Before delving into the categories of poverty in such a naturally well-endowed nation, Nigeria – a pride that should have intoxicated Nigerians to render self sacrifices to salvage their country – I may pose this questionable question, “Is there a poor man in Nigeria?”
An unwell thought out answer would create confusion in the Nigerian context. This is because it is as much harder for a Nigerian to accept that he is rich than to accept that he is poor. Many rich Nigerians do not believe that they are rich. One of the famous Nigerian leaders once claimed that all he knew about himself was that he was comfortable, meaning that he does not accept being fixed into the two edges of wealth and penury.
Another past Nigerian leader severally, even while abroad, asserted that Nigerians are the happiest people on the mother earth. If such caricature statement is critically analyzed, it means that Nigerians – nay the greatest number of them – are happy. And judging from a philosophical aspect of happiness, it is a relaxed mind that attracts such abstraction. Where does happiness lie amongst Nigerians? This is another questionable question.
It is he who is contented that is he who is happy. How many Nigerians are truly contented – not pretentiously contented? Every Nigerian is a potential wealth expectant because there is wealth everywhere within the shores of the country. It is only when the possibilities are closed that their hope falls just as the grape is declared sour when it is beyond reach.
However, three levels of poverty are adduced from Nigerians. One, there are those who are poor but do not believe that they are so. For this group, they struggle – sometimes by all means possible – to find ways of keeping their bodies and souls together. They are not limited to:
– those begging on the streets
– those unable to feed thrice a day with good meals
– those unable to cater for their own children in terms of education, health and shelter
– those languishing in the prisons for trivial offences
Two, they are those who are not poor but they believe that they are equal to the poor. This group is made up of the insatiable minds who will refuse to pay a labourer his paltry reward upon the abundance they swim in. They compete to be the greatest in wealth amassment which arithmetically translates to impoverishing more Nigerians. One of such may be gathering the fortunes of a quarter of the entire population of Nigeria. They are not limited to:
– some politicians, including political prostitutes and sycophants
– some businessmen and women
– hardened criminals involving in bank robbery, pen robbery, 419, arms smuggling, kidnapping and bunkering
And three, there are those who are neither rich nor poor and they believe in what they are. This category constitutes an insignificant number of the Nigerian population.
Poverty is really a big challenge in Nigeria because there can be no hiding the fact that a hungry man is an angry man. The masses and the youth, statistics have shown, are poor. Poverty is the cause of many of our problems. It has led many Nigerians to attach no value and regard to life itself.
According to the former Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to a former President on Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Magnus Kpakol, in a paper titled, “NAPEP Programmes As Enabler For Rapid Economic Development In the South-South Region”, presented at the South-South Economic Summit in Calabar, the Cross River State Capital, 74 million Nigerians are poor. The figure, which was so as at December 2008, dropped by one million from 75 million in 2007. He said the population of the nation’s poor people was 80 million in 1999, i.e., when Nigeria returned to democracy.
According to him, the poverty rate was higher in the northern part of the country. His analysis showed the following percentage of the poor in all the six geopolitical zones of the country.
North West – 72.2% of its population
North East – 71.2% ‘’ ‘’
North Central – 67% ‘’ ‘’
South East – 26.7% ‘’ ‘’
South-South – 35.1% ‘’ ‘’
South West – 43.1% ‘’ ‘’
With the fact so nakedly stated, it means that a lot has to be done by governments at all levels to improve on the life of the people and enrich more of the people. The level of development of a people is measured by the number of the citizens who are well-off. Nigerians have not erred in any way not be well-off in the sea of wealth and bounties.
Jobs should therefore be created to engage the teeming population. It is only when this is done that majority will earn their livelihood from legitimate sources while corruption and anti-development factors would be reduced to barest minimum, if not completely arrested.
Daily Trust of Thursday, January 27, 2011 reported Nigeria’s high poverty level as gathered by governmental and non-governmental organizations in Nigeria. The report quoted that over 12 million youths as poor because they have no means of livelihood. It is dangerous to development.
The Punch of February 14, 2012 reported the National Bureau of Statistics to have said that 112.519 million Nigerians live in relative poverty conditions. This figure which was contained in the 2010 poverty profile report of the agency represented 69 per cent of the country’s total population.
Fears hovered that the figure might increase to 71.5 per cent in 2011as the 2010 figure showed data collected from 20 million households having an average of between four to six family members.
According to the report, the North-West and North-East recorded the highest poverty rates in the country in 2010with 77.7 per cent and 76.3 per cent respectively. The South-West geo-political zone recorded the lowest at 59.1 per cent. Among the 36 states of the federation, the report stated that Sokoto had the highest poverty rate (86.4 per cent), while Niger had the lowest at (43.6, per cent). As at 2004, Jigawa State had the highest poverty rate (95 per cent), while Anambra, with a poverty rate of 22 per cent, was the least poverty-stricken state.
In 2004, Nigeria’s relative poverty measurement stood at 54.4 per cent but increased to 69 per cent or 112.518 million Nigerians in 2010. Therefore, using the absolute poverty measure, 54.7 per cent of Nigerians were living in poverty in 2004 but this increased to 60.9 per cent or 99.284 million Nigerians in 2010.
Also, Leadership Newspaper of 3rdMay, 2012 reported a federal minister of youth development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, as declaring about 67million young Nigerians to be jobless, a figure out of which 80 per cent don’t possess a university degree. Bolaji, who addressed hundreds of youths at TY Danjuma Foundation’s ‘Career Day 2012: Developing capacity of youths to build successful careers and businesses’ in Benin City, Edo State capital attributed the high unemployment rate to years of failure at different levels, but explained that “lack of job is a consequence of lack of skills”.
At the Annual Microfinance Conference and Entrepreneurship Awards held in January 2011 in Abuja, the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, stated that 70 percent (105 million out of which were over 12 million unemployed youths, mostly educated and potentially productive) of Nigerians were living below the poverty line, up from 54 percent a year or two ago. Sanusi said such high incidence of poverty threatened national economic growth and development.
When will poverty be reduced to the barest amidst the vast natural wealth for Nigerians? Programmes upon programmes are mapped out to tackle this colossal setback to peace, unity and development of Nigeria. When will the correct programme take effect?
Muhammad Ajah is a writer, author, advocate of humanity and good governance based in Abuja. E-mail mobahawwah@yahoo.co.uk
Libya's former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi, left, with his late brother-in-law Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Gaddafi‘s former intelligence chief, who is wanted by France, the international criminal court and Libya, has been charged by Mauritania‘s public prosecutor in a secret court hearing, his first public appearance since fleeing Libya’s crumbling regime to the desert country.
Abdullah Senussi, a confidante and brother-in-law to Gaddafi, will face trial for entering Mauritania illegally with a falsified Malian passport, a crime that carries a maximum three-year jail term, a judicial source said.
Senussi, who had been held in a villa in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott since March, is alleged to be behind a massacre in Tripoli’s notorious Abu Salim prison, which left around 1,200 inmates dead, and triggered Libya’s revolt when lawyers sought to reopen the case last year.
A Mauritanian security official said an entourage of elite presidential guards had whisked Senussi overnight into the multi-domed courthouse. “He looked well, and seemed in good spirits under the circumstances,” the official said.
“Normally he would now be held in the main prison, but our understanding is he is staying in a special location guarded by troops,” the official said.
A judicial source said a trial was unlikely to begin soon. “A [trial start] date doesn’t have to be set for up to three years, so that will buy the authorities time,” he said.
France wants to try Senussi in connection with the 1989 bombing of an airliner over Niger in which 170 died. An ICC warrant is seeking Senussi for crimes against humanity in Libya.
British officials have also indicated they could seek access to him in relation to the Lockerbie bombing, in which Senussi is suspected of playing of a role.
Diplomats said there had been no clear indication what Mauritanian authorities planned to do with the high-profile prisoner. “More than anything else, the Senussi issue has been about smoke and mirrors,” a diplomat said.
Secret agents in the presidency are presently conducting a clandestine investigation of the Executive Chairman of Nigeria’s anti-graft police, the EFCC over an allegation that he collected N80 million bribe from multi-billionaire businessman, Wale Babalakin who is being investigated for money laundering by the agency, ireports-ng.com can authoritatively report.
The probe leaked to ireports-ng.com today by a top source in the presidency is coming barely 24 hours after it was revealed in London that three Metropolitan police detectives were arrested in the UK for taking bribes from agents of the jailed former Delta state governor, James Ibori.
In Nigeria, lawyer turned businessman, Wale Babalakin has been arrested and detained twice by the anti-graft agency for interrogation for allegedly using his company’s bank accounts to launder over N1.6 billion for Ibori. He is the chairman of Bi-Courtney Group, which is into infrastructural development and aviation among others.
According to information made available to ireports-ng.com by sources in EFCC about two weeks ago, Mr Lamorde had complained that the National Security Adviser, NSA, Gen.Andrew Owoeye Azazi was meddling in the investigation of the case against Babalakin. As a result, he ordered that the re-arrest of Babalakin on Wednesday May 9 during which his travel documents were seized and his photograph was taken for forensic purposes. Based on the information then, ireports-ng.com had reported on May 16 the preparedness of EFCC to charge Babalakin to court for money laundering charges.
It was however gathered today that the report had since triggered a chain reaction, with agents loyal to the NSA within EFCC writing a secret report on Lamorde to the NSA over a scheme to extort money from Babalakin. According to a top presidency source today, a secret investigation of the report was launched. Findings made available to ireports-ng.com today showed that “one Alhaji Ajiboye who is a very close friend and reliable front for Mr Lamorde had collected N80 million from Mr Babalakin but delivered N60 million to the EFCC chairman.”
The secret report further revealed that “Alhaji Ajiboye has been acting in similar capacity for Mr Lamorde in some cases presently being investigated by the EFCC. Our findings also disclosed that after Mr Babalakin complained of the treatment meted out to him during his interrogation on May 9, 2012 in the EFCC head office in Abuja, Alhaji Ajiboye promptly set up a secret meeting between Mr Babalakin and Mr Lamorde the following day, May 10,2012 at a secret location agreed to by all parties in the evening of that Thursday May 10, 2012.”
It went further to report that”at the meeting, Mr Babalakin had complained to Mr Lamorde that he was being maltreated and humiliated by EFCC operatives after he had parted with a whooping N80 million with a promise to give him a clearance letter due to concerns expressed by his foreign business partners while the EFCC chairman also complained that Mr Babalakin was talking to and sending so many people to him on the case. He specifically complained that he was not too comfortable with the involvement of the NSA in the matter. At the end of the meeting, a consensus was reached to keep sealed lips on all that has transpired especially the funds passed through Alhaji Ajiboye.”
The report also stated that”it was after Mr Lamorde was reassured that the NSA and indeed, no other person knows about the issue of money exchanging hands that Mr Lamorde and of course the EFCC developed cold feet on the case.”
The source however would not disclose what will happen at the end of the investigation of the alleged bribery case against the EFCC boss but assured that “i have instruction to keep you abreast with further developments.”
An Iranian soldier stands guard on a military speed boat during exercises in the Strait of Hormuz
TEHRAN — Iran’s navy said Thursday it saved an American-flagged cargo ship that was being attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Oman.
An Iranian warship responded to a distress signal from the US-flagged Maersk Texas, a cargo ship of 150 metres (500 feet) and 14,000 tonnes, which was besieged by “several pirate boats,” the navy said in a statement reported by the official IRNA news agency.
The cargo vessel “was saved by the navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran” on Wednesday, IRNA added.
The pirates “fled the scene as soon as they spotted the presence” of the warship. Maersk Texas “thanked the Iranian navy and sailed towards its destination safely,” it added.
It was the first time the Iranian navy protected a US ship from pirates.
Maersk had sailed from the UAE port of Fujairah, south of the Strait Hormuz at the entrance of the Gulf, and was headed for the United States.
Iran’s navy keeps a presence in Gulf of Oman to protect cargo ships and transiting oil tankers and also defend the country against potential threats.
According to Iranian commanders, Iran’s navy have carried out hundreds of anti-piracy operations, engaging in hundreds of armed clashes with pirates in the past three years.
The US navy patrolling the area have on a number of occasions rescued Iranian ships. The latest incident was in January when a US warship secured the release of 13 Iranian fishermen near the entrance to the Gulf who had been held captive by pirates for 45 days
The National Assembly [NASS] has acted on the reported allegation of the former president of Nigeria, Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, having labeled the national legislators rogues and theives. According to the information received by 247ureports.com the House of Representative Speaker, Hon. Tambuwal while presiding over a recent seating of the House refered the matter to the committee on ethics and privileges for investigation. It is recalled that on Tuesday May 22, 2012, Gen. Obasanjo questioned the kind of laws the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly make given that there are “rogues and armed robbers” in them.
As gathered, the ccommittee chairman on ethic and privileges, Gambo Dan Musa [CPC, Katsina] and his deputy Tobi Okechukwu were charghed with investigating and subsequently quizing the former head of state, Obasanjo by no coincidence. The members of thye NASS who spoke to our corespondent hinted that the chairman of the committee was “no friend of Obasanjo” while adding that the House Committee is anxious to invite the for president to the national assembly to answer to questions and to point out the rogues and theives among them.
While at a conference of the Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies in Lagos on Tuesday, Obasanjo stated specifically that “Integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong. Today, rogues, armed robbers are in the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly. What sort of laws will they make?”
The Senators did not take Obasanjo’s statements lightly. They have asked asking to specifically name the rogues and robbers in the National Assembly. Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), told journalists at the National Assembly in Abuja that it would be good for Obasanjo to mention names so that the National Assembly would “sanitise” the system.
“The National Assembly has a great respect for the person of the former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and we can never engage him in any talk-back. We just feel that he would help the National Assembly and Nigeria, in the spirit of transparency and openness, by naming those he knows in the National Assembly as rogues and robbers. If he does that, it would help us in sanitising the polity. We appreciate his role in the country, but we would further appreciate him and others who are concerned about Nigeria if they can let us have whatever information they have to check ourselves,” stated the Senator – who is also the chairman of the Committee on media.
Three new ambassadors to Nigeria presented their letters of credence to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Thursday.
They are Mr. Tagelsir Mahgoub Ali of Sudan, Mr. Paul William Lumbi of Zambia and Mr. Antonio Da Graca Correia of Sao Tome.
President Jonathan welcomed them to Nigeria, and assured them that the Government would work closely with them to improve and strengthen the already warm relations with their countries.
The new ambassadors expressed appreciation for the reception, and pledged to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation with Nigeria during their different tenures.
—
Musa Aduwak
for: Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity)
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest has challenged the
Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to tell Nigerians whether or not the
suspended President Court of Appeal (PCA), Justice Isa Ayo Salami is a
member of the party (ACN), saying; “the party and its allies’
continuous attack on President Goodluck Jonathan and other notable
individuals and institutions in the country over the suspension of
Justice Salami is a confirmation that the ACN has interests different
from the sanctity and uphold of the rule of law in the country.”
The PDP, which also alleged that ACN leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was
already plotting to bring pro-Salami reinstatement motion to the floor
of the Senate added that; “a Senator from Katsina State is being
persuaded to lead the plot and move the motion, with some other
Senators, mostly from the north being wooed into the plot, which is
mainly to embarrass President Jonathan and put him under fresh
pressure.”
Speaking through its Zonal Publicity Secretary, Hon. Kayode Babade,
the PDP said it was funny that the same ACN that kept silent when one
of its governors, Dr. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State refused to swear-in
two people recommended for appointment as judges by the National
Judicial Council (NJC) was the one attacking the president for
choosing to toe the line of rule of law on the issue of Justice
Salami.
“The questions Nigerians must now begin to ask these ACN people are
what their interest is in the Justice Salami issue? Why is it that
they are the ones defending the suspended judge, organising protests
and mobilising media support for him?
“Isn’t it now clear that Justice Salami actually sold Ekiti and Osun
States to the ACN and the party is now paying him back by standing by
him during his travail? More so that the travail was occasioned by the
ignoble role he played on the two controversial judgments?
“Perhaps, Justice Salami is actually the ACN Deputy National Chairman
(Judiciary) as now being said by members of the public, and the ACN
people should be bold enough to unveil his (Salami) membership status
in the party,” Babade said.
While also hailing President Jonathan for standing on the rule of law
on the Salami issue, the PDP said; “No responsible president would act
on a matter on which more than five cases are still pending, and
whoever that is pleased with the position of the president on the
matter should also approach the court.”
Police investigate the site of a car explosion at the city of Port Sudan
JUBA/KHARTOUM (Reuters) – South Sudan said Sudan attacked it with aerial bombing raids and ground artillery on Monday and Tuesday, accusing Khartoum of trying to sabotage international efforts for peace talks which the African Union hopes to restart next week.
Juba said its armed forces could retaliate if Sudan made further assaults, raising the prospect of a return to the fighting which the United Nations and the AU are seeking to prevent.
The two armies fought in border skirmishes last month after disputes over oil exports and border demarcation boiled over, following South Sudan’s birth as an independent nation in July.
The attacks on Monday and Tuesday targeted the area of Werguet, about 30km (19 miles) inside South Sudan’s territory in Northern Bahr Al Ghazal state, officials told a news conference.
Sudan’s army spokesman, al-Sawarmi Khalid, could not be reached on his mobile phone. There was no immediate independent confirmation of South Sudan’s allegations, and limited access to remote border areas makes such verification difficult.
South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said Sudan’s “acts of aggression” violated a May 2 resolution by the U.N. Security Council which ordered both sides to cease hostilities and settle their differences through negotiations or face sanctions.
Juba has accused Sudan of other attacks since May 2.
“This is a slap in the face of the United Nations and the African Union,” Benjamin said.
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been shuttling between Khartoum and Juba as AU mediator in the past few days, said he expected talks between the neighbors to resume next week.
“So the (AU) panel will be convening that meeting next week as agreed by the presidents of two countries,” Mbeki said after meeting Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir in Khartoum. He had met South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir on Monday.
“Now we have an agreement between President Bashir and President Salva Kiir that the two panels of negotiation … they will meet next week and look at all elements of the decision taken by the AU and the U.N. Security Council,” he added.
Neither side immediately confirmed a meeting next week.
Barnaba said South Sudan’s delegation was ready to fly to Addis Ababa but the question was whether Sudan wanted to talk. “We are ready to talk anytime,” he told Reuters.
Ibrahim Ghandour, a senior official in Bashir’s National Congress Party (NCP), repeated the government position that Sudan wanted to make peace but security issues had to be treated as priority.
“President Bashir told President Mbeki that Sudan was committed to long lasting peace with South Sudan,” he told reporters after the meeting. He did not say when talks might resume.
Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting rebels in Sudan’s border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile, charges denied by South Sudan.
(Reporting By Pascal Fletcher in Juba; additional reporting by Ulf Laessing in Khartoum; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
(Reuters) – Nigeria expects to renew onshore oil licenses with U.S. firm Chevron (CVX.N) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) by June, its oil minister said on Tuesday, following Exxon Mobil’s (XOM.N) renewal in February worth trillions of dollars.
Shell, the biggest operator in Nigeria, has onshore assets that can produce 1 million barrels of crude oil per day. It is partnered in these projects by Nigeria’s state-oil firm NNPC, Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI) and France’s Total (TOTF.PA).
“In order to show our commitment to a vibrant upstream sector … we have started the renewal of leases in good faith … renewals with Chevron and Shell are expected to be concluded by June at the latest,” Diezani Alison-Madueke said in the capital Abuja.
Several onshore drilling licenses that expired as far back as 2008 have been in negotiations between foreign oil majors, Nigeria’s state-oil firm and government for years.
Exxon signed 20-year oil license renewals on Nigerian assets producing around 550,000 barrels per day in February.
The Nigerian government has been reluctant to sign new deals or renew old ones until the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which is likely to increase royalties and taxes, becomes law.
But the bill has been stuck in the assembly for years and has been subject to numerous delays and amendments, with no sign it could be passed soon, leaving major regulatory uncertainties.
(Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by William Hardy)
