The Nation Newspaper

Tag: soul

  • A girl and a soul

    First impression always plays Sister Fate on people. That is why we strive to always put our best foot forward at first meetings. A prospective reader will develop a healthy appetite for a work of art or loose it upon coming in contact with it for the first time.

    My first encounter with the words Sister Death evoked intrigue in her. It was for her a culture shock that death was in this civilization she was about to be introduced to, seen and regarded as a woman! She had never come across such a pattern or fathomed it possible. Excited, she signed on to experience the cultural deviation from what her heritage offers her.

    For Moses, he was lured by the unusual cover page of the book when Sir Victor Anoliefo (Founder of the Abuja Literary Society) presented it to him to do a review. However, the resplendence of the book’s contents turned out to surpass the beauty of the cover page. Reading this book has been a pleasant adventure opening up the beauty and surprising similarities embedded in diversity and nature’s threatened beauty.

    The book, which was published by Prah publishers, Prague and the Czech Republic Embassy in Manila, Philippines is divided into eight chapters. The author Martin Vopěnka, a citizen of the Czech Republic carefully explores themes that demonstrate an uncommon depth in the relationship between man, his neighbours and nature. Some of the themes in it include love, empathy, spirituality, environmentalism, parenting and politics.

    Sister Death: In this chapter death is introduced to the reader as a nocturnal sojourner that goes around taking the lives of different creatures. The irony here is that death has a life. You find her conversing with nature and it feels like she has a conscience. It is interesting to note that Death only kills creatures that are feeble, in great pain, physical distress or the aged. In the last encounter between death and a creature (a bird), death seems to have abandoned the ethical givens established throughout the piece for a moment to enjoy the thrills of careless killing on a whim but stood defeated as Nature forces her to bow down and conform to what struck the reviewers as Justice when the Sun energises the bird and thus sets her free from Death’s impending callousness. It seems to them that this is the author’s artistic expression of the philosophy of responsibility in the employment of power.

    Death enjoys a unique relationship with her sister, Eternity. The bond which is expressed through the concept of sisterhood is that of two persons who are indispensible to each other. One cannot get to Eternity except through Death and Eternity constantly hovers over Death like a big Sister protecting her sibling. The imagery crafted here is an excellent display of literary and artistic depth. It perfectly portrays the concept of mortality and passage into life after death.

    The Crazy Intruder: This story sheds light on the politics between domestic animals and animals that live and thrive in the wild.  Usually in African folklore when animals are the subject of a story, they are perceived as inhabitants of their own kingdom and there is little or no reference to mankind as the progenitor of another system where animals live in harmony with them. In this chapter, man plays the minor yet pivotal role of a catalyst. He and his family create and sustain a system where the animals that live with them are loved, provided for and catered to by humans. This gives rise to a clear division; the animals in the wild, who live and die by the rules of the jungle, who hunt and can be hunted, who survive or fall by the harsh weather of the mountains versus the homebred animals who live and thrive on the warmth from both the fire place and the love of his human family, who feed on home cooked meals and warm milk, wear embellished collars and even gets to be carried when their limbs get weary from running around, mostly in games.

    An interesting argument ensues when a homebred dog gets lost and upsets the tranquility of the mountains. This evokes a plethora of reactions from the various inhabitants of the mountains. All the players were in various ways expressing a complex as they were feeling threatened by the presence of the homebred dog not because the dog had better physical powers or any survival prowess but because he was affiliated to man. It is amazing how in all the political show of power and quest for supremacy that goes on between the wild animals and the homebred dog, the wild animals help lead the dog to his human family after he declares that he would not be able to live without his human family as seen on p. 23; “Hunt?” Benny was puzzled. “I don’t know anything about that. I need people. They feed me.”

    This speaks to the situation between classes of people on the opposite sides of life, entertaining various differences. Whatever the sentiment that are ancillary to these lines and divisions are, religion, wealth, status, ethnicity or race and in whatever form the politics and power play comes in, respect, love, empathy and kindness are the constants that guarantee the progress of man in a healthy equilibrium. Chapter two speaks to this in this interesting analogy, using animals as characters in keeping us alert to this consciousness.

    Mice: The story in this chapter exposes a unique relationship between man in the form of hikers and mice. It is almost as if the reader is bearing witness to the existence of another eco-system. The mice depend on the remains and droppings from the food supplies the hikers come to the mountain with. This is such an important cycle because if the hikers for any of the reason exposed in the piece did not ‘turn up’ famine would fall on the mice and they would not have their usual feast. The anticipation heightens and at the very peak of it two hikers show up. While these hikers were asleep, the mice began to cart away the food but an intruder, a rock marten gets away with the most prized food item- salami.

    This chapter ends on a comical note as the hikers assume that the mice ate or made away with the salami and the mice regret they didn’t. “It’s sad. They’re calling us names for something we didn’t do. God, if you are in heaven, give us a chance to right this wrong. Make sure that next time it really will be us who eat that salami”. (P. 35).

    This work of art is a therapeutic, informative, entertaining, educative, and, a travel guide, showing some history and some beauties of the Czech Republic. It was a very interesting read. It is recommended to both the old, the young and especially to those who yearn to see different colours in life. This may just be the very prism they need.

  • Soul of the City

    Soul of the City

    Two things happened in Lagos recently that teach us the value of place. Alpha Governor Akinwunmi Ambode reiterated the need for the federal government to return its properties to the iconic city. In another development, a little controversy was put to death over uprooted monuments to Moshood Abiola and Gani Fawehinmi at the famous Ojota Park.

    What Governor Ambode sought was not merely the monetary value of the properties but the soul of the city. What makes the soul of a city is as much the people, the heroes, the workers in the routine glories of their days, when they work and play. So, when he fought to get the National Stadium the other day, it was not the stadium but the memory. Lagos was taking back its own, when Yakubu Mambo scored the first goal, when Haruna Ilerika made fancy work of the mid field, Segun Odegbami turned mathematical, when we won gold medal as a nation.

    If Lagos gets those properties back, the money only makes sense in the context of its culture. The city is nothing but its past and dreams. New York is the economic capital of the world, but it is nothing without how it grew from a lowly port settlement with its geniuses and workers. Like Lagos, London is nothing without Queen Elizabeth’s exploits, and the tower, Buckingham Palace, the German bombardment, Churchill and its heroics.

    So, Lagos swaggers with such names as Tinubu Square with its independence roots. Now the governor has restored its fountain pride. This brings memory to my childhood days. So also is the memory of Chief MKO Abiola, who roiled for democracy. Abiola risked money for public good to immortalise him. Gani Fawehinmi duelled with the law. He dared the gun, groaned in Gashua prison, defended the weak and poor. Eventually, he died. Writer George Crabbe said even monuments need memorials. Hence Governor Ambode wants to memorialise the monuments by making them bigger and grander. A few already are materialising in public like the headless ardour of Abami Eda, Fela Kuti.

    “Monuments, like men, submit to fate,” wrote poet Alexander Pope. Governor Ambode giving new fate to the monuments. In the same way, he is building new ones, like the flyovers in Abule Egba and Lekki. Monuments are messengers of the might within the land, to quote Joseph Conrad. So, if it is a high rise, a residential quarter, a bald piece of land, they are as important as a bust in Idumota. That is Ambode’s point.

  • Battle for soul of Taraba PDP

    Battle for soul of Taraba PDP

    In this piece, Inuwa Salihu examines the battle of supremacy between home based politicians in Taraba State and “Abuja politicians” and its implications for unity in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Every state in Nigeria has its own version of the problem foisted by a group of people that have gradually increased in number and become a lot more visible for their nuisance value over the years. They are the Abuja politicians. Their homes and villages in the states are the same as yours and mine but they don’t live there. They have not lived there for several decades. They don’t even visit there either as regularly as you and I do. Some of them do not even know the names of their local chiefs and community leaders and have never made any useful contribution towards the provision of those modest water and electricity facilities which members of their local communities are currently enjoying. But they claim to represent us – yes you and I – and they speak for all of us and about us as if they are our true representatives.

    The case of Taraba State with Abuja politicians is no less different. Many of them are spent political forces with expired home addresses and have no real electoral value. They have the best houses in Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna but have none they can be proud of back home in Taraba. Their investments are in ventures located in other Nigerian towns and cities but none back home in Taraba to provide employment opportunities and other ancillary benefits for our children.

    Yet their voices are loudest in condemnation of the government back home for not bowing to their whims and caprices in the decisions it makes or for not placing funds belonging to the state on the table to be shared by them.

    The government that does not enjoy the support of Abuja politicians is doomed to their political boxing ring. It will be pummelled beyond recognition. No project, no matter how relevant to the needs of the people and how well executed is recorded in favour of the government as an achievement unless it has the stamp of approval of the Abuja politician or made some personal financial gains from it. The government that insists on doing things the proper way is always tarred with the brush of blackmail. That is the way of the Abuja politician.

    To them, it means nothing if the state is eternally in crisis and the people are daily killing themselves. Why will it matter? They don’t visit the state. Immediate members of their families don’t live in the state either. They don’t have investments in the state that will be at risk in times of crisis.

    That is the reason they don’t consider the efforts of the government that have saved the state from the inferno of ethno-religious crises as an achievement. But millions of Tarabans who have experienced the fire of crisis, who have lost loved ones and valuable properties, experienced the social and psychological trauma from the unfortunate situation that prevailed before the coming of Ishaku as governor, have not stopped giving testimony in churches and mosques for the peace that God has used the governor to achieve.

    The state’s politicians in Abuja have, by choice, remained blind to the achievements of the administration in infrastructure development. They claim not to have seen or heard about the renovation and renewal of the Jalingo Airport which is now open to direct flights thrice a week from Abuja. Their eyes and minds are also closed to the expansive water projects in Jalingo and the provision of 100 water boreholes that have radically redressed the water supply situation in the town and many other towns and villages in the state. They also claim not to know anything about the numerous road projects of the Ishaku administration, either already completed or still on-going.

    They don’t know and, they don’t care either, that many hospitals and clinics in the state that were hitherto not functional due to lack of medicaments are back on track with good stuck of what they require, including drugs and running costs. They will also pretend that what the government is already achieving with the re-opening of the state’s School of Nursing and Midwifery which had remained closed for more than ten years before Ishaku became governor, hasn’t gotten to their attention. Many idle school secondary school leavers have been offered admission and will soon take their seats at the nurses’ stations in the various hospitals and clinics in the state to render the much needed medical help. They are also not impressed by the numerous efforts of Governor Ishaku in reviving several abandoned or ailing industries belonging to the government or in which it has an interest. The Kakara tea factory in Mambilla, is a living testimony. The tomato industry in Lau and several others are on line awaiting the remediation pill of the government.

    The problem with Abuja politicians from Taraba is largely their inability to subdue political sentiments in their assessment of the government of the day in the state. The tendency, unfortunately, has always been to subject every decision, action and inaction of the state government to the narrow prism of divisive and self-serving political sentiments.

    This must yield way for a more reflective attitude of appreciation for what is being achieved with the lean resources of government. Indigenes of the state living outside the state, particularly those of them who are politicians, need to kill the virus behind the “pull down syndrome” that makes them blind to the good job the government is doing in the state.

    The magic pill against this evil syndrome is empathy that is undiluted with toxic political sentiments. It is the only way government’s views, decisions and achievements can be understood from the correct perspective. It is no crime holding political views that are at variance with that of the government of the day. That, indeed, is the essence of democracy which we practice today. But that is not a license to denigrate and demonise every action of the government of the day. The peculiar character of our own Abuja politicians is not informed by lack of information about the laudable achievements of the present administration but by the deliberate distortion of such information to whip up negative and divisive sentiments for their selfish political gains. That attitude is political demagoguery and it is unacceptable.

    Taraba State is a state whose case is different from the others and, therefore, deserves the sympathy of all its indigenes. Many of its infrastructure and institutions have been in a state of decay for a long time before the Ishaku administration came on board less than two years ago. What the administration has been doing is to pull the state out of an abyss and lay a solid foundation for development at a time that resources are scarce.

    Despite this, the administration has made a lot of impact within a short time, in road construction, the provision of water, job creation, improvement of electricity supply and paid salaries of civil servants regularly.

    The huge spending on security as a result of the crises which the present administration inherited is hardly remembered by politicians on a mischief mission. Yet, the investment in the achievement of peace is unarguably the best thing the administration has done since coming into office. It is the reason the state is at peace today.

    Our Abuja politicians need to repent and renounce their ways. They must show more interest in the development of the state. Governor Ishaku, the man whom God has prepared for the remediation project in Taraba, wants all hands on deck to make the job easier. It is the only way the good things of life that our people need and are asking for can come easy and fast.

  • Battle for PDP’s soul

    Battle for PDP’s soul

    The struggle for the control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the various interest groups, ahead of 2019, has taken a new dimension. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines the effects of the leadership crisis on the party’s future.

    After dousing the tension generated by the imposition of former Borno State Governor Ali Modu Sheriff as its National Chairman, the leadership crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is far from being resolved. Observers say the opposition party had merely postponed the evil day. Although the mandate given to Sheriff by the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC) was to organise a national convention within three months, analysts are skeptical in his ability to carry out this assignment, in view of the mounting opposition against his leadership.

    A member of the National Working Committee (NWC), who spoke in confidence, said the selection of Sheriff has further deepened the crisis. He said Sheriff’s choice has further polarised the party, with the various interest groups positioning themselves to hijack the party structure, ahead of the national convention. He said each group has intensified efforts to outwit one another in the battle of supremacy. Those that supported the emergence of Sheriff want to use him to ensure their cronies grab all positions in the new executive that will emerge from the convention. Sheriff’s antagonists have vowed to disrupt the congress, should the planning committee manipulate the selection of delegates. The source said: “You know the delegates from all over the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will vote to appoint a new National Executive Committee (NEC). The group that has majority of the delegates would carry the day. That explains why the scheming has started in earnest. The present NEC under the leadership of Sheriff is empowered by the party’s constitution to organise congresses and national convention. His opponents prefer a neutral body to be saddled with the responsibility of organising the congresses and convention because they believe Sheriff will do things to favour those who installed him in office.

    “The fear is that we don’t want what happened during the last national convention at the Eagle Square, Abuja, to repeat itself. If you recall, the convention nearly ended in fiasco when prominent leaders of the PDP like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senator Bukola Saraki, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje, plus seven governors pulled out of the congress and immediately announced the formation of new PDP. That incident was very devastating to our party. It was the beginning of the process that led to the defeat of the PDP in the last general elections.”

    The PDP governors and the national caucus overwhelmingly supported Sheriff. The groups opposed to his leadership include: the PDP ministers, the PDP Rescue Group, the Restart PDP Project Group and some members of Board of Trustees (BoT).

     

    Former PDP ministers

    The PDP Ministers’ Forum is adamant on its rejection of Sheriff as the national chairman. The forum made up of ministers, who served from 1999 to 2015, reiterates its commitment to the ideals and core values of the founding principles of the party.

    The forum resolved as follows: “The forum rejects Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the PDP due to the illegitimacy of the process that purportedly brought him in. The forum commends and supports the stand of the Board of Trustees for their rejection of the imposition of Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff for lack of transparency and internal democracy in the process.

    “The forum calls for the conduct of congresses at all levels of the party leading to a National Convention that should be held before March 28, 2016 to return power to the people in tandem with the constitution of our party and as encapsulated in our party’s motto, ‘Power to the People’. The forum condemns all acts of impunity in the running of the affairs of the party at all levels and implores all members to respect the constitution of the party and that of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

    The ministers threatened to leave the party unless Sheriff steps down. Their spokesman and former Minister of National Planning, Dr Suleiman Abubakar, said: “Our mission has failed; the redemption boat has capsized, and our journey to recovery has come to an end. Whosoever partook in the decision does not mean well for the party and democracy in Nigeria.”

    According to Abubakar, “It is obvious that fifth columnists have hijacked the party and they are hell bent on sinking it deeper into irrecoverable level of the pit. Some of us would rather review our membership than subject ourselves to selfish interest of a cabal whose main interest is political profiteering. After all our umbilical cord is not tied to any party”. What is not clear is whether Jonathan is in support of his former minister’s position because Sheriff has been a close ally of the former President since his days in the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).

     

    The Rescue Group

    The PDP Rescue group is the new opposition group within the party. Second Republic governor of the defunct Gongola State Mr. Wilberforce Juta leads the group. Other members include former Senate President Adolphus Wabara; former Minister of State for Power, Alhaji Mohammed Wakil; former Sokoto State Deputy Governor Mukhtar Shagari; and John Ode. Both Juta and Wakil were among the candidates for the position of chairman by the Northeast zone that was supposed to fill the vacancy. The group is also calling for Sheriff’s resignation.

    Juta said Sheriff was an imposition on the party, adding that he was never nominated from his Northeast zone. He said even the PDP chapter in Sheriff’s home state – Borno —  did not support his emergence. Juta called on the party organs to commence the search for persons with high integrity, strategic insight and fear of God to lead the party. He said the group was not happy with the decision of NEC to appoint Sheriff as it was “convinced that this decision by NEC is against the will and wish of the generality of faithful members”.

    Juta said they had resolved for an early congress and national convention to elect new leaders as the term of the current leadership is due to end in March 2016. He also warned against the extension of Sheriff’s tenure if the party must make the needed fresh beginning. He added that Sheriff lacks a model of impeccable integrity that the PDP badly needs at this critical moment.

    Senator Wabara, who is the deputy chairman of the group, said its goal is to rescue the party from imposition and impunity. He noted that the emergence of Sheriff was embarrassing as he was smuggled into the contest. He said with the present leadership, it will be difficult for the PDP to return to power in 2019.

     

    Restart PDP Project

    A group in the Diaspora called the Restart PDP Project has lent its voice to the rejection of Sheriff. The group believes his imposition will compound the party’s problems. It insists that due process was subverted in the selection of Sheriff and has promised to team up with like minds to ensure that a chairman that has charisma, that is acceptable to all is put in office.

    The spokesman of the group, Mr. Emmanuel Nwosu Butches, faulted the method employed for the selection. According to him, Sheriff is not qualified to lead the party because he is not a founding member. He cited Chapter 2 Part 1, sub section 8 and 9 of the PDP Constitution to buttress his position. “Besides, Sheriff has not been in the PDP for long to enable him understand what the party has gone through in the past 16 years,” he added.

     

    PDP Governors’ Forum

    It was an open secret that former PDP governors installed Sheriff as the interim chairman, although he was not among the candidates nominated by the Northeast zone. The nominees include Wakil, Juta, Alhaji Lawan Girgir, current National Vice Chairman (Northeast), Senator Sa’idu Kurmo and Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam. All of them were pushed aside at a meeting of the National Caucus and NEC influenced by the governors. It was learnt that the Governors’ Forum preferred a candidate that would do their bidding. They felt that, as a former governor Sheriff will be amenable to their wishes. The ultimate goal of the group is to control the party structure, ahead of 2019.

    It was not surprising when the forum came out openly to endorse Sheriff before he was installed. In its congratulatory message, the forum expressed confidence in the ability of Sheriff to reposition the party and make it more inclusive. The governors said: “The emergence of Mr. Sheriff, ex-governor and senator, was done after careful deliberation given the battle ahead.

    “Sheriff is coming on board with immense wealth of experience and will no doubt use his vast network to rebuild the party. He will restore members’ confidence and act as a counter force to the many antics of the present APC regime. We urge you to shun all diversionary tactics that might be thrown at you and concentrate on how to bring all aggrieved party members together; as well as fashion out ways to woo new members, especially the youths. The forum is solidly behind you and will deploy its support to ensure that the shared vision of our party is realised as we prepare for 2019.”

    A chieftain of the PDP from Borno, Alhaji Shehu Mustapha, said the forum would soon realise that Sheriff is not the type of person that anybody can influence or dictate to. According to him, when Sheriff was governor and ANPP leader in Borno, he was not accessible to members of his cabinet. He took decisions based on his wisdom.

    “If the likes of Governors Ayo Fayose and Nyesom Wike believe they have found a ‘puppet chairman’ that could be easily manipulated, they would soon realise that they are living in fool’s paradise.

    “I don’t even know what they are celebrating in Sheriff. To start with, he was not the Borno candidate for the position of chairman. Our candidate was Mohammed Wakil. Again what is the electoral value of Sheriff in his home state? He was Jonathan’s political ally and promised to deliver Borno and Yobe to the PDP in the last general elections. PDP failed woefully in the two states. I wish Sheriff best of luck in his new assignment.”

     

    PDP National Convention

    Will the National Convention hold within three months as directed by the NEC? Sheriff is expected to serve out Adamu Mu’azu’s tenure. It does seem that whatever opposition may think, the national chairman will be in office for some time as he is already looking forward to conducting new congresses and national convention, which will require some time to plan. Sheriff said he does not know how long he will remain in office as that will be determined by the NEC, and that he is willing to abide by whatever NEC throws at him on that account.

    He said: “I took over this party by the grace of Allah. I am here as a national chairman of this party by the grace of all the NEC members of the party. I am here to rebuild the party. What time we need to do this job will be determined by the leaders and owners of the party when they sit down collectively to discuss. For me taking office today, I cannot tell you when I am leaving. I will only tell you when the party leaders sit down and see what is the immediate time needed to do this job, if they decide, I am ready for it.”

  • Unending battle for the soul of Cross River PDP

    Unending battle for the soul of Cross River PDP

    The exit of ex-Governor Liyel Imoke from office has thrown up a new twist in the battle for the soul of Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), reports Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo

    Still reeling from the shock of the recent mass defection of some of its key members to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Cross River State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is silently contending with a fresh crisis, impeccable sources have revealed.

    The state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, and the Senator representing the Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, John Owan Enoh, are alleged to be at daggers drawn over the soul of the party in the state, with the personality clash said to have polarised the party’s executive council and the state cabinet.

    This is happening on the heels of the defection of former Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma Egba (SAN), who led over 1,000 PDP chieftains, including a former governor of the state, Chief Clement Ebri, a former Senator, Bassey Etu, former representative of Cross River State on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Mr. Paul Adah, an ex-PDP state chairman, Ambassador Soni Abang, a former governorship aspirant of the PDP, Mr. Goddy Jedy-Agba, a former Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate, Mr. Fidelis Ugbo, a PDP governorship aspirant in the last election, amongst several others to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    They were received by the National Chairman of the ruling party, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, at a well attended event which literally shut down Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    The defection, which took place on February 13, was just a mere formality as the former PDP chieftains had broken ranks with the former ruling party, following the acrimony that trailed the party’s primaries for governorship and National Assembly seats.

    While the then governor, Liyel Imoke, had favoured Ayade to succeed him to the displeasure of other notable aspirants, including Jeddy Agba and Ugbo, he also opted for John Enoh as replacement for Ndoma Egba, who wanted a fourth term ticket to the Senate.

    Incessant complaints by the aggrieved parties, coupled with the several interventions by the Presidency, former Senate President, David Mark and the national leadership of the PDP failed to sway Imoke to shift ground. Eventually, the former governor had his way. From that point, the PDP in the state became badly fractured. The climax of the disaffection by those disenchanted led to their defection to the APC about two weeks ago.

    The new twist

    With Ndoma Egba, Ebri and others out of PDP, a fresh battle for the soul of the party in the state has ensued, this time between the incumbent governor, Ben Ayade and Senator John Enoh.

    The governor, according to sources, is allegedly peeved that the lawmaker is surreptitiously plotting to take control of the state PDP in order to undermine his administration and scuttle his alleged second term ambition in 2019. Enoh, it was alleged, has his eyes on the governorship in the next three years and is already putting necessary structures in place to actualise his plan.

    A source said: “In the last few months, not a few PDP members in the state, comprising of exco members and members of the House of Assembly have been accusing the governor of underfunding the party. Commissioners are also not left out. They are not happy with their salaries put at N250, 000. These commissioners are leaders in their respective constituencies and need funds to oil the machinery of the party, otherwise they may find it hard to remain loyal to the governor, who is likely to run for a second term come 2019.”

    Enoh steps in

    Sources disclosed that it was this seeming lacuna that Enoh decided to fill by quietly funding the party, while also reaching out to some commissioners and other key chieftains of the party in the state who are allegedly broke and are desperately looking for financial bailout.

    Enoh, it is believed, has deep pocket to fund the party without breaking sweat. Until his election into the Senate where he is currently the Chairman, Committee on Finance, he was an influential member, three term member of the House of Representatives and the Chairman, Committee on Appropriation for two terms.

    Ayade plots counter move

    Relying on intelligence report that his control of the state PDP is being seriously challenged by Enoh, the governor is alleged to be plotting his counter moves to cut the senator to size. One of such moves, sources say, is the likely sack of commissioners in the cabinet, whose loyalty to Enoh has been established.

    However, sources say the governor is not willing to bow to the demands of aggrieved party members for more funding, arguing that the “current financial position of the state cannot accommodate such luxury at this period.”

    Imoke remains neutral

    As Ayade and Enoh allegedly make moves and counter-moves to outwit each other, The Nation gathered that the immediate past governor, Liyel Imoke, has refused to take sides, preferring to stay neutral, because according to a source, the two warring parties are his close political associates.

    The former governor has also rebuffed entreaties from concerned party members to initiate reconciliatory moves, since according to him, what is playing out between Ayade and Enoh is a “mere disagreement” that has been blown out of proportion by “external forces.”

    As this battle for the soul of the state PDP intensifies, it remains to be seen who between the governor and the senator would emerge victorious.

  • Caring for the troubled soul

    Caring for the troubled soul

    SHE was just sixteen when her uncle Michael Joseph started whispering sweet things to her ear, things she thought were too true to be true. Jennifer like so many young, naïve girls out there fell for it. Joseph had his way and she became pregnant. As of now, her parents have rejected her and Michal is nowhere to found. The girl is left to her fate.

    This is the case of many young girls out and it will surprise you to know that many of these girls do unthinking things such as killing the baby, selling the baby to strangers, dumping the baby by the roadside or commit suicide. A case of a particular girl was reported by one newspaper some months back about a girl who was raped and she became pregnant. She committed suicide because her mother didn’t believe her story.

    Sadly there are a number of distractions around for young girls these days and these girls don’t know who to run to when the walls start crumbling. Pastor Temilolu Okeowo, the woman behind Girls Club, blames this on lack of awareness. She said having any form of sexual intercourse can impact negatively on the life of a girl child sooner or later. She stressed that this has spiritual implications which can affect the destiny of any girl. She stated that it is imperative for girls to keep their virginity before marriage.

    To her, every sexual intercourse carries a heavy spiritual significance and not only creates a covenant that bond two people together, she said it forms ungodly soul-ties, transfers a lot of evil and virtues from one life to the other. “All of these are one of the devil’s ploys to thwart our glorious destinies. You have to pray for the fullness of the spirit of God to be able to suppress the desires of your flesh and enable you stick to your decision to become a secondary virgin. You need to pray out all the evil that may have been transferred into your life and a recovery of your stolen virtues. You also need to pray to disconnect yourself from your sexual partners,’ she stressed.

    Tales of rape abound and many wonder why this trend is on the increase. Many don’t see sex outside marriage as anything. Girls are being tempted by men with all sorts of things including money, which they collect and give their body in return. Okeowo then goes on to defines virginity this way.  “It is a state of being untouched, unexplored or unspoiled but I never mentioned the hymen which is a membrane which partially closes the opening of the vagina and whose presence is traditionally taken to be a mark of virginity. The hymen could be torn as a result of sexual intercourse, sports, gynecological reasons and so on. Now, do we call a girl whose hymen is intact but who performs all other acts of ungodly sex a virgin? And on the other hand, there are girls whose hymens have been broken by other means but any form of sexual activity and yet they’ve never kissed a guy.”

    Caring for girls

    Over the years, Okeowo has been caring for many girls who have lost their way. Her phone lines are always on for these girls to reach her at any time of the day or night. She visits market places, school, churches and villages to evangelize to girls and preach to them how keeping their virginity till they get married could led to a happy life.

    “As designed by God, your virginity is the bedrock of your destiny. It is your spiritual beauty. It carries the star, potential and talent which God created with you to make you unique. It is the star in your sky. Please don’t pollute your destiny. The world is waiting for your star to shine! Your curiosity about sex and the way your body feels is normal. However, there’s so much you need to know which may eventually condition your mind and calm your desires. For now, DON’T dabble into it “, she advises.

    Okeowo is the seventh child of late Sir Taiwo Okeowo, a Choirmaster extraordinaire, Industrilist, Real Estate magnate, a great lover of God and an exemplary disciplinarian.

    She is an author, a lawyer, a forensics examiner and above all, a child of God. She’s the founder/president of Girls Club of Nigeria a non-governmental organisation aimed at influencing a positive change in the female folk for God and its ministry arm The Girls Apostolic Ministry of All Nations.

    She has since seen the salvation of girls from destruction as her calling and her primary responsibility for the kingdom of God having been passed through fire and moulded by God for this divine assignment.

  • Save Our Soul to IGP Arase

    SIR: I write on behalf of the retrenched officers of the Oyo State command of the Nigeria Police. We were retrenched on the ground of age in January 2007 during the regime of ex-president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and former Inspector General of Police, Sunday Ehindero. The retrenchment cut across all federal parastatals, and paramilitary organizations.

    Then, the Federal Government ordered payment of entitlements to every affected person in the exercise. This was duly observed in every parastatal and paramilitary organization – excluding the Nigeria Police. The reason given by the authorities of the Nigeria Police was that the affected would be soon be called back to service.

    Between 2008 and 2010, few officers (rank and file) were called back to service while the rest were left out because they had no godfathers.

    When all our hopes to be called back to service throughout 2010 to 2012 became fruitless, we decided to pursue our entitlements, so that our service for years would not be zero.

    In May2014, a signal came from the Police headquarters Abuja to state headquarters that we should submit all necessary documents including our bank account numbers and pay slips to facilitate the payment of our entitlements. We complied with the instructions and were assured of payment into our various bank accounts before the end of year 2014.

    To our dismay, we have not received anything and not even heard about the payment till date.

    We are appealing to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to call on the Police authority, to release our entitlements even though some of our colleagues have died while waiting.

     

    • Adebiyi Ayoade,
  • ‘A generous soul departs’

    ‘A generous soul departs’

    The remains of Pa Elkanah Olatunji Kobnah Williams, father of Mrs Olanike Disu, director in the Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue (LSBIR), have been buried after a funeral service at the St. David’s Anglican Church, Lafiaji, Lagos. JOSEPH JIBUEZE, was there.

    The late Pa Elkanah Olatunji Kobnah Williams was many things to many people. He was a loving father to his children, a dependable ally to his friends and a supportive grandfather to his grand-children, who found him approachable. His death was a shock to those who knew him.

    Though sad, the family is consoled that he lived a fulfilled life.

    Born to a Ghanaian mother and a Nigerian father on February 6, 1928, the late Williams began his career in maritime at Elder Dempster Shipping Lines. He also worked at Transcot, before joining the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in 1957.

    He was a staunch member of the St David’s Anglican Church in Lafiaji on Lagos Island. He was a chorister for 42 years, and a member of the parish council.

    The late Williams is survived by Margaret, his wife of 62 years; children, grand-children, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces.

    He was interred at the Ikoyi Cemetery in Lagos after the funeral service. Reception follwed at the City Hall on Catholic Mission Street, Lagos Island.

    The setting oozed class. The glittering expansive hall was decorated with white drapes, hanging round the walls and across the hall.

    The tables had an assortment of grey, red and white linen overlays; gold-coloured stands  added beauty to the setting.

    The day’s colour was royal blue, white and tomato red. Many men and women turned out in eye-catching attires.

    At the service, a moment of silence was observed, while hymns were sung, including the late Williams’ favourite (I.O.M 309), which was rendered by the children.

    Venerable Jide Adebayo, who gave the sermon titled: ‘Two sides of the gospel”, said the late Williams was the “father of the church cathedral”.

    He said the family could take comfort in the knowledge that their father knew Christ while alive. The preacher urged the mourners to repent. “Repentance is key. Without it there can be no forgiveness,” Adebayo said.

    According to him, death is a sign of God’s sovereignty. Man, he said, may be rich and wise, but “the Joker of life is in God’s hands.”

    He said death comes to both the young and the old, but everyone would answer to God on how they lived.

    “One day we’ll say bye-bye to this world. Death is inevitable; the only thing that is uncertain is when it will come. My prayer is that God will give you enough years in your life to make amends,” the venerable said.

    He described the late Williams as a forthright man who fought passionately for any cause he believed in.

    “He was a proper ‘Omo Eko’, but he had listening ears. He was always at the Elders’ Bible study. He was a man known for honesty and was so well-respected and celebrated,” Adebayo added.

    His first son, Tunde, said his father cared for his family till death.

    “He is a mother in a father’s image (like a foul to her chicks). He was a defender of the weak, and fought other people’s fight when cheated,” he said.

    The late Williams’ daughters, Mrs Ronke Adewale and Mrs Olanike Disu, in their tributes, described their father as very caring.

    “He loved to a fault. He lived a life of sacrifice. He was kind hearted, humble, a good and loving husband to his wife and a caring father to his children,” Mrs Adewale said.

    For Mrs Disu, who is a director in the Lagos Board of Internal Revenue, her father’s life was full of loving deeds.

    “I remember days he went to work even when he didn’t feel well just to make some extra money for his family.

    “Education meant so much to him such that he used his land at Ijeshatedo (Lagos) as collateral for a loan to pay my fees while I studied in the university in the United States,” she recalled.

    The late Williams’ grandchildren also had fond memories of him. His grand-daughter, Omoyeni Disu wrote: “My ice cream partner as I always call him, always readily available to have ice cream and cake with me while we sit and talk about the most random things from clothes to women and politics, it was never a dull moment with grand-pa.”

    The late Williams studied at the St Saviour High School and St Gregory’s College, Obalende, where he sat for and obtained his Cambridge certificate. He retired from NPA in 1988 after 31 years of service.

  • A courageous soul departs

    A courageous soul departs

    Bamidele Aturu’s many ideologically deep analysis were laden with sincerity. He is not known to espouse one thing in public and thereafter do things fundamentally opposite in private practice.

    To him, service to God was essentially to be found in how well you serve humanity’s cause especially those of the cheated, dispossessed and impoverished. His practice of Law was thus dedicated to ventures that advance these noble ideals.

    He was courageous and genuine.When he percieved there were a ‘catalogue of errors’ in the circumstances that knitted some sort of degeneracy into the judicial crises in Rivers State- he spoke frankly, and ably identified where he felt each participant went wrong, without mincing words or being needlessly patronising. On the need for democracy at the Bar, he spoke very frankly against what he termed ‘Cabalisation of the NBA’.

    Though an ultra-conservative may disagree with him, prescient thinkers can well tell that Bamidele Aturu would be proved right  someday that there can be no progress without genuine democracy.When he saw a need for the Justice system to learn from the conduct of the South African system in the ongoing Oscar Pistorius Trial, he drove home his points on gender equity, Counsel and Judicial conduct etc, in his characteristically firm, unpatronising manner. It is public knowledge that he has taken up countless cases in defence of many dispossessed workers and oppressed artisans. His Chambers also organises an annual Law and Social Development Lecture Series which are part of his efforts at driving home the point that Law is only useful, if it is used in the service of the people.His regular interventions will surely be inspiration for many as the details of his life and times gradually engender deeper reflections in the years ahead. He has lived his principles from the time of his first notably recorded intervention, i.e; his courageous refusal to accept a handshake from one of the then symbols of democratic subversion as represented by Military Administrators, during his National Youth Service days.

    So, one may sum up, among many other imperishable deeds, that the golden threads running through Aturu’s forthright messages are: (i) Imperative of the military to remain subject to civilian authority.  (ii) True democracy as a condition precedent to be enthroned in every facet of public life to achieve real development and (iii). The dismantling of all retrogressive policies and laws that foster primitive income and social inequality within the society. All these clearly testify to an activism driven by deep ideological convictions.In all, I think the deliberate under-development of this Country by those ruling it obviously put pressure on those who have taken it upon themselves to shoulder the difficult burden of trying to agitate and raise public consciousness to avert an imminent collapse. One of those who sincerely shouldered such burdens of conscience was Aturu. May his courageous soul be free of burdens. May he rest in undisturbed peace and may those inflicting under-development on Nigerians never know peace until the mass of the people eventually find their voices, and if need be, also their arms and ideas, to take back their country’s dignity and to restore the humanity of all its citizens.

    Adieu Aturu.

  • Tussle for a community’s soul

    Tussle for a community’s soul

    Who leads Ekwulobia and its people? For over one year now intra-community wrangling has been threatening the cohesion of this community in Aguata Local Government Area, Anambra State. And the issue has always centred on who controls the community. The people want peace and they have expressed this in controlled protests.

    There are two camps in the struggle for the community’s soul: the traditional ruler Igwe Emmanuel Onyeneke and the President-General of the Ekwulobia People’s Assembly Mr Emeka Maduabuchi, both with formidable supporters.

    Some say the community is largely behind their town union leadership, not because they are against their king but are rather opposed to what they call his unpopular policies and programmes.

    They want Governor Willie Obiano to intervene in the matter to avert a breakdown of law and order in Ekwulobia. The people fear that lives and property may be wasted if the crisis is not resolved immediately.

    The leadership of Ekwulobia People’s Assembly has accused Igwe Onyeneke of disturbing the peace of the community by conniving with some prominent citizens including Chief Titus Anigbogu, former Transition Committee Chairman of Aguata Local Government Area to deceive the state government. The accused are said to have hoodwinked the state government into erroneously instituting a caretaker committee, which in time allegedly oversaw an unpopular election which produced a new set of leaders.

    They said recently that many lives and property would have been lost  but for the quick intervention of the Commissioner of Police.

    First National Vice President General of Ekwulobia Peoples Assembly, Mr Onyebuchi Igbokwe and other elected officers and 9 Village heads or their representatives as well as 14 foreign-based branches of Ekwulobia Peoples Assembly addressed a press conference urging peace and respect of dourt judgment.

    Standing in for the President General of Ekwulobia People’s Assembly Emeka Maduabuchi, an engineer, Igbokwe said trouble started when some members of the executive met with the traditional ruler to reverse decisions taken at a general meeting of the community which resulted as betrayal of trust of the collective interests of the community and they requested for their apology which they refused leading to their suspension.

    They accused the Igwe of asking a bank to close the account of the community despite a court judgment of court and order against that move, as well as interference in the union’s activities.

    They lamented that the Igwe is directly in charge of everything concerning security and day-to-day running of the town’s activities,  whereas  it is the town union’s duty.

    They further alleged that Chief Titus Anigbogu as Transition Committee Chairman of Aguata and Igwe Onyeneke and their cohorts wanted to take land, shops and property belonging to Ekwulobia people. They said that Anigbogu took them to court over their property but they won.

    They alleged that the enemies of the community informed the state government that they are PDP rascals, thereby forestalling any challenge against them but warned that there is nothing about politics in the activities of the community but allowing truth to prevail hence they are appealing for intervention of Governor Willie Obiano.

    The community through a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Prof Ilochi Okafor of  IUC Global Chambers Awka, petitioned Governor Willie Obiano requesting his intervention in calling the traditional ruler and others breeching the peace of the community to order to avoid  breakdown of rules.

    They drew the attention of Governor Obiano to suit Nos AG/8/2013; AG/106/2013 and AG/17/2013: need for continuous recognition of elected Town Union Executievs of Ekwulobia Town and disbandment of Caretaker committee set up in error.

    They acted for the President General Emeka Mmaduabuchi and Mr Onyebuchi Igbokwe for themselves and on behalf of Executive committee members of Ekwulobia People’s Assembly.

    They recalled that Hon Justice CEK Anigbogu pursuant to the suit No AG/8/2013 made an order for parties to maintain status quo ante bellum , meaning that our clients retained their various positions. This order herein annexed. It still extant having not been set aside till date.

    Obiano was reminded that his office was put in conflict with the decision of the court by setting up a Caretaker Committee to man the affairs of an elected executive of an election conducted on June 4, 2013 and would leave office by 2016 in line with subsisting and valid constitution of the community since 1994.

    This was validated by a judgment of Justice VN Agbata on June 3, 2013 in suit no AG/4/2010  between Ichie Micheal Ukwuoma Eze and 8 others vs Engr Emeka Maduabuchi and 6 others which set aside the 2010 constitution of Ekwulobia People’s Assembly under leadership of  Ichie (Dr) Michael Ukwuoma Eze.

    The returning officer of the election was Prince Anayo Ezenwa and immediate past PG Ichie Michael Ukwuoma Eze was a signatory to the results announced that elected 11 positions with additional three orderlies making it 14 officers to pilot the affairs of Ekwulobia People’s Assembly.

    The crisis is becoming intense as hundreds of placard carrying women and men as well as youths from the nine villages of Ekwulobia  staged a peaceful protest against the leadership of the traditional ruler of Ekwulobia, Igwe Emmanuel Onyeneke , an engineer who retired from PHCN and the former Transition committee chairman of Aguata Local Government Area, Chief Titus Anagbogu, a son of Ekwulobia. They asked them to leave the community alone and face their own business.

    They specifically want the Igwe to face his throne and issues concerning leveraging the community culturally and traditionally and allow the elected town unions to face the administrative policies and programs of the community.

    They said they elected him Igwe of Ekwulobia and would want him to remain Igwe of Ekwulobia but should stop interfering in the town union leadership and villager leaders as well as all organisations and unions in Ekwulobia or face the wrath of the community who in the first place elected him.

    They appealed to Governor  Obiano to set up a panel of inquiry into what is happening in Ekwulobia before intra-community wrangling tears the community apart. They added that they have written enough letters and made enough submissions about the high-handedness and autocracy going on in their community to warrant intervention before it turns to war.

    Some of the placards read: “No to tyrannical Igwe”; “On Ekwuloba Peoples Assembly we stand”; Titus Anigbogu and Igwe Onyeneke must give peace a chance”; ”We have right to elect our leaders, please Igwe”, among numerous others.

    Igwe Emmanuel Onyeneke, when contacted, said he would not join issues with any illegal union even as he dismissed the allegations levelled against him. He insisted he would not speak about all the issues raised by the body not known to him.  He said Ekwulobia People’s Assembly stopped existing since January 2013 and was replaced with Ekwulobia Development Union.

    He said government is aware of what he is saying and every community has its own fair share of crisis.

    Former Transition committee chairman of Aguata, Chief Titus Anigbogu dismissed the allegations and wondered how he can be deceiving a retired Deputy General Manager at PHCN, describing those making the allegations as rascals who have lost focus. He said Ekwulobia has nothing in common and it can never be true that he is fighting his people. He denied taking the community to court or that he flouted a judgment of the court. He equally dismissed all the allegations against him by the community.

    Anagbogu said:  “That I am deceiving a retired Deputy General Manager, PHCN, who retired after 35 years of service? They are some rascals in  Ekwulobia motor park talk.  Don’t mind them because they are not saying he truth. I am not quarreling with any of them and it is not true, please.”

    After the peaceful protest, the Umuada Ekwulobia led by their President Mrs Ngozi Obeke prayed for Igwe Emmanuel Onyeneke. The men also gathered and poured libation to their forefathers asking for a solution to the Ekwulobia challenge because they don’t want bloodshed.

    But for the intervention of the National Vice President Ekwulobia Peoples Assembly, Mr Onyebuchi Igbokwe and some leaders of the villages, the protest would have gone violent but they held them at Okpo Primary School premises where they gathered, even thinking of taking the protest to Governor Willie Obiano at the Government House.

    A stakeholder, Amobi Ezeifediba informed that hundreds of youths were prevented from hijacking the protest as they were set to burn down the palace of the traditional ruler but they are striving to follow due process in the protest, hence they wrote the police for the protest and are doing everything possible to ensure the peace is maintained until government intervenes but wondered why the government is keeping quite waiting for destruction of lives and property before it intervenes.

    Addressing Ekwulobia Peoples Assembly the National President of Umuada Ekwulobia ,, Mrs Ngozi Obeke reminded that they have no problems with Igwe Onyeneke as their traditional ruler but that they have problems with his obnoxious leadership styles as he has imposed levies and contributions they must make when giving out their daughters in marriage which according to her is outrageous and uncalled for.

    She alleged that Igwe was dictating for them on how to run their affairs which is undemocratic and has committed actions best referred as abominations against the women of Ekwulobia but encouraged him to turn a new leaf now and earn their respect. She queried why they should give out their daughters hands in marriage for N1,000.00 and give the palace N300.00  among others. She further encouraged Igwe to allow the Ekwulobia Peoples Assembly function properly as the legitimate leadership of the community warning that the children of Ekwulobia born and unborn won’t be slaves in their land.

    But for the Chairmen of 9 villages including Igwe’s village Ula, Nze Chukwuma Udoh who was even Igwe’s election committee campaign chairman ; Umuchi Village-Anslem Ezenwankwo; Okpo Village Hon Christopher Ezekwe  and representative of Umuchiana village, as well as Iruokpala Nze Samuel Eze, their problem with the Igwe was his interference with leadership of the Town union who were equally elected like himself to pilot the affairs of the community. They asked him to leave the leadership of the town union alone and think of the progress of the community rather than their selfish interest with those alleged as enemies of the community patrimony.