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Tag: violence

  • Why Rivers govt must move against violence, by Peterside

    Why Rivers govt must move against violence, by Peterside

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has urged Governor Nyesom Wike to curb violence in the state.

    Peterside, in an article, titled ‘Politics and resurgence of violence in Rivers State’, bemoaned the resurgence of violence in the build-up to the re-run National Assembly and House of Assembly elections.

    The article said: “In the last two weeks, four events have occurred in the state to raise red flags relating to insecurity and electoral violence. The first was the slaughter of 24 persons in one day at Omoku in Ogba Egbema Ndoni LGA. The second was the attack on the military at Yeghe town in Gokana LGA by militant youths. The third was the burning down of the campaign office of Senator Magnus Abe at Bori, Khana LGA, by suspected political thugs. The last and perhaps most frightening was the attack on a bank and the engagement of citizens and the Police by robbers at the new GRA axis of Port Harcourt, crisscrossing all the way to Ikwerre Road.

    “That robbery and the shootout lasted for several hours on Wednesday, February 24, 2016. This renewed wave of violence is unprecedented in our history.

    “Like most states in Nigeria, Rivers State has always had some history of political violence since the 2003 general election. Nevertheless, what we are witnessing today is a dimension taken too far, especially before, during, and after the 2015 general election. It would appear that support for political violence as a means to win elections in Rivers State became the official policy of the party at the centre then. It has become worse with the judgment of the Supreme Court on the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition. That judgment seems to have inadvertently but tacitly given approval to a credo of get victory at all cost.

    “A number of reasons may be advanced why the state is now a hot bed of political violence. However, two rank highest in the equation. The first reason is the socio-economic outlook of the state traceable to and sustained by the activities of oil exploration companies and the peculiar geographical terrain of the delta. The perception that government and the oil companies have been unfair to the people and the environment of the host communities inevitably drew a battle line of ‘them versus us’.  Second, and more recently, violence in the state has been provoked mainly by the quest for power. Among politicians, there is a group, which obviously sees power as the only means of livelihood through access to the commonwealth.  It is obvious that some of the political actors of the 2015 electoral era in the state have actively sponsored, promoted and supported violence as a means to an end. The union of political violence and criminality has now gone full cycle in the state.

    “It is regrettable but true that in many communities in today cult gangs hold sway. They control the social and economic souls of the people, including traditional structures which have been rendered impotent. The cult gangs were armed by politicians in the build up to 2015 general election. Like Frankenstein monsters, they are now too powerful to those who armed them and had enjoyed pyrrhic benefits from their activities. The situation has so degenerated that nobody, including those who created the monsters, feels safe anymore. The physical landscape of the communities is painted with boys armed to the teeth and walking freely to the discomfort of citizens.

    “We are yet to feel the effect of any concrete action taken by the Nyesom Wike-led government to stem this worsening insecurity. A town hall meeting he held in Omoku on the urging of Andrew Uchendu degenerated into a display of power by way of suspending three local government Caretaker Committee chairmen and a strange order to security agents to kill suspected cultists . The aloofness of the government has promoted the view that it is behind the insecurity and reign of criminals in the state. Nothing challenges a government more than to lose the moral right to fight criminality. When a government fails in securing life and property, and does not show it is committed to fighting against those who threaten peace, the despair of the citizenry can best be imagined.

    “Today, the people are groaning under kidnapping, assassinations, robbery, political violence, gunrunning, harassment, and others. The question is how long are we going to live like this? It is most likely going to get worse with the re-run elections on 19 March. The warning signs are obvious.  Every day, stories of security breach dominate conversation. In such a situation, how might creative people generate business and other socio-economic ideas, or have the energy and will to see such ideas through?

    “The security agencies have their hands full. It is time for the government to make its commitment.”

  • Ambode seeks end of violence against kids

    Ambode seeks end of violence against kids

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will today launch a campaign against violence against children.

    Speaking at a briefing in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Alausa, Ikeja, , the Commissioner, Mrs Lola Akande, said children must be protected, cared for and loved.

    She said the campaign was part of efforts by the state to domesticate the national survey on Violence Against Children (VAC) launched by President Muhammadu Buhari last year.

    According to her, the survey by the National Population Commission (NPC), in collaboration with the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF), indicates that millions of children suffer violence every year.

    She said though the Child Rights Act had been domesticated into law in 2007, the VAC campaign will further deepen the strategies to reduce the alarming rate of violence against children.

    Mrs. Akande said besides the law, government has inaugurated the State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT), developed Domestic Protocol for Responder Agencies, the procurement of rescue vehicles and the establishment of more shelter and transit homes for victims and survivors of domestic violence.

     

  • Saraki decries violence

    Saraki decries violence

    Senate President,  Abubakar Bukola Saraki last night lamented reports of violence and deaths that trailed the rescheduled governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State.

    Saraki in a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu in Abuja said it was unacceptable that an election meant to produce a governor for the state was turned into a theatre of warfare with attendant loss of lives and destruction of property.

    He called on the security agencies already mobilized to the state to quickly restore peace, while urging them to ensure that the perpetrators of violence are identified, arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.

    He said, “The sheer level of violence that has been reported following the conduct of the rescheduled elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is absolutely unacceptable.

    “To descend to the use of force in a democratic process will no doubt negate and put a question mark on the outcome of the elections.

    “I call on the security agencies to quickly end the bloodbath and also ensure that those responsible for the violence are arrested and prosecuted irrespective of their political affiliation.” .

  • Violence of teenage love

    Violence of teenage love

    Increasingly, times are changing, and the world is witnessing unusual development, including teenagers or children- if you like –  falling in love and willing to kill to preserve their love. Medinat Kanabe takes a look at the rising spate of violence and killing by young people over love

    Ibrahim Ogunkoya is a 19-year-old, Oyingbo, Lagos boy with a big dream of becoming an international footballer. He had even begun pursuing his dream, as he had started playing for a local league football team.

    Things however came to a halt for him in September, when he was charged to court for allegedly murdering Toyin Eniola, who he claimed snatched his girlfriend. Ibrahim had in a moment of rage, stabbed Eniola in the armpit, inflicting on him a fatal body injury that eventually led to his death.

    The teenager, who has been remanded by the Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrates Court sitting at Oyingbo, Lagos state, was arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and murder. He now faces a bleak, bleak future.

    Another teenager named Funmilola was also recently arrested for attempting to kill 15 year-old Haliya Odunaya, a senior secondary school student for dating her boyfriend.

    Funmi, slashed Haliya’s neck during a heated argument and Haliya, severely injured and bleeding had to be rushed to Stars Clinic along Apapa Road, Ebute-Metta.

    It was gathered that Funmi, who is 16 had warned Haliya to stop dating her lover or face trouble.

    Just last week in Bauchi State, a 20 year old girl, Fatima Baba Isa, killed a 28 year old lady, Iklima Alhassan for dating her boyfriend, Nasiru Banki, 30.

    The above are just a few cases of boys and girls, who have killed or attempted to kill because they felt they were in love.

    Temilolu Okeowo, a pastor and founder of the Girls Apostolic Ministry of All Nations, New York and Girls Club of Nigeria spoke to The Nation on the matter, using her teachings as examples. She said the teen-age is that period when one can lay a solid foundation for one’s destiny, adding that once a teenager doesn’t get it right, there’s every likelihood that they’d have great difficulty fulfilling their destiny in the future.

    “The teen years are a critical period for learning and development foundation for a young person’s future. Opportunities missed at this period can never be regained. If young people don’t take advantage of these opportunities, they may never develop their full potentials,” she said.

    Okeowo, who teaches life skills based on the word of God, which she says doesn’t even permit teenagers to fall in love with anyone else but the man they are legally espoused to, says, “people should fall in love with only their husbands or wives.”

    “Pre-marital sex as far as I am concerned is a taboo for teenagers or anyone who is not married. I don’t encourage girls to have romantic relationships or boyfriends in their teens because to start with, there’s no mention or approval of boyfriend in the bible; secondly, it distracts them spiritually and more often than not, derails them from the path of their destiny. When your heart is clouded by romance, fantasies, love songs etc, how can the spirit of God which will ignite your inner mind and show you your divine path, function?”

    Asked if love can make teenagers kill, she said yes. “Love can make teenagers kill because when they fall in love, they do so passionately and lose all sense of proportion. Teenagers live in a world of their own, they allow their emotions to rule their intellect and they do everything with so much gusto.”

    In order that they do not get reckless, she said parents must first have God. Without the fear of God, she said no parent can effectively bring up a child the right way. As it is, she said too many parents have a faulty upbringing.

    “Aside this, the world out there is hostile and everyone wants to be loved and made to feel special. Parents have to love their gifts from God passionately and express it at every given opportunity before any wolf in sheep’s clothing takes advantage. So many parents are too busy to give their children the required attention, especially in their impressionable years when they are confused by divergent views about life.

    “Without wasting time, they must prayerfully, lovingly and appealingly discourage them by drumming the risks into their ears and letting them know the beneficial advantages in waiting till the right time.”

    She said the dangers of getting involved in romance and emotional relationships at a very early age include low academic performance, gangster-ism, unprotected and more frequent sexual intercourse, addiction to pornography, unwanted pregnancy, emotional distress, suicidal behaviour, abortion, early parenthood and dropping out of school.

    Parents speak

    Mrs Bose Ironsi of Women’s Rights and Health Project and mother of three said, children need the guidance of their parents to have direction in life. “For a child to have that kind of freedom to be able to fight over a boy or girl, it means there is something wrong in the home. Lack of communication between the children and parents is a big problem in some homes. Parents should be able to communicate with their children and give them all the necessary information they need to have at certain age, so that they will not go and get the information outside and get misled.

    “I am free with my children; I play with them, dance with them, listen to them and sing with them. Because of this, they can tell me anything and they listen to me. Parents should engage their children, understand who their friends are, have more close time with them, even if it means missing work for a day. Find out their talent and help them to pursue it, so they will be busy with it.”

    Mrs Ironsi also said children are very energetic, so parents should multi-task them and not forget to teach them sex education.

    Pastor Agu, another parent, said there are different types of parents; some encourage their children when they do wrong while some don’t.

    He said “It takes God’s intervention for people to lead good lives and it is the duty of parents to speak to their children. It is advisable that from the day a child is born, the parents speak into their ears, telling them what to do and not to do.”

    He said many parents are so busy that they leave their children in the hands of maids who don’t have the time to take proper care of them nor have the capacity to talk to them about life and what is expected of them.

    Another thing, he said “is the ‘I-don’t-care’ attitude of Nigerians, where they don’t make attempt to correct other people’s children. Children are for everyone, so let us correct them whether they are ours or not; otherwise tomorrow, someone will just walk into your kitchen and steal away your pot of soup.

    For Mr Patrick Onaighise, parents have a great role to play in correcting this wrong. He says, they should not pretend as if they don’t know what their children are doing, when in actual fact, they do. They should call them and speak to them about the possible consequences of their actions, should they make mistakes. “If you want your child to make you proud, teach them how to differentiate between, good, bad and ugly.

    He should know that if he gives the key to his room to his friends to rape someone, even if he doesn’t participate in the rape, he has committed a crime.” Onaighise said.

    A psychologist speaks

    When asked if it is possible for children to fall in love psychologically, Dr. Leonard Okonkwo, a clinical psychologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, said: “I like the fact that you said psychologically. There are different ways of looking at it: morally, religiously, psychologically. Psychologically, it is possible. Love or romantic feeling is an idealised feeling of attachment and it starts way back from the very beginning.

    “From the psychoanalytical point of view, when the child is between the age of 0-1, he possesses an instinctual libido, also known as sexual energy that develops in five stages. The first stage is the oral stage, when the child expresses sexual impulses through the mouth. This can be through feeding from his mother’s breast and from the oral exploration of his or her environment, i.e. the tendency to place objects in the mouth. He begins to form ego at this stage.

    “Then it moves to the anal stage, which is from eighteen months to three years, wherein the infant’s erogenous zone changes from the mouth to the anus (the lower digestive tract), while the ego formation continues. Toilet training is the child’s key anal stage experience.

    “The next stage is the phallic stage, which is between the ages of three and six years, where the child is involved in infantile masturbation and he is attached to the parent of the opposite sex. He is seen always touching his private parts and you hear parent threatening to cut off his penis if he doesn’t keep his hands away.

    “They gratify physical curiosity by exploring each other and their genitals and so learn physical differences between male and female and the gender difference between boys and girls.

    “”Then later on in life, he moves to the latent stage which is from six years to puberty, where the child consolidates the character habit he or she developed in the three earlier stages of psychological and sexual development.

    “The last stage is the adult sexual stage or genital stage, where they begin to have attachment and love relationships with the opposite sex. Also this stage is centred upon the genitalia but the sexuality is consensual and adult rather than solitary or infantile.

    So children can fall in love because it has to do with emotional attachment. For example, how old was Romeo and Juliet when they fell in love? The thing here is that, if there is a problem at any of the stages, there will be a problem of adjusting later on in life. But because of the parents’ threatening of the child and the society, the child may not go to the extreme.”

    Dr. Okonkwo also said that “Different levels of the influence of the parents or the society or what we call the super-ego, has different influences on the individual; so different people have different level of acceptability of the expression of these feelings. So such people are likely to get out of hand.

    “What I am saying is that the parents are the ones who say “don’t go there, don’t do this in the early stage, to keep the child away from these ills until they get to adulthood, when they are old enough to control their feelings.”

  • NURTW cautions against violence

    NURTW cautions against violence

    The Chairman of the Lagos State Council of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Tajudeen Agbede, yesterday urged members to keep the peace.

    Agbede spoke at an emergency meeting of the state council in his office.

    He said various factions had been reconciled at an Abuja peace meeting, chaired by the President, Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, last month.

    “We are going to carry everybody along whenever we are trying to reconstitute the branches.

    “It is going to be continuity galore and everybody will be carried along, hence no-cause for violence at the parks,” he said.

    The NURTW chairman appealed to those with issues in their branches to bring such issues to the state council for resolution instead of resorting to self-help.

    “Please, don’t take the law into your hands if you have grievances in your place, feel free to bring such issues to the state council.

    “l promise to always do justice to all parties in the dispute. Don’t engage in self-help, as it is not the best solution.”

  • Five killed as violence mars Bayelsa election

    Five killed as violence mars Bayelsa election

    •Four journalists escape death by the whiskers
    •Card reader fails to recognise Jonathan again; rejects Dickson, wife, mother

    The guns boomed yesterday in Bayelsa State as voters went to the polls to elect a new governor for the next four years.

    Five people laid dead by the time the guns went quiet.

    Four journalists covering the election were, however, lucky, having escaped death by the whiskers the previous night during an attack by hoodlums at Odioma, in the Brass Local Government Area of the state.

    The two main parties in the election –Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) traded blames over the attacks.

    The card reader again failed to recognise ex-President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience, at their first attempt in Otuoke.

    There was a similar occurrence during the March presidential election which he lost.

    Four of those feared dead were killed  in Oporoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government  area when a supposedly repentant militant led his men on an invasion of the community in the wee hours of the day apparently  to disrupt the distribution of electoral  materials.

    Three of the invaders were reportedly killed as the Joint Military Task Force (JTF) tried to repel the thugs.

    It was gathered that the spate of shootings forced many of the residents to stay indoor for fear of being hit in the cross fire.

    “Several shots were fired to scare the people and pave way for the carting away of the election materials but the security operatives attached to the area were up to the task,” said one source.

    About 45 suspects were subsequently arrested by security operatives.

    Shooting was also reported in Brass and Nembe Bassambri.

    In Nembe, a member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Princess Ingo Iwowari, was reportedly attacked and stripped of all her belongings, including cash.

    The Bayelsa State Police Commissioner, Mr. Nasiru Oki, confirmed that arrests had been made and the situation brought under control.

    Governor Henry Seriake Dickson  who is seeking re-election on the platform of the PDP, said one of his supporters was killed while  the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, said four persons were killed by PDP  thugs.

    Dickson condemned the violence perpetrated in parts of the state allegedly by the APC that resulted in the killing of some persons during the electoral process at the weekend.

    Speaking to reporters  shortly after casting his vote at polling unit 5, ward 2 Oruerewari in Toru Orua, Sagbama local government area,  the governor commended the people of the state for showing determination to exercise their franchise despite intimidation and harassment by the APC.

    He said: “I have received disturbing reports of premeditated attacks on my party supporters in Twon Brass, and attacks sponsored by the Minister of State for Agriculture, Heineken Lokpobiri, Teco in Ekeremor town and another attacks on the PDP supporters in Oporoma resulting in the death of at least one person.

    “I am not convinced with the steps that the federal controlled security agencies have taken in creating a conducive, safe and secure political environment for voting to take place”

    Commenting on the epileptic performance of card readers in some polling units, he expressed unhappiness over the malfunctioning of the card reader as the machines was unable to capture the biometrics of his family.

    “In spite of trials and assurances, you all saw that my fingerprints were not recognised, same for my wife and mother. So we have a serious problem as far as the so called smart card readers are concerned,” he said and hoped that “we don’t continue to portray ourselves as an unserious and fraudulent country, manipulating anything and everything.”

    The APC rejected the accusation and said it was the PDP that imported over 5000 thugs into the state to perpetrate violence.

    The party in a statement signed by the Director Media and Publicity, Sylva/Igiri Campaign Organisation (SICO),Chief Nathan Egba, said “We have it on good authority that Governor Seriake Dickson imported over five thousand thugs from neighbouring states of Delta and Rivers state to cause violence in the election.

    “The unknown faces now in most of the riverine communities of Bayelsa State have been terrorising the people with gun shots to scare people away from the polling units.

    ”The wave of attack has confirmed our fears and alarm earlier raised that Governor Dickson was the one planning to cause violence.”

    He named the affected communities as Oporoma in Southern Ijaw LGA, where the APC State Chairman, Tiwei Orunimighe, hails from, Nembe LGA, Brass LGA, home of the APC candidate, Sylva, and Ekeremor LGA, home of the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.

    “In Nembe-Ogbolomabiri yesterday (Friday), two APC members were shot until the Military Task Force ordered every resident to go into their houses and remain in-doors.

    “In Sagbama town, headquarters of Sagbama Local Government Area, one APC supporter was attacked. Sagbama is the local government of Governor Dickson, who is the PDP candidate.

    “In Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government, it took the Military force to repel the PDP thugs, who had planned to snatch the sensitive election materials. Four persons were reportedly killed in the gun battle”, he said.

    He said that on Friday evening it took the intervention of the Joint Task Force (JTF) to repel the thugs and whisked the former Governor and his entourage away.

    “Four journalists on the train of Chief Sylva were missing in Odioma for several hours after the gun shots. It took the efforts of the JTF and local vigilante group to rescue the journalists from their hiding late night of Friday.

    The journalists were Mike Odiegwu of The Nation, Sam Oluwalana of The Guardian, Simon Utebor of  Punch and the newspaper’s (Punch’s) photo-journalist, Sodiq, who came to Yenagoa from Lagos to cover the election.

    “In Opolo town, the APC Ward 5 Campaign Organisation, Utovie Egba, was matchetted by PDP thugs, when they prevented APC polling agents from gaining access to the centre,” he said.

    He said that a few hours before commencement of accreditation of voters for the 2015, the country home of the Minister of state for Agriculture and Director-General of the Sylva/Igiri campaign organization, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri came under attack by gunmen.

    He said some thugs suspected to have been hired by the PDP from Delta state stormed the residence of the minister at Ekeremor town, Ekeremor Local Government Area in the morning.

    He said the thugs overpowered security men deployed in Ekeremor and made their way into the minister’s compound causing mayhem with Senator Lokpobiri and others trapped inside the house.

    He said: “While the security personnel attached to the minister were making attempt to restore the situation, the attack intensify as the PDP thugs said to be led by one Tolu Amatolo intensified attack and took over the entire community.

    But the PDP said APC thugs also attacked its members during the election.

    The party said the Special Adviser to the Bayelsa State Governor on Inter-Party Matters, Mr. Austin Adigio, and three other members of the PDP in Okpoama and Eweama communities of Brass Local Government area of the state were macheted in a bloody attack ahead of the election.

    Confirming the development, the Director of Media and Publicity of the Restoration Campaign Organisation (RCO), Mr. Jonathan Obuebite, said the attack in Okpoama and Eweama was one among the series of attacks unleashed by the APC against the members of the PDP across the state.

    Obuebite said,”We condemned the attacks on our members in Eweama and Okpoama communities. We call on relevant security agencies to investigate the incident and bring the culprit to book.

    “Nobody has the monopoly of violence. If the APC-led federal government fails to put a stop to this wanton display of federal might and sheer brigandage and violence being unleashed on us by APC in Bayelsa State, we will be helpless if our members resort to defending themselves. And in that circumstances, the outcome will be too disastrous for the federal government to handle. The federal government should be alive to the responsibility of neutron that nobody, no matter his position, abuses his office to support lawlessness.”

    Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and  electoral materials for yesterday’s election were held hostage for some hours by rampaging thugs inside the headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Council at coastal Oporoma, amid heavy gunshots, before the hoodlums were later repelled by military men.

    INEC immediately sent a gunboat to Oporoma to evacuate the electoral materials and its officials to Yenagoa, in order not to endanger the lives of the staff of the commission, before the soldiers eventually overpowered the daring thugs, who had to quickly beat a retreat, but thirty of the militants were arrested.

    Electoral materials earlier snatched in Ward 6 of Dickson’s Sagbama LGA were later recovered by the police.

    The card reader, again, failed to recognise ex-President Goodluck Jonathan at his Otuoke hometown in Ogbia LGA of the state.

    The card reader also failed to recognise Dickson; his wife, Rachael, and his mother.

    Accreditation for the election commenced early in Yenagoa, the state capital, but was delayed in other parts of the state on the strength of the violence by thugs.

    The Bayelsa governor, who was accredited at 10:45 a.m. in his Unit 4, Ward 2 of his Toru-Orua hometown in Sagbama LGA, was very angry that the card reader did not recognise him, his wife and mother.

    Sylva, APC governorship candidate was accredited at 11.41am along with his Wife, Alayingi Silva at Eseni Square, Unit 4, Ward 4 Okpoama-Brass.

    Sylva condemned the attack on Chief Heineken Lokpobiri’s house at Oporoma by thugs.

    He also picked holes in the many incidents of failed card reader, he, however, expressed optimism that having had a successful campaign he is certain of victory.

    He said that the intelligence of JTF led to the arrest. He also revealed that there were infiltrations by thugs of opposition parties from Delta, and Rivers State.

    “We got security reports of infiltrations by PDP thugs but it seemed to be ignored by security owing to maybe conflicting reports.

    “Here there is peace everyone is allowed to exercise his franchise. You can see that there is peace here.

    “My card was read well but while on the line I noticed many people were failed by the card reader. I want INEC to work on this technology, it gives me some worry, but in all it is going well.

    “The other party didn’t want election from what we can see with the proliferation of thugs and violence. The Minister was attacked, he called me that his house has been attacked, we called for security reinforcementý and he is safe now.”

    It was observed at Units 1, 2 and 3 of Toru-Orua, that youths working for the PDP stormed the area and chased away APC’s supporters. At Dickson’s Unit 4, Ward 2 in Toru-Orua, an APC supporter was beaten to coma for challenging the hired thugs.

    One of the observers met at Sagbama LGA, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, of the Women Arise, stated that the major problem in the area was the issue of card reader not recognising voters’ thumbprint.

    She said she observed that there was tension and anxiety in Sagbama LGA and other parts of the state, where she earlier visited with her team, while admonishing the electorate to continue to remain calm and be patient over the card reader challenge.

  • ADUNNI ADE SPEAKS AGAINST VIOLENCE

    ADUNNI ADE SPEAKS AGAINST VIOLENCE

    NOLLYWOOD actress, Adunni Adewale, who is gradually becoming a popular face in the Nigerian movie industry, has joined the train of entertainers to speak against violence on women.

    “So much more the world has to offer than constant black eye, bruised body, or emotional trauma. I applaud you @emmanuelikubese for strongly standing on your beliefs on Violence Against Women. I can only pray for anyone being who is in an abusive relationship. May you get enough strength to walk out, trust me it aren’t easy but very doable… Coz Adunni says so.”

    “Everything is gonna be okay… Open your eyes. #RAW Respect A Woman … Thanks @lillyafe for capturing this,” she added.

    To further make her stand known, she went out to show a portrait; where she looks battered. She wrote: “It is never ok to put hands on your significant other. A lot of us women have experienced this and try to stay in the relationship all in the name of love. Get out while you can.

    The single mother of two recently won the Most Stylish New Actress, 2015, at the 4th Glam and Essence Award held recently.

  • Violence in Dickson’s Sagbama area

    Violence in Dickson’s Sagbama area

    There are reports of violence at unit 3, 2 and 1 at Toru-Orua community, Dickson’s home town in Sagbama local government area.

    Gunmen stormed the polling units and chased away the All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters.

    At Dickson’s unit 4, ward 2 where card reader has started working, an APC supporter was beaten to coma for challenging the thugs.

    The security personnel are facing hard time in dealing with the situation.

    They seemed helpless though they are trying to restore normalcy at the four units in the community.

     

  • Govt, police warn parties against violence

    Govt, police warn parties against violence

    Bayelsa State government yesterday warned parties to shun violence before, during and after the December 5 governorship election.

    The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Esueme Dan-Kikile, at a news conference in Yenagoa, said peace was vital for a free, fair and credible poll.

    He spoke after Police Commissioner Nasiru Oki urged parties to avoid inflammatory speeches and hate campaigns, which could cause violence.

    Dan-Kikile enjoined the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies and other Federal Government institutions involved in the poll to be neutral, to ensure a level-playing field for all parties.

    He decried the violence allegedly perpetrated against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the opposition parties.

    Dan-Kikile said: “As the ruling party, we advise our members and supporters not to react or avenge attacks and provocation by the opposition parties’ supporters.

    “We will be law-abiding and peaceful in our campaigns. Our party believes in issue-based campaigns aimed at improving the lives of the people.

    “We have visited communities during our campaigns and seen the challenges facing our people. We have agreed as a party to develop a framework to affect communities in every facet of life.”

    Sympathising with the injured PDP supporters, he said the party reported the incident to the police and asked them to arrest the suspects.

    Dan-Kikile urged other parties to partner the PDP-led government to ensure that the December 5 poll was conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner.

    Oki said the police and other security agencies were ready for a peaceful election.

    He said the police gave the parties equal protection during the rallies, adding that this accounted for violence-free campaigns.

    According to him, the land and the riverine areas were policed to avoid a breakdown of law and order.

    On the killing of a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oki said the incident was being investigated, adding that the prime suspect had been arrested.

    He said: “We are investigating the killing. The suspect has been arrested. Members of two parties fought on where to place their banners. People were injured and one person died.

    “Attacks are being politicised here. If two women fight in their homes, they bring it as politics. Every quarrel is politicised. The way things are exaggerated is not as bad as that. All the same, we are on top of the situation. We have always told parties that immediately they apply for rallies, we will grant their request and provide security.

    “We make sure that two parties do not hold rallies the same day. I have issued a warning that quarrels should not be politicised.”

     

  • Entrepreneurship education, poverty and violence

    In April 2014, the Boko Haram terrorist group abducted 234 school girls from the North-east town of Chibok. This tragic episode captured the attention of the international media, with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, United States First Lady Michelle Obama and Nobel-prize winning school girl Malala Yousafzai joining a host of other celebrities in the international campaign to “Bring Back our Girls”. As at the time of writing, the whereabouts of the girls are still unknown.

    The Boko Haram insurgency started well before 2014. The group, originally known as Jama’atu Ahlus-Sunnah Lidda’AwatiWal Jihad (Arabic for ‘People Committed to the Prophet’s Teachings for Propagation and Jihad’) was formed in 2002 by radical cleric, Mohammed Yusuf. Over the years it came to be known by its core teaching that “western education is forbidden”. Yusuf was extra-judicially executed by security forces in July 2009, and the group became more violent. The bombing in August 2011 of the United Nations building in the capital city of Abuja confirmed a new dimension of Boko Haram tactic of targeting international buildings, government property and crowded places in series of suicide bombings. Over the years, these attacks have left scores of thousands dead, and millions of people displaced.  Internal Displacement Monitoring Group (IDMC) estimates that 3.3 million people have been internally displaced due to conflicts in Nigeria. Of this, 800,000 children have been displaced by Boko Haram violence alone.

    The rank of Boko Haram group is filled with the army of uneducated, unemployed and impoverished youth. They have become disillusioned with government, disaffected with the political elite, and are prime targets for Boko Haram recruitment drive. This is the background to the intervention launched in 2011 by the Centre for African Entrepreneurship and Leadership (CAEL), University of Wolverhampton, UK.

    CAEL’s project, a counter narrative to the Boko Haram propaganda, was based around the core idea that entrepreneurship education is the means by which unemployed youths can acquire critical skills to plan and develop their businesses. With these skills, it is hoped that these new ventures could grow and expand to become employers of labour, in the process contributing to national strategy to reduce unemployment and alleviate poverty.

    In 2012, CAEL launched its pilot project in partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (CEED), University of Maiduguri under which 190 people were given intensive entrepreneurship training. At the end of the training, a Business Plan competition was launched, and 40 trainees with the best business plans were given grants for new start-ups. Four years after, the owners of these enterprises were interviewed to assess the impact of the training provided.

    The participants were all emphatic in their assessment that the training contributed significantly to their improved knowledge and skills about business planning, record keeping, innovative advertising and improved approach to customer retention and customer service. Mohammed, one of the participants in the training, commented that:

    “The training helped me a lot as I gained a lot of knowledge about business strategy. Before the training at the University of Maiduguri I did not have much knowledge about the business. I know better now how to plan, invest my money, and motivate our customers. After the training I know better how to deal with companies who supply our goods. Before then I did not have much knowledge about how to control and manage the business. My business was growing quite well until the insurgency grew worse… The training helped me to advertise my business differently. So I went to the small hamlets and villages to get people to sell and buy my goods. Sometimes I give them my complimentary cards, encouraging them to call me. I also offer discounts for the retailers, to encourage them”.

    One of the women participants, Christiana, highlighted another crucial aspect of the intervention: the training of trainers who can then go on to others, often in the more remote areas. She thinks more investment is needed in this area, especially for women entrepreneurs who have been compelled into micro-enterprise by the necessity of poverty and violence, and are desperately I need of training:

    “I think we need more women who can train others. It is not enough to just give them money for subsistence. I think women should be given equipment and other support in kind, rather than cash, because if you just give them money, they might be tempted to purchase other things other than what they need for the business”.

    For these participants, entrepreneurship education is as important as military strategy, if not more so, to stem the tide of terrorists’ recruitment and violence. Mohammed observed that”the reason why Boko Haram has gained a lot of followers is because some people are jobless and others are illiterate.” Another participant, Modu, asserted that “entrepreneurship can help eradicate poverty” by focusing attention on skill training for young people “so that they can do something for themselves”. He, however, suggested that for this to work government need to show more commitment, for example by providing young entrepreneurs with tools and start-up funds, in addition to adequate training. He says it is important to make young people understand that “government cannot employ everybody. If people are made to realise that it is not through government that you must eat. You must do something with your hands. You must do something to sustain your life, and even help sustain the lives of other people.”

    The trainees spoke of their struggles and triumphs, and their high ambitions to grow and expand their business, even in the volatile environment of insurgency violence. There is no sense of resignation, or desire to seek quick easy escape from their violent ridden community. They are motivated by the prospect and hope of becoming successful entrepreneurs, not the fear or desire to become refugees. Christina recently won an international award for her fashion design business, and her clothing lines are now being advertised in Malta and Amsterdam. Mohammed speaks of his plans “to expand to other locations where there is good demand for my goods.

    “I want to have new branches in Kano, in Yobe (because Yobe is near Maiduguri). I will have another in maybe Bauchi, which is also near. I hope to employ like 50 people in the next four years.” Modu says.  “For now I have only one branch. I want to have like five branches within my locality. If possible I also want to expand my business to other states within Nigeria. I also want to employ more people. We are currently doing electrical work. We also want to incorporate building and carpentry work. We are hoping that in the future if government for example want to build an estate, we’ll be the one to handle such. By doing this we will be able to employ more workers.”

    This intervention has demonstrated that, given the right support in terms of training and tools, people in conflict-ridden environments are capable of making things happen in spite of destructive violence unleashed by terrorists.

    In a recent interview, Vice Chancellor, University of Maiduguri, Professor Ibrahim Njodi singled out the University of Wolverhampton for special praise for their vision and courage to partner with the university at a time other foreign institutions and organisations were scared away because of the insurgency. In one of the earlier visits, Njodi said, the partners from Wolverhampton “…spent about 23 days with us working on Centre for Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development which is now… coming up so strongly”. Professor Geoff Layer, Vice Chancellor of the University of Wolverhampton, said: “we are actively engaged in communities and societies around the world. This is why we have our Centre for African Entrepreneurship and Leadership, a new centre that we have set up to focus specifically on developments around needs within Africa, around entrepreneurship, how we bring some of our experiences, some of our learning, and share with organisations.”

    The University of Wolverhampton through the Centre for African Entrepreneurship and Leadership is currently embarking on a new phase of intervention with the partners at the University of Maiduguri. In addition to Maiduguri, there is an ongoing partnership with the Entrepreneurship Centre at Bayero University, Kano, another city affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. The progress has been encouraging, but there is still a lot to be done.

     

    • Dr Kolade is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Centre for African Entrepreneurship and Leadership, University of Wolverhampton