Nigeria News
Opinion: Manifesto of Nigeria’s Poor
by Yima Sen
There is a sharp and dangerous social divide developing in Nigeria today. On the surface it seems to be ethnic sectional or religious as it seems some elements of the elite desire. In reality, however, it is a division between a substantially thieving rich and a battered degraded, traumatized, oppressed and a subsequently corrupted poor. The present crises of militancy are related to youth bulge of poverty and unemployment. As a result, the ruination of Nigeria is endemic, ubiquitous and ingrained in the mind-sets of both the rich and the poor in Nigeria. A sort of totalistic disaster which we must reflect upon during this mid-term of the federal and state governments.
Make no mistake; Nigeria has many of the attributes of a failed state. The classical definition of a failed State is one that has failed to discharge its obligations to the citizenry. The question is, how has the Nigerian state fared in discharging its constitutional and normative duties, responsibilities and obligations, de jure and de facto, to the Nigerian citizenry? The answer is so obvious, we do not need a soothsayer or super- power to tell us that our state could fail, or has already failed and is dragging the society along with it, rich and poor.
Yima Sen
So should we abandon Nigeria or go with the rather assinine refrain that “Nigeria will break up” or “Nigeria will become history”? The point is that a break-up of Nigeria will never create better national or state entities. In fact some of them will be afflicted by worse maladies related to state and societal failure: 419, drug trade, cultism, armed robbery, kidnappings, crudeness, and a general march away from civilization, by any definition. In other words, we will get fragments of maldevelopment, degradation and retrogression.
What hope then? Two perspectives are illuminating. One, from Chinua Achebe and the second from Lee Kuan Yew. According to Achebe, one of Nigeria’s and Africa’s leading story tellers, in his non fiction work on the problem with Nigeria, it is leadership. So also says the Asian leader Yew: that leadership makes the difference under any circumstances.
As we fearfully approach the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, we are confronted with the harsh reality of reflecting on the leadership question. In these forthcoming elections, the political party that has dominated post-military leadership and politics in Nigeria since 1999, that is the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), will face its first major challenge from an emerging All Progressives Congress (APC) or whatever it may turn out to be and face apparent and expected resistance from the PDP. From all indications, despite the commonality of the character of Nigerian politicians, there seems to be the possibility of the emergence of a rightish PDP and a leftish APC, at least in terms of ideology, manifestoes and policy promise.
However, in view of the Achebe – Yew thesis on leadership, it is the key, regardless of ideology, manifesto and policy. There are useful as organizing principles but the steersman “ or navigator is extremely important. To this extent, the Nigerian President of Nigeria in 2015 must be a rallying point for the reunification of a divided Nigeria. All Nigerians, be they “Northerner”’ or “Southerners”, Muslims or Christians, Hausa – Fulani, Yoruba or Igbo, or Tiv, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio – Efik, Nupe, Gwari, Itsekiri, Urhobo, Birom, Tarok, Bachama, and the rest of those 400 or so ethno-linguistic groups that make up Nigeria, must feel a sense of kinship with their President. The President of Nigeria cannot succeed if he or she becomes provincialized into ethnicity, region, section, religion or even gender. A state governor or local government chairman would similarly fail if he or she becomes encased in a cocoon of prejudice. Successful management of difference or diversity is a recipe for successful governance of the affairs of heterogeneous humanity.
Nigeria was never a mistake in 1914, because no single country on earth as we know the world today was perfectly manufactured by God and delivered onto this planet. Today’s modern states all conceptually emerged after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. The states of Africa were specifically the products of the Berlin Conference of 1884 – 1885.This is elementary history. So how has Nigeria become a mistake and South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Somalia and Gambia as examples are not?
So the President of Nigeria, who should be the leader of Africa and the black race, must also be respected and recognized in Ghana, South Africa,Harlem, Brixton, Ethiopia, Egypt, Senegal, Congo Democratic Republic and all the 774 local government council areas in Nigeria, and of course in the rest of the world. Since this is also a job, he should at least have reasonably good university education, with well articulated views on national, continental or international life, over the years.
Perhaps, most importantly, he or she must reflect daily on the challenges that face the head of every family unit in a given day, and address those issues with seriousness. In addition, due to the present state of collapse or decay of Nigeria which is palpable even from driving conduct in the towns and country-side of Nigeria, the 2015 President of Nigeria must be an incorruptible rescuer, redeemer or restorer. To help further, here is a poor man’s manifesto for him or her based on extant policy architecture and my 2010 Carleton University lecture which is online. It is contextualized within the offers of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development(NEPAD), President Yar’Adua’s Seven Point Programme, and Vision 20: 2020.
One; Values, National Orientation and The Way The World Views Nigeria: these need a total reorientation from top-to-bottom and from bottom-up. Nigerians must change their world-view from a brutish state of mind to civility, love and respect for humankind. Corruption is damaging these and the mass media, families, schools, religious institutions and Nollywood need to be employed, among other interventions, to change things for the better.
Two; Good Governance and Democracy: these form the bedrock of modern public administration and the political empowerment of the citizenry. Without their solid establishment, no society can thrive or survive. Corruption is damaging these in the electoral, judicial and administrative facets of the polity. In addition to properly institutionalizing democracy, the public sector will be drastically overhauled.
Three; Poverty and Empowerment: these are also responsible for high corruption and criminality. Poverty which dehumanizes people, can be eradicated. Focusing on women, youth and elders, a civil society approach employing well – managed and properly funded development foundations in each state can tackle unemployment and poverty through self-employment and empowerment – thereby by-passing the profit-obsession of the private sector, and the strictures and corruption of the public sector..
Four; Food and Water are Basic to Human Survival and Existence. All-year-round agriculture, improved technology and seedlings and livestock breeds, adequate land access, good water supply and demand management are essential. Best practices from China, India, Mexico,Russia, Israel and other places will be adopted. Agriculture employs about 70 per cent of the labour force and contributes about 40 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Five; Education and Human Development: these are key in transforming social capital into national wealth and human development. From the bottom, there must be free to some level and the rest affordable, as well as a demonstration primary school in each ward, a demonstration secondary school in each local government area council as well as a craft school. There must be a university in each senatorial district, public or private, to ensure that there are about 500 qualitative universities in Nigeria. There must be 20 Ivy League-standard universities, three in each of the six geo-political zones developed from the leading existing universities, as well as a national medical research university and the defense university already in existence. There shall be many interventions to manage quantity to produce quality.
Six; Transportation and Communication: these are key to mobility and human intercourse in modern society. The communication sector, including mass communication, will be improved while the transport sector will be revolutionized. Three wide-gauge rail lines and dual carriage freeways within the same corridors and bridge systems, north-to-south and east-to-west will be developed. Waterways, will be developed and transportation improved. All the state capitals and major cities will be linked to the major rail and road networks, and as feasible to the waterways. The existing narrow gauge railway system will be repaired for goods haulage only.
Seven; Land and Housing: these will be made user-friendly. Land speculation and corruption will be eliminated and residential housing costs totally devalued. These shall be massive high-quality Chinese-type housing schemes for low, medium and high income earners in 1000 towns or cities in Nigeria, certainly not the ugly and rickety structures being developed by certain concerns now. The cost of building will be drastically lowered through appropriate policy interventions.
Eight; Security and Health: these are indispensable to the well-being of the citizenry. Human security is social and protective, Both are related to poverty and empowerment. However, protective security can be tackled by improving the working and living conditions of security personnel, especially the police. Health can be substantially tackled through the use of preventive health –primary health (polyclinics in each ward of the the federation,a general hospital in each local government area (with mobile and tele clinic facilities) and a specialist hospital in each state. A national medical and research centre will be the apex medical advancement and excellence institution.
Nine; Energy: this concerns electricity and hydrocarbons. Electricity supply has been virtually destroyed by corruption and over centralization. Expansion and stabilization will involve thermal, coal, nuclear, solar, water and wood. The oil and gas sector has been simply infested with corruption and criminality, including negative community resource nationalism. This sector is the fifth highest contributor to GDP and accounts for more than 90 per cent of foreign exchange earnings.
Ten; Manufacturing and Industry: these involve creating a functional and productive economy. The underlying factors are provision of adequate infrastructure and services and a supportive policy framework. A non-manufacturing and non-industrialized economy is not a modern economy. Today this sector is the sixth contributor to Nigeria’s GDP.
Is there anybody in Nigeria who can assiduously implement this ten- point programme as President? He or she could be a politician, professional, an activist, an academic, or a patriot with a responsible background. He or she should be mature, exposed, courageous and firm, even revolutionary. He or she should not hate some sections of Nigeria. He or she should know Nigeria, understand Africa and appreciate where the world is today. God, please give us this person as President of Nigeria in 2015. Amen
Yima Sen, former United Nations official and two-time Presidential aide in Nigeria, presently teaches in a private Nigerian university.
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The Kano State Government on Saturday said it has transferred 1,098 ‘almajiris’ to different states of the country.
The commissioner for local government, Murtala Garo, disclosed this while presenting a report before the state’s task force on COVID-19 at the government house, Kano.
Almajiris are children who are supposed to be learning Islamic studies while living with their Islamic teachers. Majority of them, however, end up begging on the streets of Northern Nigeria. They constitute a large number of Nigeria’s over 10 million out-of-school children.
Mr Garo said the Kano government transported 419 almajiris to Katsina, 524 to Jigawa and 155 to Kaduna. He said all of them tested negative for coronavirus before leaving the Kano State.
Despite the coronavirus test done in Kano for the almajiris, the Jigawa government earlier said it would quarantine for two weeks all the almajiris that recently arrived from Kano.
Mr Garo said another 100 almajiris scheduled to be taken to Bauchi State also tested negative to COVID-19.
In a remark, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje said the COVID-19 situation in Kano was getting worse. He appealed for a collaborative effort to curtail the spread of the virus in the state.
Mr Ganduje, who commended residents for complying with the lockdown imposed in the state, said the decision was taken to halt the spread of the virus.
Kano State, as of Saturday night, has 77 coronavirus cases, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
The decision to transfer the Kano almajiris is part of the agreement reached between Northern governors that almajiris in each state be transferred to their states of origin.
However, even before the latest agreement by the governors, the Kano government had been transferring almajiris to other states and neighbouring countries after it banned street begging in the state, most populous in Northern Nigeria.
Despite the transfers, however, no concrete step has been taken to ensure such children do not return to Kano streets as there is freedom of movement across Nigeria although interstate travel was recently banned to check the spread of the coronavirus.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
By Ugochukwu Alaribe
Operatives of the Abia State Vigilante Service, AVS, popularly known as ‘Bakassi Boys’ have arrested 24 market women hidden in a container truck, at Ekwereazu Ngwa, the boundary community between Abia and Akwa Ibom states.
The market women, said to be from Akwa Ibom State, were on their way to Aba, when they were arrested with the truck driver and two of his conductors for violating the lockdown order by the state government.
Driver of the truck, Moses Asuquo, claimed he was going to Aba to purchase stock fish, but decided to assist the market women, because they were stranded.
A vigilante source told Sunday Vanguard that the vehicle was impounded while the market women were sent back to Akwa Ibom State.
Commissioner for Home Land Security, Prince Dan Okoli, who confirmed the incident, said that smuggling of people into the state poses great threat to the state government’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID- 19.
Sourced From: Vanguard News
Operatives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba of the Lagos State police command have arrested one Mrs Nene Steve for allegedly killing her maid, Joy Adole
The maid was allegedly beaten to death by Nene for requesting for her salary at their residence located at 18, Ogundola Street, Bariga area in Lagos.
Narrating the incident, Philips Ejeh, an elder brother to the deceased said that he was sad when they informed him that his sister was beaten to death.
He explained that the deceased was an indigene of Benue State brought to Lagos through an agent and started working with her as a maid in January 2020.
‘’She reported that her boss refused to pay her and anytime she asked for her salary she will start beating her.
She was making an attempt to leave the place but due to the total lockdown she remained there until Sunday when her boss said she caught her stealing noodles and this led to her serious beating and death,’’ Ejeh said.
He called on Lagos State Government and well- meaning people in the country to help them in getting justice for the victim.
The police spokesman, Bala Elkana, stated that the woman and her husband came to Bariga Police Station to a report that their house girl had committed suicide.
Detectives were said to have visited the house and suspected foul play with the position of the rope and bruises all over the body which confirmed that the girl had been tortured to death and the boss decided to hang up the girl to make it look like suicide.
He said: “The police moved on with their investigation and found a lot of sign of violence on her body that she has been tortured before a rope was put on her neck.’’
He added that the police removed the corpse and deposited it in the mortuary for autopsy to further ascertain the cause of the death.
Elkana said the matter has been transferred from Bariga police station to Panti for further investigation while the couple have been arrested and will be charged to court.
Ostensibly alarmed by the latest killings of dozens of soldiers by Boko Haram insurgents, President Muhammadu Buhari has summoned an urgent meeting of Service Chiefs to find ways to stop the trend.
He has also dispatched the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, to the neighbouring Republic of Chad for an urgent meeting with President Idris Deby and his defence counterpart.
Knowledgeable sources said in Abuja on Friday that the president is worried by on the deterioration of security situation on the Nigeria – Chad Border that has led to the recently increased Boko Haram terrorism in the area.
The sources which did not want to be named in Abuja said: “Nigeria has a Chad problem in the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) put together to secure the Lake Chad basin areas and repeal the Boko Haram terrorist attacks against all the countries neighbouring the Lake.”
The sources noted that Chad is believed to be having their own internal security challenges and this has reportedly led to their pulling away their own troops manning their own border around Lake Chad, saying: “That lacuna is being exploited by the Boko Haram terrorists, who go in and out of Nigeria, Niger and Cameroon to launch terrorist acts. This is a clear illustration of the fact that terrorism is beyond national borders.”
When contacted, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the Defence Minister is going to Chad but said he is unaware of the purpose.
Meanwhile, the military authorities are said to be in the process of identifying the families of the latest victims with a view to making contact with them.
Credible sources revealed that it is the reason the president is yet to make any pronouncement on the matter.
“The President has called an urgent meeting with the Service Chiefs, as well as the fact that families of the latest victims of the Boko Haram are being identified and contacts made before a government pronouncement on the tragic attacks. This, it is understood, is the reason for the silence of the government over the incident,” the source said.
Sourced From: Tribune
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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