Edo state commissioner of Police Olayinka Balogun has statedthat five students of Igbinedion University, in Okada have been arrested overthe crisis that rocked the university on Sunday.
Speaking with journalists in Benin on Monday the Policecommissioner admitted that there were clashes among some rival cult groups butsaid no live was lost. He also denied reports that dangerous weapons were usedduring the clash.
In the same vein the authorities of the Igbinedion University has said normalcy has returned tothe University after the Sunday clashes and that academic activities hadresumed.
The Vice Chancellor of the University Professor EghosaOsaghae in a statement in Benin on Monday sid โwe wish to inform all ourparents and the general public that contrary to media reports there is no cause for alarm in our campus. Thesecond semester examinations are in progress and staff and students are safeand going about their normal activitiesโ.
The Vice Chancellor said โthe fact of the matter is that in the early hours of Sunday 17thJune 2012, there was misunderstanding among students following damage to thevehicle of one of them outside the university campus in Okada town. This unfortunateincident elicited unwarranted reprisal that involved damage to other vehiclesby the aggrieved students and friends. But actions ended up in agitations andskirmishes but thankfully no life was lostโ.
The statement further stated that the university iscurrently investigating the matter and addressing the incidence in accordancewith its laid down regulations.
The outbreak of fighting between the Muslim youths and Christian youths started as a result of the relaxation of the 24hour curfew to 6pm to 6am. As the residents began attending the market place it resulted to exchange of angry words.
The violence was triggered, according to credible sources; by Muslims youths began throwing stones at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church located in Barnawa town. It resulted to reprisal attacks by the native youths.
The attackers are said to be Okada riders mainly Muslim that reside near the suburbs of Barnawa. The residents of Kaduna are said to be deserting the cities and towns to safety. โThere is tension everywhereโ said a police officer stationed near the marketplace who explained that the current fracas appears to be โthe main thingโ. He added that the youths from both sides of the divide are well armed and angry enough to stage the unfolding fight to an unpredictable end.
A resident of the area, Nuhu Bityong told our correspondent that, โAs many people went to shop, coupling with the tension that resulted from the Bomb Blast, some youths regrouped themselves and started throwing stones at each other closed to the Holy Family Catholic Church Barnawa. The security men acted promptly and no one was killed.โ
Confirming the incident, Kaduna Police Spokes Man Aminu Lawan said that some youth started grouping, throwing stones at each other shortly after the curfew was relaxed adding that no casualty was recorded as the security men on patrol acted promptly and dispersed them
โWhen they started regrouping shortly after the relaxation of the curfew, our men on patrol disperse them. But for now, the situation is under control,โ Lawan said
Already the Gurara Forum, a powerful Christian forum based in south Kaduna โ released a strongly worded statement calling on the federal government to act to halt the continued slaughter of peaceful and innocent Christians โ face the consequences.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Kaduna State has reacted over the Sunday suicide bombings in the state.
The association faulted reaction of the Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as political and deviating from the reality of Boko Haramโs insurgency against Christians in the country. It added that Tambuwal was more concerned of reprisal than the factors that precipitated the attacks, which CAN describes as unfortunate and clarion call on government to wake and end the attacks against Christians and their Churches.
The statement signed by its chairman Rev. Samuel Kujiyat said that โThough, the suicide bombings unexpectedly, provoked dangerous angry protests by youths in Kaduna South and environs, resulting in some people sadly taking the laws into their hands and bringing about deaths, injuries and destruction of properties and vehicles of innocent people. It is regrettable and condemnable in all sense, but that reaction of Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, appears to be diversionary and political. He tends to be only concern with reprisal attack than bothering of those killed and injured in the attacks against Churches and Christians. It is unfortunate and demeaning to his office as a leader in the country to think in this way and mannerโ
It further charged the Nigerian Army authorities to carry out investigation on a soldier who allegedly killed two persons in Kaduna, โLet there be investigation because it is clear the soldier was just shooting people. And many of the casualties were even shot to deaths by soldiers and police.โ
It further appealed for calm and peace, saying, โCAN Kaduna State Chapter wishes to appeal to all and sundry in Kaduna State to remain calm and cooperate with the Government to bring things under full normalcy in order to confront the bigger further threat of Boko Haram in other guise. CAN was reliably informed that some Security Agenciesโ outfit, attacked and killed some youths at Maraban Rido and other locations in Kaduna and environs, but were arrested and disarmed and now under detention. Meanwhile, CAN, Kaduna State Chapter will shortly convene a meeting of its leadership, and with Government, as well as with the leadership of the Kaduna State Chapter of Jamaโatul Nasir Islam JNI and the outcomes of these meetings will be made known in due course.โ
Nearly a decade and half after the end of apartheid, South Africans are beginning to face up to the fact that they have a present problem with racism in that country. This is not to say that most regular citizens of South Africa have not always been aware that they have a problem with racism.
What has brought the problem to the fore this time is a series of racial incidents that followed one on the heel of the other in February. One of the incidents is a racist video shot and distributed by some white students of the University of the Free State. The video showed the studentsโ ritualized humiliation of four black laborers employed by the university, including allegedly secretly urinating in food that laborers had to eat. Apparently their intention was to use the video to publicize their opposition to a recent integration of their dormitory. โThe video exposed deep-seated racist stereotypes harbored by a section of the population and constituted a complete disregard for the rights โฆ of the workers โฆ,โ a government spokesman said. The second incident is the shooting murder of four black people by a white youth in the North West town of Skielik.
Since 1994, such incidents have been taking place in isolation in the various farmsteads and other remote and not-so-remote outposts of the country; but such is the state of a culture enervated by long years of racist practice that most of these incidents โ like the white farmer who fed his Black farm worker to lions โ have been dealt with routinely and seemingly forgotten.
There is a suggestion in some quarters that the reason why there has not been any great outcry in the past regarding such incidents is because of a national reluctance to highlight racism issues as they affect Blacks. South African Human Rights Commission CEO, Tseliso Thipanyane, in an address to the media on racism early in March, admitted that talking about racism, especially as it affects blacks, has become unpopular. Instead Blacks are encouraged to keep quiet about their experiences and move on. He told journalist that South Africans โshould not delude ourselves and think we are out of the [racism] woods.โ
What seems to have changed the attitude of the media and intelligentsia concerning race matters in South Africa was the recent decision by the Forum of Black Journalists to bar white journalists from the relaunch event of the FBJ in February. The furor over that FBJ decision prompted the Chairman of the South African Human Rights Commission, Jody Kollapen, to declare that โracism is alive and well in South Africa.โ
The glaring persistence of racism in South Africa and authoritiesโ routine handling of such incidents suggests that South Africans remain intimidated by the apartheid heritage. White South Africans have been let off the hook too easily. Black anger and resentment have been clearly dealt with through the TRC. But as Kollapen euphemistically put it, โโฆwhite South Africa was not really given the opportunity to engage with what happened in the past.โ The result is that many white South Africans continue to hold very strongly to apartheid-based racist beliefs and are growing increasingly bold in acting out those beliefs. The South African nation is held to ransom by, and is unable to rebuke or respond adequately to, this small racist element in society.
There is nothing routine about racism and it is not something that should be simply accepted as matter of fact. Every incident of racism needs to be dealt instantly and with deserving severity no matter how isolated or remote. The nation needs to reprieve itself from the racist past and do so quickly. A society that respects the fundamental rights of all its citizens cannot tread softly when such rights for some are so flagrantly violated as in the case of the UFS workers. Only in this way can racists be made to appreciate that there are consequences; and potential victims given the awareness and empowered to resist such victimization.
The end of the legal system of racism known as apartheid in 1994 did not end unofficial forms of this social malaise. Many white South Africans, in the period just before the end of apartheid, feared that blacks would be bent on revenge in the event that the country became a democracy. This was one of the many reasons why the apartheid regime was able to cling onto power for more than 40 years. Today, the South African democracy is more than ten years old, but those fears never materialized. Even during the liberation struggle, the African National Congress (ANC) had assured the nation and the world that no such vengeance would take place. The ANC also promised to make South Africa a non-racial democracy. It succeeded in the former through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission whose work provided a cathartic outlet that helped the nation purge itself of the demons of apartheid and safely contain black anger. Yet its efforts in the latter โ the non-racial democracy quest โ has been hampered by pockets of old order resistance. It is that resistance that is sustaining racism in South Africa.
In the post-apartheid era, too many blacks in that country remain unemployed or under-employed; the racial perking order remains as it has always been with Blacks at the bottom obeying an unspoken requirement to defer to Whites on top. Yes, racism is a present reality in South Africa, but it seems no one knows how it can be readily dealt with without causing the nation greater difficulties. The government had thought that Black Empowerment โ affirmative action programs that ensure a share of business and employment opportunities for traditionally disadvantaged blacks โ would ultimately bring equity and a measure of equality to the country. That may well come to be in time, but Black Empowerment is not going to immediately redress culturally inured racist habits and practices that form the bedrock of enduring racism and Black disadvantages in that country. Other brave measures are needed in place at the same time in order to chip away at the bedrock of racism in South Africa.
That the problem is still there is not surprising given the history of the country. In 2001 when I visited that country for the first time, it was apparent to me that racism remained a reality in South Africa. During that trip, I dared to venture into places that my local companions had confessed they would not ordinarily go into. In some of these places โ bars and restaurants โ I was welcomed, but usually I and my companions would be the only Blacks in the place. Though there were no laws barring people from patronizing these premises, long held segregationist social habits helped to create an invisible barrier that made those places uneasy haunts for Blacks.
I remember one place in particular. It was in a restaurant/bar in the airport in Johannesburg. I had gone in to find someplace less crowded in the teaming airport. I found myself surrounded by a gaggle of white toddlers. There were four of them between the ages of two and four years. I felt from them a certain unspoken assertion of dominance that questioned my presence in that bar. Their parents sat nearby. The kids hovered menacingly around me, but their adult minders made no attempt to call them off and give the stranger his space. I think I knew how the old crocodile must feel in his pool, buffeted by succulent hippo calves under the watchful eye of their fat parents.
People naturally want to avoid situations that bring social discomfort; and going into places where you are not wanted is a sure invitation to social discomfort. I was able to enter those places and even enjoy myself because I was not a permanent resident of the country and any consequences arising out of my social effrontery could not go beyond the two weeks I spent there.
In too many other places, I and my friends were turned away with antagonism and subtle excuses like, โthis place is only for sailors.โ At one point I was confronted by the father of one of the young ladies who assisted me in my work in South Africa. The man, who is a dark-skinned Indian, was scandalized that a black African should be openly asking after his daughter in the familyโs place of business. There were many other individual situations, during that 2001 visit to Durban and Johannesburg that had to be negotiated carefully. Those 2001 experiences thought me that South Africa remained a segregated society that continues to tingle with the residual static of dysfunctional racial relations. In the bad old days of apartheid segregation was enforced by law; in post-apartheid South Africa, segregation is enforced in subtler ways. The most important of these is means. South Africans continue overwhelmingly to be separated by income on a racial basis. Old attitudes and stereotypes continue to keep more blacks in the poverty bracket. For the majority of black South Africans, poverty of means continues to dictate their place in society.
People with means guard their means jealously and use that as a bargaining chip with government and with others in society. They employ their means to greatly influence the trend โ content and tone of the social discourse. Government continues to act as a democratic referee, but it is the finances of private industry that dictate the tone to which many individuals must march for security of livelihood. Thatโs the reality. And it is a reality that feeds racism in society. To minimize societyโs vulnerability to such manifestations of racism, government, schools and religious institutions must get on to an active program of value re-orientation in society. Government especially can use its policies to accelerate social security for the masses.
Racism has eaten deep into the fabric of South African society. It has shaped the way people see each other. Therefore, profound and fundamental changes are required in the way South Africans understand and relate to each other. The many stereotypes that dictate and sustain racial attitudes must be dismantled. Beyond calling for people to change their attitudes, the government needs to get pro-active in its efforts to combat racism. It is not enough to simply establish organizations and institutions of intermediation such as human rights and gender commissions and expect that they would be enough by themselves to protect the rights of the citizen. The state has got to be more pro-active in its efforts to stop the continued victimization of some citizens โ who despite the end of apartheid remain intimidated under the apartheid mentality โ by others who feel they have a historical right to perpetrate such victimizations. The state should relieve victims โ especially the poor and ill-educated ones like the UFS laborers โ of most of the financial and social burdens of seeking redress. Such victims and potential victims should be given open access to aid and afforded enough education and information to enable them recognize the early signs of victimization to reject it.
โ
Obi O. Akwani is the editor of IMDiversityโs Minoritiesโ Global Village and the author of Winning Over Racism and the novel, March of Ages. He is a Nigerian Canadian. He lives in Cornwall, Ontario Canada.
IMDiversity.com is committed to presenting diverse points of view. However, the viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at IMD.
Just weeks after 247ureports.com reported about the alleged billion naira land grabbing scandal by the duo of Federal Housing Authority [FHA] and the Bola Tinubu owned ENL Construction Consortium, the Nigerian Police Force [NPF] recently made arrests of the alleged perpetrators in the mass land grab deal. On the afternoon of Friday June 15, 2012, the men of the NPF swooped in on four contractors working for the ENL and FHA at the land area in question โ and arrested all four of the contractors โ and were taken to the FCT Command where they were detained.
According to available information, the arrested contractors who were employed by Bola Tinubuโs firm to execute the fradulent deal were โ Hudeco Nigeria Limited, Saidkraft Nigeria Limited, J-2 Standard Investment Nigeria Limited and MS-Alfaplus Associates Nigeria Limited were arrested for criminal trespassing and defiance of court order. They were bailed by the Deputy General Manager of the FHA. The original owners of the land [With Authentic Certificate of Occupancy] which the FHA has acting to forcefully retrieve to handover to moneyed bigwigs โ had taken legal action in to court under the name Gigaga Construction โ and obtained an injunction against the duo of FHA/ENL โ for the construction work by the FHA and Tinubu Construction firm to halt โ but the duo โthumbed their nosesโ to the injunction and proceeded with work.
Meanwhile the job of the MD FHA maybe on the line, as a strongly worded petition to the presidency has called for the removal of the FHA Managing Director, Gemade Terver. In the said petition dated 12th June 2012, titled PETITION FOR IMMINENT REMOVAL OF THE FHA MD AND OTHER RELEVANT PERSONNEL, asked for the Federal Government to dismiss and/or sack the MD of the FHA for vagrant abuse of his mandate.
The petition also seeks for the Director the FHA to desist from further disobedience of court injunction orders [- which was given on 23rd April 2012]. The petition also asked for the agents, privies and servants of FHA to desist from criminally trespassing or encroaching the land in question pending the outcome of the current court case.
See petition to police and other documents below โ
TEHRAN โ Iran plans to manufacture at least three million cars by 2025 and export some one million sets, the Fars News Agency quoted Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari as saying.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony to unveil the second all-Iranian car, named Runna, in Tehran today.
โSome 1.6 million cars were manufactured in the past calendar year and 55,000 cars were exported,โ Ghazanfari said.
Iranian car manufacturers produced 1.648 million cars in 2011, making the country number 13 in the world in terms of production, the Fars News Agency quoted a report by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers as saying.
China, the U.S. and Japan are the top three car manufacturers, producing 18.4 million, 8.6 million and 8.4 million car units, respectively, according to the report.
Total world production reached 80.1 million units in 2011, a new record and one that is up 3 percent on 2010โs output, according to the report.
After a dramatic fall in 2009 to 61.8 million units due to the 2008 crisis, world auto production has recovered its growth rate. In 2011 Asia produced the largest number cars in the world (40.6 million units), followed by Europe (21.1) and the Americas at (17.8), said the report.
The organization forecasts for 2012 a continuation of 3 percent growth in world auto production.
Iran has developed its domestic car industry for five decades and produced over 1.6 million vehicles last year, about half of them made by Iran Khodro, which aims to export around 10 percent of its production this year, Reuters reported.
Even with sanctions, which have scared off some suppliers from exporting to Iran, Iran Khodro says sales rose 18 percent in 2010 and plans a 13 percent output increase this year to 860,000 vehicles.
TEHRAN โ Tehran expects that its right to nuclear technology, including uranium enrichment, will be recognized in the nuclear talks with major powers in Moscow, Iranโs chief nuclear negotiator and Supreme National Security Council secretary says.
Saeed Jalili made the remarks during an exclusive interview with the RT network published on June 15.
Negotiators from Iran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) will resume talks in Moscow on Monday.
Following is the text of the interview:
Q: Expectations on the results of the new round of negotiations are pretty low. What should be done to make this new round of talks a success?
A: In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful. We have always said that in our actions we are guided by clear logic. We do welcome dialogue. We have always been open to cooperation and talks with different countries on a wide range of issues, including cooperation in nuclear energy. But there needs to be a certain strategy. If they stick to the same strategy, to the same approach, then the prospects for the talks are promising. We have reiterated this at the negotiations in Istanbul and Baghdad. We will look at this round of talks with optimism when the agreements reached in Istanbul and Baghdad will be respected. If we do see this kind of respect, we will then be able to view the negotiations in a positive light.
Q: How would you describe the main points of contention?
A: I believe that what should be discussed in detail is a number of proposals we put forward at the Baghdad talks. We identified five main areas. Four of them are related to nuclear energy, while the fifth one concerns other areas. Meanwhile, the other side came up with a proposal, too. To advance the talks we need consensus on two major issues. Firstly, we are strongly against weapons of mass destruction. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran has the capacities to cooperate in disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, so these capacities should be used by the international community. Secondly, we expect that Iranโs right to nuclear technologies, including uranium enrichment, will be recognized and respected. This is something that is clearly defined by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. I think that addressing these two issues will help to advance the negotiations.
Q: Iranian nuclear facilities have recently been targeted by yet another cyber attack. How serious is this threat and is the sophistication of such attacks growing?
A: You know that Iranโs nuclear activities are entirely under control of the IAEA. All the activities we are currently conducting are in full compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. All the nuclear facilities are equipped with IAEA surveillance cameras. Thatโs in accordance with the IAEA rules. In fact, the international community is now concerned about quite a different thing: Why do some people take the liberty to speak out against activities that are peaceful, controlled by the IAEA and in compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
This opposition does not boil down to cyber attacks alone. The international community is now openly asking why some of our scientists working at peaceful nuclear facilities are targeted by terrorists. These peopleโs names are on the list of those the UN Security Council has introduced sanctions against. This makes the terrorists feel free to exterminate the blacklisted people. So the question is: what is the relation between the terrorists and the Security Council?
Another question: Why do some people commit subversive acts against a country involved in legitimate and peaceful activities? Shockingly enough, they openly admit that this is all their doing. This raises yet another question: why does the international community that claims to live under the rule of law accept a situation when all the rules are violated and countries seeking to exercise their legitimate rights are discriminated against. This kind of discrimination is not limited to one country only.
You must be aware that, luckily enough, neither terror attacks, nor cyber attacks, nor other acts of intimidation have done any harm or stopped the progress of the Iranian people. It is universally acknowledged that, in spite of all the conspiracies plotted against its nuclear activities, Iran has been able to continue its work in compliance with the NPT and IAEA requirements.
Q: Israeli officials are openly discussing a possibility of military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. If Israel ever decides to go ahead, does it need an approval from the U.S.?
A: Iran has been concerned over this issue for many years now. This has to do with the belligerent and illegitimate nature of the Zionist regime. I think these kinds of statements help to reveal their true nature. These kinds of statements shows that the regime is keen to achieve its goals by capturing, invading, brandishing its military might. Time and again, this regime thinks it has the right to make these statements and threaten the whole world. It is guided by aggressive, belligerent, militarist intentions.
However, this regime is as weak as ever and its authority has faltered. The only thing that is clear is that the world is aware of its militarist and hawkish nature and that any steps taken by the regime are illegitimate. Still, the regime continues to operate on the wrong and illegitimate basis. This is happening today โ although Iranโs might and capabilities are well known. They rest on Iranโs powerful potential built up by domestic scholars. It includes the peaceful use of nuclear energy, an opportunity made possible by Iranโs younger generation, by its hard work and scientific research. This potential is not something that could be destroyed by some physical means or weapons. This is a peaceful activity which is taking place under the supervision of the IAEA and has been developed thanks to our own national capabilities.
Q: Weโre aware that the Iranian leadership strongly supports (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad and his struggle against terrorist organizations in Syria. Given the bloody nature of this conflict, wouldnโt it make sense for the Syrian president to step down as a sacrifice to prevent more deaths?
A: Another issue that we brought up at the talks in Istanbul and Baghdad is that we are prepared to discuss regional issues, including the situation in Bahrain, Syria and other similar issues. We think there is a simple solution to them and it boils down to one thing โ you need to respect the people, to respect democracy. If the international community demonstrates a genuine desire to debate these issues, then we could come up with a very viable solution. We have consistently called for this in regard to Syria.
There are two problems in Syria. First, its people demand reforms and they need to be introduced. We respect these aspirations and believe that itโs the Syrian people that should decide on the ultimate solution. Any outside interference will not help โ itโs wrong to supply weapons or train terrorists. These actions will never be in line with the interests of the Syrian people. The Syrian people must be empowered to take their own decisions on the reforms. It would be unacceptable to supply arms or support terrorists and so on. It will only result in more casualties among civilians and bloodshed. This is the wrong path to success.
Q: Over the past decade weโve seen several scenarios of regime change in the Arab world. Are you concerned that some of these scenarios can be applied to your own country?
A: Again, thatโs something we have always been saying โ democracy cannot be imposed through violence, military intervention or occupation. Those who have used these tactics have admitted later that they had other goals in mind. And there are plenty of stories to prove this point.
Those who occupied Afghanistan under various pretexts later confessed that they fostered and supported terrorist networks. Those who occupied Iraq saying it had weapons of mass destruction later confessed they had actually been the main patrons of Saddam Hussein. In particular, when Saddam Hussein waged an eight-year war against Iran, they conceded that they stood behind Iraq and helped it in every way possible. None of them were able to give a helping hand in building a democracy.
In cases when they occupied a country they were to blame for mass violations and crimes, and they shot themselves in the foot. Today, they can barely drag themselves out of the mire. You may remember that in the end they approached Iran and asked it to help them get out of it.
So today they are very weak and their case is pretty weak, too. Today, the world does not believe that someone can bring democracy against the peopleโs will, through occupation, military strike or any similar rationale. People donโt believe that they want to help because their help usually results in numerous casualties. Wherever they set their foot, they faced serious challenges.
In the meantime, Iran has proved to be a successful model of a democratic state ruled by the people. Itโs a good example for the region and the whole world. Itโs a genuine democracy where people have the right to shape their future. This model has been successful both for our resistance against outside pressure and for our development.
Nigerians are divided by the hocus-pocus Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola-led bribery episode the two-of-a-kind are playing without any show of shame. This was also how the Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) nearly tore the audacious Nigeria Governorsโ Forum (NGF) into shreds when the Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, reportedly in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, said in Ethiopia on May 11 that the fund would begin operation in June, not minding the state governmentsโ pending case at Supreme Court challenging the legitimacy of the Excess Crude Account and the middle governmentโs transfer of $1bn from the account to the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The NGF was of the view that the law setting up the SWF was substandard to the establishment. The NGFโs argument was that all money ensuing to the federation must be shared. It was a public awareness that 28 states went to the Supreme Court to challenge the FG for maneuvering the excessive crude fund and non-diminution of money due to the account.
The players of the bribery episode perhaps were out for something: To mislead Nigerians not to remember the many dramas they were watching without any form of entertainment before the Lawan-Otedola duet came to public notice. Mr. President must be confused by now and also newspaper columnists tremendously confused of what to say or write weekly because Nigeria is breaking the world record of news with smelly news that oozes out per second. The country was not done with the Oteh-Hembe bribery scandal, the truth behind the fuel subsidy removal, insurgencies etc. than the Lawan-Otedola music of bribery without rhythm broke the record of bribery allegations ever heard of in Nigeria. Who expected it this soon that bribery would go scientific in Nigeria where bribe-takers and bribe-givers would be recorded and telecasted for students of criminology to review in the future. Azi gba kwa!
When the news of the direction the SWF was heading to became public knowledge some governors and Nigerians characterized what Okonjo-Iweala had announced as Executive Lawlessness with inconsistent with the rule of law and yet to convince Nigerians. They bemoaned that why must the FG act unilaterally on an issue before the highest court in the land. The state therefore demanded that the FG should pay to the local government councils and states all dues to them without any deduction. But the NGF divided over the setting up of the SWF by the FG against the formerโs hard stance of states governed by opposition parties. The impersonation of the fund was politicized and some of the governors especially of the opposition political parties passionately kicked against it. Yet, that episode was kept on suspense and everyone wants to know the next step that the FG and the NGF would take. But here Nigerians are watching the Lawan-Otedola sordid bribery drama which will soon be kept on suspense too, like other embarrassing dramas the Nigerian leaders were playing before it.
The catching of Lawan with pants down in the bribery mess, who was once regarded as Mr. Clean, because of the role he has played in the Integrity Group five years ago in the House of Representatives, it is difficult to believe any public office holders again saying that he or she will not support what will undermine the commonwealth of Nigerians in general. Even when the masses object, just as the governors took the case of SWF to court and the Federal Government was insisting on going ahead with the implementation of fund. The governors are not in support of the SWF, but the malevolence-minded persons would always do their biddings.
What these lawless money mongers do is just to be sharers of the commonwealth of Nigerians in general without being resourceful enough to be creators of wealth and job for the common Nigerians. They just share their national cake, Nigerians nature-given cake. They talk about Reforms and Restructuring, without the unsuspecting Nigerians knowing that what they mean is everything should go to them as national cake to be shared. They do not see their submission here to be wrong and misleading, inasmuch as it concerns money sharing. They maroon Nigerians to palpable misrepresentations in many forms. They embezzle the money from crude oil from the Niger Delta, and leave the people of that region to only health hazards they encounter on daily basis because their region is polluted by flaring of gas and crude oil exploration.
When it comes to sharing of money in Nigeria is when most of the public offices come out and pretend to be working. They flex muscles as if the interest of the masses is paramount to them, but they are just myopic financially. Hardly is the government and its agents talking about the need for more investment. Even when they do, their appetite for such is as much greased as looting the money earmarked for such investment immediately. It is then such name as the Sovereign Wealth Fund will be given a proper definition, but its purpose carpeted, and how it works will be the masterplan of Abuja.
Nigerians have never had a balanced story of how their money goes in the hands of these oligarchs and kleptomaniacs masquerading as leaders. They are just leeches. They only leave Nigerians with the impression that they are working when there is nothing to show for their media-bloated works. They are masters in politicizing everything. They even show that they know the law more than the jurists; hence they donโt wait for the court to interpret the law. This is the level lawlessness is growing everyday in Nigeria because there is unquestionable money to share at interval.
These lawless money mongers would criticize Nigerians to any level of wanting everything to go for free in the countryโs service and would do anything to harass innocent citizens should they revolt, because they knew that they have only succeeded in sacrificing innovative solutions to the countryโs economic survival on the platter of fraud. Instead of one national economy for Nigeria the lawless money mongers would want 36 or 774 economies.
Their demonstration is always unfavorable to the National economic rebirth. And this is their biggest strategies of their continued efforts to malign the ordinary Nigerian. They would want to amend the Constitution or sign into law a lifetime Pension Bill. Supercilious as they and their ideas are, they aptly lack investment policy but claim that they are the policymakers of the economy. They spend any of the economyโs proceeds on white elephant projects. A mismanager is their other name. They would make every anxious effort to retrieve the countryโs economy by setting up a body or the other, like the Excess Crude Account, purposely to carp up the nationโs foreign reserve, pay-off her foreign debt, as well as fund some capital projects, amongst other benefits, but their character towards that is just as the country and its economy they want to salvage. Their ideas are always awe-inspiring but later they bring their iniquitous behaviours to the gallery for people to frown. They donโt care that the nation is lacking in basic infrastructure, but they will rather mount legal suits on issues they even know that the Constitution of Nigeria does not allow, just to make the policy to suffer a set-back.
But how long shall Nigeria continue this way? Forcing the government to rescind policies has become the game plan in many quarters, for the single purpose of sharing of money among the tiers of government, leaving mismanagement of the unplanned funds in the hands of the lawless money mongers โ the beneficiaries. They engage in distasteful personal fortification to the detriment of Nigerians. Straight away, there should be a re-birth in the thinking and leadership of these lawless leaders. They always fight over their loot without anything serious on ground to show for their stewardship. They cry blue murder when questioned, forgetting the fate of Nigerians they have subjected towards untold hardship. They donโt care about the nagging fear that Nigeria has been taken for a ride by no other people but the lawless money mongers. This brings to bear that the NGFโs case against the FG over the issue of the SWF. This case is not for the common good of Nigerians but for the rapacious governorsโ own egotistical curiosity; and the Lawan-Otedola futile exposition is the politics of the leaders to always change the direction of common Nigerians not to understand the economic-politics that go on in Abuja.
Therefore, the economyโs windfall should stop being seen as a fat bonus to loot by the leaders. Somehow, it was because of this loot in the psych of the leaders that made none of the governors came out openly to condemn the petrol subsidy removal in January. Let the leaders broaden their knowledge on the theory, practice and the ruses behind this all significant economic apparatus. This is what is needed in Nigeria to make her a reimbursement house of ideas. The leaders should showcase intellectualism, and stop posting disgusting bribery films in the already defrauded mentality of an average Nigerian.
Odimegwu Onwumere is the Coordinator, Concerned Non-Indigenes In Rivers State(CONIRIV). Mobile: +2348032552855. Email: nirivpol@gmail.com
Information reaching 247ureports.com through sources in Zaria indicate that another catastrophe may have been averted this morning following the discovery of a bomb planted at the Ahmadu Bello University [Kongo Campus] near Tundun Wada Zaria, Kaduna State.
According to the information received, the bomb was planted under the cover of one of the seats at the chapel [known as the Chapel of Salvation]. Lucky for the attendees of the chapel, the bomb failed to detonate yesterday being Sunday June 18, 2012 when multiple bomb rocked the State โ resulting to bloody reprisal attacks.
The students who are presently taking their exams โ have since deserted the school premises โ for their safety.
The spokesperson for the Kaduna State Mr. Buhari was contacted by our correspondent. His words, โThe24 hour curfew imposed in kaduna state in view of the recent incident has now been relaxed. With effect from today, Monday 18th June, people of kaduna state can move freely from 2pm to 6pm. Subsequently the curfew will now start from 6pm to 6am. People are requested to remain calm, law abiding and cooperate with security agenciesโ.
Meanwhile, reports of reprisal attacks on native Christians by unknown persons believed to be security men in plain cloths have been reported by eyewitnesses in the town of Mararaban Rido. As gathered, two vehicles [a brand new white Mercedes Benz and a Honda] drove through the 24 hour curfew into the town and began firing their military-style weapons at the community. Four [4] people were reported dead following the shooting spree. The assailants escaped unseen.
MKPAT ENIN: There has been a renewed and vigorous hunt for alleged witches and wizards in Akwa Ibom State, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria where hundreds of victims are systematically put through a string of tortured and killed by irate youths with tacit support of some elders.
Mkpat Enin, a Local Government in Akwa Ibom State; a community besieged by a virus called extreme poverty; the very disease that is plaguing the oil rich states in the Niger Delta region. With the countryโs highest percentage of illiteracy, it is definitely not immune to the hash reality and belief of witchcraft. This is a phenomenon that has put Akwa Ibom state in the front burner in the international scene of recent. Despite government denial, the situation has been on the rise and since government. Some of the witch hunts and torture are done in the night, as surprise attacks are sprung on the accused unprepared.
Akwa Ibom Alleged 'witch' stubbornly stood up claiming no to be a witch
Last week, the Mkpat community was besieged by thousands of people who throng to witness the torture and humiliation of alleged โwitchesโand โwizardsโ.
More than forty members of the community were dragged before a kangaroo panel headed by the village head of Ikot Abia, and retired head of the government cooperative bank, Chief Okon Udoaka for alleged witchcraft practice.
Akwa Ibom alleged wizard with broken head crying for help.
The witch hunt which lasted for five days took place both in the night and the day. At least five people are believed to be missing after the operation which has only had a temporary halt, according to activists. Concerned indigenes decided to call the Mkpat Enin Divisional Police Headquarters to intervene. Sadly, the elders of the community asked the police to return to their duty posts as it was a traditional matter which has nothing to do with the police.
Akwa Ibom alleged wizard, man in black confirmed dead
The Akwa Ibom State Police Headquarters was then called in where they arrested the ring leaders including some chiefs and the Village Council Chairman, Mr Joseph Udo Eno. But they were released within 24 hours without charge. Investigation indicates that the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, and former senatorial candidate under the defunct UNCP, Mr. Martin Udo Inyang personally went to the police headquarters used his influence to release the witch-hunters. The commissioner was overheard openly saying that witchcraft trials are the exclusive reserve of the traditional rulers, and can only be handled at what he called โthe custom and traditional courtโ
Akwa Ibom State, alleged witches and wizards
The Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO), Mr Onyeka Orji confirmed the arrest but decline further comment on the issue. But a source in the Command said the men who were arrested on account of witch torture, were only released on bail and would be invited back for further investigation. He denied knowledge of death of anyone in the incident and said that investigations were on going
But the following day the police launched a house to house combing seizing video clips and pictures of the alleged witch torture to prevent publication.
Mkpat Enin Children waiting for torture and death
It all began when two children who lost their parents were beaten up by a handful of youth forcing them to identify those whom they have been seeing in the coven, a place where โwitchesโ are believed to carry out their activities and plot kill their victims.
The children who denied knowing anything about witchcraft were tortured, tied suspended on the roof of the village council hall; poured with soldier ants and burning grass to make confession. It was at this point that the children accepted to do their bidding. The youths, backed by some community council leaders, came out with a list of men and women in the community suspected to be witches and wizards, read out names and asked the children to identify anyone they have been seeing during their โwitchโ operation.
Mkpat Enin, men waiting for torture and death
Out of fear for their dear lives, and in order to avoid further torture, the children went ahead and pointed out whoever crossed their minds while the names were read to them by youths.
The identified persons, both men and women, including children were dragged out from their houses, while the town criers were dispatched by the chiefs to call out everyone from the seven communities adjourning Ikot Abia. There were restrictions of movement out of the community; all the markets were shot down. It was a total stand still for witch hunting.
Mr Mfon Udoh, an indigene of Esa Ekpo who witnessed the torture said it was โa harrowing experience as the victims were beaten with sticks, rods, horsewhips, electric wire while intermittently burn with fire using plastic bags and poured with soldier ants and also stripped naked dragged on the road with bare-body and even forced to seat on cow dungโฆโ
He said that witch-hunting was a common phenomenon in the area as the area now second to Oron in witch-hunting He recalled that in 2001 and 2004 respectively, a good number of people were tortured and allowed to die by piecemeal. He recalled that one of the victims was a 14 year girl named Nwaeka who had a six-inch nail driven into her head; and she became insane!
Said Udoh: โI later saw the girl at an orphanage called CRARN Children Centre in Eket, a place where such children are kept, when our church visited the place during Christmas period to donate food items and toiletries in 2009, but I later learnt that she subsequently died as a result of brain injury after the nail was removed in the hospital.
UNICEF recent report in Akwa Ibom State detailed how children were tortured and killed, some of them buried alive. But Udoh regretted that the government frowns at any one or group who publishes news related to witchcraft torture or killing, insisting that such news puts the government in bad light without taking necessary action to curb the menace apart from passing the childโs right bill into law.
The victims who ran into the bush are now being gunned after or live in isolation, said the activists
