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How the Petroleum Industry Reinforces Blackout in Nigeria
By Ikechukwu A. Ogu
The following are incontrovertible facts about the Nigerian electricity sector: there is either no or epileptic electricity supply in about 90% of Nigerian homes and offices which, thus, depend on generators and spend fortunes fuelling same; Nigerians pay through the nose for electricity never supplied; the problem is more of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)’s penchant for denying Nigerians of electricity than the non-generation of adequate megawatts of electricity; Nigeria supplies reliable electricity to some neighbouring countries while her citizens have blackout; the touted recent improvement in electricity supply by PHCN is untrue; and the periodic hike in electricity tariff by the government is regardless of these ugly facts and the plight of Nigerians.
The foregoing ugly facts are acknowledged by all well-meaning Nigerians, including foreigners who either reside in or visit Nigeria. However, some Nigerians play the ostrich by making false claims about electricity supply in the country. They do this to either create the bogus impression among outsiders that Nigeria is “working” or be branded “patriotic”. I refuse to live in such a fool’s paradise. Let us face and present the facts as they are, as therein lies the first step to the solution.
Another group of Nigerians and their foreign allies, either knowingly or unwittingly, wish or work for the shameful, recurring state of affairs in our electricity sector and the attendant blackout to persist. Here, you find PHCN management and staff, generator sellers, government officials who pay lip service to the resolution of the electricity logjam, and the sham “private sector investors” whose interest in the power sector is only selfish and fraudulent.
Additionally, the despicable activities of the institutions and personae [in the downstream sector] of Nigeria’s petroleum industry bring them under this second group. They include the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), filling stations, fuel tanker owners/drivers, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), National Union of Petroleum & Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), importers of refined petroleum products, black marketers, etc.
Poor and unfortunate Nigerians, reeling under PHCN’s incessant blackout or epileptic electricity supply, queue up daily at filling stations for petrol, diesel and kerosene to fuel their generators and lanterns, in order to have light in the night. Sadly, however, the regulators and operators in the petroleum industry are indifferent to their plight, and rub salt in their wounds.
I have observed four ways in which the petroleum industry reinforces darkness in Nigeria. First is the failure of the Ministry and its parastatals to ensure the steady supply of adequate gas to the gas turbines which are supposed to generate electricity at the power stations. This, vandalism and (until now) Niger Delta militancy are always blamed for the non-performance of the power stations, although vandalism does not seem to affect Nigeria’s exportation of liquefied natural gas.
Second is the recurring artificial scarcity of petroleum products in Nigeria. This ugly incidence is caused by corrupt and greedy filling station owners, fuel tanker owners/drivers, PENGASSAN, NUPENG, importers of refined petroleum products, and officials of the Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC. Unfortunately, the NNPC mega/leased filling stations, supposedly established to “rescue” Nigerians from the malady of artificial fuel scarcity, are now part of the game. Related to the above is their failure to make cooking gas affordably available to Nigerians.
Except in the NNPC mega station at Wuse Zone 1, one hardly finds kerosene sold at any of the filling stations operated by NNPC, Agip, Texaco, Total, Mobil, Conoil and Oando within Abuja. For a commodity that is very essential to more than 90% of Nigerians, this failure cannot be justified. And it is amusing that NNPC filling stations which are prided as “mega” each have only a single pump to dispense kerosene! Yet, NNPC is the sole importer of kerosene in Nigeria!
Thirdly, officials of the Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC are guilty of dereliction of their duty to monitor and regulate filling stations. Even when they do so, it is rather perfunctory. Allegations are rife that they are easily compromised and turn a blind eye as greedy filling station proprietors rip poor Nigerians off through fraudulently adjusted meter readings and other underhand practices. Again, acting under the assumption that the NNPC mega/leased filling stations play by the rules, the said officials do not monitor them. Unfortunately, however, so much underhand practices go on there.
A visit to the NNPC mega station in Wuse Zone 1, Abuja reveals the inhuman treatment that is meted out to Nigerians by soldiers, mobile policemen and the station’s personnel. Men and women who go there to buy kerosene are often flogged, beaten, dehumanized and even driven away. Many of them sleep there overnight to buy kerosene, only to be so heartlessly treated by the operators and security men. Yet, it is alleged that in the night vehicles with drums are driven in and filled to the brim with petroleum products.
The fourth way is the agonizing refusal by most filling stations, especially the ones owned by NNPC, Texaco, Total, Agip, Mobil, Oando and Conoil to dispense petrol and diesel in jericans and generators to Nigerians. They claim that there is a directive to that effect by NNPC and DPR, and that defaulters are heavily penalized. What an unjust and anti-people directive! It is lame to argue that it is meant to check black marketers, mindful that filling stations usually arrange with black marketers to come in the night to make their illicit purchases. How does one who comes to buy 10 litres of petrol/diesel become a black marketer? Why should a man who comes to a filling station with his generator or its tank be refused fuel/diesel?
Furthermore, some filling stations dispense petrol/diesel to persons with generators but refuse same for persons with jericans. Is it reasonable to expect every body to move his generator from the house/office to the filling station? How does one move heavy-duty generators to filling stations to buy petrol/diesel? For instance, how do I move my 12-litre generator to a filling station when my car’s boot cannot take it? How does a poor Nigerian who owns a 4-litre generator (“I Pass My Neighbour”) move it, say from Nyanya to Mpape, in order to buy fuel, mindful of the great inconvenience and cost? Often, Nigerians cover long distances in search of petroleum products, owing to their recurring artificial scarcity.
The result has been that the filling stations which sell fuel in jericans charge consumers extra money for doing so, depending on the size of the jerican. Should this be the case? Are NNPC, DPR officials and filling station proprietors unaware of the seemingly intractable electricity problem in Nigeria? Faced with this problem, how else will common Nigerians fuel their lanterns and generators to light their houses/offices if filling stations refuse to sell kerosene, petrol and diesel to them? What is wrong with us? Why do some Nigerians derive pleasure from making life difficult for their compatriots?
The Petroleum Ministry, DPR and NNPC should urgently rescind the wicked directive against the sale by filling stations of petrol and diesel in jericans and generators. Again, the inhuman treatment meted out to Nigerians at NNPC mega/leased filling stations across the country should stop. The NNPC mega/leased filling stations should have adequate supply of all petroleum products (including kerosene) at all times, and provide more pumps to dispense kerosene to poor Nigerians.
The monitoring and regulation of filling stations should be taken seriously by the Ministry, DPR and NNPC, while close attention should be paid to the NNPC mega/leased filling stations. Routine visits should be made to filling stations at nighttimes and weekends, in order to check illicit sale of petroleum products to black marketers. Efforts must be doubled to ensure that all filling stations, at all times, have and dispense all petroleum products to all Nigerians at approved prices. Moreover, the Ministry and its parastatals should sit up and check policies and practices in the petroleum industry which are against the welfare of poor Nigerians.
Finally, I cautiously commend the recent NNPC/Capital Oil Kero-Direct initiative whereof kerosene is sold directly to consumers at N50 per litre. The scheme must not be a flash in the pan, but should be honestly sustained, intensified and spread to all nooks and crannies in Nigeria. It confirms the failure of NNPC and its mega/leased stations in this regard. Why has the NNPC – the sole importer of kerosene in Nigeria – which supplies adequate kerosene to Capital Oil for the Kero-Direct scheme been unable to do the same to its mega/leased filling stations?
Ikechukwu A. Ogu, a legal practitioner, writes from Central Business District, Abuja (ikechukwuogu@yahoo.com).
Fayose’s comeback bid to PDP shameful – Group
The purported come back bid of the former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr
Ayodele Fayose to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State
has been described as an “embarrassing insult not only to the state
chapter of the PDP but to the founding fathers and sensibilities of
the members of the party worldwide.”
A group in the party, Ekiti Patriotic Front (EPF) said in a release
signed by its Coordinator, Hon.Yomi Ayorinde that Fayose was not fit
to be re-admitted into the PDP just like that, considering “the level
of havoc he recklessly wreaked on the party.”
Hon. Ayorinde said that there was nothing cheering about Fayose come
back bid to the PDP, adding that; “it is shameful that some hungry
faceless people who were sponsored went to beg Fayose to come back to
the PDP. This is nauseating and embarrassing.”
He pointed out that “Fayose should even be ashamed of coming back to
the PDP, a party he denigrated and called all sorts of unprintable
names while romancing the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), and
currying favour from the party leader, Senator Bola Tinubu.”
“Having worked against the PDP in three elections, what else does he
want in the party?
“Besides, this man is noted for mischief and that he has demonstrated
on various occasions by moving first from PDP to the All Nigerian
Peoples Party (ANPP), Progressives Peoples Alliance (PPA), ACN and
then Labour Party (LP).”
Ayorinde said that Fayose’s come back bid was as a result of his
meeting a brick wall in his dwindled political career.
He said further; “If he has shame, he would not even talk of PDP any
longer. Here is a man who abandoned the PDP in 200, deployed his
resources and structure for ANPP in 2007, brought PPA to Ekiti and
re-branded all his vehicles and offices to PPA, which he later dumped
and eloped with ACN to work against PDP.
”In 2009 rerun election, he embraced ACN and vigorously campaigned for
Fayemi, only for the ACN government to reject him, prompting him to
move to Labour Party in 2010; now he wants to come back to PDP. Isn’t
that shameful?”
MASSOB Leader and 280 others regain freedom
Today, September 1, 2011, the MASSOB leader, Chief Ralph Uwazurike and 280 members of MASSOB were released from incaceration at 2pm in Enugu State.
According to the information received, Chief Uwazurike and the 280 others, were set free following a directive from the president to a reluctant Enugu State Attorney General, Tony Dike. Ralph Uwazurike is reported to be headed for his hometown in Okwe, Imo State.
Meanwile, the MASSOB leader the leader has begun preparations for the burial of fallen veterans of the Nigeria/Biafra war.
Stay tuned
Rivers State: ACN Renews Calls For EFCC Investigations
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Rivers State Chapter says it has been vindicated on earlier calls for anti-graft agencies to investigate the Operation Zero Potholes Programme of the Rivers State Ministry of Works under its former commissioner, Mr Dakuku Peterside and the activities of the Road Rehabilitation Committee in the state headed by Elder Chidi Wihioka.
The ACN, in a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Jerry Needam reiterates that the two interventionist programmes on bettering road conditions in the state are not only an unnecessary duplication of function but also a massive fraud and conduit pipes through which billions of Rivers State funds go down the drain even when no genuine efforts are made at achieving the purported objective.
The statement holds that the rains in the state have laid bare the huge jokes of the two programmes, thus confirming earlier fears that nothing good would come out of them.
The party wondered why roads and streets in Port Harcourt and its suburbs are rendered impassable as a result of the numerous potholes on them if they where sincerely rehabilitated only a few months ago.
According to the party, several billions of state funds were sunk into street and road maintenance in the state through the programmes, with the bulk now apparently gone without any benefit to society.
The party expressed regrets over the untold hardship suffered on a daily basis in Port Harcourt as a result of worsening road situation, especially along roads and streets such as Ikwerre, Aba, Nsimiro, Slaughter, Odili, Amadi Ama, Udi, Nnewi, Abakaliki, Timber, Abel Jumbo, Emole, Ojoto, Azikiwe, Illaobuchi, Emenike, Afikpo, Woji, Forces Avenue, Aggrey, Trans Amadi, Rumuomasi, as well as the Ada George, Iwofe, Ikwerre, Elioparanwo, Egbelu and Ogbogoro Roads, among others.
The ACN, therefore challenges Governor Rotimi Amaechi to prove his sincerity to fight corrupt practices in the state by ensuring that the operators of the two programmes are urgently investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies.
The party further holds that the present state of the roads and streets in Port Harcourt and its suburbs, put side by side the billions invested through the programmes a few months ago is one issue that will prove if Governor Amaechi meant well when he promised Rivers State that he would not take kindly to any acts of corrupt enrichment by any state functionary or other public appointees, and urges the governor to institute the investigations to assure Rivers people that their money is not being thrown into wrong hands that only corruptly enrich themselves to the detriment of the rest of the citizens.
Jerry Needam, JP
Publicity Secretary
Action Congress of Nigeria
Rivers State
Thursday, September 1, 2011
PDP might lose Kogi State if they conduct fresh primaries – Colonel Bello Fadile
The call for the conduct of fresh primaries in Kogi State has taken a serious dimension. In an exclusive chat with political journalists, Colonel Bello Fadile, a former aspirant in the race to govern the state and also a legal expert sheds light on whether to conduct a fresh primary election or not. Excerpts below.
What do you have to say about the communiqué issued by some gubernatorial aspirants in Kogi State?
Fadile: That was the essence of the meeting we had with the National Secretariat of the party to say that things have changed in the sense that if there is any issue to be discussed, it has to be done within and not on the pages of newspapers. And they were warned to desist from such acts.
Sir, what about the validity of the January Primaries that produced Alhaji Jibrin Isah?
Fadile: Has the ticket been used? And if you say there was a postponement in elections, you might want to ask whose fault was it? The right thing to be done is that Jibrin Isah’s ticket should be reaffirmed because there is nothing in the constitution or the electoral Act that says it should not be. I also think that it is a misconception for the case of Andy Uba of Anambra state to be cited as an example in this instance because in the case of Andy Uba, he got the governorship ticket, he contested for elections and won the elections. He also took an oath of office and he was sworn in as governor and so the ticket was used. But in this case, the ticket has not been used and there is no defect in the ticket because the court validated it. And for that I do not see the sense in conducting fresh primaries because there is a candidate whose emergence as the flag-bearer has not been voided and cannot be voided because it falls within the stipulations of the electoral Act.
What about the time frame for the conduct of primaries and the actual time of elections?
Fadile: Because somebody made a mistake and announced a date and the date was shifted, would you now hold the candidate liable? The electoral Act is very clear as regards this. It states that the parties decide how they conduct their primaries and the electoral Act gave two options: direct or indirect primaries. When you have one aspirant, as in the case in Kogi State now, all you need to do is affirmation. And so under the circumstance that we have found ourselves, we already have a candidate and it is within the prerogative of the party if there is discipline to say gentle men we have a candidate already all we need to do is reconcile. Interestingly the process of reconciliation in Kogi State has already started because the Jibrin Isah ticket meant the position of deputy governor is for Kogi West and speaker of the House of Assembly for Kogi Central and governorship to Kogi East. And the speaker of the House of Assembly is from Kogi Central. Don’t you think we would be inviting chaos if we decide to go back again to conduct fresh primaries?
What about the recent defection of Prince Abubakar Audu to the ACN?
Fadile: The ACN forgot that Kogi is not a Yoruba state. It is also not a homogenous state like most Yoruba states. Another fact is that Prince Abubakar Audu has outlived his usefulness and I don’t think the ACN would want to field such a candidate. I read in one of the dailies that Bola Tinubu asked Abubakar Audu to go and finish his case with the EFCC before he can contest under ACN platform. And I think that may be responsible for why Ubolo Okpanachi is crossing over to the ACN.
Don’t you think internal wrangling in the PDP in Kogi State might affect its chances in the forthcoming elections?
Fadile: Once they instill discipline and the PDP picks an Igala man in the caliber of Jibrin Isah that has tremendous acceptability in the state, they won’t have any problem. That is my own assessment. But again the problem might be amongst the Igalas themselves, especially those that are supposed to be elder statesmen still wanting to be governor.
Do you think Governor Idris will switch support for Jibrin Isah?
Fadile: I don’t see him doing that because it is not in his interest to change side at that critical and late stage. That will not speak well about good leadership because a leader should be firm and flexible, but this situation is not one to bring in the principle of flexibility because there is no obstacle. And don’t forget also that in the affected states; it is only Kogi State that the governor is not returning for a second term.
Are you saying that Jibrin Isah’s ticket is still valid?
Fadile: INEC gives guidelines, but the preparation to the elections is in the hands of the PDP. In this instance, they have chosen 160 days instead of 30 days because the electoral Act stipulates that elections must be conducted 160 days before the expiration of the incumbent and that is the crucial aspect. The electoral Act says elections must be conducted within 160 days or latest by 30 days and in this instance, when the party has a candidate, what they need to do is reaffirm the candidate because they had conducted a primary that was witnessed by INEC and they do not intend to change that candidate. And now I think it is a leadership issue for Governor Idris to call everybody to say that Jibrin Isah is our candidate and we have given him the ticket earlier and it would be unfair and improper and also an act of indiscipline to go against the party directives. And in such case, INEC has no say because it is still within the electoral Act in the conduct of primaries.
In some quarters, it is believed that Jibrin Isah has a case with the EFCC?
Fadile: Jibrin Isah is a prosecution witness in the Afribank case and so he doesn’t have any case.
And so when you say somebody is a prosecution witness, what do you mean?
Fadile: it means that he is simply a star witness that can be relied on. Don’t forget that that the constitution interpreted indictment as only when you are tried by the court of law and given judgment and found guilty. And administrative indictment does not stand as bar under the constitution. It is only a person that is found guilty by the court of law that can be denied running for elective post.
Would it be safe to say that Jibrin Isah,s ticket will be reaffirmed?
Fadile: That is my belief because the law is on his side and the leadership of the party in the state are on his side and it would be in the interest of the leadership of the party at the National level to allow his ticket to stand if they don’t want disaffection in the party because he has his tremendous followership especially amongst the youths and don’t also forget that he also has the support of the House of Assembly, he has the support of the elected members both in the state and federal levels, including senators. They have all endorsed him and come out to say that there is no need for fresh primaries. In truth, I don’t see the PDP conducting fresh primaries in the state. But if they want to lose the elections, they should conduct fresh primaries and see the number of people that will decamp to the opposition.
What do you have to say about AbulRazak Kutepa?
Fadile: Abdul Razak Kutepa can be referred to as a “settler” because his is originally from Bassa but his father was a settler in Lokoja. He cannot represent Kogi West for now because when you are talking about the west, you are talking about the Okuns who are struggling for power rotation and he is not Okun, but Bassa, a minority in Kogi East. So with the present realities on ground and in the event of a power shift, I believe the Okuns will identify who really is or not because this time around, it’s not a question of money.
Press Briefing By The Northern Zone Of The Jonathan Project Held At The Chancellery Hotel, Wuse 2 Abuja On Thursday September 1, 2011
PRESS BRIEFING BY THE NORTHERN ZONE OF THE JONATHAN PROJECT HELD AT THE CHANCELLERY HOTEL, WUSE 2 ABUJA ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
Gentlemen of the Press,
Welcome to this Press Briefing by the Northern Zone of the Jonathan project. We are a team of non-partisan young professionals who have decided to throw our weight behind President Goodluck Jonathan and his administration and our goals are directed at building a responsive followership that will support the leadership in the much needed march towards ensuring that our great nation is on the right pedestal towards economic prosperity.
1. UN Building Bombing
Our attention has been brought to the spate of bombings in parts of Northern Nigeria, the most recent being the recent bombing of the UN building in Abuja by renegade elements who hide under a religious cloak to unleash terror on well meaning Nigerians and residents. It is indeed very sad that while the nation is yet recovering from the bloodletting that followed the elections widely acclaimed as the best in our recent history, these bandits are still destroying innocent lives and properties. We condemn this barbaric act in its entirety. It is shameful, devious, demonic and barbaric and a by-product of extreme cowardice and should be widely condemned by all well-meaning Nigerians. It is common knowledge that Islam is a religion of peace, therefore any such group that resorts to taking people’s life is an outright terror group and should be treated as an enemy of the state.
As progressive youths of Northern Nigeria, we are greatly appalled by these acts that have become all too rampant in our region. It is obvious that certain crumbling elements who had been thriving under the old order, seem bent on preventing the dividends of democracy from trickling down to the masses whom they have suppressed for decades. We owe it as a duty to speak up and condemn these acts of banditry and brigandage.
We stand on the teachings and the solid foundations of our fore fathers who thought it wise for us to co-exist peacefully to condemn any terror group meant to destabilize this country. Our unity is sacrosanct and we must not allow any such group to threaten the binding forces that hold us together. We also call on other well-meaning Nigerians, community leaders, religious leaders, youth leaders, etc to galvanize support and help to fish out these criminals who are bent on making Nigeria ungovernable. This country belongs to all of us and we must not sit quietly and allow certain elements disrupt our collective good and stability.
Our security apparatus MUST be overhauled and primed to forestall any further occurrence. Anyone found wanting or short of expectations should be REMOVED with immediate effect. The security units must self-cleanse itself to ensure there are no officers that compromise the integrity of the system. A situation where security personnel will aid the escape of a terror suspect is worrisome and disturbing. They must be proactive rather than just reactionary. The life of every single Nigerian is far too important to be toyed with.
We also charge all Nigerians to be their brothers’ keeper. Globally, Security Agents rely on intelligence from the public to combat terrorism. If we continue to harbor these criminals in our midst and not give them up, then very little can be achieved by the security agents. Antecedents have showed that terrorism knows no face – you might be the next victim if you don’t give them up today.
2. The Almajiri problem
We are also calling on government to as a matter of extreme urgency tackle the issue of Almajiris in the north as promised. The process of integrating these young Nigerians into the drive towards improving the economic and social well-being of their societies and the country at large needs to be fast tracked. As the Nigeria strives to achieve the vision of becoming one of the 20 top economies by the year 2020, it is important to convert all its human resource potential into real human capital.
3. Jos and Ibadan
We will also like to use this opportunity to condole with the victims of the recent crisis in Jos, the Plateaus state capital and call on the security agents within the state to ensure that all those responsible for the destructions and loss of lives are brought to justice. The blood of the innocent should not be shed in vain.
We also commiserate with the people of Ibadan, Oyo state in this trying time. As they struggle to come to terms with the destruction caused by the weekend’s flood, we urge state governments to embrace more proactive measures in combating such threats. Despite the flood warnings issued by the Nigerian Meteorological agency very early in the year, many states were caught unprepared and many lives needlessly lost.
4. Pursuing accountability in governance
Finally, as one of the projects towards ensuring accountability and responsibility in governance, Project Jonathan will soon commence the monitoring of political appointees and tracking their progress in policy implementation, project execution and all other areas that their service delivery is measured.
We will leverage on the recently signed Freedom of Information Bill to gain access to needed information and prepare and present our assessments to the country periodically.
Mohammed Danjuma
Leader, Northern Zone
The Jonathan Project
Divide Nigeria In Peace Now Or Address The Injustice
The more the beneficiaries of this colonial fraud called Nigeria make believe that all is well with Nigeria, the more they attract doom, odium, and opprobrium to that name Nigeria. Please tell me what makes us one Nigeria if not for the colonial interest that the slave masters amalgamated all the countries they invaded within “Oduduwa Republic”, “Republic of Biafra” and also “Arewa Muslim Nation” and called them Nigeria. Our cultures are irreconcilable, our religions and mode of worships are poles apart, our mentalities are so different and even our languages are absolutely strange to each other. In 1947 Chief Obafemi Awolowo said “Nigeria is not a nation. It is a mere geographical expression. There are no Nigerians in the same sense as there are English, Welsh, or French. The word Nigerian is merely a distinctive appellation to distinguish those who live within the boundaries of Nigeria and those who do not.” Nobody has got that audacity in Nigeria now to say contrarily to the above declaration. In 1948 Mallam Abubakar Tafawa Balewa said “Since 1914 the British Government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite. Nigerian unity is only a British intention for the country.” This testimony came from the first Prime Minister of the fraud called Nigeria. Can you be more catholic than the Pope? We are just incompatible – no love, no tolerance and no similarity by all ramifications. One of the creators of this fraud and harm called Nigeria Sir Peters Smithers who was a cabinet minister during the colonial regime admitted the wickedness of the British colonists when he said in 1998 “The creation of Nigeria involved forcing several different ethnic, cultural and religious groups into one political structure. In retrospect of forty years, it is clear that this was a grave mistake which has cost many lives and will probably continue to do so.” Yes, it has cost more the lives of the Igbos and their properties than any other nation in the fraud called Nigeria. Ndi Igbo are made scapegoats at any crisis in the north; call it politics or religion they have always been provocatively at the centre of massacre and their properties looted and destroyed without anybody held responsible.
We have not forgotten what led to the Nigerian Biafran war and how Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the great “Ikemba” of Nnewi, the “Eze” Igbo “gburugburu”, and the man who saw tomorrow had tried to save the future of his people from the agony that awaited them in this forceful marriage, but was betrayed by some people who had not kept to their promise out of ignorance of what the future was holding and out of selfishness. We have equally not forgotten how the Igbo pregnant women cried and died in pains when their wombs had been wickedly opened with cutlasses and their children had been brought out cruelly during the war. It is equally painful to remember the deaths of our children as a result of malnutrition.
We have not forgotten that at the end of the Nigerian civil war, it was declared “no victor, no vanquish” by the then head of state, General Yakubu Gowon. But what followed after the declaration was a systematic disenfranchisement of Ndi Igbo. Every Igbo man was inconsiderably given only twenty pounds to start life, while their properties were jealously and wickedly confiscated and declared as abandoned properties.
In retrospect, immediately the British colonialism ended, the Igbos dominated Nigeria’s economy. Irrespective of the callousness of the federal government of Nigeria to them, they were the true patriotic symbol of one Nigeria because there was no city you would go to that you did not see the presence of an Igbo man through his business or landed properties. They were the mechanism in which development had stood in almost all the cities of the federation called Nigeria. Any city you go to in Nigeria now without seeing big presence of an Igbo man run for your dear life as that city is doomed.
The first ceremonial president of Nigeria, the “Owelle” of Onitsha, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe said in 1964 “I have one advice to give to our politicians. If they have decided to destroy our national unity, then they should summon a round table conference to decide how our national assets should be divided before they seal their doom by satisfying their lust for office. I make this suggestion because it is better for us and many admirers abroad that we should disintegrate in peace and not in pieces. Should the politicians fail to heed this warning, then I will venture the prediction that the experience of the Democratic Republic of Congo will be a child’s play if ever it comes to our turn to play such a tragic role.” This was a man that was respected for his stand in one Nigeria, a true son of Igbo land and an emblem of Nigerian unity, but one Nigeria failed him even in death.
The Nigerian people seem to have been subdued to stoicism otherwise the injustice in Nigeria is stinky that no free mind can stomach. Go to Ogoni Land in Rivers State you will pity the people: No road, no good school from the federal government, no good water to drink, no hospital, no jobs, no future and yet Ogoni people are very rich in oil. Ken Saro Wiwa alongside nine other Ogoni indigenes were unjustly roped in a kangaroo court and cruelly hanged by the then federal government of Nigeria for crying out against injustice to their people. The situation is not different in other parts of Niger Delta. Most people from Rivers and Bayelsa states are fishermen but because of the pollution of the water with oil they cannot fish again but the federal government does not seem to care. Some Igbo states are part of the oil producing states in Nigeria but were excluded as such by the federal government of Nigeria until they had to fight for their inclusion. The Igbo speaking states have the worst federal road network in comparison to other geo-political zones in Nigeria.
The political imbalance in Nigeria is too big even for the blind to see. Why must everything about the Igbos be unjustly politicized? Igbo speaking areas have the least number of states in Nigeria even though they are the most populated tribe, but more states were created in the less populated north. Why is it that the northerners are favoured in everything in this country? The allocation money meant for the then newly created local governments in Lagos state under Governor Bola Tinubu was withheld by the then federal government of Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo. It is very disappointing to note that Olusegun Obasanjo is a Yoruba man yet he tried to use his power to hinder the progress that was coming to Yoruba land because of dirty politics just to satisfy the northerners which he was still not able to do. But go to the north, they created more local governments for themselves and legalised them without anybody raising eyebrows, they manipulated even the national census by counting cows, fowls and their brothers/sisters from Niger Republic as Nigerians just to maintain the political suppression. As a result of this dishonesty they are more in number in the National Assembly and the House of Representatives. Tell me how you can pass a successful bill if that bill is meant to correct the injustice which they see as normal and birthright. They hide under the shadow of religion to cause us pains and because they derive joy from our sorrow that is why they always kill us at every little provocation. They are trying to make us hewers of wood and drawers of water in the midst of plenty and because they are not president Nigeria must be on fire. In this glaring cruel injustice, this misguided chorus of one Nigeria cannot stand. Therefore, divide this country now in peace and let “Boko Haram”, “Oduduwa Republic”, “Republic of Biafra”, “Arewa Muslim Nation” or more to go, if we are not ready to face the reality that we all must make a compromise.
It does not matter who is at the helm of affairs in the hoax called Nigeria, the situation of the Niger Delta people or the Igbos will never change because that Aso Rock is like a secret cult, when you are there your hands are tied and therefore obliged to join the overwhelming erroneous chorus of one Nigeria to the detriment of the Niger Delta people. President Goodluck Jonathan is a core Niger Delta man from Ijaw, watch out if there will be much difference in the state of infrastructural development in the Niger Delta regions after his term.
The whole idea about Nigeria was based on lies and deceit by the British people and I consider it evil until the so-called leaders decide to pick up political courage to address the injustice, the Niger Delta or Igbo people will continue to pay the price for one Nigeria.
Sunny Okosun of a blessed memory sang in one of his songs “Which way Nigeria? Since many years of our independence we are still finding it hard to stand. How long shall we be independent before we reach the promised land?” We can never get there my departed brother, under this shamble and fraud arrangement. The Igbo people have demonstrated enough willingness to be together with other tribes than other tribes of Nigeria. Therefore, shedding of the Igbo’s blood, looting and destruction of their properties for one Nigeria is no longer acceptable.
Margaret Thatcher said in 1998 that “It is difficult to govern a country like Nigeria. It is artificially created, divided into Moslem north, Christian and pagan south.” Yes, she was right, but who created this artificial country? She forgot that she was part of the evil that brought the different nations together as one Nigeria and benefited from the fraud more than any other individual. Though I acknowledge the truth but we don’t need her sympathy.
I was angry and disappointed to read in one of the Nigerian national newspapers where the IG of police tagged the Boko Haram members as cowards. Please, Boko Haram members are surely not cowards. Macmillan English Dictionary describes coward as “someone who is not brave enough to fight or do something difficult or dangerous that they should do,” the real cowards are the Nigerian police force and Nigerian leaders who know the people behind the killing of innocent citizens in the north but they are afraid to touch them.
The federal government is not sincere with the handling of the Boko Haram issue because most of the military or police men/women they are using against Boko Haram from the north are members themselves who give them tip off on how to escape which the federal government knows. How can Boko Haram find its way deep into the overall head office of the Nigerian police force without an insider? This is incredible! Nigerians are no fools and I will not be too surprised if they find their way into the Presidential Villa Abuja. Therefore, the committee the federal government formed now because of Boko Haram is not necessary and as such ill conceived just to deceive you and me. It is also a shame that after the Boko Haram group turned down the offer from the Aso Rock for negotiation that the federal government turned round again on 04.08.2011 through the Secretary of State Pius Anyim who said that they are not ready to negotiate with a faceless group like Boko Haram which is contradictory to what the IG of police had earlier told us, then I ask, who is deceiving who? If they are sincere let them send military men from the east, west or south to the north and see within two weeks if Boko Haram would not be a story of “once upon a time”. But some northern military men who do not understand good English are always selected by the federal government and brought to the old eastern part of the country to waste the lives of the citizens of that part with impunity whenever there is an uproar, probably because of the harsh government policy towards their plight. The massacre of Odi people from Ijaw in Delta state is still very fresh in our memories.
It is also agonizing to hear that the federal government of Nigeria was pleading with Boka Haram for dialogue. On 05.07.2011 the IG of Police told us that some of the arrested members of Boko Haram will not be charged to court because the federal government has decided to handle the issue politically. What an unfortunate statement! Contradictorily non-violent MASSOB members are brutalized, killed and imprisoned for just exercising their civil rights through peaceful demonstrations and there is nothing wrong in such callousness. This jailing and killing of armless and defenseless MASSOB members is an annual event. The harassments and arrests of Raphael Uwazuruike continue at will by the so-called federal government of Nigeria at any statement he makes and this can no longer be tolerated. Therefore, we the unrecognized voices of concerned Ndi Igbo all over the world demand with immediate effect the unconditional release of all MASSOB members detained or imprisoned since our Igbo elites have refused to speak.
From every signal, the northerners want one Nigeria not because of their love for us but because of the oil money. If peradventure oil or gold is discovered in any part of the northern state today, which I pray for, the Emirs, the Babangidas, the Buharis, and the Atikus will gather to pronounce “To your tents, O Israel.”
Nigeria stands to gain a lot in unity, but every day indicates in the direction that it is not workable because of selfishness, dishonesty and greed. There is a lot of nepotism, tribalism and hatred in this fraud called Nigeria as a result of so many evident factors like cultural different backgrounds, religious beliefs, incompatibility and intolerance.
My dream Nigeria is a Nigeria that may never be. My dream Nigeria is a Nigeria where there will be tolerance, honesty, peace, unity and love; a Nigeria where you can live in any state or town without fear of your life because of your religion or ethnicity; a Nigeria where we will do away with the stereotypes that an Igbo man is too cunning, a Yoruba man is a betrayer or a Hausa man did not go to school etc.; a Nigeria where we will honestly tell ourselves the truth that we were forced by the British people to come together but also recognize the fact that since faith has brought us all together that we could as well live in harmony and peace if we all sincerely agree to make sacrifices and sit down to fashion out the mode that will make our aspirations fairly attainable; a Nigeria where you can gain employment anywhere as long as you are qualified for it without regard to “godfather”, ethnicity, religion, gender or disability etc. This is my dream Nigeria. This is the ideal Nigeria we all should strive to achieve, a Nigeria I would staunchly believe in.
Nigeria as it is presently constituted is a fraud built on falsehood and it cannot stand under the present arrangement, until our leaders pick the political courage and convene a national conference where we will decide on how to make the centre (federal government) not so attractive like it is now by allowing each federating state to develop according to its pace and to have greater percentage of its natural resources, but also making the centre very strong enough to hold the federating states together as one Nigeria. Until this is done, all the federating units of Nigeria will continue to be threatened. Under this threat Nigeria is staggering, under this threat I see danger and under this threat with the unfolding events I am forced to say that Nigeria as an entity may not survive for too long and even if it does, it looks like the bomb will explode during or after the 2019 election. But before it gets to this point please let us separate in peace and not in pieces.
Do not forget that no matter how long it takes a stammerer he must surely pronounce his name. We are waiting for maturity to eat the bearded fruit as Chinua Achebe would put it for the triumph of might over right is only temporal.
Divide Nigeria now in peace or address the injustice and balance the equilibrium for tranquility to reign!
I join millions of people all over the world to congratulate South Sudan people on their independence.
Uzoma Ahamefule writes from Vienna, Austria.
E: mail; uzomaah@yahoo.com
Phone: +436604659620 please sms only.
Manchester riots: soldier charged with burglary remanded in custody
A soldier who has served in Afghanistan was remanded in custody yesterday, charged with burglary after attempting to sell a guitar that was stolen during the riots. Gunner Liam Bretherton was arrested after trying to sell a Les Paul guitar.
By Victoria Ward, Nigel Bunyan, Thomas Harding and Martin Beckford
Gunner Liam Bretherton, 20, faces dismissal from the Army after walking into a guitar shop with a valuable Gibson Les Paul just 12 hours after a flagship music store in Manchester had been ransacked by looters.
He was arrested when the owner of the shop became suspicious and checked the serial number on the instrument. He then locked him in the shop until the police arrived.
Bretherton, who serves with the Royal Regiment of Artillery, indicated that he had been prepared to admit handling stolen goods but when the charge was upped to burglary pleaded not guilty.
Army sources admitted that they were braced for a number of soldiers to be charged following this week’s rioting as the majority are on summer “bloc leave” in August.
One suggested that it could be as a many as half-a-dozen. “I’m not sure that this will be the last soldier as a lot of young lads could easily get caught up in this,” he said.
Manchester City magistrates court heard that Bretherton, from the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, regarded as the top Gunner unit, had been in the Army for three years and had no previous convictions.
He claimed that he had purchased the instrument, worth almost £2,000, shortly after it was stolen because he had an interest in guitars but had not realised that it was a left-handed.
Gareth Brandon, prosecuting, told the court: “His account was that he\’d headed into Manchester having heard about the riots.
“It seems clear that it was the defendant\’s position all along to see what he could take. He has some interest in guitars and was very pleased to obtain this item.
“It was his account that he was present outside the shop being looted and paid £20 to one of the looters for this item.\”
Carol Mellor, defending, applied for bail, telling the judge that Bretherton, from Leigh, Wigan, was “certainly” not involved in the looting but had been prepared to plead guilty to the lesser charge of handling stolen goods.
\”Even if it was handling he realises how stupid he\’s been because he\’s put his career at risk,” she said.
\”Even if he\’s granted bail I\’m sure there will be an inquiry that could result in his discharge.”
District Judge Khalid Qureshi rejected the defence, criticising the “cavalier attitude” with which Bretherton had tried to sell the guitar.
He said: \”I find it hard to believe that someone with an interest in guitars just gravitated to a music store where a crime was being committed and ended up with a left-handed guitar by mistake.
\”I don\’t suggest that you were one of the people who forced themselves in, that\’s not the crown\’s case. Someone who would do this is not someone who can be trusted with bail.\”
Bretherton\’s mother, Eileen, sobbed as he was sent down to the cells. His distraught father, Alan, yelled from the public gallery: “He\’s been a good lad all his life, he\’d never been any trouble to us\”.
If the soldier is jailed will almost certainly face dismissal from the Army. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “All those who are found to fall short of the Army’s high standards or who are found to have committed an offence under the Armed Forces Act are dealt with administratively up to and including discharge.”
Bretherton is next due before the court on August 19.
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Catholic Priest Indicted for Producing Child Pornography
Indictment Alleges Sexual Exploitation of Five Child Victims, Some on Church Property
KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Roman Catholic priest was indicted by a federal grand jury today for producing and possessing child pornography.
“When a person who has been placed in a position of trust exploits and victimizes children, he victimizes the entire community,” Phillips said. “Today’s indictment sends a strong message that we will not tolerate this criminal behavior.”
Shawn Ratigan, 45, of Independence, Mo., a diocesan priest and former pastor or assistant pastor in several area parishes, was charged in a 13-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Ratigan was the parish pastor at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Kansas City, Mo., and more recently served as chaplain to the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Eucharist in Independence.
Today’s indictment charges Ratigan with 11 counts of producing or attempting to produce child pornography. The indictment alleges that Ratigan exploited five minor victims to produce sexually explicit pictures of them. The victims ranged in age from 2 years old to 12 years old. The exploitation allegedly occurred at several locations—including a church choir loft—over a six-year period of time. Ratigan is also charged with two counts of possessing child pornography.
Victim Jane Doe #1
According to the indictment, Ratigan exploited a 6-year-old minor, identified as Jane Doe #1, to produce an image of child pornography between June 11 and 12, 2005.
On Dec. 14, 2010, while Ratigan resided in St. Patrick’s Parish in Kansas City, Mo., he allegedly possessed a laptop computer containing this same pornographic image of victim Jane Doe #1 that had been taken when she was 6 years old. Two days later, the computer was turned over to agents for the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph.
On Easter Sunday approximately six years after the initial exploitation, the indictment says, when Jane Doe #1 was 12 years old, Ratigan surreptitiously took close-up shots of her crotch area while she was wearing shorts. The pictures were allegedly taken from an angle shooting up between her legs as she was standing. According to the indictment, the pictures were taken on the grounds of the Vincentian Mission House in Independence, Ratigan’s most recent residence, on April 24, 2011.
Victim Jane Doe #2
Ratigan allegedly took pictures as he exploited a 2-year-old minor, identified as Jane Doe #2, to produce child pornography on May 17, 2006, in the buildings of St. Joseph’s Church in Easton, Mo. Between May 22 and May 31, 2006, Ratigan allegedly abused Jane Doe #2 again by taking pornographic pictures of her in the choir loft of St. Joseph’s Church.
When Jane Doe #2 was 5 years old, Ratigan allegedly took close-up shots underneath her skirt on June 3, 2009. Ratigan also allegedly took at least 40 close-up shots underneath her skirt on the steps in front of St. Joseph’s Church between June 12 and 15, 2009.
Victim Jane Doe #3
Ratigan allegedly took pornographic pictures of his exploitation of a 5-year-old minor, identified as Jane Doe #3, between Sept. 1 and Nov. 1, 2007. Ratigan also allegedly took close-up shots of her pubic area while trying to pull down her pants while she was sleeping between March 1 and 31, 2008.
When Jane Doe #3 was 6 or 7 years old, Ratigan allegedly took pornographic pictures of her between April 9, 2008, and April 5, 2010.
Victim Jane Doe #4
Ratigan allegedly took close-up shots of the crotch area of the bathing suit of a 7-year-old victim, identified as Jane Doe #4, without her knowledge on July 6, 2009.
Victim Jane Doe #5
Ratigan allegedly pulled down the pants of a minor victim, identified as Jane Doe #5, while she was sleeping and took pornographic pictures. According to the indictment, this occurred between Aug. 1, 2008, and Sept. 1, 2009, while the victim was 8 and 9 years old.
The indictment also alleges that Ratigan was in possession of an external hard drive between Jan. 1 and 15, 2011, that contained pornographic images of minor victims.
Penalties
Under federal statutes, each count of producing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in federal prison without parole, up to 30 years in federal prison without parole. The penalty for possessing child pornography is up to 10 years in federal prison.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katharine Fincham. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the FBI CyberCrimes Task Force
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