Buhari Blames Poor Quality Of Education In Nigeria On Historical Abuses, Corruption

November 13, 2017

President Muhammadu Buhari has made it clear that Nigerian is facing numerous challenges in education and all other sectors as a result of historical abuses, mindless impunity and corruption.Saying that such situation is not news to anyone, Buhari regretted that the state of education in Nigeria calls for a serious concern.

The President, who spoke today, Monday, at the opening of the Presidential Summit on Education in Nigeria, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said that the problem of education in Nigeria is no longer a secret, said: “the quality of education in Nigeria requires greater attention and improvement.”He said that an estimated 13.2 million children out of school, high illiteracy level, infrastructural deficit and decay, unqualified teachers, and inadequate instructional materials, among numerous others, had shown the effect of decades of neglect that the education sector has suffered.He made it clear about the determination of his government to turn around the sector for the better.

President Buhari, who said that his government is already making appreciable progress in this respect, wanted the summit in session to among other things, sharpen the strategies for addressing the challenges of basic and secondary education, teacher training and professional development; technical and vocational education.He charged the summit to work to enhance quality in, and access to, higher education “and other challenges in the sector that will debar us from attaining the SDGs and be among the top 20 economies in the world.”

President Buhari emphasised that Nigeria cannot progress beyond the level and standard of the country’s education. “Today, it is those who acquire the most qualitative education, equipped with requisite skills and training, and empowered with the practical know-how that is leading the rest.”We cannot afford to continue lagging behind. Education is our launch-pad to a more successful, more productive and more prosperous future. This administration is committed to revitalizing our education system and making it more responsive and globally competitive.”

According to Buhari, one of the primary roles of education is to build and sustain individual and society’s development, adding that it renews and improves the economic, social, political and cultural aspects of any nation.”Education upgrades the living standard of citizens and enables people to become better and more productive citizens. It is a human right that creates a safe, healthy and prosperous society.”It changes the visions and perspectives of individuals, enhances critical decisions and improves democracy. Indeed education is paramount and necessary requirement for all-round development.”He said that Nigeria’s participation in all relevant international education fora together with its investment in education and collaboration with development partners, is an indication of high level of commitment towards ensuring that every capable Nigerian receives good quality education.

He said that such efforts are justifiable only to the extent that schooling is effective in promoting the realization of national objectives, attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Education For All (EFA) by 2030.”These targets are, happily, in harmony with the manifesto and the CHANGE agenda of our Party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).”It is also in agreement with my campaign promises during the 2015 elections exercise and in pursuit of the yearnings and aspirations of the generality of Nigerian citizens.”

As President Buhari Goes On State Visit To Ebonyi, By Emma Agu

Greenbarge Reporters

November 13, 2017

A presidential visit to a state is a very significant event. Both the presidency and the host state look forward to it for several reasons. Although the president and the governor would have been meeting at other fora, an official visit to a state is set aside, exclusively, for the president to interact with one of his main constituents, defined as a geo-political entity.It is symbolic because irrespective of the president’s political party, during the visit, he exercises the sovereign authority reposed in him by the constitution. During the visit, the president meets with the people; he talks to them and they talk to him, an experience that lifts the veil of invincibility and creates same bonding, depending on how the exchanges are handled. The visit affords the President the opportunity to witness, first hand, the state of affairs and the problems of the state. More often than not, he ends up making landmark pronouncements that would not only give confidence to the indigenes of the state but nationals of the country at large.For the states of the south east geo-political zone of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi State, on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, has a symbolism that goes beyond state visits at normal times. To start with, over two years into office, this is the President’s first official visit to any state in the south east geo-political zone. For another, the visit is coming shortly after the controversial “Operation Python Dance 2” to the zone. Third, the President is paying his first visit to the zone at a time of intense agitation for restructuring of the federation, to provide the basis for rapid development of the various constituents.With these in mind, many will be wondering why the President has chosen to visit at this time. And why did he decide to start from Ebonyi State instead of any other state in the zone? Finally, what does he expect to encounter during the visit and what difference, if any, will his visit make to Ebonyi State, the situation in the south east and the political ferment that has engulfed the country? On the first question, my guess is that the President, who really has not been travelling much within Nigeria, has decided to heed the calls for him to engage every part of the country, to give every part of the country a sense of belonging.Starting from Ebonyi State should not surprise anyone who has followed President Buhari’s political odyssey. One of the President’s staunch loyalists, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, the minister of science and technology, hails from Ebonyi State. Onu, a highly principled politician, had defied all odds, to stand with Buhari and was chairman of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, and the platform on which Buhari twice ran for president. People were not surprised, therefore, when, at the onset of the Buhari Administration, the speculation grew very strong, that Onu would be appointed secretary to the government of the federation.However, going by recent events, great credit should go to the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engineer Dave Umahi. There are several reasons for my position. First, Umahi has provided effective and decisive leadership to the South East Governors Forum of which he is chairman. Under his leadership, the forum acted decisively to douse the raging inferno that had threatened the south east in the wake of the “Operation Python Dance 2”. The action of the governors, in collaboration with Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other stakeholders, averted a bloodbath as well as the possible onset of another major crisis in Nigeria. Any president would have been pleased with Umahi’s actions. That was leadership at its best.Second, Umahi has continually demonstrated admirable statesmanship in his actions and utterances. He stands out as a national patriot who strikes a balance between party loyalty and ethnic identity, on the one hand, and the imperatives of national survival, on the other. As evidence of this, the Commissioner for Information in Ebonyi State, Senator Emmanuel Onwe is quoted as saying that Umahi has banned banners and partisan items at the stadium during the President’s visit. Umahi’s words are instructive: “Nobody should come to the stadium with any party logo. We don’t want to embarrass the President. If we invite the President for a state visit and PDP roll out their logo, it is an embarrassment to Mr. President.“So, it is a Presidential visit, no party is coming to the stadium with a logo or party slogan of anything. It is just a simple Presidential visit. If they don’t understand they should go and find out what a presidential visit is and what it entails.”Third, Umahi appears to be enjoying a special relationship with the President and was among the six governors that visited him in London last July 26 while he was still receiving treatment in London. Fourth, his trail-blazing performance, especially in the agricultural sector, rekindles hope that someday, not too far from now, the Michael Okpara economic miracle of the defunct Eastern Region of Nigeria could be re-enacted. That is why Ebonyi is a poster child of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrower’s program. That is apart from the several infrastructural projects dotting the Ebonyi landscape.Thus, Buhari will come face to face with a state that is in a hurry to eradicate hunger not just within its jurisdiction but Nigeria as a whole. He will come face to face with some of the finest Nigerians, people who are fiercely Igbo yet unapologetically Nigerian; an area that habours some of the most honest Nigerians as epitomized by Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a pearl of a human being, a man of unquestionable integrity, a first rate brain whose worth is yet to be well appreciated and whose value is yet to be properly deployed even as he remains uncompromisingly loyal to President and country.Given the recent events, it is not inconceivable that a visit of this nature could be the source of a new agitation. But that will not be a wise step to take. His visit should be seen as an opportunity for a new beginning, a fresh engagement between the Presidency and the south east, starting with Ebonyi State, an opportunity to chart a direction that is devoid of vote-catching antics. Given Umahi’s pragmatism, his capacity for hard work and the excitement generated by the historic visit, it is hoped that reason will prevail and the President will be accorded a rousing welcome.Ultimately, the ball is in the hands of the President. In some climes, on the eve of the visit or during the visit proper, the president could drop one landmark pronouncement or two that could calm frayed nerves, heal gaping wounds and redirect the national narrative. Without prejudice to what Buhari’s advisers would have told him, this is one visit that should not have any provision for drawing “red lines”, partisan cleavages or vote-catching antics. Rather, it is an opportunity, to emphasize the things that hold us, Nigerians, together as a people, a country under one God; to rekindle hope that the people of the south east can trust their President to uphold equity and justice, that they have cause to renew their faith in the Nigerian project.Buhari’s visit to Ebonyi State on Tuesday, November 14, 2017, promises to be a truly historic event. Let us make the best out of it.Welcome, Mr. President, to the “Salt of the Nation.”

Osinbajo Admires Practice Of British Legal System

Greenbarge Reporters

November 13, 2017

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, himself a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has expressed his admiration for the British Legal System and wished Nigeria could catch up with itsm”In our own profession, the British legal establishment stand out as the exemplars in self- preservation and the preservation of the commonwealth that the recognition of the obligations that attend the privilege of belonging to that profession. “By the strict enforcement of discipline, by strict rules of entry into the profession, strict rules of preferment to the rank of Queen’s Counsel (QC) and even stricter rules in judicial appointments, they have maintained the integrity, the prestige and the relevance of the British system of justice from generation to generation. “Such is the absolute trust in the British legal system, that today by the creation of extra-territorial jurisdiction for their courts, commercial disputes from all countries of the world can by agreement of parties be tried in the royal courts of justice in London.” Professor Osinbajo, who addressed the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria at its maden dinner in Lagos, said that the British legal profession attained such enviable position by rigorous self-regulation. “While I served as Attorney-General in Lagos State, I was called upon to write a mitigating reference for a senior Nigerian lawyer who was in practice in England. He was at the time, on the verge of losing his license to practice in the United Kingdom. Why? He was before the court of appeal in respect of a criminal matter. “In the course of arguing the appeal, the court hinted him that his position was unarguable, but he stubbornly persisted in that line of argument. In the end, he lost the appeal. But the court wrote to the law society seeking that he be penalized for pursuing an unarguable point. He came to me to ask for a character reference as he was, of course, on the verge of losing everything. “That is the nature of the discipline of that profession, which insists that you cannot trivialize the legal process in any way, that you cannot hamper the legal process in any way, and that behaviour of a dilatory sort will not be tolerated.” [myad]

Muslim Hajj Commission Boss, Abdullahi Mukhtar, Briefs Buhari On 2017 Operations

Greenbarge Reporters

November 13, 2017

Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, (NAHCON), Barrister Abdullahi Mukhtar Mohammed today, Monday, briefed President Muhammadu Buhari on the conduct of the 2017 Hajj in Saudi Arabia.The briefing was done in close door at the Presidential Villa, without the usual publicity and fanfare.The NAHCON chairman, would not to speak to news men when he emerged from the office of the President, but information gathered indicated that the President will study the report with a view to acting on it.The report is said to contain a brief update on the 2017 Hajj operations and the plans of the Commission for the 2018 Holy pilgrimage.It was gathered that the President commended NAHCON for the smooth Hajj operations for this year and encouraged the commission to ensure that next year’s operations are better. [myad]

Burst Pipeline Throws Abuja Residents Into Acute Water Shortage

Greenbarge Reporters

November 13, 2017

A major burst on a pipeline carrying water from the Lower Usuma Dam to Tank has thrown some parts of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) into water shortage as water distribution to strategic areas of the city has been greatly affected. A statement by the media section of the FCT said that water supply to some parts of the city is being disrupted to make room for the repair of the ruptured pipe which occurred around the green area near Yakubu Gowon Barrack, Asokoro District.The statement said that the Executive Secretary of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Engineer Umar Gambo Jibrin made these facts known today, Monday, when he briefed newsmen after inspecting the site of the burst pipe.He was quoted in the statement as saying that all relevant technical crew are already on ground to carry out the necessary repair works on the damaged pipe.He said that residents of some parts of Barracks, Garki I and II, parts of Asokoro, Nyanya and Karu Districts, will also experience disruption of water supply between November 15 and 18.The statement said that the monitoring unit of the FCT Water Board made the discovery while on trouble shooting surveillance of the reason for the low water pressure reported in some parts of the city.He assured that normal water supply, would however be restored as soon as the repair works have been completed.

[myad]

Naira Remains Strong, As CBN Pumps In $195 Million

Greenbarge Reporters

November 13, 2017

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has continued its sustenance of FOREX liquidity by injecting another $195 million into the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market, even as the Naira maintains its strength.

The $195 million intervention was made today, Monday.

Figures released by the Bank show that it offered the total sum of $100million to the Wholesale segment, while the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment received the sum of $50 million. The invisibles segment comprising tuition, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA) received $45 million.

The Bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications Department, Isaac Okorafor, said that the intervention is in line with the CBN’s continual determination to ensure FOREX liquidity and satisfy legitimate demand.

Okorafor assured that the Bank will continue to intervene in the nation’s FOREX market in order to sustain the liquidity in the market and guarantee the international value of the Naira.

Meanwhile, the Naira exchanged at an average of N363/$1 in the Bureau De Change (BDC) segment of the market today, maintaining its stability in the FOREX market. [myad]

Fayose Can’t Get PDP Presidential Ticket, It Is Zoned To The North – Goodluck Jonathan

Greenbarge Reporters

November 12, 2017

The immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has dismissed the declaration, by Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State, to contest the 2019 Presidential election, because according to Jonathan, the position has already been zoned to the North.

“Are you not aware that our party has zoned the presidency to the north, and the chairmanship to the south?

“Even Fayose that has declared his interest may face big challenges because of the decision of our party.”

Ex President Jonathan made the remarks when he spoke in an interview with the publisher on Ovation magazine, Dele Momodu. [myad]

Police Boss Unleashes Security Forces On Anambra, Warns Biafran Agitators To Stay Clear

Greenbarge Reporters

November 12, 2017

The Inspector General of Police (igp), Ibrahim Idris has deployed no fewer than 26,000 personnel, 15 gunboats and 303 patrol vehicles for the Anambra State gubernatorial election scheduled for Saturday, 18 November.

According to the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood, in a statement, the IGP had also deployed the Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Department of Operations of the Force and is expected to be assisted by an Assistant Inspector-General of Police and three Commissioners of Police to be in charge of each Senatorial District.

“In order to ensure adequate security and safety of lives and properties before, during and after the elections, the Inspector General of Police has graciously approved deployment of additional 26,000 Police personnel, comprising the Police Special Forces, Police Mobile Force, the Counter- Terrorism Unit (CTU), Special Protection Unit (SPU), the Anti Bomb Squad (EOD), the Force Marine Police, Conventional Policemen, the Force Armament Unit, personnel from Force Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department (FCIID), Mounted Troops, the attack and Sniffer Dogs Section, Police Gun Boats, Police Helicopters and Armored Personnel Carriers (APC) to Anambra State and most of these personnel are already on the ground.”

The statement said that the deployed equipment will be deployed to cover entire state, including riverine areas and difficult terrains. In addition, other security and safety agencies, which are members of Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in the state are also deployed to complement the Police. “Four policemen are deployed to each polling unit along with personnel of other security and safety agencies. No armed security personnel will be allowed within the polling units. Armed Police detachments on patrol vehicles are going to patrol the streets and other locations throughout the state to prevent crime and intervene to quell any violence that may occur during the election.”

The statement said IGP and Chairman, Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) will meet stakeholders and political parties, their flag bearers before the date of the election.

The statement told the Police personnel deployed for the election to be polite and civil, but firm.

“They are to provide adequate security for the electorate, INEC officials, election materials, election observers and other individuals and bodies that have statutory roles in the conduct of the election, at the polling booths, collation centers, and INEC offices in Anambra State throughout the period of the election.”

The Police also announced that vehicular movement in the state between 12 midnight on 17 November till after the voting period on the day of the election. Government agencies and personnel on essential duties and services, however, will be allowed passage within the period.

“Security identification tag will be provided for all the security and safety agencies, INEC officials, election observers/monitors and others that have statutory duties to carry out in the election. The security personnel deployed will only operate within the area they are posted for the election,” the Police said.

The statement said that Commissioners of Police and personnel in the states contiguous to Anambra State have been put on red-alert not to allow an influx of miscreants and thugs into Anambra State. Also, a broad-spectrum security threats assessment is in progress.

“All the identified flashpoints, trouble spots and other perceived violence/vulnerable areas in the state have been profiled and appropriate pragmatic strategies and tactics have been implemented to checkmate and tackle them ahead of the election.Consequent on the renewed threat by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other affiliate groups to disrupt the election, the Force has deployed Special Police Forces, Police Mobile Force, Specially Trained Counter-Terrorism Unit and other intelligence and tactical Squads to deal decisively with IPOB.”

The Police assured voters of adequate security, warning IPOB to stay off polling units. The Force also warned political parties, traditional rulers, community leaders, parents and guardians to advise their followers and wards to be law-abiding or face the full weight of the law. [myad]

Presidency To Sule Lamido: You Are Suffering From Intellectual, Moral Bankruptcy

Greenbarge Reporters

November 12, 2017

The Presidency has described series of verbal attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari by the former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, especially on the issue of the war against corruption, as a reflection of the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the opposition in the country.

In a reaction to the latest of such verbal attack, published in some media platforms today, Saturday, a Presidential Spokesman, Garba Shehu said that there is a grand plan by politicians seeking the destruction of national institutions such as the courts, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and everything good that the nation stands for.

“It is only in Nigeria that a leader will divert money belonging to the public into his children’s account then turns round to start pontificating on public morals, in the process subjecting the nation’s honest leadership to daily attacks based on falsehood.

“It is even worse that such a person, facing criminal prosecution will start going round saying he wants to be president. Is this not one of the reasons why other countries are laughing at Nigeria? This is hooliganism. It is not opposition politics.

“The nation’s war against corruption, spearheaded by EFCC, is incidentally formulated by the past PDP administration. “It is a tragic irony that the leaders of the same party are doing their utmost to weaken or destroy it. Watch it, is that why he is seeking to lead the country?

“Time and again, President Buhari had lamented that strongmen had destroyed the country’s strong institutions and that it will take strong men to rebuild them. He deserves the support of everyone to rebuild such institutions because they serve a common good.”

Appealing to opposition politicians to give President Muhammadu Buhari the support he needs to rebuild national institutions such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission they either stifled or destroyed, the Presidential Spokesman challenged the presidential candidate to convince Nigerians that his trenchant attacks against the government and the judiciary were not a smokescreen to becloud the atmosphere of his criminal prosecution.

“In his diatribe published in the Vanguard newspaper last week, it is clear that the former governor not only set out to mock the President but the judiciary and important national institutions as part of an orchestrated plot to divert public attention from his scam related cases.

“If President Buhari’s war against corruption as he said, was a mockery what does one say of Governor Lamido’s sworn efforts to to sabotage the country’s efforts to rid itself of the cancer of corruption?

“If accountability of public officials is the very essence of a mature democracy, it is indeed ironic that a politician seeking the leadership of the country making a mockery of institutions and leaders seeking to entrench that.

“As a country, Nigeria settled for President Buhari not just as President but the watchman of people’s wealth. The citizens are happy with that and the whole world is applauding. African Union, the AU just named him as the Champion of the war against corruption. Opposition politicians like Governor Lamido need to come to terms with the fact that their act needs updating.” [myad]

Editors Beg Niger Delta Avengers To Drop Idea Of Renewed Threat Of Attacks

Greenbarge Reporters

November 12, 2017

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), has expressed worry over the threat by the Niger Delta Avengers to resume attacks on oil facilities in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.

The Guild asked the Avengers to drop the threat and embrace dialogue in resolving their grievances.

The Guild also advised the Federal Government not to resort to the use of force in resolving the matter, saying that the use of force has never solved any problem.

The Guild, in a communique at the end of its meeting of its Standing Committee in Katsina, described its members as stakeholders in the task of nation-building.

“We seize this opportunity to appeal to traditional rulers in the region to use their offices and goodwill to call the Avengers and any other militant group in the region to order. As royal fathers and leaders of thought, we urge them to play a leading role in the resolution of any breakdown in communication between the Federal Government, oil majors and the militants. We cannot afford another bout of force majeure by oil majors on account of insecurity in the region.”

The Guild expressed worries on the recent show of military force in the quest to neutralise the threat of the militants.

“This move has done little to calm the tension, instead it has aggravated it. We urge caution and restraint.”

The Guild urges the government to dialogue with all stakeholders, including the aggrieved militants to resolve the problems in the region, insisting that the only path to peace is dialogue.

The Guild notes that renewed hostilities in the Niger Delta will reduce Nigeria’s daily oil output, which will in turn deny the country the benefits of the current marginal increase in the price of crude, addung that anything that is capable of returning Nigeria to economic recession should be avoided.

The Guild also notes the increasing crime rate in the country, especially kidnappings and communal clashes and calls on security agencies to rise to the occasion.

The Guild urges the Federal Government to deploy the relevant security agencies to check the pervasiveness of these crimes.

The spread and frequency of kidnappings as well as other criminal activities do not only threaten the nation’s socio-political stability, they also rob Nigeria of income as potential investors are scared of coming into the country while in some instances, existing investors are being forced to leave the country. Either way, the nation loses.

On the 2018 budget proposal currently before the National Assembly, the Guild is concerned about the size of the recurrent as against the capital expenditures. This trend, which is inimical to any country’s development, has continued for so long. We urge prudence and innovative budgeting in order to achieve a reversal in the nearest future.

On the state of the media, the Guild is worried that in spite of the country exiting economic recession, the media industry is mired in distress. We recommend that stakeholders should come together to seek the way forward. [myad]

1...1,4261,4271,428...2,488 Page 1,427 of 2,488