Information reaching 247ureports.com indicate that one person has been killed at a peaceful rally at the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] today as the citizens of Edo State marched to the INEC office to protest alleged illegalities over the voter’s registration exercise against the upcoming gubernatorial elections.
The identity of the killed person is not yet known to our correspondent but the leadership of the State has identified the body – and has pledged to investigate the cause of the death to logical conclusion. Information also has it that one other person sustained injury.
Today’s death marks the 5th death since the campaign of the gubernatorial election began between the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] and the Action Congress of Nigeria [ACN].
martin ikechekwu with the coolers and creamy cocaine on display
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has recorded the first seizure of creamy cocaine in the country. The 9.500kg cocaine which looks like ice cream was being smuggled into the country in four big coolers by an unrepentant suspected drug trafficker who is currently facing trial over unlawful importation of a kilogramme of cocaine from Brazil in 2010. The re-arrest of the 50 year old at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos has generated mixed reactions on the adequacy of the legal framework and justice dispensation in drug control.
The suspect, Martin Ikechukwu was caught with 9.500kg of creamy substance that tested positive for cocaine on his way from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Operatives of the NDLEA detected the drug following suspicion on the four giant size water coolers. Further examination revealed the parcels of drugs after it was cut open. Four (4) parcels each of creamy cocaine were found to have been industrially strapped round the body of the four coolers. In all a total of 16 parcels weighing 9.500kg with an estimated street value of over 90 million naira were recovered during search at the arrival hall of the airport.
NDLEA Airport Commander, Hamza Umar who confirmed the arrest explained that the command has been grappling with the problem of re-arrest of suspected drug traffickers who are released on bail. “The re-arrest of persons undergoing trial for drug related charges is one of our numerous challenges. This suspect was first arrested on 23rdof February 2010 for ingesting one kilogramme of cocaine and there are several cases like this” Hamza noted.
Commenting on the arrest and drug seizure, Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade said that the arrest shows the extent to which drug barons can go in attempt to prevent drugs from being detected. According to the NDLEA boss, “while this arrest reflects the level of desperation by drug barons, it has also raised questions on the issue of bail for drug traffickers. Certainly, the accused is unrepentant and has shown no remorse because he was first caught with 1kg and went back to smuggle 9.500kg of cocaine even when the first case is ongoing. We shall pursue this case to a logical conclusion and use it as deterrent to others”.
The Agency is also investigating the circumstances under which the suspect acquired new travel documents as well as his accomplices. Fresh facts have been uncovered by the investigating team. Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to bring all culprits to justice.
Martin Ikechukwu hails from Enugu State. He attended Army Children Primary School, Ibadan, Oyo State and Government Technical College Awka where he graduated in 1980. He said that he wanted to raise some money to enable him settle down with his family.
“I travelled to Brazil in 2009 and was managing a restaurant to earn a living. Unfortunately, I was arrested when I came home in 2010. When I was granted bail, there was nobody to help me. I had no option than to smuggle drugs again because they promised to pay me the sum of 3 million naira. My intention was to settle down with my family because I am not getting younger” Martin stated.
His Excellency, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR
At the Inauguration of the Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council
Abuja. Monday, 14th May 2012
PROTOCOL
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the inauguration of theAgricultural Transformation Implementation Council.
It is an established fact that agriculture, which is the most important sector of Nigeria’s economy in terms of contribution to the GDP (44%) and employment (70%), has performed poorly over the years due to the neglect of the sector since the discovery of oil.
In the 1960s, Nigeria was the largest producer and exporter of groundnut and palm oil; the second largest exporter of cocoa;
and the largest exporter of cotton in West Africa. The neglect of the agricultural sector has led to Nigeria losing market shares in these commodities to other countries.
Whereas the country has huge agricultural potential, with 84 million hectares (ha) of arable land, Nigeria today is one of the largest importers of food in the world, spending over $10 billion annually importing wheat, rice, sugar and fish. This poses several challenges for us as a nation.
First, we are dependent on food supply from other countries, which makes us vulnerable. As we learnt from the global food crisis, volatility in global food supply and prices can negatively affect consumers in importing countries. Nigeria will have its food security undermined unless it becomes self-sufficient in food production.
We must unlock the huge potential of the sector and strive to regain our lost glory in agriculture.
Second, we need to diversify the economy away from sole reliance on oil. This will secure our economy and reduce foreign exchange volatility. By focusing on agriculture, Nigeria will be able to diversify its economy, reduce foreign exchange spent on food imports, and instead, earn valuable foreign exchange from exports of agricultural produce.
Our Administration’s Agricultural Agenda sets a target of adding an additional 20 million metric tons of food into the domestic food supply by 2015. It also plans to create 3.5 million jobs, both farm and non-farm, over the next five years. Our goal is very clear: to turn Nigeria away from being a net food importing country to become a self-sufficient and food exporting country.
To achieve this and transform the sector, we have stopped taking agriculture as a development program. Agriculture is now being treated as a business. State governments are working closely with the Federal Government to take advantage of the agricultural transformation agenda. Every State has comparative advantage in the agricultural sector which it can leverage on, and engage thousands of our youth to create a new generation of agricultural entrepreneurs for Nigeria.
Several reforms have been implemented in the agricultural sector in the past few months. These include:
· Reform of the fertilizer sector to make it more transparent and targeted at farmers. The Federal Government is no longer in the business of buying and distributing fertilizers and seeds; we no longer award fertilizer and seed contracts. These are all being done now by the private sector.
· Government has launched the electronic wallet system to use mobile phones to reach farmers with subsidized inputs.
· We are putting in place new marketing institutions to coordinate agricultural markets to assure good prices and secured markets for our farmers.
· We have also changed the way we finance agriculture, with the launch of the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) facility by the Central Bank, working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. NIRSAL will leverage 450 Billion Naira of new financing from banks into the agriculture sector.
· The Federal Government is already implementing nation-wide activities with State Governments to improve the value chains for our crops, especially rice, cassava, maize, soybeans, sorghum, cotton, cocoa, oil-palm, fisheries and livestock.
· We are also investing in completing several dams and irrigation infrastructure to allow farmers to take advantage of double cropping and diversification into high value horticultural crops.
But all of these initiatives will not be enough to transform the sector, unless we expand investment in road infrastructure and power to reduce the cost of doing business; expand markets for agricultural produce; and enhance competitiveness of our agriculture.
Government is determined to end the era of food imports. We must eat what we produce, and add value to production, to create markets for our farmers. To underscore this, last month I launched bread and confectionaries made with 20-30% cassava flour with the ultimate goal of increasing it to 40%.
It is in order to facilitate the actualization of our vision for the agricultural sector, that I have set up the Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council. The Council, which I will personally Chair, will provide oversight for the overall agricultural transformation agenda of our Administration. It will consist of the following sub-groups:
· Agricultural Value Chains Group: this will focus on increasing the productivity, value addition and linkage to markets for all priority agricultural commodities.
· Agricultural Infrastructure Group: this will include the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources, Works, Aviation, Power and Transport working together to stimulate private sector investments through increased provision of public goods for strategic value chains.
· Agricultural Finance and Investment Group: this will focus on developing conducive environments to stimulate private sector investments along strategic commodity value chains. It will also focus on leveraging commercial bank financing into agriculture at affordable rates.
These groups will each be tasked with the development and implementation of coordinated interventions to rapidly grow the agricultural sector and turn Nigeria away from being a food- import-dependent economy, to a self-sufficient and food-export-economy.
I am hearing unpleasant stories of some companies working to frustrate our agricultural transformation agenda. Let me state in very clear terms that the Federal Government will deal decisively in such situations.
Nigerian agriculture is heading in the right direction. There is still much to do, hence the need for all stakeholders to come together and engender the needed synergy to unlock and unleash the huge potential of the sector. I thank all the members of the Council for accepting to serve our nation in this onerous capacity.
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, it is now my pleasure to formally inaugurate the Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council.
To provide training, best services in public administration and management, the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan led a delegation of government and top civil servants to Singapore for intensive training and interactive session with the World Bank officials.
The session which held at the Civil Service College in Singapore featured lectures, trainings, technical session, team sessions, briefings, as well as questions and answer sessions.
By sharing the Singapore public sector reforms, initiative and management practices, Dr Uduaghan said that Deltans at the driving seat of government policies and programmes will be repositioned to fast track development, attract more investors and create employment.
He said the training will help to look at the state from a larger picture, enhance collaboration with development partners like the World Bank which will lead to human and infrastructure development.
The Governor who used the opportunity to highlight the achievements and challenges of his administration since 2007, called on the World Bank to above all things help the state with technical assistance that will equip government officials with technical capacity to cope with global challenges.
He also charged the participants to articulate, plan, time and strategize to achieve the overall objectives of job creation.
The two major facilitators of the training sessions, the program manager, investment climate advisory services, World Bank group, Mr. Gokhan Akinci, and the senior vice president, planning and business development, Mr. Lawrence Wip, spoke on building capacity, adapting, shaping, integrating, communication and setting of pace.
They stressed the needt o sequence initiative and the need for honest professional assessment by discarding initiatives that are not working.
They called for planning, training, strategizing and the identification of key performance indicators.
The facilitators, however, expressed optimism that with shared vision and team work, sub-national success is not only possible but necessary.
The participants were also presented with certificates at the end of the programme.
Meanwhile, Governor Uduaghan says he will initialize change and sustain transformation within the public service through training and development.
Dr. Uduaghan stated this at the end of the training and interactive session between the World Bank team and the state delegation, at the civil service college in Singapore.
The governor noted that the vibrant civil service in Singapore and Rwanda has been the catalyst ofthe accelerated development of the two countries.
As a co-driver of government policy and programs, Dr. Uduaghan said he will not only ensure the institutionalization of the public sector values, but will ensure that they have the prerequisite knowledge to function effectively.
The governor said hewill request the Head of Service to organize a training programme for key DeltaState civil servants, in Singapore.
Also, to ensure that the Singapore experience is immediately put into practice, Governor Uduaghan has set up an inter ministerial committee to implement the lessons of Singapore.
He said the committee made up of some members of his delegation will focus on transportation, public work, environment and commerce to bring about noticeable changes within the various sectors.
He urged the Commissioner for Economic Planning to set the pace by making it possible for budget to be presented by September.
In his remarks, the commissioner for economic planning, Mr. Kenneth Okpara, said the presence of the state delegation led by the governor, have sent a strong message to the World Bank that Delta State government means business.
Mr. Okpara said, with the knowledge gained from the training, the team would help to drive government’s vision, which ultimate aim is to create jobs.
Dr. Obinna Duruji is the Commissioner for Information, Imo State. In this no-holds-barred interview which was syndicated to John Mgbe, he makes clarifications on some of the current controversial and topical political questions in Imo State. Please read on:
On what gave rise to the Community Government Council (CGC) which some people refer to as 4th Government.
The government is bent on the policy of 4th tier government, better called Community Government Council because the policy is part and parcel of a larger policy of decentralization which is the 4th cardinal principle of Rochanomics.
During the campaign, Governor Okorocha addressed the communities, and assured Imo electorate that if elected he will turn things around by establishing 4th tier of government and the basis or reason for its establishment is because of the failure of the local government system to drive development to the rural areas. To achieve that objective of rural development, it has become imperative that the frontiers of governance be decentralized from state and Local Government to the Communities; hence the 4th tier concept.
Above all, the workers are afraid of losing their jobs.Any guarantee of job tenure?
It is only fear and fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. There is no reality to it and there is no basis for the fear. Nobody will be retrenched. It is not even redeployment in the negative sense. It is a matter of secondment. Secondment is temporary transfer for specific assignment. Secondment is a preferred terminology than transfer. While transfer may connote in some sense permanence, that you have been moved from one place to the other; secondment is clearly a temporary relocation for specific assignment.
Some people insist that the Community Government Council(CGC) is illegal.Why do you insist on continuing with it?
Their insistence that the 4th tier arrangement is illegal does no constitute illegality. What is their basis? Did they cite any section of the constitution that has been violated or that prohibits it? Something can be illegal by virtue of prohibition or by contravening an existing section of the law. In this case did they cite any authority or explain the basis for their insistence. The mere fact that the opposition is saying it, does no make it a fact. Section 7 of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 as amended authorizes the state House of Assembly to establish a system of governance for the Local Governments. The Constitution recognizes 774 Local Governments and empowers the State House of Assembly to establish a system of government for them, and it is within the premise of the authority, that the House of Assembly is creating the Community Government Councils. Local Government Councils cannot hang in the air; they are made up of autonomous communities. Under Law no 6 of 2006 the State House of Assembly, established criteria for creation of autonomous community and within that authority to create autonomous community is also the authority to establish a structure for their governance. What is the authority? What section of the constitution is violated? Or what section of their constitution prohibits it – none, and I want to be quoted.
Who gains from this policy?
Imo state stands to gain. Imo citizens stand to gain because of the inherent advantages which include but are not limited to the following:-
The Community Government Council (CGC) will fast-track rural development which the Local Government system has failed to do and which the state by its distance cannot effectively do.
It will stop rural – urban migration.
It will enhance the value of rural lands.
It will inculcate a sense of back to land consciousness for Rural Agricultural Programme, whereby each community will plant a minimum of 20,000 palm seedlings between now and December 2012, and each community is required to provide about 100 hectares of land for Rural Agricultural Programme. The communities will benefit, through the establishment of basic infrastructure, like water, electricity, administrative offices, town halls, and markets where they do not exist.
People all over the communities are commending His Excellency. Only the minority but vocal elements are shouting foul. And even at that, it is understandable that no matter how good a policy is, it will be difficult for the entire citizenry to applaud it. Some people will still be opposed to it while some others will still ask questions.
During the three work free days granted the workers to go home and register, the workers were scrambling for the forms. Some of them look forward to the opportunity to be closer to their homes and contribute their own quota to the development of their communities. Some have been away in various duty posts for over 10 – 15 and 20 years. Many of them are excited at the mere opportunity to return home. It is a question of who is calling the shot or doing the criticism. If they are doing the criticism from the mountain tops, ask them to seek the opinion of people at the grassroots. You will be surprised at what they have been able to do.
THE prescription of a dress code has not gone down well with some of the staff in the Civil Service
When you say prescription, without debating the issue, you hire people, you prescribe rules and regulations for them. What is wrong with uniform for civil servants that make them look dutiful, that enhances their sense of decorum, their sense of prestige, enhances their sense of self worth, enhance their sense of performance? What are the negative connotations? Has anybody articulated any negative factors associated with the uniform – black suit on white shirt and red tie for men and black suit on white blouse and red scarf for women? Has anybody faulted it in anyway? The workers themselves have not complained. They have applauded it instead.
What informed the introduction of commercialization in Imo State Ministries?
Commercialization of Imo State Ministries, Departments and Agencies is a programme totally calculated to raise the bottom line of the average MDAs in Imo State. Over the years as you are aware, Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been solely dependent on subvention to the point of complacency; to the point of non-performance and lack of productivity. To change things around, His Excellency has come up with an innovation that parastatals should boost their activities with a commercial orientation and they should be able to be self sustaining so as to not depend on the subvention any longer. With effect from April 1st 2012 the Ministries, Departments and Agencies are no longer going to be getting subvention which is a challenge for a place like IBC, Imo Palm Plantation. These are parastatals. Others are Imo Statesman, ENTRACO, Imo Orientation Agency, etc why will they be getting subventions? Government Press for Instance, if they have the potential to generate profit, those opportunities should be exploited to the benefit of the parent Ministry. People call it all kinds of names, reason being that it is in the very nature of human beings to resist change. So they are reacting to what they are not used to by calling it names and nobody has highlighted any negative impact or connotation of the commercialization programme other than fear which is false evidence, appearing real.
Apart from the Community Government Council(CGC) issue, another controversy is the relocation of Imo State University to Ogboko,the governor’s home town.What informed this opinion?
The relocation of Imo State University was informed by the National Universities Commission’s deadline to the state government to relocate the Imo State University or the University will lose its accreditation. So of all the contentious sites for possible relocation of Imo State University, the only one that is not in contention is the location in Ogboko where there is a lot of space, there is serenity for academic endevours. It is not in contention and the people very much welcome it. Those are the concerns of the University Relocation Committee. All the other possible locations are in contention. For one reason or the other it is also important to state that Ogboko is in Imo State and there is no legal prohibition against relocating the University to Governor’s local government or home town.
How can you assess the government in the last one year.
Well I am the Spokesman of the State; the people had better be the judge. But speaking from the point of view of advantage, I like to say that this government has exceeded the widest expectations of Imo people. Nobody expected in the last one year that Imo State will embark on free education as was promised during the campaign, that even then it will be extended beyond the campaign promise to the tertiary education level.
The massive road construction in the State is nothing short of a revolution. Already over one thousand roads are under construction in all the rural communities across the State, not including Orlu main town, not including Okigwe main town and Owerri main town. These are rural roads in the excess of one thousand and this does not include the massive resurfacing and patch works across the State.
In the area of infrastructural development, legacy projects like the Hand of God “Akachi”, – the tallest hotel is being built in Imo State, the tallest tower in the world is being built in Imo State, and many more. So in the last one year it has been nothing short of a revolution in Imo State. This is also inclusive of human capacity building.
Imo College of Advanced Professional Studies (ICAPS) is a capacity building institution; the Imo State University has received N148,000,000.00 (One Hundred and Forty-Eight Million Naira) for accreditation programmes, paid off the contiss/conua salary structures to the tune of N772,000,000.00 (Seven Hundred and Seventy-Two Million Naira). N252m per month and 100 thousand scholarship to every IMSU undergraduates.
In fact there is no sector of the Imo State economy that is left out in the revolution. Agriculture has received a boost. As it stands each community is required to donate a minimum of one hundred (100) hectares of land for rural agricultural programme.
Security has been beefed up by the provision of vehicles and state of art technology. Now there is a reward of One Million Naira N1, 000,000.00 (One Million Naira) for anyone who gives any information leading to the arrest of a kidnapper or to the bursting of a kidnap ring. These things are going on, on a daily bases and it couldn’t have been any better. No state government has recorded the kind of feat that this Administration has recorded in the last eleven months.
Information available to 247ureports.com through sources close to the Kaduna State indicate that the Kaduna State owned tertiary institution has gone on strike owing to unresolved issues concerning payment of wages by the Kaduna State government.
The two major institution that announced their strike yesterday afternoon were Sate College of Education and the State Polythenic. The strike was said to come days before the start of final exams.
The mouth piece of the Kaduna State government, Ruben Buhari, in talking to 247ureports.com confirmed the strike but added that the State government is currently in closed door meeting with the university staff to ‘iron-out’ the details in order to facilitate for the quick end to the strike.
The university staff are striking, according to them, over failed agreement on the part of the State government to pay increases in wages.
I traveled with Ryan Boyette for a week last month in Sudan‘s Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. Boyette is an American and former aid worker who has lived in the Nuba for nine years. He built his own house there and, last year, married a Nuba woman, Jazira. He has testified before Congress and the National Security Council.
When his aid group, Samaritan’s Purse, ordered him to leave last June when the Sudan government attacked Nuba’s rebels, he refused and resigned. Today his house was targeted by a Sudan government bombing raid. This is what he has to say:
Update-May 11, 2012 – Today I was targeted.
Today at exactly 9:50am the Government of Sudan targeted my wife and I in our house. An Antonov airplane flew over the house dropping a total of six bombs in a row. The first bomb landed 30 meters to the west of our house and the second about 50 meters east of our house and the rest of the bombs landed in a line from the first two bombs.
Some friends were visiting me in my house when I heard a Sudanese Government Antonov Airplane. I went outside and noticed the plane was coming directly for my house. When I saw the plane coming directly over me, my friends and I ran behind the house and laid down as quick as possible. We could hear the bombs falling through the air and within seconds there was a huge explosion less than 30 meters from where we were laying down. My wife was visiting our neighbor at the time of the bombing. She also took cover behind a rock very close to where the third bomb exploded. She saw a large piece of shrapnel fly over her as she laid down. After all six bombs exploded the plane went back towards the north.
I rushed to find my wife and we were both relieved that neither of us was hurt and we quickly checked with people in the area if any one was wounded or killed by the bombing. Despite all six bombs landing near homes, only one 75 year old woman named Halima had a small wound on her head. After treating the old woman’s wound, we then assessed the damage at our house. Some shrapnel from the first bomb hit our house, causing minor damage to the outside wall and punching a hole in our roof. My wife and I sat and prayed to thank God that we were ok.
Not a single soldier lives in the village that I live in and it is far from any front line.
I realize that I am now a target. I have experienced many bombings here in Nuba but today I realize that someone woke up this morning and got in the airplane with the mission to kill me. This was also the closest bomb that has exploded near me. I realize the fear that men, women and children have when the bombs are falling on them.
I am not surprised that I have been targeted by the Sudan Government as they do not want the world to know the truth about what is happening in Sudan. Recently, Sudanese President] Omar al Bashir made the statement that he will conduct Friday prayers in the SPLA-N [Sudan Peoples Liberation Army-North] controlled town of Kauda in Southern Kordofan. Bashir’s soldiers are far from Kauda and have realized that Bashir’s attempts to overrun the people of Southern Kordofan is his own prideful mission and does not help Sudan as a country. As a result many of his soldiers have no desire to fight with their brothers in Southern Kordofan. Since he was unable to enter Kauda, he decided to drop bombs yesterday in Kauda and today at my house. He drops bombs from an airplane very high in the air in rural civilian areas, where he is unreachable by any weapon of the SPLA-N.
What surprises me more is that the international community is doing nothing to stop the bombings that are affecting the lives of some many people in Nuba. Many have died, many have been wounded and maimed and even as I write this email people are dying of starvation because they were not able to plant last year due to the daily bombings. The rainy season is coming. If the bombing continues and people are not able to plant, more will die. But yet the international community does nothing. They write it off as a North/South issue and all they can do is tell Khartoum and Juba to stop, instead of really looking at the core issues of why Sudan has no peace. Why was there fighting for 21 years between the North and the South that lead a separation? Why has there been fighting in Darfur since 2005 up to now? Why is there protest in Khartoum and the east of Sudan? Why is there all out fighting in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan with aerial bombardment every single day?
The government of Sudan has failed its own people in Nuba, Blue Nile, Darfur, and other parts of Sudan. The UN, the AU and international governments are failing the people of Sudan by allowing Sudan to bomb its own people. That is what surprises me. I have seen how the government of Sudan acts towards its own people for the past nine years so I expect such behavior. But what surprises me is that leaders even in Africa and other international governments are not willing to make a stand against what this government is doing to its own civilians.
Information reaching 247ureports.com through confirmed sources indicated that the men of Boko Haram attacked a residential quarters in Kano killing 5.
According to the information received, the men of boko haram in the afternoon hours of Sunday dashed into a residential quarters named Tunkuntawa Quarters located along Zoo road – and openned fire on the residents. The attack was reported to last less than 10 minutes.
At the end of the attack, 5 bodies were lying lifeless and reportedly dead. The bodies were taken to Aminu Kano teaching hospital where there were pronounced dead. One other person sustained injury. The extent of the injury is unknown to 247ureports.com.
The Police Publicity Relations Officer, Magaji confirmed the attack.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has said the Lagos state
government acted responsibly and
in accordance with the state’s Civil/Public service rules in sacking
the striking doctors in its employment.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
the party also accused the petulant doctors of flouting industrial
laws by declaring the strike that led to their
sack without issuing the necessary notice to their employers.
It said they were also guilty of serious misconduct by refusing to
answer the queries issued to them to
explain their Absence Without Leave from work, adding that the
consequences of their action are clearly
spelt out in the Civil Service Rules, and that no responsible employer
will condone such egregious action
from its employees.
”We have waited this long to comment on this issue because we were
studying all the details of the
situation that led to the strike and the sack. Having concluded our
painstaking investigation, we can say
without equivocation that the government acted responsibly and in
accordance with the necessary rules
and regulations.
”Contrary to the misinformation being peddled by some mischievous
individuals and groups, the strike
that led to the doctors’ strike has nothing to do with their
conditions of service, but is related to the desire
of a group that wants to continue to hold the government and the
people to ransom through incessant strikes
over every frivolous issue.
”We say this because the Lagos state government has met all the
demands of the doctors during their earlier stike:
payment of the so-called Consolidated Medical Salary Structure
(CONMESS) which has been accommodated in
the approved salary structures for the state, even when the federal
government that negotiated it did not consult the
state government; reinstatement of Dr. Ibrahim Olaifa and the
reactivation of the deduction and remittance of the
check-off dues to the Medical Guild. Complaints on high taxation
cannot be handled by the state government because
taxation is a federal government issue.
”The latest strike by the doctors is based on totally new and
unreasonable demands by the doctors, who are asking the
state government to pay them far in excess of what was contained in
CONMESS! This in a state where, unknown to many,
some consultants are already earning more than 800,000 naira a month!
”It is on the basis of this totally new and unrealistic demands that
the the doctors gave a mere 24-hour notice to embark on an
three-day warning strike, and gave no notice at all to embark on their
now ill-fated indefinite strike, without worrying about
the impact of ther action on the public.
”In order words, there is nothing altruistic about the doctors’
strike. It is all about them and them alone. They do not care
whether or not the state government can meet overhead or development
costs, or whether the hospitals where they work
can even be adequately eqipped. What matters is for the ever-elastic
demands of the seemingly-insatiable doctors to be
met once they are issued. This is unrealistic and untenable, and the
doctors must be told in clear terms,” ACN said.
The party said it is cheap and uncharitable for the PDP to try to cash
in on a serious issue by using such term as ‘fascist’
to describe the doctors’ sack, and challenged the party to say how
much the PDP states pay the doctors in their
employ and how many doctors each of them has employed.
”There is no need to politicise the issues on ground, because
innocent Nigerians, irrespective of their party affiliation,
suffer greatly, with some even losing their lives, every time doctors
fling away their stethoscopes in the name of a strike.
What is expected is for every responsible citizen and group to prevail
on the doctors, who have been so remunerated, to
always consider their impact of their incessant strikes on their
patients,” it said.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed
National Publicity Secretary
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
Lagos, May 13th 2012
The recent implementation of this ridiculous threat by mass sacking over 788 medical doctors by the Raji Fashola/ACN government clearly underlines the high level of contempt which pro-free market ruling elites in Nigeria of all shades hold the poor and working masses. In order to break the fighting spirit of the doctors, the government went ahead, in an action reminiscent of the military jackboot absolutism, to eject the doctors from their quarters – an action that runs contrary to government’s own tenancy law. This action of the Fashola government is a direct affront on the working and poor people, who have borne all the anti-poor, pro-rich policies of the Fashola/ACN government and its big brother Federal/PDP government. Consequently, all genuinely progressive forces including the labour movement, pro-labour organizations, civil society groups and other professional groups must intervene in the current struggle of doctors in Lagos State. This is not the struggle of the doctors alone, but indeed that of the soul of social service. If the Lagos State government is allowed to have its way, aside this opening the floodgate for massive onslaught on the working and poor people, it will definitely lead to collapse of health service, which is already in precarious state in Lagos State, while engendering brain drain and further destruction of social service across the country.
Merely looking at health statistics in Lagos State alone, the flagship state and shining star of ACN – which has been ruled by ACN party uninterruptedly since emergence of civil rule in 1999 – will reveal the shameful character of Nigeria’s ruling elite, in particular the Fashola/ACN government. The total population of public sector medical doctors is around eight hundred. If we add an extra 700 private practitioners and those on and federal government employment, then we will be having around 1, 500 medical doctors in the state. Given the average population of 15 million, this will mean a doctor to more than 10, 000 persons. This is ten times the WHO average standard. We should not even mention other comparative statistics like number of medical beds to the population. Thus, when a supposedly progressive government embark on mass sack of doctors, not because they committed murder, but for seeking a modest improvement; then we should start to examine so many things about the governance in Nigeria.
The government and its town criers in the media have premised this ignoble action on the so-called flouting of the Hippocratic Oath of the medical profession by embarking on warning strike. But for a government that claims to be ‘guided’ by rule of law (please read rule of pocket), one expected it to refer such to the appropriate professional regulatory bodies to decide or go to court; and not to turn itself to the accuser and the judge at the same time. In the real sense, this is just a pretense, the reality is that the Fashola/ACN administration aim is to divert public fund away from public use for the pecuniary interests of the ruling cabal in power. It is the hypocritical government officials and politicians, who continue to line their pockets with public resources, who are making provision of safe public health a mirage in the country. It is on record that the doctors have used all known administrative, friendly, and even conciliatory means to resolve the issue for the past two years, but the Fashola/ACN government had always met these initiatives with threat and brutal repression. One of this is the sacking of the leader of the Medical Guild two years ago and physical repression of other members of the guild for daring to effect a similar on similar issue. Thus, it is highly hypocritical for anybody to claim that workers have no right to use all democratic and civil means to protect their welfare interest against the recalcitrant and irresponsible ruling elite.
According to the Medical Guild, what they were simply asking for is the reversal of the obnoxious and undemocratic demotion of its members under the guise of paying salaries. This means that majority of the doctors will see as much as four-year demotion with the government’s contemptuous and treacherous implementation of the wage scale for medical doctors. Correcting this will only cost the state around N10 million a month, a tiny fraction of what the state spend on frivolities such as salaries and emoluments of political officers, shows, festivals, wasteful spending on shindigs of party bigwigs, etc. The other demand is the payment of teaching allowance for medical personnel on house jobs. These are graduates, who undertake enormous work in hospitals, but are paid like casuals. While it is true that they are learning through such process, the reality is that based on the collapse of the health infrastructures and huge deficit in medical personnel as highlighted above, these young minds have become the casualty of the irresponsibility of the political class in uplifting health infrastructures. This has made working environment frustrating for upcoming doctors. It is only just for a responsible government to remunerate these young professionals adequately, at least if only to mitigate the huge brain drain in the system. It is a known fact that past governments, despite earning lesser revenue than current governments – utilize incentives like bursaries, scholarships, improved allowances to attract more people to professions that are vital and dear to the society.
The excuse that state government cannot be stampeded to pay a wage policy of the federal government is most cynical. Why has the same principled not applied to the salaries of public and political office holders in Lagos State, who are consuming the same obnoxious and fraudulent emoluments as their federal colleagues. How can this set of people claim that workers who do most of the work for which they get the credit should not demand for a minimal improvement in their conditions? The excuse that there will not be enough resources for development if workers are adequately remunerated is blatant falsehood. In the real sense, the so-called development is elite oriented. For instance, the so-called road construction projects of the Fashola government have been at best one-sided.
While some roads are constructed, the fact is that, on the basis of the fraudulent contract system that ensures multiple inflation of contracts, such projects do not correspond with the huge wealth at the disposal of the state for the past five years (over N3 trillion). In addition, the projects are lopsided with most of the community and local roads abandoned by the state and local governments. Aside this is the bankrupt concession/public-private partnership policy which hand over public properties and infrastructures procured with public funds to private big business to make huge profit. The Lekki-Epe toll road and the BRT projects are immediate examples. Take the housing policy; it is the same fraud: building public housing that an average worker cannot dream of purchasing in years, which are then handed over to middlemen and bankers, at public expense. We have also seen the bankruptcy of the Fashola government in the education sector. The story of Lagos State University (LASU), the only state owned university, where fees are hiked by over 750 percent is still fresh. For several months, the academic staff in the institution had to take on the state government for a minimal increase in their wages, leading to closure of the campus. The recently displayed media picture showing the Lagos State governor, Raji Fashola casting vote at a dilapidated public primary school depict clearly the manner of‘education reform’ the government is undertaking.
Therefore, the current attack on medical doctors for demanding proper implementation of the an agreement is part of the holistic policy of the Fashola/ACN government to undercut funding for social and public service with a view to handing the resources to a handful of big business and party bigwigs. One of the ways of achieving this is by attacking strong sections of the organized working class. While leaderships of most of the workers’ unions have been cowed or bought over, the Lagos State government feels that it can isolate leaderships of some unions that stand up to it to prevent others from waking up. If this attack is successful, it will embolden the Fashola/ACN government to launch full-scale onslaught on workers and poor people, who are already reeking in pains. This will not be limited to Lagos State but will cut across all the states of the federation, as governors are competing vigorously in setting pace for anti-poor, anti-worker policies. Indeed, there is no fundamental difference among these ruling pro-big business political parties (PDP, ACN, CPC, LP, APGA, etc) – they are all anti-poor and corrupt.
The Medical Guild in Lagos State, while must be commended for its steadfastness, must take the struggle beyond the realm of mere administrative strike, they must engage the state government in direct social struggle. This will mean a mass campaign amongst the masses of Lagos through educative materials and mass rallies (in conjunction with genuine pro-labour and labour activists). This should also link the struggle with call for massive improvement in health facilities in the state. For instance, from a conservative estimate, committing two billion naira into health sector in the state will employ and pay annual salaries of over two hundred new medical doctors and over four hundred medical staff. An extra one billion naira, if judiciously utilized will expand health infrastructures (more hospital beds, functional hospitals, etc). This is merely three billion naira, which is less than 15 percent of Lagos monthly revenue. If the Fashola government (which is expending energy and resources on repression of doctors in the last three years) had done this in the past five years, the health system in Lagos would not be in its current mess.
Moreover, the Medical Guild and NMA must also reach out to other unions in the state, especially in-house unions in the health sector. A newspaper recently reported a plan by other medical workers in the employment of the state government to embark on strike over non-implementation of CONHESS – the health workers’ salary scale. Also, federal government health workers in the state are currently on strike. These struggles need to be coordinated, especially among state employed health workers and medical doctors. This is vital in order to avoid a divide-and-rule policy of the Lagos State government. Quoting one the leaders of Medical and Health Workers’ Union (MHWUN), Mr. Rashid Bamishe in an interview,he had said, “Nobody should see our action as sympathy to doctors’ strike. We have issues that are known to the world, and which even the doctors are aware of. But they (doctors) have not included our issue in their strike. How will anybody think of sympathy?”(Guardian, May 12, 2012). This is unfortunate. Agreed that the leaders of the Medical Guild did not include other health workers’ demands, that is not an enough reason to try to isolate the medical doctors. The proper thing for the health workers’ union leaders is to, while fighting for their own demand, show solidarity with the medical doctors. More than this, they should have called for joint action of the unions to win collectively.
The Medical Guild and the NMA should also raise demands of other health workers. While the doctors were correct to have issued educative materials on May Day, they need to take this forward by openly calling on the generality of workers and the poor in the state to intervene in order to save public health, which the Fashola/ACN government does not care a hoot about. It is unfortunate that the labour unions, especially the leaders of labour centres have kept sealed lips. Working class activists and ordinary workers must compel them to act in the long term interests of workers and the poor in the state, who have been at the receiving end of the Fashola government’s irresponsibility.
Ultimately, what the Fashola government has display is a reflection of the cynical attitude of Nigeria’s retrogressive, pro-rich and anti-poor capitalist political class, to the welfare of working and poor people. What the Fashola/ACN government is doing is no different from the anti-poor policies of the PDP and other ruling parties in Nigeria. It is thus no accident that most of the bourgeois political parties at best kept sealed lips. The ranting of the PDP has nothing to do with the party being pro-poor, but a mere opportunistic attempt to gain from the political backlash against the Fashola government, as the PDP, wherever it holds rein of power implement the same if not worse policies. The basic reason why all these parties undertake these anti-poor policies is that they represent the class of the rich and the exploiters. The more they spend on working and poor people, they lesser the wealth they have to loot. Yet, the working and poor people continue to vote for them every four years, as if there is no alternative.
This underlines the fundamental task before the working and poor people in Nigeria – the building of an alternative political platform, run and controlled by the working and poor people, with the sole aim of committing public resources to public services and infrastructures. This will mean putting the huge natural, mineral and monetary resources of the country under the democratic control and management of the working people organized from the factories, workplaces, grassroots and communities to the national level. This will mean public officers will earn the salaries of average skilled workers and their family members will utilize public facilities like every other citizen. This is the only way to end the regime of gangsters in power. The working people at all levels must put pressure on their union leaders take this road.
