• C’Wealth scribe links Boko Haram’s crisis to  ‘challenges of diversity’

• CPC decries Jonathan’s failure to visit Baga

GUNMEN, again, were on the prowl in a Bayelsa community, killing eight persons at the weekend. This tragedy came after 12 policemen were killed in the state recently.

Armed men suspected to be renegade militants in the Niger Delta launched the attack in Lorbia community of Southern Ijaw Local Council that claimed eight.

Among those killed were five ex-militant youths that embraced amnesty under the leadership of Pastor Reuben Wilson, popularly known as General Wilson.

It was learnt that the attack occurred on Saturday night at the Lorbia waterside. It was also learnt that the murdered youths were tricked into the creek where they were shot dead.   Community sources said the killers were suspected to be the same killers of the 12 policemen.

While a version of the report on the killing claimed that eight youths were shot dead in a shootout between two armed gangs, the other version by the families of the slain youths claimed that the victims were tricked to the spot of the killing by some hired hands to the militia group.

Members of families of the victims are insisting that their brothers were set up by some persons in the Lorbia community.

It was learnt that after they were killed, some community people quickly buried two of the victims. Others are still missing.

The Guardian learnt that the suspicious movement of the gunmen on the waters attracted the attention of fishermen who were said to have alerted the community development executive council. During an investigation, it was discovered that the gunmen had killed some persons in the area.

At the home of the ex-militant leader, Reuben Wilson, in Yenagoa, the state capital, mourners and sympathisers were seen wailing. Wilson confirmed the killing to The Guardian.

Contacted on the development, spokesman of the Joint Military Task Force, Lt.-Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, said he was not aware of the details, but would call back after getting the details of the incident.

And Nigeria’s twin obstacles to development, corruption an  insecurity were in focus in London as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, gave thought to   the challenges facing the country.

The opposition Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) also lamented Sunday the country’s rising insecurity as it decried what it termed President Goodluck Jonathan’s ‘aloofness’ to the destruction of lives and property in Baga, Borno State.

In an interview with The Guardian at the Commonwealth’s headquarters in London, Sharma stressed the need for transparency to check corruption in Nigeria.

He said: “If you (Nigeria) can regulate, organise and make transparent your finances, then you’re taking a big step forward. We have opened an Anti-corruption Centre in Botswana and the idea is that, on a continuous basis, the best practices, which are visible all over, should be exchanged between all the member- states. What causes corruption has common features, so what the solutions can be for everybody put together, can be forwarded to the secretariat and we shall be very happy to work on them. We are doing a lot of remarkable work in many fields, as far as corruption is concerned.”

He attributed the Boko Haram’s insurgency in the northern part of the country to the “huge challenges of diversity.”

Explaining the Commonwealth’s efforts to assist Nigeria contain the insurgency, Sharma observed that the body’s approach had been looking at the various elements involved in various agitations that should be fully integrated, and finding a way to broker a truce.

His words: “We have countries that are so diverse that I often say that we used to talk about two Ds – which are democracy and development. We can now add a third one, which is diversity. Respect for diversity is a huge challenge in contemporary societies, not just in Nigeria, but everywhere. What we are doing is to help look at what the principal elements are, socially, that have to be integrated.”

Sharma said a commission on Respect and Understanding, set up in 2005 at the request of Commonwealth Heads of Government, with the mandate to explore initiatives to promote mutual understanding and respect among all faiths and communities in the Commonwealth, produced a report titled “Civil Paths to Peace,” which was published in 2011, to address the problem.

He also said the organisation was also developing some applications, to have the contents of the report embedded in education curriculum. Another roundtable was held at the organisation’s secretariat in London on May 2, during which member-countries shared experiences on reconciliation.

On visa restrictions that hamper freedom of movement of citizens across the Commonwealth countries, the Secretary- General recalled that contrary to the existing situation, there used be a lot of Commonwealth identity in the early years of the organisation, which encouraged educational exchanges, favourable visa and work permit policies, all of which guaranteed freedom of movement across the member-nations.

He regretted that many of the privileges were withdrawn several decades later. “We are doing an exercise right now,” he assured, “to promote the movement of people.” According to him, while it is true that the world has become “much more complex” than it was 50 years ago, efforts are being made by the association to work out a modality, taking into cognisance, all the immigrations and other concerns, that could be presented to the Commonwealth Heads of Government for consideration, on how to ease the movement of Commonwealth citizens, as is obtainable in the Schengen area, where a group of 26 European countries have abolished passport and immigration controls at their common borders.

On what the organisation is doing to help Nigeria and other African member-nations entrench democracy, Sharma responded: “through institutional building.” He explained: “What the Commonwealth does is to become a partner in what the member-states want to do. Here, we concentrate a lot on institutions, like the electoral commission, the judicial services commission, human rights commission, independent media commission.”

According to him, the organisation offers assistance in creating working methods, best practices, to ensure sustainability. He said that if such channels were improving on a continual basis and serving citizens, “then the resilience of the society is increased.”

Sharma, who was appointed in 2008, admitted that having to deal with the 54-member countries has been challenging. On the continued relevance of the organisation, he declared: “The Commonwealth will remain relevant. I have been very ambitious about this organisation and making it a contemporary organisation.” “The world is moving so swiftly around you, that you’re either moving backwards or you’re moving forward. There is no such thing as staying still anymore. So, as an organisation, you always have to ask yourself; how are you moving forward? But also, how are you helping the marginalised, the small, the vulnerable, in real economic terms in every possible way, given your strengths. Politically, economically and socially, how are you making those contemporary contributions in terms of outcomes?”

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, entitled “President Jonathan and the Baga gaffe,” the CPC accused President Goodluck Jonathan of not showing the concern expected of somebody in his exalted position.

On April 16, 2013, there was an armed confrontation between persons suspected to be Boko Haram insurgents and military personnel in Baga, a small fishing community in Nigeria’s border with Chad, resulting in destruction of lives and property.

The CPC expressed sadness that since the incident occurred, Jonathan has not taken a cue from his predecessors and peers across the world by acting responsibly on a disaster of this magnitude.

It noted: “The Nigerian Federal authority has so far shown more interest in controlling the information on the casualty figures, as different statistics continue to be bandied around, than in ensuring rehabilitation of the victims of the Baga disaster.

“What is more galling is the refusal of President Goodluck Jonathan in visiting the area to get first-hand information after more than two weeks of this unfortunate incident. It would be recalled that on March 1, 2013, the progressive governors of the yet-to-be-registered All Progressives Congress (APC) walked on the streets of Maiduguri in a manner that befuddled the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

“In a clear obfuscation of the issues, the motley of spin-doctors in the nation’s Presidency responded that the long-overdue visit of the President was pre-empted by these governors. It is our belief that the refusal of the President in visiting Baga does not only show insensitivity but is a conduct that is not statesman-like for those that bear presidential authority over a jurisdiction!”

Giving examples of leaders who performed well during emergencies, the CPC said: “On September 7, 1980, President Shehu Shagari visited Ibadan, Oyo State, within days of the Ogunpa flood disaster. On touring the areas affected by the devastation which left 240 people dead and thousands rendered homeless, he quipped: ‘I have seen real disaster!’

“On January 28, 2002, President Olusegun Obasanjo visited Ikeja Military Barracks barely 24 hours after bomb explosions had destroyed lives and property. In a rare show of empathy for the distraught victims – including women and children- who had lost loved ones and rendered homeless, the President preferred to tread bare-footed!

“Shortly after the Boston Marathon Bombing, President Barack Obama was on hand to offer words of comfort to the bereaved and assuage the pains of the wounded. Thereafter, he made pronouncements that sent clear message of his strength of character as the nation’s commander-in-chief.

“The wider implication of President Jonathan’s demeanour is seen in his refusal to embark on duty tours to the servicemen that are daily hazarding their lives for the nation’s security. As a party, we believe that the gravitas of the authority of the commander-in-chief is not just in adornment of ceremonial military wears on special occasion but in providing the right leadership that galvanizes a followership geared for greater service and commitment to the national cause.”

The party added: “We hereby remind the President that part of his oath of office is to preserve the fundamental objectives and directive principles of State policy in chapter two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Firmly entrenched in this section is the declaration that the purpose of government shall be the security and welfare of the people.

“The aloofness evinced by the President to the plight of the Baga people, is in our opinion, an infraction of this relevant provision of the Nigerian Constitution. We consider this conduct as very unacceptable.”