Who Will Pay The Hardship Allowance Of 112 Million Poor Nigerians? By Alkasim Abdulkadir

In truth the cost of governance in Nigeria is tragically appalling. There are 112 million poor Nigerians living below the poverty line, some of them in abject, debilitating penury according to the national bureau of statistics; however our national assembly in a magnanimous show of self love pays itself a plethora of the following allowances Hardship, Constituency, furniture, newspaper, wardrobe, recess, leave, severance gratuity accommodation, utilities, domestic staff, entertainment, personal assistant, motor vehicle, vehicle maintenance and duty tour allowance. For those who are familiar with social media, young people in Nigeria have decided to take the conversation offline; they have resolved to protest at the National Assembly. The three arms zone will receive those who are rightly the proverbial leaders of tomorrow in a bid to set Nigeria path to redemption. With this action they have not only transited from the years of siddon look, but have also transited beyond what some call social media rants on Twitter and Facebook. Stemming from a life time of military rule, some components of governance in Nigeria are still shrouded in a veil of utter secrecy. The opaqueness is so alarming that government after government have maintained the status quo irrespective of their progressive inclination. Take for instance the NNPC, perhaps one of the most opaque and shadowy organisations in the world with a labyrinth of accounting and auditing parameters, or other opaque government expenditures like the security vote, the ubiquitous financial pool to maintain law and order in states and local governments. A while back at a convocation ceremony in Benin the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had raised an alarm in his speech where he challenged the deficit reasoning in spending a whopping 25 percent of the countrys budget on the national assembly. This singular action no doubt created a ripple in the polity. The catalyst for this protest in my opinion was the Economist Magazines analysis that A Nigerian legislator receives an annual salary of about $189,000, equivalent of N30 million, which is 116 times the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) per person. Nigerian legislators beat their counterparts in Britain who take $ 105,400 yearly, as well as those in the United States ($174,000), France ($85,900), South Africa ($ 104,000), Kenya ($74,500), Saudi Arabia ($64,000) and Brazil ($ 157,600). In terms of lawmakers salaries as a ratio of GDP per capita, the gap is even much wider. While the salary of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the countrys GDP per person, that of a British member of parliament is just 2.7 times. The report also said Britains legislators pay is relatively parsimonious when compared with that of their counterparts in poorer countries, including Nigeria, who enjoy the heftiest salaries by this measure. According to the data, only Australian lawmakers, with $ 201,200 annual salary, receive higher amounts compared to Nigerian legislators, but their salaries are only 3 times their countrys GDP per person. Other yearly salary details published by the Economist are those of lawmakers in Ghana ($46,500), Indonesia ($65,800), Thailand ($ 43,800), India ($11,200), Italy ($ 182,000), Bangladesh ($4,000), Israel ($114,800), Hong Kong ($ 130,700), Japan ($149,700), Singapore ($154,000), Canada ($ 154,000), New Zealand ($112,500), Germany ($119,500), Ireland ($ 120,400), Pakistan ($3,500), Malaysia ($25,300), Sweden ($ 99,300), Sri Lanka ($5,100), Spain ($43,900) and Norway ($138,000). However, the RMAFC in a bid to do damage control has said described the lumping of all salaries and allowances into yearly totals as erroneous as some of the entitlements were non-regular and are paid only once in four years. According to the RMAFC each Senator gets N 4 million while each House of Reps member gets N3.97 million. As vehicle loan each Senator takes N8 million, while Reps collect N7.94 million. The furniture allowance for each Senator is N6 million, while Reps furniture allowance stands at N5.956 million for each member. Severance gratuity for each Senator N6.09 million, for Reps, it is N5.956 million. Like the vehicle loan, severance gratuities are paid only once in 4 years. The commission however made it known that accommodation allowance is paid to each legislator every year. Other annual allowances include those for motor vehicle fuelling and maintenance, for which Senators are entitled to N1.52 million each and their House of Reps counterparts pocket N1.489 million. Constituency, Senators get N5 million, Reps N1.985 million, domestic staff allowance for Senators amounts to N1.519 million while each Rep takes N1.488million. Legislators are also given allowance for personal assistants, for each Senator, the figure is N506,600 while for Reps it is N496,303, for entertainment Senators

Maxwell Adegbenro: Independent Day – where is the future?

It is just days to Nigeria’s independence; The brigade drum is set to give us another freedom beat. It is independent day celebration; they say it calls for celebration. What do we celebrate, Impunity or the future ahead of us. The pop of baileys, champagnes, clicks of glasses as the clock ticks ominously in façade of memories. Independence is a celebration of class of people (not elites), provocative glimpse of colors that failed honor, the balloon flying and gun-shot at stadia remain and refreshes the unblemished memory of our national unity. October 1, 2013 noted and dotted should mark fifty three years of Nigeria’s independence in what some may believe shouldn’t be a rosy celebration. If asked, to be or not is a dignified attitude of belief not as nation parse but as an independent factor, individual whose evaluation model is hell-bent on improved mistakes that have experienced growth, liberation from estranged bigotry of hope. The quality of mistakes and errors made arose fears of national sanctions since it has become an essential feature of freedom by application of Mahatma Ghandis words ““Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” There is no gain saying we have never got it fairer since transition from military to civil rule in 1999, sectors of Nigerias economy that have been impoverished had received a boost of reformation through unsustainable policies triggered by travails of political crisis in the state and policy from skewed political leaders managing affairs, those that are not ripe to be a primary school head-masters let alone managing a ministry. ‘We have broken up from colonialism and the tendencies of colonialism that have kept our true identity, strength, effort, ideals, character, principles and unique style from leading our fortune, destiny and life as a nation. Richard Sklar’s developed characters of the African continent as a “workshop of democracy,” is certainly sought and considered from an in-depth thoroughness and administrative evaluations backed by assailing policy somersault, and that makes us a perfect example. Nigeria has experimented with different federal, state, and local government systems, learning more about decisions, its needs, resources, and constraints with each experiment. Despite, the charade of democratic activities from political charlatans dominating the sphere of leadership, Nigerian society has retained the memory of military adversary through the many of the fundamental building blocks in democratic polity: the innuendo of victimization, frustrations, vigorous entrepreneurial classes, a broad onstitutional breach and numerous zero tolerance to initiative of improved standard higher education, a lack of dynamic legal community and judiciary, and the lack increasingly, courageous human rights organizations. Every year, the series of events that frustrate our collective independence celebration hinges on corruption, insecurity, economic and leadership downtrodden. When can we ever get budgetary allocation properly executed with influences on socio economic and cultural growth? When in our political system will our leaders appreciate the interest of the people in entirety without polluting or injecting perkily the Nigeria look of leadership? I was at a State Library recently in Ekiti couple of days ago when someone (corpers) in a group of three walked up to me for an interview. They wanted to find out, for research, the average opinion of people about Nigeria. I was asked, ‘What does Nigeria mean to me and What is workable in Nigeria?’ And I answered, Nigeria mean a lot and ‘Nothing!’ absolutely is working, not the vast natural resources is efficiently utilized for the growth of the economy since we depend so much on crude oil. Not even the oneness and generosity of peaceful co-existence and love. Unfortunately that didn’t go well with the corpers they were discouraged from going further and since truth must be told, the least of my sincerity about Nigeria deluded them. Does that bury the inquisition of hopeful nation, the possibility of greater state-nation is strongly hopeful of thought that things will definitely turn around for our good and perpetual prosperity as a nation if we are ready to defend the course of unity. The generic challenges of tribal differences and ethnic war must be retraced. The man like me may not be able to explain how, but can say even at worst situations: We are growing. With the foregoing spate of development in the state the cardinal- models of development under the presidential system in my opinion are in three ranges. • Fighting for the sovereignty of nation; Believing in oneness, subverting the obnoxious belief of blaming our woes on ethnic and religious difference. The people must be self-determined for change, and change of freedom can only come in mawkish shape by restoring the loss with collateral sacrifices. • Fighting against despotic policies and selfish leadership decisions that are unpopular and neither in the interest of the people nor for the good of the people, the land and posterity; • Fighting to protect basic identity and principles of the people against foreign erosion and bastardization. The cardinals are bore out of the understudy challenges and oriented action plan worthy of delivering the promises and restoring our desires. It will not be puerile or a wasted struggle like the occupy Nigeria war of fuel subsidy removal whose success is marred by violent because individual roles were truncated by diverse interest and continuity. Nigeria is a corruption ridding state, enlisting politicians are in oil cartel. Efforts at dragging them to face the wrath of angry masses failed to enjoy the voluminous solace of the rally in all states in freeing Nigeria from corruption. like Jim Morrison “The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.” That is spirit of freedom, delivering oneself from the shackle of disbelief. It becomes a fight because the federated people (politicians) at the helms of affairs are precarious and have taken dominance completely of sectors and systems and when the people under democratic rule become undetermined to seek the general good in them beyond the whimsy electorate in line with the concepts, without undue individualism the future can then be guaranteed. It is a fight because as much as they spend all their time, effort, spirit and material, they still maintain a strong hope for success. The story is history; most times they lose their lives in the struggle even when they know of the possibility. They pre-dedicate their struggle to posterity. However, it is essentially important to discuss the class of people to entrust our right and interest for. As it stands today, the political platforms in Nigeria is leveling up to a two party system. People Democratic Party and All Progressive Congress Party, APC is a new political class, the fusion of old politicians believed to be progressively distinguished in character and principle. Her formation was characterized by rigorous attempt to water the idea by severe criticism from opposition because of the threat it pose. The party had so much enjoyed the sympathy of Nigeria until now that a fraction of the ruling class suddenly posited to have been beclouded by witty tales of possibility and are tired of trying hard though the excuse is mischievous and unacceptable but we can but accept their template. Their leader, Atiku and Baraje, angered factional Chairman of PDP claimed to have been marginalized, denigrated from party politics and participation. To me, I call it a question of loyalty in an association that housed corrupt practices. Just when the corruption looked well to Nigerians to have been identified as the reason why PDP is losing support of members, political power was allowed to be rivaled on interest, Rotimi Ameachi, Gov of Rivers State is a stubborn victim of the frivolous agenda at the peril of losing his House, President Jonathan is hell-bent on pursuing his 2015 agenda. However, the repulsing attitude of Nigeria meaningful end and quickened their readiness to harness the word peaceful change. APC, under the Leadership of Bisi Akande, former Osun State Governor, El-Rufai, Metu, balarabe Musa, Ibrahim Shakarau, Buhari, Tinubu and all the serving APC governors presented a power packed programmes and manifestos. Of importantly and Strong is the quest to fight corruption, if nothing will appeal to the people, corruption a virus trenching and cutting the edge of our resources is a major challenge, dutifully the party is aimed. Example of the depth of this corruption is glaring in the salary scale of House of Assembly, Senate and representative. Also,the Ministry of Petroleum is yet to clear the plethora of fraud allegations that have beclouded its activities, revelations of huge fraud in the Ministry has become a monthly ritual. Ranging from missing bid proceeds right from 2000 to May 2006, through unclear accounting of proceeds from crude oil sales to reckless allocation of lucrative oil acreages to politicians whose only idea of oil business is their link to the Presidency, it has been one fresh case after another in an dministration that prides itself in its anti-corruption campaign. In lieu the future of our great nation lies in the strength we draw from starvation, poverty and unemployment when some class are busy enriching their pocket. The future of Nigeria after 53years is vested in the revolving desire to be the change, obliterating the grueling challenges to conform to principle of perception. The future of Nigeria is you, a force of beckons asking questions and holding on to your right. Keeping quiet poses a greater danger if Nigerians will not be ready to settle for the available again comes 2015. Maxwell Adegbenro is a Public Analyst and JournalistWrites from Ado Ekiti. Follow @MaxAdegbenro

STILL ON THE KILLINGS AT APO

Let me start by stating that I am not unaware of the activities of the Military and other security agencies in find a lasting solution to the current security challenge we have in the country. They have been working without exhaustion, to ensure that we have peace in the country, and I commend them for that. Most of them have been killed, putting their families in the pain and anguish of losing a loved one and breadwinners. We all know the risk out there and we appreciate your efforts. However, even though we commend your efforts in bring peace, we cannot turn a blind eye when you step out of the line by killing innocent civilians, people who remain vulnerable and have entrusted their safety into your care. It is in this light that one brings the killings at Apo on Saturday, 21 September to question. The State Security Service (SSS) is currently in the eye of the storm, for the killings carried out on that day, where about nine people lost their lives. There are certain questions begging for answers, and there cannot be a better body other than the SSS, to provide answers. Especially when the survivors of the attack have given their own account and have said they are not terrorists. The SSS said it received a security report that people were planning to attack certain facilities in Abuja. If they actually received such report, were they supposed to kill the suspects the way the did? These terrorists have a network of connection and sponsors. How will killing them give the SSS and other security agencies the information it needs to curtail future operations? The SSS said its men first came under attacks. If they were first shot at, how many of its men were injured? The operation took place in the dead of the night isn't it? The SSS should tell Nigerians the casualty figure if any on its part. At least we all heard that nine 'terrorist' were killed. The SSS said it went to dig up hidden arms at the Apo Legislative Quarters. Like it is always done, why didn't the SSS show these arms or weapons to the members of the public? We only saw dead and injured people, but we didn't see any weapon allegedly carried by them. Here too, the SSS has failed to adequately convince Nigerians. The SSS should know that Nigerians are enlightened and will definitely ask questions; so it was supposed to put it house in orders. We cannot forget in a hurry that on the 8 June, 2005, the police killed some traders in what became popularly known as Apo six. After killing those trader, the police set their dead bodies up by saying that they were criminals. The police falsely kept arms on these bodies and took pictures of them. The trauma to the families of the deceased remains incalculable. Some of these bodies had to be exhumed in order to know the cause of death years after they were buried. In fact on the day the SSS went on that killing rampage at Apo, suspected Boko Haram members dressed in Military uniforms had a swell time killing over 145 people in Bornu State. Where was the Army when these people were have a great time carrying out these killings? This new move by the terrorist must be check-mated. If it fails to do this, then the tension already generated will heighten, because people will find it difficult to trust the genuine Military men. The reason is not far fetched, how do you differentiate between a genuine Military man from a terrorist in Military Uniform? It's high time we found a lasting solution to these cowards who terrorise our lives and have threatened the existence of this nation. As a people, we have had too many deaths and pains caused by these terrorists. Therefore, we cannot withstand more deaths caused by people who are supposed to the protecting us and helping us to find solutions to the insecurity we currently have and help allay our fears. If the terrorist and security agencies all kill civilians, then where lies the hope of security for an insecured people? God bless Nigeria Frank O Ijege, frankijege@yahoo.com Foijege on twitter

Jaye Gaskia : The National Assembly As A Metaphor For National Profligacy

Increasingly as an integral part of the heightened national discourse on the skyrocketing and unsustainable cost of governance in the country; more and more search light of scrutiny is being beamed on the National Assembly [NASS] at the national/federal level in particular, and legislative assemblies across all tiers of government in general. So, for instance, we now know that our federal legislators at the National Assembly are some of the highest paid in the world [first in Africa, and only 3rd behind US and Australia globally], even though they continue to deny that they are so highly paid, while refusing in flagrant violation of provisions of federal legislation passed into law by the same assembly and assented to by the President of the Federal Republic – the Freedom of Information [FOI] Act. It is scandalous enough that in a nation where 70% of the population live in poverty, that is over 110 million persons; where general unemployment is 24% [that is one in four persons of working age are out of job]and youth unemployment between 45% and 50% [that is one in two youths of working age are out of job]; and where there is, all by official account, well over 18 million housing deficit; that the elected representatives of the people of such a country could be the 3rd highest paid in world! It is even more unbelievably scandalous, that their average remuneration is more than 116 times the average per capital income of citizens! Whereas in the US and Australia cases, the earnings of their legislators is 2 and 4 times the average national per capita income respectively. So both in quantitative and qualitative terms, the earnings of our legislators are unjustifiable as they are criminally indefensible. And on this account of their unconscionable and inhuman earnings [contrast this with the miserable 18,000 Naira minimum wage that is not even being paid and that different state and federal MDAs are complaining they are unable to pay; or contrast with the earned allowances of University Lecturers at N87bn that is being owed to ASUU members, etc]; on the account of this unearned payments to our legislators, none of the arguments that they have come up with makes any sense in a sane society, or to any sane people. Some of them have said the demands on legislators by their constituents is immense, hence the need for resources that will enable them meet those demands. What fallacy?! What nonsense! Create the enabling environment for the economy to grow, be productive and create sustainable jobs and livelihoods; and block all leakages and waste in public expenditure, including putting an end to corruption; and there will be not just drastic reduction in poverty levels and jobless rates; but as well as there will be no more demands made on politicians by the electorates to cushion the effect of poverty! Let us go a bit further; in the last 8 years, over N1tn has been appropriated by the NASS [this works out to N100bn annually over four years; and N150bn annually over subsequent four years]. Furthermore, over the last ten [10] years, more than N900bn, just slightly less than N1tn has been spent on constituency projects of members of the National assembly alone! In 2013 for instance, there are listed in the Federal Budget breakdown, 2,399 constituency projects for the National Assembly. If we assume a flat rate of 1,500 constituency projects per annum, over the last 10 years, this will come to over 15,000 constituency projects in total. If we assume a more or less equitable distribution per LGAs, this should leave us with an average of more than 17 constituency projects per LGA. The question to ask is that where are these constituency projects? What has been their impact on constituency development, on community development, or on national development? With nearly N1tn investment on constituency development over ten years, and about 17 such projects per LGA, why has poverty rate grown from 54% in 2004 to 70% in 2012? Why did unemployment rate increase from 8% in 1999 to 24% in 2011? Why did the Housing Deficit skyrocket from less than 10 million housing units before the present democratic dispensation, to the over 18 million housing units currently? It is important that we pose these questions and pose them stringently, and now. It is even more important the national discourse around the absurdly high cost of governance be undertaken in the context of cost efficiency, value for money, and impact of governance on our economy as a people, and on our lives as citizens. For we must factor in the fact that this nearly N1tn investment on constituency development over a 10 year period, is in addition to the more than tens, if not hundreds [in total] of combined public investment [including regular and special intervention funds] in national development since 1999 by all the three tiers of government! In the period since 2007 for instance, more than N2tn in special intervention funds have been injected into the economy by the Federal Government alone! Where has all these monies/funds/resources gone into? Into what use have they been put? What have been the tangible and or intangible impacts? Is the impact to be measured in the more than N5tn lost to corruption in the two years between July 2010 and June 2012? At a shocking monthly Treasury Looting Rate of nearly N220bn? Or is it to be found in the nearly 12,000 abandoned Federal projects at a whopping cost of over N7.7tn [for which N2.2tn has already been paid in mobilisation fees] that litters the national territory? Or are we to discover the impact in the obscene, sudden, ill-gotten wealth of the new-rich? Under these circumstances, the cost of maintaining these treasury looting political elites and their business elite cohorts can only be described as monumental waste and the embodiment of national profligacy. In these context, with a thieving and gluttonous ruling class interested only in lining its own pockets [along with the pockets of their most senior prebendal clientele]; it is up to us ordinary citizens, victims of their profligacy, gross ineptitude, and crass incompetence, to pick up the gauntlet, take our destiny back into our own hands; and take urgent and concrete steps to Take Back Nigeria; and in our own live time! When we abandon politics to riffraff’s, and governance to selfish pilferers, the result is mass poverty, mass homelessness, mass joblessness, and a level of insecurity which directly reflects the degree of alienation of citizens from society. And against the background of the growing ferment in society, among the victims of their misrule; against the background of the increasing deepening implosion among the thieving elites; we can only reiterate that ‘this is the time to reflect, to rethink, and to ACT’; and in our own interests, for once! Visit: takebacknigeria.blogspot.com; Follow me on Twitter: @jayegaskia & @[DPSR]protesttopower; Interact with me on Facebook: Jaye Gaskia & Take Back Nigeria

Essentials Of Starting a Small Business

Understanding what it takes to start a business is essential to your financial success. Owners of established ventures, captains of industries and experts in management, human resources and personal finance say it is better for an entrepreneur to start a business on a small/medium scale and nurture it to an enviable height than starting big. They say you can start your dream venture without necessarily having an academic qualification, office, millions of naira or permission. Below are other things you may not need before you take the step to having your own business, according to experts: A strictly ‘adhere-to’ manual Entrepreneurship is not mathematics, experts say. Though the entrepreneur may have to do some calculations in the running of his business, it is not mandatory that he strictly abides by laid down guidelines in a textbook or manual. Experts note that while having a general roadmap or plan is good, it is important to be dexterous during these fast-changing times. According to professionals, doing things by trial and error is one of the approaches one can adopt in running a business. An entrepreneur can discover great business ideas by being open to trying new things, and most importantly, by being ready to move on whenever he encounters failure. Experts say the key is that once you find an open lane to something that works, you must keep going on that lane as fast as possible. This is because if you drive down that lane and get better and better at driving, you may end up getting another lane with better prospects. An immediate monetary return The Managing Director, Stipact Consultancy, Ms. Funke Adeniran, says young entrepreneurs must be willing to put in serious time and effort in their businesses without eagerly expecting a timely monetary return. She notes that entrepreneurs must be ready to spend cash without the guarantee that they may break even in the nearest future, much less making profit immediately. Adeniran says she started in business with a meagre sum after leaving her paid employment with an oil firm. According to her, young entrepreneurs need to understand that profit do not turn in immediately one’s business is established. She adds that the entrepreneur should rather seek avenues to further grow his venture, either by selling tangible properties to boost his business, or by seeking support from family and friends to drive the business to a competitive height. Publicity stunts You don’t need publicity stunts or gimmicks before you establish a business. According to experts, if there was going to be one rule to live by in the world of entrepreneurship, it would be to always be yourself as an entrepreneur. They note that publicity stunts are exhausting and short-lived in the minds of your target audience. Experts say gimmicks are always cover-ups and are weak efforts to distract audiences from different types of shortcomings of the entrepreneur in question. So you should know that by being genuine, you can earn people’s attention the right way and keep their attention without necessarily carrying out stunts. Professionals advise that you should be authentic, even if you fear it will make you look unprofessional. This is because people don’t always want to buy from a professional image. They want to buy from a person they know, like and trust. And people don’t trust companies; people trust people, experts say. You will be amazed by the response you get from your readers and customers when you approach them naturally. A better way to be natural is by putting your personality into everything you do. You have to connect and make your project something that reflects you. So be honest with yourself. Provide your clients with some kind of product or service that can truly improve their lives, their environments or the experiences of the people they care about. Be innovative as this is what fuels every industry. Experts say as long as there are smart people coming up with better, faster, smaller, cheaper, or more fun ways to do things, people will pay for them for the items. A duplicate Just as was stated earlier, you don’t have to copy the exact thing which another entrepreneur is doing for you to succeed. The Chief Executive, Stripes Printing Company Limited, Mr. Goke Odebode, says, “You must apply wisdom in your chosen trade. You are one person, and that’s okay, even when you are starting a company.”. He adds that the key is to prioritise, pace yourself and exercise a lot of strength in business. Odebode says, “You should understand that you do not have enough hours in a day, so you have got to manage your own expectations, slow down a bit, delegate, and ensure that you are not spending too much time on time-sucking activities that distract you from where your efforts should be focused. You should focus during the day and then take evenings and weekends off without guilt.” Doubt This may sound simple, but it is important. You must believe in yourself, jettison doubts and take the leap. Although backup plans theoretically sound wonderful, they are often responsible for us not trying as hard as we can to succeed, expert say. They advise that you ditch all forms of doubt and backups and take a step of faith. Believe in yourself, even if you are not sure of how things are going to work out in the business. By: ADEMOLA ALAWIYE

PENSIONER, 71, SUES ASUU OVER STRIKE

A 71-year-old pensioner in Kano State, Mallam Dankano Garba Ahmed, has dragged the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) and eight others to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria over the ongoing strike embarked upon by the union. The pensioner in suit number NICN/KN/161/2013 said the strike is affecting the education of his daughter who is a 400 level Civil Engineering student at the Bayero University Kano. In the affidavit in support of the originating summon, the pensioner accused the union of frustrating his efforts to get his daughter, Zainab Garba Ahmed, out of school within the stipulated time. “The strike by the union is making my daughter who is the second plaintiff, idle, disorganised and psychologically disturbed. Being a 71- year-old man who earns less than N30,000 as pension, the strike of the union irritates me,” he said. He added, “I have other children who I wish to sponsor, but that is subject to the successful graduation of this my daughter. Her future and that of thousand others across the country are being stagnated strategically by the ongoing strike”. The pensioner is asking the court to determine whether the agreement dated 21 October 2009, entered between ASUU and the Federal Government is valid, binding, and not illegal having regards to the provision of Section 3(1) (d) of the BUK Act as well as other statutes establishing the universities owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria. “If the answer to the issue is in the negative, the court should also determine whether ASUU has a right to embark on strike for failure/ or refusal of the Federal Government to implement the said agreement,” part of the affidavit read. The pensioner is seeking perpetual injunction restraining ASUU from continuing with the strike or taking any action whatsoever and by whatever means to enforce the said agreement or compel the Federal Government to implement it. The case comes up today at the Kano division of National Industrial Court Culled from dailytrust

Health: 9 Habits That Could Put Your Heart In Trouble

With millions of people leading modern lifestyle full of stress and depression, the future looks even grimmer. Some simple, everyday habits can make a big difference in your ability to live a healthy lifestyle. Read about worst habits for your heart and how to avoid them. WATCHING TV People who sit in front of the TV for more than four hours a day were 80% more likely to die for reasons linked to heart and artery disease. Even if someone has a healthy body weight, sitting for long periods of time in front of TV or computer still has an unhealthy influence on their blood sugar and blood fats. It is all a matter of habit many of us have learned to go back home after 6 to 8 hours sitting job in office & turn the TV set on and sit down for several hours which is convenient and easy to do but we are not realizing prolonged sitting increases the risk for cardiovascular diseases. LEAVING HOSTILITY AND DEPRESSION UNCHECKED Do you often feel stressed, hostile, or depressed? All of these can take a toll on your heart too. Today each one of us feel this way some or the other time, and how you deal with these emotions can affect your heart’s health. Those likely to internalize stress are in greater danger; research has shown a benefit to laughter and social support, and it’s helpful to be able to go to someone and talk about your problems. IGNORING YOUR DENTAL HEALTH While the exact reason is unknown, there is a strong link between gum disease and heart disease, if you don’t floss, sticky, bacteria-laden plaque build-up over time, which can lead to gum disease. One theory is that these bacteria trigger inflammation in the body. Inflammation promotes all aspects of Atherosclerosis.Treating gum disease can improve blood vessel function. WITHDRAWING FROM THE WORLD It’s no secret that on some days, other human beings can seem annoying, irritating, and just plain difficult to get along with. However, it makes sense to strengthen your connections to the ones you actually like. People with stronger connections to family, friends, and society in general tend to live longer, healthier lives. Everyone needs alone time, but you should still reach out to others and keep in touch whenever you can. DRINKING (TOO MUCH) ALCOHOL Sure, studies suggest a small amount of alcohol may be good for your heart. Alas, too many over-imbibe. Excess alcohol is linked to a greater risk of high blood pressure, high levels of blood fats, and heart failure. In addition, the extra calories can lead to weight gain, a threat to heart health. Avoid excessive intake of alcohol as much as you can for a healthy life. OVEREATING Being overweight is a major risk factor for heart disease. Try to eat less, avoid oversize portions, and replace sugary drinks with water. Cutting portion sizes for high-calorie carbohydrates (think refined pastas and breads) and watching out for foods labeled “low-fat,” which are often high in calories SMOKING OR LIVING WITH A SMOKER Smoking is a total disaster for your heart. Smoking promotes blood clots, which can block blood flow to the heart, and contributes to plaque build-up in the arteries. High blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, being overweight and smoking are all risk factors that should be kept in check. AVOIDING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES ‘The most heart-healthy diet is a plant-based diet,’ That means loading up on fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and protein, and keeping junk food to a minimum. In fact, it is recommended that half of each meal should be composed of fruits and vegetables. Research has found that people who eat more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day had about 20% lower risk of heart disease and stroke than people who ate less than three servings per day. Being a salty snacker The more salt you consume, the higher your blood pressure rises. Steer clear of packaged junk food, read the labels for sodium content, and stick to the outer portions of the supermarket, which is where the fruits, vegetables, and (unsalted) nuts are. Most of us should keep sodium intake below 2,300 milligrams a day. If you have high blood pressure or are over 50, cut back to 1,500 milligrams. Source:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Dele Momodu: In Search of A Refreshing Nigerian

Fellow Nigerians, I’m happy to send you this letter from Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, where I’m attending the wedding of a young Nigerian journalist, Jide Agbeniyi and his Zimbabwean colleague and partner, Miss Josey Mahachi, the beautiful presenter of the popular Click Africa Show on Africa Magic. This piece was inspired by the manner of greetings I discovered here: “A refreshing noon or a refreshing evening to you”, are the commonest ways of salutation in this tranquil country. It is almost a mantra as everyone I met greeted me thus and it sounded so sonorous and genuinely welcoming that it then occurred to me that what human beings require in essence to enjoy life to the fullest is a refreshing existence. This is what has eluded most societies that are in deep turmoil such as ours. James, my Zimbabwean driver, an interesting companion at all times loves his country to bits. I asked him why and his answer was excitingly revealing. He said Zimbabweans find it hard to smash their heads in the name of politics and if ever they do the police will catch up and deal ruthlessly with the political thugs. He was proud that the level of violence in his country was very low compared to that of South Africa. He lectured me on the essence of peace and that no one should allow politicians to waste their precious lives. I was hoping he would ask me about such things in my own country. I was uncomfortable that I wouldn’t have known what to say or how to direct my response candidly without rubbishing a country I love so dearly. It was another lecture session at an upscale salon where I met a very intelligent therapist who gave me a clean cut. My barber provided the answer to the question I was itching and aching to ask the citizens of a country that has been totally monopolised since Independence by Pa Robert Mugabe but was too timid to venture: “How come President Mugabe has been winning your elections permanently these several decades!” As if reading my mind, David volunteered that the old man has managed to hold Zimbabwe together by offering strong and purposeful leadership and that whosoever wishes to show him the way out of office would have to clearly convince the people about what he has to offer and not just assume that he would win on a mere platter of discontent. He rhapsodised about how President Mugabe at 89 is still as fit as a fiddle. According to him, their President can still play the game of soccer. There was no way to verify this seeming hyperbole. These two guys made a lot of sense to me and I’m indeed grateful for their great insight into what many Africans don’t understand about their own continent. They provided me with simple, practical and straight-forward analysis which many Professors of political science may have found impossible to proffer. I do not have enough empirical data about Zimbabwe but one thing is certain life here is not as grim and grievous as being regularly portrayed abroad by the international media. Like other countries, Zimbabwe would have its dark parts, but however what is readily visible to the visitor is a showcase of relative development. I saw beautiful and clean roads all the way from the airport to the city centre. As a matter of fact, the road out of the airport has been recently upgraded and dualised. The airport itself is small but very elegant and incredibly functional. Immigration was friendly, welcoming and brisk. I did not see Customs rummage through any bags unnecessarily. Police presence around the city was minimal but effectively competent. There were a couple of good hotels but the one I settled for was homely with well-mannered staff who greeted you endlessly as if pleasantries were going out of fashion. I met the director of Tourism by chance over dinner and I was told tourists now flood the country after surmounting the rash of negative reports about the country. Shame that I couldn’t make time on this occasion to visit the famous Victoria Falls shared by Zimbabwe and neighbouring Zambia. I was astounded by the number of white people I saw everywhere. I had to ask what happened to our own legacy of colonial participation in Nigeria. It was as if we deliberately obliterated the whites completely out of our system as a result of boundless xenophobia and unbridled nationalism. On our part, we were too much in a hurry to settle indigenisation, nationalisation and lately local content. Whatever Zimbabwe and other Southern African nations are enjoying today must have come from the contributions of those white settlers who have been cleverly assimilated. Somehow the people of Zimbabwe have learnt to cope with adversity and it seems the leaders are also trying hard providing enough dividends of their strange variant of democracy despite daunting challenges. Many Zimbabweans I met are scared that their country may fall apart after Robert Mugabe. They have pungent examples from what befell many African countries on the exit of powerful leaders like Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga of the Republic of Congo which he changed to Zaire, Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast, Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak of Egypt, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, and others. This is the true secret of how President Robert Mugabe is able to hold on to power till kingdom come. If I was expecting to see a dilapidated country and a wretched people, I was pleasantly disappointed. I marvelled at how a supposedly bankrupt nation was forging ahead while the so-called rich nations were floundering aimlessly and without visible signs of intending to change for the better in the near future. I was told a loaf of bread used to cost billions in their old currency but today the country has wisely and dramatically taken steps to douse the rooftop inflation by adopting American dollars and South African rand as its currency. A cash machine is able to vomit up to 1,000 US dollars from your credit or debit card at once. You pay for virtually everything in those currencies and there is no confusion whatsoever about the conversion. The job of a leader is to find solutions to problems and not to be unnecessarily defensive about why things are not working each time questions are asked. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case in our neck of the woods. If aged but ageless leaders can still manage a country what’s stopping our new crop of leaders from aspiring to greatness? The little progress I can see on ground in Zimbabwe is the platform from which I’m launching this column today. It has re-assured me that our problems are man-made and they must be man-solved. These are extremely difficult times in our long-suffering country. The only time I felt as depressed about our situation as this was during those days of the agitation for the revalidation of the June 12 Presidential election which was won fair and square by Chief Moshood Abiola. The crisis was so terrible and suffocating that many people actually thought Nigeria as a nation was going to collapse and break up into smithereens. An election that miraculously unified Nigeria was soon broken into pieces by expert counterfeiters who turned it into a war of ethnic jingoists. No one was able to persuade the gladiators and garrison commanders to pause a minute and consider the collective gains of validating that wondrous election against the selfish advantages that encouraged the cold-blooded murder of our best election. Perhaps we would have had a strong and refreshing Nigerian leader in Abiola who had demonstrated beyond doubt in words and in deeds that he loved Nigeria and all its inhabitants. But that was not going to happen. That was the point at which the rickety foundation for our present mess was laid. As we continue to shilly-shally and refuse to get serious about changing our silly ways of doing things at this end, it is pertinent to once again remind ourselves of where we are coming from and what we need to do to get off this road that can only lead our country to perdition. Truth is we all know the solutions to our problems, but it seems no one is willing to risk his comfort zone, to make that change we all dream about realisable at the shortest time possible. Let’s now try to break it down to brass tacks. Ethnicity has suddenly become the number one contributor to our backwardness. The most educated Nigerian becomes rabidly myopic and stupidly sensitive once a matter affects his tribe and community. He instantly wears a toga of illiteracy and foolishness. But someone needs to tell us once and for all that Nigeria is going nowhere but down the drain unless we wake up from our somnambulist state and narcoleptic stupor to follow the modern trends of copying good manners from the comity of responsible nations. Where you come from can never be the only prerequisite qualification for selecting national leaders. The fact that our Constitution promotes Federal Character is no excuse for us to continue committing serial suicide by electing or selecting incompetent and ill-mannered people into sensitive positions of authority. The world has moved beyond such primordial sentiments. Two perfect examples are the recent appointment of a Canadian, Mark Carney, as the Bank of England Governor and the earlier monumental election of a first generation American, Barack Obama, as the most powerful President on planet earth. Those who promote ethnicity in Nigeria have never been known to do so because they expect their people to benefit anything tangible from such appointment but because they expect a few crumbs to drop on the plates of a few people from their zone. They live perpetually on this misplaced hope and phantasmagoria even when it is obvious what cataclysmic result would come out of it. Let me therefore advise those already warming up for the murder of all battles for the body and soul of Nigeria come the year of our Lord 2015 to sheath their swords and find something better to do. The Nigerians I see today may be slow to action but we are being steadily united by suffering. Even those who have are not too different from those who do not have because the pressures on the privileged ones have made nonsense of enjoying alone without consideration for others. Only a most wicked fellow would follow the litany of woes in Nigeria and not feel a compulsion to do something that could drastically reduce the cycle of debilitating poverty in the land. All Nigeria needs now is a strong leader who has the capacity to unite and not further divide us. The way to go about it is for all interested politicians to see themselves as Nigerians first before talking of tribes. Those campaigning for President Goodluck Jonathan are spoiling his chances by resting his qualification wholly on his Niger Delta pedigree. It is in the same vein that those screaming that power must return to the North are heating up the polity. What we need is a good leader from any part of Nigeria. Nothing stops Jonathan from getting a second term if his score card is excellent. And nothing stops others from kicking him out if they can show how they are better in practical terms. Those who expect the heavens to fall if one candidate or the other does not win are enemies of Nigeria. The President more than anyone else knows what he has to do in order to win the election in resounding and convincing manner. We must urge him to ignore those preventing from treading the better route of performance. The new people he decides to inject into administration will demonstrate what he has decided to do. He still has a chance to perform and shut up his critics. But if he prefers to play politics with the lives of country men and women, he would have bungled the opportunity of a lifetime. God save Nigeria.

http://dailytrust.info/index.php/opinion/5393-asuu-tackling-one-folly-with-another

ASUU STRIKE: TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE RIGHT

On the 1st July, 2013, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, declared a nationwide strike which has lasted for over 9 weeks. ASUU's contention is the implementation of the 2009 agreement entered into by the association with government. Government's inability to implement the said agreement, led the strike action that has keep our students, majority of whom are youths, at home for over 70 days. The effects of the strike on the students is monumental. Apart from issues bothering on delay in graduation, there are other issues such as deterioration, both physically and mentally, boredom, etc. It is thus worrisome that both ASUU and the Federal government are blinded to the plights of these students, who wait anxiously for the strike to be called off. While ASUU is demanding a full implementation of the said agreement, government on its part is seeking a re-negotiation of the said agreement. This difference in position, led to the collapse of talks between government and ASUU aimed at resolving issues bothering on the strike. While this muscle flexing by ASUU and government subsist, the students remain at the receiving end. It is surprising that ASUU and government keeps talking about an agreement entered into in 2009, yet, Nigerians are completely oblivious of what the content of this agreement is. None of the parties has deemed it fit to publish the contents of the agreement; one therefore wonders if the refusal to disclose the contents of the agreement, is also part of the agreement. It is submitted that making the contents of the agreement known to members of the public, will not only go a long way in making the people appreciate the issues involved, but will enable them proffer advice to the parties. As it stands now, Nigerians are completely left in the dark with regards to the agreement. It is however common knowledge that our educational system is in dire need of reform. In fact a state of emergency ought to be declared, overhauling our entire educational system. The decrepit state of our educational system is seen daily in the quality of graduates we produce. You find graduates who cannot construct a simple sentence. In fact afraid that very soon, graduates may not be able to spell their names, if the situation is allowed to continue. This comatose state of our educational system brings the attitude of government towards it into question. Societal development rest on massive investment in the educational sector. Education is thus the basis of development in a country. That is why most of the developed countries of the world, invest heavily in their educational sector. Such investment is a reflection of the love these governments have for their educational sector. I am reluctant to say that our government is lacks love for our educational sector; that is why I remain seriously worried about events happening there. It is disheartening to infer from the attitude of government that the ongoing strike by University lecturers, is no longer its priority. One is tempted to say the major priority and preoccupation of government at the moment, is the crisis in the PDP. Education and ASUU strike, seems to have been relegated to the background. This display of contempt for education must stop! In fairness to government however, one must say government indeed made an attempt at resolving the strike. It released the sum of N130 Billion, as part of its NEEDs assessment of Universities, and also for payments of arrears to the striking lecturers and other staffs of the University. ASUU has remained adamant, insisting that the money is not enough, and has therefore called of further negotiation with government. The question one must ask is, if the amount released is inadequate, why was further meeting with government called of, can't ASUU seek to renegotiate the amount? Government on its part has also cancelled further negotiation with ASUU. To my mind, that is not a good decision. My reason is not far-fetched, two wrong don't make right. As government and ASUU continue this muscle flexing, they must know that student remain at home and the frustration is mounting daily. There are already reports of protests in different parts of the country. We can only thank God that the protests have not degenerated into a break down of law and order. We pray it doesn't get to that level. But that will depend on a quick resolution of the current impasse. One therefore call on ASUU and the Federal government to sheath their sword, and return to the negotiation table so that our students can go back to school. All parties must sacrifice in order to save our educational system from imminent collapse. God bless Nigeria. frankijege@yahoo.com I am @foijege on twitter

Nkannebe Raymond : Open Letter To The ASUU President

Sir, many greetings to you. It is my estimation that this piece meets you in good health of mind and body. As I take up my pen to write this letter, it is exactly half past 9pm by my wall clock hanging boldly against the wall at the tail corner of my apartment. All things being equal, I should have been seated on the first desk at the famous Lecture Theatre (6) in the academic area of my ‘school’, studying my books in between moments of chattering with my colleagues and senior colleagues; but since after the sad development of July 2nd, I am left with no option than burying my heads into the sea of Nigeria’s political drama in lieu of academic work. My name is Nkannebe Raymond. A 400 level student of the “Prestigious” faculty of Law university of Maiduguri, Borno state. I know it is the melting pot of the Islamic insurgents, but I am willing to return back to school any moment now to continue my studies if the union you superintend over, could tender justice with mercy, find reason with this undoubtedly failed government and return back to the classes. Sir, as I write, Nigerian students are already totally overwhelmed and agitated over what has become an impasse between your union and the Federal government. Never has a year been faster. Only four days ago, the strike action entered its sixtieth day with the year hurrying to embrace the fast approaching yuletide season. Sir, the thought of this strike lasting into October alone, has led me and a great chunk of students out there, wanting to conclude that it will last into the new year but we do not want to wallow in that pool of pessimism and thus have remained optimistic that this standoff will be disentangled in time soon but hardly can that be, unless you and your colleagues are willing to shift grounds and hence the reason why I decided to use this medium to add to the ‘pool’ of letters of almost the same nature that has been corresponded to you in a plea to finding a quick and immediate end to the already frustrating strike. Sir, at a time when students cannot wait to become graduates and contribute their own quota in building the Nigeria of our dream that has defied the efforts of our cult of ‘gerontocrats’, at a time when schools are gearing up to welcome their new intakes to flag off a new academic session, it is unfortunate that our citadels of learning have remained under lock and key and as a result, forestalling the whole dream. It is indeed a situation sordid enough to draw tears from the tear duct of even a ‘Hercules’ amongst us. As I write, my eyes are welled up in tears waiting to pay allegiance to Newton’s law of gravity. Here am I hoping that I am able to round up this letter before this sheet is soaked up with this salty liquid begging to drop from my eyes. I never intended using this medium to further play the blame game which I feel has been played more than enough across the online and print media. On the contrary, I have taken the troubles of this piece to let you understand somewhat further that sustainable progress doesn’t come to any sector in this current atmosphere of strife and rancor. If anything, it makes matters worse and doesn’t portray us in positive light, outside the shores of this country. I understand the federal government’s insensitivity to your plight and how much they have dilly-dallied with the concord you claim they ‘freely’ entered with you even though you were not at the helm of affairs then, way back in 2009. From my diminutive knowledge of the Law, it is a trite that: Pacta Sunt Servanda to the effect that agreements are meant to be kept but much to my quagmire, this government has either consciously or unconsciously, sworn to re-write the doctrine. But haven said that, while we chastise the government, I will crave your indulgence a bit by asking you to momentarily put yourselves in their shoes. When this much touted agreement was reached some 3years ago, little did we know that we shall be subsumed in an insecurity situation that will defy all solutions. The security situation has continued to eat deep into our pockets and at the same time preventing us from committing our resources to the critical sectors where they are needed most. It is an unfortunate situation which we have collectively been drowned into. Therefore since we all know we are faced with a common problem, our demands as is expected naturally should not in any guise be emotional but must be geared towards the attainment of a peaceful compromise and not taking measures that will end up heating up an already boiling polity. Sir, it is against this backdrop, that I urge you and your union to sheathe your swords. If only you can take this uncommon step, history and not hysteria will forever remember you in its good books and not list your name in the annals of infamy. N130 billion is undoubtedly a fair bargain if news reports are anything to go by. Sir, statements such as: “ ASUU will not call off strike until all her demands are met” which has always come from your office, has an undertone of “greed” when construed at the widest stretch. Nothing has been achieved in an atmosphere where people are not willing to shift grounds. The same act by our second generation of leaders cost this nation 30 months of bloodletting which she still hasn’t gotten over even as I write. If there is any, I am always receptive to learning and will be honored to know, if you ever deem this letter worthy of a rejoinder. This country belongs to all of us and if we must insist that the problem of every sector must be completely solved, then I am afraid we may down tools and the country will stop working to the detriment of you and I. Poor as our educational standard may be today, I am not throwing in the towel as to its prospect of springing up tomorrow. That tomorrow, we will get to someday but obviously, not when the drivers of our economy are under lock and key. To think so, is to be drowned in illusion and living in a fool’s chalet. These may be my words, but I am upbeat that I have spoken the heart of the average Nigerian student and too many of them share my sentiment. I am sorry that this letter has refused to come to a grinding halt. If I continue to write, I may write until the tears start flowing. All that I crave for is that you use your good office to ‘drag’ your colleagues back to the negotiation table and not just that, but going there with a mind frame of bringing an end to this vendetta between your union and the FEDS. Our patience as students has been tried more than enough. How much more psychological trauma must we be made to condone? Sir, consider the plight of that Nigerian student out there depreciating in his potentials. Consider the feelings of that young chap on the street who had just come out with flying colours in the just released WASSCE result and bagging hopes to secure admission into the university. How about you consider that young student in Maiduguri who cannot wait to graduate from a town which has become a near deathtrap lest he broker his degree with his life? Consider the plight of our parents who cannot wait to have us back to schools. In fact, the scenarios are just endless. Colin Powell was right when he said that, “Leadership is all about Solving Problems”. Without any prejudice to him albeit posthumously, I must add that Leaders who create more problems in a bid to solving a particular problem, are not and cannot be factored into the category of leaders in the real sense of the word. Civility has never stopped winning laurels. Need I say that this means will not be justified in the end? I beseech thee sir! The writer is a Law student, an academic Freelancer and a public affairs commentator. He is on twitter as @yung_silky Nkannebe_raymond@yahoo.co.uk

Gbenga Olorunpomi: Opeifa – The thin line between activism and anarchism

I have never understood activism as practiced in Nigeria. I understand and support fighting for your right and and pursuing just causes. What I don’t understand and will never accept is the immovable stance some of our activists take on certain issues and their attitude of “I am right, the government and all who support them should burn at the stakes.” In my short time on this earth, I have worked closely with some of the people who fought the military junta and triumphed. These men were beaten, tortured, locked up. Some had their families harassed and even lost people close to them. But, because they fought their battles with wit and intelligence – properties they still retain – they are some of the most humorous and content people in the world. What I don’t get is how they are so different from other Jaguda activists, who just want to make a name by being non-conformists. Which kaaki did these ones make their safari suits from? Everyday, I use my Twitter and Facebook page to push ideals and individuals I believe are virtuous. I also use it to campaign against those I believe are not. The current president is the most mentioned name in my tweets and not for good reasons. I’m on his case a lot. That doesn’t mean I don’t engage in banters and lose arguments on certain issues around him. He is human, with good and bad sides. However, I can’t say the same for some of our activists. I saw the video of what transpired on the night of tributes for the late Gani fawehinmi and I think it was nothing less than shameful. That those people chose a special night as that to unleash their bitterness on another fellow is disgraceful. Kayode Opeifa, the Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, is not everyone’s cup of tea. The problem is, he needn’t be. Jesus wasn’t. Prophet Mohammed wasn’t. Even God isn’t. But, the same rain that blesses the sugar cane freshens up bitter leaves. Why those activists believe they have earned the right to be judge, jury and executioner is truly beyond me. This article is not in defense of Mr. Opeifa, but in defense of his fundamental human right. Yes, the same rights Gani Fawehinmi fought until he breathed his last. Granted, they reserve every right to eject someone they hadn’t invited for their event. It was a private occasion anyway. But things crossed the line of discipline when someone hauled water at the man. It didn’t stop there. People, sorry, ADULTS, took a break from what was a sober event and began singing insults at another man. Like whiny children!! What an embarrassment!! I can just imagine what went home and told their kids. “Hey, kids. I was big man today. I sang and insulted a commissioner. While I was drinking! Is your dad a great man or what?” I expect some of the people I respect to take offense with this article and that’s ok. They will accuse me of siding with a government official or that I been bought. However, I am of the firm view that being the oppressed doesn’t make you righteous and neither does being poor make you a better person than the wealthy. Folklore and movies have sold this idea to us that having money automatically makes you an ass. Well, that is just not true. Job never lost his humility and love for God to wealth. Neither has many people I know. Money does make it harder to do a lot of things but it is not evil in itself. The love of it is, though. The recent spate of jungle justice is an indication of the short fuse Nigerians now have. They are inpatient with our judicial system, or simply just ignore its existence, and just go on to punish the offenders. It is the animalistic nature of these attacks that scares me. The rage displayed on these offenders are wild and excessive. Almost as if they blame them for everything wrong in their lives. Even though the activists did not burn a tyre on Opeifa’s neck, this same collective manic rage was evident on their faces. I have a few questions to ask these activists and I hope someone answers them in the many responses coming my way: 1. Were they trying to prove that they lay more claim to the Late Sage than Opeifa? 2. Are they claiming Opeifa broke laws in the course of doing his job and so they were justified in embarrassing him? 3. If Opeifa takes them to court for the assault and wins, will they see it as justice done? 4. Were they proud of their achievement after they were done? As I trolling through Twitter while writing this piece, I decided to search for Opeifa. I just wanted to see people’s reaction to the video. It was gleeful all over. Everyone enjoys a “Rich Also Cry” story, so I get that. But then, someone said this to another “If na Bode Gorge, you go happy.” I thought long and hard about this and I said to myself, “Yes!” If Bode George was given that treatment, I would have been in support, even if I do not participate. Because Bode Gorge is a convict who has paraded himself shamelessly and arrogantly insists he did no wrong when the law said he has. He has shown no comportment since he left prison. Opeifa hasn’t been found guilty of any crime and for the activists to treat him like they did is shameful and criminal. They give activism a bad name and displayed a terrible example of how decent people should behave. What they did should be roundly condemned and I hope they are lawfully punished for it. They may have fought for my right to say whatever I want without soldiers chasing me, but they crossed a line when they assaulted a fellow, defenseless human being. Shame on them!

Old PDP, New PDP, Same PDP By Okey Ndibe

If you wanted proof that Nigeria is bereft of hope, look no further than this fact: that, on the Internet and elsewhere, many Nigerians have gone heady with celebration of the schism in the (misnamed) Peoples Democratic Party. All of last week, several friends and acquaintances phoned to ask why I had not tweeted (much less written a column) on the issue. Some of the callers wanted me to celebrate former Vice President Abubakar Atiku and his group for doing something seldom seen in the ruling party: staging a walk-out to protest the party’s ingrained disdain for the ethos of internal democracy. One caller exuded cheer for a different reason. For him, the protesting wing of the party – now coalesced under the “new PDP” – represented the worst, most reactionary elements. Their exit, he said, had lifted the exact weight that had inclined the PDP towards impunity, corruption and failed leadership. “Mark my words, the PDP (by which he meant the Bamanga Tukur version) is going to surprise Nigerians by coming out with progressive policies and fielding good candidates in forthcoming elections.” The majority of my callers focused on the collateral bump they expected to accrue to Nigeria’s “opposition” parties, especially the APC, if the fission within the PDP lasts or widens. To each caller, I patiently explained that the so-called split in the PDP was, by any significant measure, a non-event. It is an event only in the most sordid, contemptible and effete manner. To speak of the old and new PDPs, as much of the Nigerian press has taken to doing with an over dose of glee, is to fall for a cheap, semantic deceit. The “old” and “new” PDPs are the same PDP, period.  There’s no question in my mind that Mr. Bamanga Tukur and Mr. Kawu Baraje – who runs the Atiku faction – are ideological bedfellows.  And both men, along with their respective cohorts, are actuated by roughly the same political impulses that move President Goodluck Jonathan. The point, quite simply, is that there’s no ideological underpinning to this fake feud. Neither camp has staked out any remarkable principle that distinguishes it from the other. For both sides, it’s about raw power – which means that the argument, in the final analysis, is about who and who are going to oversee the continued looting of Nigeria’s (fast dwindling) resources, the mindless abortion of Nigeria’s (fast diminishing) prospects. President Jonathan is a confused, bumbling leader, but the members of the so-called new PDP have offered no systematic critique of his ghastly presidency – to say nothing of proposing an alternative course. Their rhetoric is a simplistic one. It amounts, in the end, to no more than a bankrupt demand that an incompetent president should surrender the office to an incompetent successor from a different geopolitical zone. The same stipulation applies, I suggest, to Nigeria’s most visible “opposition” parties, especially the uneasy coalition called the APC. Interviewed by Kayode Ogundamisi on BEN Television, I stated that the ostensible opposition’s brandishing of brooms – I imagine, to signify the sweeping away of the PDP – was hardly a substitute for a real, painstaking formulation of a roadmap to Nigeria’s rescue. The gestural is important and has its place in political jostling, no question; yet, without a set of principles to give spine to gestures, all we have is silly, sophomoric theatrics. Nigeria awaits a political party with the right mix of vision, conviction, passion – and cash. A winning formula for any serious opposition party is, one, to point to the vacuity of ideas in the political space and, two, to proffer sound panaceas for Nigeria’s deeply embedded crises and challenges. An opposition political party worthy of the name ought to set out to define an ethos and identity different from the current ones. For a start, its thinkers must identify the moral, historical and developmental roots of Nigeria’s malaise. Such a party ought to underscore the fact that Nigeria is far from a formed nation, and that it’s even less an inevitable collectivity. I have argued elsewhere that Nigeria is, above all, a source of aggravation, great pain, even trauma, to most of its constituent elements. Sooner or later – sooner, in fact, rather than later – Nigerians will have to decide whether this vector of agony is worth the cost of its preservation – or deserves to be pronounced an irredeemably bad job. The Igbo say, Alu gbaa aro, obulu omenani. A rough translation: A sacrilegious act that stands for a year becomes accepted custom. That saying strikes me as summing up Nigeria’s multifarious moral crises. Nigerians speak about combating corruption, but many can hardly contemplate the hauling before a magistrate of an allegedly corrupt former or serving head of state. So we have a country of odd expectations: we don’t expect our ex-rulers to be jailed for corruption, but we don’t let it be known that we expect them NOT to enrich themselves illicitly. Nigeria has veered and wandered so far afield in the wrong direction that any engaged political party is called to draw attention to the moral dimensions of our developmental woes. It is awful enough that Nigerians have erratic, spotty electric power; yet, the greater tragedy is the existence of numerous highly organized and powerfully connected groups (generator importers and staff of power corporations, among them) determined to keep things just the way they are. The secret is that there’s a lot of money being made – by a small number of people – from Nigeria’s monumental failure. Nigerians have permitted far too many sacrilegious acts to fester for far too long, acquiring the imprimatur of acceptable conduct. We refined the language of “stakeholders” to denote the big-time, agbada-wearing “thieftains” who must be appeased at the expense of the generality of the people. We accepted the idea that cash-crazed godfathers may impose their minions as candidates for one elective office or another. We adopted the patently ignorant idea that all power comes from God – and began to use it as a mask to cover the shame of rigged elections. A man steals an election and then compounds his act of treason with a bizarre theological rationalization that implicates God. I’d be impressed the day a faction of the PDP or one of the “opposition” political parties begins to address the manifold pathologies that debilitate Nigeria. I’d like to see some faction or party take on the obvious things that fertilize corruption and bad governance in Nigeria. How about pushing for amendments that would remove security votes from the control of the president, governors and local government chairpersons? How about reshaping the immunity clause to make it narrower, so it doesn’t cover the president, governors and their deputies when they commit crimes in office? How about taking steps to achieve a truly independent judiciary, with judges who are both versed in the law and ethically sound? How about measures to ensure that officials of electoral commissions are consistently impartial, their verdicts reliable? How about living by the principle that all Nigerians, regardless of position, are equal in the eyes of the law? How about professionalizing the Nigerian police and customs, equipping them to fight criminals instead of harassing innocent commuters for bribes? How about developing a healthcare policy for all Nigerians and doing something to stop – and reverse – the shameful state of education in Nigeria? Above all, how about strategies for discouraging a cultural attitude that seeks profit in planned, avoidable failure? Until the Barajes and Tukurs turn their minds in the direction of grappling with the things that count, my friends must excuse my absolute indifference in their affairs. For that matter, when the Tinubus and the Buharis signal a fascination with ideas that transform people and places, instead of their current obsession with power, I will tune in. Please follow me on twitter @ okeyndibe

FARIDA WAZIRI WAS A DISASTER TO NIGERIA'S ANTI CORRUPTION WAR

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has described the appointment of Farida Waziri, the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, as a wrong step in Nigeria’s fight against corruption. Mr. Obasanjo said this in an exclusive interview he granted Zero Tolerance, a magazine produced by the EFCC. The former president, whose administration established Nigeria’s two main anti-corruption agencies, the EFCC and the ICPC, said he was aware that former Delta State Governor and convicted money launderer, James Ibori, played a major role in Mrs. Waziri’s appointment. “I know that the woman they brought in to replace Ribadu (Farida Waziri) was not the right person for that job, because I understood that one of those who head-hunted her was James Ibori.” “If James Ibori, who is now in a U.K. prison for fraud, head-hunt somebody who will fight corruption in Nigeria, then you can understand what happened,” he added. When questioned further on his stance on the former anti-graft chief, Mr. Obasanjo said Mrs. Waziri was not adequately qualified to head the EFCC. “Well, go and look at her track record,” he said. “Go and look at the condition or the qualification; go and look at the type of interaction that anybody holding that job will have with a similar organisation elsewhere; did Waziri have that type.” “What connection did she have with FBI, what relationship did she have with Metropolitan Police in London. It’s not a picnic,” he added. Ms. Waziri, a retired senior police officer, was appointed head of the EFCC in 2008 after the controversial exit of the pioneer chairman of the commission, Nuhu Ribadu, also a former police officer. Her tenure, right from the beginning, was dogged by various controversies including her alleged romance with indicted state governors like James Ibori of Delta, Bukola Saraki of Kwara, and George Akume of Benue. There were also several investigations including by the now rested NEXT Newspapers that revealed how the EFCC, under Ms. Waziri, wrote controversial letters clearing some of the former governors of corruption charges. Even the international community was so suspicious of the former EFCC boss that former American Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders, threatened to walk out of a meeting with Nigeria’s then Foreign Affairs Minister, Ojo Madueke, if Mrs. Waziri was allowed to be at the meeting. The former EFCC boss was eventually walked out of the meeting. “I was investigated” While making further comments on the EFCC, Mr. Obasanjo also said that in order to clear himself of corruption, he asked the commission, then under Mr. Ribadu, to investigate him. I was investigated. I told EFCC to investigate me. I told EFCC to carry out clinical investigation and they did,” he said. “They also did same with all people on my farm. One of them was telling me the other day how Lamorde called him three times and took statements from him. The EFCC even made sure they did not submit that report to me; they waited until I left and updated their report after going round the world and saying look this is the report. “Nobody should be below board in the fight against corruption,” he added. Commends Ribadu Mr. Obasanjo also commended Mr. Ribadu, saying his performance as EFCC boss helped reduce corruption in Nigeria and improve her rating by Transparency International. “When I was there, the EFCC and ICPC worked tirelessly and we moved this country from the corruption perception index being number 2 from the lowest to being number 45 from the lowest,” he said. He queried the manner Mr. Ribadu was removed from office saying he cautioned late President Umaru Yar’Adua against the removal. Mr. Obasanjo said if given the opportunity again, “I will reappoint Mallam Ribadu and I will not dismiss him the way he was dismissed from the EFCC.” He, however, accused the former anti-graft boss and former presidential candidate of hobnobbing “with people he had declared as corrupt.”

Suntai’s health: Court permits Falana to seek information Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Monday obtained the leave of an Abuja court to apply for an Order of Mandamus to compel the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, to make available information on the health of Taraba State Governor Danbaba Suntai. Falana sought the leave of the Abuja Federal High Court to apply for the Order through an ex parte motion filed by his counsel, Deji Morakinyo. The motion was pursuant to Order 34 Rules 1 and 3 of the Federal High Court Rules, 2009, and Section 20 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011. In the motion, Falana asked the court to grant him leave to apply for an “Order of Mandamus compelling the AGF to make available information on the state of mental and physical health of the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Danbaba Suntai.” In a short ruling, the presiding judge, Justice Elvis Chukwu, granted the leave sought by Falana. The judge held that there was merit in the application. Justice Chukwu thereafter adjourned the matter to September 16, 2013, for the hearing. Also, the suit will be remitted to the Chief Judge of the Abuja FHC for re-assignment to a regular court, since Justice Chukwu is sitting as a vacation judge. Falana in the motion also asked the court to declare that the refusal of the AGF to accede to his earlier request for information on the state of the governor’s health was illegal and unconstitutional. He said he had forwarded the said request to the AGF through a letter dated August 27, 2013. The said letter read in part, “Following the involvement of Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State in a plane crash in Yola on the 25th day of October 2012, his Excellency arrived Nigeria on the 25th day of August, 2013 having undergone 10 months of treatment in Germany and United States of America. “Barely a day after his return, a letter was delivered to the Taraba State House of Assembly purportedly written by the Governor, declaring his fitness and intention to resume office immediately. “In the letter written by the Governor to the State House of Assembly, he claimed to have fully recovered from the injuries he sustained in the plane crash of 25th October, 2012 without affording the public a copy of his medical report of mental and physical fitness. “Having confirmed that there is a medical report we hereby request for information on the mental and physical fitness of the Governor as claimed in his letter to the Taraba State House of Assembly.” Falana noted that the AGF rejected the request without any legal justification and in flagrant disregard of the express and clear provisions of the FOI Act. The lawyer maintained that the AGF’s refusal to accede to his request violated Section 3 of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011. According to him, section 1 of FOI Act stipulate that every Nigerian is entitled to access information in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution. 6 minutes ago

INEC TO USE DISTRIBUTE ELECTORAL MATERIALS BY AIR IN ANAMBRA ELECTION The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, has disclosed its plan to use Nigerian Air Force jets to convey sensitive election materials to most of the local governments in Anambra state in its forthcoming election. One of such councils to be accessed by air is Anambra West, which the electoral umpire described as a very difficult and peculiar terrain similar to the Niger Delta. Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Professor C.E Onukaogu, made the disclosure in a paper he presented at the election situation room held in Abuja. The event was organised by a coalition of civil society organisations, led by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC. The REC disclosed that INEC had extended the training period of all the ad-hoc personnel it intended to engage for the gubernatorial poll from two to five days. He said: “We have resolved that the training would end at least 10 days before the election. This will enable us to deploy the trainees at least four days before the election. “One of the challenges we faced in the past is that many ad-hoc staff never knew their places of assignment until the morning of the election. This we have resolved to put a stop to.” The Commissioner, who emphasized on the need for politicians in Anambra State to eschew politics of bitterness and rancour capable of fuelling insecurity in the state, stressed that the electoral body, in line with its resolve to use the November 16 gubernatorial poll to signal the dawn of a new era in election management in Nigeria, had entered into partnership with both the police and the Navy. Continuing “We have by academic, professional, national and international exposure and interactions acquired the basic knowledge, attitudes, and skills for conducting the November 16, 2013 gubernatorial election, much better than we were when we conducted the 2011 general elections. “We are therefore confident that given our knowledge, attitudes and skills, we are adequately positioned to conduct the gubernatorial election that will be devoid of malpractices, errors and misconduct. “Available statistics from the operations department (INEC Anambra) show that the generality of the electorate in Anambra State are not keen to vote. For instance, in 2011 elections, only 28.8 percent of the registered persons voted. This is because while 1,708, 014 people registered; only 492, 750 votes were cast.” “Similarly, in the Federal constituency election, out of the 746, 230 registered voters, only 244, 934 votes were cast. In other words, only 31.2 percent of the registered voters voted in the federal constituency election. Out of the 607, 415 registered voters in Anambra North Senatorial zone, only 162, 481 votes were cast. That is to say only 26.7 percent registered voters voted. “In the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, only 621, 992 people registered to vote. However, only 194, 485 persons voted. That is to say only 31.3 percent voted. In the Anambra South Senatorial Zone, out of the 532, 905 registered voters, only 163, 999 persons voted. In other words, only 30.8 percent of registered voters voted during the election. “This trend must be halted through an appropriate voter education programme if the generality of the people of Anambra State are to begin to participate actively in elections by casting their votes. A number of factors are responsible for the apathy of the electorate in Anambra State. “The insecurity which bedevils elections in Nigeria has made the electorate to develop apathy to elections. The attitudes of politicians also make the electorate in Anambra State to be pathetic towards elections. “Going by the timeline we have set for the elections, the non-sensitive materials will be made available to the state office latest by October 30. Thus by November 3, all the non-sensitive materials would be moved to the local government offices and shared according to the Registration Area Centres, RAC, in the various local governments by November 5. “Thus it will be possible for us to detect any shortfall or aberrations regarding the allocation of the non-sensitive materials in respect of units that make up a RAC. We have agreed that sensitive materials will be at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Awka, on time as well. Similarly, all the sensitive and non-sensitive materials will get to the state and local government offices in time. “We hope to conduct a gubernatorial election in Anambra State that will be the best ever conducted in Nigeria. This election we believe will signal the dawn of a new era in the election management in this country. We will by the grace of God show that at long last, regarding election management in the country the country, the beautiful ones have been born.” Speaking, the Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, expressed the determination of civil society groups in the country to observe all the pre and post election affairs in Anambra State.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, yesterday, has disclosed its plan to use Nigerian Air Force jets to convey sensitive election materials to most of the local governments in Anambra state in its forthcoming election. One of such councils to be accessed by air is Anambra West, which the electoral umpire described as a very difficult and peculiar terrain similar to the Niger Delta. Resident Electoral Commissioner in Anambra State, Professor C.E Onukaogu, made the disclosure in a paper he presented at the election situation room held in Abuja. The event was organised by a coalition of civil society organisations, led by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, PLAC. The REC disclosed that INEC had extended the training period of all the ad-hoc personnel it intended to engage for the gubernatorial poll from two to five days. He said: “We have resolved that the training would end at least 10 days before the election. This will enable us to deploy the trainees at least four days before the election. “One of the challenges we faced in the past is that many ad-hoc staff never knew their places of assignment until the morning of the election. This we have resolved to put a stop to.” The Commissioner, who emphasized on the need for politicians in Anambra State to eschew politics of bitterness and rancour capable of fuelling insecurity in the state, stressed that the electoral body, in line with its resolve to use the November 16 gubernatorial poll to signal the dawn of a new era in election management in Nigeria, had entered into partnership with both the police and the Navy. Continuing “We have by academic, professional, national and international exposure and interactions acquired the basic knowledge, attitudes, and skills for conducting the November 16, 2013 gubernatorial election, much better than we were when we conducted the 2011 general elections. “We are therefore confident that given our knowledge, attitudes and skills, we are adequately positioned to conduct the gubernatorial election that will be devoid of malpractices, errors and misconduct. “Available statistics from the operations department (INEC Anambra) show that the generality of the electorate in Anambra State are not keen to vote. For instance, in 2011 elections, only 28.8 percent of the registered persons voted. This is because while 1,708, 014 people registered; only 492, 750 votes were cast.” “Similarly, in the Federal constituency election, out of the 746, 230 registered voters, only 244, 934 votes were cast. In other words, only 31.2 percent of the registered voters voted in the federal constituency election. Out of the 607, 415 registered voters in Anambra North Senatorial zone, only 162, 481 votes were cast. That is to say only 26.7 percent registered voters voted. “In the Anambra Central Senatorial Zone, only 621, 992 people registered to vote. However, only 194, 485 persons voted. That is to say only 31.3 percent voted. In the Anambra South Senatorial Zone, out of the 532, 905 registered voters, only 163, 999 persons voted. In other words, only 30.8 percent of registered voters voted during the election. “This trend must be halted through an appropriate voter education programme if the generality of the people of Anambra State are to begin to participate actively in elections by casting their votes. A number of factors are responsible for the apathy of the electorate in Anambra State. “The insecurity which bedevils elections in Nigeria has made the electorate to develop apathy to elections. The attitudes of politicians also make the electorate in Anambra State to be pathetic towards elections. “Going by the timeline we have set for the elections, the non-sensitive materials will be made available to the state office latest by October 30. Thus by November 3, all the non-sensitive materials would be moved to the local government offices and shared according to the Registration Area Centres, RAC, in the various local governments by November 5. “Thus it will be possible for us to detect any shortfall or aberrations regarding the allocation of the non-sensitive materials in respect of units that make up a RAC. We have agreed that sensitive materials will be at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Awka, on time as well. Similarly, all the sensitive and non-sensitive materials will get to the state and local government offices in time. “We hope to conduct a gubernatorial election in Anambra State that will be the best ever conducted in Nigeria. This election we believe will signal the dawn of a new era in the election management in this country. We will by the grace of God show that at long last, regarding election management in the country the country, the beautiful ones have been born.” Speaking, the Executive Director of PLAC, Mr Clement Nwankwo, expressed the determination of civil society groups in the country to observe all the pre and post election affairs in Anambra State.