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Soyinka wants Nigeria’s security issue tackled

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Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka has advised the Federal Government to see the security vacuum in the north as an emergency national problem that must be confronted in practical ways.

Soyinka, who spoke at the 5th Bola Ahmed Tinubu Colloquium in Lagos on Thursday, expressed concern that the problem could destabilise the country if allowed to linger for too long.

He contended that the recent discovery of ammunition and explosives in Lagos showed that terrorism was becoming all-pervasive phenomenon, demanding radical, result-oriented measures to tackle.

Tinubu, Soyinka, Akande and Fashola at the Colloquium

Tinubu, Soyinka, Akande and Fashola at the Colloquium

The theme of the colloquium, organised to mark the 61st birthday of Tinubu, is entitled: “Beyond Mergers: A National Movement For Change’’.

“This nation is on the brink, this is not what we envisioned when we struggled for independence, fought dictatorship and installed the rights and dignity of human beings in the society,’’ he said.

He urged the president to intensify efforts in addressing the nation in great details on issues bothering on the nation’s security challenges.

According to him, certain things must be done to ensure that we pull back from the second round of what is moving toward a civil war

“The insecurity problem is not a northern affair because it is now happening everywhere.This consciousness should have been impacted on Nigerians so that we all understand that the problem is not a regional problem but a national one,’’ he said.

Soyinka, who bemoaned the present state of affairs, stressed the need for all hands to be on deck for to bring about a change. He commended the younger generation of Nigerians for taking steady steps to turn things around, saying that if sustained, the efforts could put the country on the path of greatness.

Other speakers were young professionals —members of the new generation. They includeManaging Director, Frontier Capital Limited, Femi Edun; Chief Executive Officer, Venia Consulting, Kolawole Oyeneyin; lawyer Myani Bukar; musician Olubankole Wellington (Banky W) and Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor on Millenium Development Goals Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello.

Edun said there was the need for Nigeria to begin to take concrete steps to reposition the economy. Edun, who noted the growing poverty rate in the country, said it indicated that the economy was not growing at the micro level, and advocated concrete interventions to check the development.

Mrs Hafsat Abiola-Costello, the Special Adviser to Ogun Governor on MDGs, said the country was still far away from attaining the goals. Abiola-Costello, who attributed the development to poor planning among others, called for strengthening of the economy for the attainment of MDGs.

She said the task of nation building was the responsibility of everyone and urged citizens to be part of efforts at bringing about the change.

In Tinubu’s view, Nigeria is drfting apart because “we have leadership that is dividing us more and more every day”.
He called for value reorientation among the leadership and suggested a reversal to the old national anthem that de-emphasises differences.

“We must question ourselves in Nigeria. I disagree with my brother and friend Sanusi Lamido Sanusi who says youth may form their own party. Politics is not economic policy where you can change a bank note.

“If only to merge, some people are already forging names, and trying to prevent the creation of APC. You can imagine what you will go through.Come and join us. You see, with a wife like this (pointing to Oluremi standing behind him), is politics not sexy? Join us, it’s sexy here on our side.

“On your side, it is a challenge that you have to face. It’s not a question about age. We have seen example of age.

“The present President is a young man, but he has been appointing an 83-year-old man to be chairman, not just of board of trustees, but of Ports Authority where high decisions, articulated, modern, 21st century information technology are needed. How do you modernise? So, youth belong here.

“We can see the live tweets of this event. So, it’s not about age. There are a lot of educated relics. I have not seen anything higher than Ph.D in the academic curriculum of universities. So, we have a Ph.D man (holder) there now.

“What will do it for you is strong determination, perseverance, courage and boldness. If we fail to join the movement, we’ll fail to continue to interrogate our leaders, and fail to do what you did during the oil subsidy removal.”

Govs. Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Adams Oshiomohle (Edo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), and Rauf Aregbesola, Osun attended the occasion.

Other eminent personalities were CBN governor ,Lamido Sanusi , Senator Sani Yerima, Chief Tom Ikimi and ACN Chairman, Chief Bisi Akande.

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Posted in Nigeria News. A DisNaija.Com network.

Source: PM News

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Nigeria News

Kano Transfers Over 1,000 Almajiris To Different States Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

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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

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Nigeria News

COVID-19: ‘Bakassi Boys’ Foil Attempt To Smuggle 24 Women Into Abia In Container

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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

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Nigeria News

Woman Kills Her Maid Over Salary Request

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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.

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Boko Haram Attacks: Buhari Summons Urgent Meeting Of Service Chiefs

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President Buhari and the Service Chiefs in a meeting. (File photo)

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

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