The remnants of the Democracy Day address by the President of the federal republic of Nigeria [FGN], Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan, which made public the announcement of the name change of University of Lagos [UNILAG] to Moshood Abiola University Lagos [MAULAG] – continues to lingers in the city of Lagos and at the university campus.
Information available to247ureports.com indicates that the students of MAULAG who have staged a protest immediately following the announcement of the name change -have continued to stage protests at the main entrance to the university campus. “The main entrance has been blocked“, stated a worker at the university campus who also expressed disappointment at the sudden change of name by the President. He states that student protest may disturb the peace that returned to Lagos the end of the oil subsidy removal protests. “The Staffs, workers and students are not allowed into the campus except through the backdoor but everybody is angry“.
Also, this morning, according eyewitness reports, the students have taken their protests to the 3rd mainland bridge – and have proceeded to take over the bridge and to halt all vehicular movement. According to one of eyewitness reports, “we are held hostage in a military style siege on 3rd mainland bridge by MAULAG student. They barricaded the road with BRT buses“. The bridge was said to have been held hostage for about 2hours.
Meanwhile, the late Vice Chancellor of UNILAG [now MAULAG] is scheduled to be buried tomorrow [Thursday] amidst the ongoing protest. Some of the workers at the university frowned at the insensitivity of President Jonathan towards the burial of the vice chancellor. “How can he do this when we are burying him tomorrow” states the worker as he went on to add that the matters has been tabled to the Courts to decide – as to whether the President could arbitrarily change the name of an institution as old and legendary as UNILAG without consultation to the stakeholders of the institution. This notion was shared across the board.
On the political side, the students expressed displeasure over what appears a politically laced decision by the Presidency. In their take, the president appears in desperate need to appease the south west – where the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP] had suffered great loss over the recent years. The students noted that the President wants to use the name change to score political points for the PDP in the south west.”But it backfired“.
Security agencies in Lagos fear the current situation may return violence to the streets of Lagos.
Kenyan police guard the site of Monday's explosion, Tuesday, May 29, in Nairobi, Kenya, as people stop to look at the damage by the explosion in downtown Nairobi.
Nairobi, Kenya
Monday’s explosion in a downtown market injured 38, the latest in a string of small attacks that may have been conducted by Al Shabab sympathizers both to kill and to create sense of insecurity
FBI agents spent Tuesday with Kenyan police combing the site of an explosion in downtown Nairobi that many here are already blaming on Al Shabab, Somalia’s Islamist army.
But there has been no official boast of responsibility from the Al Qaeda-linked group, and Kenyan ministers and security officials have stopped short of directly blaming its fighters.
Instead, analysts suggested, the explosion, which injured 38 people, was more likely carried out by a “lone wolf” bomber sympathetic to Al Shabab, but operating outside of its direct command and control apparatus.
The blast ripped through an informal market a block to the east of Nairobi’s central business district, destroying stalls selling clothes, shoes, cellphones, and cheap radios.
Several hospitals across the Kenyan capital were Tuesday still treating the injured.
The explosion, less than half a mile from the site of the 1998 US embassy bombing, took place at 1:15 p.m. local time on Monday and appeared designed to inflict maximum damage to Nairobi’s office workers on their lunchtime break.
Kenya has seen an increase in similar attacks since October, when its military marched into neighboring Somalia in a unilateral operation designed to secure a buffer zone along the countries’ border free of Islamist terrorists.
Al Shabab immediately promised retaliations, specifically targeting “skyscrapers,” shopping centers, and major government installations.
There have been more than a dozen strikes, mostly following the modus operandi of grenades thrown into crowded areas, or improvised explosives targeting police vehicles. More than 40 people have been killed.
But “there has been nothing of the scale of Kampala,” says Andrews Atta-Asamoah, senior analyst with the Institute of Security Studies in Pretoria, South Africa. He is referring to twin bombings claimed by Al Shabab in the Ugandan capital in July 2010 that killed 76 people watching the soccer World Cup Final in two city pubs.
“What we have seen in Kenya so far appears much more likely to be individuals operating on their own and without the express orders of Al Shabab,” he says.
“The groups’ commanders may have initially wanted more spectacular attacks, but I’m getting the sense that they realize that the more sporadic and uncoordinated things are, the less chance there is for infiltration by the security services.”
Still, Monday’s explosion was significantly larger than any previous attack and appeared for the first time to be the product of a home-made bomb rather than a grenade.
Witnesses at the blast site reported a strong smell of ammonia in the minutes after the explosion.
This has led FBI agents to begin investigations into suggestions that it may have been a fertilizer bomb, which mixes fuel oil and ammonium nitrate, the AP reported, quoting official sources in Nairobi.
One stallholder, who was herself injured, told police that a “foreign man who looked Arab or Somali” had been to her shop in the minutes before the explosion and asked her to look after a bag for a short while.
A police spokesman said that investigators were “working all hours” to trace that individual.
“Terrorism does not need to be the product of major attacks, it can be a series of smaller strikes that might not leave so many people dead, but it spreads that sense of insecurity which is so corrosive,” Mr Asamoah added.
Raila Odinga, Kenya’s prime minister, struck a defiant note as he toured the blast site on Monday afternoon.
“This is a heinous act,” he told reporters. “They want to scare us. But we will not be scared.”
NAIROBI, Kenya – A blast that blew the roof off a downtown building and hurled shards of glass and burned clothing into the streets on Monday apparently was the strongest retaliation yet by al-Qaida-linked forces in Somalia for Kenya’s military foray into that country.
The blast injured 28 people, but 21 of those had already been released from the hospital by evening. There were no deaths reported; the blast was not apparently a suicide bombing.
Kenya’s prime minister suggested the responsibility lay with Somalia’s Islamist rebels, known as al-Shabab, which formally joined al-Qaida earlier this year. Kenya declared war on Shabab last year and sent troops across the border to fight the militia group.
“Our enemies are going to try to continue every effort to try to scare us,” Prime Minister Raila Odinga said to a crowd of onlookers at the bomb site. “We will not be scared. This is a heinous act. … Kenya will not surrender to terrorists.”
The blast in one of Kenya’s busiest business streets was jarring, but the blast’s physical damage was more modest than the smoke billowing over the city’s skyline at first seemed to indicate.
The target of the blast was a one-story building squeezed in between two towering office buildings where rows of stalls offered footwear and secondhand clothing.
“There was a very big blast, then so much smoke and dust that you couldn’t see in front of you,” said Irene Wanja, who was inside selling clothes at the time of the explosion.
At first officials suggested that the blast was the result of an electrical fault, but Kenya’s national power company struck down that claim, saying its inspection had found that electrical circuits were not to blame.
A doctor at the Kenyatta National Hospital, where the wounded were taken, said the arriving patients had shrapnel wounds. The doctor asked not to be identified because the hospital was refusing to release details of the injuries.
Kenya has been hit by several crude grenade attacks in the past several months, most of which have occurred in the country’s mostly Muslim east, near Somalia. Some speculated that the attack Monday involved another grenade. But there were also reports that a man who entered the building just before the blast left a backpack and walked out.
The explosion blew a man-size hole through one side of the building and tore up the building’s corrugated metal roof. Besides the one hole, the exterior of the building appeared undamaged. The subsequent fire, however, destroyed the building’s contents.
Despite threats from Shabab to bring violence to the Kenyan capital, security has not noticeably increased here. There was no security check at the entrance to the indoor clothing bazaar, which is on a major pedestrian thoroughfare. Odinga, a leading presidential candidate in the country’s upcoming election, vowed to install security cameras throughout the city during his address to onlookers.
Kenya’s military push into Somalia remains the subject of debate in this country, where many analysts have suggested that it was poorly planned and likely to backfire. That debate continued outside the devastated bazaar on Monday.
“If the Kenya military comes out of there, we will look like cowards,” said Situma Andrew, a 25-year-old who left his downtown office to come see the damage. “Let them finish them there.”
“No no, it was not a smart decision,” interjected another young male, referring to the decision to send in the troops. Other bystanders quickly joined in, before the presence of police dogs brought in for crowd control sent the crowd running, ending the discussion.
McClatchy Newspapers special correspondent Mohammed Yusuf contributed to this article.
The Zimbabwe president, accused of ethnic cleansing and bankrupting his country, asked to champion tourism
With a line-up that includes Drew Barrymore, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom, and Ricky Martin, the UN’s choice of ambassadors has been known to cause raised eyebrows or the odd smirk.
Seldom, however, has there been such anger, or questioning of the organisation’s credibility, as that greeting the appointment of a new international envoy for tourism: Robert Mugabe.
Improbable as it seems, the Zimbabwean president, who is widely accused of ethnic cleansing, rigging elections, terrorising opposition, controlling media and presiding over a collapsed economy, has been endorsed as a champion of efforts to boost global holidaymaking.
Despite that fact Mugabe, 88, is under a travel ban, he has been honoured as a “leader for tourism” by the UN’s World Tourism Organisation, along with his political ally, Zambian president Michael Sata, 75. The pair signed an agreement with UNWTO secretary general Taleb Rifai at their shared border at Victoria Falls on Tuesday.
The development has stunned human rights campaigners and political opponents, who regard Mugabe as a tyrant.
Kumbi Muchemwa, a spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said: “I can’t see any justification for the man being an ‘ambassador’. An ambassador for what? The man has blood on his hands. Do they want tourists to see those bloody hands?”
Meanwhile, British MP Kate Hoey, chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Zimbabwe, said: “It is an absolute scandal – and an affront to the people of Zimbabwe, who didn’t vote for Mugabe as their president but had him imposed because he used violence and the armed forces to hang onto power in defiance of the democratic will of the people of Zimbabwe.
“For a man who has destroyed his country’s infrastructure and cynically engineered hunger to be an ‘ambassador’ for tourism is disgraceful – particularly as he has been personally responsible for the downward spiral of the economy and destroyed the hotel, travel and tourism industry in the process.”
Mugabe and his allies are subject to EU and US sanctions preventing them from travelling to EU countries including Britain, although he does attend the UN general assembly in New York.
Muchemwa added: “Robert Mugabe is under international sanctions, so how do you have an international tourism ambassador who can’t travel to other countries?
“The UN is losing credibility in this process. Does it think people should go to a country where the law is not obeyed? An MDC activist was murdered last Saturday. Zimbabwe is doing things which don’t encourage the arrival of tourists.”
There was also criticism from the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, an umbrella organisation of civil society groups. Dewa Mavhinga, its regional information and advocacy officer, said: “It boggles the mind how the UN could appoint Mugabe as an ambassador of any sort. I don’t think he’s an appropriate person.
“It sends the wrong message to Mugabe that he is now acceptable to the international community. This is the same guy who last week was bashing gays and lesbians, who he says are worse than dogs.”
Zimbabwe is rich in tourism potential, boasting attractions such as Victoria Falls, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe and the Hwange wildlife game reserve, and one of the best climates in the world. Its official tourism branding entices with “a world of wonders”.
The past decade has hit the industry hard, with the national airline going bust, but there have been recent signs of a gradual recovery.
John Makumbe, a politics professor at the University of Zimbabwe, said of Mugabe’s accolade: “I think it’s ridiculous because Zimbabwe is one of the countries least used by tourists.
“Tourism is at its lowest level because of the political and economic crises it’s gone through. Tourists really wish Victoria Falls was in another country, like South Africa.
“Robert Mugabe will do more damage to international tourism than good. His image is in tatters, his country is an international pariah.
“It undermines the reputation of the UNWTO as being detached from the reality on the ground in terms of human rights violations and political instability.”
But after visiting the country last week, the UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, urged western countries to lift their targeted sanctions, arguing that they are hurting the poor. She also called on Zimbabwe to pass reforms to avoid violence in the next election.
Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party seized on his UN honour as evidence that opponents and media have exaggerated the country’s problems. Spokesman Rugare Gumbo said: “There’s no alternative but to accept the reality on the ground. We can theorise about sanctions but the reality is that the UN is in control of the situation. If you can’t defeat them, join them: that is what we are witnessing.”
He continued: “The situation on the ground in Zimbabwe is not as bad as portrayed. If we say this ourselves, you say it’s propaganda.
“What do you expect from the MDC? They are paid by the US and Europeans and they have nothing else to offer. They keep making noise but the reality on the ground is different.”
UNWTO, which has headquarters in Madrid, insisted that it had not awarded Mugabe an official title. Sandra Carvao, its co-ordinator of communications, said: “Correct would be to say UNWTO has presented both presidents with an open letter which calls for them to support tourism as a means to foster sustainable development in their countries to the benefit of their people and consequently ask them to support the sector in this respect.”
She added: “UNWTO does not have an ambassadors programme and the receiving of the UNWTO/WTTC [World Travel and Tourism Council] open letter implies no legal commitment or title attribution to the country or the head of state or government in question.”
Information recently made available to 247ureports.com through sources close to the activities of the governor of Kano State, Malam Rabiu Kwankwaso, indicate that not all may be going well within the administrative sector of the governor’s office. According to a credible source, the governor is slated to travel to the United States of America [USA] on Sunday June 3,2012. Going along with him on the official trip are 50 delegates.
It is gathered that the Governor will stay in the United States of America for a period of 5 to 7days with the entire 50 man delegate – of which according to the official records made available to our correspondent, each of the 50-man delegate will get a daily spending allowance of $1,000 equivalent of N158,000. The source reveals that a budget of $2.5million equivalent to N395million has been earmarked for the trip.
It is not clear the purpose of trip to the USA. Insiders indicate the visit maybe security related but other within the government in Kano question the need for the 50-man delegation and the size of budget earmarked for the trip.
It may be recalled that the governor of Kano State prides in being financially prudent -and has been reported to publicly chastise members of his cabinet over frivolous spending.
Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso is said to be preparing to join the 2015 race for presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP].
The time has really come for the amiable governor of the oil rich Delta state, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Udaughan to write his name in gold as far as development of the state is concern and when this is done wholeheartedly it will forever remain in the history of the state because history is the witness of time according to Cicero a Roman historian, lawyer, philosopher, orator and powerful writer of blessed memory who lived about 40 years before the Birth of Jesus Christ ones remarked that “History is the witness of the times, the touch of truth and the life of memory.”
Gov. Uduaghan’s focus as a leader, even his opponents have admitted, has been on one unwavering course. No wonder he has been able to achieve so much despite despicable attempts to derail his vision. Indeed, Uduaghan has done much in the last five years; but he still has much more to do. That realization, perhaps, informed his election-winning blueprint, which he enunciated throughout the campaign period.
It was Socrates that once said that “After the storm comes the rain.” For Delta state, the campaign and election periods were much like a stormy weather. But now that the storm is over, according to Uduaghan, development and democracy dividends would pour like rain on the people. Those who have tasted his promise-keeping feat know that his words can be taken to any bank worldwide!
To start with, Gov. Uduaghan has repeatedly talked about industrialization of the state as a key tool to job creation and empowerment, to this end some investors from Saudi Arabia and India had visited the state and according to the listening and indefatigable governor of Delta state when asked what their mission was he explained thus “The Saudis came here mainly for the Petrochemical plant which is located at Koko. The Indians were here also for the Fertilizer plant located at Koko.
Let me first of all start by saying that these projects were initiated by the Federal Government under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in conjunction with foreign firms. We are lucky that these projects are located in Delta State. These projects started several years ago when the NNPC started the Nigerian Gas Master Plan. Then, I was just coming in as the governor during my first tenure and I took a lot of interest in what they were doing, knowing that Delta is a state with a lot of gas resources apart from the oil.
I took an interest in what they were doing in developing the Nigerian Gas Master Plan. I got in contact with the officials in NNPC and I was invited by NNPC to be part of the team that went round the world on a road show for the Nigerian Gas Master plan. And at those meetings in UK, Singapore and other parts of the world, I had to talk on the security issues in the Niger Delta because then security was a major problem. I did this because I was hoping that the Federal Government would use Delta State for whatever project they wanted to develop under the Nigerian Master Gas Plan.
I got in touch with a lot of people and fortunately the master plan was unveiled and today we are happy that Delta State is a major beneficiary of the master plan. The gas master plan has three project facilities; one in Akwa Ibom, the second is in Rivers State and the third is in Delta State. The feasibility study contract for the one in Delta State has been awarded.
But beyond that, we found out that because of this master plan, companies have already started taking interest in sitting petrochemical plants in Nigeria, and Delta State was chosen as one of the favoured locations of the petrochemical plant by the Saudis. Also, when the Indians came, they chose Delta State as a favoured site for the fertilizer plant. And fortunately, at the same time too, one of the things that still help us to the Koko location is that the Federal Government pursued very rigorously under the Yar Adua’s administration the issue of giving us two export free zones in the state, one in Koko and one in Warri. He graciously approved one for us- the Koko free zone.
And that helped us in locating this plant there because we know that many investors, from the word go, are interested in the tax they pay. So because it is an export free zone, Koko was a favourable site for the plant. We are still pursuing the Warri Export Free Zone, I think Mr. President has approved it and we are just waiting for the papers for the Warri Export Free Zone. As I said, investors were the ones who really decided the best site for them to locate their plants. They had taken the one in Koko because we have done a lot of work in ensuring that Koko becomes an export free zone, coupled with the fact that we also have peace in Delta State, and that we have followed closely the issue of the Gas Master Plan.”
Throwing more light on what the Nigerian gas Mater plan is all about, the governor explained that “The Nigerian Gas Master Plan is an arrangement that ensures that the natural gas that come from the ground is fully utilized. Every industry in the oil and gas industry is prospecting for oil. There is no company that is prospecting for oil ended up in having a bye product and that is gas. So that is what they call flared gas. Now what happens is that most of it is seen as a waste product.
We have a plant that dries some of this gas and use them for power plants, for fertilizer plants, chemical plant and even your cooking gas and all that. So the gas that is been dried as gas is being sold and that gas is tied to the West African Gas Project Pipeline which some of it is in Sapele Power Plant. We also have the AG Gas Plant in Escravos by Chevron.
The bulk of the gas that comes with oil is flared. What the Federal Government wants to do with the master gas plant is to ensure that all the gas that is flared is collected to a port and that all the gas that is being collected is pulled towards that central processing plant which will dies the gas. These processes take the waste part away and leave the dry gas for the domestic use. And what is domestic use; people who run fertilizer plants, people who want to put it into gas cylinder and sell to people in their homes and there is power plant. The gas plant is very vital and one of the benefits is the petrochemical plant.
Now the petrochemical and fertilizer plants are huge projects that amount to over 10 billion dollars. In fact, the two of them will take about 16 billion dollars and it will be one of the heaviest investments in this country in recent years. And having a 16 billion dollars investment in a state is a good development because of the opportunities it will create. The opportunities will be two parts. The construction alone will employ a lot of our people. There is also the indirect benefit for those who sell drinks to the people that are constructing. The women, for example, who sell soft drinks or rice at the construction site for the construction workers will benefit from it.
The public transport owners who will transport the workers from Warri to Koko will also benefit from it. So the benefits are quite huge. And of course when the plants are finished they will employ many thousands of persons and many of them will be people from Delta State. So we have a lot of benefits from it and there are several industries that will spring up from these plants. Industries that will utilize the bye products of these plants, and industries that will make parts for these plants will also benefit. So with the cooperation of every Deltan and everyone around the future is very bright.”
One of Uduaghan’s pet plans is optimum economic transformation of the state which he has repeatedly stressed that is dear to his heart. No wonder in his words, President Goodluck Jonathan, described Uduaghan’s as one governor who doesn’t play politics with development. In fact, he derives pleasure in beautifying the landscape with futuristic but enduring and sustainable infrastructure. In his second term, therefore, it is not envisaged that the governor intends to slack on his widely acclaimed massive infrastructural development across the state.
Knowing fully well the importance of what investors can attract to a state, the governor revealed his plans when asked which other investors are coming to the state and what is the government’s plan on revamping the ailing industries?.
According to governor Uduaghan “The thing is that there are so many people coming in for investment in the state. At the same time too, many of them trusted that their investment are safe here. I will tell you one area in which we have problem, in which I believe that God will help us. When I started so many people came and say just give us land. I gave over 15 investors land, but once they get the certificate of ownership, I think some of them need to raise money to finance the projects. We have some Chinese investors that are interested in putting fertilizer plant in the refinery areas.
We have some Chinese who are interested in putting fertilizer plant in Kwale area. We are getting in touch with them and in fact we have signed some MoU with them. We also have some Chinese who are also interested in taking over the Bendel Steel Structure at Enerhen. We also have investors who are interested in agriculture, in the mode of Obasanjo Agric Farm which aimed at making it one of the biggest poultry farm in Nigeria established in Delta.
It is going to be an integrated poultry farm. Right now we are already producing eggs and it is quite a big farm. We also have investors that are interested in other agricultural stuff like banana and cassava. Of course, we have the Oleri Tourism Park, the Delta State leisure park. It is already been under construction and it is going to be one of the biggest in the world. We have investors who are coming and who want to take over some of our industries like the Bendel Plant Factory. We are signing an agreement with the Chinese and some independent people. So we have a lot of investors.
On our airports, we have people who are interested in the cargo concession, the airport itself and even the furnishing of the airport; we have people who are interested. Around Asaba now and around the airport, we have so many people who are interested in building warehouses for the traders to have where to put their goods.”
Political analysts have opined that Uduaghan achieved so much because he is never afraid of opposition. With the level of negative criticisms from propagandists, some other persons would have been discouraged. Dr. Uduaghan is aware that they are not interested in development; all they want to do is criticize. So, not wanting to be distracted, he doesn’t waste time listening to them. Contrary to expectation, he believes opposition is important in a democracy even the Bible tells us woe to that leader that does not have opposition. Opposition strengthens and deepens democracy, it also helps to test the will of the people and at the end of the elections the people are able to distinguish between propaganda and achievement.
On Saturday, June 19, 2010, the first President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ever produced from Niger Delta region and the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan paid a one day working visit to the state to commission the multi-billion Delta State University Teaching Hospital (DSUTH) and the Navy Logistic Headquarters all in Oghara, headquarters of Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State and home town of the embattled former governor of the state, Chief James Onanefe Ibori whose administration also initiated the gigantic projects and only completed by the incumbent governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Despite all criticisms, the number one citizen without mincing words commended Governor Uduaghan for ensuring the completion of the multi-billion naira projects which was started by former governor of the state, Chief James Ibori adding that it’s not ease for a state to single-handedly fund such a capital intensive project such as the Naval Logistics Command headquarters before writing the Federal Government for refund. “It is not easy for a state to built this kind of edifice and hand it over to the federal government in most cases, State ask for refund but the state (referring to Delta) has not ask for refund and this structure was built on a virgin land and donated to the federal government for the use of the logistics Command of the Nigerian Navy. We sincerely thank and appreciate you” (referring to Delta State Governor).
Governor Uduaghan who took time to abreast the President with some of the achievements his government has so far recorded stated that “Three years ago on assuming office we placed before our people our three-point agenda of Peace and Security, Human Capital and Infrastructure Development as the road map for broad economic development of the state.
Our vision was defined by our goal of building a Delta State without oil, a state that will explore other opportunities outside of oil, a state that will develop clean energy as means for creating jobs and eliminating poverty. We have begun this work, which at the beginning looked like a tall order. In pursuing our goals, we were determined to give every Deltan a sense of belonging, in particular the oil producing communities.
To drive this vision, we created the Delta state Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, which receives fifty per cent allocation of the thirteen per cent derivation fund. The mandate of the commission is to interact with the people, gauge their feelings, assess their needs and address them. Today, developments are reaching the riverine communities long neglected. There is still much work to be done, but we have made a good start. Our infrastructure vision across the state is no less ambitious, with the overall aim of ensuring economic development.
Delta state is so well situated it can be a major logistics hub for the region, thus our emphasis on building major transportation infrastructure to take advantage of the opportunities available. Our investments in power supply, urbanization, industrial clusters, ICT development, transportation and road constructions, have the simple objectives of creating employment and reducing poverty. Most of these projects were begun three years ago and its impact as you shall see has been terrific. Aside from Asaba international airport and Osubi airport runway, we have three industrial clusters in the pipeline.
We have the Warri Industrial Business Park, the Koko Export Free Zone and the Asaba ICT Park. Substantial resources will be devoted to these projects, both from government and the private sector partnering with us. As these projects take shape, Your Excellency will be briefed and hopefully will find the time to visit us and be part of its progress and success story.
The Asaba airport should be ready by end of the year and we trust Mr. President will accept our request to commission this airport, which should be one of the best in the country. Mr. President Sir, I take pride in stating that in terms of highway, urban and rural roads development, drainage schemes, and waterways structures, our record is impressive. A few samplers will demonstrate this: We have completed over 483.67km of trunk roads, more than 93.55km of urban and township roads and awarded additional contracts for the construction of another 51.52km of urban and rural roads. In the same vein, 669.02km of drainage works are under construction in various parts of the State, out of which 424.79km have been completed.”
A few weeks after his inauguration on May 29, 2007 Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State organized a one day stakeholder’s summit and two days retreat at Grand Hotel, Asaba and Songhai-Delta, Amukpe, Sapele for all top government functionaries.
There he rolled out his three point agenda, Peace and security, human capital and infrastructural development which would act as guide in his developmental move.
The Warri crisis, political rumblings and youth militancy in the state between 1999 and 2007 brought distraction and suppressed transformation.
The instability led to non functional industries, bad road, low indigenous participation in the oil industry, poorly funded educational institutions, limited knowledge of investment opportunities and uncompleted projects by the James Ibori led administration.
To break the ice, especially in the area of human capital development Governor Uduaghan decided to use a two-pronged approach.
The Delta State Oil Producing Area Development Commission, DESOPADEC and the state government. DESOPADEC which was constituted 16 July, 2007 is saddled with the responsibility of managing 50 per cent of the derivation fund revenue to the state.
Barely a year after, DESOPADEC which received a grant of N30 billion appropriations for 2007 from the state government recently, have over 200,000 persons treated of various ailments since the commencement of the exercise in 2007.
Though the beneficiary oil communities are comfortable but other communities in the state see it as marginalization.
Uduaghan since inception of office has been paying for students the West African Examination Council, WAEC and National Examination Council, NECO fees of indigene candidates.
As if that was not enough, Governor Uduaghan embarked on the construction of 10 new Model Primary schools across the three senatorial districts of the state which are been upgraded and to expose pupils early in life to electronic learning and academic excellence.
Dr. Uduaghan disclosed that the Model Primary Schools would comprise of nursery and primary sections and teachers for the Schools would be trained by the British Council and donor agencies.
He said although Primary Schools are the responsibility of Local Governments, the Model primary Schools will be funded and run by the state Government so that the burden would not be too much for local Governments to bear.
The Governor explained that when the schools become functional, the standard obtainable would be comparable to some of the best in the World.
Dr. Uduaghan said the Schools have the capacity to admit 420 pupils in the Primary section and 60 in the Nursery section.
The Governor said the classrooms would be well equipped and every child will be given the privilege to be admitted into the Schools. “These Model Schools are going to be different. Apart from their ultra-modern looks, they are going to be well equipped with the state of the art electronic learning equipments,” he said.
In its determination to reposition Asaba as a befitting state capital and a hub of social, economic and political activities, an airport at a cost of N17 billion has taken off. The airport, according to Austine Ayemidejor, Special Assistant to the Governor on the Airport said it would have three kilometres run way and capable of catering for passenger and cargo planes.
He said it will be ready for commissioning in the next two years. “The stress of flying to Benin before coming to Asaba will be eliminated despite the good roads. Bigger markets and employment would be created in the state”
To convince doubting Deltans, the Governor empower the State Beautification and Sanitation Task Force for Asaba and Warri and Ministry of Power and Energy with N20 billion to demolish all illegal structures in the cities and provide electricity for both rural and urban centres.
On transportation, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan who has brought over 200 vehicles to the state recently commissioned 100 Hiace Toyota buses to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy as well as directed commercial transporters to revert to the old transport fares before the subsidy removal.
He also immediately set up a three man palliatives committee on the removal of fuel subsidy with Boardroom guru, Mr G. O. Onosode as chairman, with Chief Philip Asiodu and Mrs. Elizabeth Adegite as members with the mandate to monitor the implementation of the proceeds from subsidy removal in the state.
Governor Uduaghan stated that his administration would take delivery of 50-seater Marco polo buses and 130 boats for the riverine communities as palliative measures to help reduce the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on Deltans. “So far we have a total of 100 salon cars for taxis and over 500 buses in the scheme deployed to various areas of the state to improve on the transport sector and reduce the stress associated with daily movement of Deltans.”
On electricity, the Uduaghan administration has no doubt done enough on this sector with the connection of communities into the national grid as well as the provision of transformers even at that state Government was not mindful of the fact that stable power supply is the soul of every vibrant and viable economy, realizing also that the current 100 megawatts being distributed within the state by the public electricity organ, (as against the 1008MW needed by the state), is a critical shortfall and formidable threat to its quest to grow, diversify and wane its economy of undue dependence on oil, hence it has opted to build an Independent Power Plant (IPP) to boost public power supply in the state.
However, the euphoria and sense of eureka that attended this well-thought out project soon began to ebb as it (project) could not take-off after what seemed like an aeon because of its complex nature, coupled with the fact that the turbines, the nucleus of such projects, are usually customized, built according to specifications, and not readily available off the shelf like other commodities.
As the United Kingdom-based firm, Rolls Royce Energy, which the contracting firm had approached to design the turbines was still on it, the rumour mills, obviously fuelled by ignorance of the complexities associated with such projects, became agog with the fact that the project had gone the way of many Nigerian projects: Abandoned.
This is why the Monday, May 7, 2012 inspection of the first batch of the turbines that have been delivered at the site of the project in Ogharaeki, Ethiope West Council Area is significant in more ways than one. Like the Secretary to the State Government, Comrade Ovouzorie Macaulay, rightly observed while addressing journalists at the occasion, “the development had brought to a close the insinuation that the project is another white elephant.”
The IPP, upon completion, also has the capacity to generate employment for the teeming population of the state, particularly youths who may wish to embrace entrepreneurship. What is more, economic activities would boom and more Deltans avail themselves of the stable power supply to establish their various enterprises.
Having set its hand on the plough, therefore, the state government cannot afford to look back. Instead, it should go the whole hog and ensure that the IPP becomes a reality within the shortest possible time, more so that the turbines have arrived and the platform for their erection has been completed.
The present administration true to its words has done a lot in diverse ways from empowerment such as agric programs like the Youth Empowerment through Agriculture and Farmers Support Programme, [YETA- FSP], the Delta Micro Credit Program [DMCP] and developing the people, as recorded in the Micro credit scheme which has won the state award from the CBN, to building generational infrastructure on ground which are aimed at further transforming the economic landscape of not only the state, but will benefit neighbouring states.
‘Wow! was the involuntary expression of a recent visitor to the state when she in company of her other media team were conducted round the new Government House project which is nearing completion in Asaba, the Delta state capital, by the Hon. Commissioner for Special Duties, Special Infrastructure, Barr. Mrs. Orezi Esievor.
The visitors who could not visibly hide their feelings described the facility as ‘magnificent’’. Also, the project Director of the trans- Warri Ode-Itsekin road/bridge project in Warri south local government, Mr. Otimenyi Adams described the bridge project as ‘one of the wonders of Uduaghan’’. Indeed the initiative is aimed at linking ten communities which were hitherto disconnected from land, social life and any form of business life, are speedily getting connected. An interaction with Mr. Adams revealed that the project will have twenty-two bridges to link the benefiting communities of Ifie, Ubeji, Ajeta, Orugbo, Usele, Ugbodede, Ajigba, Inorin, Ijala and Ode-Itsekiri .
No doubt, it takes great courage and a clearly defined sense of purpose to undertake this kind of project considering the very marshy terrain of these communities, Of course they must be attended to, their basic need which is access road that will connect them to land and people for social life and basically for economic development and enhancement as well as transformation must be attended to.
With this project in place, these communities are now being given a sense of belonging as businesses and buildings are already springing up and being sited in these areas.
Thus, the administration has such health programs as the Free-under Five health program where all the children within the age bracket of 0-5years are taken care of irrespective of the ailment;
The Free Maternal Health program which enables the government hospitals attend to pregnant and expectant mothers from conception to the period of delivery free of charge. In fact, one of the senior officials at the Warri Central Hospital disclosed that the Antenatal care unit of the hospital records up to two hundred to four hundred attendants on daily basis. The services include serious advocacy issues on care during pregnancy to other is- sues aimed at reducing maternal and infant mortality, which, she said, had greatly reduced since the pro-gram was introduced by the government.
On the Free Rural Health Scheme program, the government of Delta state under Uguaghan has attended to the rural people in all parts of the state, treating various health needs of the people irrespective of the nature of the ailment free of charge. This is a scheme which demographic reach cuts across all ages and sexes as issues bordering on fibroid, hyenia, partial blindness and other sundry health challenges are tackled headlong with health care professionals who are relevant in different areas.
This magnanimous gesture on the part of the government has brought succour to people who ordinarily would not have been able to access the needed medical attention required for attending to their health needs either because of money or other unforeseen shortcomings.
Since becoming chief executive, Governor Uduaghan has won numerous awards including the THISDAY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE AND EMERGING TIGER, the Central Bank of Nigeria Best Support Governor for Micro Finance and the Kwame Nkrumah leadership award by the All Africa Students Union (AASU) based in Ghana.
However, despite all these achievements, the administration of Governor Uduaghan has come under series of attacks from the opposition party which was described as a visionless government by the state chairman of Democratic Peoples Party (DPP), Chief Tony Ezeagwu.
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) condemns the undemocratic process through which the Federal government changed the name of University of Lagos (UNILAG) to Moshood Abiola University without consultation with students, staff and the entire university community.
We support the protest of UNILAG students which broke out spontaneously this morning and continue even as we write. We urge students to use this protest as a springboard to make far-reaching demands that can improve the lot of public education like increased education funding, restoration of banned Students’ Union and the provision of modern teaching facilities, decent hostel accommodation and conducive learning environment.
In his May 29 Democracy Day address to the Nation this morning, President Jonathan announced the change of UNILAG’s name to Moshood Abiola University to immortalize the memory of late MKO Abiola, the widely-acclaimed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections which was annulled by the military. The action of the Babangida-led military Junta in annulling the election provoked a huge and widespread mass struggle which lasted for years and only ended with the ouster of the military and enthronement of civil rule in 1999.
Students have nothing against immortalizing late MKO Abiola’s memory. What students are opposed to is the undemocratic process through which the Federal Government changed the name of their University without consultation with students, staff and the University community. The ERC believes that if the Federal government meant well, nothing should have stopped them from consulting widely with students, staff and the University community before arriving at this decision.
It is indeed striking that it is on a day set aside to celebrate “democracy” in Nigeria that the Federal Government would decide to escalate its undemocratic credo. The Federal government has no right to determine the fate of a people by fiat. Students and staff have a right to be consulted and involved in any decision concerning their University including choice of name. It is this same fiat that the government uses to cut allocation to education without consultation with anybody. We believe this development raises the need for the democratization of the public education system in such a way as to allow students and staff gets more involved in the decisions about their school.
Moreso, students rightly feel that much more important than change of name are the real needs of the University which includes improvement in funding, provision of teaching and learning facilities, restoration of banned Students’ Union and improvement in the condition of the public education none of which were not addressed in the President’s speech.
Students have rightly asked how changing the name of the University would ensure improvement in the deplorable conditions of education. More horrifying to students is the fact that even while the current regime of fees are unaffordable to many students from poor homes, the government has begun to make plans for the introduction of tuition fees as the Oronsaye committee report demonstrates. These are the underlying feelings which have fueled this budding revolt and the ERC is totally supportive of this development.
The ERC therefore call on the Federal Government to:
(1) Reverse its action and instead provide a democratic avenue for the elected representatives of students, staff and the UNILAG community to be involved in freely discussing whether or not the name of the University should be changed.
(2) Make a commitment to improve education funding and invest resources to provide teaching facilities, decent hostel accommodation and conducive learning environment in UNILAG and all other federal universities.
(3) Reject the Oronsaye’s committee recommendation for introduction of tuition
The President of the federal republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebelemi Jonathan in his May 29, 2012 address to the nation in celebration of Democracy Day has anounced the change of name of the University of Lagos to MKO Abiola University.
The President’s address was made in the morning of May 29, 2012.
The late MKO Abiola marked the contemporary symbol of democracy in Nigeria following the tussle to end military rule in Nigeria. Abiola had contested for the presidency – and was believed to be the winner when the then military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida cancelled the elections. The election cancelaton opened the flood gates to protests and riots around the country and around the world where Nigerians were resident. The struggle for justice landed Abiola in prison where he later died mysteriously in the hands of the Nigerian military dictators.
Some of the alumini of the university who reacted to the announcement expressed anger over the name change – indicating that the decison was a political one. Already, reports have it that a protest has started within the campus – and has begun to reach the gate of the campus to pour out to the streets in Yaba.
When the Governor of Nasarawa State, Umar Tanko Al-Makura decided to contest for the seat of Governor of the State, he had full knowledge of the challenges he was going to face. It is no longer news that the 12 years of democratic rule in Nasarawa state has not provided the much needed democratic dividends for the people and being a part of the political history of the state since inception, the Governor is fully aware of the wishes and desires of the people for good governance.
While we do not wish to join issues with the writer of this misleading piece. It is necessary to point out that the information posted on the social media could be misleading and capable of distorting facts. Issues raised by 247ureports.com on the activities of the Governor of Nasarawa State, have been discovered to be either bereft of facts or based on misinformed and entirely false premises.
We agree with the writer that, the accession of Governor Al-Makura came as highly welcoming to the citizenry, who saw the change as a sign of hope; we are however at odds with the notion that the Governor has been unable to steer the various apposing political players towards a unifyied direction. This writer has been unable to substantiate these wild allegations with concrete instances.
247ureports.com displayed its ignorance on the workings and philosophy of the Governor on celebrations, when he accented that, a whooping N915,000,000:00 million had been earmarked for the May 29 2012 democracy day celebration, 247ureports.com should know that Al-Makura is a cost effective and low-keyed Governor; this can be exemplified by his actions since he assumed office, especially with the handling of the swearing-in ceremonies of members of the State Executive Councils, Special Advisers and Management Committees of Local governments and Development Areas. As a matter of fact even the May Day celebration was celebrated low-keyed. How else can one explain the Governor’s desire to conserve scarce resources for the benefits of the people?
247ureports.com also made mention of the Governor’s sweeping promises of what will become of his defining Agenda and maker for his term as governor of Nasarawa State. He outlined the promises made as follows:-
Erection of a 3-arm zone at the state capital
Free Medical program for the disadvantaged
Special schools for the advantage
Constructions of 3kilmeters road each at local government areas (LGA)
Making each ministry I.C.T compliant and
Construction of Mono-Rail to connect Nasarawa State to the F.C.T
The allegation that the Governor has not delivered on any of these promises raised a lot of doubts as to whether the writer is quoting a credible source. Questions can therefore be raised as to the references made to the aides of the Governor as his sources of information.
However and for the sake of clarification, the office of the Governor, House of Assembly, and the judiciary are presently well equipped, provided with necessary facilities to function and all concentrated in Shendam road. So what is the big deal about erection of three arms zone?
The free medical programme was kick started immediately the Governor assumed office. He single-handedly ensured that the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) and the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) in the state called off their four months old strike. In addition he also introduced free medical health care for pregnant women, children under five years, as well as the aged, free eye and ear operations as well as free drugs for diabetic patients all in the bid to fulfil his campaign promises.
While the Mono-Rail project is also on course, presently there is collaboration between Nasarawa State Government and Federal Ministry of Transport on this effort. The Federal Ministry of Transport would construct the mono- rail project from FCT up to Mararaba in Nasarawa State, while the State Government would extend it to Gudi in Akwanga Local Government of the State.
On the free Special schools for the dis-advantaged, that has also been achieved, presently a pilot programme has commenced in each of the three senatorial zones of the State.
As part of his efforts in the Education sector, he has revived students’ scholarship for those in tertiary institutions which hitherto were stopped by the previous administration. As if that was not enough his government has undertaken to pay the WAEC and NECO examination fees of secondary school final year students across the state, for 2012.
The Governor also embarked on building and renovation of schools across the state, as part of efforts to tackle the poor condition of infrastructure. He has gone into partnership with National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) to harness the solid mineral potentials in the state especially in the area of provision of science equipments for improved science education.
It should be noted, that when Al-Makura, assumed office in May 2011, all the tertiary institutions in the state were under lock and key, the staff members of the various institutions were on strike over conditions of service while the students were provoked to violence by incessant increase in school fees and other gratuitous charges.
One must add, that Governor Al-Makura is not only an achiever, but believes in achieving without making noise about it.
With regards to construction of 3-kilometers road at each Local Government Area (LGA), he embarked on several roads constructions in the designated urban areas across the three Senatorial Zones of the State. For instance, in Lafia, the state capital, road construction include those linking Kurikyo and Shendam roads, Angwan Mangu – Kurikyo, the one linking Shendam road and Angwan Tiv, through Super Cinema and the one passing through Lafia East Primary School through to the government house junction, on Shendam road and project quarters, UAC-Kwandere road, as well as some selected street roads in Lafia metropolis. The governor also awarded contract for the construction of some roads in Akwanga and Keffi. Construction works on these roads are in progress and are at various stages of completion. He also influenced the ongoing reconstruction of Lafia-Doma road.
Only recently the governor procured and commissioned earth moving machines for the sole purpose of opening-up and construction of rural roads. This is aimed at abating the untold hardship suffered by rural dwellers following years of neglect by previous administrations in the state.
The writer alluded to the fact that “one of the more aggrieved governor’s aides, claimed that the Governor has shown no indication of initiating the promised projects and that the Governor was more concerned with appeasing political “hound dogs” in the State.
Haba, since when has an aggrieved person become a reliable source of information? The writer may also need to know that virtually all appointees of the Governor are those who believed in the focus and direction of his administration. If not, they would have been out of office by now. Therefore the assertion that the governor has no intention of fulfilling his campaign promises, surely must have existed only in the writer’s imagination”.
On the submission of names for appointment of 18 Commissioners and 20 Special Aides, which was done in fulfilment of the Constitutional requirement, where a governor of a state is expected to forward such names and numbers to the legislative for screening and approval, the writer again showed his ignorance of the dynamics of democratic governance, when he portrayed this aspect of legislative process as a failure on the part of the Governor, maybe the writer needs to go back and read the 1999 Constitution as amended and get better educated.
The simple definition of Presidential system of government is the existence of an Executive, Legislature and Judicial arms of Government. Each of these arms has functions provided for them in the constitution, in the same manner, the relationship between the Executive and the Legislative arms in any democratic setting are relationship anchored on the need to provide good governance. In discharging these functions, therefore one can never rule out the possibility of disagreements and conflicts. In essence, disagreements are common ingredients in any democratic setting. What stands out in the case of Nasarawa State is the fact that the members of the Executive and Legislature are able to resolve their conflicts amicably without recourse to any outside interference. This we believe should be a credit to the Governor.
On the Governor raising N4.5million each for lawmakers (totalling 108million) to go for medical checkups in India, that again is another allegation fabricated by the so-called source of 247ureports.com. Every kobo released to the Nasarawa State Assembly is appropriated and how the Assembly expends its funds is totally up to it. It is therefore not the duty of any one to hold brief for the State House of Assembly.
On the appointment, dismissal and movement of Permanent Secretaries to the CPC, that again is another lie, as no such event took place. This raises another credibility question on the writer’s sources of information.
The writer also talked on the issue of Commissioners “squatting” maybe the writer is yet to realise that all welfare services in respect to political appointees have been monitized and such monetization includes accommodation.
As for the one Billion to be expended on the construction of residential quarters for government officials, the writer must have been confusing, the Housing programme of Government with the provision of accommodation for Hon. Commissioners and Political Appointee’s.
The writer may need to know that when Governor Al-Makura assumed office on May 29th 2011, he met an empty treasury. Before his swearing-in, the immediate past administration had collected the State statutory allocation for that month and squandered it. Notwithstanding this set back, the Governor, raised funds and was able to pay salaries for that month without any overdraft facilities from the Banks as it used to be the practice of the past administration.
Presently he is one Governor in Nigeria whose payment of salaries are up to date. He is equally the first Governor in Nigeria who approved the payment of the N18,900.00 minimum wage without any negotiation with labour. As for the few local governments that are in arrears of salaries, if any, the delay is only as a result of data processing due to computerization.
One is seriously at a loss where 247ureports.com fabricated this notion that no fewer than one thousand people were sponsored for this year’s Hajj operation, one is confused as whether he is making reference to the entire state contingent including those sponsored themselves or is he creating other issues that does not exist?
Ordinarily, one wouldn’t have wasted precious time responding to these wild and unsubstantiated stories. But as a government that is committed to serving the people, such government is bound to have detractors, it is for this reason that, the public needs to know that certain issues being peddled on the social media could be the handwork of those who do not mean well for the people of Nasarawa State.
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Written by Hon. Abdulhamid Y. Kwarra, SSA to the Governor of Nasarawa State, on Public Affairs.
This is a sad story of a Nigerian who is a pastor in one of the new generation churches in Vienna called Grace Ministries International. Pastor Joshua Esosa is from Edo State and in the narration of his unbelievable ordeal, he recounted how he had been arrested, framed up and jailed for a crime he said that he had never committed. His experience as he told it could only be likened to the American HOLLYWOOD films packed with action and suspense and as such incredible and scary for most people who are blacks and especially Nigerians living in Austria . We have heard that similar ugly stories happened many years ago but in recent years one can vouch that the Austrian police has made tremendous improvement that experiences like this one of Pastor Joshua Esosa is strange to most of us. Therefore, my worries which should be the feelings of most people are not against the Austrian police as an entity but rather against these few groups of people that have decided to pervert the course of justice by protecting the real criminal if the story of Pastor Esosa should stand. Consequently, I appeal to the Austrian police to help and dig out the truth since the crack down is not against race or colour but rather against evils and agents of Satan within us. We all should be partners in progress in circumstances like this since every system in every country is never completely free from bad ones which Austria is of course not immune to. Therefore, my sincere appeal is not only to the police authority but to the entire Austrian authority, corporate bodies and individuals that are concerned that our society is being threatened by idiots who make hard drugs accessible to our children to help in any way they can to expose the real offender/s in this case so that this innocent man will be set free, that is my humbly appeal.
Globalisation of the world is not only in technology but also in the movements of humans. If Arnold Schwarzenegger who is originally from Steiermark , Austria could go to the US and rose to a point to have governed a state like California , a Nigerian, Pastor Joshua Esosa should not be ruined and destroyed because he could rise tomorrow to be a wonder turning bishop in Austria . Injustice done to one person is injustice done to all. Arise, people of conscience!
Here is the story of Pastor Esosa’s tribulation.
“I am Pastor Joshua Esosa from Edo State . My story is so sad, humiliating and painful each time I remember that bitter experience of 2nd February 2011. On this day, I just closed from the church and went straight home in twelfth district in Vienna to an apartment provided for me by the church because as at of this time I had problems with my wife and because of the nature of the society we are living in, we were trying to sort out things living separately. At about 11pm on this day, my wife called me and said that she was sick and that I should come home to take care of the children so that she could go to the hospital. It was very unusual that I felt somehow. However, I told her that it was already too late because it would take me about an hour to get to there now and whether she could not wait till the next day. She insisted that I should please try to come. So, I now went to see her. When I got there it was around12 midnight and I had to press the bell because I did not have the key. And before I could open the door the police had already accosted and apprehended me and said, ‘You drug dealer, drug dealer, drug dealer’. And I said, what; me a drug dealer? I did not even resist them as I allowed them to search me. They searched me and found €600 with the church cash card and said, ‘Yeah this is the drug money’. I told them that €400 of that €600 was the money of the church that I had withdrawn few hours ago from AKH and that if they go to the bank they would see that what I had told them was the truth.
Pleaseelectronics don’t tell lies.The full page of the account statement of the churh.The high lighted place shows the day and time Pastor Esosa made the withdrawal of the money the police found with him.But the judge again reject this as an evidence.
Part of the full page of theaccountstatement showingclearly the name of the church and the name of the financial secretary who made this document available to me
They searched my bag and did not find anything and they took me that night to a destination I did not know that it was Burgenland until the next day. In the morning that day, I guess that it was around 10am because I did not have a watch, they took me to their office and started to interview me. They said that they knew me because they had been monitoring me selling drugs for over a year now and that the people I had sold drugs to were all in prison. I said, God forbid! They said that they recorded my voice, I then said good if you did that. So they now showed me some pictures on the computer and asked if I knew the people and I said that I didn’t know them.
They now brought out the picture of the person they said that they had been monitoring, and the background was a winter background because the person was wearing a winter cap that covered his ears. So what they now did was to put me on my own winter cap and arrange it to look like the picture of the person they were looking for and took me pictures and then they said if anybody confirms that they know me in the prison that that would be all they needed. So they went to the prison and came back and said yes two people had confirmed that they knew me. I said what? I am not a drug dealer, I do not deal on drugs and I can never do that. They said that the judge had asked for me to be sent to prison immediately. That was how I was sent to prison on February 3rd, 2011 and I was there till September 23rd 2011.”
When I wanted to know whether he contacted people for help he replied and said “of course I contacted the Nigerian Embassy the same February but the embassy didn’t show up until I was sentenced ending of July 2011 and they now came in August 2011. I contacted people, my fellow pastors and everybody. The letters my wife wrote to the embassy are still here.” I collected copies of the letters from him.
He went on. “I started a German course in the prison and one day while we were on break during one of our lessons I went back to my room and saw some strange people in the room and I turned back because I thought that I had entered a wrong room, but as I made steps to go back my room mate called me to come in that it was our room. I went in and did what I wanted to do and left back to the lecture. When our class was over after hours, I came back to my room and still met these people discussing. I went straight to my corner and was reading my bible when I had a call that I had a visitor who happened to be my wife. By the time I went back to the room these people were no longer there and my roommate now told me that those people that I had seen before, that one of them had been my accomplice. I said what? Why did you not tell me while they were here so that I could confront them? I was very uncomfortable with the development and angry. I said to myself, I had not been allowed to go to the church in the prison with the reason that my accomplice went to the same church but now the same accomplice they had brought to my room perhaps to study me so that he could say that he knew me in the court, I wept. 2 hours later still infuriated, my lawyer came and I told him what had happened and he shared the same fears with me but told me not to worry that he would take care of that.
This is the pounded yam powder which is very common in every Nigerian household that the police took as cocain powder. One of the evidences the police was holding strongly against pastor Esosa.
Before the first hearing they said that they had found powder which I had used in mixing drugs in my room and I told them that the only thing I knew that I had there in my room was powdered yam and I did not have any other powder and if they had found any other thing in my room it meant they had put it there. They said that they had also found black canvas in my room that was exactly the same type the drug dealer had worn and therefore it was evidence against me. On the court day my witness now brought the powdered yam to the court for the police to see that it was not the type of powder they had conceived in their minds. The judge now queried them why had they not done an examination of the powder in the laboratory first before coming to the conclusion that they had found a powder which I had used in mixing drugs? They now brought eight people to come and testify against me that I had sold drugs to them, but I thank God that six of the people said that they did not know me except those two people that were in the prison. And importantly too, one of these people that were supposed to have testified against me told the court that I had not been the one because he still had bought drugs from the person they had been looking for while I was still in prison. Again the judge ignored this information.
This is the type of shoes the police claimed the drug dealer had worn.
Are you a Nigerian living in Vienna, Austria and having this kind of shoes?
You could be a suspect.
After this hearing they brought a strange report they had written about me and I was very upset and down. My roommate, an Austrian who could not stand my tears and the injustice meted to me anymore, pitied my sorrow and looked at me one day and told me that I was not the drug dealer. And I said to him; how did he know that I was not the one? He said that in his former room before he had been transferred to my room that the person they claimed that had been my accomplice had been his roommate and that one night he had heard him talking to someone in a low voice thinking that he had been asleep that I was not the one but that the real drug dealer was outside and that they were trying to protect him. I knelt down immediately, wept and begged him. I asked him; please, will you help me to write down these things you have just said now to the judge or public prosecutor? And he said that he was afraid to do so because he was also in prison. I tried as much as I could to convince him to see reasons why an innocent person like me should not be allowed to rotten in prison, he refused and I decided to allow him but when my lawyer came I told him the story. My lawyer now in his wisdom included him as one of my witnesses without his consent and the day he got a letter from the court as one of my witnesses, he was very upset and I had to beg him close to tears to help me which he reluctantly after much pressure accepted.
On the final hearing day he came and told the court what he had heard and explained further that he had lived with me for sometime now in the same room and that he had studied me and had seen my kind of person, that I was not the drug dealer. But the judge shunned his testimony by telling him to go and sit down because he himself had equally had a drug case before. They now asked me if I knew these people, referring to those people that were supposed to have been my drug buyers, and I told them (court) that I did not know any of them and that I did not deal on drugs and that if I was a drug dealer that these people numbering over 50 here could not have come all the way from Vienna twice now to stand by me. I now asked the judge; in your years of experience, have you ever had the experience where this huge number of people turned out at different occasions to stand beside someone who is a drug dealer? And the judge said that what they were expecting me was to say sorry and I said, to say sorry for what, for what I did not do. He the judge now said okay, that they sentenced me for 15 months. They asked if I will appeal it. I said yes of course I will appeal it because I cannot accept what I did not do. And that was how the process of an appeal was made.
I was finally sentenced around ending of July 2011 and on September 23rd 2011 I was released. I was freed on a Friday and usually our prison closes on Fridays 12pm so while the door of our prison was opening that day I was let out, I was thinking that they were bringing in a new person but was surprised when I was told to pack my things within 5 minutes and leave. I had a bad feeling going through these sad moments within these few seconds and reacted to know why I should be asked to leave in 5 minutes under such command after having been kept here for so long. The person who brought the message said that he had told me, he closed the door and left. My roommates celebrated with me and helped me to pack my things. 5 minutes time he actually came, pushed me out and gave me €50 for my transport and asked me to come on the coming Monday to take any of my remaining things.
I spent about 8 hell months in that prison, from February 2011 to September 2011 for a crime I had not committed. I was traumatised for a sin I knew nothing about probably because I am a black man and a Nigerian. I nearly went mad for what I never imagined in my life. Over my dead body that I will deal on drugs as a man of God, my yes remains yes, I am not guilty. As I speak now, I do not know on which ground or why I was released because according to the sentence I was not supposed to have been set free before May 2012.
One thing I want the world to know is that, no matter the evidences manufactured against me, I am innocent. No matter the level of conspiracy against me, I am guiltless. The God I serve cannot be put to shame because He did not fail Abraham, He did not fail Hannah, He did not fail Job etc. and He can never fail me. I am on my knees.”
His wife speaks, “My husband is not a drug dealer. I want justice.”
The story of Pastor Joshua Esosa’s wife which she described as horror was pitiful and sad because of the shock the children had got.
In nutshell, she said that when the police men had come that day, that they had already slept and had only woken up by the thunder like noise from the smashed door by the police. She said that all what she had heard was ‘gbooza’ and that she had to immediately jump up from bed and had to firstly rush to her last born, her son and that within almost the same seconds that police men had been everywhere in the room asking about her husband and ransacking all they could lay their hands on. She had sorrowfully narrated that the children had been scared to the marrow and that the fear of that horror had terribly traumatised them which they still have not overcome and may never completely overcome till the rest of their lives. She alleged that she had been threatened to lie to make her husband come to the house that night or else that they (police) would have to take her children to ‘Jugendamt’ (youth welfare office). She said that under such trembling shock and fear that she had to call her husband and lie to him as commanded that she had been seriously sick and had to go to hospital.
According to her, not sure of what to do to the door smashed by the police, she said that the door had remained un-repaired for about three months and that they had seen hell under winter cold because they were living with open door until they could not bear it anymore that they had to call someone who had carried out a minor repair that had helped them at least close the door against cold.
Picture don’t tell lies. This door is still in a sorry state that they are still using some tissues and papers in supporting it to stay closed.
Her message to the world is that her husband is innocent because he is not a drug dealer and she wants the world to help her get justice. In her words “My husband is not a drug dealer. He has never done that and can never do that and I will stand for him anytime and anywhere. I want justice, they should free my husband.”
Efforts made to get in contact with the judge to comment were yet to yield results before press time.
Please follow this link(click here) to sign this petition to free Pastor Joshua Esosa. When you sign, it is going straight to the ministry of justice Vienna , Austria . Help us to free an innocent man and improve the image of Nigerians and black Africans in Austria.
The appeal court hearing will be coming up on June 6th, 2012 from 9:30am to 12pm in Landesgericht, Saal 305/3, Wickenburggasse 22, 1080 Wien.
Please, we appeal for solidarity by turning up that day in court.
A demonstration has also been organised to take place on June 1st,2012, starting from Museumstraße 7, 1070 Vienna by 2:00pm.
Pastor Joshua Esosa can be reached under this number: +43 6765378700
Uzoma Ahamefule, a concerned patriotic citizen writes from Vienna , Austria
