The Nation Newspaper

Tag: stop

  • IBB: bloodletting must stop

    IBB: bloodletting must stop

    Former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida yesterday said the prevalent bloodletting by Boko Haram must stop.

    Gen. Babangida, who made his position known in a statement which he personally signed, said the wanton killings and needless bloodletting had been retarding our growth.

    The statement said: “The latest attack in Kaduna on Wednesday by yet unknown persons has once again thrown up new dimensions in the political life of our dear country. This and several other attacks have tended to portray our dear country as a terrorist nation that is grasping with insecurity. To state the least, this bloodletting must stop. This bloodletting has to stop.

    “I have sat back in my quiet retirement home in Minna to ponder over what could be the motivation for these several attacks, but I am yet to find any explanation why Nigerians would be killing fellow Nigerians.

    “For those of us who fought the civil war, our painful sense of nostalgia still remains deep, as much as our patriotic attitude towards this great country, Nigeria.

    “These wanton killings and needless bloodletting have continued to retard our growth and democratic journey, forcing the system to improvise all manner of mechanisms to arrest this descent to anarchy.

    “It is callous and inhuman for anyone to goad this country on the path of perfidy, a path that is laid with landmines and bombs. This is totally unacceptable.”

    Gen. Babangida pleaded with Nigerians to rise above partisanship in addressing the insecurity facing the nation.

    The statement added: “Even as I sympathise with my colleague, former President, General Muhammadu Buhari, for escaping the bomber’s scalpel, I also wish to condole with the families of those who lost their lives in this attack.

    “It is frightening and calls for condemnation by all well meaning people of Nigeria. We all must rise above partisanship in our condemnation of this state of insecurity, as we all must be united in our clear-cut resolve to finding solutions to this hydra-headed situation we find ourselves.

    “We must see this state of insecurity as a Nigerian problem and not one that is pigeon-holed in any particular region, religion or tribe. Nigerians, by virtue of their nationality, should be free to live anywhere in the country without molestation, harassment and intimidation.

    “Let me also condole with Mr. President on this unfortunate incident and the recurring decimal of insecurity and crime against humanity that is fast polluting public morality. We all must join hands with Mr. President at this critical time of our national history and democratic journey to proffer solutions to this anti-development scenario that is fast enveloping us.

    “The President and our governors need our prayers at various stages of their leadership to arrest this ugly trend.”

    Gen. Babangida said the nation must continue to move on, in spite of the setbacks of the past few years.

    He said: “Nigeria of our dream is one that provides opportunity for all, irrespective of our cultural and political differences; a nation that comprises several nation-states with abundant resources and opportunities for our flourishing population.

    “We must, therefore, be resolute in our collective reasoning and determination to trudge on despite these obvious setbacks in order to safely paddle the ship of state to a safe harbor.

  • Police stop Sri Lanka cyclists

    Four members of Sri Lanka’s Commonwealth Games team sparked a police response after going for a ride down one of Scotland’s busiest stretches of motorway.

    The four Glasgow 2014 athletes were spotted cycling down the M74 before police intervened near the exit for Motherwell and Hamilton and informed them they were breaking the law.

    The junction is close to Strathclyde Park, which hosts the triathlon events on Thursday and Sunday.

    Police Scotland confirmed they had been called to a report of four cyclists on the M74 at Junction 6 at around 11.55am on Wednesday.

    A police spokeswoman said: “Police attended. Advice and assistance was given and the cyclists were advised to get off the road.”

    The spokeswoman confirmed they were from the Sri Lankan team and said the cycles were loaded on to a team vehicle and they left the area.

    A similar episode occurred during the Manchester Games in 2002 when two Kenya cyclists travelled 17 miles down the M61 before being pulled over by police near Bolton.

  • How to stop Nigeria’s N1b rice imports

    The Federal Government has been urged to improve on local rice to provide better yield if the country is to stop its importation and achieve self-sufficiency and food security in 2015.

    Speaking on Analysis of the policy options for expanding output and improving performance of the rice milling sector in Nigeria preliminary findings, in Abuja, a Research Fellow at the Development Strategy & Governance Division, United States-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Michael Johnson, said the quality of locally milled rice needs to be improved to enhance competitiveness with imported products.

    To increase competitiveness with imported brand, Johnson urged the government to improve processing and handling of local species, arguing that given the current milling and operating costs, the sector cannot compete without the government placing imported rice on tariffs.

    Industrial rice processors, he said, can only mill 40 per cent of the local paddy rice due to lack of good quality paddy rice. He also said large scale mills have greater potential to improve the competitiveness of local rice with imports.

    He said Nigeria’s fertile land and rich agro-climatic conditions, provide enormous potential to feed its population, generate huge potentials for jobs and income for its people.

    He noted however, that the country’s local rice production still accounts for less than 50 per cent of its total consumption and the demand gap has been filled by polished/milled rice imported mostly from India, Thailand and Brazil.

    He said the government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenga (ATA) has listed rice as one of the five commodities to attract special focus for increased production.

    He was of the opinion the nation’s rice self-sufficiency policies are very important but the policies should be workable and sustainable by making the nation’s rice globally competitive.

  • APC to Jonathan: it’s time to stop the madness in Rivers

    APC to Jonathan: it’s time to stop the madness in Rivers

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday accused the presidency of using Rivers State as a testing ground for creeping fascism ahead of the 2015 elections.

    The party said it is imperative for all Nigerians to pay a close attention to the apparently-instigated ugly developments in the state.

    In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it is raising the alarm because, as the saying goes, all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing.

    The party decried the worsening impunity and the violation of constitutional provisions, including the freedom of association and freedom of movement, in the state against those perceived to be against the President.

    ‘’The arrowhead of these grave acts is none other than the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, a malleable police officer who has put himself above the laws of the land and is now, undoubtedly, the Alternate Inspector-General of Police, who can neither be queried nor redeployed because his puppeteers are in the Aso Rock,’’ APC said.

    ‘’Imagine every state Police Commissioner behaving like Alternate IGP Mbu, who neither respects nor takes orders from the man constitutionally saddled with ensuring security in his state. Imagine every Police Commissioner having the powers to determine who can move around and where, or who can assemble and where, just like Alternate IGP Mbu?

    ‘’While we may think this madness is restricted only to Rivers State, the danger is that if those behind the Rivers crisis can get away with their impunity, what prevents them from extending it to other states? What prevents them from raising lick-spittle police officers like Mbu to the rarefied ranks of Alternate IGPs where they take orders only from their masters? What will be the implication for the 2015 elections if men like Mbu take charge of all states? These are the questions that should agitate the minds of all Nigerians as the Rivers crisis continues unabated. All that is needed for despotism to reign in our clime is for more and more states to have men like Mbu as Police Commissioners,’’ the party said.

    APC said it decided to take the issue to the court of Nigerians because it is apparent that even the system of checks and balances set up by the country’s Constitution is not enough, hence a resolution of the National Assembly demanding the redeployment of Mbu has been shredded by the powers that be, the puppeteers of the Rivers crisis.

    ‘’When the resolutions of the National Assembly, where the true representatives of the people hold sway, are no longer worth the paper on which they are written, something is definitely wrong,’’ APC said.

    It wondered what else Alternate IGP Mbu will do before he is redeployed from Rivers, where his main assignment seems to be to provide security only for the pro-Jonathan, pro-First Lady and pro-Nyesom Wike elements while curtailing the Constitutionally-guaranteed rights of all other citizens in the state.

    ‘’Mbu’s police have barred the man elected to run Rivers State from accessing a road to his official residence, after launching verbal tirades at the State Chief Executive; Mbu’s police have dispersed citizens whose only offence is that they dared to gather for the purpose of collecting their appointment letters; Mbu’s police have taken it upon themselves to determine who can visit the state, while using tear-gas to ward off those they feel should not visit, whether or not they are Governors, House of Assembly Speakers or Central Bank of Nigeria officials on assignment. Mbu’s police determine where and when students can move around.

    ‘’If Mbu’s reign of the jungle and President Jonathan’s testing of fascism are allowed to continue in Rivers State, it is only a matter of time before the entire country will become their playground, with deadly consequences for all. It is time to stop the madness in Rivers State, where the Chief Security Officer has been put in a position where he is fearful for his own life,’’ APC said.

     

  • UK deputy PM to stop £3,000 visa bond

    UK deputy PM to stop £3,000 visa bond

    Hope rose yesterday for Nigerian first time visitors to the United Kingdom, who may be affected by the planned introduction of £3,000 (about N700,000, (visa bond as British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg vowed to block the implementation of the policy.

    The British Government plans a new visa policy that will see some “high risk” first time visitors deposit £3,000 in bond before being given visas.

    The deposit will be refunded on departure from the UK within the stipulated period but forfeited if the applicant overstays the visa.

    The pilot project is planned to start in November in six countries, including Nigeria where there has been outrage from the government and the people.

    Some lawmakers have even urged the Federal Government to consider a retaliatory approach should the UK go ahead with the bond policy.

    The other countries targeted for the pilot scheme are Ghana, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

    Clegg said yesterday he would try to block any attempt to make foreign visitors routinely pay a security deposit to come to the U.K.

    Officials and business people in other affected countries have condemned the proposal, and the British government has not said how many visa applicants will have to pay the bond.

    Clegg said his Liberal Democrat party and its Conservative coalition partners had “differences of emphasis” on the plan, and details were still being discussed in government.

    “I am absolutely not interested in a bond which becomes an indiscriminate way of clobbering people who want to come to this country,” Clegg told the BBC. He said the bonds “are certainly not going to go ahead” on that basis.

    “Of course in a coalition I can stop things,” he added.

    Immigration is a sensitive political issue in Britain, especially with the unemployment and austerity measures brought on by the economic crisis. Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to cut net immigration from 252,000 a year in 2010 to below 100,000 a year by 2015.

    While that plays well with the Conservatives’ right-of-centre supporters, it has been trouble for the centrist liberal Liberal Democrats, who are holding their annual conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

    The party is sagging in opinion polls, 18 months ahead of a national election, and many members have expressed unease about the compromises involved in coalition government. Earlier this month, one of the best-known Lib Dem lawmakers, Sarah Teather, said she was quitting because she felt the party no longer fought for social justice and liberal values.

    Clegg defended his party’s participation in the coalition, saying it had made the government fairer and more liberal.

  • Rangers stop Kaduna Utd 2-1 in Enugu

    Rangers stop Kaduna Utd 2-1 in Enugu

    Enugu Rangers and Warri Wolves recorded contrasting results in match day 24 games of the Globacom Premier League played in Enugu and Lafia respectively.

    At the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu, the Flying Antelopes prevailed over a stubborn Kaduna United 2-1 while Warri Wolves survived two penalty kicks to draw 1-1 against Nasarawa United.

    Meshack Chukwubuikem and Chisom Egbuchulam were both on the scorer’s chart for Rangers in the 53rd and 79th minutes.

    The win catapulted the Coal City team to 7th on the log with 36 points from 24 games.

    At the Lafia Stadium, Warri Wolves got the curtain raiser in the 60th minute through Joseph Osadaiye but the home team fought back gamely and equalised through Jackson Daniel in the 77th minute.

    Nasarawa United would have won the match by a comfortable margin had they converted two spot kicks awarded the side in the second half but both got spurned by Leonard Ugochukwu and Ibrahim Ibrahim.

    Warri Wolves’ media officer Moses Etu however alleged poor officiating but was grateful the Seasiders would be returning to Warri for a tie with Enyimba without a defeat.

    He nonetheless dedicated the draw in Lafia to the head coach of the team, Solomon Ogbeide who celebrated his birthday on August 9.

    “We are not happy that this kind of officiating is allowed in the Nigerian league. It is a shame that the centre referee awarded two unjustifiable penalties but we thank God both were lost.

    “This hard-earned draw is dedicated to the coach of the team. He celebrated his birth day on the 9th of August, so he deserves all the accolades. We shall go back to Warri and try to be refreshed ahead of our tie with Enyimba on Wednesday,” Etu told SportingLife.

    Warri Wolves are 3rd on the log with 38 points from 24 games while Nasarawa United are on 30 points from as many games.

  • Tenger: Akwa’ll stop Wolves again

    Tenger: Akwa’ll stop Wolves again

    Akwa United coach, Justin Tenger has said his wards will further shock Glo Premier League side, Warri Wolves in the Federation Cup semifinal on August 21 at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi.

    The Uyo-based side pipped the Seasiders 1-0 in the contentious rescheduled Glo Premier League Matchday 16 encounter on Wednesday at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri.

    Central defender, Emmanuel Ariwa, who actually made his debut for the Uyo-based side in the grudge encounter, scored the match winner in the 81st minute to take his side’s points haul to 30 and lifted the team to 14th on the log.

    Tenger assured his counterpart, Solomon Ogbeide of a more intriguing riddle when both sides meet for a final spot at the ongoing 2013 Federation Cup.

    “The delayed victory today (Wednesday) in Owerri against Warri Wolves is a strong notice for them to go home and prepare for a proper showdown for the Federation Cup semifinal match in Bauchi.

    “Bauchi will be the right place for me to make a bold statement that Akwa United are truly superior to Warri Wolves.

    “Wolves came all out to grab victory against us at Owerri but I outwitted the side by fielding about eight new players including the scorer of our goal who actually made his debut today (Wednesday).

    “I’ll have more shock in store for them at the Federation Cup semifinal game as I plan to field entirely different players from the ones that played today (Wednesday). I assure Wolves that they won’t see 85% of the players that defeated them in today’s game.

    “I’m excited that the beleaguered encounter has been sorted out finally and I strongly believe nobody will have any reason to challenge the result of today’s game,” said the former Gombe United coach to supersport.com.

    Tenger also issued a word of advice to the managers of the league to strive to take decisions that will stand the test of time no matter whose ox is gored.

    “God doesn’t judge as men do, I think the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the League Management Company (LMC) should take a cue and strive at all times to take good decisions. Decisions that will put the nation in good light among the football communities,” said the former Niger Tornadoes coach.

  • Stop campaign of calumny against APC, says ACN

    Stop campaign of calumny against APC, says ACN

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has condemned what it described as “the persistent campaigns of calumny” against the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The party described the alleged attempt to use ethno-religious sentiments to destroy the budding party as a cheap shot that has fallen flat on “the faces of the purveyors of falsehood”.

    It urged Nigerians to disregard the attempts by enemies of progress to sabotage the birth of the APC, in addition to being vigilant in the days ahead.

    In a statement in Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party thanked Nigerians for standing by the APC.

    The statement reads: ‘’These purveyors of falsehood do not want good governance. That’s why they are peddling the lies that the interim leadership of the APC is controlled by Muslims, and that it did not reflect the country’s plural values.

    ‘’The truth is that while ethno-religious sentiments did not form the criteria used in selecting the interim leadership, we were conscious that Nigeria is a country of plural values. That is why we have 17 Christians and 18 Muslims (the best balance possible in the odd number of 35 posts that were shared). That is why the 35 occupiers of the positions are from 29 different states, four more than the 25 stipulated by INEC. It was equal opportunity across all zones! (See list on last column)’’

    ACN challenged anyone who doubts the authenticity of these facts and figures to verify them at INEC, instead of spreading rumours.

    The party said: ‘’First, they ambushed us by duplicating our acronym, sponsored of course by those who are well known to Nigerians and, when that failed to slow down our momentum, they said the sharing of posts will divide us and ultimately sound our death knell. With these moves having failed woefully, they have now played what they considered their most potent joker: the ethno-religious card.

    “Thankfully, this too has failed. Nigerians are so desirous of good governance that they will not allow any play on sentiments to shake their resolve.’’

    ACN said the promoters of the APC were determined to give Nigeria the good leadership that has eluded it for long and were prepared to shelve their differences and make whatever sacrifices to achieve this objective.

  • Youths stop project inauguration

    Officials of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) were on Wednesday chased away from the inauguration of the Obazogbe-Abudu road project at Orhiomwon Local Government Area of Edo State.

    Youths from several communities in the locality stormed the venue with placards, saying the project was not completed.

    The youths, led by Felix Oshodin, said the 24km project terminated at Abudu and not Obagie, where the contractor stopped work.

    Canopies and seats were arranged for the entourage of the NDDC Managing Director while musicians and cultural troupe from Benin were entertaining guests, when the protesters stormed the venue.

    The refreshments to be served were taken back to Benin by NDDC officials and the protesters waited till the canopies were brought down.

    Inscriptions on the placards read: “No to commissioning of roads”; “Our road is yet to be completed”; “The 24km road ends in Abudu”; ”We will not allow the commissioning of half road”; “Federal Government should come to our aid”; “We say no to embezzlement of public funds”; “We will not allow cheating again”; “The contractor should do a good job”.

    The monarch of Obazagbon, Moses Omobude, said a borehole and electricity projects being executed by NDDC for the past seven years are yet to be completed.

    “How can they inaugurate a road yet to be completed? The slabs on the gutter leading to our houses are yet to be covered,” he said.

    The Enogie of Ugboko, Solomon Ojiomade, urged the NDDC to complete the project before inauguration.

    He said, “The era of deceit is over. If we allow them to inaugurate the half job, they might not come to complete the job again.”

    A NDDC bill board on the road showed that the project was Obazogbe-Abudu road but the commission’s Director, Project Monitoring and Supervision, Alexander Okenwa, said the scope of the project awarded has been completed.

    Okenwa, who spoke in Benin City, yesterday said the first phase terminated at 24km.

    He said he wanted to use the opportunity to appeal to the MD to consider awarding the remaining few kilometres.

    “The project was done to specification. I think the protesters might have been sponsored to stop us.”

  • Don’t stop the tsunami in judiciary

    Don’t stop the tsunami in judiciary

    SIR: In any progressive clime, the essence of the rule of law is basically for the creation, preservation, enthronement and advancement of a civilized society, hence, when judges responsively punish wrongs, protect rights and resolve discord by thoughtful, independent and unbiased application of laws, the justice system secures the freedoms, tranquility and equality that engenders a social environment in which man’s highest aspirations and evolution can be realized.

    A weak judicial system, on the other hand, is manure to all forms of social ills.

    Sadly, Nigeria has not been particularly fortunate in its drive at evolving functional democratic governance, which could deliver the often-touted, but elusive dividends to the people, principally because of the credibility crisis bedeviling its judiciary.

    A ray of hope glittered in what can be best described as a judicial tsunami, when the National Judicial Council spurred President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State into the sacking of two suspended judges – Justice Charles Archibong of the Federal High Court, Lagos, and Justice T. D. Naron of the High Court of Justice, Plateau State, respectively.

    The two judges were accused of joining the bandwagon by delivering controversial judgments that many described as ‘embarrassing’ to the judiciary.

    Specifically, Naron drew the anger of the NJC over his poor handling of the governorship battle between ex-Osun State governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola while Archibong’s indictment bordered on his controversial ruling in the case involving a former managing director of Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola.

    President Goodluck Jonathan has since approved the compulsory retirement of Justice Archibong, following the recommendation of the NJC.

    While the latest action of sacking is commendable, it is worthy of note that these two judges are not the only ones delivering or have been found to have delivered kangaroo and controversial judgments.

    The NJC should then, beam its searchlight on other judges who might have been compromised by flushing them out of the bench, if we are ready to win the war against electoral and other forms of judicial corruption in the country.

    The Nigerian Bar Association has promised to clean the Augean stable by effectively punishing its members – irrespective of their status – who contravened the ethics of the legal profession.

    Cases of corruption in the judiciary seem to be more prevalent in the political turf. For instance, it is alleged that since 1999, nearly all elections into major political offices in the country had resulted in petitions as the losing parties challenged the outcome of the polls.

    It was reported that over 7,000 suits were filed at the various tribunals after the 2007 general elections alone!

    No wonder, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola raised some concerns when he said, “Time was when a lawyer could predict the likely outcome of a case because of the facts, the law and the brilliance of the lawyers that handled the case. Today, things have changed and nobody can be sure.

    To get out of this quagmire, the judiciary must be well funded, corrupt judges sanctioned, courts should be adequately equipped and most importantly, the government must summon the political courage to put an end to judicial corruption.

    The NJC has taken the right path with the tsunami – and even going the extra length – by setting up a fact-finding committee to investigate allegations brought against Justice Abubakar Talba of a Federal Capital Territory High Court, who recently gave a convicted pension thief, John Yusufu, an option of N750, 000 fines for conniving with others to defraud the Police Pension Office of N27.2bn.

    This portends a good sign since what the nation badly needs now is a break-away from its past in entrenching a courageous, independent, unbiased and financially autonomous judiciary that will have the muscle to stem the continued gangrenous reign of the hydra-headed monster called corruption.

    • Adewale Kupoluyi

    Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta