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Tag: survive

  • ‘PDP can’t survive in Ondo’

    ‘PDP can’t survive in Ondo’

    Former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly Hon. Omowumi Olatunji is now a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State. She spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on the chances of the party at the governorship election in the Sunshine state.

    What is your assessment of the political situation in Ondo State?

    Looking at Ondo State and the structure, we cannot compare Ondo State with Lagos because Ondo State is more of a civil servant state. The larger percentage of the population is the workforce and I think the people are so unhappy about the way the administration is going, how governance is being discharged in Ondo State. The atmosphere is a bit tense because of that unhappy condition and the lack of attention that the government is giving to people in the state. It is affecting the state. You cannot see the enthusiasm the people had when the Mimiko administration came on board. So, I think the state itself and the people are very ready for change and, if you look at the entire Southwest, the APC has gained ground in Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, leaving out Ekiti and Ondo. The election of Edo State is coming up in June. The election of Ondo State is October. So, we have the template that we are going to use in October. We will use it Ondo State. That is going to give enough time to be able to look at the chances of coming to sweep the state. So, I think everything is set for the APC and we have to leverage on the inability of the current government to discharge its duties. I won’t lie to you. People are not happy with the Mimko administration. I think it has really lost its popularity.

    Is the economic problem not also responsible for the bad situation?

    That the salaries are not paid on time, and all that, it is part of it. Don’t forget that the level of the rot is high. The PDP was in power for 16years. The level of destruction, the level of impunity, people were doing things without thinking about the future. Any opportunity people were given to serve under thePDP, they were using it as if it was just about self. Many things have gone wrong. So, you cannot repair a broken wall overnight. The Buhari administration just got into office less than a year. We are not going to expect so much. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. So, for any administration that is still flowing from the PDP, it will be rejected. It is stupidity on the part of any person to say I will vote for the PDP because they have lost ground. They do not have the interest of people at heart.

    Look at this issue of cleansing that is going on the country as regards corruption war because that was the selling point during the campaign of President Buhari; that he was going to make sure that anyone that stole Nigeria’s money is brought to book. And look at it today. You know how much we have been able to retrieve from outside and within the country. You could see the level of heartlessness that has been displayed.

    More than 25 people want to be governor of Ondo State on the platform of the APC. Don’t you see the struggle for the ticket tearing apart the party?

    It is their constitutional right. The constitution gives you room to vote and be voted for. So, anybody that has interest in going for any office, it is his constitutional right. But, I believe the leadership is looking into that and at the end of the day, the number would be pruned down. So, I see that number reducing before the primary. We cannot have that large number; it doesn’t make sense, it does add up to have 25 people going for the shadow poll. I think the party is looking towards that direction to prune down the number of aspirants.

    The aspirants are building their personal platforms, instead of collectively building the party. How do you react to this?

    Well, I don’t think that is correct because I could remember when I came in few days back, one of the aspirants donated buses to the party and I have seen them going round, making visitations, consultations across the state. Contrary to that, I have seen the activities of most of the aspirants and I am impressed. They just need to intensify whatever they are doing.

    What is your reaction to the defections from the PDP to the APC in Ondo?

    In the last one month, we have had a lot of people defecting from the PDP to the APC. That further confirms that the PDP is depopulated. So, they don’t have as much followership. The APC is now a party to beat because we are increasing by the day. Even two weeks ago, one of their strong supporters crossed to the APC and he came with a large number of followers from the PDP. They were not rented crowd. They were known faces in the community. So, I see prospect. The transition from the PDP to the APC is going to be very smooth.  The people are really ready. They are receptive to this new change mantra that will come.

    What will Ondo people benefit under the APC government that they are not getting under the PDP administration.

    There are five factors that favour the APC. These are our selling points. One is responsibility. Any government that is not responsible is not worth following. In anything you are doing, when you say a government is responsive, that means they know what to do at the right time. When you give somebody the responsibility and he is not responsive, it’s like today we talk about Fashola’s government in Lagos State. It was a responsive government and the same thing applies. It has become part of you; you cannot be disconnected from the people that voted for you. The party and the government must be accountable to the people. The APC is a government that believes in accountability and that is what we are saying and in whatever we are doing, we are very consistent; we believe in continuity. Anything that we do, we sustain it and that is what we are selling-consistency in governance. We don’t believe in duplication and wasting money. Anything that we are doing and is affecting people positively, we sustain it. Also, in what we do, transparency is important. You must be seen not to only say you are transparent. You must be seen to be transparent.

    What are the mistakes you think that the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) made in 2012 that robbed it of the governorship that shout be not repeated?

    There was no serious competition and we did not prepare on time. Like what we are doing right now, everybody r is on the field working. The last time, the candidate came out, shortly before the election. So, he didn’t really have time to get into details. The people didn’t know him. We couldn’t sell him the way we should because there wasn’t much time.

    You are relocating from Lagos to Ondo. How would you react to the perception that you are a new comer or a stranger in Ondo politics?

    I am not a stranger. I’m not strange to Ondo. When people want to be mischievous, they would talk about that. But, no matter how long you have been away from your place of origin, one day you will return home. People say there is no place better than home. I’m back home. My people cannot tell me that to be a member of that family, you have to create me again. I have been created and I’m happy. I’m proud. Those who don’t know me, they are taking their time and pain to go and know my family house because the story is: where is she coming from? They say I don’t have a root. It is a lie.

    I had my primary education in Akure. I had my secondary education in Ondo State. I went to St. Mathias Primary School and St. Louis Girls Grammar School, Akure. I only had admission to study in Lagos in 1999. That was when I left. So, for somebody to say they don’t know me is just a story that is not going to sell because I am a known face and good enough, I still have an aged father, a 93-yr-old man, who is still very strong, living in Akure. My family dynasty is still very much on ground because we produce the current monarch in Akureland. So, those stories I hear, I discard them because they are not going to add any value to what I am doing.

    To what extent have you impacted on the people of Ondo State?

    With the empowerment that I have introduced, it is going to capture a large number of people. On individual basis, I have been doing that, paying school fees for people and all that. It is what I am used to. You get to hear this family has problem, that one is sick in the hospital. I do that periodically; sometimes on a weekly basis, on a daily basis. So, I touch their lives. But, I want to look at a larger percentage of the people of Ondo State. That is why I am sponsoring an empowerment programme that will cut across the entire state to touch a thousand people-youths, women, old people, widows, orphans. I have given the party that right to go and put that number and names together. So, my own duty is to make that presentation on that 27th of March and I look forward to it, and I know Ondo State people would be happy for this gesture.

    Who are you supporting among the 25 aspirants?

    I support all the aspirants. They are all my candidates. But, the person that would wear the crown would be crowned. I know that the person that God has prepared and who has the fear of God and passion for the people is the person is the person that this thing would fall in his hand. And I pray that that person will take our matter with all passion and commitment so that it will be a better record, compared to the one we are all trying to get rid off.

    How do you think the party should react to the antagonistic agitations for zoning by the people of Owo, Akure and Akoko?

    On the issue of zoning, I don’t think we are seeing it as a problem. It’s common sense revolution. Apparently, the incumbent governor of the state, Mimiko, is from Ondo and Ondo falls within the Central Senatorial District. We have a minister from South Senatorial District. The North  Senatorial District is left without anything. So, that is the rationale. We just need to understand that we have to be fair to all the senatorial districts within the state. I think if a candidate emerges from Morth, it should be a welcome development and then, whatever the central gets at the end of the day, the best could be a deputy governor and I know this time around, we want to flow with other states where you have a male governor and a female deputy governor so that we can strike a balance and be fair to all.

  • How Nigeria can survive economic downturn, by NLC, NES, others

    •ECA, SWF not in tandem with 1999 Constitution, says groups

    The  establishment of a Stabilisation Fund can help the country get out of its economic downturn, a report has said.

    The report, which was put together by a group, which includes the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Economic Society (NES), added that Nigeria is occupying  the 55th position of 69 nations rated for savings and investment.

    The depletion of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) when oil prices were high was also said to have contributed to the financial meltdown which the nation is facing.

    These facts are contained in a report by 43 groups under the auspices of the Citizens Wealth Platform(CWP).

    The groups include Nigeria  Labour  Congress (NLC); Nigeria Economic Society(NES); Nigeria Bar Association(Abuja); Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Abuja;  Trade Union Congress (TUC), Abuja; and International Centre for Development Budget, among others.

    The report said the nation’s Excess Crude Account (ECA) and the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) may not stand the test of constitutionality  because they are at variance with constitutional provisions setting up the Distributable Pool Account in Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

    Quoting statistics from the SWFI, the report described Nigeria as a late starter to savings.

    “It is clear that the issue of savings and investment is a common practice around the world and Nigeria is a reluctant late starter.

    “Virtually, all major oil producers have SWFs with substantial sums tied to the production and marketing of oil.

    “There are also SWFs that are funded  from non-commodity sources, including pension funds. Other countries started their savings, investment and futures funds a long time ago.

    “It would, therefore, not be in accordance with fit and good practices and international norms to scrap the SWF or any other stabilisation fund. This will be a sign of fiscal indiscipline.”

    The report gave insight into how Nigeria ran into financial crisis and why its SWF had been a paltry $1.4 billion.

    The document added: “The trajectory of crude oil revenue and distribution since 2008 shows that we have been spending the funds in ECA at a time of high oil prices. Essentially, we refused to save and have virtually exhausted the funds in ECA. It also shows that the accounting for crude oil revenue and the funds in ECA appear not overtly transparent.

    “So many countries in the world have SWFs which have components on stabilisation, infrastructure investments and a futures fund. Nigeria started its SWF late with a total worth of about $1.4 billion.”

    It recommended a stabilisation fund for use during economic downturn.

    The report said: “Savings remain one of the hallmarks and signs of fiscal responsibility. It is an aphorism that the propensity to save is inversely related to the propensity to consume while the propensity to invest is directly related to the propensity to save.

    “Going by the foregoing, it is clear that if Nigeria desires to make steady progress, there is need to sustain a stabilisation fund for use during economic downturn.”

    The report said the nation’s ECA and SWF are at variance with Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

    The report said: “From the review of the legal framework, it appears stricto sensu that the stabilisation provisions setting up the ECA and the SWF may not stand the test of constitutionality as they seem at variance with constitutional provisions setting up the Distributable Pool Account in Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.

    “There may be need for constitutional amendment to align ECA, the NSIA or any other stabilisation mechanism with the constitution.”

  • ‘Bayelsa United will survive relegation’

    ‘Bayelsa United will survive relegation’

    The Vice Chairman of Bayelsa United, Julius Laye has assured fans and Bayelsa indigenes that the club will not be relegated if it can win its match against Sunshine Stars this weekend and the LMC deducts points from clubs who are owing players’ salaries.

    While urging fans to pray for the club, Laye noted that most of the teams battling relegation with Bayelsa United have also run foul of the League Management Committee (LMC) rules over payment of players’ salaries. He said that most of the clubs in the relegation zone were owing their players over three months salaries and expressed belief that they would be sanctioned with six point deduction before the end of the season.

    He stated that his club has consistently paid players despite having series of problem in the ongoing season. “Inspite of the fact that Bayelsa is the most stressed in the Nigeria League, playing away from home and having to pay to use stadium, while also meeting financial obligation to players and officials.”

    He said that teams like Dolphin, Sharks, Kwara United, Elkanemi and FC Taraba are all owing players over three months salaries and was sure that points would be deducted from them, which will to pave way for his team to escape relegation.

    “The LMC has come out several times to assure Nigerians that any team that flouts its rule over payment of players will have six points deducted. And we at Bayelsa believe that the LMC will enforce the rules as the season gradually comes to an end.

    “We have paid our players their September salaries and would get their October pay as soon as every worker in the state gets paid,” Laye said.

  • ‘Osun ’ll survive’

    ‘Osun ’ll survive’

    House of Representatives member Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi spoke with reporters in Lagos on the challenges facing the Osun State Government and the way out of the crisis. Musa Odoshimokhe was there. 

    What is your take on the allegation of mismanagement of public funds against the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola?

    The state we found ourselves in Osun is quite unfortunate. It is unfortunate because it is the best of intension, the best planning and forward looking mechanism the governor has put in place to serve the people. But, was misrepresented.  We found ourselves not being in control of those parameters that determines whether we are a growing concern or not. That is not peculiar to Osun anyway, it happens across the federation. I dare say that despite the fact that the whole nation is going through some challenges till now, Osun is pronounced because certain political gladiators that wanted to use unconstitutional and illegitimate means to get what Osun State did not want to give them. That is why Osun has been highlighted, that is where we have found ourselves once again.

    The government was accused of buying an aircraft. Yet, workers are being owed salaries…

    I will take that issue in isolation and I am sure in the course of this interview, I will address it in holistic manner. How much does a helicopter cost? It will not pay one month salary in Osun. Is that mismanagement? The issue of helicopter was bought for security reason. It was not bought for the movement of the government officials, which is a fact. The Federal Government of the previous administration stifled that initiative. The government of Osun applied for the equipment because we need a code from the National Communication Commission (NCC) to effectively perform the kind of serve the helicopter is needed for. Good initiative, but unfortunately politics reared its head. The equipment came, but getting the code, the channel from the NCC to be able to operate the equipment became impossible. The so-called order from above tried to stall it, therefore, Osun State government had two alternatives, either to resell the aircraft or make it available for other purposes that could bridge the gap, while we are sorted out the issue with the NCC. The equipment was actually being run commercially pending when the NCC will give us our code to be able to operate the equipment. How is that mismanagement? That equipment could actually be useful across the regions.

    What would you say about the debt profile of the state?

    In terms of debt profile, Osun is legitimately within the acceptable debt limit. My concern is the federal government, as it is run today, does not empower states, to go their own capacity to generate revenue. Those areas where you can expand the scope of economy are controlled by legislations of the Federal Government. Therefore, it is difficult to separate the sub-state’s economy from the federal economy. So, a huge your percentages of revenue from the state will always go back to the Federal Government. Lagos State economy is probably the only economy today that is striving to set out itself from the federal economy. And we can begin to have Lagos as an independent economy. Lagos has begun to build the sub-economy, but other states unfortunately cannot because they do not have that latitude in term of resources. The debt profile of Osun is not on the negative side, safe for the debt profile that is coming from the Federal Government structures as it were.

    Osun State Government has been accused of embarking on projects that are not viable. What is your reaction?

    I will not agree that Osun State embarked on projects that are not directly relevant to the welfare and wellbeing of the people. If you know the person of Ogbeni Aregbesola, the governor of the state of Osun, you will know that he is irrevocably committed to the welfare of the people. That is what he lives for, that is what he preaches. The OYES scheme has become a model not only for Nigeria, but for the whole of the world. Several governments in Nigeria have copied the project. In an economy like Osun, it is a civil service state; we have over 35,000 civil servants in the state, probably second to Lagos has much on its shoulder. What are we doing to the 35,000 civil servants in the state like Osun with struggling resources? That is where we found ourselves. As an elected government, trying to do something about that, the chances are that you may not survive it. But as a government, something has to be done about it. We inherited so much from the western region and Oyo State government before the creation of Osun. At a time we have Osun State indigenes who were in the service of Oyo. Fortunately and unfortunately, they were like the 80 percent of the Oyo State civil service, within that period we had a governor in Oyo State, who was from Osun, the late Bola Ige, his deputy Afolabi and Chief Bisis Akande the Secreatry to the government, all from the government of Oyo. When Osun State was created, the Oyo government cut off the civil service structure by indigene-ship, so people from Osun State were force to relocate. So, whether you had 100 directors and 80 percent of them were from Osun, they had to go. Whether Osun had the structure to accommodate them or not was immaterial. The OYES scheme is meant to keep some money in the economy of Osun. We found that the people who were making money from Osun have their business outside Osun. Aregbesola saw this and tried to create a way of circulating fund within Osun, in the hands of the people. That is how the idea of OYES came. This was also part of his campaign promises, that within his 100 days in office, he would employ so many numbers of youth. He created the OYES scheme that puts N200 million every months in the hands of people who would have to spend it on the economy of Osun. We had so many graduates who were jobless and we tried to mop them up. How the OYES scheme has been a waste, I don’t really know. The OYES scheme is like an entrepreneurial development programme, it’s not supposed to be a job. It is supposed to be a way to tell our youth that the only way to survive is not to look for monthly paid jobs. Every economy in the world thrives on small and medium enterprises. The organized private sector provides the job, while public sector employs less than 20 percent.

    But, the NLC suggested to the government to stop the school feeding programme…

    Remember that schools are built for children; they are built to educate our children. They are not built to create jobs. Yes, the NLC suggested the stopping of the school feeding programme, but stop the school feeding programme will stop the children from schooling. The feeding programme ensured that our pupil enrolment increased. It is the best in the world today by that standard. So, the parents do not have to worry about the feeding of their children at schools. With this, the child would get education; he would be taken off the streets.

  • How democracy can survive, by Alegeh

    How democracy can survive, by Alegeh

    These statistics do not include those deaths that were unreported or those that were premeditated politically motivated assassinations, arson and other mayhem unleashed on the populace by politicians and their thugs. These deaths do not also include the Boko Haram attacks in Bauchi, Gombe and Yobe States during the elections which claimed several lives.

     

    Factors militating against the effective use of police powers during general elections

    The impression one gets is that these acts of violence and mayhem can proceed unchecked and unabated, without the intervention or control of the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The question arises why the NPF is seemingly helpless and hapless in the prevention of these criminal activities? Indeed when arrests are made why do the suspects appear invincible and beyond the prosecutorial reach of the law enforcement agencies?  Under the Police Act the prosecution possesses undoubted powers to prosecute offenders in violation of our penal legislations before any court in Nigeria appropriately designated for such an exercise. It is therefore a regrettable matter that the National Assembly has created an unsalutary state of affairs by denying Police the complimentary power to prosecute offenders apprehended by it for committing electoral offences. The power to prosecute and bring offenders to justice is a necessary adjunct to police powers. Indeed, stakeholders maintain the unassailable position that power to prevent and apprehend criminals without a corresponding power to prosecute is an exercise in futility. Consequently when the Electoral Act 2010 provides in section 150 (2) of the Electoral Act that ‘Any prosecution under this Act shall be undertaken by legal officers of the Commission or any legal practitioner appointed by it.” It has expressly and openly emasculated the Police in its task of securing electoral peace and harmony.

    This section has far-reaching implications; firstly, it removes prosecutions of electoral Offences from the Police and the Federal and States Ministries of Justice and restricts this important exercise to legal officers of INEC or legal practitioners appointed by the commission. The implication is that criminal prosecution will be centralised Quere? Has INEC got the manpower to prosecute even 10 per cent of electoral offences? By divesting the police of powers to prosecute such summary offences, who will investigate the offences, because, the fall-out of this prosecutorial ban is that the police will lose an interest in investigations.

    At any rate, it is settled law that the Hon Federal Attorney-General can take over or discontinue any criminal proceedings in the Federation or state. So, what is the functionality of this provision? It seems clear that the provision which seeks to preserve the independence and integrity of elections under the Act by limiting participation in prosecution to INEC staff or lawyers briefed by her, loses sight of clear constitutional provisions which fetter its power to do so.  For instance section 214 of the 1999 Constitution which prescribe that there shall be only one police force in Nigeria and the provision of section 174 and 211 which vest powers to prosecute criminal offences on the Attorney-General of States and the Federation. Secondly, has the Commission the man power to prosecute all offences charged to court in the Federation?  The answer is in the negative, prosecution is expensive and rigorous business, and it is also a specialized art.  Till date, INEC Legal Department is not equipped to prosecute any offender under the Act as the necessary facilities are not in place. In any event, the Commission has stated on many occasions that it does not possess the wherewithal to carry out such additional functions that will cause distraction to its core duties.

    Great care has to be taken to organise and dedicate a battery of lawyers in the INEC legal department to prosecution of cases. The essence of a democracy is to have functional machinery of Government, which in turn will provide safety and stability for her people to express their political rights in any atmosphere devoid of rancour and instability.  In other words, where hoodlums are allowed to operate freely, troubling innocent by-standers, wishing to cast their votes and or exercise their civic rights, without let or hindrance, the credibility of the election and the integrity of  those elected through such chaotic situation would have suffered a fatal blow. Finally by way of recommendation, Government needs to return to the drawing board and fully implement the Hon. Justice Uwais Report on Electoral Reforms which provides for an Electoral Offences Commission and a Tribunal to be its adjudicative arm. This step is imperative for the maintenance of law and order during elections and beyond.

     

     The legislative arm of government

    The survival of our model of Presidential Democracy is hinged on the optimal performance of the three arms of Government i.e. Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. The three arms are expected to act in check to one another. However it has been observed that the weakest link at the level of State governance is the legislature. It appears that the checks and balance that they are expected to provide is completely absent. The clearest example is the passing into law legislation to authorise outrageous ‘so-called severance pay package for governors, deputy governors, commissioners and other motley political office holders’.

    This is coming at a time when the 85 per cent of the nation’s resources is reportedly being spent on recurrent expenditure at both national and states it is inhuman to take such largesse from Government Treasury just because of a 4 year service. This kind of conduct is anti-democracy and it is perpetrated because there is no one within the system to call them to book.  It is a vicious circle with every aspirant looking forward to climb the political ladder by any means most especially through violence and godfatherism in the hope that ultimately it will be his turn to enjoy such largesse for life. In my humble view, this is not the intendment of democracy. The people from where we copied the system have no equivalent of such brigandage.

  • Will Nigeria survive EU energy union?

    On February 25, three very senior members of the European Union, EU,  Jean Claude Juncker, Miguel Arias Cañete and Maros Sefcovic, sat down in Brussels to brainstorm the idea of an Energy Union, EU within the EU. They are President, Vice President responsible for the Energy Union and Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy respectively of the EU. One of them, Maroš Šefèoviè reportedly told his comrades: “Today, we launch the most ambitious European energy project since the Coal and Steel Community. A project that will integrate our 28 European energy markets into one Energy Union, make Europe less energy dependent and give the predictability that investors so badly need to create jobs and growth. Today, we set in motion a fundamental transition towards a low-carbon and climate-friendly economy, towards an Energy Union that puts citizens first, by offering them more affordable, secure, and sustainable energy.

    That concept of an Energy Union that Sefcovic referred to is to be based on a framework strategy for an energy union tied to a climate change policy. Information gleaned from the EU website indicate that the EU is the largest importer of energy in the world, with 53% of that import amounting to a record Euro 400billion. For its transport needs, the EU relies on oil and most of it is imported from Nigeria, Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. If we look at the records at the site a little closer, it may surprise a lot of people that of the 12 European Union member states that cannot meet the EU’s minimum interconnection target – that is, to meet at least 10% of installed capacity production capacity, includes the United Kingdom. In addition to that, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia are among the countries in Europe depend on a single external supplier – Russia – for one commodity that Nigeria flares daily –  gas.

    Therefore, arising from that meeting, the European Union plans that by 2030 – about 15 years from today – they will cut green house gas, GHG, emissions by at least 40%. They will also boost renewable energy and improve energy efficiency by at least 27%.  As we have this discussion, a Southern Gas Corridor intended to develop the establishment of liquid gas hubs with multiple suppliers in Central and Eastern Europe is already being developed. Since most of Europe would soon depend absolutely on renewable energy – solar, biomass, wind and hydro power for their electricity needs, part of the plan of the EU Energy Union includes a full implementation of existing legislation and market rules to integrate these renewable into all European markets, and a promotion of more research into renewable energy production and the decarbonisation of the transport sector.

    I have read two documents indirectly related to this plan by the EU to start an Energy union. One is an ongoing, unfinished 324-page research thesis by Maruf Mallick, a Bangladeshi doctorate student from the University of Bonn, Germany, titled Politics of Climate Change.  Mallick and I go way back in Germany on a training tour of the environment and how to report on it as journalists. In that document of his, I find that there is a certain concerted effort by Europe and Asia to form alliances, the BRICS, the BASIC, LMDC and etcetera, all geared towards one goal – to jettison the old political alliances based on military and economic might for the new ones that will ensure that they would no longer rely on oil for their economic and military power. Presiding over this new balance of power and world order of new alliances to which the US has already been supplanted is the behemoth itself – China. More than any other country of the world, China, once known to be one of the highest green house gas emitter, has nearly completed a domestic programme of renewable energy that would make it impossible for it to ever buy oil again from Nigeria, Venezuela or from Iran. When that happens, Mallick says in his thesis that those who would hurt the most are the countries in the Middle East, and Nigeria, that depend on oil for her income.

    The other document is an article by my colleague, Charles Iyare, of our monitoring and evaluation department, titled ‘Curtailing the curse of the energy sector’, and published with the Punch, May 21, and May 24 with the Daily Independent newspaper.  In that article, Iyare was adamant that we seem to be under a curse, from our inability to translate the huge potentials from our natural endowment to a blessing for our people. According to Iyare,  ‘part of the challenges of poor electricity supply in Nigeria is the lack of alternative energy source (Nigeria has hydro, thermal, solar and wind electricity sources to tap from to boost her power supply but has not managed to do this effectively over the years). Government should understand that electricity is a major economic booster that can make a country self-sufficient in job creation, economic productivity and growth. It is the means of encouraging young entrepreneurs to advance in business and shun crime and corruption’.

    Two common denominators emerge from this plan by the EU for the EU – one, if the plans to replace the EU transport sector dependence on oil succeeds, wouldn’t that mean that we have lost our national garri?  Second, with China, the second biggest emitter of Green House Gases, GHG, taking the lead to reduce its carbon emissions by as much as 40%, wouldn’t that translate to a Post-Kyoto Nigeria where our oil and gas becomes irrelevant?

    Just last week, OPEC celebrated its 167th Conference and its golden anniversary at a time of great glut. A barrel of oil is only $45, and instead of tinkering with the idea of joining the Conference of Parties, COP, in the climate change mitigation and adaptation debates going in the world as an interested party, OPEC is still pumping oil. And Nigerians, we are still carrying on as if all is still well. But all is not well. There cannot be any time than now for us to ‘change’ and begin to seriously diversify and join alliances and create the kind of domestic programmes that China is creating, to mitigate and adapt to the coming catastrophe of climate change and dwindling income from oil.

    • Etemiku is of the Africa Network for environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, Benin City.

  • ‘Oyo can survive on cassava export’

    Oyo State can survive on exportation of cassava and other farm products, the  governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Teslim Folarin has said.

    He said the state is the second largest producer of cassava in Nigeria after Edo but it has not contributed to the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) due to lack of proper management.

    Folarin, who spoke to journalists in his Oluyole, Ibadan home, lamented the dwindling international oil price.

    He said it was high time each state took steps on how to be financially independent, adding that he has plans to revive the farm settlement across the state if elected.

    According to Folarin, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be strengthened to improve the output of agricultural sector and add to the state Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

    He noted that farm settlement across the state would be empowered and resuscitated to fulfil its initial objective.

    “We have been talking about diversifying form oil for the past many years but nobody seems to act on it because there are so much money coming from Abuja. Now, there is no money in Abuja again and either we like it or not, we have to take step now.

    “Look at cassava for instance, we can run Oyo State on cassava alone. Oyo State is the second largest producer of cassava after Edo state and it does not contribute to our Gross Domestic Products (GDP) because we don’t export cassava.

    “All we need to do is to mobilise our people to double their effort in production and start to export products of our farm settlement. We also need to strengthen our ministry of agric and rural development so as to improve our output in agricultural sector. We cannot continue waiting for the money from Abuja,” he noted.

  • That democracy may survive

    That democracy may survive

    How Nigeria can sustain democracy through free and fair elections was the topic of a debate organised by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) chapter of the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ). AFIS ODEYEMI (300-Level Education History) reports.

    Survival of democracy topped disscussion at an event organised by the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) chapter of the Union of Campus Journalists (UCJ). Participants, who spoke on the topic: Party politics and democratic sustenance: 2015 general election in focus, brought their oratory skills to bear in the discussion, which is held yearly for freshers.

    The basement of the main auditorium, where the contest was held, was literally charged as the students expressed their views before guests, including the Director of Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies in UNILORIN, Dr Mahfuz Adedimeji, who declared the contest open.

    According to the organisers, the contest was also to develop the oratorical and writing prowess of the participants, who were selected from the institution’s nine faculties.

    Adedimeji, who is also UCJ’s Staff Adviser, said examination could not be a true test of knowledge, adding that the winner should not see himself as the best. He said: “Life is a competition ground where individuals face challenges on a daily basis and achievement is recorded based on individual effort.”

    At the preliminary stage, students from all faculties participated in the debate but five participants qualified to move to the final stage.

    Dr Lukman Saka of the Department of Political Science, who delivered a lecture on the theme, gave a professional insight into the topic. He suggested ways the nation could conduct of a free and credible election.

    Saka said: “For a free fair and credible election to be held this year, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must be fair to all political parties and demonstrate by its intention that it would be non-partisan umpire. This will also reduce the number of legal battle that may trail the process. The February election is crucial to the peace and growth of this nation.”

    The political scientist advised politicians not to betray the trust people reposed in them, urging them not to truncate the democratic process because of their selfish interest. He said the security of the country should be a collective effort and common objective of all politicians.

    During the grand finale, each of the remaining five contestants was given five minutes to defend his position on the theme.

    After a tough session, the judges graded the participants based on their appearance, composure, fluency, saliency of points and conciseness. Victory Emmanuel of the Faculty of Engineering  emerged the winner of the contest. Damilola Olawuyi of the Faculty of Education came second, while Temidayo Ajibade from the Faculty of Sciences came third.

    Prizes, including mobile phones, t-shirts, stationery, were presented to the winners and participants, who dropped out in the preliminary stage.

    Assistant General Secretary, Kwars State chapel of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mallam Abubakare Mustapha, who represented the NUJ boss, Mr Abdulkareem Abiodun, advised students to get involved more in educational programmes, saying this would boost their academic pursuits.

    The UCJ President, Taofeek Tiamiyu, a 500-Level Agricultural Science student, said every member of a given society had roles to play in sustaining democracy in the society.

    “As youths with good strength of number and voting power, we must ensure we constructively constitute to nation-building by conducting ourselves peacefully during the coming general elections. We must not be divided by politics, religion and ethnicity. We share common humanity and country, which we must protect,” he said.

    Other guests at the event included former presidents of the union, Alao Idris and Wale Bakare, who initiated the Freshers’ Oratory Contest.

    Highpoints of the occasion were observations by students, and poem presentation dedicated to the life of late Zakariyyah Abiodun Olowo, one of the university’s scholars and immediate past president of the union, and Hammed Adekanmi, who died last year. The participants observed one-minute silence in their memory.

  • ‘Saraki dynasty ’ll survive beyond 2015’

    ‘Saraki dynasty ’ll survive beyond 2015’

     Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed spoke with reporters in Lagos, shortly after the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primaries on the potency of the Saraki dynasty, his achievements in the last three and half years, preparations for next elections and issues that will shape the contest. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there. 

    Were you surprised about the outcome of your party’s national convention?

    No, because I have looked at the APC as having come at a time that Nigeria needs to be rescued and the disposition of those who formed the APC has shown one clear thing: that we are all putting collective interest over and above self interest. So, to that extent, I saw everybody’s disposition for a free and fair election. I knew that with the way things were going and with the kind of feelers that we were getting across the country, I knew the exercise was going to be free and fair. I knew that people are very conscious of the problem that Nigeria is facing today and the most critical ones being insecurity and corruption. Truly, looking back into history, we judge people by what they have done. Of those people who came out to contest, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari has the highest credential in the areas of anti-corruption and to a large extent in tackling insecurity. So, by and large, I knew these would play a critical role in deciding who wins the contest and they were indeed critical. The emergence of Buhari is just in tandem with our mindset.

    Would fielding Buhari against President Jonathan again not constitute a serious gamble for the APC?

    We are not taking a gamble in the sense that if we consider the issues that are bothering Nigerians at the moment is insecurity. It is getting to frightening dimensions. Unfortunately, the progress made by the current leadership has not suggested that it is committed towards tackling the menace. We are all witnesses to different bombings in various parts of the country.

    Insurgency is not new to Nigeria and we are all witnesses as to how it was handled in the past. We saw how it was handled by Buhari when he was Head of State; he was able to manage the Chadians. We are also witnesses to his anti-corruption crusade, which unfortunately was not allowed to stay.

    So, for us, we think Nigerians will vote according to their conscience, particularly since the economy is not doing as much as it should. The areas that have propelled the current growth that we are talking about are the service sectors, but it is not touching the lives of the majority of Nigerians. Unfortunately, it has not been able to rejuvenate the middle class that the Obasanjo administration attempted to bring back. So, the disappearance of the middle class has put much more pressure on the current system such that more Nigerians feel the pain of deprivation now. Social deprivation, economic deprivation and security deprivation is truly felt now. I am sure that Nigerians will consider these factors, if we truly desire change. We need to do it differently from the way we are doing it now.

    We try to judge people by antecedence. He (Buhari) has done it before, he can do it again. Why are we so convinced about his desire and capacity to do it at his age? He did not accummulate wealth when he was at the helm of affairs and I don’t think he is interested in acummulating wealth now. He said it clearly that he doesn’t have money to give to anybody other than making himself available for service.

    How are you preparing to defend yourself, given the President’s assertion that the PDP would recover its stolen mandate in Kwara?

    The political system in Kwara had been hinged on a structure which has allowed us to play an inclusive system. The structure is largely built on contributions from every nook and cranny of the state. The choice of who gets nominated, the way and manner in which people get nominated and most importantly in driving the need of the people into an encapsulated desire for growth and development. I want to let you know that we have that structure in Kwara APC, which has always delivered. So, the next election is not going to be an exception because the same structure has delivered goods and services to the people, the same structure has allowed for inclusiveness, the same structure has allowed people who ordinarily would never have thought of ascending to levels of position — myself inclusive — to ascend into political offices. So, for us, this same structure is still at play and will continue to get itself running the affairs of Kwara. We are happy that the structure has a leadership in Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki who has strengthened the inclusive process of arriving at decisions that are generally acceptable to the majority of the people.

    So, we are using that structure alongside with our developmental programmes that we have outlined, especially taking the most critical area of Nigeria’s problems today, which is youth unemployment. We have recorded a lot of milestones in reducing youth unemployment. We have created programmes despite our lean resources to let youths see that they are the leaders of tomorrow. For instance, this has led us to setting up one of the best international vocational centres.

    We have also supported the health systems. We have not only raised infrastructure, we have also widened access through the community health insurance. I am happy to let you know that we received an award just recently in Paris, France, for having one of the most successful community health insurance schemes in the world, not just in Africa or Nigeria. The award was designed to be looked at from a broad perspective, not just a Kwara perspective. So, with all these on ground and with our understanding of our peoples’ needs, having been very close to them, we are truly positioned to carry on to the next level in terms of growth and development.

    So, for us, the 2015 election will usher us into a second term, God willing to broaden what we have been doing since 2011 in terms of infrastructure, human capital development and the economy.

    So, you don’t see the President’s assertion as a threat?

    We have never seen them as a threat because it is all about platforms and ability to deliver goods and services to the people which we have demonstrated. Those are just mere pronouncements. What really matters is the issue of being able to articulate resources and to meet the needs of the people which we are currently doing and which we hope to upscale, God willing in the second term.

    How have you been able to manage the successor–predecessor crisis in Kwara , to the extent that you and Senator Bukola Saraki have have maintained cordial relations? Is it true that the structure is established around a family?

    It is an inclusive process, which allows for inputs from all stakeholders. It is not taken as a family affair, as if restricted to a single family. The family is in 16 local governments of the state. So, when we refer to the structure as a family thing, it is for stakeholders. Bukola Saraki is an exceptional leader who has defined his leadership through inclusiveness, through strategic and methodical design of how he wants to see everybody’s inputs galvanised into a working process for the common interest. To that extent, he has approached governance from the normal way you expect to see good business run. Strategically, you look at your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities and your threats.

    Also, in getting any system to run it has to be given an inclusive outlook. Governance can be successful anywhere in the world if you allow for inclusive process; if you allow for stakeholders’ input. It is the same structure that Bukola Saraki ran his eight year government, which I was part and parcel of. I was positioned as the commissioner for finance and got the understanding of how resources are collated and they are methodically and optimally allocated to areas of need.

    Having been well positioned in that administration, it was only sensible for me to use that process to develop an upscale of service delivery to the people. And that is exactly what we are doing. We have never driven the system from an individual’s angle; we have always driven the system from a collective inclusive process. That is the secret of our relationship; people don’t seem to realise this. He is not a dictator; he is an inclusive person and he has allowed everybody to create inputs into evolving the process that will be suitable to everybody and on account of that, I have also imbibed that system to drive governance in Kwara. So, rather than seeing differences, we are seeing strength, we are seeing understanding in driving good governance, we are seeing understanding in delivering goods and services and we are seeing understanding in carrying everybody along as stakeholders.

  • This eight-year-old girl needs N2.6m to survive

    This eight-year-old girl needs N2.6m to survive

    An indigent family in Ikare, Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State has appealed to governments, corporate bodies and public spirited Nigerians to come to the aid of their eight-year-old daughter Saidat Saliu who has a heart disease.

    Mr and Mrs Adeyemi Saliu whose daughter was diagnosed with heart disease two years ago said they cannot afford the N2.6million needed to rectify the defect in her heart at a foreign hospital.  The primary two pupil of Cornerstone Nursery and Primary School, Ikare Akoko, was on October 2012 reported by the Medical Director of Comprehensive Medical Centre, Iwase, Oka Akoko, Ondo State, Dr E.A Olorunfemi to have developed signs and symptoms of heart disease when she was three years old.

    According Dr Olorunfemi these signs made the hospital authorities to refer her case to a cardiologist who carried out some investigations on her and discovered that the girl has congenital heart disease.

    The October 2012 health report on the little Saidat made her parents who are peasant farmer and petty trader respectively, to take her case to the Kanu Heart Foundation.

    Noting that the patient, Saidat is from indigent family that can hardly afford to even buy the basic palliative drugs for the girl, the foundation in November 2012 launched an appeal to save the life of the little girl.

    The foundation according to an SOS letter dated November, 30 2012, revealed that Saidat’s condition then required an urgent open-heart surgery abroad due to the absence of the requisite medical facilities for “this risk” surgery in Nigeria.

    As at the time the appeal was launched, the foundation sought to raise a total sum N1,632,000 to subsidise the cost of treatment, accommodation, transportation and feeding throughout the duration of her stay overseas.

    According to the letter, the foundation could not on its own shoulder the responsibility of the cost of the treatment, stressing that she was under close medical observation as her case was severe while her doctor advised that the surgery be carried out urgently to avoid complications.

    Unfortunately, the appeal did not yield the desired result as the parent could not raise the N800, 000 which was the 50 per cent of the money required for the surgery.  Saidat was thereafter taken back home.

    However, the condition of the little girl, who is now almost eight years old, has deteriorated which compelled her parents to rush her to Wesley Guild Hospital Ilesha, Osun State.

    According to the father, they had been going to the hospital since last year and this has gulped all what the family could raise.

    The frequent visit to the hospital had been affecting her education as she is now in Primary Two when many of her peers are already in Primary Four.

    Ironically, the family, which could not raise N800, 000 in 2012, is now been told to urgently look for N2.6million for Saidat to live, due to the deteriorating condition of her health and the rate of inflation Any assistance for little Saidat should be channeled through her father’s bank account at Skye Bank with the name Saliu Adeyemi, account no 1761694126 while he can be reached on telephone number 07066132323.