President Mohammed Morsi speaks to supporters outside the Presidential palace in Cairo,23 November
Several Egyptian political parties and groups have issued a joint statement announcing their intention to peacefully march to the presidential palace in Cairo at 5pm on Tuesday to voice opposition to President Mohamed Morsi’s recent decisions and the date that has been set for a nationwide popular referendum on Egypt’s draft constitution.
“The constitution project that Morsi wants to put before a referendum is in fact a project for tying down the political, civil, social and economic freedoms of Egyptians,” read the statement, published on the Egyptian Popular Current’s official Facebook page.
The statement went on to question the draft charter’s constitutionality, stressing its rejection of the date set – 15 December – for the upcoming referendum.
Egypt’s High Constitutional Court had been expected to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of Egypt’s Constituent Assembly (which wrote the draft constitution), but the ruling was postponed indefinitely after large numbers of pro-Morsi protesters gathered outside the court’s downtown headquarters on Sunday.
Groups opposed to Morsi, which have been occupying Cairo’s Tahrir Square for over two weeks, accuse the president of working in the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood and its Freedom and Justice Party.
“This is a final warning to Mohamed Morsi, who was democratically elected president: his policies, which favour his party and group, will cause the dissolution of his legitimacy,” read the statement.
On Saturday, despite continued protests against Morsi’s recent constitutional decree, which protects the Constituent Assembly from legal challenge, the president announced that the draft constitution would be put before a nationwide referendum in two week’s time.
The statement was signed by eighteen political parties and groups, including the Constitution Party, the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, the Free Egyptians Party, the National Front for Justice and Democracy, the 6 April youth movement, the Democratic Front and the Kefaya movement.
Anti-Morsi forces have threatened for several days to march on the presidential palace in Heliopolis if constitutional declaration was not withdrawn.
Veteran journalist Abdel-Halim Qandil, a fierce critic of the president, and the Mubarak regime before the revolution, has called in a tweet “on the judges, workers, and underground metro drivers to strike and to march on the presidential palace” to defeat the president’s decrees.
Many judges, who are on strike against the decree, have already threatened not to monitor the referendum if the president did not rescind his decisions.
Meanwhile, shortly after the president finished his speech on Saturday night calling for a vote on the draft constitution, Mohamed El-Beltagy, the Muslim Brotherhood main operative in the Constituent Assembly, called on the opponents of the draft to fight it – if they disagreed with it – by mobilising a NO vote not to protest.
El-Beltagy, a leading member also in the Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, told Ahram Online that if the opposition defeats the draft at the referendum set for 15 December, a new Constituent Assembly will be chosen via direct elections.
A mobile police officer attached to the state government house in Imo got a beating of his life from the governor’s aide-de-camp (ADC) for allegedly delaying opening the gate for the governor’s convoy.
The ADC to Governor Rochas Okorocha, identified as Omo Gabriel, with the help of two other police officers were said to have beaten the victim to a state of unconsciousness around 12:30am on Saturday.
The mobile policeman, Corporal Itere Ewedor, was said to have been on duty at the security post when the governor’s convoy drove in from an event to celebrate the state’s first lady’s birthday.
According to David Edhie, who claims to be a friend of the victim: “When the governor’s convoy got to the gate, the men of the civil defence corps and members of the Imo orientation corps, who were supposed to open the gate, were not around. So, there was a delay. Then my friend went to open the gate.
“When the convoy drove in, the ADC and some other police officers came down and asked him why he delayed. They wanted to collect his gun, but he refused. So, they started beating him. They beat him until he became unconscious, with bruises all over his face and parts of his body.”
After the assault on the mobile police officer, Gabriel reportedly took the victim to Shell Camp Police Station and requested that he be detained.
Edhie said, “The police officers at the station refused. They said they could not detain someone that was dying. Then Gabriel made arrangements for Ewedor to be taken to the Federal Medical Centre Owerri, where he was admitted. After sometime, he regained consciousness.”
He was discharged from the hospital around 5pm on Saturday.
The incident was, however, denied by the state commissioner for information and senior special adviser to the governor on media, Chinedu Offor.
He said, “The ADC to Governor Okorocha is a true professional, there is no way he could have descended so low to physically assault somebody. In order not to scare people away, we use men of the civil defence corps at the gate. We don’t use policemen at the gates of the government house.
So, if anybody says a policeman was beaten up for refusing to open the gate, it is false. I was at the government house around 12:30am. Such a thing never happened.”
Information reaching 247ureports.com gathered through security source stationed near the Adamawa border with Cameroun reveal that gunmen believed to be agents of the dreaded Islamic terrorist group, the Boko Haram struck in the morning of December 2, 2012 [8:30am] near the border town of Modugana and Gamboru Ngala.
As gathered, the gunmen number about 50. They drove in sports utility vehicles along with sports bikes – angrily wailing out chants of God is Great in Arabic language. An eyewitness told 247ureports.com that the group of gunmen carried dangerous automatic weapons including other unfamiliar but dangerous looking gadgets.
According to the eyewitness, the group of gunmen cross over the border – chasing away the Nigerian custom officers who were staged at the border entering post. The little armed custom officers took to their heels as they sighted the group of gunmen – abandoning their posts. The gunmen arrived the post and set the post ablaze.
Proceeding from the security post, the gunmen headed towards the churches to set ablaze churches – an estimated number of church set ablaze was pegged at five [5]. The worshippers inside the churches escaped harm. The worshippers escaped before the gunmen arrived.
The border area has been said to host a book haram training camp for their would-be militant operators. On the Cameroon side of the border, the Boko Haram camp were said to have been shutdown by the Cameroonian authorities – forcing the book haram operatives to seek refuge inside the Nigerian side of the border.
When Umana showed up for the conference, he came with more than N50, 000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira), which was shared amongst the thug leaders, each taking home between N250, 000.00 and N500, 000.00.”
Once upon a time the mafia ruled in Italy, the KKK held court in America, Hitler conquered many territories, Sadam Hussein murdered at will, and Abacha stole and killed at the drop of hat. Never has Umana Okon Umana or Godswill Obot Akpabio paused from their inhuman, criminal and mafia-like behaviors in governance; just like Idi Amin Dada failed to stop committing bestialities. Like Idi Amin both men may be hoping that they are the only power; OR it could be that both, like their trumpeter, Clement Ikpatt, are hoping on exile. Both, like Sanni Abacha may be entertaining thoughts of what they will do tomorrow. None of them believes that the cries of a long suffering and hungry people will be heard by God. Of course neither Abacha, nor Hitler nor Sadam nor Idi Amin nor the mafia knew what God had in store for them. Godswill Obot Akpabio has often claimed that he was “nominated” or “appointed” or “anointed” by God to be governor, which causes me to ask – was bishopric-keys-anointment by Cletus Bassey that anointing; OR were the bribes he has paid to judges from the lowest to the highest courts in Nigeria part of that anointing? Oh Ahab! Oh Ahab!!
Oh Ahab, committing sacrileges while laying claim to God’s anointment is heresy!!! Thou has blasphemed God, with your claims, while innocent blood are shed under your watch. Ahab’s soul must be itching to stand you in God’s dock for similar judgment as Ahab had gotten!!!!
I did not want to be so blunt because I had no confirmation of the above quoted story. I was alluding to this story when I mentioned that greedy people were moonlighting for Umana Okon Umana. The incidence quoted above, had been reported some weeks ago. Umana Okon Umana had failed to issue his usual “Press Release” – synonymous with defending their unabated, unimagined, and unhidden corruption. I guess they know that the honest public has caught on to their lies by now.
The sharing of that loot is the major reason former thugs and would-be thugsare singing Umana Okon Umana’s praises, and throwing mud at any who disagrees – they feel badly for missing out sharing the looted funds which Umana Okon Umana distributed among members of his cultist gangs. They feel strongly that their time will come, hence their mud-throwing and attempted warnings to members of the public to back off from calling Umana Okon Umana the names Umana Okon has EARNED for himself. They dare not hear anyone ask Umana Okon Umana to account for his illicit wealth – they know he will never be able to explain how he got it. BUT someday Umana Okon Umana will tell where he got all that money!!
It is GREED, not poverty, which has pushed many character-less people to support the present cultist jackals in Akwa Ibom State. A man’s worth is in the content of his character; (so also for women, forgive me!). A time-tested and proven saying whose truth can be discerned far, far, far, far, far – – – – away from the worthless character, conduct and actions of greedy sycophants, back-biters, idle gossipers, pretenders covering-up their criminal-minded backgrounds with godless prayer houses where they anoint with “bishopric keys”, name themselves “men and women of god”, rob the poor, commit adultery and idolatry, and practice cultism and secret satanic rituals out of sight of their unknowing congregation; all in the name of pastoral work. Because of them it was written – “The greedy bring ruin to their households, but the one who hates bribes will live”.
For greedy people, that is neither here nor there – they do not believe; yet the evidences are there right before their eyes, aside from the biblical passages they quote without commitment, which by the way bring punishment upon them and upon their posterity who agree with them. They will never ask – ‘how did Sanni Abacha die? Why did he die? Where are Hitler, Hussein, Idi Amin Dada, Mobutu Sese Seko and many others of that ilk?’ The other side of the coin, when flipped will seek to know if the likes of James Ibori, Olusegun Obasonjo and many in that group of corrupt despots are still enjoying their corrupt power today. But do not put that thought in the minds of the sycophants or their masters’!!!
Well Mr. Godswill Obot Akpabio, your days as governor are numbered. Regardless of who or what has protected you now; regardless of whom or what you may hope will protect you from your crimes after you leave office; the long arms of justice will reach you.
Mr. Umana Okon Umana, do you really want to be governor? Try seeking justice first for the hundreds of innocent blood spilled under your regime. Try clarifying your much-talked-about membership in Ogboni. Try answering questions on the unsolved kidnappings and murders, which corpses have littered the sidewalks and churches of Akwa Ibom State, ALL under your regime. Yes your regime – you will never shake off your connection to Godswill Obot Akpabio’s reign of infamy. You are tied to it like a conjoined twin. You know its secret just like any other member of the cultist organization closest to Godswill Obot Akpabio can claim such knowledge. All of you will go down with Godswill Obot Akpabio when Godswill Obot Akpabio goes down – your SINs, and CRIMEs and LIEs, and BRIBEs, robbing the orphan and the widow; individual and collective, are immeasurable – if man cannot exact vengeance, GOD WILL.
For those who support the kinds of rulers which Godswill Obot Akpabio and Umana Okon Umana are; god is on their lips frequently, just as the praise singers for Sanni Abacha used to swear that Abacha was the only man fit to rule Nigeria. And just as they quickly denounced Abacha, so will today’s sycophants and greedy men and women denounce Godswill Obot Akpabio and Umana Okon Umana. In their attempts to cover up the bribes which they have received from murderers to hide murders, from the corrupt to anoint the corrupt; the immoral have exposed their immorality and ungodliness; and have condemned themselves before man and before God. It is these people, who have enabled the Godswill Obot Akpabios and the Umana Okon Umanas of Akwa Ibom State to cover up their crimes, cultivate and nurture insecurity, so that they can continue robbing the public treasury without censure. It is they who are happy that the cultist government of Godswill Obot Akpabio is deficient and missing in its obligations to provide security; it is they who would not want to see the arrest and trial of criminals because they know who will be jailed and/or executed for committing murder, under the law. Many of them know who will be accosted by the law, should the Rule of Law return to Nigerian shores. Because they know, they are acting in various ways from allowing the law to be the guiding principle for governance.
Many of these people, unfortunately, live in the civilized societies of the free world, where the Rule of Law reigns supreme. They are far away from the mess created by Godswill Obot Akpabio and Umana Okon Umana; helped by other henchmen of their insidious governance in Akwa Ibom State. Every now and then, the henchmen of the pack living in the United States and in other law-abiding nations of the world are paid to visit Akwa Ibom State, by the government of Godswill Obot Akpabio, for the sole purposes of singing Godswill Obot Akpabio’s praises. They are provided with free transportation, free accommodation, free food, and are assigned protection from and by cult members, OR by bribed-out corrupt cops; often women of easy virtue are thrown into the bargain for their after-wards-boastful-claim of paradise on earth. Many of them, on such trips, do not remember where their parents’ compounds were once located; before they return from the land-of-no-return to their secure and safe abodes abroad. They line up to worship at Akpabio’s feet when he and his henchmen make one of their numerous hide-the-loot-trips to America, when Clement Ikpatt becomes their commander at such functions, and other soulless beings beg for inclusion, claiming ‘I am this, I am that’ in order to sway their self-imposed exile-in- America boss to cut a deal with them. Others get paid to lie and to defend what are defenseless, and like Clement Ikpatt they are afraid to venture out to Godswill Obot Akpabio’s insecure kingdom despite assurances by the mafia boss. Yes they enjoy the freedom, the safety and security provided by their hosts governments in foreign lands, yet cannot shake their shady and insidious characters; yet have denied to others residing in Godswill Obot Akpabio’s and Umana Okon Umana’s fiefdom the same security and safety they enjoy abroad; by continuing to heap praises on these men who have destroyed our God-given heritage. Conscienceless men and women supporting the insidiousness of corrupt governance by the duo – Godswill Obot Akpabio and Umana Okon Umana – are quick to seek ‘respect’ for their corrupt masters and for their immoral selves.
Once again, since I know that both have always protested being linked to the disappearance of public funds in Akwa Ibom state; since I know that either wants to be seen as clean and decent; since either has denied knowledge of the causes of murders and kidnappings, yet will not aid in solving those crimes; I ask on behalf of those who cannot do so, for Mr. Godswill Obot Akpabio and Mr. Umana Okon Umana to name their financial holdings, before they joined the government of Akwa Ibom state. Your”excellencies”, how much is each of you worth today, compared to what you were worth before you joined the government of Akwa Ibom State? If you cannot supply the documents relating your financial worth before becoming SERVANTS of the people, then NEVER argue that you have NOT ROBBED the people – your ostentatiousness speaks for who you are; and for where you got your wealth – by STEALING from the rest of us. Since none of you can provide substantial evidence of your financial worth before joining the government of Akwa Ibom state, tell your wild-eyed, sycophantic and timid bunch to desist from throwing mud at those who call you by the names you deserve!!!
Born into greed, living in greed, cherishing greed, killing for greed, defaming for greed, lying for greed, kidnapping for greed, praising for greed and shamelessly opening their lying mouths on behalf of corrupt persons who may sometimes not even solicit their help, these sycophants and characterless people have destroyed our beloved State in the same vein as Godswill Obot Akpabio and Umana Okon Umana have bred and sustained insecurity, hunger and corruption. Like prostitutes, sycophants want to be noticed by the corrupt in positions of power and authority. Like prostitutes they will stop at nothing to make their beds even with lepers. Like prostitutes they flirt with lepers without caring to know if the leper will give them money sufficient for treating their contracted leprosy. This is the reason decent characters should have no respect for such men or women; or for their masters and their mistresses – if they do not care about what happens to them, how can they care about what they say or do to others? They display same character and attitude which has become the exclusive preserve of murderers, kidnappers and assassin-payers.
It is for such men and women that I reserve my most acidic pen – they are everything which the brazen murderer and rouge are. They deserve nothing but repudiation, jail, and condemnation by the public. Time was when shame used to limit the immoral conduct of such men and women. Not anymore because many of us have decided to join ranks with them, or remain quiet for reasons only known to the timid. After their masters, mistresses and colleagues caused the deaths Mrs. Udonwa, Justin Edet, Emmanuel and Matthias Ekpenyong, Barrister Udonwa, Paul Inyang and hundreds of others; many like me decided to shout against them from the roof tops. And many like me will continue to do so UNTIL JUSTICE is secured for the wrongly murdered, kidnapped and intimidated. Neither their corrupt powers nor their silvery-lilied tongues can stop me from repudiating their criminality and immorality. No insults, no false accusations, no desecrating of a good woman’s name who was my beloved wife and the mother of the finest kids in the world, no insinuations, no depositions, no threatened court actions, no lies, no pleas and no threats will stop a decent man like me from writing against their crimes and immorality. No decent man or woman should stop from repudiating rouges and vagabonds. The criminally-prone have reasons for seeking to injure me; but what they do not understand is that their injurious attempts are nothing compared to the harm involved in the deaths of hundreds of innocent souls, caused by the neglect and criminal practices of the Akpabio administration; or the suffering of the downtrodden, who are dying of hunger because they have colluded with their corrupt masters to inflict pain and death upon the innocent.
Sycophants and masters, cultists and political touts, the greedy and the lying are rouges and vagabonds. Who disagrees must be in the same rank with them.
These lying and murderous beings had crossed the line in the sand, set by all honest humanity, when they caused the murders and non-conviction of the murderers of the innocent; gunned down for political reasons. I hasten to ask Godswill Obot Akpabio – who stood to gain from the murder of Mrs. Udonwa and the attempted assassination of her son? Mr. Godswill Obot Akpabio will provide the answer to that question, before man and before God. No one will ever forget those souls gunned down because of politics, as practiced by Godswill Obot Akpabio and his cultist henchmen and women; UNTIL their souls get justice. I will be here to remind the world. I will be here to remind God about their deaths; and to implore HIM to remember HIS promises.
Mr. Umana Okon Umana, as a perpetual senior government official, can you name the sources of your wealth? You must. You too, will supply those sources to the public and answer all questions arising thereof before man and before God.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has reiterated its determination to make sure that the party at all levels is not controlled by any individual or group, saying; “The only way we can win the next elections and regain what we lost in the South-West is for all our members, including those who left the party to come together as one.”
The party, which said the position presented at the last National Working Committee (NWC) meeting by the National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Chief Segun Oni was in the best interest of the PDP in the South-West zone, added that; “those sponsoring media attacks on the Zonal Chairman because of his call for the inclusion of all interests in the running of the party in States like Oyo and Ekiti are only looking at the party they can control and not what the party can control.”
Zonal Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Kayode Babade, who made this known in a statement issued today
noted that even though the electorate in the South-West are favourably disposed to the PDP, we must on our part manage our differences maturely to create a party of focus that can take over from the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the various states.”
Babade however urged the NWC to be mindful of situations where reports submitted during its meetings are already subjects of public discuss even before the end of the meeting, saying; “it is dangerous for our party for people to be sending text messages to disclose what was being discussed at sensitive party meetings as that of the NWC even while the meeting was still going on.”
“We wish to state once again that the South-West Exco will not succumb to blackmail from any individual or group, whose sole aim is to have the party in their pockets.
“As maintained by the Zonal Chairman, Chief Segun Oni, there are two sets of contenders for the party here in the South-West. There are those who are after the party they can control by making the party small enough to fit into their pockets and those who are after what their party can control by making their party big enough to win elections and control power at state and Local Government levels.
“If PDP must bounce back and regain what we have lost, we should never allow those who are after the party they can control by making the party small enough to fit into their pockets to have their way. PDP should be a party for all and that is the agenda we are pursuing.
“Therefore, members of the State Working Committee in all the states in the zone should have it at the back of their minds that the Oni-led Zonal Exco does not have any personal score to settle with anyone.
“Rather, what we are after is a strong and united party and whatever that it will require to achieve this should be supported by all members of the party.
“As for us in the Zonal Exco, if it means sacrificing our positions for the party to be united and be able to win elections, we are ready. For us, no sacrifice should be too much to make our party big enough to win elections and control power at state and Local Government levels,” Babade said.
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State in a group photograph with some of the Delta Athletes to the 18th National Sports Festival tagged, Eko 2012 during the Governor’s visit to the contingents in their various Camps in Lagos. Pix: Bripin Enarusai
*urge citizens to eschew religious and primordial sentiments
*Silverbird honours Obi, Uduaghan and others
The Senator representing Anambra South zone, Dr Andy Uba has appealed to Anambra citizens to ensure that only the right hand succeeds Gov Peter Obi in the forthcoming 2014 governorship election in the state.
This call came on the heels of similar one by another politician and governorship aspirant in the next election in the state, Dr Obinna Uzor, for the people to eschew any form of divisive and primordial tendencies when choosing the successor to the incumbent governor Obi, come next year.
Both men in their separate interviews with journalists at the 3rd anniversary celebration/awards ceremony of the Silverbird Communications, owners of the Silverbird Television and Rhythm radio station in Awka yesterday noted that every patriotic citizen including Gov Obi wants the best man to replace the governor.
Uba want a humane and industrious man, while Uzor insists on someone who would be better than Obi. He said, “we are looking forward for someone would be better than Obi. Let’s get the best man for the job. Lets eschew every form of sentiments, religion, North, South or wherever, as long as he would perform for the people”.
Uzor pointed out that since creation of the state the people have been yearning for a disciplined leader who would work for the interest of all.
A member of the House of Representatives, representing Anaocha/Dunukofia/Njikoka federal Constituency and chairman House Committee on Environment, Iyom Uche Ekwunife urges everyone in position of authority to use same to better the lot of the masses.
Ekwunife who was represented by Mrs Patricia Ufochukwu acknowledged she worked hard to touch the lives of all her constituents through job creation, roads, street lights, widowhood support, rehabilitation of schools and libraries.
She praised the Siverbird group for a quality programming in the state in the last 3 years which she stated had improved viewer ship in the state.
In his address, the Business Manager, Mr Kelly Ihetu noted the unrelenting support of the citizens of the state, but pointed out that irregular power supply and low advert patronage have remained their greatest challenge.
They presented special merit awards to oil mogul- Prince Arthur Eze; Dr Uzor; Senator Uba; Govs Obi and Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta state; former Commonwealth Secretary-Chief Emeka Anyoku, Iyom Ekwunife, Mr Dozie Nwankwo.
Umana Okon Umana does not only think that he owns Akwa Ibom State, he also believes strongly that he is Akwa Ibom State. In a way, he is! At least since 1999, the man has been the only Akwa Ibom man to walk the corridor of power for as long as he has. By the time Akpabio leaves the office in May, 2015 (assuming he will), Umana Okon Umana will be in the power corridor sixteen years, beginning from the administration of Obong Victor Attah.
On the surface, his record appears impeccable; Director of Budget, Permanently Secretary (Ministry of Finance), Commissioner (Ministry of Finance), and now the Secretary to the Government. This does not include the once-in-awhile special appointments, such as an appointment of him by Godswill Akpabio as the Chairman of Ibom Industrial City Project in Mbo Local Government in Oron, a project which turned out to be a conduit for money laundering; till this day the Ibom Industrial Project, which was lauded to create 200,000 jobs, has not taken off the ground, despite billions of naira expended so far.
No one can dispute the on-the-job experience and Mr. Umana’s full knowledge of the inner operations of Akwa Ibom State Government and politics. And no one will also dispute the truth that with years of occupying high top positions in government, Umana Okon Umana has used the opportunity to make perfect his corrupt practices. Umana Okon Umana is a corrupt public official, who has collaborated with Godswill Akpabio since 2007 to loot the treasury of Akwa Ibom State dry, resulting in grinding poverty, acute hunger among the masses, and sporadic payment of worker’s’ salaries and sometimes outright non-payment.
Before becoming a public servant, Umana Okon Umana never owned, operated, or acquired any business. As a career civil servant, he is supposed to be on a fixed income. Today, he is the richest man in Akwa Ibom State and one of the richest men in Nigeria. His holdings as wealth include the alleged recently acquired a 10% of 49.9% equity shares of Bilfinger Berger of Germany, an international affiliate of Julius Berger Nigeria PLC. It is worth disclosing here that Umana Okon Umana is the chairman of the Finance and General Purpose Committee (FPGC). Because of his influence, a recent Internet report confirmed that Akwa Ibom is the only State in Nigeria that is awarding state contracts to Julius Berger without any recourse to due process or competitive bidding procedures for contract awards.
Come 2015, Umana wants to top-off his credentials with the title of “Governor.” In spite of public denials, the man has flooded Akwa Ibom State with campaign vehicles, T-shirts with his campaign loco are in prints, his thugs are busy recruiting foot-soldiers expected to steal voting materials (as it happened in 2011) so that Umana can win, no matter what. Nijaleaks published an article that on Friday, October 5, 2012, Umana invited 100 leaders of his thugs to a conference at the Monty Suite in Uyo. When Umana showed up for the conference, he came with more than N50, 000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira), which was shared amongst the thug leaders, each taking home between N250, 000.00 and N500, 000.00. According to the report, “it almost caused a stampede, as people were seen sharing cash they could not account for.”
Many Akwa Ibom people contacted have already made up their minds towards the political ambition of Umana Okon Umana. Some say the only reason Umana wants to be a governor is to continue in his quest to loot Akwa Ibom State Treasury. Others say he wants to be a governor so that he can protect himself and Godswill Akpabio against possible criminal investigations, such as for money laundering, inflated costing in contracts, and general abuse of power, which may be inevitable after they leave their positions in May, 2015. But Umana is not perturbed by what he refers to as “the ranting of my enemies.” He is set. He is discreetly campaigning. And he is spending money, a lot of money.
In spite of what his critics say, Umana has supporters. But if anyone asks his supporters for reasons they think he should be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State, all one will hear is this; “The man has money.” Ask again and this is what they will say; “Oh the man is the one with money to win the election.” Continue asking, finally they will say; “He is the only Ibibio man with money to win the election.”
While everyone has the right to support or not support a political candidate, it is sometimes amazing how anyone can have the nerve to distant Umana Okon Umana from the ills of Godswill Akpabio’s administration. When this writer asked some of Umana’s supporters why they want to support a man (for governor), who has been associated with all the killings, all the kidnappings, all the assassinations, all the stealing, raping, and all the political detentions on trumped up charges, I would be told that Akpabio did all those, not Umana.
If Umana Okon Umana was an underling in the administration of Akpabio, maybe I would listen to such arguments. But for a man, who is a member of the Executive and the highest-ranking civil servant, Umana Okon Umana is guilty by association. In fact, this is the one single reason many of his critics, including this writer, do not feel that for a man whose hands have been so soiled by the ills of Akpabio’s administration, he should not be the next governor of Akwa Ibom State.
It is important to state here that while Umana Okon Umana is the talk-of-the-moment and the only known person who has made public his desire to occupy the Hilltop Mansion, other yet-to-be-known individuals are lurking in the corner. Among them are Bassey Albert Akpan (the present Commissioner in charge of Finance), Ibanga Albert Akpan (Bassey’s brother), Nsima Ekere (the recently fired, sorry, resigned, Deputy Governor), Samuel Akpan (the architect of AKPF—Akpabio’s once dreaded secret police). Analysts agree that before the end of 2013, individuals with personalities that may end up changing the course of Akwa Ibom State politics for the 2015 gubernatorial race will emerge. Insiders say if that happens, Umana Okon Umana will be insignificant, his large storage of money notwithstanding.
According to one insider, who did not want his name mentioned, “Nobody likes Umana. The reason you see people rush to him like flies is because of poverty in Akwa Ibom, they want money, they don’t want Umana. What has Umana got to offer the people that he couldn’t since 1999? He has nothing to offer, except another opportunity to steal more of our money. When the right candidate emerges, we will support that person. Meanwhile, let Umana bring out all those stolen money, we will take it. It is not his money anyway.”
One day after his re-election President Obama ordered yet another drone strike in Yemen, killing an alleged al-Qaeda operative. In the process, our nation’s moral standing in the world was further downgraded.
Family members of the man killed are outraged and bewildered, wondering why their loved one was sentenced to death from above, rather than arrested and put on trial. They say that while Adnan al-Qadhi may have held an extremist ideology and may have lent some low-level support to al-Qaeda, he was not actively engaged in any terrorist activities. Relatives say the drone strike was a complete shock and that al-Qadhi could have easily been arrested, and, had he known he was being targeted, then he would have cooperated with authorities.
The details of this latest drone strike appear to violate the rules of engagement laid out by the President’s own counter-terrorism adviser John Brennan, who in April suggested drone strikes are only used when, “A significant threat might be posed by an individual who is an operational leader of al-Qaeda or one of its associated forces” and “capturing the individual is not feasible.”
As al-Qadhi’s brother told McClatchy news, “We could have made sure he turned himself in. If [he] was guilty of any crime, then arrest him, put him on trial.”
The United States used to stand for the rule of law. We used to pride ourselves as the moral beacon for the rest of the world. We didn’t summarily execute people without a trial. But those days are long gone, replaced by a semi-covert drone warfare program started by former President George W. Bush and ramped up by President Obama who has his own “kill list” and has ordered the drone execution of American citizens without due process, most notably Anwar al-Awlaki and his 16-year-old son who were blasted away in Yemen in 2011.
Driving this arguably illegal drone warfare program is a poisonous concoction of fear and nationalism.
The post-9/11 epidemic of fear that swept across the nation let Bush and Cheney completely remake America. It happened here at home, with a massive surveillance state and the destruction of civil liberties. And it happened abroad with a drone warfare program that is killing handfuls of terrorists while radicalizing thousands of average citizens. In countries we are not even at war with, people live in constant fear of robots in the sky and watch with horror as these aerial robots create cratered, bloody messes in their communities.
When Pakistan’s Foreign Minister was asked why so many people in Pakistan hate America, she responded simply, “Drones.”
And we’re doing all this in the name of stopping terrorism.
But the reality is Americans really don’t have much to fear when it comes to terrorism. Every year for the past decade, more people have died from slipping in their bathtubs just here in the United States than have been killed by Islamic terrorists worldwide…which has to be making bathtub manufacturers a little nervous.
But the greatest tragedy in this drone war is how we’ve forgotten the most basic moral principle of all: the Golden Rule – “Treat others as you wish to be treated.” It applies not just to preschoolers but also to global superpowers.
Consider this scenario: the Mexican government receives intelligence that a known narco-terrorist is holed up in a house in Arizona. They fly a drone over downtown Phoenix, fire on the building, completely destroying it and killing their target along with a handful of American civilians. How would we react? Fox so-called News would be calling for a return of the Mexican-American War!
What if a known terrorist affiliated with Basque Separatists was riding in a car down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and a Spanish drone flying above the city launched a hell-fire missile – obliterating the car, killing and injuring dozens of nearby civilians, and leaving a giant crater in the middle of a busy Manhattan street. Do you really think Americans would say, “Well, those drone things sure are a nice, tidy way to fight terrorists”?
Drone technology isn’t exclusive to the United States. In the not-too-distant future, any nation with a couple million dollars – which is pretty much every nation on earth – can have weaponized drones. And, tragically, by firing drones into a nation that we’re not even at war with, we’re setting a dangerous moral precedent for the future of drone warfare.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll shows that 83% of Americans support the Bush/Obama drone policy. We can’t imagine that one day these same drones might be used against us – by states or by well-funded terrorists simply following our example – or that our policies will probably spark a frenzy of drone wars around the planet. The hysterical fear of terrorists that Bush and Cheney hyped up so badly has caused us to lose touch with the Golden Rule.
America needs to claim the moral high ground and stop – or limit to combat situations – our use of weaponized drones.
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Governor Anayo Okorocha has effected a sudden change in the top management of Imo State University: Professor B.E.B. Nwoko has been removed as Acting Vice Chancellor while Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, the former National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is now the new Acting Vice Chancellor of IMSU. What immediately flashed through my wind was whether IMSU is under a demonic spell, a jinx and who would extricate this university from its litany of travails. Perhaps, there is a need to do a brief rehash of the travails of IMSU with special emphasis on the crisis that has bedeviled IMSU in the area of having a substantive Vice Chancellor for about four years.
It all started on Friday, 18th April, 2008 when the Chief Ohakim government set up a Visitation Panel into the affairs ofImoStateUniversity from 2004 till date. The panel was inaugurated by Her Excellency, the Deputy Governor ofImoState, Dr. Ada Okwuonu, on behalf of His Excellency, Governor Chief Ikedi Ohakim. The 10-member Visitation Panel was given 16 Terms of Reference as a guide. A cursory observation of the Terms of Reference and the composition of the panel betray the fact the panel was set up to achieve a set objective of sacking Professor Innocent Chuka Okonkwo, the then substantive Vice Chancellor of IMSU. A cross section of keen analysts felt that his major sin was that he hails from Orlu Zone and, worse still, he comes from the same village,Amaifeke, with Chief Achike Udenwa, the former Governor of Imo State and who had become a sworn enemy of Chief Ikedi Ohakim.Matters took a dramatic turn when Hon. Justice S.A. Nsofor JCA (Retd) who was appointed chairman of the Visitation panel declined the offer. Hon. Justice Nsofor who belongs to the generation of the great jurists in the Temple of Justice was not satisfied with whole affair hence he opted out probably because knew that the panel was stage managed for the purpose of crucifying Professor Innocent Okonkwo. He refused to play the role of the Biblical Judas who was used to betray and crucify the risen Christ.
The Visitation Panel received 43 memoranda from the public. It conducted public hearings and received oral evidence from 150 persons including documentary evidence from some of the witnesses, most of who were hostile witnesses. When the government released the White Paper on June 2009, it became overwhelmingly clear that the Visitation Panel merely carried out the biddings of Chief Ikedi Ohakim to sack Professor Innocent Okonkwo and all those who were loyal to him.
As already stated, the panel submitted reports in the sixteen areas under its Term Reference. Surprisingly, the only recommendation which was swiftly executed was the dismissal of Professor Innocent Okonkwo on the grounds of a number of trumped-up allegations. Professor Innocent Chuka Okonkwo swiftly addressed a press conference to express his innocence on the allegations.Professor I.C Okonkwo’s clarifications were published in the Announcer Express Newspaper of Monday,DEC 7-8th,and December 9th-10th,2009.As a market place of ideas,the Announcer Expess Newspaper donated free space to enable Professor I,C Okonwo to tell his story. Others who were sanctioned include the former Vice Chancellor of IMSU, Professor A.G. Anwuka, and a number of young academics and staff who were manifestly loyal to Professor Innocent Okonkwo(the so-called prof okonkwo boys). Dissatisfied with the White Paper report, Professor Innocent Okonkwo challenged the White Paper/Report in court. In a judgment delivered by Justice Nonye Okoronkwo, he was completely discharged and acquitted of all the alleged offences The court issued a consequential order that he be reinstated as Professor and Staff of IMSU and all his salaries and allowances must be paid in full from the day he lost his job up to date.
However the court did not allow his prayer to be reinstated as Vice Chancellor of IMSU because his five year tenure elapsed during the period he was in court. Dissatisfied with the denial of his rights to be reinstated as Vice Chancellor of IMSU, he has since challenged the decision in the Court of Appeal, Owerri. Since the case is in court, it may not be wise to go further into discussing it.
Since that judgment by Justice Nonye Okoronkwo, I have written several viewpoints calling on the then Governor Ohakim and now Governor Okorocha to reinstate Professor Innocent Okonkwo to serve out the residue of his tenure (about 14 months) but neither Ohakim nor Okorocha has acceded to my entreaties. I have severally made the point that the only authentic means of restoring tranquility and calm in IMSU is to use administrative fiat to reinstate Professor Okonkwo to the position of Vice Chancellor of IMSU. The injustice meted out to Professor Innocent Okonkwo cries to heaven for vengeance and I am afraid IMSU management will continue to be haunted and hounded by that injustice.
When Governor Okorocha became governor, I felt that he would regularize the anomally by reinstating Professor Innocent Okonkwo, more so, since he won the election as a Rescue Imo Governor. Unfortunately, he was given a bad advice by some bigwigs in the engine room of his government. Instead of reinstating Professor Innocent Okonkwo, he compounded the problem by appointing Professor B.E.B. Nwoke as Acting Vice Chancellor. He had earlier sacked the then incumbent acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Nwebo before appointing Professor Nwoko. I wrote a viewpoint in which I congratulated Professor B.E.B. Nwoko on his appointment but I was vehement in maintaining that the action was an escapist approach as the injustice meted out to Professor Innocent Okonkwo was still not redressed. I then asked in my viewpoint. “Is there any guarantee that Governor Okorocha will not sack Professor BEB Nwoko tomorrow”? Today, I am vindicated as “what goes round comes round”.
The only cogent solution to restoring normalcy in IMSU is to reinstate Professor Innocent Okonkwo and allow him to serve out his remaining tenure of about 14 months or thereabout. Within this period, the Governing Council of IMSU will commence the task of shopping for a new Vice Chancellor. A search committee will be set up to start searching for a Vice Chancellor to take over from Professor Innocent Okonkwo. This is the path of justice, equity and fair play. A Vice Chancellor is not a politician but an academic. It is only politicians that lose their tenure when they are arbitrarily sacked, suspended or the like. There are decided cases to corrobate the fact that while politicians don’t enjoy elongated tenure, the matter of academics and other employees who are on tenure many not be the same. Perhaps, while the Court of Appeal case between Professor Innocent Okonkwo and Imo State Government IMSU raises fundamental issues on a recondite point of law, Governor Okorocha should resolve the crisis by simply asking the Attorney general to withdraw the case from the Court of Appeal, Owerri and thereby reinstating Professor Okonkwo,more so since the court has declared him innocent of the allegations levelled against him.
I want to congratulate Professor Aloy Ukachukwu Awuzie on his new appointment as the Acting Vice Chancellor of IMSU. In fact, the appointment does not add much to his stature because, by his antecedent, he is already beyond a Vice Chancellor, so to speak. He was the President of Academic Staff Unionof Universities (ASUU) and Professor of landscape Architecture. In fact, some records state that he is the first (or is it the only) Professor of landscape Archtecture in Nigeria. As President of ASUU, he was “TheFirst Academic” in Nigeria for the duration of his tenure. Still, is there any guarantee that he, Professor Awuzie, will not be sacked tomorrow, more so, since he is an independent minded academic and ,above all, after six months, the Governor can decide to drop him in the same way other Acting Vice Chancellors were removed from office unceremoniously? In an ideal situation, an Acting Vice Chancellor should not serve beyond six months. So, on a general note, a Governor who sacks an Acting Vice Chancellor after six months has committed no offence. So, a governor can always give that reason to justify the sacking of any Acting Vice Chancellor since such a sacked Acting Vice Chancellor has no locus to seek judicial intervention as he holds office at the pleasure of the Governor. He can be removed like any political appointee who is not sitting on tenure. In a free and fair search for a Vice Chancellor, Professor Awuzie will always be the man to beat, more so, since the Visitor to the University, Governor Okorocha, now favours him. So, I still advice that Professor I.C. Okonkwo be reinstated and the search for a substantive Vice Chancellor after Professor Okonkwo should continue immediately.
One wonders why the Governing Council of IMSU which was constituted since December, 2011 has not been formally inaugurated. A situation where IMSU does not have a Governing Council for over a year is an absurdity. Again, IMSU is the only University that does not have a substantive Vice Chancellor for about three years. It’s a monstrosity which is deleterious to effective management of a normal university. Furthermore, IMSU is the only university that operates from a temporary site for over 20years. HABA!!!I am not aware of any other University with such dismal antecedents.
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Tasks facing Prof Awuzie:While we await the authentic reasons for the sacking of Professor B.E.B.Nwoke,I wish to state that the new Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof,Awuzie, is a classic case of a round peg in a round hole. In keeping with the adage that “a new broom sweeps well but an old broom knows all the corners”, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie is a combination of both a new and an old broom. He is a new broom as a newly appointed Acting Vice Chancellor and an old broom because he has been in the academia for over two decades and most of which he spent in IMSU and as Professor. Furthermore, as the former National President of ASUU, he has seen it all. So, ceteris Paribus, it is believed that he will not only sweep well,he knows all the corners.He is expected to roll his sleeves and get down to work immediately in order to resolve the myriad iof contentious issues which have made Imsu a hotbed of atavism,rancour and recrimination.One major dividend of Professor Awuzie’s appointment is that his presence will chase away all those academics in politics who have been using their positions in Governor Okorocha’s Administration to fan the embers of discord in IMSU.
Some of the problems facuing IMSU include the failure to inaugurate the Governing Council of IMSU.Although members of the proposed Governing Council were appointed since December 2011,the Governing Council has yet to be formally inaugurated .The Governing Coucil has Prince Arthur EZE of Anambra State as the Pro-Chancellor.It is expected that Professor Awuzie will create the enabling environment to hasten the convocation and inauguration of the Governing Council. It is pertinent to state that some members of the citizenry are not comfortable with some of the members of the proposed Governing Council.Some of the members played an active part in the travails of IMSU in the last Administration through the ignoble roles they played in the IMSU Visitation Panel and related matters.The Governor may deem it fit to rejig the list in order to enhance its performance in the long run.In fact,witgh Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie in power in IMSU,it is expected that the IMSU Governing Coucil can be formally inaugurated before the year runs out.It is as urgent as that.Until the Governing Council is inaugurated,no reasonable progress can be done in resolving the intractable problems in the university.
Again, IMSU has been running without a substantive Vice Chancellor for over three years. This is an abnormality which must be redressed now. No meaningful work can be done in an academic environment where there is neither a Governing Council nor a substantive Vice Chancellor. It is hoped that the cankerworm of interminable crisis will be expunged from IMSU presently. An ideal university is run with a full complement of a substantive Vice Chancellor, and a Governing Council and, of course, the Senate. It shall be the responsibility of the new Acting Vice Chancellor(Prof Awuzie) kick off the machinery to get these issues resolved now.
Professor Awuzie is expexted to make a strong case for the resolution of the Prof I.C.Okonkwo/IMSU case which is now in the Court of Appeal,Owerri. Governor Okorocha’s policy of withdrawing the White Paper on IMSU has been merely used to grant reprieve to some of those who were severely indicted in the IMSU Visitation White Paper report instead of using it to resolve the festering problems in IMSU..It has been used to fan the embers of selective justice.The Rescue Imo Government should decide whether it wants the case of the suspended Vice Chancellor, Professor Innocent Okonkwo, to be resolved through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or through the regular court .In deciding which way to go, Governor Okorocha should be fully briefed on the pros and cons of the various options available to resolve this protracted logjam between the Government and Professor I.C. Okonkwo.
The Governor should be fully briefed of the lingering litigation between University of Ilorin and the 49 lecturers who were sacked by the UNILORIN in 2001.The crisis which started in 2001 is still in the courts with no end in sight. What happened was that the Unilorin sacked 49 of her academic staff on the grounds that they participated in a strike declared by ASUU. The 49 lecturers challenged their sack in court and asked to be reinstated and also to be paid all their outstanding salaries and entitlements. On July 26, 2005, the Federal High Court, Ilorin, presided over by Justice Peter Olayiwola ruled that the termination of the lecturers without giving them a fair hearing was illegal and unconstitutional. The Court ordered their reinstatement and ordered for the payment of their outstanding salaries and allowances. The university challenged the ruling in the Court of Appeal, Ilorin. On July 12, 2006, the Court of Appeal, Ilorin ruled in favour of UNILORIN when it held that the university was in order by sacking the lecturers.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal, Ilorin was challenged in the Supreme Court. On December 11, 2009, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the Federal HIGH Court, Ilorin when it held that the 49 lecturers should be reinstated and all their outstanding salaries and entitlements should be paid to date (i.e. from 2001 to date).Even now, the lecturers have gone back to court asking that the Vice Chancellor should be jailed for non-compliance with the order of court.Unilorin is finding it difficult to pay the arrears, more so, since they allege that the lecturers were in other jobs during the period of their sack. The legal tussle is ongoing and we are watching with interest. Is this what anybody wishes for IMSU?
If a court of competent jurisdiction has ruled that somebody was unjustly sacked, why is Government afraid of sitting down with the person in order to settle out of court, more so, since the university cannot appoint a substantive Vice Chancellor while the court case persists. Do we need placard –carrying students before the Government resolves this impasse? Do we need an ultimatum from the National Universities Commission (NUC) before we attend to this singular crisis which was caused by the immediate past Administration in IMO State? Governor Okoroha who won the election on the crest of a Rescue Governor and Godfather of Education in Nigeria should not have any difficulty in rescuing all those who were the victims of the gross inequities, dichotomy, and injustice of the previous Administration. This matter has lingered because some academics at the corridors of power are giving the government toxic advice in order to serve their vested interests.Again, there is a feeling that some people both within and outside the university are enjoying some monetary leverage as a result of the huge legal fees that are being spent to retain the services of the lawyers who are handling this messy case for IMSU. This is why the Governing Council of IMSU must be inaugurated now so that Governor Okorocha can be availed of professional advice on how to resolve this issue.
I feel reluctant to state that the Commissioner for Education has been too silent and indifferent on the leadership tussle in IMSU.Often, people forget that there is a Commissioner for Education in Imo State. The Honourable Commissioner for Education who is herself a Professor and member of The Academy should please get down to work in order to redress the anomalies in IMSU. I regret that various efforts made to seek her opinion on the stalemate in IMSU proved futile. As a revered technocrat and Professor, she should assert her right over the running of IMSU, more so, at a time when there is no Governing Council and no substantive Vice Chancellor. She should not allow meddlesome interlopers and agents of vendetta and witch hunt in the political class to hoodwink her and hijack IMSU with the sole aim of fomenting interminable crisis in the university. The removal of Professor B.E.B. Nwoko should have been an opportunity to redress the injustice meted out to Professor Innocent Okonkwo. In fact, some youth groups in Okigwe had already indicated their willingness to accept the return of Professor Okonkwo as Vice Chancellor of IMSU. The reinstatement of Professor Okonkwo as Vice Chancellor would have obviated a new wave of agitation from the Okigwe nation who may now condemn the way and manner their son, Professor B.E.B. Nwoke, was removed; it is a missed opportunity to restore peace and tranquility in IMSU. But what does anybody lose by reinstating Professor I.C Okonkwo? Will his reinstatement pose any danger to either Imo State or to IMSU?
IMSU Permanent Site: Finally, it is heartwarming to hear that the Panel set up by Governor Okorocha to identify a suitable permanent site for IMSU has recommended Ogbaku in Mbaitoli Local Government Area. This is a perfect choice which must satisfy all interest groups inImoState. In fact, the IMSU Visitation Panel set up by Chief Ohakim recommended Ogbaku in its report on page 34 of the Government White Paper on IMSU Visitation Panel Report. Those who are pointing fingers on the Deputy Governor, Chief Jude Agbaso, are exhibiting shear perfidy and malice. On Ogbaku we stand because it is a line of least resistance.The panel that recommended OGBAKU was set up by the immediate past Governor,Chief Ikedi Ohakim. But, what is wrong with the present IMSU site in Owerri?I feel that with proper management of space, the present site can still be retained with several high rise buildings to serve the IMSU student community. Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie who incidentally is the new helmsman of IMSU is a Professor of Landscape Architecture and he is in a position to give professional/professorial advice on the suitability or otherwise of the present site to serve as permanent campus of IMSU.All in all,I am of the opinion that the only way to restore calm and tranquility on campus is to reinstate Professor I.C. Okonkwo to serve out his tenure as substantive Vice Chancellor. Within that period, the search for a brand new substantive Vice Chancellor should commence.It is not about Professor Okonkwo per se;rather ,it is about protecting the intergrity of the academics in general and the occupant of the office of Vice Chancellor(whoever he may be).In one of my viewpoints during Chief Okakim’s tenure,I advocated for the introduction of a bill by the ASUU-IMSU which will protect and strenghten the tenure of the Vice Chancellor.In the proposed Bill,IMO Legislature will approve a Bill to the effect that before the removal of a Vice Chancellor prior to the end of his tenure, Imo State Legislature will give its assent by a 2/3 vote.This is the only way to put an end to the arbitrary sacking of Vice Chancellors in Imsu.Since most of the members of the State Legislature are graduates coupled with the fact that the State Governor,Owelle Rochas Okorocha, is an Education-Friendly governor,any such Bill will be accorded expedited and accelerated approval. But what does anybody lose by reinstating Professor I.C Okonkwo? Will his reinstatement pose any danger to either Imo State or to IMSU?The answer is a matter for personal conjecture.
As the Acting Vice Chancellor,Professor B.E.B.Nwoke put in his best in order to move the university forward.One of the areas he exhibited a superlative performance is in the area of Inaugural Lectures.Perhaps, the inaugural lectures organized durind his brief tenure supercedes the total Inaugural Lectures organized since IMSU was established.It is expected that the new Vice Chancellor will keep up the tempo in those areas of excellence since management is a continuum.It is not necessary for people to embark on all manner of speculations on why he was removed as Vice Chancellor.In fact, there is no provision for an Acting Vice Chancellor in the Law establishing IMSU.Again, the creation of the office of the Acting Vice Chancellor in IMSU is an AD HOC arrangement which should not last beyond six months.So, if Professor B.E.B.Nwoke served over a year,it is possible that the Visitor of IMSU,Governor Okorocha, removed him as Acting Vice Chancellor because he has overstayed his tenure and not because he committed any offence or because he hails from a particular Senatorial Zone as is now being speculated by propagandists and those who do not wish IMSU well.However, this is a personal opinion as I am not speaking for either the Government or for Professor B.E.B.Nwoko.IMO is in the Hands of God.
