Odumegwu-Ojukwu, The Ikemba

When in 1967, Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu made a proclamation that the Igbo nation be granted the right for self determination, the government of Gowon, with immense support from the British government under the leadership of Prime Minister Harold Wilson, fought the Igbos with every force conceivable. The British government, despite its stance on human rights and the right for self determination, denied the Igbos the opportunity to take their destinies into their own hands. The question that has remained unanswered is: if the British government could grant animals the right to live, and gays the right to their sexuality, why then deny a people the right to govern over their affairs?

The maltreatment of the Igbos in the Nigeria political sphere is unprintable and their experience after the civil war remains a scar which every Igbo indigene have come to live with. After the Nigerian–Biafran War, Igboland was devastated. Many hospitals, schools, and homes were completely destroyed in the war. The savings of Ndigbo (as they are fondly called) in various banks and their investments in other parts of the country were all lost. Many people of Igbo extraction found themselves discriminated against by other ethnic groups and Ndigbo were completely absent in the new federal government of Nigeria formed immediately after the war. As an extension of the discrimination of the Igbo people, some Igbo subgroups, such as the Ikwerre, started disassociating themselves with the larger Igbo population after the war. Many people and places in the Igbo subgroups were renamed to non-Igbo sounding words to further demonstrate their disdain for the Igbo race. For instance, the town of Igbuzo was changed to Ibusa immediately after the war to further disassociate themselves from the Igbo people.

As a result of the discrimination melted out on Ndigbo, many Umu Igbo had trouble finding employment, and the Igbo became one of the poorest ethnic groups in Nigeria during the early 1970s despite Gowon’s promise of no victor, no vanquished! The policy of reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation only existed in the books as far as Igbo land is concerned. There was visibly no construction, no rehabilitation and no reconciliation. Many Igbo soldiers who fought on the side of the Biafra were completely denied any form of after-war rehabilitation and majority died of hunger. The Nigerian government failed to recognise them. On the contrary, those who fought on the side of Nigeria lived on frivolities and many of them ended up becoming heads of states; both during military and civilian rule.

The Biafran Civil War and the genocide that followed cannot be compared to the Libyan revolution, yet Barrack Obama and other world leaders dispatched troops and war planes to go capture Gaddaffi. Mubarak of Egypt, Laurent Gbagbo of Ivory Coast and Gaddaffi were either killed or charged with war crimes, yet Gowon, OBJ, Babangida etc walk the streets as free men despite the genocide committed by these men during the Nigerian Civil war.

This was the experience of the Igbo people. This is the story of a group destined for greatness by God. Today, the Igbo people are known as the most progressive ethnic group in Nigeria. Hardly would you find a place where an Igbo man does not own a business in Nigeria. Ndigbo have been found in almost all facets of the Nigeria society. The undying spirit of Ndigbo keeps moving and will not rest until the injustices unleashed on Igbos are pacified.

In all these tribulations, Ikemba Odumegwu-Ojukwu stood firm to the Igbo people and their destinies as a people. Despite his elitist upbringing, he stood by the poor, dined with the forgotten and lived with the downtrodden. The question again is; can the Igbos survive the demise of Odumegwu-Ojukwu? What does the death of Odumegwu-Ojukwu mean to the Igbo community and its continuous existence as a people? It takes centuries for men like Odumegwu-Ojukwu to be born and I have combed the entire Igbo community I am yet to see an Odumegwu-Ojukwu. If Igbos must continue to be part of this contraption called Nigeria, then we need another Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Related posts:

1. Tribute to Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu
2. Ojukwu Dies In London Hospital
3. Rumour of Ojukwu’s Death Shakes Anambra

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria's CBN Governor

In the year 2006, the Business Day edition averred that “for every five Nigerians with a good job, three are bankers”. Five years along the line, same cannot be said of the Nigerian banking industry and the economy as a whole.

Also, prior to the 2008 global economic meltdown, Charles Soludo, the then CBN governor, initiated various programmes aimed at stabilising the Nigerian banking sector. He initiated the recapitalisation exercise to make the banks have stronger capital base, designed the Expanded Discount Window to enable banking institutions have uninterrupted access to cash and he also strengthened the CBN’s regulatory framework to ensure that banks play according to the rule of the games. The result was that the Nigerian banking industry experienced unprecedented boom and declared overwhelming profits. Employment in the banking sector was second to none and every young Nigerian graduate desired to work in the banks, including my humble self. The banks were strong, relatively efficient and contributed greatly to the growth of the macro-economy. That was the approach of a visionary governor, one who understood the dynamics of the global, regional and national economy and one who is not in want of ideas on how to accelerate the economy and restore confidence. Without confidence, the banking business is as good as dead.

Fast-forward to 2009 when yours sincerely was still rumbled with the burden of the national youth service, came Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. A man with questionable professional acceleration, and doubtful academic pedigree required of central bank governors. Sanusi, no doubt, is an intelligent man but his knowledge (in my opinion) is limited to issues of the society and religion. But based on the circumstances of his birth, ethnicity, and probably political and social loyalty, he was made the CBN governor. Since then, Nigerians and the Nigerian economy have not been the same. He initiated a banking cleansing exercise. He told Nigerians that their banks were dead and the bank chiefs were corrupt and needed to be dealt with. Nigerians, in their usual docile mannerism, listened and accepted his position. Sanusi printed 600billion tax payers’ money without legislative approval and handed over to the same institution he declared dead ab-initio on a bid to ”save” them. What happened afterwards remains a mystery which only Sanusi can discern.

Five years along the line, we cannot say if the Nigerian banking sector, the economy and even CBN itself is either dead, sleeping or epileptic. Unemployment is on its highest level, inflation is in double digit, the real sector of the economy has collapsed and the Nigerian people have suffocated. Going by Sanusi’s thinking, the current insecurity in the country and the Boko Haram activity could be linked to the CBN’s insensitive, callous and unprofessional handling of the economy.

One good thing with macro-economic policies is their tendency to stabilise/readjust after sometimes. A typical business cycle last not more than five years. An example is the US economy, an economy greatly hit by the 2008 meltdown. Four years along the line the US economy is back on its feet; jobs are back, banks are relatively strong and the people are happy. The question then is, where has the Sanusi’s policies led us? Just few days ago, Access Bank announced the sack of about 1500 former intercontinental bank staffs. This is coming to a time when the unemployment rate is over 30% and the economy is in disarray.

For clarity purpose, I do not have anything personal against Sanusi. I am only worried at the manner in which he handles the affairs of our country and operates an ”I don’t care” policy. Why would Sanusi care when none of his family members will ever look or lose their jobs? How will he care when the CBN has turned to northern political instrument and why will Sanusi care when Nigerians are reluctant to question his approach as a governor?

During the fuel subsidy removal brouhaha and the anarchy that followed, Lamido Sanusi, a one-time messiah of the people was visibly busy leading the campaign. Sanusi made various unapologetic attempts at deceiving the Nigerian people. Firstly, Sanusi made reference as to why there is no smuggling in the Middle Eastern countries and gave reasons why petroleum products are sold at relatively low price in those countries. He said the Middle Eastern states are bordered by other neighbouring oil producing states with relatively cheaper oil products thereby making smuggling of fuel unattractive but failed to give instances of countries such as Venezuela, a country in South America which borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south and yet sells its fuel at relatively cheaper price per capita compared to Nigeria.

He also failed to make reference to Norway which shares border to the east with Sweden; its northernmost region is bordered by Finland to the south. These countries, despite not bordered by oil producing states sell fuel at relatively cheaper price per capita.

When a lie is repeated often without being checked, it begins to look like the truth. The lies of Sanusi is gradually gathering moss and the earlier we realise this, the better for us as a people. According to Albert Einstein, the world will not be destroyed by those who do evil but by those who watch them without doing anything.

Related posts:

1. Lamido Sanusi: My 2010 Idol of Truth: by Nwachukwu Egbunike
2. Lamido Sanusi and the National Assembly
3. 11 Nigerian Banks Make Top 50 African Banks

Men look at the wreckage of a car following a bomb blast at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Nigeria.

A lot has happened as reactions from the bombings and killings of innocent citizens since the surfacing of Boko Haram. The most recent being end of year 2011 Madalla blast and Kano multiple blasts on 20th January, 2012, barely one month after the Madalla’s.

The most serious reaction, as Nigeria has often proved to be a reactionary nation, is the declaration of emergency in some local government areas across the nation and the eventual sacking of the Inspector General of Police (Hafiz Ringim) and some top officers in the police who are believed to have done not enough to forestall peace and safety of the citizenry. It is, then, hoped that the new IG Muhammad Abubakar will tow the path clearly different from his predecessor. Straight to point, he should not allow the sacked officers to go home completely without explaining their possible connections with the happenings they failed to curtail or curb. Can this new IG be different?   

Truly, the security situation in Nigeria has been of serious concern to many patriots as it has created a false Muslim-Christian faceoff which has never existed in the country to such a disturbing level. Some disgruntled elements in the society have been found to be using the trigger-headed, vulnerable and gullible youth to pursue their heinous political cum social pursuits, exploiting religious and ethnic sentiments.  

This false faceoff, though latently propounded by the bigots has reared its ugly head, resulting from the indiscriminate bombings and killings that have been orchestrated by Boko Haram. Government and people of Nigeria have attempted to resist this development by all legitimate means without causing more bloodshed or misunderstandings. So, those Nigerians who still think of Nigeria breaking-up should desist from being wishful thinkers. By God’s grace, the 2015 prophecy and any attempt of such kind will fail.

It is more worrisome that some miscreants have utilized the situation to cause more tension. So, it is important for Nigerians to note that national security is the responsibility of every citizen. Any attempt by any group of persons to cause disunity amongst the citizenry wherever each citizen chooses to live should be resisted.

But again, it is pertinent to make some clarifications on the present security situations in the country. Boko Haram must be clearly identified as a militant group. Recent events and revelations have proved that merely linking the group with Islam is a misnomer that should be avoided if the collective effort to subdue the group is to be meaningful. The Niger Delta militants, the OPC, the MOSOP, the MASSOB and other regional groups fought for clear regional causes that were never interwoven with religious sentiments, despite they were threats to national existence. As it were, many Nigerians are still in the dark over the real motives of Boko Haram which is killing Christians and Muslims alike, including prominent political and religious leaders of northern extraction.

However, many Nigerians among the elite know that it was a creation of political manipulations which has turned out to be fighting an unacceptable cause. The activities of this group have been vehemently condemned by both the political and traditional leaders of the north in particular and Nigeria in general.

As the name denotes adversity to westernization (not Christianity), it is not hidden that a good percentage of the Muslims of the north have been heavily westernized. And apart from nationhood, there are many similarities between Muslims and Christians. Islam does not refer to the Christians and Jews as infidels. That is why it has been observed that the group has targeted every person who identifies with western ways of life including deceitful politics.

Nigeria is a home for all Nigerians and every Nigerian should be free to seek legitimate livelihood in any part of his or her fatherland. Therefore, the threats by Boko Haram against Christians in the north and such counter threats by militant groups against northerners in the South should carefully be handled by the nation’s security outfits. On the other hand, every Nigerian who sincerely believes in the cause of unity, peace and progress of the nation should not be cowed to leave his place of birth. There are many Southerners living in the north and many Northerners living in the South who ONLY KNOW their states of origin by names. That is the best way to seal the fallout of colonialism and our amalgamation. 

Cases have been recorded that Boko Haram is a gang-up of people who profess different religions and ethnic backgrounds. A case was reported of a Christian woman in the north who attempted to bomb a church that was not her denomination under the instruction of her own church leader. A national daily also reported of a non-Muslim dressed in kaftan and turban who attempted to bomb a church in a Southern state.

Also, use of firearms during festive periods often cause harm and sometimes make it difficult to differentiate between genuine celebration and attacks by hoodlums. I recall an incident in a southern city when during festive periods, armed robbers raided homes and people could not differentiate between gunshots and such firearms commonly used by revellers.

Another dimension in this is that Boko Haram would claim responsibility of any bomb blast since it is seeking relevance just as it happened during the Niger Delta crisis when even armed robbery cases – which have become quotidian in Nigeria – and kidnappings were ascribed to the Niger Delta militants and specifically to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

Howbeit, reactions and counter reactions from even highly placed religious and political leaders especially those of the President of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ayo Oritsejafor, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, Muslim groups – NSCIA and JNI, South East zone of CAN, Oodua Peoples’ Congress (OPC), Northern Progressive Forum, Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), League of Imams in Abuja, leader of the Dariqa sect, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, amongst others have been recorded. Distinguished political calibres such as Senate President David Mark, National Security Adviser Andrew Azazi, Niger State Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and a host of them have made commendable comments that should douse tension and foster understanding amongst Nigerians in their diverse backgrounds.

I was all ears when Kaakaki programme of African Independent Television (AIT) of Thursday, 29th December 2011 specifically discussed matters arising from the Christmas Day Bombings. A clergy, Tennyson Amazama and Director of Niger Delta Non-Violence Movement, Onengiya Erekosima were featured. Amazama noted that if top ranking political officers die from the bombings ravaging parts of the country – as the ordinary citizens have been – a bill would be immediately sponsored and all the carnages would stop.

According to him, the political leaders seem not to be too serious about the bombings since their children, wards and immediate family members are either outside the country or are protected by the security men who are supposed to work for the majority of Nigerians.

Erekosima particularly noted that many Nigerians have been pushed to the wall by the way affairs of the peoples are run by governments. “I have never condemned the Boko Haram, but their acts. The President should listen to the people like his predecessor, late President Yar’Adua. He should understand and note the significance of the amnesty instituted by Yar’Adua,” he said.

He opined that solutions to the security crisis in the country can be gotten from outside the circle of security chiefs, most of who have proved otherwise. “We know those security men who remove their uniforms and go to cause these troubles. When security votes receive huge money, it does not need explanation that the beneficiaries will not want the crisis to end. It has happened before. If just a percentage of such huge money is given to us, we can restore peace in the whole country.”

All in all, can it be ascertained that non-Northerners, non-Muslims and quite possibly non-Nigerians are also into this conundrum?

Muhammad Ajah is a writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance based in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk

Related posts:

1. Boko Haram To Mark Nation’s Independence With Bombings
2. SSS Arrests Boko Haram Spokesman, Abul Qaqa
3. We’ll Attack Sokoto, Boko Haram Warns Sultan, Tambuwal, Others

A Nigerian map showing its many linguistics groups

If you ask me; na who I go ask? The matter wey we see so, e tay wey e start. No be me go talk am, e heavy for mouth. If you ask me…The matter for ground…Eh! Na who I go ask? – Omawumi

If you ask me; we were never really united, right from the word go. Mutual distrust and suspicions, a civil war, coups with several colorations, countless ethno-religious and socio-economic clashes, an almost clueless political class and a citizenry sailing by these wind make us Nigeria.

But the matter wey we see so e tay wey e start. It has gotten to a point where asking the question “how did we get here” has suddenly become stale. Despite all the cosmetic posturing, we are yet to get the right formula – for fear of sitting it out with each other on a table. If you ask me, I am sure many cannot recall how everything Chinese once inferior, is what we all go for, or how almost every disease can be cured in India. They planned and we watched and enjoyed our boom, it wasn’t the money but how to spend it.

The same too much money, that made our ivory towers top class, when they were few but were top notch. Now if you ask me; I don’t know how we got to this point that ASUU goes on strike for months without end, resume, set exams for students that have been watching British Barclays Premiership, prostituting part-time and engaging in political thuggery. And we are bothered that the graduates are not only half-baked but in many cases not even baked.

If you ask me, I recall on two or so occasions when we missed out of the continent’s soccer fiesta, the Nations’ Cup. But it’s reflective of where we are. Over the past 5 years, no Nigerian has been best in the continent. This year, we are practically out of all the FIFA organized tournaments, including our forte; female soccer.

Nations progress, a step at a time, slowly and steadily nay Nigeria has at best been stagnant or debatably retrogressive. If you ask me, we have lost steam, many still cherish our lost glory, others passively fear our potential. Sadly today, we are not at the forefront of anything really good.

Our neighbours like Ghana, now an educational hub for us. It’s scary that if we let them, electricity will come from there. Since if you ask me, I will tell you Niger Republic has a new refinery and we don’t.

There is the now heavy matter of Boko Haram. If you ask 10 commentators how it started, where, who, why and which, you will get at least some 6 versions. Is it like Egbesu, OPC or MASSOB, or different, how different? Are we all guilty or just a case of no one wanting to take the blame?

One thing is certain, e tey wey e start… As our population grew, the few infrastructures we had were left to decay; new ones that were started ended up in a zoo that contains only Elephant projects.

Today, who do we ask for explanation that Bayelsa gets 13% Derivation, generates billions for the nation but just joined the national electricity grid that in all purpose is no big effort because it barely has light. That Akwa Ibom gets 4-5 times more money than Nassarawa and Plateau put together from the federation account but is not any close to looking like Ghana simply because whether its Rivers, or Sokoto, Kano or Imo, we have dealers as leaders.

If you ask many, they say it was Jonathan they voted. How naïve to expect a crocodile to birth a dove? A nice man, he smiles a lot and gradually he will change Nigeria…that remains to be seen, if he changes Nigeria or Nigeria is actually changing him.

As a people we are tensed; Northerners are supposed to be afraid of palm oil from South, while Christians fear apple and oranges, Maiguard and shoe shiner. While there is believe that we can surmount this wicked tantrum that is getting out of hand, I dare ask, at what cost?

Let us forget the messenger and take the message. How easy when the messenger is part of the matter. If you ask me, this man had 8 years to bring change; instead he was as they all do, posturing, and blaming everything. So no be my mouth you go hear say former President Olusegun Obasanjo, stated that the country needs real leadership now more than ever.

Speaking as the guest lecturer during the 41st convocation lecture of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), he said time is ripe for the nation’s leaders to holistically reform education, if indeed they are serious with the transformation agenda. If you ask me, he knows they are not serious; he was there too and was not serious.

He said: This country cannot continue to wobble along like a stalked and wounded lion, walking to its death. We have immense resources. No be my mouth we go hear that even the devil tells convenient truth. If you ask me, he did not write this and off course tells you what he thinks of his boy, Goodluck Jonathan…

In the words of Churchill, we will never, never, never give up. But it remains a choice; every day, we are close to breaking point. Let us talk on the way forward or else time will tell…

Related posts:

1. Nigerians Should Beg the Cabal or ‘Occupy Jonathan’
2. Transformation in Nigeria: Soon, Monkey Won’t Come Back
3. Nigeria: A Country at War with Itself

Al-Mustapha after the verdict

“Apart from what the court saw, the verbatim recording also assisted the court: their retraction was not enough to invalidate their earlier statements made under oath. The fact that they were discharged and acquitted in the sister case by the Court of Appeal is not a magic-wand on the court, because each case has its own peculiar nature.”

- Justice Mojisola Dada at Igbosere High Court, Lagos

Just like the Second World War’s Nuremberg Trials, which is essentially a judicial inquisition on whether the acts of inferior military officers on the orders of superior lieutenants, could necessarily implicate them in a situation where such an activity was adjudged a crime. The trial and conviction of Major Hamza Al-Mustapha was a watershed in the annals of the history of Nigerian jurisprudence, when an officer purporting to act in the protection of his principal, crossed the line between what is legally acceptable and the expectation of providing protection to the number one citizen of the nation, with the just assumption that any likely threat to the Commander-in-Chief is easily equated with declaration of war on the republic. In fact, the convicted Chief Security Officer to the Head of State duly submitted what he thought to be the latitudinal width of his functions to include: “curtailing, repelling and managing all aggression to the seat of power.”

The question though is whether giving effect to a criminal act, fell under the premises of curtailing, repelling and managing aggression to the person of a presidential sovereign. In the instant case as against the Nuremberg Trials, the defendant justifiably placed the authority of all his actions, on the carnal context of his duties, as the protector of the first family, who are the representative embodiment of Nigerian state. At no time did the accused accept responsibility for commission or an omission in the criminal act. In fact, the convicted security official strenuously tried to break the umbilical cord ties of conspiratorial suspicion, between him and persons established to have carried out the dastardly act. Principally, the duo of Sergeant Barnabas Jabilla alias Rogers and one Abdul Katako, confirmed as members of the much dreaded Strike Force, specifically set up by Major Hamza Al-Mustapha as the Chief Security Officer of the Head of State, to aid him in the discharging of the function and responsibilities of his office.

The trial took the duration of 13 years passing through a retinue of 5 judges, critically showing the prosecution was struggling with a want of evidence. Indeed, the state had to bring into its fold the two individuals suspected of committing the act, by offering them a plea deal to stand as witnesses for the prosecution, to implicate the defendant as he then was, with a latent promise of non diligent prosecution of them in the courts, thereby introducing and operating a plea bargain deal through the back door, a concept that is clearly illegal within the codified premises of the Nigerian criminal law and the extant width of the procedural law applicable in this jurisdiction.

Indeed, the opener quotation judicial dictum of the trial judge was a Freudian slip, which explains the murky web of the processes and procedures that highlighted the position placement of the trial, in the context of diligent adherence to the general rules of procedural law.

Generally, it is of essential importance to note that the convicted Hamza Al-Mustapha did not aid his case, by adopting delay tactics and introducing irrelevant conspiracy theories to a case primarily concerned with his guilt or innocence to a prima facie murder charge. But under our extant legal norms, the onus is never for him to prove his innocence. Rather, it is for the state to establish his culpability in the commission of the crime, through lawful unveiling and availing of evidence that are likely to implicate the convicted defendant. The state as a prosecutorial authority is an embodiment of judicial integrity, which must conduct its affairs above and beyond suspicion of ill motive, for where it to be any different than expected. Its qualified actions should not be more than ungracious pettiness of a mob action, which acts on a raw motif of revenge rather than fair application of the rule of law.

The convictions of the defendants have clearly laid a number of questions on the intricate procedure that accompanied the process. How could a system that could not obtain a valid conviction for the direct parties who acted the offence, was able to logically interdict the original conspiratorial brain behind the exercise. Notwithstanding the questions about a military obtained confession bereft of an attorney for the confessor, should such evidence be able stand, even when the parties who made it later allege duress thus seek withdrawal of the confession. I hope the acknowledgement of the acquittal of the persons suspected to have given effect to the crime in the verdict, by a superior court of record is not a prophetic clairvoyance, on the likely fate of the current conviction should it be subjected to a more dispassionate judicial review of an appellate court. Yet, should such a scenario were to happen, it would be a historic opportunity missed to sell the superior dictum of the rule of law, over petulant pettiness of the whims of men, no matter the height of their earthly grace of public office.

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Bolaji Abdullahi, Nigeria's Sport Minister

Following the disquiet that attended last week’s stakeholders meeting called by Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdulahi, to find a way forward to the lingering legal tussle in Nigerian football, fresh indications have emerged that sports authorities may have perfected a plan to set up a new ‘Nigeria Football Association’, NFA.

Inside sources revealed that the plan will be made as a follow-up to a court judgment a forthnight ago, declaring that the NFF and the Nigeria Premier League are unknown to Nigerian law.

The grand design, it was further gathered will see the new NFA, inaugurated by the National Sports Commission (NSC), after which a visit to FIFA, will seek the understanding of the world body and possibly set up a normalization committee.

The development has sent football managers in the country warning of the danger of such a move with several qualifiers staring the nation in the face.

Nigeria plays Kenya in an U-17 World Cup qualifier for women in Abeokuta , this weekend, then face an U-20 Women qualifier and the all-important Nations Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali by February 29.

Fears are that such a move at this time may lead to a FIFA hammer, even as the NFF leadership, say they are aware of the development and will make legal moves to vacate the court order on it.

“We hope such a move is not initiated because we have been distracted enough and Nigerians should know where to finger-point if anything happens to our qualifiers”, an NFF board member, who prefers anonymity hinted.

Source: Vanguard

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1. FIFA Lift Nigeria Suspension
2. Nigerian U-Turn The Right Thing To Do: by Roberto A.
3. Nigeria Announce Plans For The 2012 Olympic Qualifiers

Allison Madueke, Nigeria's Petroleum Minister

LAGOS — A proposal by the Federal Government to expend an annual average of N27 million on each staff of the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, as personnel cost caused a stir at the National Assembly, yesterday.

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, who led the DPR team and other agencies of the Ministry of Petroleum to the Senate defence hearing, however, assured that the government in a bid to curtail the burgeoning personnel cost was set to embark on a rationalization of its staff and agencies.

An estimated N30 billion of a total budget of N35 billion proposed for the DPR is earmarked for the department’s 1,100 staff.

A breakdown of the budget presentation tabled before the six committees of the National Assembly showed that of DPR’s N35, 997,149,841 budget, capital expenditure is only N4,786,302,790 while N31,210,847,051 will go to personnel costs and overheads.  The budget estimate also indicated that personnel costs for DPR in 2012 is put at N30,399,182,331 while the remaining N811,664,720 is for overhead costs.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Senator Paulker Emmanuel, while noting that the huge overhead costs in the petroleum sector was worrisome, stressed that the budgetary proposals of the agencies in the sector must focus towards the capital side as a way of enhancing value.

“I feel so worried as a Nigerian because if our budget is tailored towards that style, then, we are not creating hopes for investing in infrastructure and I hope you have noted that. I think there’s need for us to have a change and the oil industry is assumed to be a capital intensive industry.”

Addressing the Committees, Director of the DPR, Mr. Austin Olorunshola, however, said the department was about to recruit more staff within the next two weeks. It was, however, not clear if the new staff were factored into the 1,100 staff projected for in the budget.

Speaking further, Allison-Madueke told the joint committee that the executive branch was already working on rationalisation in all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

According to her, the purpose of the rationalisation was to merge some agencies and scrap others, adding that in the process, some members of staff would be laid off to reduce personnel and overhead cost of governance.

We ‘ll scale down staff – Minister

The Minister who said the situation with the recurrent expenditure profile of the DPR was symptomatic of the entire civil service in Nigeria.

“This is symptomatic of the entire federal civil service. It’s not solely in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, it goes across the civil service but that is why Mr. President has called for a critical rationalization of the ministries, departments and agencies with a view to reducing the recurrent expenditure and overheads.”

Continuing, she said “the slight increase in DPR’s recurrent budget represents provisions for anticipated recruitment of new staff to improve the overall effectiveness of the department,” adding, “You will also notice that the PPPRA is cap.

Source: Vanguard

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2. NLC Plans Mass Action Over Subsidy Removal … Asks National Assembly Not to Pass Budget 2012
3. Nigerian Air Force May Be Grounded – CAS

Imam Abubakar Shekau, Boko Haram leader

The violent Islamic sect, Boko Haram, has denied reports that his spokesman Abu Qada, has been arrested by the State Security Service.

The denial came even as the confusion set off by initial reports of Qada’s arrest on Tuesday deepened.

Qaqa, known for granting interviews and issuing statements on behalf of the group, was reportedly arrested in Kaduna by the SSS, early on Wednesday.

However, speaking with journalists from an unknown location on Thursday, a man who claimed he was Qada said the militant arrested was one Abu Dardaa.

“The person that was arrested was Abu Dardaa and not Abu-Qaqa. I am Abul Qaqa, the spokesman for the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunnati Lidda’awati Wal Jihad. Abu Dardaa is the head of the Lagina (Dept) of public enlightenment and not the spokesman,” the man said.

The militant went on to say that Dardaa was asked by the sect to meet with government officials after the group had decided to respond to the government’s call for dialogue.

“The arrest of Abu Dardaa is an outright deception and betrayal by the Nigerian government and security agents. They proclaimed dialogue and are doing the opposite. His arrest has proved to us that they were waiting for us to avail ourselves so that they can arrest us.

“We purposely sent Abu Dardaa to Kaduna to discuss with some key government functionaries on the issue of dialogue. Indeed, he had started talking to them but unknown to him, they (had) directed some security agents to trail him and arrest him.

“This is exactly what happened. He volunteered to present himself for the dialogue but was betrayed. Everybody knows our capability and tactics of operation. It is evidently clear that none of our members could be caught on a platter of gold and without confrontation.”

He added that their plan was to hold further meetings with government after the exploratory talks.

He said, “We initially thought that the much talked about dialogue was true and we actually resolved that after the initial meeting with Dardaa, we would send five representatives to stand for us.

“Part of what we told him to discuss with the government representatives was the unconditional release of our members as pre-condition for any further discussion.”

Qada urged government to release all their members in detention, adding that it was the only panacea for peace.

“I want to reiterate that we want all our members to be released for peace to return and for dialogue to hold.”

Qada spoke on the heels of reports on Thursday that security agencies had not confirmed if the man arrested on Tuesday was the sect’s spokesperson.

Sources in the security service have been reluctant to confirm the identity of the suspect arrested, saying he was being interrogated to confirm his identity.

A source in one of the security services told Reuters that the suspect had been flown to Abuja for interrogation.

“He is under interrogation,” the source said on condition of anonymity, declining to provide further details.

However, the spokesperson for the SSS, Maryln Ogar, had told the AFP that she was not aware of the arrest.

“When you have an ongoing operation, a lot of people are brought in, and until you are able to put a face to a name nothing can be confirmed,” Ogar reportedly said.

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Professor Ruqqayatu Rufai, Nigeria's Education Minister

At the graduation ceremony of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), last week, President Goodluck Jonathan lived up to the way the public perceives him as an ostrich that likes to hide from or evade responsibility for an unpleasant outcome. The president said he was appalled by the poor ranking of Nigerian universities at continental and international levels. He was represented at the ceremony by Education Minister Ruqayyatu Rufai. Jonathan said a recent report that showed no Nigerian university to be “among the top 10 providers of tertiary institutions in Africa, not to mention globally” had exposed the poor quality of university education in the country.

Jonathan’s remarks must be considered abnormal or bizarre. As a former university academic, he cannot claim ignorance of the problems that haunt university education in the country. In his preposterous speech, he said the country “cannot be a great nation on the back of poorly trained youth. It is for this reason that the transformation of our nation must start in the classrooms”. If Nigerian youth are trained poorly, Jonathan must take some of the blame in his capacity as the president. No person other than Jonathan is better placed to account for the poor academic training to which Nigerian youth are exposed.

As the Vanguard reported on Monday, 30 January 2012, Jonathan said his government was committed to “bringing about the desired transformation in the country and the education sector” which was informed by his belief that “a sound education system is key to the transformation of Nigeria’s economy to make it competitive.” How duplicitous can the president be! Jonathan has never shown commitment to the entrenchment of a sound education system in Nigeria. If he was so dedicated, he would have since resolved the distressing industrial strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). There is no transformation, latent or manifest, in the country’s education system. What we have in the education sector is retrogression, not positive change as Jonathan would like to propagate.

Inadequate provision of funds has always undermined university education in the country. For example, in an editorial opinion published on Tuesday, 22 February 2005, The Guardian adduced systematic evidence to show how federal funding for university education has plunged from 11.12 per cent in 1999 to the shocking figure of 4.54 per cent in 2004. In 2000, according to The Guardian, budgetary allocation to university education was 8.76 per cent (down from 11.12 per cent in just one year), 7 per cent in 2001, 6.1 per cent in 2002, 4.75 per cent in 2003, and 4.54 per cent in 2004. These figures show that the federal government – including the eight years of Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency – has maintained steadily a policy that diminished rather than enhanced the quality of university education in Nigeria since 1999?

In a speech designed to give the impression that his government is serious about lifting the quality of education in the country, Jonathan said at the recent convocation ceremony of the UNN: “Transformation is not just another slogan… Let me assure you that our decision to support the education sector is resolute. We will continue to work until our universities become centres of excellence.” This is baffling commentary. Where is the support? On which platform is the government working to convert the nation’s universities into so-called centres of excellence? Jonathan likes to throw in words arbitrarily without considering their meanings or implications.

It must come as a surprise to many people that a president who has ignored demands by university academics for improvement in university funding and infrastructure support, should express shock at the low rating of Nigerian universities in Africa and across the world. If Nigerian universities are rated poorly across the world, we need not consult a spiritualist to understand why. We have a president who likes to play the ostrich in regard to poor quality of university education even though the solutions sit on his breakfast table.

Education standards in Nigerian universities have since collapsed. More specifically, the quality of teaching and research in universities has diminished irreparably. How can Nigerian universities rate highly against their overseas counterparts when academic calendar is regularly disrupted owing to incessant industrial relations disputes between academic staff (arguably the advocates of quality education) and federal authorities (the penny-pinching bureaucrats concerned with conserving money)? In the past two months, teaching, learning and research have been suspended in public universities owing to unresolved issues (including poor levels of funding) between academic staff and the federal government. A sustainable environment for the advancement of teaching and learning does not exist in public universities in Nigeria.

University education in Nigeria has been undermined considerably by sporadic and sometimes inexcusable strikes. Constant disruption to academic studies is a measure of the poverty of ideas that has gripped higher education planners in the country. It also reflects badly on the government’s lack of knowledge of how to achieve best practice in teaching and learning and research.

Jonathan’s key concern should be how to upgrade educational institutions so they can help to fill the knowledge gap that exists among the students and the graduates. The poor quality of university education is discernible in many ways. There are many university graduates who cannot express themselves properly in written and oral forms of the English language. Many of the graduates also grapple with the fundamentals of mathematics. Our flawed education system has continued to produce half-baked graduates. Is this the environment in which Jonathan expects Nigerian universities to receive high marks or to compete favourably with their overseas counterparts? A farmer who cultivates yam cannot expect to harvest cocoyam.

Without adequate funding, without modern infrastructure and technologies that facilitate teaching and research in the universities, no one should expect our universities to be ranked anywhere near the first 10 leading higher education institutions in Africa or beyond. Let the government and the private sector provide the funds and new technologies, let the universities engage in innovative teaching practices that will encourage their students to adopt deep approaches to learning rather than surface approaches to learning that privilege memorising of information for assessment purposes only.

To improve quality teaching and research, university lecturers must be compelled to undertake regular professional development programmes designed to update their qualifications, to enhance their knowledge and their skills, and to familiarise them with the challenges of teaching in the 21st century university system. We need an all-inclusive strategy to address falling standards of university education.

Without sufficient funds, without well-equipped science and technology laboratories, without sufficient space to accommodate students in lecture rooms, without basic library facilities, the government’s desire to transform Nigerian universities into centres of excellence will remain a pipedream. We must admit that our universities are less competitive than their overseas counterparts because of their old-fashioned teaching practices, because of the poor quality of library facilities, because of the low level of research, and because they are poorly funded. To sustain quality in the university system, the government should encourage the retention of high standards among academic staff in regard to the promotion of the scholarship of teaching, learning and research.

Standards of university education have crumbled over the years and there is no indication that the situation would improve soon. Various factors account for the deterioration of university education in Nigeria. They include but are not limited to non-existence of essential structures to support excellent teaching and learning practices, as well as research. The universities must also address the outrageous culture of indiscipline among staff and students.

Nigerian university academics must be accountable to their students and their employers by undergoing a transparent and rigorous system of annual appraisal. This should be seen as a part of ongoing professional development. Staff promotion and yearly salary increment must be earned. And they must be based on specific, transparent and measurable criteria. For example, academic staff seeking promotion or salary increment must provide, on a yearly basis, unimpeachable evidence of achievements in the areas of: (a). innovative teaching practices; (b). research, including proof of successful competitive grant applications at home and abroad, as well as research-based publications in top tier journals; (c). evidence of successful supervision of research higher degree students such as PhD, MPhil and Honours students; and (d). evidence of effective involvement in community service.

Additionally, as part of the annual appraisal of academic staff, students must be given an opportunity to evaluate their lecturers’ teaching methods. This is important because students, as the key stakeholders in the universities, deserve to be accorded greater voice and privileges than is presently the case in our universities. Universities must also institute regular evaluation of their curricula to ensure that they are reflective of the realities and challenges of the 21st century university system.

The collapse of university education must be seen as a national tragedy. Extensive changes will be required to resuscitate quality education at the university level. How many Nigerian universities can brag about the quality and number of books and journals they hold in their libraries or the quality of the equipment they hold in their science laboratories? How many of the universities have passable sports facilities or playgrounds that are well maintained? To put it forcefully, an environment favourable to teaching and research does not exist in our universities. Jonathan understands these facts but he likes to pretend he does not know.

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The self-acclaimed Boko Haram leader, Imam Abubakar Shekau

United Nations (AFP) – The UN Security Council raised concerns Wednesday about security and the humanitarian situation in the Sahel, citing arms proliferation and the influence of militant groups in the African region.

The 15-member Security Council, which reviewed the situation following the release of a report by a UN mission, said many of the problems have been present for years but have been exacerbated by the Libyan crisis.

“In this context, the members of the Security Council expressed their concern about the security and humanitarian situation in the Sahel region,” the council said in a statement.

It said “arms proliferation, and large-scale influx of returnees from Libya, exacerbated long-standing and serious problems including terrorist activities by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Boko Haram, transnational organized crime including illicit drug trafficking, recurrent food crises and lack of development in vulnerable remote areas.”

The council members expressed their strong support for efforts by countries in the region to deal with those challenges and stressed “the urgent need for a coordinated and inclusive approach by all main stakeholders.”

A UN mission that travelled to the Sahel highlighted in its report last week the threat posed by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which is active in Nigeria, and its links with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

It recounted numerous examples of increased activity by terrorist groups and organized crime in the Sahel since the Libyan crisis, and called for greater regional and international cooperation.

Mauritania, Algeria, Niger, and Mali are among the countries faced with growing insecurity linked to attacks involving Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and other criminal groups.

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