Gov. Owelle Rochas Okorocha has urged the federal government to partner with the state government through its interventionary programmes on agriculture to boost cassava production in the state. The governor who stated this when the minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina paid him a courtesy visit in government house, stated that with third position in cassava production in the country, Imo has the potentials of producing enough cassava flour for local consumption and export under the federal government agricultural revolution scheme. He said “Imo is an Agulerian state with vast agricultural potentials. We presently occupy third position in cassava production which means that our state has the potentials of producing enough cassava flour for local consumption and large commercial quantity for export if federal government partners with us. Apart from creating massive job opportunities, the programme also has the capacity to diversify our economy which presently depends on crude oil.” Gov. Okorocha disclosed that the state government has taken proactive steps in the agricultural sector which led to the concessioning of Imo Palm Plantation formerly known as Adapalm to Roche Group through which about N3.5 billion was generated. He added that efforts are being intensified to ensure that the moribund Avutu Poultry is revived to function on its optimal capacity while arrangements are already perfected to plant improved variety of palm seedlings in each of the 27 local government areas. Gov. Okorocha further expressed that the government has engaged the services of some agricultural experts from South agricultural under Rural Agricultural Programme (RAP) for massive food production, disclosing that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government and Republic of Kosovo has been signed on the exportation of agricultural produce from the state. Earlier, the Minister, Dr. Adesina said that federal government has concluded plans to build an Industrial cassava plant in Imo state to harness its potentials in cassava production. He disclosed that under the ongoing agricultural revolution in the country, federal government would assist Imo state government would assist Imo state government to actualize its bid of reviving the Avutu poultry. He applauded the developmental strides of Gov. Okorocha on the infrastructural development of the state and the policies and programmes introduced to ensure food security in the state.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has received with sadness, news of the passing away of His Royal Highness, Igwe Mathias Ekweremadu, the father of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
On behalf of himself, the Federal Government and the people of Nigeria, President Jonathan commiserates with Senator Ekweremadu and the entire Ekweremadu Family of the Anekeoji Mpu Autonomous Community of Enugu State.
As they mourn their father and patriarch of the Ekweremadu family, the President urges Senator Ekweremadu, his siblings and other relatives to take solace in the knowledge that Igwe Ekweremadu lived to a grand old age, and in passing on, has left many worthy and exemplary legacies for his children and members of his community.
President Jonathan prays that God Almighty will grant Igwe Ekweremadu’s soul eternal rest.
Since about six months or so, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and prominent human right activist, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has been pushing with his usual commendable fervor for a law he has termed the “Fly Nigeria Act”. If such bill is passed by the National Assembly, it will become mandatory for public office holders, other state officials and indeed any Nigerian travelling outside the country on government expense to fly Nigerian airlines. I have been informed that Olisa Agbakoba has presented a private bill to the National Assembly and that another provision of the “Fly Nigeria Act” is that Nigerians travelling on international routes not covered by Nigerian airlines must use foreign airlines that have code-share agreements with a Nigerian carrier.
In the vision and words of the supporters of such bill, it is clear that they see the bill as a first step towards in a chain of self-propagating advantage situation wherein one successful solution leads to more of a desired result which generates still more desired results for the country. So they argue that if passed into law and a significant number of Nigerian travelers are forced to fly Nigerian airlines, there will be an automatic and rapid decrease in the amount of money paid into the coffers of foreign airlines operating in Nigeria, this will translate into a rapid increase in the revenue of Nigerian airlines and this will in turn lead to a significant increase in their profitability which in turn will lead to expansion of airline operations which will then generate employment opportunities and even help boost the development of allied infrastructural facilities such as the Lagos Airport.
On the surface, all these sound rather convincing and even appealing because the platter comes also with patriotic seasoning: Take money away from foreigners and give it to locals, force Nigerian officials to fly Nigeria etc. This is all romantic, but in reality wrong and if implemented might even make things worse. The idea of forcing any Nigerian to choose particular airlines by law is obsolete and smacks of a kneejerk reaction to the crisis Arik is facing.
Like every other traveler in the world, Nigerians, whether public officials or private citizens make their choice of airline based on price, safety and type of service they get from a carrier. Past experiences with Nigeria Airways and later Virgin Nigeria have shown that in reality, given the chance, Nigerian public officials and influential private Nigerians will fly Nigerian airlines where they are sure they can influence and abuse the system. Olisa Agbakoba and other supporters of this bill should speak to staff operating in this sector and they will hear about a lot of appalling episodes where flights have been delayed to please ministers and their ilks. They will hear of sorry episodes where flights have been rerouted in obedience to orders from above.
If we want Nigerian airlines to expand, be profitable and to employ more people, the efficient way forward is to make them competitive and attractive to not only Nigerians but also to the rest of the world. Our strategies for having stronger and truly internationally competitive airlines will have to focus on pricing, punctuality, safety and customer service. At the moment, Nigerian airlines are struggling not because there are not enough passengers but because they struggle to service the ones they have. Their problems are financial, infrastructural and largely managerial. A cursory look at the performance at domestic flights within Nigeria wherein all competing carriers operate on a more or less level playing field will tell you which airline is regarded as clearly the most reliable in terms of punctuality, safety and good customer service. What is that airline doing? That is what we should be making our own airlines do.
The foreign airlines which Nigerian public officials and private citizens tend to prefer on international routes gain their preference because they deliver better customer services, because they tend to be more punctual and because they are perceived to be safer. Yes, they tend to be more expensive and there are even cases where they maltreat some Nigerian passengers but those cases need to be dealt with by the consumer protection offices of the NCAA. If we want Nigerian airlines to become the preferred airlines of Nigerians and indeed other travelers then we need to make them work on becoming competitive by performing as well as their rivals and by providing attractive features such as more generous baggage allowance and working on their pricing strategies.
Nigeria Airways is dead and may its ghost hunt all those who killed it; the Nigerian airlines of today are privately owned and they are in the business with the legitimate quest of making profit. If you guarantee them a stable source of revenue by forcing some Nigerians to fly them, what incentive do they have to improve their services? If the revenue that comes from government paid tickets is big enough to require a national law and then you give all of it to Nigerian airlines in this case one i.e Arik; why should they bother to cater well for non public officials or even try to expand beyond?
By the way, the 49 U.S.C 40118 commonly referred to as the “Fly America Act” cited by Olisa Agbakoba as a model for his bill was wrong from day one and it is now generally considered obsolete and is being replaced by other bilateral/multilateral open skies agreement. Let us not pick from the waste bin of the USA.
Alaoji Power station in Abia State is to set to pump in 834 megawatts into the National grid to shore up the power needs of the country, and revive ailing industries in the South East and neighbouring states.
This disclosure was made by former governor of Anambra State and Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Senator Chris Ngige while delivering a paper on ‘Random thoughts for South East economic development at the Enugu International trade fair at the weekend’
Ngige is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on power also announced that, at the instance of his committee, the Senate has provided in the year 2012 budget, a comprehensive study and grading of the coal deposits in the South East, Benue Trough and the Gombe axis in the North East so as to explore thermal power alternatives’which supplies 90 percent of the electricity needs of South Africa’
According to Sen. Ngige, the Senate Commiteee on Power will assess the progress of work in the Alaoji site immediately after Easter clebrations, to ensure the programme does not lose any time from original schedule.
The Senate Committee on Power recently placed the project back on track, by recovering power generation equipment illegally auctioned at the Ports and returned them to Alaoji, for the on-going Independent Power Project (IPP).
The brainstorming session organised by Darchis and Dromidas a company dealing in health products manufactured in Korea, conferred commemorative awards and plank on the leader of South Korea merit awards on the Ann.
Ngige spoke at an occasion where the Former Governor of Ebonyi state, Chief Sam Egwu, who chaired the event, declared that if Biafra had succeeded, as a nation, its economy would have been at par with that of South Korea.
But Ngige warned that the economic development of the South east would not be possible, until there is a political structuring of Nigeria, insisting that ‘ the Southwest wants restructuring to true federation and return to regionalism, but the South east needs it more’, adding that every Igbo man should rise and support the restructuring of the country to devolve functions and economic power back to the regions.
Tracing the relationship of the South EAST Nigeria economy with that of South Korea, to the admiration of the Korean ambassador, Ngige relived memories of the Eastern Region economy ld by Dr Michael Okpara which as at the time Korea came to take palm seedlings from the region for their experiment was the fastest growing economy in the world.
He however regretted that the disappearance of the strong federations has made every unit in the country to go to Abuja begging , leaving Nigeria with only four viable states of Lagos, Rivers, Delta and Kano. He however noted that the constitution review committee of the National Assembly in which he represents Anambra State is geared towards shoring up the viability of the federation units.
Sen. Ngige’s, who pointedly challenged the governors in the South East to come together and form a South East Development Commission, that will raise the infrastructure profile of South EAST Nigeria, proposed that the federating units should bee the Six geopolitical units of the country, which has not been conferred with constitutional recognition, noting that that is also an use for consideration at the Senate.
Responding to issues raised by ace movie icon, Pete Edochie, on the need to revamped the Oji Power Project, Se. Ngige explained ‘while Oji Power Station used to supply the whole South East in the Eastern region, a revived Oji plant may not be able to supply Enugu town alone, because of growth in power needs over the years which is the reason we have commissioned a study of coal deposits and their grades to adopt a more holistic approach to exploring coal as an alternative.’
Chairman of Hardis& Dromedas, organisers of the event, Dr Chike Obidigbo, while welcoming guests who included Nigeria’s first female Governor, and another former Governor of Anambra State, Mrs Dame Virgy Etiaba and Movie icon, Pete Edochie paid glowing tribute to Korea for advancing their technology and for being reputed with quality products.
Awards were conferred at the occasion on Head of the Korean army, the Korean ambassador to Nigeria and the distinguished customers of the company at the occasion
The 36 state governments have reported that work has since been abandoned at designated sites in the 774 Local Government Councils and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for the construction of the controversial N37billion comprehensive health centres nationwide.
Though the contractor Mathan Nigeria Limited is insisting on variation of the original contract sum, representatives of the 36 state government and Abuja are surprised that nothing is happening at the various sites nationwide in spite of the huge amount of money paid by government.
The project, reportedly initiated by the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) under the Obasanjo administration in 2007, was declared illegal at the inception of the Umaru Yar’adua administration on grounds that the contract award to did not follow “due process and rule of law.”
Consequently, the contract was terminated and the deductions from the allocations of the Local Government Councils in the Federation Account stopped on grounds that it was unconstitutional for any contractor to be paid directly from statutory allocations.
The contractor had challenged the revocation of the contract, claiming that the Federal Government lacked the legal authority to have taken the decision, as it was not part of the agreement on the contract.
The court, in its ruling, had granted the contractor’s request, ordering the reinstatement of the contract and payment of the contract sum to be recovered from the monthly allocations of the Local Governments in the Federation Account.
Following the court order, a total of about N14.9billion had already been deducted from the statutory allocations in the Federation Account in four installments between January and April last year before it was stopped after the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) raised alarm declaring it illegal and unconstitutional.
RMAFC had pointed out that ALGON, which reportedly approved the deductions, did not have any legal basis in law to do so, since neither it nor its contracting firm hired to handle the construction of the controversial health centres was recognized in the constitution as direct beneficiaries of the Federation Account.
At the June Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting last year, representatives of the 36 state governments raised serious objections to the deductions, arguing that the order for payment from the Federation Account contravened the provisions of section 162 of the constitution, making it illegal for revenues accruing to the Federation to be disbursed through any means other than sharing among the three tiers of government.
However, emboldened by the court ruling reinstating the contract, the contractor reportedly brought another demand to the effect that the contract sum must be reviewed and variation paid before he re-mobilizes to site nationwide.
Premium Times gathered that at the FAAC meeting held two weeks ago, most representatives of the various state governments reported that their visits to the various sites showed no activity was ongoing in most places designated by the contractor as sites for the project.
“Same buildings reported by the contractor to have been completed had been there before the project,” said Kaduna State Commissioner for Finance, John Ayuba, in his report about his state, while his Edo State counterpart, John Inegbedion, who also did not have anything positive to report, urged members to be wary of the contractor and ensure that all jobs he claims to have done are duly certified before any payment is made.
The last may not have been heard of the intrigues surrounding the high
profile criminal case of Advance Fee fraud before the Federal High Court
Port Harcourt against one Larry Obasi who claimed to be working for Globiz
Int’l SRO, Czech Republic and uses same to defraud unsuspecting members of
the public.
When the case came up Thursday, March 22, 2012 before Justice M. A.
Onyenetu of Court 3, the suspect, Larry Obasi expected to be produced by
the prosecuting anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) was not in court against the earlier order of the court.
When the case was called up for mention by Justice Onyenetu, the Counsel
for EFCC got up as usual with a new fairy tale of why Larry Obasi could
not be produced contrary to her earlier promise that the international
rogue had been re-arrested and would be produced in court the next
adjourned date. It’s has been one story or the other by the EFCC why Larry
Obasi could not be dragged to court since his first arrest.
But unknown to the Port Harcourt branch of EFCC, suspected to be aiding
the accused person to evade Justice, four counsel from the office of the
Attorney-General of the Federation were physically present to take over
the case alerted by the notoriety of Larry Obasi who has a countless
number of criminal cases within and outside Nigeria, a situation the
federal government has found embarrassing and feels should be treated with
dispatch.
But rather than stand down and give in to the new development from a
higher and more relevant authority to handle the case, the EFCC Counsel
objected to the AGF taking over the matter and demanded to see proof of
such directive from Abuja.
This stimulated shock and laughter among other learned gentlemen in court
who expressed surprise at the glaring ignorance of the law by their
colleague and as to why the EFCC, supposedly prosecuting on behalf of the
Federal Government could object to the office of the AGF, also prosecuting
the accused for same federal government taking over the case. While the
AGF elected to take over and continue the prosecution of the matter, the
EFCC submitted to withdraw the case.
In law, the office of AGF is the highest litigating authority in the land
and has the sole right to take over any court case at any stage in the
interest of government which the EFCC is opposing as though it has a
pecuniary interest.
The presiding judge not less embarrassed could not help laughing and asked
“what is happening, you all represent the Federal Republic of Nigeria in
this matter why the disagreement. I think I should allow you to sort out
the matter yourselves and come back at the next adjourned date for
mention”.
Justice M. A. Onyenetu therefore adjourned the case to May 3, 2012 after
court recess.
It could be recalled that Larry Obasi was arraigned in Court for duping
and obtaining under pretext a lump sum from a renowned clergyman, Apostle
Eugene Ogu of the Abundant Life Evangel Mission, Port Harcourt.
Arrested and later bailed under stiff bail condition pending appearance in
court, Larry Obasi jumped bail and disappeared from the country for months
before he was tracked down and re-arrested after his surety was
apprehended.
Before the date of appearing in court, the re-arrested Larry Obasi was
also released from detention less than 12 hours before the case came up in
court.
The EFCC later claimed the orders to free the fugitive came from above.
This may have informed the interest and suspicion of the AGF as same Larry
Obasi is wanted by a Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt for another case of
defamation of character of the man of God, Apostle Eugene Ogu. The bench
warrant on the run-away Obasi is still in force.
Same Larry Obasi is also allegedly wanted by the EFCC, Lagos office in
another case of Advance Fee Fraud involving a Lagos business woman, Mrs
Lolo J. Ahinor.
The crime was committed in 2003 to which the accused, Larry Obasi admitted
before the anti-graft agency in Lagos to refund the victim the stolen
amount but reneged on this promise.
This is perhaps, the reason why he diverted his antics to East of the
Niger but may have unfortunately ended his unholy career with this
particular case of defrauding a servant of God and particularly a hard nut
and uncompromising National Security Adviser of the Pentecostal Federation
of Nigeria (PFN), Apostle Eugene Ogu.
With the office of the AGF taking over from the EFCC, it is hoped there is
no more hiding place for the unrepentant Larry Obasi.
All EFCC has to pray for is that he (Larry Obasi) does not turn around to
say it was his anti-graft friends that instigated him into the crime and
subsequent malicious publications against his victims for that is his
stock in trade.
The Pension Reform Task Force team has reacted to a newspaper that alleged that she looted pension funds using what they called KPMG report whereas, there is a “cabal” within the Police Pension Office that has vowed to frustrate the ongoing reform of the police pension scheme. The cabal has so much funds to throw around to buy people who can help propagate their war.
The task force also alleged in the exclusive interview granted yesterday afternoon in Abuja that some officials of the Police Pension Office offered bribes to members of the team cover up their fraud. When this would not work, they resorted to false publications buying up lead stories.
Spokesman for the reform team, Mr. Hassan Salisu, said in Abuja that the corrupt officials had decided to discredit the task force chairman, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, after he reported cases of graft to anti-corruption agencies.
According to Salisu, the fraud in police pension has been on for about 44 years, with officials and their collaborators amassing stupendous wealth running into three digit billions of Naira while the pensioners all over the country wallow in abject poverty after being denied their entitlements for years. He said the team was able to save N159bn on assumption of duty, N74bn of which has been channelled to the 2012 budget.
Salisu said, “We have tried our best and clinched landmark achievements. But there are media comments and accusations by the Senate Committee on Establishment that the pension task team did more harm than good.”
While accusing the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) of “using their bank accounts as a pipe to steal billions of pension funds”, he noted that his team deleted “about 71, 133 ghost pensioners” from the existing payroll where sometimes as much as 2,000 pensioners will have the same pin number.
Among the reasons given for the attacks against the task force team include arresting, investigation and prosecution of some pension staff who misappropriated over N12bn. The EFCC is currently prosecuting 32 individuals and companies in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/28/2011.
Others ‘offences’ we have committed include detecting and deleting over 71,133 pensioners; exposing the Nigeria Union of Pensioners who allegedly uses their bank account “as a pipe to steal billions of pensioners’ funds” and cracking down the fraudulent pension cartel cut across the country.
According to him, pension benefits have been made easily accessible, owing to the team’s mandate of blocking all loopholes that made payment of police pension a nightmare. This development, he explained, had exposed members of the team and their family members to threats from those he referred to as “pension cabal”.
The Senate committee on pensions has accused the Pension Reform Task Force of going beyond its brief in investigating the police pension where it reportedly uncovered N18bn fraud. The task force said it had not done any wrong in carrying out the assignment and insisted that it deserved commendation, not condemnation.
The Chairman, Joint Committee on Establishment on Public Service Matters, and Management of Pension Funds, Senator Aloysious Etok, also said it was suspending the activities of the task force, despite the claims by the latter that it had uncovered N159bn fraud in the government pension schemes.
Etok said they suspended the task force’s activities to pave the way for a more effective solution to the lingering pension problems in the old scheme.
He said the Senate took the decision because results coming out of the investigations were not solving the problems of the pensioners.
Etok said, “We decided to suspend their activities in order to give clear ground for us to start a more effective investigation into the whole issue, which will bring a lasting solution to pensioners.”
Etok noted that amidst several allegations against the task force on its integrity, it had only been recovering money but failed to solve the problems of the pensioners.
“Before the advent of the task force team, there was a list that was used to pay the pensioners, which we will still be using to pay them while we address the issue,” he said.
The task force, under the leadership of Alhaji Abdulrasheed Maina, had claimed to have uncovered over N159bn in property and cash from pension fraudsters.
The team comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, State Security Service, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the office of the Auditor General of the Federation.
According to the task force, a former director of the Pension Department, Office of the Head of Service was arrested, having found N12bn in his personal account, while N4bn was allegedly found in the personal account of his former deputy director who was also arrested, among other arrests.
However, a spokesperson for the task force, who would not want to be named, has refuted allegations of corruption levelled against its chairman in the latest barrage of reports sponsored in some media organisations.
He said, “We still maintain our integrity that we are not guilty of those allegations; we are urging investigative journalists to go to the banks and get the details; we will address all stakeholders and international organisations to prove to them that we actually uncovered the frauds in the pension scheme but we are not in any way guilty of the billions of Naira, claimed to be found in the personal account of any so-called brother to the chairman of the task force.”
Sunny Ofehe is the coordinator of Rotterdam, Netherland-based Hope for Niger Delta Campaign (HNDC). He has been in the forefront of campaign against pollution and gas flaring in the region by International Oil Companies (IOCs). Ofehe hit National limelight when he mobilised Dutch MPs on a visit the Niger Delta as part of his international campaign to attract attention to the damaging explorative activities of IOCs in the region.
Ofehe has been threatened, arrested, and persecuted for campaigning for a better Niger Delta, but has remained resolute in his belief that a Niger Delta devoid of gas flare and pollution is possible.
In this interview with Emeka Umejei, in Johannesburg, South Africa, spoke on the Shell operated Bonga Oil Spill in the Niger Delta, Boko Haram, corruption in Nigeria, and the return of violence to the Niger Delta.
Q; Violence appears to be returning to the Niger Delta, what do you think is responsible for resurgence of violence in the region?
I will not want to agree that violence is returning to the Niger Delta at the moment. There may be some pockets of incidences which are unavoidable, and this can be expected because you cannot please everyone.
I have my fear for the near future and that will be if the boys who are currently studying abroad returns and the government cannot integrate them.
So far, I don’t see any meaningful program that will engage the boys in the areas of job when they return. The oil companies have stated from the outset that there will be no vacancy in their companies.
The government of Goodluck Jonathan must put emphasis on infrastructural development of the region, in addition to creating more jobs for the jobless youths.
If the government can get it right in policy implementation, then any future violence or insurgence will be drastically cut down.
Q: You are known to be passionate about the Niger Delta, how best do you think the government of the day can bring about lasting peace in the region?
My passion for the Niger Delta region cannot be doubted. Apart from being a native of this region, I see them as hospitable, very friendly and happy people. In the midst of their suffering, you still see them very happy especially the children.
My love for the region grows even more anytime I visit the remote areas of the creeks. I have just explained above the strategy that can cut down the violence.
The insurgence in the Niger Delta is dominated by jobless youths who are idle. They say an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. If government can create job opportunities for these youths, and also create micro finance institutions that can give soft loans to youths, women and the elderly, the people are creative enough to start their own businesses.
The government must also look at creating funds that will enable civil society organizations carry out projects that the government may not have the expertise to handle. This will not only help to implement government policies but also create jobs.
The provision of basic infrastructure like good water, electricity and roads can also help the people expand their business potentials.
Q: The recent oil spill in Shells Bonga oil field is yet to attract any form of compensation from Shell?
I don’t think that compensation is the first thing when you have massive oil spills. You must first evaluate the environmental damage and the health consequences of such a spill. It is the result of these analyses that can guide you in reaching the value and volume of the compensation.
In the case of the Bonga oil spill, there was no independent report on the cause and quantity of the spill. We could only see satellite images via the internet and information from the website of Shell who in this case was the perpetrator of the spill.
The government regulatory bodies like NOSDRA and DPR all lacked the competence to carry out their duties. Their powers are limited by lack of funds and technical equipment. So, the government has lost its grip on how to regulate the International Oil Companies (IOCs).
How will they be able to push for compensation of victims when they lack the technical knowledge to evaluate the level of damages?
It is these kinds of inefficiencies on the part of the Nigerian government that give undue power to multinational oil companies operate at their whims and caprices in the Niger Delta.
Q; But many had thought that with a Niger Deltan as President some of the nagging challenges in the region will have been addressed?
I think I also agree with those who think in that direction, but come to look at it critically, he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and must be careful about his policies towards the Niger Delta, otherwise his opponents can use that against him.
I have also been a critic of this administration because I think they have not done enough for the region. Most of the policies that are running the Niger Delta today are actually the policies of the late President Yar’Adua administration.
I think the best thing that this administration can do for the Niger Delta people is to ensure that the Petroleum Industrial Bill (PIB) gets through the legislative house and becomes law.
The enforcement of the local content law and the reorganization taking place in the oil and gas industries will benefit the local people if this administration will fearlessly continue to enforce these policies.
Q: The challenging security situation in Nigeria is beginning to reach worrying stage, what do you think is responsible and solutions.
The Boko Haram problem has given Nigeria a very negative image internationally. Most businesses have suffered because foreign investors don’t want to invest in a country having the terrorism tag.
We lobbied some members of the European Union Parliaments to visit the Niger Delta and they all agreed and fixed April 2012 for their visit. However, a few weeks ago, I got a mail from the facilitator to inform me they have all pulled out because of the worrying situation in Nigeria.
Individual Nigerians can tell their stories of how the nation’s insecurity has affected them directly or indirectly. It is now a national issue considering the number of innocent people who have lost their lives. The most recent, is the death of a senior police officer, who died along with his aides in a helicopter crash.
The truth be told, Boko Haram is not acting alone, they must have funding from perceived aggrieved politicians. There is no one man that is bigger than Nigeria, so the intelligence community must act and bring culprits to book irrespective of their status.
The cause of all these can be traced to systemic breakdown, insecurity at our borders and political greed. We must seek help from countries like the US and UK, who have the expertise to combat crimes relating to terrorism.
I strongly believe in a united Nigeria because in togetherness we have a greater potential. The solution to the problem must not be the responsibility of the Nigerian government alone. We must stand up as a people to fish out the evil ones among us, irrespective of tribe or religion.
Q: Nigeria is hugely endowed with natural resources but it appears to be wallowing in inept underdevelopment, what in your view is responsible for this decline?
Like I said before, corruption and greed by people saddled with the responsibility to put Nigeria on the global map has been what is responsible for our decline.
How can one man want to amass the nation’s wealth? How much do you need before you can call yourself a rich man? Wealth, like I said does not define who you are. Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, and even our own Prof. Wole Soyinka are not billionaires but people reckon when their names are mentioned around the world.
Just because poverty has made the Nigeria people to worship the rich doesn’t make them influential, we must consider Nigeria first, and think of how the wealth can benefit everyone.
Mrs. Hilary Clinton during her visit to Nigeria lamented that she cannot imagine how Nigeria as the 8th largest oil exporter in the world can be importing petroleum products. This should be food for thought for our leaders.
A country that has made close to 500 billion dollars from exporting crude oil in the last 40 years is still under-developed. The nation’s foreign reserve has nothing meaningful, and the ordinary people don’t benefit from global oil windfall.
We cannot boast of any area of development even when oil is still selling at an average of 80 dollars per barrel. We over rely of export of crude oil at the expense of other sectors like agriculture and construction. Spain’s economy was built on construction, and The Netherland’s economy on taxation system. We must not forget that the world is shifting towards alternative energy sources in other to go green, and also stop the West reliance on oil from developing countries and the Middle East.
What is the plans of the government when demand for our crude oil drops. Remember cars are now running on electricity, and cleaner energy sources, so oil will not be on demand forever.
Norway has invested so much in fishing, in a way that you hardly know if they even produce oil. The revenue from their oil is untouched and kept in a reserve. The government is also investing hugely in alternative energy sources.
Q: Leadership has been described as one of the lacuna in rejuvenation of Nigeria’s economy, what do you think?
Sure, leadership has been the bane to our economic development. Nigeria has the size and population, besides the natural resources to compete with even the United State when it comes to economic development.
We also have the human resources and capacity. Successful Nigerian intelligentsia are scattered all over the world, contributing to major world economic powers, while the country is impoverished.
Countries like India, Malaysia and Singapore were nowhere when Nigeria was making huge foreign exchange from export of not just only crude oil, but agricultural produce. Today, these countries have made so much advancement.
Oil workers in Niger Delta should leave now because we cannot guarantee the safety of the people. since the federal government has decided to dialogue with the boko haram and its leaders in the north , every oil workers in the niger delta region should please with urgency to leave for their dear life infact this no threat but is a committed course that will be accomplished within seven days from this information.
Also the director general of the NIMASA in lagos by our investigation he is responsible for part sponsorship of boko haram since he is in partnership with some powerful political figures in the north to enthrone the president in the north by 2015 which led to his support of General Tompolo’s contract. So enough is enough.
This is our message.
If federal government to continue to dialogue nwith the boko haram who kills innocent people in the country then we can only advise every oil workers in the region to leave safetly or else they they will meet their doom.
Remember, that what ever that happened from this ultimatum the government should hold Mr. Patrick Akpobolekemi Ziakedei, Director-General, NIMASA.
Thanks,
from the Joint Revolutionary Council of EGBESU MIGHTIER FRATERNITY.
The British Institute of Public Relations (BIPR) in 1964 defines PR practice as a “deliberate, planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organization and its publics”. While the author of the book Practical PR, Pitman defines PR as “the establishment of two-way communication to resolve conflicts of interest and the establishment of understanding based on truth, knowledge and full information”.
However, Nigerians heaved a big sigh of relief when the nation on the 29th of May 1999 commenced a democratic structure after many years of military rule. Events unfolding since the birth of the ‘baby’ have seriously challenged the hope of survival. It is a truism to say that the dawn of democracy in Nigeria has seen the nation swim in the multiple issues and events that have threatened the entire socio-economic and political fabrics of Nigeria. It is crystal and abundantly clear that problems have paved way for problems; some are rooted in conflict interest between or among various institutions in the social structure while others suffer under ineffective communication between the government and her relevant publics. One may believe that the ‘forces’ fueling the fire that makes the situation of the nation more of a cauldron have not ceased to exist.
In view of the fact that reputation is an essential top management responsibility, so is public relations, in other words, not an optional extra, nor a function that can be delegated to amateur administrators. Policy must be decided and supported from the top. The best public relations policies to manage reputation will not be developed by instinct alone, though it may play a helpful role; there is no room for the enthusiastic amateur in the sensitive and critical area of human relations. What it means here is that a good public relations needs thought, planning and organization. No manager can claim to have ‘natural’ public relations skills any more than a natural talent for law, personnel, finance, or production. The development of a worthwhile public relations policy needs as much thought, attention and professional skill as does the financial, personnel or any other business discipline. In essence, public relations must be a two-way activity; listening to what the publics think, as well as projecting and protecting the organization’s messages using relevant media, print, broadcast, in-house magazine among others. It follows that public relations efforts can only be effective where the aims of the organization are compatible with the expectations of the public.
It is quite obvious that a few actions and activities have passed unexplained, thereby creating unnecessary communication gap and palaver between the government and the people. These can make any nation not to survive democratically. The recent public investigation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the Capital Market Committee (CMC) of the House of Representatives showed at a glance that corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of the nation. What baffles one is that the legislative organ that is being expected to wipe out corruption has been allegedly be involved in corrupt practices. Where then do we go from here? In a situation where someone allegedly spent poor tax payers money any how when Nigerians are suffering from abject poverty calls for questioning. Hon. Herman Hembe, immediate past chairman of the CMC accused Ms Arunmah Oteh, the Director General of SEC as follows: the use of N66.1m to rent an official apartment for herself in Abuja after she had spent N30m on hotel accommodation in eight months. She was further accused of spending N42.5m to procure three Toyota vehicles without following due process and contrary to the Public Procurement Act 2007 and for spending N850,000.00 on food in just one day. Astonishingly, Ms Oteh fired back to the chagrin of Nigerians thanks to the media for disseminating the information.
Ms Oteh alleged that Hon Hembe asked the SEC to contribute N44m for a televised public hearing on the workings of the Commission. In addition, the SEC paid Hembe’s fare and estacode to attend a conference on emerging markets in the Dominican Republic. Hembe neither attended nor refunded the money. The alleged corruption at the top echelon is alarming and calls for thorough investigation because it has not only dented but denigrated the image of Nigeria locally, nationally and internationally. Probably, that was why at an open discussion at the newspaper depot in the oil city of Warri with some elites over this controversial issue, they were forced to ask do we now have law makers or ‘thief makers’. The emergency elite friends pointed out that legislators do hijack budgets and get compensated through fictitious contracts or “Ghana Must Go Bag’. The rate of corruption at this period when many things have degenerated including our hospitals from mere consulting room to ‘executive’ mortuary, if only there will be regular power supply to such hospitals. We don’t see this as problems since poor tax payers money can be used by the top echelons to go to abroad for medical check-up. There is need for the Oteh and Hembe imbroglio to be thoroughly investigated and the poor tax payers be informed of the outcome. This is because many Nigerians who put their money in the stock market lost such investments and have been in financial mess. The money allegedly demanded by the House Committee, was it their legitimate right? Was that a special allowance that would not be made public? There should be need for massive investigation so that we will know the truth of the matters raised. What about the police pension funds and many others? It is most unfortunate that those who served the Federal Republic of Nigeria meritoriously and retired honourably can no longer get their retirement benefits as a result of greed and irresponsibilities of some Nigerians.
While many Nigerians are happy with the on-going probes by the House into the activities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), it should continue to be an open investigation with the media in attendance not in camera because we are in democracy not under the junta when military tribunal can try someone in camera and provide the accuse with a lawyer. There is the need for the electorate to know more about their elected members in preparation for a future election. There is no doubt that many things can elude Nigeria if the timely communications of government moves on sensitive issues of public interest are delayed because misunderstanding comes from lack of communication, misinformation or disinformation. We must therefore not exhibit sheer self-deception of the highest magnitude if our government claims ignorance of the fact that, the almost countless catalogue of “catastrophic” conflict of interests threatening the unity of the nation have their root in the constitution of the nation. Finally, dissemination of information under democracy must not be put in oblivion.
Charles Ikedikwa Soeze, fhnr, fcida, fcai, cpae, son, emba, ksq is a
Mass Communications scholar cum professional public relations
practitioner based in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. 08036724193
