The governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel, has insisted on the termination of the appointment of 5,000 secondary school teachers who he said were hurriedly recruited by his predecessor, Godswill Akpabio.
Governor Udom said that the teachers’ recruitment, hurriedly done in the last days of the previous administration of Godswill Akpabio, was faulty.
“Even the bible says if the foundation is not right, what can the righteous man do?” a Government House statement quoted Governor Udom as telling journalists when he arrived at the Akwa Ibom International Airport.
“We have tried to see how we could get something out of that recruitment process, but believe me, the foundation was very faulty.”
Udom stressed that there was a syndicate which had given out fake appointment letters to thousands of unqualified applicants, adding that the exercise led to the cancelation of the recruitment.
The statement said the governor warned that the administration wasn’t ready to bow to sentiments, and that he would ensure that the right decisions were made in the interest of the Akwa Ibom people.
“If we are putting people to teach our children, please let us leave sentiments apart and go for the right people,” the governor said. “We need to make sure they went through the right process and have the right qualifications.
“We are assuring the 5000 people that they need not worry, when we are calling for aptitude test, you need not re-apply, just walk into the venue of the exercise with that appointment letter and justify that you are qualified to teach our children.”
“The cancellation was first announced few days ago by the Head of Civil Service in the state, Ekereobong Akpan, before the latest remark by the governor.
“It is obviously an unexpected blow to the “unemployed” teachers who for about two years now have been putting pressure on the governmentto assign them to public secondary schools across the state.”
Meanwhile, a lawyer and human rights activist from the state, Inibehe Effiong has criticized the action of the state government, describing it as illegal and insensitive.
“The current government should note that the moment the teachers accepted the offer(s) of employment, a contract of employment (with statutory flavour) was created with terms and conditions, including the manner of disengagement, clearly regulated by statute,” Mr. Effiong said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The law is firmly established that contracts of employment with statutory flavour cannot be terminated arbitrarily without strict compliance with the relevant statute, rules and regulations governing the contract.
“Supposing without conceding that the government has the right in law to terminate the contract because of alleged irregularities in the recruitment exercise, the manner in which it was done renders the purported cancellation unconstitutional owing to the failure of the government to accord the affected persons fair hearing as mandatorily required by Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).” [myad]
There are only a handful of days until Election Day and an end to this phase of a nation’s — and the world’s — ebb and flow of anxiety. The day after the votes are cast and counted that anxiety will either dissipate or become a fixed feature. Which of these it will be is very much in flux.
While Hillary Clinton still maintains a lead in the polls and a built-in advantage on the electoral map, recent polls suggest that Donald Trump is closing the gap. There are now plausible — however improbable — electoral map routes to victory for him.
I leave it to others to make predictions about how all this will play out, but I feel that I must say again, and until the last minute and with my last breath: America, are you (expletive) kidding?!
I simply cannot wrap my head around how others with level heads and sound minds can even consider Trump for president of this country and leader of the free world. The logic simply escapes me.
I try to view it through the lens of economic anxiety, diminished economic mobility and global pressure. It all seems understandable, but then I’m reminded of Donald Trump, a billionaire whose businesses have on more than one occasion gone bankrupt, who staffed contractors, who outsources the making of many of his products and who brags about not paying federal income taxes. All of which brings me back to: Are you kidding me?
I try to view it through a purely ideological lens in which people simply tend to vote for the party nominee. It makes sense, but then I’m reminded of Donald Trump, a man who isn’t really an ideologue but a demagogue interested only in self-aggrandizement. And again I return to: You’re kidding, right?
I think of the family values voters on the right with whom I’ve become acquainted over the years. Although I might have vigorously disagreed with their positions and their inherent myopic anachronism, at least I could say that they were as principled in their adherence to their positions as I was in opposition to them. But then, again, I hit Donald Trump, who is dragging traditional conservative paternalism into the muck of perversion, who brags about sexually assaulting women, who makes fun of the disabled, who savors a lust for vengeance, who says he has never needed to seek forgiveness, even from God. Again, are you kidding?
I try to think of it from a strict constitutionalist’s perspective, to understand how strongly they want the vacancy on the Supreme Court to be filled by a constitutional purist. But then I think of Trump, whose Muslim ban would fly in the face of the Constitution, whose threats to the press strike me as constitutionally hostile, whose advancement of torture would seem to me constitutionally questionable (to say nothing of its legality in the face of international norms and treaties). Are you kidding, America?
I try to think of it in terms of weariness with Washington and with D.C. insiders, the Clintons in particular, and dynastic democracy in general. I try to think of the intense Clinton distrust and even hatred that exists in some quarters, sentiments only exacerbated by things like this never-ending email saga. But then I hit Donald Trump, a real estate scion who has been sued nearly 1,500 times and is currently being sued for Trump University deceptions and the rape of a 13-year-old girl. You have got to be kidding.
There is no way to make this make sense. Believe me, I’ve tried.
Donald Trump is a bigot.
Donald Trump is a demagogue.
Donald Trump is a sexist, misogynist, chauvinist pig.
Donald Trump is a bully.
Donald Trump is a cheat.
Donald Trump is a pathological liar.
Donald Trump is a nativist.
Donald Trump’s campaign has proved too attractive to anti-Semites, Nazis and white nationalists, and on some level the campaign seems to be tacitly courting that constituency.
Donald Trump — judging by his own words on that disgusting tape and if you believe the dozen-plus women who have come forward to accuse him of some form of sexual assault or unwanted sexual advance — is an unrepentant predator.
To put it more succinctly, Donald Trump is a lowlife degenerate with the temperament of a 10-year-old and the moral compass of a severely wayward teen.
There is no way to make a vote for him feel like an act of principle or responsibility. You can’t make it right. You can’t say yes to Trump and yes to common decency. Those two things do not together abide.
If you are voting for Trump, you are voting for coarseness, corruption and moral corrosion. Period. And if you are not actively voting against him, you are abetting his attempt to hijack American greatness and sink it with his egotism.
On Election Day, America faces a choice, and it’s not a tough one, but a stark one. It is the difference between tolerance and intolerance. It is the difference between respect and disrespect. It is the difference between a politician with some flaws and a flaw threatening our politics.
Donald Trump is America’s existential threat. On Tuesday, America has an opportunity to defend itself. [myad]
Sometime ago — I don’t know the exact date and time — the Nigerian political elite (some call it “elites”, but I’m more comfortable using the good old “elite”) held a two-day convention at an undisclosed location. After intense discussion, negotiation and feasting, they adopted a two-word vision statement: “Destroy Nigeria”. To actualise the vision, they also wrote a short mission statement: “To use our positions as elected or appointed political leaders to mismanage Nigeria, take excessive care of our personal needs, appropriate all possible resources to ourselves, cronies and associates, and ultimately under-develop Nigeria”.
The blueprint was developed. Committees were set up to implement the plan, in conjunction with the elite in public and private sectors. People were given specific tasks and assignments: you, go and destroy Kogi state; you, go and ruin the ministry of petroleum resources; you, go and make sure there is no electricity; you, go and derail the railway; you, go and make Customs a cesspool of decay; you, go and ensure that students are taught Chemistry without chemicals; you, let the roads be eternally unmotorable; you, go and work with the private sector elite to take out as much money as possible to buy property in Dubai, London, Monaco and New York.
The political elite also agreed to work as one, no matter party affiliation, ethnic origin, and religious beliefs. It was agreed that irrespective of the posting and position — federal, state, council, zone, ministry, agency, department, commission — the most important task is personal accumulation of wealth. Award contracts that are not meant to be executed. Start projects that are intended to be abandoned somewhere along the line. Inflate contracts, pay “mobilisation”, take the money and run. Finally, it was agreed that the political elite are one family, one fraternity: any insider who tries to spill the beans should be crushed. Injury to one family member is injury to all.
After the backslapping and glass-clinking, they brought the convention to a close and set out to work. From time to time, they do peer review. One will say ‘I now fly chattered jets across the country’. The other will say ‘I’m buying a private jet next week’. This one will say ‘my daughter’s wedding is holding in Paris’. That one will say ‘my birthday is in Venice’. Have you paid workers’ salaries? No, I owe five months, but my people understand that federal allocation has fallen. I’m travelling to China for one month with a 100-man delegation to go and woo foreign investors. I’m building an airport — to finance my re-election or retirement.
The sophisticated members of the political elite class are more creative, with the help of their friends in the private sector. They take 20-year bonds for ‘infrastructure’ and put their people in bondage, while the real infrastructure is the stomach or campaign finance. They concession public assets — and the concessionaire is their front. So they sit down to work out the inflated cost of the project, rig the cost recovery period (10 years can become 40 years after a bottle of cognac), and if anything goes wrong, they waste state resources to “buy out” the concessionaire — meaning a project that cost N5 billion can be bought back by the government for N80 billion. Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the political elite also implement a well-perfected plan to keep the people busy: they play up ethnic differences, stoke regional and religious emotions, and create platforms and groups to promote or counter agitations. The people on the streets, largely unaware of the elite conspiracy, eagerly jump on the train, insulting and yelling at one another in the belief that one religion or one ethnic group or one geo-political zone is their enemy. The elite create narratives that becloud the fact that mismanagement is in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, the fact that incompetence is in every council and state. They just tell the naive people what they love to hear.
The hapless people are hungry and angry and will fall for anything. They are unaware that right on their streets, the elite conspiracy is being implemented through muddy roads, gaping potholes, clogged drains and marauding muggers. Politics is coloured as black and white to the gullible masses. They think that one party is good and another is bad, that one ethnic group is full of morons while their own is filled with geniuses. The plot of the political elite is to make sure the people never get to speak with one voice to confront them — and this is working just fine. If only the people knew of the conspiracy, they would stone these overfed politicians first, and ask questions later.
You are asking me: was there really a meeting where the political elite agreed to destroy Nigeria? Well, well, well… let us put it this way: it doesn’t matter if there was actually a ‘conspiracy convention’. The politicians do not have to meet physically to draw up a plan to underdevelop Nigeria. It is a mental meeting. Anybody who gets political power knows he is expected to act in a certain way, and he understands quite well that the purpose of the power is not to make life better for the people but to enjoy comfort and accumulate as much wealth as possible. If some development happens along the line, all good. But that was never the intention.
When politicians get power, they understand very well what it means. They don’t need any convention to understand the unwritten rules: somebody nominated or helped you into office, so paying the political IOU must be top priority; you don’t come out of government not owning new mansions or buying an Island, so amassing wealth is another priority; there is another election coming up, so you need to build up funds for that; when you award contracts, the fundamental motive is to stockpile personal wealth, not to improve anything — but if they end up improving healthcare, education, housing and anything at all, smile and claim credit.
I do not have any problem with the political elite — which I would define simply as “those who are privileged to wield any form of political power and influence by appointment, election or association”. Every country has its elite classes — political, economic, traditional, professional, etc. It is part of the societal structure from the foundation of the world. To be a member of the political elite is therefore not a stigma or a sin. If I my fictional Nigerian political elite “convention” created the wrong impression, I do apologise. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with being a member of the political elite. It is a thing to be desired.
However, as with all human formations and classifications, they have different motives and different motivations. There are two basic classifications of the political elite: the Developmental Political Elite (DPE) and the Predatory Political Elite (PPE). There is a fundamental difference. DPEs are developmental in their orientation: they have a ‘vision of society’, a mental picture of how the society should be in terms of political, human and economic development. Development is their core vision. They are no saints and are not beyond seeking personal comfort, but that is a “fringe benefit” rather than the primary objective. They have a passion for development.
PPEs, on the other hand, are innately predatory: they have only a ‘vision of self’. What excites them the most is personal benefit. Development sometimes creeps into the agenda but that is purely an aside. This is the category of political elite that have hijacked Nigeria at national and sub-national levels, perhaps since the Independence era. There have been episodes of hijack by the developmental elite and they made some impact. In the military governments of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, there was a noticeable presence of DPEs. In Obasanjo’s second coming, there were also quite a few of them.
I conclude. By and large, I believe that for Nigeria to progress, the developmental elite must be in control of political power, either as the president or as the president’s core group (“kitchen cabinet”). The Asian Tigers were developed by DPEs. The Chinese DPEs pulled 500 million citizens out of poverty in three decades. DPEs are driven by love for country. They are competent and patriotic — willing and able to nullify the elite conspiracy. They can change the vision from “Destroy Nigeria” to “Develop Nigeria”. If Buhari is ever going to succeed, the right kind of elite must “hijack” his government. His kitchen cabinet must be filled with DPEs. Key.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
INCONCLUSIVE INEC The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made its name as the “inconclusive national electoral commission” — and it added another feather to its cap on Thursday when it recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for Ondo state. Why did I say so? In Edo state, INEC recognised Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu, the candidate of the Ahmed Makarfi ‘PDP faction’, as the governorship flag bearer. In Ondo, it is recognising the candidate of the Modu Sheriff ‘PDP faction’. That means INEC is inconclusive on what PDP faction to recognise. Not completely out of character, you would say, but intriguing all the same. Fishy.
MAGU MATTER Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been acting as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forever and ever. Why has the senate not confirmed him? How long are we going to wait to have a substantive chairman? There is no doubt that Magu has been working round the clock in the anti-graft war, and if there is any agency President Buhari can be very proud of today, EFCC is it. There are a few things many of us do not agree with concerning EFCC operations — particularly the media trials while someone is still being investigated — but that should not detract from the fact that Magu has been doing a commendable job leading the agency. Puzzling.
CODE OF MISCONDUCT Who still remembers what the senate tried to do to the ICPC Act in 2002? Following a belief that President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to use ICPC against Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the lawmakers sought to render the agency impotent. The amendment died on arrival. Now, federal lawmakers are trying to bring the code of conduct bureau (CCB) and code of conduct tribunal (CCT) under the control of the national assembly by amending the laws — apparently because they believe the president is using the CCT against Senate President Bukola Saraki. Since the legislature wants executive powers, shouldn’t we just return to the parliamentary system? Absurd.
NO, THANKS That two ambassadorial nominees turned down Buhari is not what surprises me — it is the fact that they were not pre-informed about their nominations in the first place. It was during the military era that this culture of “appointment by NTA network news” started, and I remember two people with similar names once showing up for inauguration under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida government. Although Mrs Pauline Tallen and Dr. Usman Bugaje gave “good” reasons for turning down the nominations, we did not even have to get to that. APC promised us change, but it seems it is more of the same. Maybe it is a Nigerian problem — not that of political parties. Embarrassing.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has made it clear that high electricity bills by distribution companies contravene the laws regulating the sector, even as he advised consumers to reject such high bills.
Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Anthony Akah, who spoke in Abuja when the House of Representatives Committee on Power made its oversight visit to the commission, said that the regulation clearly states that electricity consumers have right to reject high bills if the distribution companies refused to install pre-paid metres for them.
“We also have a regulation that makes it disincentive for the DISCOS not to metre customers. It says clearly that any customer that has no metre has the right to reject the estimated bills if he feels that the bill does not reflect the quantity of power that was sent to him.
“However, he has to pay for the last month he agreed and immediately write to the DISCO and copy our office for them to come and prove why they gave him estimated bill that does not reflect what he consumed.
“The DISCO under that circumstance cannot disconnect them and cannot give them further bills until the issue is resolved.”
Akah also listed some efforts made by the commission to regulate the sector.
The lawmakers drew the attention of the commission to the need to regulate electricity billing system within the confines of existing laws.
“We will always, as representatives of the people, be on the side of the people whether it does not favour the regulator or favour the distribution companies, we will be on the side of the people in such a way that we will be able to explain to our people that power is not a social service, but that it comes with cost, but this cost must be accommodated in the laws of our land,” the Chairman of the House Committee on Power, Daniel Asuquo.”
The lawmakers also visited the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (N-BET), to assess how it is contributing to government’s efforts to stabilise electricity supply in Nigeria.
After listing several interventions of the company to help stabilize electricity supply, the Managing Director of N-Bet, Marilyn Amobi, stated that the Federal Government’s target for 20,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2020 was not feasible.
“We do not have the capacity, and you have heard that before, there is a lot of what I call talk shows that happen in Nigeria every day. Every day there is one seminar, people brand around all kinds of numbers, the truth is that we don’t have a grid that can take the capacity.
“But more importantly, we need to be able to plan for that level of investment for it to come in, but at this point the answer is there will be no 20,000 megawatts by 2020. There is nothing we can do today to make it happen,” she said.
Nigeria’s dependence on gas and hydro to power the electricity sector has been grossly inadequate, as power continues to fluctuate between 2,000 and 5,000 megawatts in the last one year.
Hence, some experts argue that other sources of energy must be developed to meet the estimated 25,000 megawatts of electricity demand by the over 160 million population.
The Nigerian Union Diaspora (NUD), the umbrella organization for the social, political, and economic empowerment of Nigerians in the United States of America, have endorsed the Presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over her Republican opponent Donald J. Trump.
According to the Secretary-General of the union, Dr. SKC Ogbonnia shortly after an emergency meeting held at the union’s headquarters in Houston , TX , on Saturday October 29, Nigerian Union Diaspora broke its long tradition of neutrality for an obvious reason: extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.
“Trump’s litany of heedless specters is profoundly hostile to world peace. Moreover, his cavalier attitude pales in comparison to someone aspiring to lead the free world. With increasing stridency, Donald Trump has repeatedly denigrated and demonized not only immigrants and the womenfolk but also other nations and minorities.
“Unlike Mr. Trump, Secretary Clinton has the ideal temperament, sound judgment, requisite experiences, and exemplary track record with the Nigerian nation. She has also proposed sensible positions on issues pertinent to Nigerians in America , particularly race relations, education, trade, immigration, and religion.
“Accordingly, all Nigerian-Americans are strongly encouraged to cast their vote en masse for Hillary Clinton for president on November 8, 2016. Both voters and nonvoters can also donate to her campaign by visiting https://www.hillaryclinton.com/.
“Members are however free to vote for candidates of their choice in other races based on the prevailing local interests.”
The Nigerian Union Diaspora represents over 2.4 million people of Nigerian descent who contribute more than $132 billion to the US national economy.
The union said that there is much is at stake, adding that the forthcoming election is the most critical in the history of Nigerians in America. [myad]
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved eight new private universities in Nigeria. The new universities are Anchor University, Ayobo, Lagos, (owned by Deeper Life Christian Ministry); Arthur Jarvis University, Akpabuyo, Cross River (owned by Clitter House Nigeria Limited) and Clifford University, Owerrinta, Abia, (owned by Seventh Day Adventist Church).
Others are Coal City University, Enugu, (African Thinkers Community of Inquiry College of Education, Enugu); Crown-Hill University, Eiyenkorin, Kwara (owned by Modern Morgy and Sons Limited) and the Dominican University, Ibadan, (owned by Order of Preachers, Nigerian Dominican Community).
Addressing State House correspondents today, Wednesday on the outcome of the FEC meeting, the Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwuka, said the approval followed a memo submitted by the Federal Ministry of Education.
He said that the council also approved Kola Daisi University, Ibadan, (owned by Kola Daisi Foundation) and Legacy University, Okija in Anambra state, (owned by Good Idea Education Foundation).
He said that the new universities were being licensed for a three years provisional approval and would be mentored by some existing universities across the country.
Anwuka said that the University of Lagos would serve as mentor to Anchor University, Ayobo; Arthur Jarvis, Clifford and Coal City Universities would be mentored by University of Calabar, University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia and University of Nigeria, Nsukka, respectively. The Minister revealed that the University of Ilorin would also serve as mentor to Crown-Hill University in Kwara while Dominican and Kola Daisi Universities in Ibadan would be mentored by the University of Ibadan.
This was even as the Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, said that the council also ratified the Climate Change Paris Agreement and Agreement against Double Taxation between Nigeria and Kenya.
He said the council approved the revised estimate cost for the completion of the local and International wing of the Port Harcourt International Airport. [myad]
Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed has said that President Muhammadu Buhari would soon return the request by his government to borrow $29.9 billion to the Senate for approval.
The minister, who answered questions from the State House correspondents at the end of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) today, Wednesday, said that the approval was not given by the Senate due to lack of detailed information. He added that the government would provide the necessary information which the senate needed for the approval.
Lai Mohammed said that the disagreement between the legislative and executive arms of government is not unusual, adding that it is in the interest of Nigerians.
“It is not unusual for the government and the Senate to have some disagreements, they want more information. “We will give them all the information they need and we are sure that by the time we finish they (lawmakers) will approve the request.” It will be recalled that the first request of the president to the National Assembly for external borrowing to fund critical infrastructural projects in the country between 2016 to 2018 was turned down by the senate yesterday, Tuesday. [myad]
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started mobilizing members of the National Assembly for the amendment of the constitution to allow Nigerians living outside the country to vote during the election. The Commission’s chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood stressed the need for the lawmakers to expedite action by amending sections of the Constitution and the Electoral Act (2010 as amended) to make way for Nigerians living outside the country to participate in the electoral process and vote. He said: “INEC believes that Nigerians living outside the country should have the right to vote for a variety of reasons: they are citizens of Nigeria interested in the affairs of their own country; they make considerable contribution to the economy through huge financial inflow to the country; there is a sizable amount of Nigerian citizens living outside the country; and Diaspora voting is consistent with global best practices.“ The INEC Chairman made the call when members of the Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations, led by its Chairperson, Dr. Rose Oko, visited the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja. Professor Yakubu said: “allowing Nigerians living abroad to vote will allow Nigerians in Diaspora to register and vote in their country of residence. “For this to happen, several sections of the Constitution and the Electoral Act have to be amended to provide for the legal framework to allow for registration and voting by citizens living in the Diaspora.” He said that the Commission had identified areas of the Constitution and the Electoral Act which needed amendment and was willing to discuss it with the Committee. “INEC is committed to providing Nigerians living outside the country the opportunity to have a say in who become our leaders at various levels. “I hope that arising from our interactions today, the legal and constitutional obstacles to voting by Nigerians in Diaspora will soon be removed so that Nigerians, irrespective of where they live around the world would have the opportunity to vote in future elections, but the first step towards actualizing that possibility rests entirely on the national assembly because you are the only people who have the powers to amend our constitution and laws.” Earlier, the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organizations, Senator Rose Oko, had told the leadership of INEC that members of the Committee were in the Commission in respect of the quest for Nigerians in Diaspora to be part of the electoral process and to exercise their franchise. Senator Oko advised the Commission to look into the possibility of including Nigerians in Diaspora to vote, and assured that the Committee would do everything possible to facilitate the amendment of the relevant sections of the Electoral Act to accommodate people living outside the country in the electoral process. “We in the Senate Committee do believe that we would lend our voice very strongly to the call that Nigerians in Diaspora should be given an opportunity to exercise their franchise to vote in the countries where they are domiciled for a number of reasons.” [myad]
A university lecturer and an expert in stroke management, Professor Arthur Onwuchekwa, has attributed the increasing cases of hypertension and stroke in the country to the lifestyle of some Nigerians.
Onwuchekwa said that though, the cause of hypertension is preventable, but that such lifestyle has made stroke difficult to conquer.
The expert, who is a lecturer in the Department of Medicine, Faculty of Clinical Science, University of Port Harcourt, made these known in a lecture he delivered at the 135th Inaugural Lecture of the university. The lecture was titled, ‘Stroke: A Preventable Disaster Waiting to Happen.’
He identified excessive alcohol intake, too much consumption of salt and poor diet as some of the reasons why people suffered stroke, even as he expressed the need for a healthy life style, including regular exercise among Nigerians.
“The prevalence of stroke is high in Nigeria and no age race or class is speared. There are medical conditions that can be controlled in order to reduce stroke.
“Hypertension is the commonest cause of stroke. If we reduce hypertension by 10 percent, the mass effect in reduction of stroke will be gladdening.
“Some kind of lifestyle like excessive intake of salt and alcohol can cause hypertension. Salt and alcohol damage the blood vessels and cell.
“If you don’t engage in physical exercise, it is also dangerous. Even poor diet can lead to stroke. If somebody does not control his diabetes he would be prone to stroke.” [myad]
Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court in Lagos has convicted four companies for laundering $15.5 million which Patience Jonathan, wife of the immediate past Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, kept in their accounts with Skye Bank.
The companies – Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited; Seagate Property Development & Investment Co. Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited – are linked with a former Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Waripamo-Owei Dudafa.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in August, frozen the accounts of the four companies and seized the $15 million in the course of probing Dudafa for money laundering.
But Patience Jonathan had sued the EFCC and Skye Bank, claiming ownership of the $15.5 million.
The companies had on September 15, pleaded guilty to laundering the money when they were arraigned by the EFCC along with Dudafa, a lawyer, Amajuoyi Briggs; and a banker, Adedamola Bolodeoku. But Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku pleaded not guilty.
Based on the guilty plea of the companies, the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, reviewed the facts of the case and told the court how the companies laundered the money.
Oyedepo told the judge that the money was stolen from the State House, Abuja, saying: “the EFCC received an intelligence report showing vividly that the fourth to seventh defendants retained proceeds of crime.
“Our investigations showed that Fetus Iyoha admitted receiving the fund from the first defendant (Dudafa). Iyoha is a domestic staff at the State House.
“He admitted that funds credited into the accounts were given to him from the State House.”
Oyedepo said that Iyoha paid $3,096,377.38 into Pluto’s account; $3,410,534.71 into Seagate’s account; $3,765,711.87 into Trans Oceans’ account; and $250,000 into Avalon Global’s account. He that said the accounts of the companies were domiciled in Skye Bank.
Justice Kuewumi admitted the accounts statements in evidence. He also admitted their mandate cards, certificates of incorporation and statements made to the EFCC by the companies’ representatives.
While convicting the companies for money laundering, the judge said he was satisfied that the EFCC had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case. I’ll exercise my discretion to suspend sentence until conclusion of trial,” the judge held.
Oyedepo urged the court to order the forfeiture of the money to the Federal Government, adding: “having found them guilty, the court should make a consequential order that the money should be forfeited to the Federal Government.”
But the judge declined the application, saying that he would reserve decision on the money till the end of the case. He said that there was still Patience Jonathan’s suit, where she is claiming ownership of the money.
“The ownership issue is still pending. There’s also a pending suit on the matter.”
He adjourned till December 14 for the trial of Dudafa, Briggs and Bolodeoku.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started mobilizing members of the National Assembly for the amendment of the constitution to allow Nigerians living outside the country to vote during the election.
The Conspiracy To Destroy Nigeria, By Simon Kolawole
Sometime ago — I don’t know the exact date and time — the Nigerian political elite (some call it “elites”, but I’m more comfortable using the good old “elite”) held a two-day convention at an undisclosed location. After intense discussion, negotiation and feasting, they adopted a two-word vision statement: “Destroy Nigeria”. To actualise the vision, they also wrote a short mission statement: “To use our positions as elected or appointed political leaders to mismanage Nigeria, take excessive care of our personal needs, appropriate all possible resources to ourselves, cronies and associates, and ultimately under-develop Nigeria”.
The blueprint was developed. Committees were set up to implement the plan, in conjunction with the elite in public and private sectors. People were given specific tasks and assignments: you, go and destroy Kogi state; you, go and ruin the ministry of petroleum resources; you, go and make sure there is no electricity; you, go and derail the railway; you, go and make Customs a cesspool of decay; you, go and ensure that students are taught Chemistry without chemicals; you, let the roads be eternally unmotorable; you, go and work with the private sector elite to take out as much money as possible to buy property in Dubai, London, Monaco and New York.
The political elite also agreed to work as one, no matter party affiliation, ethnic origin, and religious beliefs. It was agreed that irrespective of the posting and position — federal, state, council, zone, ministry, agency, department, commission — the most important task is personal accumulation of wealth. Award contracts that are not meant to be executed. Start projects that are intended to be abandoned somewhere along the line. Inflate contracts, pay “mobilisation”, take the money and run. Finally, it was agreed that the political elite are one family, one fraternity: any insider who tries to spill the beans should be crushed. Injury to one family member is injury to all.
After the backslapping and glass-clinking, they brought the convention to a close and set out to work. From time to time, they do peer review. One will say ‘I now fly chattered jets across the country’. The other will say ‘I’m buying a private jet next week’. This one will say ‘my daughter’s wedding is holding in Paris’. That one will say ‘my birthday is in Venice’. Have you paid workers’ salaries? No, I owe five months, but my people understand that federal allocation has fallen. I’m travelling to China for one month with a 100-man delegation to go and woo foreign investors. I’m building an airport — to finance my re-election or retirement.
The sophisticated members of the political elite class are more creative, with the help of their friends in the private sector. They take 20-year bonds for ‘infrastructure’ and put their people in bondage, while the real infrastructure is the stomach or campaign finance. They concession public assets — and the concessionaire is their front. So they sit down to work out the inflated cost of the project, rig the cost recovery period (10 years can become 40 years after a bottle of cognac), and if anything goes wrong, they waste state resources to “buy out” the concessionaire — meaning a project that cost N5 billion can be bought back by the government for N80 billion. Conspiracy.
Meanwhile, the political elite also implement a well-perfected plan to keep the people busy: they play up ethnic differences, stoke regional and religious emotions, and create platforms and groups to promote or counter agitations. The people on the streets, largely unaware of the elite conspiracy, eagerly jump on the train, insulting and yelling at one another in the belief that one religion or one ethnic group or one geo-political zone is their enemy. The elite create narratives that becloud the fact that mismanagement is in every nook and cranny of Nigeria, the fact that incompetence is in every council and state. They just tell the naive people what they love to hear.
The hapless people are hungry and angry and will fall for anything. They are unaware that right on their streets, the elite conspiracy is being implemented through muddy roads, gaping potholes, clogged drains and marauding muggers. Politics is coloured as black and white to the gullible masses. They think that one party is good and another is bad, that one ethnic group is full of morons while their own is filled with geniuses. The plot of the political elite is to make sure the people never get to speak with one voice to confront them — and this is working just fine. If only the people knew of the conspiracy, they would stone these overfed politicians first, and ask questions later.
You are asking me: was there really a meeting where the political elite agreed to destroy Nigeria? Well, well, well… let us put it this way: it doesn’t matter if there was actually a ‘conspiracy convention’. The politicians do not have to meet physically to draw up a plan to underdevelop Nigeria. It is a mental meeting. Anybody who gets political power knows he is expected to act in a certain way, and he understands quite well that the purpose of the power is not to make life better for the people but to enjoy comfort and accumulate as much wealth as possible. If some development happens along the line, all good. But that was never the intention.
When politicians get power, they understand very well what it means. They don’t need any convention to understand the unwritten rules: somebody nominated or helped you into office, so paying the political IOU must be top priority; you don’t come out of government not owning new mansions or buying an Island, so amassing wealth is another priority; there is another election coming up, so you need to build up funds for that; when you award contracts, the fundamental motive is to stockpile personal wealth, not to improve anything — but if they end up improving healthcare, education, housing and anything at all, smile and claim credit.
I do not have any problem with the political elite — which I would define simply as “those who are privileged to wield any form of political power and influence by appointment, election or association”. Every country has its elite classes — political, economic, traditional, professional, etc. It is part of the societal structure from the foundation of the world. To be a member of the political elite is therefore not a stigma or a sin. If I my fictional Nigerian political elite “convention” created the wrong impression, I do apologise. I repeat: there is nothing wrong with being a member of the political elite. It is a thing to be desired.
However, as with all human formations and classifications, they have different motives and different motivations. There are two basic classifications of the political elite: the Developmental Political Elite (DPE) and the Predatory Political Elite (PPE). There is a fundamental difference. DPEs are developmental in their orientation: they have a ‘vision of society’, a mental picture of how the society should be in terms of political, human and economic development. Development is their core vision. They are no saints and are not beyond seeking personal comfort, but that is a “fringe benefit” rather than the primary objective. They have a passion for development.
PPEs, on the other hand, are innately predatory: they have only a ‘vision of self’. What excites them the most is personal benefit. Development sometimes creeps into the agenda but that is purely an aside. This is the category of political elite that have hijacked Nigeria at national and sub-national levels, perhaps since the Independence era. There have been episodes of hijack by the developmental elite and they made some impact. In the military governments of Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Lt. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo and Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, there was a noticeable presence of DPEs. In Obasanjo’s second coming, there were also quite a few of them.
I conclude. By and large, I believe that for Nigeria to progress, the developmental elite must be in control of political power, either as the president or as the president’s core group (“kitchen cabinet”). The Asian Tigers were developed by DPEs. The Chinese DPEs pulled 500 million citizens out of poverty in three decades. DPEs are driven by love for country. They are competent and patriotic — willing and able to nullify the elite conspiracy. They can change the vision from “Destroy Nigeria” to “Develop Nigeria”. If Buhari is ever going to succeed, the right kind of elite must “hijack” his government. His kitchen cabinet must be filled with DPEs. Key.
AND FOUR OTHER THINGS…
INCONCLUSIVE INEC
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made its name as the “inconclusive national electoral commission” — and it added another feather to its cap on Thursday when it recognised Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim as the PDP governorship candidate for Ondo state. Why did I say so? In Edo state, INEC recognised Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu, the candidate of the Ahmed Makarfi ‘PDP faction’, as the governorship flag bearer. In Ondo, it is recognising the candidate of the Modu Sheriff ‘PDP faction’. That means INEC is inconclusive on what PDP faction to recognise. Not completely out of character, you would say, but intriguing all the same. Fishy.
MAGU MATTER
Mr. Ibrahim Magu has been acting as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) forever and ever. Why has the senate not confirmed him? How long are we going to wait to have a substantive chairman? There is no doubt that Magu has been working round the clock in the anti-graft war, and if there is any agency President Buhari can be very proud of today, EFCC is it. There are a few things many of us do not agree with concerning EFCC operations — particularly the media trials while someone is still being investigated — but that should not detract from the fact that Magu has been doing a commendable job leading the agency. Puzzling.
CODE OF MISCONDUCT
Who still remembers what the senate tried to do to the ICPC Act in 2002? Following a belief that President Olusegun Obasanjo wanted to use ICPC against Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, the lawmakers sought to render the agency impotent. The amendment died on arrival. Now, federal lawmakers are trying to bring the code of conduct bureau (CCB) and code of conduct tribunal (CCT) under the control of the national assembly by amending the laws — apparently because they believe the president is using the CCT against Senate President Bukola Saraki. Since the legislature wants executive powers, shouldn’t we just return to the parliamentary system? Absurd.
NO, THANKS
That two ambassadorial nominees turned down Buhari is not what surprises me — it is the fact that they were not pre-informed about their nominations in the first place. It was during the military era that this culture of “appointment by NTA network news” started, and I remember two people with similar names once showing up for inauguration under the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida government. Although Mrs Pauline Tallen and Dr. Usman Bugaje gave “good” reasons for turning down the nominations, we did not even have to get to that. APC promised us change, but it seems it is more of the same. Maybe it is a Nigerian problem — not that of political parties. Embarrassing.
Credit: Simon Kolawole. [myad]