The Nation Newspaper

Tag: unholy

  • Unholy wedlock

    Unholy wedlock

    •The country deserves to know why students leapt into the rites of marriage

    A marriage is “the legally or formally recognised union of two people as partners in a personal relationship (historically and in some jurisdictions specifically a union between a man and a woman).” If it is a union between a man and a woman, it then means it is an affair for adults. It is celebrated with fanfare in many places, with elaborate western and traditional ceremonies that sometimes gulp a fortune.

    Although marriage, unarguably the foundational relationship for all society, has been having hiccups in modern times, with divorce rates on the upswing, the bastardisation of the institution got to new lows when some students of Sa’adu Zungur’ Model Primary and Secondary School in Bauchi State decided to be joining themselves in what apparently is unholy matrimony, after the male students would have paid a token as bride price to their intended ‘spouses’  A newspaper reports that “male students paid N500 as dowry to their female counterparts as precondition for their marriages, while classmates of both the ‘grooms and brides’ contribute money for refreshments at the ceremonies usually conducted secretly.” The ‘deal done’, what follows can be left to conjecture. In a school where male and female students study in separate classrooms, this must have come as a rude shock to the school authorities and the Bauchi State government.

    Apparently this practice had been going on for some time; however, the last straw that broke the camel’s back was when a Senior Secondary School 2 (SS2) student (name withheld) organised one such illegal wedding in the school. The ecstasy and noise generated by the illicit union attracted teachers to the scene. Stunned by what they saw, the teachers alerted the school authorities and the principal, Malam Ahmed Zailani, immediately informed the state ministry of education. The deputy governor, Nuhu Gidado, who oversees the education ministry has since ordered the school shut and set up a committee to look into the ugly development “and come up with a detailed and sincere report before the school would be re-opened.”

    We cannot agree less.

    We know that students play many pranks and that as they grow up, they drop some of these pranks. But what the students involved in this matter have done is beyond being dismissed as one of those pranks. As the deputy governor rightly observed, the student’s behaviour only mirrors the degree of moral decadence in the land and it should not be tolerated.  Already, there is so much depravity in the country, especially among youths, particularly students. When people marry, one of the natural privileges is uninhibited intimacy between the couples. Could the students therefore be working towards this with their illegal marriages? Since the marriage by the SS2 student was not the first in the school, it would be interesting to find out how those who had done it before have been coping. Have there been instances where some of the ‘wedded’ students got pregnant? Do they have unfettered access to their spouses, etc? These are some of the questions that the committee would do well to provide answers to.

    We commend the state government for intervening promptly in the matter before the practice begins to spread like bush fire. Students are sent to school to study so as to be able to better their lot in life and also impact their society; not to marry. It would not be out of place though for the government to counsel the students on the need to get their priorities right. Marriage and pregnancy cannot be the focus for students; rather, they should be concerned about how to live a comfortable and meaningful future, a thing which only education, by and large, can guarantee.

  • Governors’ unholy alliance on minimum wage

    SIR: Never in the history of Nigeria has hope been hopelessly dashed, faith rudely compromised, promises wilfully and consciously  broken, resources squandered, priorities brazenly misplaced and confidence betrayed as witnessed today in Nigeria.

    I salute the resilience and courage of the Nigerian workers who have suffered for too long. Nigerian workers are the most abused and undervalued in the world because their salary is grossly inadequate and not being paid as and when due. With ¦ 18,000 monthly, they still run a mini-government for themselves by providing for their family what the government ought to provide for them such as light, water, security, transport, apart from their normal feeding and school fees, medicals etc.

    With all these responsibility shifted to them by the government, it is pure wickedness akin to terrorism for any governor to say that ¦ 18,000 is too much for the lowest worker in Nigeria. When a leader is suffering from mental fatigue, his only option to economic challenges is reducing the salaries of poor innocent civil servants whose take home pay cannot take them home. In civilised climes, leaders are reviewing wages upward, creating employment to discourage the youth from terrorism, kidnapping and other type of social vices which are all siblings of unemployment. A society like Nigeria that ought to create employment due to the high spate of insecurity that has skyrocketed to unprecedented proportion in the country is now contemplating policies that will compound the security situation. You don’t solve a small problem by creating a bigger one.

    It must be made abundantly clear that when the economy was in boom, instead of them to create an enabling environment where economic activities would thrive, governors were busy fashioning out economic policies that promote private selfish acquisition. They were busy measuring their success with the number of latest cars, houses in choice areas, concubines etc against one another. It was enjoyment galore for them.

    Also, it is important to recall that when the oil boom was at its peak, Nigeria was selling its crude above its benchmark price. That necessitated the establishment of the Excess Crude Account by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration to act as a stabilization fund, closing budget deficits caused by oil price volatility. The fund was designed to enable savings for the rainy day. The governors under the umbrella of “Nigerian Governors Forum” led by the now Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki in 2008 instituted a lawsuit at the Supreme Court against the Yar’Adua government calling for the sharing of $15 billion from the ECA. From that moment it was sharing galore. Such funds would have been very useful now that the price of crude is on a free fall.

    I will like to emphasise that most of these governors rose to the apex of power by dint of sheer luck and got overwhelmed by the behemoth of the office. Leadership is not a snap. It is a position that is gruelling and tedious. Unfortunately, we have leaders who do not like the grind but preferred the grandeur of the office.

    My advice for these governors is to sacrifice by cutting down all wastefulness under any guise such as security vote, irrelevant ceremonies, numerous special aides and assistants, humongous allowances, and other inflated contracts which have constituted the drain-pipe of resources.

    Any attempt to form a cartel against the minimum wage will be resisted by Nigerian workers. This might just be the last straw that will break the camel’s back.

     

    • Abiodun Aladetan

    Lagos

  • Unholy oil

    Unholy oil

    •Ribadu report on the industry must be left inviolate and the guilty brought to book

    Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke now epitomises everything that impedes transparency in the oil and gas sector of the nation. To her, nothing goes wrong in that rotten sector. Any attempt to make her see the contrary stands scuffed. She has demonstrated this times without number before the National Assembly.

    We are afraid she might want to doctor the contents of the Nuhu Ribadu-led 21-member Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force set-up last February by President Goodluck Jonathan. The committee, an upshot of the mass protests against removal of fuel subsidy in the country last January was mandated, among others: To verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes and royalties) due and payable to the Federal Government: And to take necessary steps to collect all debts due and owed, and: To obtain agreements and enforce payment terms by oil industry operators.

    The committee came up with its findings in its 141-page report. Its submissions in the report handed over to Mrs Alison-Madueke are scandalous. The report clearly corroborates previous indictment of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the petroleum ministry for their lack of accountability and transparency in managing the country’s oil affairs.

    Through the committee’s report, about N86.65 billion earned in 10 years by the NNPC is allegedly missing: It wants billions of dollars of unpaid debts from signature bonuses and royalties to be accounted for. The committee shared the public position that the NNPC needs urgent surgical operation or be scrapped outright.

    We know that President Jonathan will officially receive the report Friday, other things being equal, but we admonish Mrs. Alison-Madueke not to change the content of the report earlier submitted to her by the committee. It is disgusting to note that the petroleum minister attempted to clothe the copy presented to her in fake robe by musing: “It is a draft…There will be some areas where the government may have a slightly different opinion … (and) will put its point of view to the committee.” This is despite Reuters, a foreign news agency’s confirmation that the report was labelled “Final Report.’’

    The President’s copy must be the ‘Final Report’ and not the opinions of Mrs Alison-Madueke and friends that have been sulking over the indictment that the subsidy-cum-oil industry in the country has become, especially under her leadership. Nigerians want real facts on the state of fraud in the oil sector, not unconvincing opinions of government officials that have always been part of the problems militating against its growth.

    The government must streamline forthwith the curious bumper profits made through sharp practices by multinational oil majors identified in the report. Something also has to be done about the indiscriminate issuance of oil licences by successive oil ministers in the nation without due recourse to due process.

    It would be unpardonable if we do not ask why international oil traders buy crude without any formal contracts just as NNPC continues to short-change Nigeria of billions of dollars by selling crude oil and gas to itself below the market rates. Multinational oil companies such as Addax, now a unit of China government’s-owned Sinopec, and Shell identified in the report to be owing Nigeria $1.5 billion and N137.57bn ($874m), respectively, in unpaid royalties must, among others, be forced to pay the debts. Furthermore, some people, no matter how highly placed, must also be fished out and held accountable for the hundreds of millions of dollars in signature bonuses that are allegedly missing.

    We call on the government to promptly issue a White Paper on this report so that all those involved in fleecing the country of billions of dollars of oil money, whether as individuals or corporate bodies, do not escape justice. The sanctity of this report must be protected.

     

  • ‘Mimiko, police, judiciary in unholy alliance against opposition’

    ‘Mimiko, police, judiciary in unholy alliance against opposition’

    The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) has described as alarming, the rate at which the security agents and the judiciary are working to arrest and imprison members of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Mr. Idowu Ajanaku, the Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy of the ACO, said many ACN members have been arrested on flimsy charges, which in most cases are masterminded by the Labour Party(LP).

    He said: “The latest of such is the arrest and remand of Olusola Adenodi in prison by Magistrate J.O. Kpemi of the Okitipupa Magistrate’s Court till October 28, despite that the charge is bailable. Also arrested and remanded by the magistrate are our members at Paraga Ward, Odigbo Local Government, Ikoya, Ilutitun, among others.

    “LP has concluded plans with the security agents to invade Ikale, Oshoro and Okitipupa to arrest our members because of the rising popularity of Dr. Paul Akintelure, Rotimi Akeredolu’s running mate, who is from the area.

    “We urge the security agents to desist from colluding with the LP. The judiciary, which should be the last hope of the common man, should not be used to settle political scores. It is instructive to note that the late General Sani Abacha could not cow Ondo people.

    “Mimiko and his co-travellers should learn from history. They should remember that the Ondo people are averse to oppression. It does not matter the amount of intimidation by the Labour Party, the people will rise against it and vote for a change that Akeredolu represents.

    “If Mimiko’s claim that he is popular is true, why is he using satanic devices against the opposition? It is his thugs that are attacking the opposition. It is his supporters who were caught with thumb-printed ballot boxes. It is his royal father-associates who are being caught with arms and ammunition. He is the one harbouring thugs in government-owned hotels with taxpayers’ money. Mimiko is desperate for re-election, but no amount of desperation will hoodwink Ondo people to change their mind. They will vote him out on October 20.”