The Nation Newspaper

Tag: siege

  • North under siege

    Sir: Senator Shehu Sani during a courtesy visit by a group from BirniGwari and Chikun local governments stated”North is under siege. According to Sani, the northwest is experiencing banditry, north-central – herdsmen and farmers’ clashes, while the northeast is battling with Boko Haram.

    Even before the senator broke silence on the insecurity,the once blossoming region has since become the home of crises.The region has the history of ethnic and religious strife that resulted in the death of many innocent souls.Today,the region has gone beyond ethnic and religious crises. The multi-facet problems have dragged the region backwardness and retarded its development.

    In the early 60’s and late 70’s,north was the home of agriculture. This sector, since neglected, had created informal jobs to millions of youth.The hitherto flourishing textiles companies had also created millions of jobs. Now,it is history.This important sector has diminished or disappeared. The region that was the food basket of the country has become the fertile ground of poverty,hunger and insecurity.

    Aliko Dangote,an industrialist and chairman of Dangote group during the Kaduna State Investment Summit,bemoaned and berated the northern governors for doing little or nothing to address the poverty in the 19 northern states.There is correlation or nexus between the persistence in the rise of insecurity and the high level of poverty in the region.

    It is reported that over 1.6 million children are out of the school in the region. These children are between the ages of seven and eight.In the next 10 years, the north will have 1.6 illiterate youths. You can imagine the havoc these uneducated youths could wreck to the socio-economic development of the region.

    The northern governors as complained by Dangote have failed to tackle the problems of poverty,unemployment and illiteracy in the region.They have been holding different summits aimed at addressing the recurring problems. Unfortunately,the recommendations of the summits are not being implemented. The problems that plague the region cannot be solved with empty promises or merrymaking speeches.There is the need for strong commitment by the leaders and other stakeholders to end plethora of problems bedevilling the region.

    True, the North is under siege of bandits, kidnappers, insurgents and above all ethno-religious violence.These problems can be resolved through good governance.

     

    • Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State.

  •   Senate probes siege to Ondo Assembly

    The Senate has put machinery in motion to investigate the ongoing police siege to the Ondo State House of Assembly.

    The decision by the Upper Legislative body followed a motion by Senator Abiodun Olujimi (PDP Ekiti South).

    She informed her colleagues at plenary the siege to the Assembly by police personnel and thugs has denied the lawmakers access to the legislative complex.

    She cited Orders 42 and 52 of the Senate rules, stating the crisis in the Ondo House has reportedly caused an injury to a female lawmaker, who was allegedly beaten up by thugs.

    Olujimi said: “Thugs invaded the House and beat up a legislator, a woman was beaten,” urging the Senate to intervene to allow the lawmakers carry out their duties.

    Other lawmakers that aligned with Olujimi’s position were Senators Enyinnaya Abaribe, Ajayi Boniface, Gbenga Ashafa, Atai Aidoko and Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu among others.

    In his ruling, Senate President Bukola Saraki bemoaned the invasion of the Ondo Assembly, noting that legislators have become targets of attacks by the police and sponsored thugs.

    Saraki cited similar siege in Benue, Kogi and Akwa Ibom in recent times.

    Saraki said: “Our democracy is defined by our legislative arm, we must stand very strongly on this. By our resolution, the police should allow the members to sit”.

    The matter was referred to the Senate Committee on Police Affairs for investigation. The committee is expected to report back to the Senate next week.

  • Leaders, siege democracy, and insurgency

    To  say  that global  democracy  is under siege given events  in the leading democracies of  our time  and even our own  Nigeria is  an  understatement   and  I  am  not  exaggerating or  being alarmist  in any way. If  anything I confess  to being quite  irritated  by it all  because  the situation is quite  avoidable  if some  world  leaders and powerful  politicians  have  done their duty as expected and as they  were elected  to do in their  various  callings and  nations. Let  me start  by  showing the bare  facts of  my vexation because I go  flat  out to  hold  the leaders  in question  responsible.

    I  start  with  Nigeria my country where leaders are behaving like  the  proverbial  ostrich  with its head buried  in the  sand but whose  body  is there  for  all  to  see.  Nigeria’s  democracy  is the vintage siege  democracy  of this era. It  is under siege from corruption, Boko  Haram, the  Avengers  of the oil  rich  Niger Delta  blowing up oil  pipelines, Biafran rebels, trade  unions, and even its own  elected legislators.   Similarly  Britain is under a self  created  and avoidable siege on its   old  and  tested  democracy  given  the Brexit   or  Remain  debate  on whether it should stay  in the EU  in the referendum slated  for  later  this  month. The  US  the world’s  leading   democracy is reeling from  the siege on its two  party system  and political stability and balance  from  the emergence of the presumptive candidate of the  Republican  Party Donald  Trump  and  his unique manner of campaign which grips   all  against him in a suicide verbal  hold on his opponents  jugular  and simply  does  not take prisoners. These  three  will  suffice  for now as we look  away  today  from events in the  Middle especially  Iraq, Syria and  Afghanistan  from where their  citizens are fleeing for  their  lives and are ready to die on the high seas  with their families. Rather  than wait  to die in these turbulent  nations  whose  leaders at least on  paper,  decorum  and protocol  were elected  by their citizens in so  called  democratic  elections.

    Starting with Nigeria  it is apparent that this is a  nation  at  war  with itself  but using and wearing   the    toga  and  smug    look  of a nation at  peace with itself which  is a blatant  lie.  Just  read the newspapers  and you will  recoil in horror. First  is the horrible  daily news of stolen  loot  which  rises by the  day  and you  wonder  how the present government is still  having funds  to administer  the nation. The  governor of Niger  state has  said it all when he  boldly told the world  that  he just  cannot  pay workers  salaries  given  the structure  of the state  finances.  Boko  Haram  is still  alive and killing in the vast  North  East even  though  government says it has no territory or  local  government  it controls.  But  ISIS,  the big  brother of  Boko  Haram never claimed it wanted any territory. Their  goal  has  always been  a borderless  caliphate  created  out of murder and  mayhem  as they have done so  brutally in  Syria  which  they have destroyed  and in Iraq  and  Yemen  which  they  have dismembered.

    It  is with  this  in mind  that the Nigerian  nation, government and  people  must  deal squarely  with those  advocating the dismemberment  of  Nigeria  as it is today. Anybody advocating  that in any part of the nation is involved  in treason and  should  be charged and prosecuted as such. That is the law of the state of  Nigeria. More  importantly  those   who take up  arms against  the  Nigerian  nation  and blow up its major  sources of revenue  and livelihood  should  be dealt  with  by the Nigerian  government  and  people. Nigerians expect  their leaders and   government of the day to guarantee the safety of their  lives and property. That  is the essence and meaning of government  and the cornerstone  of  governance  in any democracy. The armed forces  should  be used to protect  the  main  assets  of the Nigerian  government  any where in  Nigeria.

    Undoubtedly  the morale of our armed  forces could  be low because  of the humiliation by Boko  Haram over the years. But  Nigerians sympathise  and  empathisee   with  our men  in uniform  after the revelations on the diverted  arms funds which  showed  past military  leaders diverted funds into their private  pockets while court martialling soldiers and officers who refused to fight because of  lack  of modern military  hard ware  and equipment .Since  this is a democracy,  government  must  give  the military  a free hand and total  support  to guarantee the territorial  integrity  of  the  Nigerian  nation. A situation  where a group of Nigerians in the name of religion ambushed the convoy of our army  chief  should never occur again as it sent   the  wrong signal to  insurgents, terrorists and  unrepentant  rebels in our midst  that   the  nation has no  heart  for the use of force  to secure its democracy  as  well  as our  collective safety  and well  being.  That  notion  should  be nipped  in the bud by totally  silencing those who  aim  to test  governments resolve  in asserting its rule and authority over the entire  territory  presently called  Nigeria.

    With  regard  to the Brexit  and  Remain  debate  in Britain I  see a  self  inflicted  national  malaise  borne  out of hubris  and arrogance  in the decision  to put the issue  to  a debate  and  a referendum. Now  it  is difficult  to  put any order in the entire  episode  because that would be like bolting the stable  doors  after  the horses  have  bolted. I  see  no  sense  in a situation  where  members of the cabinet  are on both sides of the debate  which  has  become  hostile and  rancorous  and seem  to taking after  a Donald  Trump style  and  manner of  campaign when after  this   referendum the cabinet  will still  meet as a government to  run the  British nation.  Obviously  the leaders  in  British  politics  and  democracy   have underestimated  the  cost  of  sour grapes in this EU  debate  and its  aftermath. It  is assumed   quite  wrongly  in my view,  that political  maturity will  mend  fences no  matter the result of the referendum. But  that is where they  will  see that they have shot  British democracy  in   the leg,  fatally    perhaps,   at  a time  when  it should live up to the well  known  tenet of its political  stability.  Which  famously  is that – with  the Queen  in  Buckingham Palace  every  Briton sleeps well  in his  bed. Well,  I wonder  how this can  endure after  the results of the EU  referendum  this  June   either for  Brexit  or  Remain.

    Thirdly  I  want  to say categorically that  while  I see  nothing  wrong in the  emergence of  Donald  Trump  candidacy for  the  Republican  Party,  I  find two  incidents which came  to light in the last week  quite  worrisome.  The  first  was the way  he attacked  a judge  who  released  some documents on a case before him  involving Trump in the public  interest  because Donald  Trump has  become  a major  presidential  candidate. Donald  Trump  called  the judge  a ’Trump  hater‘ and  a   Mexican as if Mexicans  are  not  human  beings –  while  those  who  know the judge said  he was from  the state of  Indiana  and  not a foreigner. The  second  was  the way  he ran the Trump  University  and drove  teachers  and students  alike to siphon  funds  off  needy  and  poor parents in the university  now said  to  be defunct . The  two  cases  portray  Trump as  first  someone  who  lacks respect for  the rule of  law  and as a  past  con man  or what has  made   Nigeria  notorious in global  fraud  which  is 419. Which  shows  that like  Shakespeare  once wrote in Julius   Caesar – Ambition should  be made  of sterner  stuff. Especially  if that ambition is to be President  of the leading democracy  in the world which  is the USA.

    Nevertheless  I insist  that no  one can  stop  an idea whose  time has come as no  one has  the mandate or the authority to take up such  a daunting responsibility. In  addition  a people  deserve  the leaders that they get. Especially  when  they elect  them  in  broad  daylight  with  their eyes  wide open  as they have done  so  massively  and openly  in the  US in  making Donald  Trump  the presumptive presidential  candidate of  the  Republican  Party in that  nation .If  that is not a clear  case  of democracy  under siege  from  both  leaders and  followers  alike, I  wonder  what  else  can  be.  Once  again Long  live  the   Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

  • Card Reader under siege

    Card Reader under siege

    There were mixed feelings over the recent Supreme Court judgments on some governorship election petitions, particularly the refusal by the apex court to recognise the electronic Card Reader. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN, who spoke to some concerned Nigerians, reports.

    The Supreme Court decision to ignore Card Reader report in considering election petitions has sparked off controversy. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had deployed electronic Card Readers during the 2015 general elections to enhance accreditation process. Lawyers, intellectuals and civil rights activists have disagreed with the position of the apex court on the Card Readers. They argue that INEC’s introduction of the Card Readers has not violated Section 49 of the Electoral Act, but it has helped to minimise massive election manipulation, especially during the accreditation process. The concerned citizens believe the report or information provided by the electronic device on voters is authentic because it contains voter’s biometric information. To them, the Card Reader contributed immensely to the success of the last general elections, which was rated as transparent and credible by local and foreign observers.

    A seven-man panel of Justices of the apex court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Muhammed, had explained why it did not accord any probative value to reports from Card Reader machines, while adducing reasons for upholding the election of Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State. The court maintained that although the use of the Card Reader machine for the accreditation of voters was provided for in the Approved Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2015 general elections. It said the devise was never “intended to supplant, displace or supersede the voters’ register.”

    To buttress its position, the court made reference to Section 49 (1 and 2) of the 2010 Electoral Act, which it said ordained analogue procedure for the accreditation process. The court faulted the National Assembly for failing to expunge analogue procedure so that the card reader procedure would be the sole determinant of a valid accreditation process.

    According to the Supreme Court, “it stands to reason that the card reader was meant to supplement the voters’ register and was never designed or intended to supplant, displace or supersede it. Indeed, since the guidelines and manual, which authorised the use and deployment of the electronic card reader machine, were made in exercise of the powers conferred by Electoral Act, the said card reader cannot logically depose or dethrone the voters’ register whose judicial roots are firmly embedded or entrenched in the selfsame Electoral Act.”

    The fear of many Nigerians is that the Supreme Court decision has cast doubts on the legal status of the Card Reader and its possible use in future elections. The fact that the 2015 general elections marked a watershed in the history of Nigeria is not in dispute. Unfortunately, the card reader, the most significant innovation that birthed the new electoral and political order is being threatened by judicial pronouncements.

    Constitutional lawyer Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) has expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court interpretation. He said: “The Card Reader is not meant to supplant voters’ register. “The Card Reader is to supplement the purpose and objective of voters’ register. The two are working together to authenticate the voter as actual person who registered at the polling units before being allowed to vote

    “All those who voted in the last elections went through the Card Reader accreditation process and were given ballot after their names have been confirmed to be in the voters’ register. How come the Card Reader wants to supplant the voters’ register?

    “For the Supreme Court judges to talk of Card Reader displacing voters’ register is amazing. It is not only strange but unbelievable. I think they arrived at that position because they are looking for a reason to justify why card reader should not be used.”

     Former Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo and Cross River States Mr. Mike Igini aligned himself with Sagay’s position. According to Igini, the Card Reader has not in any way violated any known law but rather strengthened the provision of Section 49 of the Electoral Act. The Card Reader verification of identity helps to objectively satisfy the presiding officer to qualify the voter at the time of accreditation to be issued a ballot paper, so that he or she can cast a ballot at the time of voting.

    Igini, a lawyer said: “It is a condition precedent to voting as stated in Section 49 of the Electoral Act and not the actual voting as has been interpreted wrongly. Section 49 talks of the satisfaction of the presiding officer and issuing ballot to a voter to proceed and vote. But it is common knowledge that accreditation usually precedes voting and all the processes regarding accreditation are contained in the guidelines and manuals.

    “Frankly, in terms of legality, I don’t see where any confusion should come in. INEC introduced this process of  verification because it is an operational process during an election: it doesn’t need to go back to the National Assembly to seek approval for the development of an operational process during an election; it doesn’t need to go back to the National Assembly to seek approval for the development of an operational process for voter identification, since the National Assembly, by the instruction of the Act , has already said the Presiding Officer should be satisfied that the voter is authentic.

    “It is left to the election managers to devise an objective way of ensuring that satisfaction is reached with minimal equivocation using a simple device like the Card Reader. The introduction of Card Reader has helped to minimize the historical problems of massive election manipulation characterised by bogus moonlight and landslide figures that some folks want us to return to  at this stage.”

    Igini said the introduction of the card reader was meant to reduce subjectivity and increase the fidelity of voter verification from the voter register, a previous weakness that allowed for multiple voting and inflated election results.

    A lawyer, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, justified the use of Card Reader. He said the Card Readers were introduced by INEC to combat the malaise brought on by our notorious history of electoral malfeasance and manipulation of elections by desperate political actors.

    Effiong said: “Section 160 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended confers powers on INEC to make its own rules or otherwise regulate its own procedure which shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President. Paragraph 15 (1) of the Third Schedule of the Constitution empowers the National Assembly to enlarge the powers of INEC through legislative enactments. In the exercise of this power, the National Assembly enacted the 2010 Electoral Act.

    “Given that INEC is the sole authority empowered by the Constitution to conduct elections, it is better positioned to make detailed rules and regulations to guide the conduct of elections, the National Assembly delegated the power to make enabling rules for the conduct of the elections to INEC. Section 153 of the Electoral Act vest in INEC the power to issue regulations, guidelines and manuals for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of the Electoral Act and for its administration.

    “In essence, the Electoral Act will be ineffective without the supportive and complimentary regulations, guidelines and manuals issued by INEC. Pursuant to the powers granted it by the Constitution and the Electoral Act, INEC issued the Guidelines and Regulations for the conduct of the 2015 General Elections. Given that the card readers are provided for by the Guidelines, the argument that they are not known to law collapses having regard to the above legal narrative.

    But, civil right activist Comrade Moshood Erubami viewed it from a different perspective. According to him, the use of card reader cannot be a substitute to and render the use of voters’ register unnecessary.

    Erubami, President, Nigeria Voters Assembly (VOTAS) states: “Much as manual accreditation is an alternative to card reader, the use of card reader cannot be a substitute to and render the use of voters’ register unnecessary, hence it could not be a substitute in the contest of the Rivers and Akwa Ibom states election. Where an election is held, but due to the malfunctioning of the card readers which is not the fault of the voters, the electoral officer could resort to the use of manual accreditation which is the use of voters’ register to verify and authenticate the permanent voters card before an electorate can be allowed to vote.

    “Where the register is substantially used to accredit citizen who holds valid PVC, it could be presumed that the accreditation is legitimate especially if the card readers failed to work. The non usage of the card reader which failed to work cannot invalidate the usage of voters’ register to authenticate the PVC in that circumstance if the process were followed as laid down in the Electoral Act and other INEC rules and regulations.

    “The Card Reader cannot be a substitute to manual accreditation. The manual accreditation can be done if the card reader fails to work; the card reader for now until it is perfected remains an alternative. Both processes would still require the use of voters’ register and the PVC. Nobody can vote if his or her name is not on the voters’ register and without PVC. Where the PVC has any problem, such reason could be recorded in a special sheet provided by INEC before the voter can legitimately vote. The card reader as a new innovation has proved to be good for our electoral performance; it has been used to authenticate the ownership and genuineness of the PVC holder”.

    Effiong argued that the mere fact that a person’s name is on the register of voters does not automatically qualified him or her to vote; except he has presented his/her voters’ card. “It should be noted that the voter’s card that was introduced by INEC for the 2015 general elections is radically different from the ones used during the 2011 general elections. This is the point that the learned judges, with respect, may not have appreciated. The disparity between the voter’s cards is very significant. In the 2011 general elections, INEC used mere temporary voter’s cards. However, in the 2015 general elections, INEC introduced a Permanent Voter’s card.

    “The PVCs contain voters’ biometric information in an embedded microchip and replace the temporary voter’s card that was used in the 2011 general elections. The PVC itself was produced by electronic means. What then is wrong in using an electronic device (card reader) to determine whether the PVC is genuine or not? How does that encroach on Section 49?

    “All that the card reader does is to ascertain that the photograph on the PVC is that of the bearer and that the polling unit details on the PVC corresponds with that of the polling unit that the bearer presents himself for voting. It also authenticates the fingerprint of the bearer. The question is: What is wrong with that? How does the card reader contravene Section 49 of the Electoral Act? It is instructive to note that by the provisions of sub section 2 of Section 49, the Presiding Officer can only issue ballot papers to a prospective voter if he is satisfied that the name of the person is on the voters’ register.”

    A law teacher, Dr Audu Awwal, compliments Effiong’s submission. He explained that though the Electoral Act is silent on the test or procedure to be adopted in determining this satisfaction, but neither the courts nor the Legislature can prescribe this for the simple reason that it is not within their constitutional mandate to conduct elections. Awwal said the framers of the Constitution may have envisaged a situation like this when they enshrined in Section 160 that the rules made by INEC shall not be subject to the approval or control of the President.

    “If INEC decides, as it did, that Presiding Officers recruited by it must only rely on an objective test in determining whether they are satisfied or not that a person’s name is on the register of voters , how does that offend Section 49 of the Electoral Act? If the courts see nothing offensive in INEC introducing the PVC what then is the logic in rejecting the device that is meant to verify that same PVC? We cannot accept the PVC and reject the card reader, “he concluded.

  • SSS lifts siege on Dasuki’s house

    SSS lifts siege on Dasuki’s house

    •Blockade prevents ex-NSA from attending Eid

    The security siege upon the Asokoro,Abuja residence of the immediate past National Security Adviser (NSA),Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) is over following the withdrawal of the personnel of the State Security Service (SSS) from the premises last night.

    The siege began on Thursday ,72 hours after Dasuki was removed from office along with the service chief.

    While it lasted,the former NSA could not attend yesterday’s Eid-el-Fitr prayer marking the end of the Ramadan fasting.

    He was restricted to the house with two cooks and dogs with an order banning them from either going out or receiving visitors

    The SSS operatives also ransacked the house at No. 13, John Kadiya Street , seizing nine cars.

    A similar security raid was carried out at the Sokoto home of the ex-NSA’s father, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki (the deposed Sultan of Sokoto).

    A source close to Dasuki said: “We cannot say what is really happening because the former NSA was not arrested. But a search was conducted in his house without the operatives making reference to any document they are looking for.

    “The SSS operatives however went away with his car to restrict his movement. Therefore, he could not attend the Eid-el-Fitr prayer to mark the end of Ramadan.

    “No one can say what exactly the situation is because the operatives kept on making frantic calls and receiving intelligence messages.”

    In spite of the upturning of his residence, Dasuki remained unruffled as he worked on his phone.

    It was gathered that he was moving about freely in his house

    Another source added: “The only thing giving concern to the former NSA was the invasion of his father’s house in Sokoto by some SSS operatives.

    “He said his father is sick in London and he could not explain how the deposed Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Ibrahim Dasuki was connected with the ongoing investigation of his activities by the SSS.”

    There were suggestions that the raid was to search for documents relating to the $ 15m cash for arms seized from agents of the Jonathan Administration by South Africa last year.

    The NSA Office was also said to have hired South African mercenaries to assist in the fight against Boko Haram.

    It was learnt yesterday that some of the South African mercenaries had started withdrawing their services from Gwoza and Sambisa Forest in the Northeast.

    A reliable source said mercenaries attached to the infantry unit had returned quietly to their country.

    But those es assisting the Air Force to carry out bombardments of the camps and cells of Boko Haram were still around as at press time.

    “The South African mercenaries made it possible for the nation’s military to reclaim Gwoza and make substantial inroads into Sambisa Forest,” the source said.

    “Those fighting on the ground among them have decided to leave because the government which brought them is no longer in power. They were unsure if the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari would retain them .

    “But the jet fighters among the South African mercenaries are still working. I think their contract has not expired.”

  • African continent under siege, Buhari warns AU leaders

    African continent under siege, Buhari warns AU leaders

     •Seeks end of illegal migration to Europe

    President Muhammadu Buhari has warned his colleagues at the 25th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in South Africa that the continent was under siege.

    He said the continent is facing challenges of terrorism and insecurity, poverty, youth unemployment and underdevelopment.

    Buhari noted that Africa has progressed in the past one and a half decades from mainly political goals to more diverse aspirations since the transformation from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to the AU.

    The President said: “It is, however, clear, Mr. Chairman, that some of the greater challenges to our peoples within this union still lie in the political, economic, as well as peace and security spheres. Our continent is currently bedevilled by the twin evils of terrorism and insecurity; poverty, youth unemployment, and underdevelopment.

    “The destructive effects of the inhuman and criminal campaigns of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria and neighbouring countries; the Al-Shabab attacks in East Africa, and the activities of the Al-Qaida in the Maghreb, all bear testimony to a continent under siege.”

    He used the opportunity to comment on the role former President Goodluck Jonathan played after the March 28 presidential election.

    Buhari said: “I cannot fail to acknowledge the very positive role played by my predecessor, H.E. President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, in averting the feared crisis, and in facilitating the peaceful transition of power between the two parties.

    “My election has been described as historic. I agree that it is indeed historic because for the first time in the practice of democracy in my country, an opposition Party has defeated the ruling Party in a keenly contested election.

    “The election was also held against the backdrop of the fears and concerns expressed both in Nigeria and among our international friends abroad and partners that the outcome of the election could spell doom for Nigeria. I am glad that even though those fears and concerns were not without basis, the outcome was totally different, to the relief of all of us.”

    The President told the African leaders to do everything possible to stop the illegal migration of Africans through the Mediterranean sea to Europe.

    He said: “The images in the international mass media of African youths getting drowned in the Mediterranean sea on their illegal attempts, and often times illusory hope of attaining better life in Europe is not only an embarrassment to us as leaders, but dehumanises our persons.  Indeed, they combine to paint a very unfavourable picture of our peoples and countries.

    “Those of us gathered here today owe it as a duty to reverse this ugly trend. We must put an end to the so-called push factors that compel our young men and women to throw caution to the winds and risk life, limbs and all, on this dangerous adventure.”

    To this end, Buhari called on the leaders to redouble efforts to sustain the economic development of their countries, ensure empowerment of the youths, create more jobs, improve and upgrade infrastructure, and continue to enthrone a regime of democracy, good governance, respect for human rights and rule of law.

    He added: “These and other measures that engender peace and stability must be pursued relentlessly. In this connection, we must persist in our collective endeavour to work together through the African Union and our respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs), to uplift our continent and provide the African peoples the enabling environment for the realisation of their legitimate dreams and aspirations.

    “At this juncture, let me assure you of the unflinching commitment of Nigeria to the ideals and aspirations of the African Union as explained in the Agenda 2063, which is geared towards ensuring a peaceful, prosperous and integrated Africa in the next 50 years. It is for this reason that Nigeria is fully and irrevocably committed to the ECOWAS vision.

    “We do so because we believe that African integration is best attained through the instrumentality of our Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the building blocs of viable continental institutions. Nigeria will, therefore, continue to play her part in supporting the African Union Commission and other continental and regional institutions in their efforts to prioritise African development in all sectors of human endeavour.”

     

     

  • Re: Rapists, Cultists Lay Siege to Benue varsity

    The attention of the Benue State University Management has been drawn to a publication in the Campus Life pull out of The Nation Newspaper of Thursday June 19, 2014.

    In the said report, one Msonter Anzaa, whom we discovered is a medical student of the university, spuriously alleged that rapists and cultists have laid siege on the university.

    For the avoidance of doubt and in order to put the records straight, management wishes to once again state in unequivocal terms that:

    • When this false and malicious report was first published in the Nigerian Tribune Newspaper of May 28, 2014, authorities of the University carried out a thorough and incisive investigation but found no iota of truth in the report.

    • Similarly, the Benue State Police Command through the State Commissioner, Mr. Adams Audu, also corroborated the position of management on the said report in a widely published press statement on the same day it was published in The Tribune.

    • That the rumour was put to rest but the author found it a topic for his contribution to The Nation almost one month after it first appeared, speaks volumes about his real motive.

    • It is also noteworthy to point out that some of the alleged incidents in the report, according to the reporter, occurred out of the University Campus hence we view attempts to link such to the University Management or its security personnel as either mischievous or even libelous.

    •The author splashed a picture of a roofless structure in the story with a caption: “The Technical Hostel which was hit.”   Management wishes to state in clear terms that the said building is not of the University as its students are not kept in roofless hostels.

    • Ordinarily, management wouldn’t want to join issues with the author, but this clarification has become necessary so as to allay the fears of many and reinforce the confidence of all relevant stakeholders in the University.

    • We appreciate the innovative idea by The Nation and other print media which have availed students the space and opportunity to express themselves on happenings on the campuses. However, it is our candid view that operators of these media should take some of these reports with a pinch of salt as some of the contributors may be swimming in unfamiliar waters by the nature of their disciplines of studies.

    • Finally, we hope that our position as well as that of the Police Command, earlier stated, will serve as a caution against speculative journalism. More so that journalism, unlike law, is not an ass “everybody can ride.”

     

    Signed

    T. Tser Vanger, JP

    SAR/Information Officer

    For: Registrar

  • A nation under siege

    Nigeria is not at war, but it is at war with itself Why do I say this? In the past three years, internal security has been stretched beyond its limit while trying to curtail the activities of those who have declared war on the country. With no corresponding response from the security agencies to their murderous acts, these renegades have made the country virtually ungovernable.

    Yet, we have a government and a thing like this is happening. It is the job of government to secure the country and ensure the safety of lives and properties; but doing this has become an Herculean task for the present administration. These days, all sorts of characters with guns strike at will, killing, maiming and looting.

    If Boko Haram is not doing its own, bandits are busy terrorising the people. No part of the country is safe now from the grip of these bad boys. Perhaps, if it had been Boko Haram alone, the public would have known the direction to face to seek divine solution to this gargantuan problem. As things are, the people are between the devil and deep blue sea.

    Who do we run to or who do we run from between Boko Haram elements and your run-of-the-mill bandit? None, I say, because there is no difference between them; it is like six and half a dozen. They are only different in name, but similar in evil deeds. As if to see who will outdo the other, these renegades have been unleashing terror on the country in a relay race like manner. As soon as one finishes a lap, it hands over the baton to the other and vice versa.

    Between Sunday and now, the nation has known no rest from these animals in human skin, apologies to the late Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. And I tell you, they, especially Boko Haram, are not selective in those they attack. They attack civilians, military and para-military personnel. So, if the military and the police can be attacked, who then is safe from Boko Haram and those we commonly refer to as die-hard rogues?

    Although, Boko Haram has a history of attacking military and police formations, it has never done so in quick succession as it did on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, it hit the elite Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna State, and on Monday, it took its destructive campaign to the Force Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Headquarters in Abuja. That same Monday, gunmen struck in the polytechnic town of Auchi in Edo State, looting and killing.

    In Jaji, 15 were officially confirmed dead. The figure is believed to be higher than that unofficially; two reportedly died in the SARS attack. Fifteen persons, among them three soldiers, were said to have died in Auchi. Chances are that the casualty figures are likely to be than these by the time we take proper stock of what happened. I will be putting it mildly to say I’m not shocked by the attacks on the military and police formations considering what they went through in Boko Haram’s hand not too long ago.

    The attack on the 244 Recce Brigade also in Kaduna a few months ago prompted the army to devise means of stopping the Islamic group’s suicide bombers from hitting home easily. The metallic security device, we were told, can stop any bomber who runs into it at the entrance of any building, particularly a church, where it is placed. Were there no security device at the entrance to the church in Jaji last Sunday when Boko Haram struck? Or is it a matter of complacency by the army? Could it have relied only on its name-army- to scare away the fundamentalists?

    What about the police? With the havoc Boko Haram wreaked on the Force Headquarters not too long ago, should the police have gone to sleep so quickly in taking steps to tame the group? Does it not speak volume about our police that Boko Haram could successfully hit another of their facility and get away? The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), it was reported, has ordered that security be beefed up in all police and public buildings, is that to say, there were no such security measures in place before now?

    Boko Haram and hoodlums will always be a step ahead of our security agencies if they are only quick at taking fire brigade measures. With the way Boko Haram has been terrorising some parts of the country, these agencies don’t need to be told that they have to be pro-active and not reactive to curtail the group’s activities. If they continue like this, it will only amount to shutting the stable when the horse has bolted away.

    But for how long will the people continue to live in fear of Boko Haram and hoodlums? The fear of these people is the beginning of wisdom for many Nigerians now. We live in fortresses, yet, we are not safe. Billions of Naira are voted for security and defence, but we don’t know how the money is spent because neither us nor our properties are safe. We-the leaders and the led- are at the mercy of renegades, who have become law unto themselves. Will we ever know peace?

    Yes, we can, if the government can get its act together and use its might to do what should be done in matters like this. Should a government keep quiet in the face of serious challenge to its authority by renegades? The answer is no. I pray that the government will summon courage to act before things get out of hand (as if they haven’t) because it will be too late to cry when the head is off. No renegade can be bigger or mightier than government, except a government which does not know the enormity of its power.

  • Under their siege

    Under their siege

    Those who devour usury will not stand except like a person whom Satan has driven to madness by his touch….” Q. 2: 275

     It is no longer news that Nigerians are being placed under a very stringent siege by two vicious uniformed government agencies. One of them is the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The other is Nigerian Police Force (NPF). These two agencies are in a fierce competition to tear the poor Nigerian masses into shreds in a bid to satisfy their common employer which is the federal government. The consequence of their actions on the populace and the implications of such consequence on the security of the country do not seem to be their concern. What matters to them in this case is the revenue they are eager to generate for the federal government and the likely peripheral opportunity that may accrue to their officials individually from the exercise.

     Axiomatic quotes

     Sages are the pillars of history. Their words of wisdom are like the tonic of all eras that keeps generations of man going. Such sages can be compared to plants of benefit which grow in all lands and are found useful at all times. They are axiomatically quotable across generations. The greatest of them all is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who, in a famous Hadith, once said that: “When an issue of (great) significance is entrusted to un-trustable hands expect the end of time”.

    And in a tacit corroboration of the above axiom, a popular English philosopher, John Locke (1632-1704), once observed a situation in his time which was similar to that of today’s Nigeria and concluded as follows in his treatise on Civil Government: “…freedom of men under a government is to have a standing rule to live by, common to everyone in that society…and not to be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, unknown, arbitrary will of another man”.

    Judging Locke’s observation and juxtaposing it with the prophetic admonition quoted above, one may tend to believe that true history is not what is chronicled on the pages of any book by the cronies of a tyrant. Rather, it is what the masses endure, how they resist tyranny and how they struggle for survival that forms the body of true history. And since history is a combination of body and heart, it is the attainment of genuine human liberty through such process of struggle that forms the heart of history.

    Colours of terrorism

    Terrorism, especially in Nigeria, is grossly misconceived to mean only the killing of innocent people by some aggrieved and disgruntled elements in a society. No! Far beyond that level, terrorism is like a constant hue with many colours and shapes. It can come from the sphere of politics or economy or ethnicity or religion or marital life or social service or environment or even sports. There is no aspect of human life without tendency for terrorism depending on the administrative competence and experience of the person who occupies the topmost helm of affairs and his or her disposition to the well being of the citizenry.

    One typical example of terrorism in Nigeria today is the imposition of a new vehicle number plate by the officials of Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in connivance with the Federal Government for the purpose of generating revenue. That insensitively obnoxious policy will soon be heartlessly enforced in the country even to the detriment of the same economy which the conniving duo is pretending to safeguard.

    The trouble ahead

    In about two weeks time, over 90% of Nigerian vehicles, except those of the governments, will be forcefully grounded. This, according to the warning now being repeatedly issued, through the mass media, is going to commence precisely on October 1, 2013, when the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), will start impounding those vehicles for plying the roads without wearing the new imposed number plates.

    While talking to some journalists recently about the ‘project’, the boss of the FRSC, Corps Marshal Osita Chidoka, said the cost of the new driver’s licence is N6,000 while that of motorcycle operators is N3,000. The Standard Motor Vehicle number plate, according to him, costs N15,000; Articulated Vehicles is N20,000; Out of Series vehicle is N40,000; Fancy is N15000; and Dealer is N30,000. However, licensing officials of the FRSC and the VIO, according to some applicants, are charging far above the quoted official rate. For instance, the new number plate which officially costs N15,000 is said to be issued at N35,000 unofficially while replacement which is supposed to be N10,000 is being allegedly issued at N25,000 through the backdoor. And since the plates are not available, the only alternative for any vehicle owner is to park his or her vehicle until a time when the plates will be made available at the official rate. That is Nigeria for you. Head or tail, the masses who will eventually bear the brunt of all these are the final losers.

    The current number plates in use which is now being changed was introduced some years ago by the same FRSC. But rather than admit its own error and embark on a gradual enforcement of the new one, this agency, banking on the solid support of the Federal Government, has decided to force the poor masses to pay the cost of its own mistake. What a country, what a government! Is democracy for enslavement?

    In any civilised country, old number plates are allowed to wither away with old vehicles if there is any cause for redesigning them at all while new ones are subjected to new law with human face and human heart. And the cost is surely made affordable for motorists. This is not the case in Nigeria where only money is the issue and government agencies become hard-working only when the job will bring unofficial personal largess. Here is a country where the policemen, the traffic wardens and the road marshals are absent at their duty posts when it is raining and at night except where and when personal largess is accruable to them.

    Added agony

    And, now, in the competition for such largess, a game of wit is taking the front burner. To beat the FRSC in that game, the Nigerian Police have come up with a sudden new devise that can give them an upper hand in the competition. Just last Monday, an announcement was made through the media stating that all vehicle owners must henceforth obtain a permit for biometric number plate (whatever that means) and the fee for obtaining such permission is N3, 500 per vehicle. And that order takes ‘immediate effect (and automatic alacrity) from Monday, September 16, 2013. In other words, every vehicle owner will now have to shuttle between the offices of the FRSC where he can always be told to come back tomorrow and that of the Police where, as usual, no one will be available to attend to him. Hmmm! Nigerians are in bondage.

    It is, therefore, not enough to purchase a N10,000 worth of number plate for N25,000 through the backdoor, you must also top it up with at least N3, 500 in the name of biometric permit. That is if the N3, 500 biometric permit, too, does not acquire a backdoor through which you can obtain it to avoid delay.

    In this period of unbearable hardship, when working class men and women can hardly afford N1,000 to fuel their vehicles once in a week, and parents are running up helter-skelter to find a means of paying the school fees of their wards, people are being compelled to pay about N28, 500 just to change their old number plates with special permit to use such numbers or park their vehicles.

    Between FRSC and VIO

    What is most amazing in all these is the cat and mouse game going on between the FRSC and the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO) in the issuance of the relevant documents. While the FRSC that introduced and is now imposing the new number plate is said to be responsible for its production, the VIO is charged with the task of distribution. And the Police Force, on the other hand, corners the responsibility of authenticating the number plate through the so-called biometric permit. Thus, Nigerians are wholly entangled in a conspiratorial web of official oppression. What else is called slavery? And if you ask for the opinions of the officials of these agencies, they will be quick in rationalizing the exercise through the alibi of national security and even accuse Nigerian press of bias and incitement. It will not be a surprise if they tag this type of writing a crime for which the writer should be prosecuted. They have forgotten that the same pen with which new births are announced is used in announcing the obituaries of new deaths.

    In the colonial days

    In the terrible old days of the struggle for independence in Nigeria when the British colonialists still held sway , a foremost nationalist and versatile journalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who later became the country’s first President, once publicly observed (in 1934) as follows: “….I have always maintained that no social reform is possible without taking the masses into consideration……The verdict of history supports the thesis that no revolution, be it social, economic, religious or political, could crystallise without the support of the masses. (In a democratic setting) the people hold the mandate of man’s existence as a social animal and no person can successfully claim to be a patriot who overlooks this important factor. Those intellectuals who think that they, alone, are gifted to change the destinies of their fellow men and women, are living in a fool’s paradise, like Louise xiv (of France) and others who thought of the people as mere tools of the elite. History shows that they lived to sign their own death warrants”.

    Almost 80 years after that thoughtful and electrifying speech by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria doesn’t seem to have moved ahead positively by one inch. The colonial heritage in this country is like a recurrent decimal incessantly reminding us of our seeming perpetual bondage clandestinely weaved into the vestiges of our colonial past. Thus, the theoretical independence of 1960 is just a matter of nomenclature which does not necessarily confer any practical freedom on Nigerians. What we ignorantly call independence in this country is a substitution of white man’s enslavement for that of the black man. And that is a technical return to the pre-colonial slave trade of the yore.

    Personal experience

    By the way, if we may ask, where is the new driver’s license introduced and imposed on the people in 2011? Is it available today? Yours sincerely paid for one in February this year but has not been issued any till date. Instead, I was issued a bale of papers with a promise to produce the real licence later while I was asked to keep coming for it three times in a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) as if I had no job other than going for driver’s licence. Eventually, I had to stop reporting at the Jericho office of the Road Corps in Ibadan after four months when it became clear that the exercise was an apparent rip-off. Today, eight months after paying, I am still going about with that bale of papers in case of any Police check. Given this dubiously messy situation, the relevant question now is this: why did we change the old paper licence that we were carrying about in the 1970s into a plastic one?

    Genesis of FRSC

    When the idea of a new agency to be called ‘Federal Road Safety Corps’ (FRSC) was first muted in 1988, the entire Nigerian populace heaved a great sigh of relief. The general thought then was that a better option was being introduced to the traffic system in Nigeria especially when those first recruited for the new outfit were University graduates. By that time most Nigerians were already tired of the ‘wetin you carry’ syndrome of Nigerian Police. And, in fairness to the pioneer recruits of the FRSC, an element of civility was displayed to the great delight of the citizenry.

    Yours sincerely was one of the front-line Nigerian journalists who fought vehemently for the independence of the FRSC when the Police wanted to emasculate that agency by all means in the 1990s. The likes of one Mr. Abayomi Omiyale an official of FRSC, in Lagos State, at that time, created such a marvellous impression on the populace by their patriotic activities that some of us in the pen profession stood firmly for the independence of FRSC from the claw of Nigerian Police Force. But today, see what that same agency has become. The endemic virus called ‘Nigerian factor’ has held it by the jugular and the wheat has now become an admixture of the chaff. The only exception in the stable of that agency now is the crop of highly responsible gentlemen and women who volunteer to serve without remuneration and are designated Special Marshals.

    Besides, there is no distinction between the Police and the FRSC today in terms of the cited Nigerian factor above. And, as a matter of fact, the latter seems to be by far worse than the former given its supposed educational background. If anything, the behaviour of most FRSC officials on Nigerian roads is not only a disappointment but also a confirmation that what is called education in Nigeria today has nothing tangible to contribute to the development of the country. In a nutshell, this country is hopeless.

  • Rivers warns against siege

    Rivers warns against siege

    All was calm yesterday in Port Harcourt after Monday’s peaceful protests.

    But the state government has stated that there are ominous signs that the peaceful state could be under siege, adding that it is in Nigeria’s best interest that the oil-rich state is stable.

    The secretariat of Obio/Akpor Local Government, which was sealed by policemen on May 3, remained shut down yesterday.

    The main opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers State chapter, through its Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam, also cautioned politicians and Governor Rotimi Amaechi’s aides to guard their utterances, in order not to overheat the polity.

    Commissioner for Information and Communications Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, in a statement, maintained that Amaechi is in control of the state’s affairs, without any threat to his office.

    Semenitari said: “The Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, will work to protect the people of Rivers State and to protect lives and property in Rivers state, because that is his responsibility to tax payers.

    “The protesting youths do not have that right to tell the Governor of Rivers State to resign. We have to be sure of who these faceless and nameless youths are.

    “There is a difference between a plan and the actualisation of a plan. I believe that Rivers people are very much aware of their rights in a democracy and they elected Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi as the governor of Rivers State.

    “He remains the governor of Rivers State and he is in charge as governor of Rivers state. The people of Rivers State should rest assured that their governor is in full control of the state.

    “Governor Amaechi remains the chief security officer of the state. I will like to believe that the commissioner of police understands that Governor Amaechi is the chief security officer. I doubt very much that he (CP) is in denial of that. It will be unfortunate if the police attempt to cause trouble for Rivers people.

    “It will then be clear to everybody that Rivers State is under siege and that Rivers State is under attack by powers that are bigger than us. For now, we do not want to believe that that is the case.

    “We want to believe that our state is not as yet under siege, but when we see the signs; yes there are ominous signs, yes there are rumours, but we like to believe that everybody understands that it is in the best interest of Nigeria, that Rivers State is stable.

    “The wife of the President (Dame Patience Jonathan) is a daughter of Rivers State and is a wife in Bayelsa State. She is also an official of the Bayelsa State Government and will need to perform her duties as a Permanent Secretary.

    “I doubt if she vowed that Timothy Nsirim (Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, who was suspended on April 22, along with his deputy, Solomon Eke, and all the 17 councillors by the members of the Rivers House of Assembly) must come back.

    “I doubt that she will do such a thing, because she understands the boundaries of her influence. I do not think that as wife of the President, she will in any way want to interfere with governance or with issues.

    “I will be very surprised that she will want to cause any rancor or destabilisation of Rivers State, which, by the way, is her state. That will be curious and it will be a little troubling, if that is the case.”

    To the ACN, the political atmosphere calls for caution.

    The main opposition party stressed that politicians and Amaechi’s aides should avoid provocative language, unguarded and inciting statements, while commenting on the political developments.

    It condemned how Semenitari addressed the populace, as though they were without commonsense.

    ACN said: “We demand an unreserved apology from the information commissioner for calling responsible protesting youths of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, who lawfully besieged the Rivers House of Assembly complex to make a case for the suspended council chairman, his deputy and the 17 councillors, touts and miscreants.

    “What made the Obio/Akpor protesting youths miscreants and a faction of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), who were earlier sponsored on a solidarity visit to the Government House, Port Harcourt, in favour of Governor Amaechi, good persons?

    “We have been following the current political happenings in the state with keen interest and wish to note that there is nothing in the entire saga that is new.

    “While the PDP should enhance efforts to put its house in order, the gladiators and supporters of the divides should conduct themselves orderly and must not carry on as though the entire state belongs to PDP or do anything that is capable of constituting danger to the innocent Rivers people.”

    The party also described Rivers people as reasonable and responsible people and not touts or miscreants.