The Nation Newspaper

Tag: time

  • Time ticks for Buhari administration

    SIR: Before the last presidential election, which brought Muhammadu Buhari to power, millions of Nigerians from diverse ethnic groups were totally dispirited, disillusioned, and disenchanted with Dr. Goodluck Jonathan’s uninspiring, lacklustre, and directionless political leadership. He couldn’t embark on infrastructural development of the country. More so, tardiness marked his administration, and he condoned acts of corruption of high magnitude, which was bleeding our economy dry, then. But,   more worrisome was his inability to contain the Boko Haram’s terrorist onslaught in the North-east.

    So, Muhammadu Buhari, who is reputed to be whistle-clean as well as incorruptible, rode on the people’s discontentment and disenchantment with Jonathan’s political leadership to win the last presidential election. And the APC’s electioneering slogan of change, which resonated with us, contributed immensely and significantly to his electoral success. A Muslim teetotaler with Spartan lifestyle, Buhari is believed to be the political messiah, who can right the wrongs in our political polity, transform our economy, heal our ethnic and religious fissures, and set Nigeria on the path of irreversible and sustainable technological growth.

    Now, it has dawned on us that it takes more than a leader’s probity and great dislike for corruption for him to fix the many ills of a country. Is he aware that political leadership is not only about giving us endless promises, and vowing to eradicate corruption from our body politic? The dip in global oil prices has affected our economy adversely. We read in the newspaper about a man who pawned off his child for a bag of rice. And countless government workers in some cash-strapped states, who are owed arrears of salaries, are scavenging in refuse dump for food. So what are the palliative economic measures, which he has put in place to cushion the effects of the economic hardship on the people?

    Instead of staying at home to tackle our economic problems, he would jet out to foreign countries for summits and conferences like a man bitten by the bug of wanderlust when he could have sent his ministers to stand in for him at those global meetings and summits. Thankfully, he has scaled down his foreign travels.

    It is imperative for him to stay at home and tackle the issue of our economic woes. When anger wells up in the bosoms of hungry people, they’re not incapable of igniting revolution in a country, or throwing it into political instability.

    And the issues of the economic deprivation of the masses, Fulani herdsmen’s unremitting murderous activities, the Boko haram’s insurgency, militancy in the Niger-delta,  and the IPOB’s  agitation for statehood or political sovereignty are divisive deeds that can throw Nigeria into a civil war. Instead of comforting himself with the convenient delusion that Nigeria’s unity as well as indivisibility is inviolable and sacrosanct, he should enunciate and implement economic policies that will improve our living standard, and entrench lasting and sustainable unity in the country by ensuring that social justice, egalitarianism, equity and fairness, and the rule of law exist here.

     

    • Chiedu Uche Okoye,

    Uruowulu-Obosi, Anambra State.

  • Time for peace

    For months, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other aggrieved militants have sustained their attack on oil and gas pipelines and other facilities in the Niger Delta.

    The fresh attacks have not only destroyed infrastructures in the region, but have been having negative impacts on the country as a whole and the region in particular.

    They have resulted in a sharp reduction in Nigeria’s oil production, which in turn, further decreased its incomes from sales of the product in the face of the falling prices of oil in the international market.

    The hostility, apart from making existing foreign investors and workers in the area to flee the region and in some cases, Nigeria, for safety, the destructions and war-like atmosphere are also scaring away new prospective foreign investors.

    Power outage has become a normal occurrence in most states of the Federation in the past few weeks as gas scarcity, which was caused by the bombings, was hindering power generation.

    Not only power outage alone, they have also indirectly worsen water supply in some states as equipment could not be powered.

    Many businesses outside the region, which are mainly dependent on electricity supply have also been badly affected.

    But the negative impacts of the pipelines bombing seemed to be more in the Niger Delta area itself.

    Peace has eluded the region as there are now threats to lives and properties.

    The attacks are also already creating humanitarian crisis in the region with thousands of refugees displaced from their communities.

    There is increased health hazard from the bombings, thereby compounding the effect of the oil spillages in the Niger Delta region over the years, which have been estimated to take up to 50 years to clean up.

    Fishing and other businesses in the region are also not having the best of times with the renewed hostilities.

    The destroyed facilities and installations will also cost billions of naira to repair, thereby wasting the money that could have been utilized for development and other meaningful purposes.

    As a concerned father of the nation, President Muhammadu Buhari has used almost every available opportunity in the last one week to appeal to the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and other groups to stop the destructions and allow peace to reign.

    He severally made reference to the attacks during his breaking of fast with various groups at the Presidential Villa.

    During breaking of the fast with the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership at the State House, Buhari said: “Those of you who have friends among the leadership or even the militants themselves should plead with them in the name of God ýAlmighty to take it easy.

    “We need to stabilise to create employment, we need to stabilise the economy etc. I agonize over these things,” he said.

    The President has not only promised his administration’s commitment to rebuilding the region but has also given assurance to ensure the amnesty programme is continued with.

    Receiving a delegation of Niger Delta Dialogue and Contact Group, led by His Royal Highness, King Alfred Diette-Spiff, the Amanyanabo of Twon Brass, Bayelsa State, at State House, Abuja last Thursday, Buhari said that the gazette on the Niger Delta amnesty programme by the Late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration is being studied to determine what had been fulfilled, promising that whatever is left would equally be addressed.

    “I want to get as much intelligence as possible on the situation in the Niger Delta. I have encouraged law enforcement agencies to contact leaders like you in order to have enough information to deal with the issues once and for all, “the President said.

    It is hoped that the militants would really allow peace to reign now and not allow themselves, as being alleged in some quarters, to be used by any person(s) to achieve any ulterior motives.

    Peace in the area will not only ensure the well-being of the nation as a whole, but it will stop the health hazard risks from the bombings and fast-track development in the region.

     

    Saraki and the cabal

    What began as a rumour two weeks ago bordering on the relationship between the Senate President Bukola Saraki and the Presidency, became a reality last week.

    There is no doubt now that a wider crack exists between Saraki and the seat of power.

    Some Nigerians became alarmed two weeks ago when news filtered in that a scheduled breaking of fast dinner by President Muhammadu Buhari for National Assembly leadership, led by Saraki, has been called off.

    The Saraki camp saw no reason to attend such a dinner when the following Monday they will be tried in court by the State for forgery of the Senate standing rules.

    The rumour and tension that arose then was doused by a statement from the Presidency stating that the breaking of fast dinner with the lawmakers was not cancelled but postponed till a later date.

    It succeeded in showing that there was no rift between the two arms of government.

    But that did not last long, as Saraki last Monday showed that there was a real crack between the two arms of government, alleging that the Presidency has been hijacked by a cabal.

    The Presidency wasted no time to challenge him on the same day to name those that belong to the cabal.

    It is however very important for the polity not to be heated up as the man on the street will be at the receiving end like the grasses that suffer when two elephants fight.

    There is no doubt that the allegation of a cabal went too far especially when there are no names and evidence to back it up.

     

  • Buying time

    Buying time

    WATCHES come in various sizes and styles and can be worn as a functional accessory or a stylish piece of jewellery.

    They are a form of self-expression and make it easier to display your sense of style. It is also a great way to add interest to an outfit.

    Watches are quite comfortable and simple. They could be worn to any occasion and setting. It adds a finishing touch to a well-polished outfit.

    There are no basic rules to follow when wearing a watch. However, make sure your watch is the proper size.

    You don’t want it too loose or tight, it’s going to look ugly. Also, watch is typically worn on the hand opposite your dominate hand, that is, if you are right-handed wear on the left hand and vice versa.

    Make sure that the face sits right next to the bone on the outside of your wrist. Do not wear your watch on top of your shirt cuff.

  • Turkey: Time the world intervened

    In composing his famous tripartite epic poem, The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri included in the first part called Inferno, what has since become one of the most meaningful quotes of all time, emphasising that “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of moral crisis preserve their neutrality.” The quote was made more popular by late American President J.F. Kennedy, who aptly used it very often in 50s and 60s.

    Perhaps more than anything else, the two major things that happened in quick succession last week, namely the misclassification of the Gulen-inspired Hizmet (Service) Movement by Turkish President Erdogan as a terrorist group, as well as the sentencing of former beauty queen, Miss Turkey for the ridiculous offence of “insulting” Erdogan, should serve as a final warning to the civilised world that this man it keeps tolerating, mainly because he is a NATO member and his country holds a major key to resolving the European refugee crisis, has since become a loose cannon, a major threat to world peace, freedom, liberty and everything all sane societies hold in awe.

    For those who may not know, the Hizmet Movement, a group dedicated to rendering selfless service, providing critical aids and emergency interventions, as well as killing of ignorance, and President Erdogan were best of friends. In fact, members of the group helped bring him to power. However, Hizmetrealised that the man they innocently thought was going to serve Turkey selflessly and honestly, was fast becoming something else. Seeing Ankara becoming more and more enmeshed in corruption, and knowing the bitter ills of that cankerworm and how it inhibits societal growth, the  independent media in Turkey launched an intensive investigative reporting that uncovered large-scale fraud and corruption involving some members of Erdogan’s government and immediate family, with the first such reports published on December 17, 2013.

    Since then, Turkey has hardly known peace. Instead of addressing the message by stopping the widespread corruption, Erdogan blamed the media investigation on Hizmet Movement and started labelling them with all sorts of names. He swooped on all businesses and investments that have even one Hizmet member as owner or co-owner, closing down newspapers (including the famous Zaman newspaper that was publishing more than a million copies, daily), broadcast houses, banks, etc, using the flimsiest pretext. He also embarked on dangerous propaganda aimed at rubbishing the Hizmet Movement, and when he realised he was not making much headway in Turkey, Erdogan strangely decided to export his hate campaign abroad. Going from one country to another, he kept asking presidents and parliaments to close down schools, hospitals and other foreign investments he suspects to be Hizmet affiliated.

    If Hizmet were a terrorist organisation as being wickedly bandied about by the Turkish President, the nationals of these countries having Hizmet-inspired schools should know because the children attending the institutions are their own. A terrorist organisation should never be at the forefront of clear efforts at killing ignorance, or set up schools and run them in full concert with approved curriculum of their host country, and in a most transparent manner. Also, you cannot call an institution a terrorist school when after several years since its establishment, not even one of their products or graduates has engaged in crime or terrorism. All over the world, students that passed through Hizmet-inspired schools are at the frontline of contributing to the growth and well-being of their societies.

    It also amounts to an insult on the intelligence services and citizens of these host countries for Erdogan to think that on their own, they don’t have the wherewithal to differentiate light from darkness. And because no one can fool people all the time, Erdogan keeps deservedly getting the cold shoulder from these countries, with the citizens and their leaders angry that he is importing his dirty, shamelessly-desperate politics to their sane climes.

    However, now that instead of toeing the path of decency and reason, Erdogan is even digging deeper in his trenches, the civilised world must rise beyond rhetoric to tame the Turkish President. To be fair to the rest of the world, a lot of efforts are being put in place to call the repressive Erdogan to order. There are several examples:

    On May 29, last year, the European Association of Judges (EAJ) released a damning report that condemned Erdogan for foisting a regime of tyranny in Turkey, dismissing 49 judges basically because they passed judgements in favour of adherents of free speech he desperately wanted to jail. And this was a month after the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on judicial and constitutional reform issues, harshly criticised Turkey on June 20, 2015. The Venice Commission said it had found “serious interference with the independence of judiciary in Turkey.”

    On June 2, 2015, in faraway Washington DC, the World Editors Forum and the World Association of Newspapers issued a strong-worded statement in form of petition condemning Erdogan for making life most miserable for independent journalists in his country. As a Nigerian delegate to that conference, I was privileged to be a signatory to that petition, which was co-signed by 700 other top media personalities from 80 different countries of the world and sent to President Erdogan.

    Similarly, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, the apex body of the journalism profession in Nigeria, has on two major occasions last year issued a communique strongly condemning President Erdogan and asking him to ensure freedom of the press in Turkey as well as freeing of all journalists jailed by his government.

    Western governments and international press advocacy groups have accused Turkey of suppressing dissent and muzzling critics, forcing the sale of newspapers to government-friendly businessmen and exploiting laws to lock up journalists.  The Reporters Without Borders, the world’s largest press advocacy group, ranks Turkey 159th out of 170 countries surveyed, while Freedom House classified Turkey “not free” in its latest press freedom index.  The Committee to Protect Journalists, another major group advocating press freedom said “Turkish authorities are using never-before-seen methods to stipple dissent in the country.  Scores of journalists are either behind bars or facing criminal charges over their reporting in Turkey.”

    And as pointed earlier, Today’s Zaman, the largest selling newspaper in Turkey, whose daily circulation is one million copies, is being severely harassed, with some of its top editors arrested because it is owned by people sympathetic to the Hizmet (Gulen) Movement.  So also are the Cihan News Agency, the Samanyolu Broadcasters, as well as the Journalists and Writers Foundation, which have been in the forefront of campaign against according prominence to dastardly acts of terrorists, including publishing stories about their heroics on the front pages of newspapers.  The Foundation believes, and rightly so, that such publications always give terrorists a psychological edge. The sweeping media crackdown is aimed at ensuring organisations like the Cihan, a reputable news agency through which the rest of the world get authentic news about Turkey, close shop or forced to be administered by pro-Erdogan trustees.

    Hassan Cemal, a  respected 72 year old veteran journalist with 47 years’ experience in a symposium on press freedom last year, said:  “I have witnessed military coups.  I have seen my newspaper being shut down several times.  I have lost friends to political murders.  Many of my colleagues spent time in prison, many were subjected to torture.”  But the heartache he felt three months ago was like “none I had felt before.”

    Sadly, these represent only a tip of the iceberg. And the world can only afford to fold its arms or maintain neutrality at its peril. This, and definitely not later, is the time to rise beyond rhetoric to ensure the world does not end up with an avoidable Hitler

     

    • Gaya is the Vice President (North) of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.

  • Time for national carrier

    •This is the lesson from the exit of foreign airlines 

    The after-shocks of the current slump in global oil prices show no signs of abating. Last month, the American carrier, United Airlines announced plans to stop flying to the country by June 30. That move will end the carrier’s only route to Africa.  Although it acknowledged that its Lagos-Houston route has been underperforming financially for several years, it blamed the latest decision on the downturn in the energy sector. Just as the customers on the route – known to be key centres for the oil and energy markets – have been spending less on travel, the last straw appears to be the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s restrictive foreign exchange policy that has left an equivalent of $600 million of the entire industry’s ticket sales trapped.

    United Airline’s spokesman Jonathan Guerin puts the matter as it affects its company rather explicitly: “Since last fall, we have not been able to repatriate revenue sold locally in Nigerian currency and therefore we had to essentially suspend these sales, which make the route unsustainable as about half of the revenue generated by the route comes from Nigeria point-of-sale”.

    Spanish carrier, Iberia, had similarly announced plans to suspend flights to Nigeria from May 12, and Ghana from May 17, citing reasons of “drop of demand and lack of profitability”. Etihad, Qatar and Air France have reportedly served notice of their intention to restrict flights to Nigeria if the current foreign exchange policy is not reviewed.

    Both from the points of view of bilateral trade and cultural exchanges that would be adversely impacted, the planned exit of the American carrier as indeed the prospects of others following the trail is certainly regrettable. As entities established to return profit to their numerous shareholders, we understand that the decision is absolutely theirs to make – although we daresay that their reasons, in the current instance, appear perfectly understandable and legitimate. However, the obverse side is whether the CBN, faced with the challenge of managing the economy, particularly the increasingly scarce foreign exchange brought on by the continuing slump in oil prices, could have acted differently. This to us is debatable.

    We understand that the airlines global body, International Air Transport Association (IATA) is already making representations to the Federal Government in this regard. That is ordinarily how things should be. Unfortunately, this in itself has tended to be a minor part of the broader clamour for the jettisoning of the existing forex controls by the apex bank, something we consider not only unrealistic but fraught with grave dangers for an economy with barely $26 billion left in its foreign reserves. That the campaign has come with a tinge of blackmail is something we find rather unacceptable.

    We can only urge the CBN to keep the course – guided at all times by the nation’s best interests.  Whereas the $600 million might not seem much to IATA, it is certainly a lot to pay to some half a dozen foreign airlines in remittances at a time of excruciating forex scarcity. In the circumstance, the current situation ought to be appreciated in the context of the nation’s prerogative to set out what its priorities are in the light of competing demands for forex through the official window.

    The development yet again underscores the need for a national carrier. As it appears, the real challenge is to find a model of a truly national carrier that works – one that is fully capitalised and technically equipped to compete among the world’s best. Apart from offering Nigerians the benefit of choice, it would help curb the current drain on the nation’s foreign reserves. There is hardly a better time to begin the quest than now.

     

  • Change: Time to re-strategise

    Alot of events are unfolding in the country by every passing day and there is no gainsaying the fact that the change agents are putting in much effort towards ensuring that the misdeeds of the past are corrected and other necessary things are done to move the country forward. However, it is worrisome that despite all efforts, the situation on ground is a far cry from all expectations. Thus, it will not be out of place to say that the masses are in a state of confusion as a result of the fact that, what is happening to them is beyond comprehension. At the early stage of the administration, a lot of positive changes were experienced. Presently, the case has suddenly changed; queues have only just begun to disappear from the filling stations; electricity is now meant for the affluent and privileged few; the costs of living have sky-rocketed; many organizations are folding up and laying off workers; societal vices are on the rise again and there seems to be no end to the suffering of the masses.

    Consequently, the people are gradually losing their patience and faith in the system because they now have misgivings about every step taken by the government. Some of us who called for the patience and support of Nigerians to enable the administration make positive impacts have now become subject of mockery in the society.

    Numerous reasons and excuses have been adduced ranging from the global fall in oil prices; the looted treasury and bastardized economy; activities of some unpatriotic elements in government’s establishments; activities of Boko Haram; corruption in high places; battered image of the country; distractions from opposition and a host of others. In as much as I want to sympathize with the government for all these inherited problems, the fact remains that things are presently not working out as planned and the best way out would be to re-strategize and prioritize objectives. There is need for President Muhammadu Buhari to put measures in place to ensure that majority of the people can afford to fend for themselves. It is only then that you can make them understand and buy the idea of sacrificing to make the country great again. There is need to tackle the most pressing problems first before thinking of solving other secondary issues. Projects that will have immediate positive impact on the lives of the masses must attract urgent attention and be pursued vigorously.

    It is very important for leaders to always have it at the back of their minds that, there is a limit to human endurance. The people opted for change because their affairs were not properly handled in the last dispensation, which made life very difficult and unbearable for them. Consequently, they used their voting powers effectively to change the government. Thus; it was not as if the people in APC performed any magic or that they were tactically or strategically better than those of the other parties during the elections. The situation in the country then was so hard on the people and the future very discouraging that it became expedient to salvage their existence and future by voting out the then leaders to give a new set of people the benefit of the doubt. Therefore, if our leaders take the people for granted again, the consequences are very clear and predictable.

    In as much as I want to agree with the government that there is need for all and sundry to make sacrifices for the country to get to the desired destination, it must not be sacrifices of avoidable deaths through hunger and rising societal vices. In as much as the old saying that, there is no gain without pains is still relevant; it does not make sense when the people are made to suffer endlessly. At least, they should know what they are set to achieve at the end of the sufferings or trying period. It is no longer news telling them that change is slow to come because of the state of hopelessness the last administration plunged the country into. The people knew that something was fundamentally wrong and, that was what informed their resolved to vote in the government of change to alleviate the situation and not to worsen it.

    The wrangling within the ruling party is one major albatross of this government. The division caused by the composition of the leadership of the National Assembly which still persists is an indication that selfish interest is paramount in the minds and considerations of some of our leaders. The people who ought to work together to resolve the problems of the country are now divided. By now, one would have expected that the issue is buried and forgotten but, that is not the case.

    Cross carpeting of some members of the opposition parties to the ruling party is not also helping matters as it has turned out to be negatively affecting the performances of some office holders whose focus have now shifted to how to retain control of the party’s machineries in their respective localities. The situation is compounded by forces outside government whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection amongst the people and capitalize on the crises for selfish political gains. Time is ticking fast against their antics and they will be demystified and put to shame sooner than expected because, the masses are patiently observing the trends and waiting for the right time to show that power belongs to the people.

    As a result of the aforementioned, mutual suspicion is now prevalent in every facet of government and it has created an atmosphere or situation that can hardly breed good returns.

    In as much as I am personally convinced that the President meant well for the people and he is putting in every available/possible effort to deliver the dividends of democracy, he can only be himself. The people that ought to close ranks and join hands with him to move the country forward are the same elements that have polarized the affairs of government by sowing seeds of discord. They do not give a damn about the hardship the masses are presently experiencing. By their actions and dispositions, it is very clear, that they are only pursuing personal and selfish interests as against the national interest they want the world to believe.

    The President should note that, if anything goes wrong in the country, the blame will be his. Therefore, he should impress it on his lieutenants to sit up and face the business of governance squarely. No one should allow his/her political ambitions to conflict with the national interests (which is sacrosanct) otherwise, they should throw in the towel and allow those that will serve patriotically to come on board.

    The people are losing their patience; they need change urgently.

     

    • Oise-Oghaede writes from Surulere, Lagos.
  • A time to learn

    A time to learn

    It was a day for accolade. It turned out, ironically, as a night for introspection. Ben Murray Bruce tried to play the common sense card. As senator, he has craved the spotlight. In diction, in boast, in effort to play down his patrician status and, many will say, in vanity.

    He was talking up our history at the Silverbird Man of the Year night. He said, as he noted in last year’s event, that we have perished our memory. The young do not know the past. The old cannot remember our landmark events. We are plunging blind into the future. We need to play up our past. We need to do that now.

    He gave an inspired speech. I associated with him. I have campaigned quite a few times for this. We are a rudderless people without history. When we understand our past, the resources will abound to tackle our heres and nows.

    But Senator Bruce was about to be bruised that night, softly. The man of the year, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, injected him with a little dose of commonsense.

    He said he agreed with Bruce, but he was acting impotent when he had the power to act. If he was still campaigning for the position of senator, he would have made a mammoth sense. But he was not campaigner Bruce, but Senator Bruce.

    “Sponsor a bill,” encouraged Tinubu, and he stretched his hands to the right and called out the name of Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola. He would support the bill. He then referred to his wife and senator, Oluremi Tinubu, who would prop up the bill with her voice and brio. He assured Bruce that he would rally the forces of intellectual progress in the upper legislative chamber for the cause.

    “I am anxiously waiting for the bill. Over to you, Senator Bruce. We want it to be introduced so we can have the young study it in primary and secondary schools as a compulsory subject. In universities, we want all history departments to be restored as independent units rather than combinations with international studies, which is meaningless.

    We don’t have to go the past to grasp the value of the past. Look at some of the contemporary concerns. Look at the corruption war. We have been in this matter for long, since the First Republic. Nzeogwu and company despatched our first political elite in a putsch by lashing out at the fetid pool of corruption.” But he lamented the tragedy, and he noted that they were 10 “percenters.” What did that mean? The politicians and contractors stole 10 per cent of contract money, but allowed 90 per cent for proper work. In today’s terms, they were saints. Today, at least in the era that ended with Jonathan, they stole over 100 per cent in many instances. The evidence was ghoulish. Contracts were awarded but not implemented. The same people asked for review after a year and got more money and did nothing. The historian will have to tell us how we grew from petty thieves to shameless robbers. We can learn from that how to cauterise the malignant growth.

    The Boko Haram matter is seen as recent by many. But those who know our past will say that the seeds had been germinating before independence in the imperfections of its feudal nights and manifested in the First Republic, especially when the pogrom hit the Igbo and southern minorities. It grew gradually. Who has tracked this trajectory and shown us how to reverse the perverse train? Historians, of course. History feeds all disciplines. Those who acclaim science and technology also are inspired by the history of inventions and discoveries from Faraday to Steve Jobs.

    I spoke to a student who made a first-class in history and international studies recently, and she had only a vague knowledge of the civil war. If a first-class student had a fragmentary knowledge of our most sanguinary chapter, our bloodlust of brothers, imagine the young men of IPOB and MASSOB who know little about that time of crushed bones and seared consciences. The first-class student confessed she was more interested in the international aspect of the studies.

    Today, we are assailed by the herdsmen. Before we saw them as a metaphor for bloodshed, the herdsmen were mere curiosity to southerners. They and their cattle were mysteries. We saw them roll past on roads, in the aisles of forests, on lush grasslands. It was a mystery that overwhelmed poet J.P. Clark in his famous poem, Fulani Cattle. He wondered: “The whip no more/on your balding mind and crest/arouses shocks of ecstasy.”

    But it is not the whip that arouses shock today, but guns and the omen of death rather the “secret hope or Knowledge…” that imbues the cows with the courage that leads them “not demurring or kicking…to the house of slaughter.” Clark wrote this about an idyllic vista. Today, the slaughterhouse has changed. The abattoir has been redefined in homes and farmlands and bush paths and human alleys and streets. I received a response in the form of a full-length article to my column last week from the National Secretary General of the Gan Allah Fulani Development Association (GAFDAN), the umbrella body of the Fulani herdsmen. His name is Sale Bayari.

    This newspaper published it last week in full. His arguments were self-serving. He said the Nigerian cows are of the breed not suited to a sedentary condition. They have to roam to survive. That is an anachronistic view of biology. All biological beings survive. Even humans remain in prisons for life and do not die. Nature is about adaptability and not surrender. Americans who now build ranches once roamed as I traced last week. History has shown that this is possible. In his article, he should have followed the path of the Northern Governors Forum who argued that the guys doing the slaughter are not Fulani but infiltrators. Governor Kashim Shettima made this point. This brings a new dimension to the story.

    What it means is that we have a bigger trouble on our hands. We hear that many of them do not speak Hausa and they come from outside the country. So why did GAFDAN scribe not make this point? Secondly, who are these infiltrators? Are they new incarnations of Boko Haram? If true, what is our security branch doing about this? Why did they not know this? More, if it is true, why have the members of GAFDAN not alerted the world and openly separated themselves from the hordes of slaughter?

    If it is true that other incidents were perpetrated by feral interlopers, the Agatu slaughter was undoubtedly the work of Fulani herdsmen. GAFDAN confessed it butchered the Agatu men and women and children as vengeance. This calls for a serious investigation.

    It is time for ranching, not grazing reserves if the reserves will divide us. The lands belong to locals and locals should not be coerced to give up their lands. It will trigger the conscience of sovereignty. Ranches with parking plants are possible. We need imaginative leadership to effect this. Civilisation is about bending nature to human will. Just as the cattle should adapt, so should our agricultural lands. If we have better organised farms, herdsmen will not have excuses for predation. Herdsmen versus farmers is a collision of wild anachronisms, the sort of metaphor that Jack London graphically paints in his immortal novel, A Call of The Wild, about human savagery by the agency of dogs.

    The story is getting to the heart of the Nigerian fibre, and it is time for all to allow commonsense prevail over a fighting sectarianism or ethno-religious bias. It is good that efforts are now being done by north and south governors to close ranks. But nothing will happen until the bad eggs are fished out and punished according to the law.

    We are making history, whether good or bad. Someday, a generation will have to learn from these times.

  • Time to move on

    IT’S over and done but the heartache lives on inside. This lyric from Mariah Carey’s song, Destiny child, captures Desola’s mood at the moment. The events of the last two weeks woke her up from emotional slumber and she is now in the realm of reality.

     Tears, tears and more tears. Would the tears stop running, would she find love again or what can she do to get out of this emotional mess ?The first two months was a disaster but gradually she began to pick up the pieces again. On the surface, it looked like all was well but, deep down, our dear friend knew that she needed a break to get over the emotional ordeal. She decided that it was better to take a break for six weeks.

    Her half sister lived in South Africa and she thought this was the best time to pay her a visit. It was something that she had always wanted to do but, somehow, she found it difficult to make out the time.

    It was fun and in a short while Desola met new friends and it helped the healing process. She attended a number of parties and social events . Unfortunately, a week before the end of this memorable holiday, Desola had a car accident.

     What a pity! The pain was simply unbearable and the trauma made her forget the sweet memories she had just experienced.

    The first few days and weeks were very traumatic for her. The head and arm ached so badly and she wondered why it chose to happen at this point. As a matter of fact, the strain reminded her about the bitter memories from her last relationship.

    Falling passionately in love with someone is one of the most exhilarating feelings that you can experience. First, it catapults you to the sky, making you soar as if you had wings and you are flying high in the sky. Conversely, when love ends, it feels as if you have been dropped like a rock in mid-air. You scramble to grab a hold of something, just anything, as you witness your body falling at great speeds, and then shattering in ways you never imagined.

    Whether we’re talking about breakups, or facing the reality of a one-sided romance, it is painful. So much so that it disrupts our normal flow of experiences, causing us to not function normally.

    Sometimes, the pain of lost love is so intense that it can shake our beliefs about romance and relationships. When these emotional bruises are not understood and have not healed properly, they become invisible baggage that drag with us into the next relationship.

    When we fall in love with another person, we are essentially experiencing the love that was within us all along. The person is merely acting like a mirror reflecting our soul back at us. Technically, we can’t “fall” in love, because we are already made of love. The other person, much like a musical instrument, is the catalyst allowing us to recognise the beauty that’s already within us.

    Because of our lack of understanding that love resides within us, and that we actually have the power to invoke it on our own, we credit it to the other person for giving love to us. This feeling is so strong and extraordinary that we become addictive and possessive. We want to capture it and keep it fixed, so that we can  at last  keep this heightened feeling forever.

    One other thing that we need to understand is that everyone and everything is in a constant flow of change. The changes in us and in our external circumstances are inevitable and undeniable. When we change, the dynamics of our relationships change  not just romantic ones, but also friendships, family ties, and our relationships with co-workers.

    Over time, some relationships strengthen and some grow apart. When people grow apart, it doesn’t mean that either one of them was a bad person, but rather that they’ve learned all that they needed to from the other person, and that it’s time to move on. To make a relationship work, no matter the odds, it is better to always trust and try to forgive. You must also remember to focus on the things your partner does right, not only what he or she does wrong.Positive reinforcement is an age-old concept used with children and even the training of animals. But it’s still important for fully grown adults too.

    Assigning blame will cause the other person to either get defensive or feel worthless. Neither of those feelings promotes peace in a relationship. When blame enters into the conversation then one person becomes the victim and the other becomes the reason why bad things are happening. Does that sound like a platform for a loving and peaceful relationship? You are in this relationship together and assigning blame just creates a separation in your partnership.  Resist the temptation to assign blame, band together, and work through the situation like partners.

  • A good time for auditory impairment?

    A good time for auditory impairment?

    This is one of such times that I really appreciate Opalaba. He sat and walked with elders and has been instrumental to my learning a bit of their wisdom. When he once told me of his wish to be hearing impaired even for a season, I thought that he was crazy. Then he repeated the wish, suggesting that what prevents us from auditory impairment also prevents us from a happy state of mind. How true!

    In the last few days, I just wish I had no ears. The cacophony of lousy news that have passed through my ear canal have been dangerously depressing.

    Take the fiasco that has been the lot of Budget 2016. First, it was lost and found. That never got explained. Then it was padded and unpadded. By whom and for what? We were not told. Then it was passed. And we praised the Almighty in anticipation of the goodies that will flow. Then in his wisdom, PMB decided to verify if it was a fake, the proverbial oja okunkun or deal of darkness. And behold, he found plenty to worry his honest soul.

    The accusation and counter-accusation followed. Was the Lagos-Calabar rail project there originally? Was it surreptitiously added? Was it passed by the Land Transport Committee? etc. And we got a house of senators divided against itself.

    The committee that vetted and passed the rail project provision confirmed that it did. However, the Appropriation Committees in their wisdom removed it. Why? Well, if it wasn’t in the main budget, then it must have been a padding. Therefore, it cannot be included. It may also just be that the committees resented not being directly informed or involved by the minister. Anyway, they axed the rail project.

    But there was provision for the rail project even in the original budget. This was the billions that the Appropriation Committees found hanging on a tree inside the budget document. Absence of goodwill prevented the committees from asking the necessary question: what is this amount for? Doing so would have resolved the problem. Instead, they decided to share the hanging allocation over their favoured projects. And now it sounds as if it’s a north-south palaver. I am having headache already!

    But there is more to vex the ears and this one is capable of turning a simple headache into a migraine attack. Senate President is charged with violating the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau. He protested and initially refused to appear. When he finally did, he fought hard to stall the proceedings. He contested the legality of the body. It wasn’t a court, he claimed. The Supreme Court ruled that it was. Then Senator Saraki approached the Federal High Court with a plea to find the CCT incompetent because of its composition and the investigation of its chairman by EFCC. The assigned judge was about to deliver his judgment but chickened out because of media outcry accusing him of corruption and favouritism.

    The case went on with lurid revelations about Saraki’s fat bank accounts, including hefty daily lodgments. The nation also got to know how he rakes in a monthly pension of N1.2 million from Kwara State even while he was earning regular income as senator.

    In the middle of the revelations at the trial, another bombshell hit the country by way of Panama Papers, a leaked information about offshore shell companies owned by the rich and famous worldwide. Saraki was featured prominently as allegedly having companies on British Virgin Island fronted by his wife. A prime minister of Iceland who was outed in the same expose resigned immediately from office. Saraki vowed not to resign just because of his ongoing trial at CCT. And since he denied that the Panama Paper leakage had anything to do with him, he hasn’t considered that as a ground for resignation.

    Meanwhile, the judge who had recused himself from Saraki’s case at the Federal High Court has, at the instance of Saraki, been ordered by the Chief Judge to deliver his judgment. The order was strange. But nothing is normal about what we have witnessed since the beginning of the 8th National Assembly under Chairman Saraki.

    One of the strangest is the new Senate effort to amend the CCB/CCT law which places the bodies under the SGF. Whatever the merit of the move, the timing is injuriously self-regarding. The Supreme Court had ruled against Saraki that CCT is a court of law. Taking advantage of that ruling, Saraki and his loyalists in the Senate have initiated an amendment to the law seeking to move the CCT out of the SGF’s office and to place it under the judiciary. Should the amendment succeed, how does it affect the ongoing trial? Needless to add, the timing is just as suspect as the timing of the invitation of the former Chairman of EFCC before Senate shortly after Saraki’s wife was invited by the EFCC last year.

    The mother of all headaches is the state of the economy and the groaning of the masses. We know that PMB inherited a complete rot. It’s his unfortunate lot as it happened back in 1984. And we know that with this kind of mess, it takes time for a nation to turn the corner.

    The US economy was in the tanks in 2008 as Obama campaigned for the presidency. And when Obama won, he had to battle the odds for his entire first term. It’s only in his second term that the situation started to change. That is in a country with all the endowments—material, intellectual, infrastructural and political, compared to Nigeria with all the deficits. It is important, however, to get right the medication that the disease needs so that we don’t worsen the ailment.

    When SGF declared recently that the Federal Government borrows an average of N600 billion monthly to pay the salary of its workforce, I saw my blood pressure run out the window. For I had thought that salary payment issue was a state malady. When I read that my state governor had just reached an agreement with labour to dedicate a hundred per cent of federal allocation to salary payment, I shuddered at what this means for the development of state which I am aware he cares so much about.

    There is a structural problem. A state or a nation cannot devote 60-90 per cent of its resources to salary and allowances and expect to develop. If productivity is high, we may expect that the salary going out will bring in much more dividends. But when there is disenchantment and hunger occasioned by non-payment of salaries due to scarce resources, productivity cannot be anything but low.

    The private sector, which should be the driver of economic development and therefore the major employer of labour, is unable to play this role because we have for long neglected the creation of the conditions for the private sector to do that. We have neglected infrastructure. When the money was flowing like a river in the rainy season, we squandered the opportunity.

    No less culpable is the indiscipline that characterises the hiring of civil servants. When I marvelled at the high percentage of resources going to salary payment and wondered aloud how it was possible that states don’t cut their coats according to their clothes, my friend who is familiar with the unenviable career of the rot gave me a tutorial.

    “It’s all politics”, he declared. “In the matter of appointment and dismissal of permanent secretaries, politicians hardly pay attention to the monetary implications. But if you retire a Permanent Secretary, you are bound by law to pay his salary till the end of his life. Now, you will hire a replacement, and that one will also earn his or her salary even if your successor retires him or her. Add to this the many cases of politically-motivated employment of junior and middle level officers into the system.”

    Does it matter that expending the entire resources of a state or the nation on less than 10 per cent of the population is morally outrageous and economically imprudent?

  • Ritual Killings: Time to sweep out all hide-outs

    SIR: The persistence of cases of ritual murder, merchandising of human body parts increasing spate of armed burglary and robbery are troubling in a country with a still- functioning state apparatus. This situation is an affront to decent society and should be a cause for alarm for Nigerians and the federal government.

    The Nigeria Police, security and intelligence agencies, government’s town planning and development control departments, religious leaders, citizens, professionals involved in the building trade, other concerned Nigerians and  community leaders have their parts to play to bring these acts of savagery to an end in Nigeria without delay.

    With the ready accessibility of services such as Google Earth, every physical structure in Nigeria and anywhere in the world can be located, mapped and tracked. Drones are now quite cheap and can be mounted with security cameras for detailed scanning of difficult to reach places. A database of owners of all properties should be available to security agencies to aid crime-fighting and protection of citizens.  The Nigeria Police should find these tools handy in their effort to systematically sweep through every community in Nigeria for effective security surveillance and arrest of criminals who continue to give our country a bad image.

    President Buhari should as a matter of priority, give the marching order to the  Police and other agencies to jointly carry out exercises this year to rid Nigeria of this embarrassment and free citizens from fear as they pursue legitimate daily needs.  In addition, the long talked-about Community Policing Blueprint should be rolled out and implemented to fill the security gaps now evident in the country.

     

    • Oteniese Ozioga Amune (Oteniese), Igarra, Edo State.