when compared to the town’s air-fouling status of the past that previous administrations in the state failed to convincingly address. The overhead bridge at the Mokola Junction is a marvel to the air which only a progressive government of the APC can provide. Afterall, the PDP has been in charge of the state for years without known noticeable improvements in the general wellbeing of the state.

    One interesting area where Ajimobi has made remarkable progress is that of peace which is the bedrock of any meaningful development. Prior to his coming into

    office, members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ibadan especially, had turned the state into one battle-field where blood must flow every week. The era of lethal Tokyo and Eleweomo under Ladoja and Alao-Akala when residents of the ancient town lived in perpetual fear of violence that was then a recurring decimal is gone as Ajimobi, with deft determination, weeded all the miscreants away.

    The irony of it all is that these former governors of the state that were unable to bring tangible peace, security and development to Oyo State while in the saddle are now the leading contestants for the governorship slot with the incumbent. The people of that state must read between the lines and not play unreasonable politics of undue sentiment with the sustenance of their development which Ajimobi represents.

    This column believes that if the people of the state truly want development and sustained peace and harmony, they should ignore whatever shortcomings political opponents are trying to robe Ajimobi with and show purposeful mission by re-electing him in the coming election. This, in view of prevailing empirical facts, is the only guarantee of clear aversion for the nauseating looting and misgovernance of the past. ‘Forward ever, backward never,’ should be their new-found anthem now!

  • Obama, Romney: bickering for America’s sake

    Obama, Romney: bickering for America’s sake

    President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney are not enemies, but for the sake of America, they are doing battles, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

     

    They have agreed on a few things: no military action in Syria, continuing support for sanctions against Iran and withdrawal of America’s military from Afghanistan. But their areas of disagreements are more. This is the tale of two presidential candidates: President Barack Obama and his challenger, former Governor Mitt Romney.

    Obama is today expected in the vital swing state of Ohio, where, according to the latest polls, the president has a slight lead. Romney is ahead in Florida, and Virginia is a dead heat.

    Like Obama, Romney is also stepping up his last-minute campaigns. Like they have done since their campaigns kicked off, they are going to use the next one week to paint each other in bad light.

    Romney will continue to drum it into Americans’ ears that the president has not provided a clear example of American leadership for the world, whether in Syria or Iran or Russia. He is unlikely to also change his position that the president has failed to improve the economy.

    Obama, too, will not abandon his song, which he has been playing to Americans: Romney would be unsteady on the world stage. The president’s employ of sharp and sarcastic language to cast Romney as out of depth is not likely to abate. Not with polls showing that they run neck-to-neck.

    During the last debate, Obama lampooned Romney’s promise to increase defence spending by two trillion dollars and build up the US Navy – a move which Obama claimed failed to take into account the needs of modern warfare.

    Obama said: “You mention that we have fewer ships than we had in 1916. Well, governor we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because that nature of our military has changed.

    “We also have these things called ‘aircraft carriers’ that planes land on, and ships that go under water – nuclear submarines. So the question is not a game of battleships, but what are our capabilities…and how we are going to meet the best of our defence needs.”

    On the issue of Afghanistan and al-Qaeda, Obama and Romney clashed repeatedly, with the president claiming Romney’s strategy was in a constant change of flux and in no way clear.

    The president said: “And you know, Governor Romney, I’m glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after al-Qaida, but I have to tell you that, you know, your strategy previously has been one that has been all over the map and is not designed to keep Americans safe or to build on the opportunities that exist in the Middle East.”

    On Iraq, Obama painted Romney as inexperienced, saying: “I know you haven’t been in a position to actually execute foreign policy — but every time you’ve offered an opinion, you’ve been wrong. You said we should have gone into Iraq, despite that fact that there were no weapons of mass destruction.”

    The president also took Romney on about al-Qaida. Obama said: “Governor Romney, I’m glad that you recognise that al-Qaida is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said Russia, not al-Qaida; you said Russia, in the 1980s, they’re now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because, you know, the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

    “Both at home and abroad, he (Mr Romney) has proposed…reckless policies. He’s praised George Bush as a good economic steward and Dick Cheney as somebody who’s – who shows great wisdom and judgment. And taking us back to those kinds of strategies that got us into this mess are not the way that we are going to maintain leadership in the 21st century.”

    Romney, too, has delivered some upper-cuts on the president. Romney accuses president of ‘weakness’ abroad.

    On his methods for dealing with Russia, he said: “I’m not going to wear rose-coloured glasses when it comes to Russia, or Mr. Putin. And I’m certainly not going to say to him, I’ll give you more flexibility after the election. After the election, he’ll get more backbone.”

    He has also accused Obama of not providing the leadership at the world stage. Romney said: “I absolutely believe that America has a – a responsibility, and the privilege of helping defend freedom and promote the principles that — that make the world more peaceful. And those principles include human rights, human dignity, free enterprise, freedom of expression, elections.”

    He also believes the president has not done much to stop Iran‘s nuclear project.

    He argued that the country was “four years closer to a nuclear weapon” and that Obama has “wasted” the last four years because “they continue to be able to spin these centrifuges and get that much closer.”

    Certainly, the next one week is a crucial one in deciding who carries the day. The candidates realize this and have planned to make the best use of it.