Pastor Tunbe Bakare is not just the senior Pastor of Latter Rain Church, but also a social critic and Convener Save Nigeria Group, in this interview with LEADERSHIP Lagos correspondent Ayodele Samuel, Pastor B as he is fondly call gave his recipe for a credible election comes 2011
Sir what inspire Sava Nigeria Group?
For also 45days Nigeria was headless and voiceless, after Late President took ill and was taken abroad for medical treatment the whole of the nation was waiting for a wayout apart from this we have understanding from series of revelation and which order we must taken , we summoned those we are in relationship with like Members of Afenifere Renewal Group, Members of Arewa, International for constitutional development Centre for we met at and we fixed an appointment for the 7th of January where we brought in civil society , It was in that hall of the 17th of January that the name Save Nigeria Group was given to the movement and we agreed to go to Abuja to protest that quiet contrary to we they thought was the order of the day according to Ogulafor, contrary to what thought was a road show it was a determined effort to bring an end to our headlessness and voicelessness so was what led to SNG and we thank God for the outing and sequence outing in Lagos , back to Abuja and Onikan Stadium now we are focusing on credible, free, fair and peaceful election 2011.
Sir, when I Tunde Bakare, I see a man that is not Fulfill with the present suaition in Nigeria
No Nigerian should be fulfilled because You are not an island on your own, when its everything is personal comfort, a place to lay my head, food on my table, education for my children whether within or outside the country I can afford it, whether the suffering Nigerian, no Nigerian with right thinking, we’re satisfied with the current situation of our country so you’re right.
So when will you be fulfilled
When will Nigeria becomes a force to be reckoned in the committee of nations. When the potentials of this nation are tapped maximally for the benefit of the people, when we have good governance, when the things that are strictly in order nations becomes a reality in our land like electricity, security, good health facilities, road network, infrastructure, then I know is a new day when Nigeria can competition vividly not only in the field of sport where we failed with our and worst eleven if in governance we have failed with our worst eleven, the worst of us have being ruining our country under the pretence that they are running it. I will be fulfilled when I see the best fittest, the most complement, men with cerebral capacity handling the affairs of our situation not just wambling through and try to anxigecity when they have a blueprint and following the blue print when we can compete with nations like Japan and we become the tourist centre of the world a nation to respect and reckon with.
Sir clear the airwave in the section of the media that SNG is being sponsor by fromer FCT minister Mallam El-Ruffia ?
I expect intelligent men to act intelligently, for example as a journalist part of your -responsibilities is investigation because I heard the rumour before not only from our former vice president now president who has never put a penny in my hand in my life or in the hand of anybody known to me. I’ve heard we are asking from OBJ, I’ve heard all kind of things by virtue of his being part of (three) 3G that is Good Governance Group that is El-Rufai, 3G being part of SNG,so many organization, its loose conglomerate, a coalition of different civil society organizations that come together to form SNG. The work everyone does in the corner of his room, each one will give account of it. But nobody will tell you not even El-Rufai himself that he’s sponsoring me, please give us some credit and there must have been some water in coconut even before rain fall.
El-Ruffai was not in Nigeria, the game has begun before El-Rufai showed up and but 3G was part of what we are doing. Everyone was levied, many of us put our resource together is not a one man show so you can say someone is sponsoring us. We have records of what we have spent, may be they think if you are among us you have run into billions, that is why they are having what I call vary imagination. Sorry, if I sound may a bit modest, I too big, to be sponsor by any sponsor not at this stage of my life and I don’t know anyone in our group who is cheap not in the steering committee.
His their any plan for SNG to transform to a political party?
SNG will not transform to a political party we have said it before
Alright sir coming to the 11 years of Democracy in Nigeria apparently ruled by PDP, How will you describe this 11years.
We thank God they didn’t push us into depressible because they also did, I was reading a new book by the autobiography of Awujale, he has captured the 8years rule of Obasanjo in that book. I will recommend that book for you to read, By now electricity should be on a better by now corruption should have been brought to a stand still and he wasted those 8years chasing shadows and if you add that 8years add it to 3years of Umar sickness and debate and all kind of afflictions on Yar’Adua, you know that we have gone from go slow trend new politics and all kind of leaders, those who have been on the helms of affairs of Nigeria especially of the PDP class, their have power for self and not for service and they have not really give good account of themselves mostly when you think of the resources they have at their disposal, look at conditions of our roads, the only thing they are beating their chest about is GSM, telephone that Nigerians citizen are burning their money to maintain everyday and the networks are bad and then they will claim some peace in the Niger Delta, in the name of amnesty, who should give the other amnesty, were they criminals of war its only criminals of you give amnesty , but the truth of the matter is it is better than military regime and we trust in 2011, a new corps of people who love this country and love this nation who understand good governance and who are accountable and responsible to the people of this nation will begin to emerge all around.
Sir, what are your recipes for a credible election come 2011.
We have started the rally in Onikan, we will need a credible voters register, we have consider the opinion that Jega we trust will not allow himself to be corrupted, some of the national commissioners should a credible people, when you have a credible voters register and you have credible personnel and that needed will now be citizen that are aware, that are conscious alert with responsibility so we are encouraging them to register in a place where they could vote, they should actually vote and select who they vote for, to make sure there are not selling their vote as we have done in the past, then to protect their vote so we need credible register, credible personnel, enabling environment, enabling legislation in Abuja on 14th of July by God’s grace we will spell it out in black and white, that it free, fair, credible and peaceful election, so that the police does not harass anybody they just stand there to make sure they want to protect them and do not play any partisan role at all. Also the politician themselves need to learn from the blunders of the past, not to create avenue for military adventures to hijack the sovereignty of the people one more time, so their should give out credible voter register, credible personnel running it.
On PDP Zoning and Jonathan running,
Jonathan is a Nigeria citizen, they have not being in the history of Nigeria, an incumbent president who not want to continue serving provided the law say so, Obasanjo wanted a third term, within the Africa continent perhaps the only person who have stepped down is Nelson Mandela, and he did so because of his age, and because he is a statesman, he came from prison to become president, he spent four year and he though he has done enough, step down and pass his baton, president Jonathan became by circumstances, so he now by God grace, he feel he has something to offer, those who are claiming it’s the turn of North should remember it was the north that chose him as Vice-President so he’s their choice, they should see it as a continuity of Yar’Adua administration, that is one way to look at it but I don’t want us to get stop in a major distraction, zoning is PDP agenda not our constitutional provision, PDP can do what ever they like to do with themselves, we are interested in a credible election, competence people those who are clamouring for zoning now, contested in 1999, Late Rimi, Atiku Abubaker wanted to contested against Obasanjo but their prevail on him not to contest, its their problem its their headache who ever their like, the Nigerians are not going to fold our arms and wait for them to play piporch with the destiny of a 150 million people.
What is your view on IBB’s bid to come back.
I think we are making him too important too relevant, I don’t want to comment on IBB, he was head of state for years and he didn’t achieve anything other than defrauding Nigeria and nullifying an election every Nigeria and international body called free and fair, he now wants to come back, I don’t think Nigerians will vote for him.
Nigerians will not let him come back, I don’t think we should spend our time on him; nobody should take him serious he enjoys seeing his name in the press.
Sir his their any plan for SNG to Transform to a political Party
SNG will not transform to a political party we’ve said if in many interviews. On television, radio and print medium. SNG is not transforming to a political society organization because if such organization is not in existence what happened during Yar’Adua illness will happened again. And then we will start marching again. We have to continue until total we restore voice to the voiceless, the people realised sovereign and understanding how power works so that people can see that true sovereign lays in their hands and they are responsible for what is they get. If they do what it’s right and sealed the right people Nigeria will not remain in this situation we have find ourselves.
So SNG is not transforming to a political parties. However, individuals in NSG, key operatives will be out of different political parties. Many of our members belong to different political parties and they are involved in the parties’ activities.
Sir what do you have for the Nigeria youths?
Shine your eyes , like one of the musician says, raise up the youth of the nation are the chokes of prosperity of that nation,
not days youths in the world the current of civilization would not flow backward , raise up every one from age 18 and above you constituted the biggest, the largest number of voters in Nigeria, let the people raise up and talk to one other use everything at you disposal, internet, MMS, blogs, twitter, facebook, if you can persuade your president through facebook to change his position on FIFA and Nigerian football team, let the youth use it to talk among themselves to say NO to a rogue in government, let stop calling a spade an agricultural instrument, they may not allow you to live broadcast because you may say something that will offend them but nobody can stop the internet from your house to communicate with your friends, its up to you, as you lay your bed so are you going to lie on it, if you are disarverse with what is going on raise up, and demand change because you have the right to do so, power is all about perception, if you don’t say in your mine that anybody has power against you, they can use it, the power you give them is what there are exercising, it’s time the younger generation raise up to take their destiny in their hands because these men will die and go and all their lootings will be abnorad and you continue to suffer, no job, their massive youth unemployment and there are taking to crime for all kinds of things, we can take up the nation now before its too late.
How can interested Nigerians Join SNG?
Just easy go Online go to www.govenigeriagroup.org it’s a simple process we want to know your antecedent, we want to know that you are really you say are, we don’t want Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson like in the present voters register.
What will you do if IBB decided to join SNG?
he will not dare because we will accept him, he’s not the type of character that we can have in our midst, he will be an unnecessary burden and nobody will want him, I don’t know and I don’t think anybody in our group wants him
Saturday, July 17, 2010
IBB is not Relevant- Tunde Bakare
Pastor Tunbe Bakare is not just the senior Pastor of Latter Rain Church, but also a social critic and Convener Save Nigeria Group, in this interview with LEADERSHIP Lagos correspondent Ayodele Samuel, Pastor B as he is fondly call gave his recipe for a credible election comes 2011
Sir what inspire Sava Nigeria Group?
For also 45days Nigeria was headless and voiceless, after Late President took ill and was taken abroad for medical treatment the whole of the nation was waiting for a wayout apart from this we have understanding from series of revelation and which order we must taken , we summoned those we are in relationship with like Members of Afenifere Renewal Group, Members of Arewa, International for constitutional development Centre for we met at and we fixed an appointment for the 7th of January where we brought in civil society , It was in that hall of the 17th of January that the name Save Nigeria Group was given to the movement and we agreed to go to Abuja to protest that quiet contrary to we they thought was the order of the day according to Ogulafor, contrary to what thought was a road show it was a determined effort to bring an end to our headlessness and voicelessness so was what led to SNG and we thank God for the outing and sequence outing in Lagos , back to Abuja and Onikan Stadium now we are focusing on credible, free, fair and peaceful election 2011.
Sir, when I Tunde Bakare, I see a man that is not Fulfill with the present suaition in Nigeria
No Nigerian should be fulfilled because You are not an island on your own, when its everything is personal comfort, a place to lay my head, food on my table, education for my children whether within or outside the country I can afford it, whether the suffering Nigerian, no Nigerian with right thinking, we’re satisfied with the current situation of our country so you’re right.
So when will you be fulfilled
When will Nigeria becomes a force to be reckoned in the committee of nations. When the potentials of this nation are tapped maximally for the benefit of the people, when we have good governance, when the things that are strictly in order nations becomes a reality in our land like electricity, security, good health facilities, road network, infrastructure, then I know is a new day when Nigeria can competition vividly not only in the field of sport where we failed with our and worst eleven if in governance we have failed with our worst eleven, the worst of us have being ruining our country under the pretence that they are running it. I will be fulfilled when I see the best fittest, the most complement, men with cerebral capacity handling the affairs of our situation not just wambling through and try to anxigecity when they have a blueprint and following the blue print when we can compete with nations like Japan and we become the tourist centre of the world a nation to respect and reckon with.
Sir clear the airwave in the section of the media that SNG is being sponsor by fromer FCT minister Mallam El-Ruffia ?
I expect intelligent men to act intelligently, for example as a journalist part of your -responsibilities is investigation because I heard the rumour before not only from our former vice president now president who has never put a penny in my hand in my life or in the hand of anybody known to me. I’ve heard we are asking from OBJ, I’ve heard all kind of things by virtue of his being part of (three) 3G that is Good Governance Group that is El-Rufai, 3G being part of SNG,so many organization, its loose conglomerate, a coalition of different civil society organizations that come together to form SNG. The work everyone does in the corner of his room, each one will give account of it. But nobody will tell you not even El-Rufai himself that he’s sponsoring me, please give us some credit and there must have been some water in coconut even before rain fall.
El-Ruffai was not in Nigeria, the game has begun before El-Rufai showed up and but 3G was part of what we are doing. Everyone was levied, many of us put our resource together is not a one man show so you can say someone is sponsoring us. We have records of what we have spent, may be they think if you are among us you have run into billions, that is why they are having what I call vary imagination. Sorry, if I sound may a bit modest, I too big, to be sponsor by any sponsor not at this stage of my life and I don’t know anyone in our group who is cheap not in the steering committee.
His their any plan for SNG to transform to a political party?
SNG will not transform to a political party we have said it before
Alright sir coming to the 11 years of Democracy in Nigeria apparently ruled by PDP, How will you describe this 11years.
We thank God they didn’t push us into depressible because they also did, I was reading a new book by the autobiography of Awujale, he has captured the 8years rule of Obasanjo in that book. I will recommend that book for you to read, By now electricity should be on a better by now corruption should have been brought to a stand still and he wasted those 8years chasing shadows and if you add that 8years add it to 3years of Umar sickness and debate and all kind of afflictions on Yar’Adua, you know that we have gone from go slow trend new politics and all kind of leaders, those who have been on the helms of affairs of Nigeria especially of the PDP class, their have power for self and not for service and they have not really give good account of themselves mostly when you think of the resources they have at their disposal, look at conditions of our roads, the only thing they are beating their chest about is GSM, telephone that Nigerians citizen are burning their money to maintain everyday and the networks are bad and then they will claim some peace in the Niger Delta, in the name of amnesty, who should give the other amnesty, were they criminals of war its only criminals of you give amnesty , but the truth of the matter is it is better than military regime and we trust in 2011, a new corps of people who love this country and love this nation who understand good governance and who are accountable and responsible to the people of this nation will begin to emerge all around.
Sir, what are your recipes for a credible election come 2011.
We have started the rally in Onikan, we will need a credible voters register, we have consider the opinion that Jega we trust will not allow himself to be corrupted, some of the national commissioners should a credible people, when you have a credible voters register and you have credible personnel and that needed will now be citizen that are aware, that are conscious alert with responsibility so we are encouraging them to register in a place where they could vote, they should actually vote and select who they vote for, to make sure there are not selling their vote as we have done in the past, then to protect their vote so we need credible register, credible personnel, enabling environment, enabling legislation in Abuja on 14th of July by God’s grace we will spell it out in black and white, that it free, fair, credible and peaceful election, so that the police does not harass anybody they just stand there to make sure they want to protect them and do not play any partisan role at all. Also the politician themselves need to learn from the blunders of the past, not to create avenue for military adventures to hijack the sovereignty of the people one more time, so their should give out credible voter register, credible personnel running it.
On PDP Zoning and Jonathan running,
Jonathan is a Nigeria citizen, they have not being in the history of Nigeria, an incumbent president who not want to continue serving provided the law say so, Obasanjo wanted a third term, within the Africa continent perhaps the only person who have stepped down is Nelson Mandela, and he did so because of his age, and because he is a statesman, he came from prison to become president, he spent four year and he though he has done enough, step down and pass his baton, president Jonathan became by circumstances, so he now by God grace, he feel he has something to offer, those who are claiming it’s the turn of North should remember it was the north that chose him as Vice-President so he’s their choice, they should see it as a continuity of Yar’Adua administration, that is one way to look at it but I don’t want us to get stop in a major distraction, zoning is PDP agenda not our constitutional provision, PDP can do what ever they like to do with themselves, we are interested in a credible election, competence people those who are clamouring for zoning now, contested in 1999, Late Rimi, Atiku Abubaker wanted to contested against Obasanjo but their prevail on him not to contest, its their problem its their headache who ever their like, the Nigerians are not going to fold our arms and wait for them to play piporch with the destiny of a 150 million people.
What is your view on IBB’s bid to come back.
I think we are making him too important too relevant, I don’t want to comment on IBB, he was head of state for years and he didn’t achieve anything other than defrauding Nigeria and nullifying an election every Nigeria and international body called free and fair, he now wants to come back, I don’t think Nigerians will vote for him.
Nigerians will not let him come back, I don’t think we should spend our time on him; nobody should take him serious he enjoys seeing his name in the press.
Sir his their any plan for SNG to Transform to a political Party
SNG will not transform to a political party we’ve said if in many interviews. On television, radio and print medium. SNG is not transforming to a political society organization because if such organization is not in existence what happened during Yar’Adua illness will happened again. And then we will start marching again. We have to continue until total we restore voice to the voiceless, the people realised sovereign and understanding how power works so that people can see that true sovereign lays in their hands and they are responsible for what is they get. If they do what it’s right and sealed the right people Nigeria will not remain in this situation we have find ourselves.
So SNG is not transforming to a political parties. However, individuals in NSG, key operatives will be out of different political parties. Many of our members belong to different political parties and they are involved in the parties’ activities.
Sir what do you have for the Nigeria youths?
Shine your eyes , like one of the musician says, raise up the youth of the nation are the chokes of prosperity of that nation,
not days youths in the world the current of civilization would not flow backward , raise up every one from age 18 and above you constituted the biggest, the largest number of voters in Nigeria, let the people raise up and talk to one other use everything at you disposal, internet, MMS, blogs, twitter, facebook, if you can persuade your president through facebook to change his position on FIFA and Nigerian football team, let the youth use it to talk among themselves to say NO to a rogue in government, let stop calling a spade an agricultural instrument, they may not allow you to live broadcast because you may say something that will offend them but nobody can stop the internet from your house to communicate with your friends, its up to you, as you lay your bed so are you going to lie on it, if you are disarverse with what is going on raise up, and demand change because you have the right to do so, power is all about perception, if you don’t say in your mine that anybody has power against you, they can use it, the power you give them is what there are exercising, it’s time the younger generation raise up to take their destiny in their hands because these men will die and go and all their lootings will be abnorad and you continue to suffer, no job, their massive youth unemployment and there are taking to crime for all kinds of things, we can take up the nation now before its too late.
How can interested Nigerians Join SNG?
Just easy go Online go to www.govenigeriagroup.org it’s a simple process we want to know your antecedent, we want to know that you are really you say are, we don’t want Mike Tyson, Michael Jackson like in the present voters register.
What will you do if IBB decided to join SNG?
he will not dare because we will accept him, he’s not the type of character that we can have in our midst, he will be an unnecessary burden and nobody will want him, I don’t know and I don’t think anybody in our group wants him
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Made In NIGERIA >>>> what policy
The Made In Nigeria policy by the federal government in the lingering problems of smuggling and products counterfeiting, poor infrastructure and rising price of industrial inputs, especially Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO), among others may not deliver Results, LEADERSHIP Ayodele Samuel take a look at some issues facing the manufacturing industry .
Recently the Federal Government through the ministry of Commerce and Industry flag off what should be call aggressive campaign for the use of made in Nigeria products by the citizen.
As at today noting is made in Nigeria , when most industry has been force to close down by unending failure of the power sector.
Power as the soul boaster of any economy has run many industry to close coy, early this year Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) president, Alhaji Bashir Borodo lamented that about 820 manufacturing firm have close down.
The sector wish has been blame by local industries has leave the country not to have a “made” for the past few years .manufacturers complain of high cost of investment in self generating energy are letter left out with gas shortage beaming them backward in production.
"Despite the potentials of the manufacturing sector as the engine of growth, an antidote of unemployment, a creator of wealth and the threshold for sustainable development, it has suffered severe decline in its contribution to national output. The performance of the sector fell from nearly 13 per cent in the early 1980s to about 4.13 per cent in 2008".
MAN said: "it is a matter of concern that between 2000 and 2008 about 820 manufacturing companies have closed down or temporarily suspended production.
Indeed, over 600,000 Nigerians are said to have lost their jobs owing to this pitiable plight of the industrial sector, with attendant socio-economic implications.
Ordinarily therefore what was expected from government are "desperate measures to tackle a desperate situation, there are no indications of government sensitivity to the negative manifestations in the industrial sector.
Also from the period of deregulation to date, industrial consumers have witnessed three price hikes, especially in Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).
"This was foreseen by us and about 18 months ago we made passionate pleas for the reduction in the price of AGO, and permission to partner with NNPC to import LPFO directly. Promise was given that evaporated promises.
MAN had protested these shocking price increases and drew the attention of the government to the imminent dangers of the collapse of industries which depends on AGO and LPFO to power their generators or boilers.
MAN reacting to banks' lending profile from 2003 to 2009 obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which indicated that the manufacturing sector received N3.9 trillion during the seven-year period as loans.
Comparatively, Communications got N4.974 trillion while Oil and Gas received N6.943 trillion, according to the CBN.
"Even the figure given by the CBN as loan to the manufacturing sector was lumped with imports and other things which would really bring down the figure that could be categorized as direct loan to manufacturers", MAN said.
"The banks are giving us a pittance. Yet, the CBN claimed that we receive more loans than our contribution to Gross Domestic Product. The truth is, banks consider us as a risk. And the reason is not far-fetched. They can see the poor infrastructure, which hinders our operation. However, our big brothers in the manufacturing sector still get adequate funding from the banks, partly because of their history".
Unfortunately, Borodo stated that the Bank of Industry (BoI) which should provide ready support to the industrial sector was not able to do so because of poor capitalisation.
According to Borodo: "BOI was promised N50 billion as capitalisation. But, all we were told they received is just N5 billion".
Also, the Chairman of MAN's Economic Committee, Mr Clement Olowokande, said the manufacturing sector was not getting enough funding support from banks.
Olowokande, who is also the Chairman of Berger Paints Plc, remarked: "We asked the former CBN Governor to give us a breakdown of the manufacturers who got the allocation, which was not provided. And we also said to them that funding assistance to the manufacturing sector should not be based on its contribution to the GDP as is being stressed by the CBN but on need. The sector should be given what is desirable, what is required to survive rather than being based on a given percentage. Secondly, you need to know the amount of local products we are producing in this country. We need funding assistance to satisfy local needs. If not, people will resort to importation and still pay FOREX, to the nation's detriment.
The textile industry had also suffer similar lose, before 1997, the Nigerian textile industry was the second largest in Africa after Egypt with over 250 vibrant factories and running above 50 per cent capacity utilization.
As at today about 60 out of existing 100 textile firms is shut, Record have it that, International Textile Industry (ITI) closed down its Isolo and Ikorodu factories both in Lagos, with about 800 people out of job, First Spinner Limited, Ikorodu, Lagos, closed down with about 500, Bhojr Textile Industry closed down with about 700 people out of job, Reliance Textile Ikeja, Lagos, closed down with about 500 people out of job. Fahibdayekh and Company Limited in Kano , closed down with more people sent to the labour market; Atlantic Textile Mill in Lagos was finally closed down in 2008 with about 800 people out of job after a partial closure in 2007.
In 2007, job loss in the sector was about 10,000 when the largest textile company in the country, the United Textile Mill in Kaduna State closed down with about 5,000 people sent to labour market. Atlantic Textile Mill in Lagos also partially closed down
It should be noted that the local textile market has a share of about 20 per cent of Nigerian textile products with the balance of 80 per cent being controlled by assorted imported fabrics.
Smugglers move in and out of the country with goods (only comes in with good and leave with cash) these whish pose a great treat to FG made in Nigeria Campaign
Custom effort to eradicate smuggling activities which have eaten deep into the economy and also cripple local industries has not been felt, as the market is over taken by smuggled goods.
Nigeria imports everything including labour since the university produce half bakes graduates yet the government embarks on Made in Nigeria Policy.
The British High commission said there is noting to export from Nigeria apart from crude oil, yet the government dreams of becoming one of the world economic countries in 2020.
Nigeria likes other developing countries like China, Brazil, India export en-mass to enrich there economy while the green land spend about 3 billion Us dollars annually on foods importation.
Agricultural products which our economy was based on in time past has been neglected, coco, timber, groundnut, palm Oil are no longer exported.
The level of decay in infrastructure will jeopardize the proposed made in Nigeria policy. With the poor infrastructure, local manufacturers have the problem of competitiveness.
Our product can not compete with international standard due it standard, Nigeria producers dish out best of sub standard to the teaming Nigeria buyers whom patriotic zeal to purchase made in Nigeria detorate their health or send them to early grave. Last week over 40 people were diagnosed of Gastro-enteritis after they were reportedly hit with severe stomach pains from consuming contaminated groundnut oil produce by a local company in Kano
But with all this challenges face the manufacturing sector of the country, Minister of Commerce and Industry , Chief Achike Udenwa maintained that Nigeria products are of high quality compared to products from other countries, He called on citizen’s to imbibe the virtues of consumer patriotism to Nigeria made product like the developed nations have done in order to have a strong industrial base.
Recently the Federal Government through the ministry of Commerce and Industry flag off what should be call aggressive campaign for the use of made in Nigeria products by the citizen.
As at today noting is made in Nigeria , when most industry has been force to close down by unending failure of the power sector.
Power as the soul boaster of any economy has run many industry to close coy, early this year Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) president, Alhaji Bashir Borodo lamented that about 820 manufacturing firm have close down.
The sector wish has been blame by local industries has leave the country not to have a “made” for the past few years .manufacturers complain of high cost of investment in self generating energy are letter left out with gas shortage beaming them backward in production.
"Despite the potentials of the manufacturing sector as the engine of growth, an antidote of unemployment, a creator of wealth and the threshold for sustainable development, it has suffered severe decline in its contribution to national output. The performance of the sector fell from nearly 13 per cent in the early 1980s to about 4.13 per cent in 2008".
MAN said: "it is a matter of concern that between 2000 and 2008 about 820 manufacturing companies have closed down or temporarily suspended production.
Indeed, over 600,000 Nigerians are said to have lost their jobs owing to this pitiable plight of the industrial sector, with attendant socio-economic implications.
Ordinarily therefore what was expected from government are "desperate measures to tackle a desperate situation, there are no indications of government sensitivity to the negative manifestations in the industrial sector.
Also from the period of deregulation to date, industrial consumers have witnessed three price hikes, especially in Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO).
"This was foreseen by us and about 18 months ago we made passionate pleas for the reduction in the price of AGO, and permission to partner with NNPC to import LPFO directly. Promise was given that evaporated promises.
MAN had protested these shocking price increases and drew the attention of the government to the imminent dangers of the collapse of industries which depends on AGO and LPFO to power their generators or boilers.
MAN reacting to banks' lending profile from 2003 to 2009 obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which indicated that the manufacturing sector received N3.9 trillion during the seven-year period as loans.
Comparatively, Communications got N4.974 trillion while Oil and Gas received N6.943 trillion, according to the CBN.
"Even the figure given by the CBN as loan to the manufacturing sector was lumped with imports and other things which would really bring down the figure that could be categorized as direct loan to manufacturers", MAN said.
"The banks are giving us a pittance. Yet, the CBN claimed that we receive more loans than our contribution to Gross Domestic Product. The truth is, banks consider us as a risk. And the reason is not far-fetched. They can see the poor infrastructure, which hinders our operation. However, our big brothers in the manufacturing sector still get adequate funding from the banks, partly because of their history".
Unfortunately, Borodo stated that the Bank of Industry (BoI) which should provide ready support to the industrial sector was not able to do so because of poor capitalisation.
According to Borodo: "BOI was promised N50 billion as capitalisation. But, all we were told they received is just N5 billion".
Also, the Chairman of MAN's Economic Committee, Mr Clement Olowokande, said the manufacturing sector was not getting enough funding support from banks.
Olowokande, who is also the Chairman of Berger Paints Plc, remarked: "We asked the former CBN Governor to give us a breakdown of the manufacturers who got the allocation, which was not provided. And we also said to them that funding assistance to the manufacturing sector should not be based on its contribution to the GDP as is being stressed by the CBN but on need. The sector should be given what is desirable, what is required to survive rather than being based on a given percentage. Secondly, you need to know the amount of local products we are producing in this country. We need funding assistance to satisfy local needs. If not, people will resort to importation and still pay FOREX, to the nation's detriment.
The textile industry had also suffer similar lose, before 1997, the Nigerian textile industry was the second largest in Africa after Egypt with over 250 vibrant factories and running above 50 per cent capacity utilization.
As at today about 60 out of existing 100 textile firms is shut, Record have it that, International Textile Industry (ITI) closed down its Isolo and Ikorodu factories both in Lagos, with about 800 people out of job, First Spinner Limited, Ikorodu, Lagos, closed down with about 500, Bhojr Textile Industry closed down with about 700 people out of job, Reliance Textile Ikeja, Lagos, closed down with about 500 people out of job. Fahibdayekh and Company Limited in Kano , closed down with more people sent to the labour market; Atlantic Textile Mill in Lagos was finally closed down in 2008 with about 800 people out of job after a partial closure in 2007.
In 2007, job loss in the sector was about 10,000 when the largest textile company in the country, the United Textile Mill in Kaduna State closed down with about 5,000 people sent to labour market. Atlantic Textile Mill in Lagos also partially closed down
It should be noted that the local textile market has a share of about 20 per cent of Nigerian textile products with the balance of 80 per cent being controlled by assorted imported fabrics.
Smugglers move in and out of the country with goods (only comes in with good and leave with cash) these whish pose a great treat to FG made in Nigeria Campaign
Custom effort to eradicate smuggling activities which have eaten deep into the economy and also cripple local industries has not been felt, as the market is over taken by smuggled goods.
Nigeria imports everything including labour since the university produce half bakes graduates yet the government embarks on Made in Nigeria Policy.
The British High commission said there is noting to export from Nigeria apart from crude oil, yet the government dreams of becoming one of the world economic countries in 2020.
Nigeria likes other developing countries like China, Brazil, India export en-mass to enrich there economy while the green land spend about 3 billion Us dollars annually on foods importation.
Agricultural products which our economy was based on in time past has been neglected, coco, timber, groundnut, palm Oil are no longer exported.
The level of decay in infrastructure will jeopardize the proposed made in Nigeria policy. With the poor infrastructure, local manufacturers have the problem of competitiveness.
Our product can not compete with international standard due it standard, Nigeria producers dish out best of sub standard to the teaming Nigeria buyers whom patriotic zeal to purchase made in Nigeria detorate their health or send them to early grave. Last week over 40 people were diagnosed of Gastro-enteritis after they were reportedly hit with severe stomach pains from consuming contaminated groundnut oil produce by a local company in Kano
But with all this challenges face the manufacturing sector of the country, Minister of Commerce and Industry , Chief Achike Udenwa maintained that Nigeria products are of high quality compared to products from other countries, He called on citizen’s to imbibe the virtues of consumer patriotism to Nigeria made product like the developed nations have done in order to have a strong industrial base.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The JOS we Know-- Reports from the media
Why The Jos Crisis Persists
Permanent peace may continue to elude Plateau State, the acclaimed 'Home of Peace and Tourism,' for a long time until the issue of Jos North Council, which is seen by the Hausa/Fulani community, maligned as 'settlers by the natives, as theirs, is settled.
Before the creation of Jos North Council in 1991 by the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida administration, the local council was an appendage of Bauchi Province, as a vassal local council, with loyalty to the authority running it as feudalism.
Even though Plateau is now an independent entity controlling Jos North, because of the said old umbilical cord between the Hausa/Fulani of Jos North and the defunct Bauchi Province that held sway, the Hausa/Fulani still see Jos North as their own.
So, the carving out of Jos North from the old Jos by the Babangida regime has not demonstrated any wisdom nor has it helped matters, years after, as the Hausa/Fulani see it as a council created for them and which, they must, therefore, run and no other person.
The bad blood between the natives and the Hausa/Fulani in the area started to manifest when during the military regime, one Mato was appointed as the caretaker committee chairman for Jos North Local Council. The natives from the council- the Beroms, Anaguta, Afizere and so on- protested vehemently until the appointment was reversed.
Also during the military, a military administrator appointed one Mukhtar Teacher as the chairman of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), which also met stiff opposition from the natives.
When it comes to politics, the Hausa/Fulani are more politically conscious, in terms of mobilising their people to come out to vote for their candidates. To them, any candidate they support must always win, because of their 'numerical strength' and their level of mobilisation. But no matter the odds, they must not win the chairmanship election of Jos North.
In the past, they won election into the House of Representatives through the All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP), and that has not changed, with Samaila Mohammed representing Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. They have also been winning the area's slots in the state House of Assembly on the platform of the ANPP.
So, why not the chairman of Jos North Local Council? It is assumed by all that whoever wins the chairmanship has indirectly and impliedly won the sole of the entire state, being the commercial nerve centre of the state. The chairman of Jos North can even be equated to the deputy governor of the state, as far as economic resources are concerned.
Unarguably, Plateau is a Christian state. The Hausa/Fulani community is a Moslem-dominated area. All these are facts. The Christians have a way of worship, which is peculiar to them, same for the Moslems. The two beliefs are poles apart.
So, there might be that apprehension by the natives that to give the Hausa/Fulani the opportunity to rule Jos North might introduce a strange Islamic doctrine unacceptable to them, which maybe inimical to their own religious belief and practice.
Also, the Hausa/Fulani see their denial of the seat of the local government as a clear manipulation and design by the state government to keep them out of power.
The bad blood has already been generated. The Jos crises of 1994, 2001, 2008 and the recent one of Sunday, January 17 were politically and religiously motivated. If Moslems take any action, religious motive and meaning are read to it, and the same thing for the Christians. So, religion is always used as a weapon to whip up sentiments.
Moslems and Christians are suspicious of one another. Moslems believe the government, which must of course be a Christian, will always be on the side of the Christians, even though whoever is governor needs both the Christians and the Moslems to effectively administer the entire state.
Successive elected governors of the state have constantly reassured that that the two warring parties both belong to their constituency and that they administer the state's resources without any discrimination based on ethnic, political or religious affiliations.
Since the 2001 crisis, during the tenure of Chief Joshua Dariye, attempts had been made to conduct council elections without success, hence the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen, particularly for Jos North, until he wound up in May 2007 and the administration of Jonah David Jang took over.
The crisis of November 2008, which was occasioned by the council election, centered on who won the soul of Jos North, the beautiful commercial centre of the state. The conduct of the election was free and fair, but the collation of results was seen by the Hausa/Fulani as not fair and open.
For example, they argued that they were asked by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) to meet at a named location, only for the electoral body to change the venue without informing their representatives and they had to start combing the whole area before they finally located where PLASIEC hid itself. They saw this as an open design to rig the elections in favour of government's candidate. And when the results were announced by PLASIEC and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all the 17 seats, hell was let loose.
After the crisis, the state government set up a commission of inquiry, headed by Prince Bola Ajibola, to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the crisis, which the Hausa/Fulani boycotted on the grounds that it is the same governor whom they perceived as taking sides that would implement whatever recommendations were made.
In addition, they felt cheated during the November 2008 crisis, and ostensibly bottled up their anger.
When the January 17 crisis broke out, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gregory Anyating, while addressing a press conference that day said: "The crisis erupted following attacks by a group of Moslem youths, who stormed a church in Nassarawa Gwom.... The attack by the youths was without any provocation."
But the Moslem community said the content of the conference was hasty and an open instigation for reprisal attacks on them by the Christians, claiming they were already seeing the effect of the instigations.
Their worry was that the remark by the police commissioner, a highly placed security officer, whom they believed to be the custodian of peace in society, had openly shown his bias against them, particularly when investigation had not been concluded.
With all this avalanche of crises occurring from time in the state, the question many ask is: will Plateau ever be ready for permanent peace?
The over 1000 displaced people camped at the Nigerian Bible Translation Trust centre near the Air Force Base in Jos told the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau on Wednesday that their main problem was hunger, as they said they had not eaten since they ran there for safety. They appealed to the army chief to come to their rescue by providing them necessary food, water and clothing.
The COAS promised to collaborate with the state government to bring relief materials to them and directed General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division, Maj-Gen. Saleh Maina, to transfer the army medical team there to provide medical services when needed in the refugee camps, while the army engineers should provide water and other sanitary amenities, like toilet.
The refugees, who were still very aggressive due to hunger, told reporters that the government and security personnel worsened the crisis. They claimed that the security personnel were just watching the hoodlums killing and maiming people on the pretext that they had not been given the go-ahead to shoot.
The refugees also claimed that the crisis started from an argument between two people, but that government was promptly notified and it did not do anything before it escalated.
About 100 persons were receiving treatment at the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos as a result of the crisis, with several others brought in dead.
According to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr. Pam Dantong, the injuries sustained by the victims were mostly bullets and matchet wounds.
Datong disclosed that one of the challenges facing the hospital at the moment was mostly that of space to take in the number of patients coming in.
"In terms of manpower, it is a big challenge, that is why we call them mass casualties. Another thing is that at the hospital, they have almost exhausted our consumables, both in the theatre and the casualty units. As I am talking to you now, we may still need a lot of drugs and blood, but nobody would come out to donate. They have exhausted all our drugs, but all the same, those that are recuperating are recuperating very fast," he stated.
Some of the victims narrated their ordeals. "On Sunday morning, we took our car from Bauchi to Keffi and we entered Jos. We came back to Jos around 5pm. We just saw some boys coming to us with cutlasses.
So, I started to reverse. But the car switched off. From there, they came and started hitting the car and hitting us. They later burnt the car," one of them recounted.
At OLA Hospital, one official of the Red Cross and a passenger, who were also victims, sustained various degrees of injuries.
At the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), the picture is almost the same, but the casualties there are more than those at the other hospitals and access to the patients was restricted.
At both the police headquarters and the Rukuba Barracks of the 3 Armoured Division of the Nigeria Army, displaced persons continued to stream in on an hourly basis, making it impossible to know the exact number. Women and children, carrying a few belongings, were seen in the open under the prevailing Jos extreme cold.
It is on this sad note that stakeholders began to talk. Member representing Shendam, Mikang and Quaan Pan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, George Daika, assured that the House would get to the root cause to ensure lasting solution.
The number of miscreants arrested over the crisis has increased to over 100, according to unconfirmed reports from the police headquarters. Those arrested are from Dutse Uku, Congo Russia and Angwan Shanu, with dangerous weapons, including AK47, locally made pistols, daggers, axes, cutlasses, etc seized from them.
Also, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Istifanus Mwansat, had directed all members of the House to reconvene yesterday to discuss the current happenings in the state.
Similarly, the Inter-religions Council for Peace and Harmony has unanimously condemned the unrest. The council's co-chairman and Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, who stated this shortly after the council's emergency meeting, expressed dismay over the hasty resort to violence as a means of resolving communal and religious disputes.
The council appealed to those using GSM handsets to peddle rumors and trigger panic to desist from their action, appealing to citizens to remain calm, saying government had undertaken to guarantee the safety of lives and property of all its citizens.
The council called on the citizens to guard against insightful comments or utterances, calling also on the media to be promoters of peaceful co-existence rather than embark on sentimental or sensational reporting.
It assured that both Christian and Moslem leaders would work together to ensure that peace returned to the State.
Meanwhile, the State Security Council had met, but no statement was issued at the end of the meeting. The state Commissioner for Information, Gregory Yenlong, called for security reinforcement.
As a result of sporadic shootings all over Jos/Bukuru metropolis, Jos remained a ghost city, as the crisis escaladed.
IN 2008 the story was
The 2008 Jos Crisis has come and gone; leaving in its trail many lessons especially on the idea of national service. With biros or keyboards in remote areas far from where the conflagrations occurred, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was hung with endless tirades by some elites, with many unjustified and unnecessary accusations. While this writer mourns the unwarranted waste of lives and property, it should be observed that many commentators have been unfair on the NYSC, especially in their call for its abrogation.
Many commentators forgot that apart from biological parents of the deceased corps members, the NYSC was mourner-in-chief. In Africa, mourners are not usually treated with scorn but with respect and sympathy. But the NYSC was hauled with blames in a matter she did not cause, and for which she was also a hapless victim. All I can do now is pray: May the souls of all those who lost their lives in the crisis - students, corps members, businessmen, children, etc rest in peace.
It is helpful to recollect that on November 27
th 2008, a local government election was held in Jos, Plateau State which in the aftermath resulted in a conflagration that saw 400 people allegedly dead and loss of several millions of naira worth of goods and services.
On the surface, it appears a political crisis, fuelled by religious antagonism and deep seated ethnic hatred. But as I traversed the city and asked questions, the different dimensions began to emerge to becloud answer to the question; to what extent was the crisis a product of religious, ethnic, and political differences. More questions - Was the eventual exchange of hostility actually between the PDP and ANPP - the two leading political parties in the state? Was it a class war with the poor taking arms against the rich? Clear, however is that there were tinges of religion, ethnicity, economics, and politics in the Jos Crisis. It is also a painful reminder of the pervading extent of poverty and ignorance in the country and troubling depth which religion, ethnicity had sunk. This is a big shame after 48 years of nation building.
Apart from being the Director, Corps Welfare and Inspection of NYSC, I led the team dispatched to Jos by the NYSC management soon after the outbreak of the crisis and stayed there until normalcy was restored. I was opportune to observe the different dimensions of the crisis at close-range. Thus, this essay is motivated by three factors namely; to correct certain impressions which seem to me as misleading, to contribute ideas to genuine efforts in finding a lasting solution to such crisis, and to participate in what Femi Orebe calls a "profound debate on the reasonableness or not of the NYSC scheme in the present form" (The Nation 21/12/2002 p.10 & 12). Indeed, this was my prompter, a move to express a personal view which has nothing to do with the position of the NYSC.
Contrary to the impression created by some writers, NYSC’s response to the Jos crisis was swift. Immediately the news of the crisis broke, the Director-General directed me to action. A team raised at the Directorate in Abuja to join operations arrived in Jos on 28
th November and the Director-General too, suspended his national tour of orientation camps to join efforts in Jos.
Of death, distance, hand of fate, and misdirected anger in the 2008 Jos crisis
A careful review of comments showed that the calls for the abrogation of the NYSC had been largely based on language difficulties, distance from home, general insecurity in the country, and the death of corps members in the Jos crisis. These seem to me as illogical product of misplaced anger because these problems are general in nature, affecting everyone alike.
While the issues of security, poverty, etc are beyond the powers of the NYSC scheme, most of the writers tended to ignore the human failure as exemplified by the elites and the hands of fate. Of necessity, people would always move from one place to another for economic and political reasons. And it should not be forgotten that but for the crisis, Jos remains one of the beautiful cities in the country with its temperate weather, hills, and shrubs. It is a delight to be there and many youths favour excursion there. And on its own, it will attract visitors and the consideration of death, distance, and poverty will not deter many from visiting Jos.
Now, let’s consider one of the weightiest reasons for the call for the abrogation of the NYSC - the death of three corps members during the Jos crisis. There shall not be enough words to console all concerned. But, while we mourn, and pray their souls rest in peace, it should be observed that the abrogation of the NYSC shall serve no useful purpose. It would only worsen the situation by either obliterating the memory of the deceased or denying the society the quality and essential service which the scheme is well-known for today. The harsh reaction is however understandable, because death itself is a painful and irreparable loss. It is generally better to leave the question of death and life to God, rather than anything else, because as Sola Fasure observed, ‘people do die even in their bedrooms’ (The Nation 02-12-08 pg. 2)
Against the foregoing, the ‘distance from home’ argument cannot be sustained. For instance, citizens in Ibadan were going with the normal business of life when the Ogunpa river tragedy occurred, killing many residents in the area in the process. Many of those who died were near their homes.
Still on the hand of fate; one of the corps members was not serving in Jos per se. He was merely visiting and had packed and left home only to return due warnings from some Hausa chaps that the town was not safe. He returned to the joy of his cousins and aunt, only to be hacked to death a few hours later in secured premises. While fate was cruel to him, it smiled on his cousin - a female who would have been killed along with him, but for forceful separation. The head of the family was equally lucky. The man who had lived in Jos for over thirty years and who always offered accommodation to corps members was not in town on that day of the dastardly attack. If the mission was to kill all men in sight, your guess is as good as mine were he to be home on that fateful day. There is much to thank God for in spite of the ugliness of the Jos crisis, because it could have been worse for us all.
The Jos crisis and the call for the abrogation of NYSC: A discussion with critics
The contribution of the scheme has been acknowledged. And there is hardly any family without a stake, directly or otherwise in the NYSC. Unlike many writers and commentators, I was in Jos during the period and watched the crisis from close range. Some of the reports were incorrect and capable of misleading. Most of the issues raised - insecurity, death, language difficulty are of general nature not specific to the NYSC. Indeed, they are beyond the control of the scheme.
It is painful that we lost our precious children to the Jos crisis, but contrary to some opinions, Nigeria is worth dying for, and in this case, she never abandoned its children in ‘their hour of need’ as has been canvassed by some writers. Indeed, the state rose squarely to the occasion. While we mourn our loved ones, is the abrogation of national service the best response to that ugly event as being suggested in some quarters? It is not, because as Tatalo Alamu observed, ‘nation building is a perpetual work in progress.’
Against the foregoing, I like to discuss with Femi Orebe. According to him, the deployment of youths to serve fatherland is a ‘continuous hemorrhaging of youths on the horns of misrepresented ideal’ (The Nation 21-12-08). To him, the best way of going about it is to allow people serve in their home states or states they graduated from as though such areas are immune from death or other tragedies of life. It is advised that Orebe reads the NYSC Hand Book at least for a better comprehension of the scheme’s objectives in order to make him see why his model would not fit.
According to him, while, ‘those from the more developed areas work in poor condition or teach in poorly equipped schools, those from the villages or poor areas arrive in the city for the posh jobs and better life.’ It is needless to say that the ‘we are better than them’ syndrome simply breeds resentment, communication difficulty, and thus intolerance. Orebe’s excuse for all this is that the corps members were in Jos on posting, forgetting that there were other citizens in the area who were affected for no just reason.
It is worth recalling that Mary Slessor, a young missionary from Scotland, Europe left the comfort of her land, an obviously more posh part of the world to work in Africa, which was then regarded as the ‘dark continent’, all in the service of humanity. It is noteworthy that her humanitarian work, especially in saving the lives of twins is still celebrated today. In more recent history, many of the America Peace Corps left their posh country for services in various parts of Africa, including Nigeria. They taught us in poorly equipped schools such as the ones detested by Orebe. If others can do it, why not Nigerians?
Orebe and others would do well to read Sam Omatseye’s ‘Angel of Mercy’ in The Nation newspaper in order to have a good feel of modern trends in selfless service. It might be said that the element of volunteerism was expressed by Omatseye to make a case for charity does not matter. What matters most is the opportunity to serve mankind, especially those in difficult situation which Orebe seem to loathe.
Now, turn to Professor Dapo Kolawole, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti who as reported advised the government to abrogate the NYSC (The Nation 11-12-08 p. 2). This alarmed me for many reasons. Foremost is the falsehood contained in the report which alleged that ‘33 corps members at the last count had been slaughtered like rams and goats in some parts of the country.’ While the NYSC never lost that large number of its corps members, it remains one of the early misinformation about the crisis. Yet the professor could be excused for he allegedly spoke through a representative - Soyombo Olalekan. Still, the professor’s concern for security is genuine, but it should be provided for everyone, including corps members.
A friend forwarded to my telephone the message by Professor Segun Osinowo asking ‘Dear parents join in the campaign for the abrogation of the NYSC’, admonishing them ‘not to wait till their children are wasted’. As one who upholds the African belief that a mourner is free to do anything within reason to express his sense of loss, I understand the position of Professor Osinowo. But the abrogation of the NYSC would not serve the cause for which his nephew and others died for. Thus, we could hear the same girl who escaped death saying, "yes, I would like to serve fatherland, but in a more secured area where no one would just wake up attacking others for no offence at all."
According to Ropo Sekoni’s ‘young and promising citizens like Ibikunle Akinjogbin would have been alive if political leaders had given time to revisit a political institution started 35 years ago under a democratic regime’ (The Nation 14 - 12 - 2008 p. 10). Sekoni wrote as though nation building is not a continuous business implying that that it was once good but, now ‘no longer adding value to the country’s culture and has outlived its good.’ He cited other reasons for his position such as insecurity, rigours of the programme, the NYSC as cheap source of labour and the fact that it is not clear ‘if the NYSC can stop the senseless killings in the north due to ethnic and religious intolerance.’
While Sekoni was fair in conceding that the ‘NYSC must have achieved its goals’ the ‘twinning programme’ he advocates seems to be doomed from the beginning, as it suffers from the homeboy syndrome - that of very limited horizon, considered against the vast interest of the country.
Perhaps, the criticisms are a reflection of the high esteem in which the NYSC has been held and thus expression of disappointment as a result of dashed hopes and expectation. But, abrogation is not the answer. As Tatalo Alamu, the Snooper observed, ‘despite our pains and agony …we must not throw away the baby with bath water’ (The Nation 14 - 12 - 2008). The Jos crisis is wake-up call to the elites to change their negative attitudes to national issues.
The NYSC is not a military force and to this extent, it will never be clear whether it can stem the senseless killings in the north due to political immaturity and intolerance. Nor is it clear if it can stop ritual killings, armed robbery, and lately kidnapping which is fast becoming a nation-wide menace. But, what is clear is that the NYSC can promote understanding and create an environment that would make senseless and ritual killings unattractive and unacceptable.
About 70% of corps members are deployed to teach in the national interest and over half of them serve in rural areas. In addition, it is a fact that many schools and even hospitals, especially in the rural areas would have closed shop, but, for the availability of crops services - teachers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists etc.
Also, in spite of sporadic incidences like the Jos crisis in parts of the country, the scheme has largely succeeded in whittling down the web of barriers which were responsible for the suspicion which partly bred the Nigerian civil war. And apart from affording many corps members to be retained for permanent employment, the scheme serves as a comfortable bridge to the wider world. Also, many corps members met their spouse during service. Furthermore, through its dance, drama, and sports competition, it contributes to the sustenance of cultures and shared values among Nigerians.
We could go on, but, in the face of these overwhelming evidences of both past and present contributions and relevance, how can Ropo honestly claim that the NYSC no longer ‘adds value to the nation’s culture?’ This is not true and some people may not appreciate the magnitude of these achievements. But, knowing where we are coming from, the contributions of the NYSC are remarkable and its achievements worthy of celebration. The NYSC is winning the war against intolerance, poverty, mass illiteracy, and poor knowledge of fatherland using sundry methods. And the country has been better for it. Its abrogation will indeed do more harm than good.
Abhuere is the Director, (Corps Welfare and Inspection Department) of the NYSC.
Even though Plateau is now an independent entity controlling Jos North, because of the said old umbilical cord between the Hausa/Fulani of Jos North and the defunct Bauchi Province that held sway, the Hausa/Fulani still see Jos North as their own.
So, the carving out of Jos North from the old Jos by the Babangida regime has not demonstrated any wisdom nor has it helped matters, years after, as the Hausa/Fulani see it as a council created for them and which, they must, therefore, run and no other person.
The bad blood between the natives and the Hausa/Fulani in the area started to manifest when during the military regime, one Mato was appointed as the caretaker committee chairman for Jos North Local Council. The natives from the council- the Beroms, Anaguta, Afizere and so on- protested vehemently until the appointment was reversed.
Also during the military, a military administrator appointed one Mukhtar Teacher as the chairman of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), which also met stiff opposition from the natives.
When it comes to politics, the Hausa/Fulani are more politically conscious, in terms of mobilising their people to come out to vote for their candidates. To them, any candidate they support must always win, because of their 'numerical strength' and their level of mobilisation. But no matter the odds, they must not win the chairmanship election of Jos North.
In the past, they won election into the House of Representatives through the All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP), and that has not changed, with Samaila Mohammed representing Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. They have also been winning the area's slots in the state House of Assembly on the platform of the ANPP.
So, why not the chairman of Jos North Local Council? It is assumed by all that whoever wins the chairmanship has indirectly and impliedly won the sole of the entire state, being the commercial nerve centre of the state. The chairman of Jos North can even be equated to the deputy governor of the state, as far as economic resources are concerned.
Unarguably, Plateau is a Christian state. The Hausa/Fulani community is a Moslem-dominated area. All these are facts. The Christians have a way of worship, which is peculiar to them, same for the Moslems. The two beliefs are poles apart.
So, there might be that apprehension by the natives that to give the Hausa/Fulani the opportunity to rule Jos North might introduce a strange Islamic doctrine unacceptable to them, which maybe inimical to their own religious belief and practice.
Also, the Hausa/Fulani see their denial of the seat of the local government as a clear manipulation and design by the state government to keep them out of power.
The bad blood has already been generated. The Jos crises of 1994, 2001, 2008 and the recent one of Sunday, January 17 were politically and religiously motivated. If Moslems take any action, religious motive and meaning are read to it, and the same thing for the Christians. So, religion is always used as a weapon to whip up sentiments.
Moslems and Christians are suspicious of one another. Moslems believe the government, which must of course be a Christian, will always be on the side of the Christians, even though whoever is governor needs both the Christians and the Moslems to effectively administer the entire state.
Successive elected governors of the state have constantly reassured that that the two warring parties both belong to their constituency and that they administer the state's resources without any discrimination based on ethnic, political or religious affiliations.
Since the 2001 crisis, during the tenure of Chief Joshua Dariye, attempts had been made to conduct council elections without success, hence the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen, particularly for Jos North, until he wound up in May 2007 and the administration of Jonah David Jang took over.
The crisis of November 2008, which was occasioned by the council election, centered on who won the soul of Jos North, the beautiful commercial centre of the state. The conduct of the election was free and fair, but the collation of results was seen by the Hausa/Fulani as not fair and open.
For example, they argued that they were asked by the Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) to meet at a named location, only for the electoral body to change the venue without informing their representatives and they had to start combing the whole area before they finally located where PLASIEC hid itself. They saw this as an open design to rig the elections in favour of government's candidate. And when the results were announced by PLASIEC and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all the 17 seats, hell was let loose.
After the crisis, the state government set up a commission of inquiry, headed by Prince Bola Ajibola, to ascertain the immediate and remote causes of the crisis, which the Hausa/Fulani boycotted on the grounds that it is the same governor whom they perceived as taking sides that would implement whatever recommendations were made.
In addition, they felt cheated during the November 2008 crisis, and ostensibly bottled up their anger.
When the January 17 crisis broke out, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Gregory Anyating, while addressing a press conference that day said: "The crisis erupted following attacks by a group of Moslem youths, who stormed a church in Nassarawa Gwom.... The attack by the youths was without any provocation."
But the Moslem community said the content of the conference was hasty and an open instigation for reprisal attacks on them by the Christians, claiming they were already seeing the effect of the instigations.
Their worry was that the remark by the police commissioner, a highly placed security officer, whom they believed to be the custodian of peace in society, had openly shown his bias against them, particularly when investigation had not been concluded.
With all this avalanche of crises occurring from time in the state, the question many ask is: will Plateau ever be ready for permanent peace?
The over 1000 displaced people camped at the Nigerian Bible Translation Trust centre near the Air Force Base in Jos told the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau on Wednesday that their main problem was hunger, as they said they had not eaten since they ran there for safety. They appealed to the army chief to come to their rescue by providing them necessary food, water and clothing.
The COAS promised to collaborate with the state government to bring relief materials to them and directed General Officer Commanding (GOC) the Division, Maj-Gen. Saleh Maina, to transfer the army medical team there to provide medical services when needed in the refugee camps, while the army engineers should provide water and other sanitary amenities, like toilet.
The refugees, who were still very aggressive due to hunger, told reporters that the government and security personnel worsened the crisis. They claimed that the security personnel were just watching the hoodlums killing and maiming people on the pretext that they had not been given the go-ahead to shoot.
The refugees also claimed that the crisis started from an argument between two people, but that government was promptly notified and it did not do anything before it escalated.
About 100 persons were receiving treatment at the Plateau Specialist Hospital in Jos as a result of the crisis, with several others brought in dead.
According to the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Dr. Pam Dantong, the injuries sustained by the victims were mostly bullets and matchet wounds.
Datong disclosed that one of the challenges facing the hospital at the moment was mostly that of space to take in the number of patients coming in.
"In terms of manpower, it is a big challenge, that is why we call them mass casualties. Another thing is that at the hospital, they have almost exhausted our consumables, both in the theatre and the casualty units. As I am talking to you now, we may still need a lot of drugs and blood, but nobody would come out to donate. They have exhausted all our drugs, but all the same, those that are recuperating are recuperating very fast," he stated.
Some of the victims narrated their ordeals. "On Sunday morning, we took our car from Bauchi to Keffi and we entered Jos. We came back to Jos around 5pm. We just saw some boys coming to us with cutlasses.
So, I started to reverse. But the car switched off. From there, they came and started hitting the car and hitting us. They later burnt the car," one of them recounted.
At OLA Hospital, one official of the Red Cross and a passenger, who were also victims, sustained various degrees of injuries.
At the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), the picture is almost the same, but the casualties there are more than those at the other hospitals and access to the patients was restricted.
At both the police headquarters and the Rukuba Barracks of the 3 Armoured Division of the Nigeria Army, displaced persons continued to stream in on an hourly basis, making it impossible to know the exact number. Women and children, carrying a few belongings, were seen in the open under the prevailing Jos extreme cold.
It is on this sad note that stakeholders began to talk. Member representing Shendam, Mikang and Quaan Pan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, George Daika, assured that the House would get to the root cause to ensure lasting solution.
The number of miscreants arrested over the crisis has increased to over 100, according to unconfirmed reports from the police headquarters. Those arrested are from Dutse Uku, Congo Russia and Angwan Shanu, with dangerous weapons, including AK47, locally made pistols, daggers, axes, cutlasses, etc seized from them.
Also, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Istifanus Mwansat, had directed all members of the House to reconvene yesterday to discuss the current happenings in the state.
Similarly, the Inter-religions Council for Peace and Harmony has unanimously condemned the unrest. The council's co-chairman and Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, who stated this shortly after the council's emergency meeting, expressed dismay over the hasty resort to violence as a means of resolving communal and religious disputes.
The council appealed to those using GSM handsets to peddle rumors and trigger panic to desist from their action, appealing to citizens to remain calm, saying government had undertaken to guarantee the safety of lives and property of all its citizens.
The council called on the citizens to guard against insightful comments or utterances, calling also on the media to be promoters of peaceful co-existence rather than embark on sentimental or sensational reporting.
It assured that both Christian and Moslem leaders would work together to ensure that peace returned to the State.
Meanwhile, the State Security Council had met, but no statement was issued at the end of the meeting. The state Commissioner for Information, Gregory Yenlong, called for security reinforcement.
As a result of sporadic shootings all over Jos/Bukuru metropolis, Jos remained a ghost city, as the crisis escaladed.
IN 2008 the story was
The 2008 Jos Crisis has come and gone; leaving in its trail many lessons especially on the idea of national service. With biros or keyboards in remote areas far from where the conflagrations occurred, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) was hung with endless tirades by some elites, with many unjustified and unnecessary accusations. While this writer mourns the unwarranted waste of lives and property, it should be observed that many commentators have been unfair on the NYSC, especially in their call for its abrogation.
Many commentators forgot that apart from biological parents of the deceased corps members, the NYSC was mourner-in-chief. In Africa, mourners are not usually treated with scorn but with respect and sympathy. But the NYSC was hauled with blames in a matter she did not cause, and for which she was also a hapless victim. All I can do now is pray: May the souls of all those who lost their lives in the crisis - students, corps members, businessmen, children, etc rest in peace.
It is helpful to recollect that on November 27
th 2008, a local government election was held in Jos, Plateau State which in the aftermath resulted in a conflagration that saw 400 people allegedly dead and loss of several millions of naira worth of goods and services.
On the surface, it appears a political crisis, fuelled by religious antagonism and deep seated ethnic hatred. But as I traversed the city and asked questions, the different dimensions began to emerge to becloud answer to the question; to what extent was the crisis a product of religious, ethnic, and political differences. More questions - Was the eventual exchange of hostility actually between the PDP and ANPP - the two leading political parties in the state? Was it a class war with the poor taking arms against the rich? Clear, however is that there were tinges of religion, ethnicity, economics, and politics in the Jos Crisis. It is also a painful reminder of the pervading extent of poverty and ignorance in the country and troubling depth which religion, ethnicity had sunk. This is a big shame after 48 years of nation building.
Apart from being the Director, Corps Welfare and Inspection of NYSC, I led the team dispatched to Jos by the NYSC management soon after the outbreak of the crisis and stayed there until normalcy was restored. I was opportune to observe the different dimensions of the crisis at close-range. Thus, this essay is motivated by three factors namely; to correct certain impressions which seem to me as misleading, to contribute ideas to genuine efforts in finding a lasting solution to such crisis, and to participate in what Femi Orebe calls a "profound debate on the reasonableness or not of the NYSC scheme in the present form" (The Nation 21/12/2002 p.10 & 12). Indeed, this was my prompter, a move to express a personal view which has nothing to do with the position of the NYSC.
Contrary to the impression created by some writers, NYSC’s response to the Jos crisis was swift. Immediately the news of the crisis broke, the Director-General directed me to action. A team raised at the Directorate in Abuja to join operations arrived in Jos on 28
th November and the Director-General too, suspended his national tour of orientation camps to join efforts in Jos.
Of death, distance, hand of fate, and misdirected anger in the 2008 Jos crisis
A careful review of comments showed that the calls for the abrogation of the NYSC had been largely based on language difficulties, distance from home, general insecurity in the country, and the death of corps members in the Jos crisis. These seem to me as illogical product of misplaced anger because these problems are general in nature, affecting everyone alike.
While the issues of security, poverty, etc are beyond the powers of the NYSC scheme, most of the writers tended to ignore the human failure as exemplified by the elites and the hands of fate. Of necessity, people would always move from one place to another for economic and political reasons. And it should not be forgotten that but for the crisis, Jos remains one of the beautiful cities in the country with its temperate weather, hills, and shrubs. It is a delight to be there and many youths favour excursion there. And on its own, it will attract visitors and the consideration of death, distance, and poverty will not deter many from visiting Jos.
Now, let’s consider one of the weightiest reasons for the call for the abrogation of the NYSC - the death of three corps members during the Jos crisis. There shall not be enough words to console all concerned. But, while we mourn, and pray their souls rest in peace, it should be observed that the abrogation of the NYSC shall serve no useful purpose. It would only worsen the situation by either obliterating the memory of the deceased or denying the society the quality and essential service which the scheme is well-known for today. The harsh reaction is however understandable, because death itself is a painful and irreparable loss. It is generally better to leave the question of death and life to God, rather than anything else, because as Sola Fasure observed, ‘people do die even in their bedrooms’ (The Nation 02-12-08 pg. 2)
Against the foregoing, the ‘distance from home’ argument cannot be sustained. For instance, citizens in Ibadan were going with the normal business of life when the Ogunpa river tragedy occurred, killing many residents in the area in the process. Many of those who died were near their homes.
Still on the hand of fate; one of the corps members was not serving in Jos per se. He was merely visiting and had packed and left home only to return due warnings from some Hausa chaps that the town was not safe. He returned to the joy of his cousins and aunt, only to be hacked to death a few hours later in secured premises. While fate was cruel to him, it smiled on his cousin - a female who would have been killed along with him, but for forceful separation. The head of the family was equally lucky. The man who had lived in Jos for over thirty years and who always offered accommodation to corps members was not in town on that day of the dastardly attack. If the mission was to kill all men in sight, your guess is as good as mine were he to be home on that fateful day. There is much to thank God for in spite of the ugliness of the Jos crisis, because it could have been worse for us all.
The Jos crisis and the call for the abrogation of NYSC: A discussion with critics
The contribution of the scheme has been acknowledged. And there is hardly any family without a stake, directly or otherwise in the NYSC. Unlike many writers and commentators, I was in Jos during the period and watched the crisis from close range. Some of the reports were incorrect and capable of misleading. Most of the issues raised - insecurity, death, language difficulty are of general nature not specific to the NYSC. Indeed, they are beyond the control of the scheme.
It is painful that we lost our precious children to the Jos crisis, but contrary to some opinions, Nigeria is worth dying for, and in this case, she never abandoned its children in ‘their hour of need’ as has been canvassed by some writers. Indeed, the state rose squarely to the occasion. While we mourn our loved ones, is the abrogation of national service the best response to that ugly event as being suggested in some quarters? It is not, because as Tatalo Alamu observed, ‘nation building is a perpetual work in progress.’
Against the foregoing, I like to discuss with Femi Orebe. According to him, the deployment of youths to serve fatherland is a ‘continuous hemorrhaging of youths on the horns of misrepresented ideal’ (The Nation 21-12-08). To him, the best way of going about it is to allow people serve in their home states or states they graduated from as though such areas are immune from death or other tragedies of life. It is advised that Orebe reads the NYSC Hand Book at least for a better comprehension of the scheme’s objectives in order to make him see why his model would not fit.
According to him, while, ‘those from the more developed areas work in poor condition or teach in poorly equipped schools, those from the villages or poor areas arrive in the city for the posh jobs and better life.’ It is needless to say that the ‘we are better than them’ syndrome simply breeds resentment, communication difficulty, and thus intolerance. Orebe’s excuse for all this is that the corps members were in Jos on posting, forgetting that there were other citizens in the area who were affected for no just reason.
It is worth recalling that Mary Slessor, a young missionary from Scotland, Europe left the comfort of her land, an obviously more posh part of the world to work in Africa, which was then regarded as the ‘dark continent’, all in the service of humanity. It is noteworthy that her humanitarian work, especially in saving the lives of twins is still celebrated today. In more recent history, many of the America Peace Corps left their posh country for services in various parts of Africa, including Nigeria. They taught us in poorly equipped schools such as the ones detested by Orebe. If others can do it, why not Nigerians?
Orebe and others would do well to read Sam Omatseye’s ‘Angel of Mercy’ in The Nation newspaper in order to have a good feel of modern trends in selfless service. It might be said that the element of volunteerism was expressed by Omatseye to make a case for charity does not matter. What matters most is the opportunity to serve mankind, especially those in difficult situation which Orebe seem to loathe.
Now, turn to Professor Dapo Kolawole, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ado-Ekiti who as reported advised the government to abrogate the NYSC (The Nation 11-12-08 p. 2). This alarmed me for many reasons. Foremost is the falsehood contained in the report which alleged that ‘33 corps members at the last count had been slaughtered like rams and goats in some parts of the country.’ While the NYSC never lost that large number of its corps members, it remains one of the early misinformation about the crisis. Yet the professor could be excused for he allegedly spoke through a representative - Soyombo Olalekan. Still, the professor’s concern for security is genuine, but it should be provided for everyone, including corps members.
A friend forwarded to my telephone the message by Professor Segun Osinowo asking ‘Dear parents join in the campaign for the abrogation of the NYSC’, admonishing them ‘not to wait till their children are wasted’. As one who upholds the African belief that a mourner is free to do anything within reason to express his sense of loss, I understand the position of Professor Osinowo. But the abrogation of the NYSC would not serve the cause for which his nephew and others died for. Thus, we could hear the same girl who escaped death saying, "yes, I would like to serve fatherland, but in a more secured area where no one would just wake up attacking others for no offence at all."
According to Ropo Sekoni’s ‘young and promising citizens like Ibikunle Akinjogbin would have been alive if political leaders had given time to revisit a political institution started 35 years ago under a democratic regime’ (The Nation 14 - 12 - 2008 p. 10). Sekoni wrote as though nation building is not a continuous business implying that that it was once good but, now ‘no longer adding value to the country’s culture and has outlived its good.’ He cited other reasons for his position such as insecurity, rigours of the programme, the NYSC as cheap source of labour and the fact that it is not clear ‘if the NYSC can stop the senseless killings in the north due to ethnic and religious intolerance.’
While Sekoni was fair in conceding that the ‘NYSC must have achieved its goals’ the ‘twinning programme’ he advocates seems to be doomed from the beginning, as it suffers from the homeboy syndrome - that of very limited horizon, considered against the vast interest of the country.
Perhaps, the criticisms are a reflection of the high esteem in which the NYSC has been held and thus expression of disappointment as a result of dashed hopes and expectation. But, abrogation is not the answer. As Tatalo Alamu, the Snooper observed, ‘despite our pains and agony …we must not throw away the baby with bath water’ (The Nation 14 - 12 - 2008). The Jos crisis is wake-up call to the elites to change their negative attitudes to national issues.
The NYSC is not a military force and to this extent, it will never be clear whether it can stem the senseless killings in the north due to political immaturity and intolerance. Nor is it clear if it can stop ritual killings, armed robbery, and lately kidnapping which is fast becoming a nation-wide menace. But, what is clear is that the NYSC can promote understanding and create an environment that would make senseless and ritual killings unattractive and unacceptable.
About 70% of corps members are deployed to teach in the national interest and over half of them serve in rural areas. In addition, it is a fact that many schools and even hospitals, especially in the rural areas would have closed shop, but, for the availability of crops services - teachers, doctors, nurses, pharmacists etc.
Also, in spite of sporadic incidences like the Jos crisis in parts of the country, the scheme has largely succeeded in whittling down the web of barriers which were responsible for the suspicion which partly bred the Nigerian civil war. And apart from affording many corps members to be retained for permanent employment, the scheme serves as a comfortable bridge to the wider world. Also, many corps members met their spouse during service. Furthermore, through its dance, drama, and sports competition, it contributes to the sustenance of cultures and shared values among Nigerians.
We could go on, but, in the face of these overwhelming evidences of both past and present contributions and relevance, how can Ropo honestly claim that the NYSC no longer ‘adds value to the nation’s culture?’ This is not true and some people may not appreciate the magnitude of these achievements. But, knowing where we are coming from, the contributions of the NYSC are remarkable and its achievements worthy of celebration. The NYSC is winning the war against intolerance, poverty, mass illiteracy, and poor knowledge of fatherland using sundry methods. And the country has been better for it. Its abrogation will indeed do more harm than good.
Abhuere is the Director, (Corps Welfare and Inspection Department) of the NYSC.
What 1999 Constitution, Section 144 Says
What 1999 Constitution, Section 144 Says
144.–( I) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office, if–
(a) by a resolution passed by two-thirds majority of all the members of the executive council of the Federation it is declared that the President or Vice-President is incapable of discharging the functions of his office; and
(b) the declaration is verified, after such medical examination as may be necessary, by a medical panel established under subsection (4) of this section in its report to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
(2) Where the medical panel certifies in the report that in its opinion the President or Vice-President is suffering from such infirmity of body or mind as renders him permanently incapable of discharging the functions of his office, a notice thereof signed by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall be published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation.
(3) The President or Vice-President shall cease to hold office as from the date of publication of the notice of the medical report pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The medical panel to which this section relates shall be appointed by the President of the Senate, and shall comprise five medical practitioners in Nigeria–
(a) one of whom shall be the personal physician of the holder of the office concerned; and
(b) four other medical practitioners who have, in the opinion of the President of the Senate, attained a high degree of eminence in the field of medicine relative to the nature of the examination to be conducted in accordance with the foregoing provisions.
(5) In this section, the reference to "executive council of the Federation" is a reference to the body of Ministers of the Government of the Federation, howsoever called, established by the President and charged with such responsibilities for the functions of government as the President may direct.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Nigeria Is Becoming Irrelevant – Ambassador Lyman
Nigeria Is Becoming Irrelevant – Ambassador Lyman
Written by By Princeton N. Lyman
I have a long connection to Nigeria. Not only was I Ambassador there, I have travelled to and from Nigeria for a number of years and have a deep and abiding vital emotional attachment to the Nigerian people, their magnificence, their courage, artistic brilliance, their irony, sense of humour in the face of challenges etc. And I hope that we keep that in mind when I say some things that I think are counter to what we normally say about Nigeria.
And I say that with all due respect to Eric Silla, who is doing a magnificent work at State Department and to our good friend from the legislature, because I have a feeling that we both, Nigerians and Americans, may be doing Nigeria and Nigerians no favour by stressing Nigeria's strategic importance.
I know all the arguments: it is a major oil producer, it is the most populous country in Africa, it has made major contributions to Africa in peacekeeping, and of course, negatively, if Nigeria were to fall apart the ripple effects would be tremendous. But I wonder if all this emphasis on Nigeria's importance creates a tendency to inflate Nigeria's opinion of its own invulnerability.
Among much of the elite today, I have the feeling that there is a belief that Nigeria is too big to fail, too important to be ignored, and that Nigerians can go on ignoring some of the most fundamental challenges they have - many of which we have talked about: disgraceful lack of infrastructure, the growing problems of unemployment, the failure to deal with the underlying problems in the Niger-Delta, the failure to consolidate democracy - and somehow will remain important to everybody because of all those reasons that are strategically important.
I am not sure that that is helpful.
Let me sort of deconstruct those elements of Nigeria's importance, and ask whether they are as relevant as they have been.
We often hear that one in five Africans is a Nigerian. What does it mean? Do we ever say one in five Asians is a Chinese? Chinese power comes not just for the fact that it has a lot of people but it has harnessed the entrepreneurial talent and economic capacity and all the other talents of China to make her a major economic force and political force.
Yes, Nigeria is a major oil producer, but Brazil is now launching a 10-year programme that is going to make it one of the major oil producers in the world. And every other country in Africa is now beginning to produce oil.
Angola is rivalling Nigeria in oil production, and the United States has just discovered a huge gas reserve which is going to replace some of our dependence on imported energy.
And what about its influence, its contributions to the continent? As our representative from the parliament talked about, there is a great history of those contributions. But that is history.
Is Nigeria really playing a major role today in the crisis in Niger on its border, or in Guinea, or in Darfur, or after many, many promises making any contributions to Somalia?
The answer is no. Nigeria is today NOT making a major impact, on its region, or on the African Union or on the big problems of Africa that it was making before.
Now, of course, on the negative side, the collapse of Nigeria would be enormous, but is that a point to make Nigeria strategically important?
Years ago, I worked for an Assistant Secretary of State who had the longest tenure in that job in the 1980s and I remember in one meeting a minister from a country not very friendly to the United States came in and was berating the Assistant Secretary on all the evils of the United States and all its dire plots in Africa and was going on and on, and finally the Assistant Secretary cut him off and said: "You know, the biggest danger for your relationship with the United States is not our opposition, but that we will find you irrelevant."
The point is that Nigeria can become much less relevant to the United States. We have already seen evidence of it. When President Obama went to Ghana and not to Nigeria, he was sending a message, that Ghana symbolised more of the significant trends, issues and importance that one wants to put on Africa than Nigeria.
So the handwriting may already be on the wall, and that is a sad commentary.
Because what it means is that Nigeria's most important strategic importance in the end could be that it has failed.
And that is a sad, sad conclusion. It does not have to happen, but I think that we ought to stop talking about what a great country it is, and how terribly important it is to us and talk about what it would take for Nigeria to be that important and great. And that takes an enormous amount of commitment.
And you don't need saints; you don't need leaders like Nelson Mandela in every state, because you are not going to get them.
I served in South Korea in the middle of the 1960s and it was time when South Korea was poor and considered hopeless, but it was becoming to turn around, later, to become to every person's amazement then the eleventh largest economy in the world. And I remember the economist in my mission saying, it did not bother him that the leading elites in the government of South Korea were taking 15 - 20 percent off the top of every project, as long as every project was a good one, and that was the difference. The leadership at the time was determined to solve the fundamental economic issues of South Korea economy and turn its economy around.
It has not happened in Nigeria today. You don't need saints. It needs leaders who say "You know we could be becoming irrelevant, and we (have) got to do something about it."
•Lyman, former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa, presented this paper at the Achebe Colloquium held December 11, 2009, at Brown University, USA.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Coup! Coup! Linger In Nigeria
A military coup in 1966 brought Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an ethnic Ibo from the Eastern Region, to power. However, he was killed a few months later, and was followed by Lt-Col Yakubu Gowon from the Christian North.
Relations became extremely poor between the federal government and the Ibos of the Eastern Region. In 1967, the Eastern Region proclaimed its independence as the Republic of Biafra.
Violence between the federal government troops and the forces of Biafra broke out. It is estimated that up to a million people died in the war, mainly through starvation, before the federal forces forced a Biafran surrender in 1970.
Coup after coup
Increasing opposition to continuous delays from Yakubu Gowon's over the holding of free elections led to his overthrow in a bloodless coup in 1975. He was replaced by Brigadier Murtala Ramat Muhammed who was assassinated a year later and followed by Lt-Gen Olusegun Obasanjo.
In 1979, Nigerians voted for a new bicameral national assembly - the Senate and the House of Representatives. Alhaji Shehu Shagari, of the National Party of Nigeria, was elected President, and a civilian government took office. He was re-elected in 1983.
However, by the end of 1983, the civilian government was overthrown by a military coup led by Major-General Muhammadu Buhari. His regime was itself deposed in 1985 by a military coup led by Major-General Ibrahim Babangida.
After the military handed over power to the civilian in 1999, the nation constitution has experience many flops in the nation’s administration of Democracy to its citizen, Ayodele Samuel write on cause of military Intervention in the past years.
Coup in politics means a sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one affecting a change of government illegally or by force, coup d'etat, as given in this definition, is characterized by suddenness, decisiveness, illegality and force which the nation had witness about six times before the 1999 democracy.
Another elaboration: a coup d'etat is a sudden change of government by force, brought about by those who already hold some governmental or military power.
Nigeria had witness this political demon between 1975 and 1998 with a lot of blood shed to its credit.
Even through political instability could also be descried as coup, if a government violates the constitution or its own basic law, and goes on to enforce this violation by the employment of any coercive apparatus of state, then that government has stage a coup d'etat, no doubt, the following acts in the political history of Nigeria can be considered as coup d'etat: the dissolution of the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) by General Ibrahim Babangida in January 1990, and the constitution of a new one; the annulment of June 12, 1993 presidential election; the military expedition sent by President Olusegun Obasanjo to Odi in November 1999 without the approval of the Senate: absence of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua from the country without officially handing over to the vice president Goodluck Jonathan could also be describe as a democratic coup d’etat.
While Peace and Development Projects, PEDP, Director, Francis Abayomi said there is a need to protect the constitution by initiating the process to transfer presidential powers to the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan in acting capacity, until the health of the president improves.
The president in ability to perform his perform his presidential functions had worsen the political suaitation of the nation, Abayomi said the nation is now missing in action in the comity of civilized nations.
Political analyst have noted that the vacuum created in the day-to-day running of government due to the president’s failure to transmit powers to Vice President as constitutionally stipulated, could lead to an unconstitutional seizure of power at this time of nascent democracy as this will only aggravate the situation and plunge the nation into chaos.
PEDP Director said “Nigerians particularly are disturbed by the activities of a clique in and out of government that is determined to hold this nation by the jugular and has continue to feed Nigerians half-truths on the true state of the president.
These actions have been compounded by the National Assembly, which, rather than invoke relevant sections of the Constitution that will get the nation back on the path of genuine democracy, has handled the entire issue in an inept manner that has not only tarnished the image of the country, but also made it a laughing stock in the committee of civilised nations” Abayomi added.
Abayomi uniting his voices with other teeming Nigerians said that national interest must override all personal and sectional interests in restating the public objection to any suggestion of unconstitutional take-over of power by the armed forces.
Also Yinka Odumakin publicity sectary of the Afenifere Renewal Group said “only an idiot would not know that has happened in the last 54 days is assure recipe for military intervention, this is why Nigerians can’t decode why the elected members of the national assembly can’t be rational and do the right thing even if only for enlightened self interest.
For political stability, patriotic forces are taking pro-active measures like protest to break this gridlock; Odumakin noted that military intervention to the nation democracy would drag the country back.
While the national assembly has being slow in ensuring the constitution is not breach, Abayomi said :“For Principal Officers of the National Assembly to say they cannot force the president to observe the constitution which they swore to protect is gross dereliction of duty. Even elementary students of constitutional democracy know what a parliament is supposed to do when the president breaches the constitution.
He insisted with its disturbing silenced about the continued breach of the constitution and serial acts of illegalities being perpetrated by both elected and unelected public officer holders, the National Assembly Principal Officers have betrayed the trust reposed on them and as such should quit.
“We restate our position that national interest should override personal ambitions. We strongly believe that as representatives of the Nigerian people, the National Assembly should stand and defend the constitution and the rule of law”, Abayomi added.
Nigerians, Abayomi stated, “are no longer interested in the reckless comments of some senior government officials who prefer to hold our nation hostage. Instead, the National Assembly should work towards smooth transfer of power to the Vice President. A medical panel should also be raised to brief the National Assembly and the nation on the state of the president’s health.”
In his own view the convener of the united Action for Democracy Taiwo Otitolaye said military rule is out dated, diabolical and an aberration for all time, he noted that civil societies in the country will fight military hegemonits, “the restructuring of Nigeria along fiscal federalism and devolution of powers would resolve the Nigeria crisis”.
While political players are currently consulting to stem the negative intervention, PRONACO spokesman Sir wale Okunniyi said eminent political leaders will meet very soon to organize proper intervention as lamentation and sheer noisemaking cannot resolve the present crisis which may lead to military intervention if Nigerians fold their arms.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Yar'Adua Again
"Enough is Enough" Rally!
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana and other prominent Nigerians today led hundreds of Nigerians to protest in Abuja over the long absence of President Umaru Yar’Adua from the seat of power.
The president has been away from the country since 23 November 2009 and has been receiving treatment in King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi-Arabia.
Soyinka, Bakare, lawyers and other activists are protesting the power vacuum created by Yar’Adua’s absence from Aso Rock for the past 50 days.
As early as 8.30 a.m protesters had started gathering at Unity Fountain, opposite Transcorp Hilton Hotel in readiness for the kick-off of the protest which will end at the National Assembly complex.
While there was also the massive presence of policemen at NICON area in Abuja, where the protest took off at about 10am
In the crowd of protesters were Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and her husband, Mr. Yinka Odumakin; Mrs. Ayo Obe; Salihu Lukman and Pastor Esther, a popular preacher in Abuja.
There will also be protests in Port Harcourt, South Africa,London, New York It is being organised under the aegis of Save Nigeria Group comprising Soyinka and over 100 prominent Nigerians who felt that there was the need to rescue the nation urgently from its present quagmire.
Soyinka and his group had met in Lagos recently to X-ray the consequence of the president’s absence for a very long time from the country and decided to protest against it.
Meanwhile, posters in support of Yar’Adua flooded the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) this morning.
The posters were believed to have been pasted overnight by supporters of the sick president.
Unconfirmed reports said that the Federal Government was trying to organise a counter rally in Abuja to drum support for the president. Many Nigerians have called for the take over of the helm of affairs by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan pending the return of the ailing president.
Against:
Power Vacuum in Nigeria: Where is President Yar'Adua?
Vacillation over Electoral Reforms
Terror-Tag on Nigerians
Corruption in the Country
Date: Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Venue: From Unity Fountain, Near Transcorp Hotel, Central Business District, Abuja;
terminating at the National Assembly Complex.
SPEAKERS: Prof. Wole Soyinka, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Dim Odumegwu Ojukwu, Dr. Tunde Bakare, Hon. Farouk Aliyu Adamu , Mr. Solomon Asemota (SAN), Mallam Uba Sani, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Hajiya Najatu Mohammed, Prof. Pat Utomi, Pastor Sarah Omakwu, Mr. Femi Falana, Hon. Olawale Oshun, Dr. Tunji Abayomi, Mrs. Ayo Obe, Mallam Naseer Kura, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, Hon. Uche Onyeogocha etc.
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE
10 POVERTIES
Poverty of Ideas - a dictatorship Constitution brought about by a Treasonable power clique which tells lies about our rights is unfit for us. We want a people's Constitution.
Poverty of Performance - inability to conduct a free and fair election only allows the wrong people to lead us. We suffer when we are disabled from changing leadership fairly.
Poverty of Resource - water, light, road no dey! The health of our people is imperiled by lack of care of government.
Poverty of Hope - education has collapsed at primary, secondary and university levels. Consequently, there can be no national progress. Not one decent public primary school exists in Nigeria not to talk of secondary schools or universities.
Poverty of Honor - our people don't even know where in the world a supposedly elected President is or how he is. Haba!
Poverty of the Mind - we are governed by an oppressive, corrupt and pitiless clique who consume 95% of national resources and are disdainful of us.
Poverty of Regard - we are embarrassed and diminished in the world community by the abnormal passion of one of us who wanted to murder 300 innocent citizens of 17 nations, internet scammers, money launderers, 419ers, bank fraudsters who desecrate the value of our ancestors and our nation.
Poverty of Spirit - we kill each other at home in the name of God because of abnormal religious confusion and passion, which should have no place in the house of God.
Poverty of Commerce - majority of our citizens have no food to eat, starvation is rife and common, consuming the commoners who own Nigeria. Meanwhile unemployment of youths dominates the land.
Poverty of Environment - the cities are dirty, disorderly, crowded, unplanned and crime prone! Insecurity has become the order of the day while leaders condone state power for total self-protection.
"Nigeria can only know justice, peace and progress when her citizens will work for it. Join the campaign against the 10 Poverties. "Join the campaign take-off on January 12, 2010 in Abuja.
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