Enyimba of Nigeria and Wydad Casablanca today, sailed to next round of the CAF Champions League, despite falling 2-1 to Vital’O in the second leg of their first round match in Nigeria. The Peoples Elephants advance 6-3 on aggregate, thanks to a 5-1 home thrashing of their opponents in the first leg. Former Warri Wolves attacking midfielder, Ikechukwu Ibenegbu gave Enyimba the lead in 28 minutes, with Shasiri Nahimana levelling things up for Vital’O in Bujumbura two minutes later. Burundi international striker Laudit Mavugo put the locals ahead five minutes past the hour mark, but that was just too little too late over the two legs. Elsewhere, Tanzania giants, Young Africans, progressed 3-2 on aggregate after holding Rwanda’s APR to a 1-1 draw in Dar es Salaam, courtesy of a 2-1 away win in Kigali in the first leg. Enyimba will take on Olympique Khouribga or Etoile du Sahel as Young Africans battle Al Ahly or Recreativo do Libolo.
As expected, the re-run elections in Rivers State today were bugged down by weird happenings, including the kidnapping of the state commissioner for Water Resources, Chief Ibibia Walter amd a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Elyon Ntiro Elijah. The two politicians were said to have been kidnapped by unknown gunmen today as the State and National Assembly polls get underway in the restive state. A news flash on @pdpnigeria, the official Twitter handle of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said: “Chief Ibibia Walter, Rivers State Commissioner for Water Resources has just been abducted by unknown gunmen.” Another report also confirmed that the APC’s Ntiro Elijah had earlier been kidnapped. “Elijah, who was a former leader of Andoni Local Government legislative Assembly, was said to have been kidnapped at Asarama waterside in Andoni Local Government Area of the state late last night,” the report said. This was even as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the suspension of the re-run elections in Bonny, Andoni, Gokana, and Khana local government areas of the state. INEC’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Nick Dazang, confirmed that the elections were suspended in the areas because of violence. Dazang said there was also high voters’ apathy in the areas because of the allegations of fake result sheets. Bonny, Andoni, and Khana were among the local government areas where the Rivers state government and the Peoples Democratic Party alleged fake result sheets were in circulation. There were reports of pockets of violence and ballots snatching in the elections, although the police said the poll was largely peaceful. For instance, some thugs were said to have snatched election materials around 2.30pm at three units in WIiyaakara Ward, Khana Local Government Area. At Bori, also in Khana, INEC officials were reportedly scared of stepping out of their offices to conduct the election because of threats from persons wearing fake military uniform. A 14-seater bus was burnt down in Alode, Eleme Local Government Area, and there were also reports of a shoot-out in Rumuekini, Obio Akpor Local Government Area. The Army in the state paraded some fake soldiers arrested at Khana. However, counting of votes has begun in some polling units across the state. Meanwhile, the state government has accused the Nigerian military of colluding with the APC in the state to hijack election materials. The government in a statement said: “we noted with shock and disgust the role played by the military in the reported diversion of all voting materials meant for the Isaka community, in Okrika Local Government Area. “This is sickening betrayal of democracy by the military, and will never be allowed to stand.” The APC in the state dismissed the statement by the Rivers government as mere falsehood. [myad]
The Federal Ministry of Finance has announced that it would soon appoint three independent and experienced financial analysts to strengthen and increase the capacity of the Post-Mortem sub-Committee of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The appointment of the three financial analysts was approved at the last FAAC meeting in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. In a statement, the Ministry explained that the Post-Mortem Sub-Committee would aim at enhancing accountability, improving reconciliations and ensuring transparent process in respect of all the revenues accruable to the Federation Account. The sub-committee is saddled with the responsibility of examining the books of accounts of all revenue agencies, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIIRS), the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC`), the Customs Service, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Ministry of Mines and Steel. It is expected to report deficiencies observed to the Federation Account Committee and recommend the way forward. Though the un-reconciled differences are no longer there, with the increased oversight of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the transparency of the NNPC, it will be easy for the sub-committee to achieve better results. The committee, which reports to the Federation Account on a monthly basis, was originally set up to encourage revenue reconciliation and block leakages through the use of technology. The NNPC had rejected the findings of the audit report submitted recently to the National Assembly by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, stating that the audit query it raised over the non-remittance of N3.235 trillion to the Federation Account was erroneous. The corporation had insisted that its balance to the federation account is N326 billion.
Minister of information in the government of Goodluck Jonathan, Mr. Labaran Maku has handed over those whom he said have been telling lies against him.
“I invite God to judge those who are behind this cruel propaganda and satanic attacks. Those behind these wicked attacks on President Jonathan faking me as the source are exactly the evil ones destroying the reputation of our country before the world.”
In a statement today, Maku said that s statement doing the rounds in some social media platforms quoting him as saying that Nigerians will stone former President Jonathan to death by the time President Buhari Probes him was a figment of the imagination of those peddling it.
“This is the fourth time political enemies are using my name against President Jonathan in order to destroy him. The story is a piece of satanic fiction planted to destroy President Jonathan and to paint me as a traitor who betrays his master. This is wicked and ungodly. Every Nigerian knows that I am President Jonathan’s avowed loyalist and believer in the great job he has done for Nigeria.
“I invite God to judge those who are behind this cruel propaganda and satanic attacks. Those behind these wicked attacks on President Jonathan faking me as the source are exactly the evil ones destroying the reputation of our country before the world. “I have forwarded the social media users involved in this heinous propaganda to security agencies to fish out the attackers and their sponsors for appropriate action.
“It is very sad that we have reached this level of cruelty In the name of politics. I remain Jonathan’s loyalist and believer in his vision and achievements for Nigeria. “Those hiding in the social media forest to perpetrate these evil propaganda should come out if they are courageous. They may hide in the social media but they can’t hide from God.” [myad]
Two things prompted this write-up: just last week, I traveled to Kano to collect my result, certifying me as a graduate of mass communication with 4.07 as my cumulative CGPA and the second best graduating student, secondly, the world happiness report released by the United Nations sustainable Development Solutions Network. The survey ranked countries based on their abilities to provide basic necessities of life for their citizens thereby making them happy .The report published on several news outfits ranked Denmark the “ Happiest Nation, Burundi, the least happy” and Nigeria 103rd least happiest in the World.
But to start with the first one, as usually the case with many students who graduated and are awaiting mobilization for National Youth Service, I started browsing the street of some major towns and cities in search of a temporary job to earn a living and avoid being dependent.
I visited several secondary schools in Kano to see if I could be appointed a classroom teacher, of all the schools I visited, the school principal pulls out dossiers of applicants waiting to be called for an interview. I wasn’t discourage, I visited some private radio stations where some of my friends work, one of them whispered: “ we haven’t been paid salaries for three months”. What!
A friend and classmate who resides in Gombe told me of a newly established Radio station—Progress FM. He advised I visit him to see if I could be lucky this time around. I conceded. Upon entry into the reception of Progress FM in his company, I demanded contact with the General Manager which I got within a couple of minutes. I tabled my issue immediately. She replied, though in a very encouraging tone at least not to get me demoralized. “We have over 40 staff already” wow!
I thanked my friend for his support and left for Bauchi, my home state. Upon arrival, another friend of mine who studied mass communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi and have completed his NYSC but is still jobless told me to hold on a second.
“ I thought you have been an Editor-in-Chief of Bayero Beacon and THE READER, your school based Newspaper and Magazine? He interrogated. Yes. I replied. And you also have more than four points as your CGPA? Yes. I answered again. Then you have a chance to work with the Daily Trust Newspaper, he said. No.Daily Trust only employs best graduating students and I am the second. I replied in a rather low tone of hopelessness.
What about other National Dailies such as Vanguard, The Guardian, Sahara Reporters, Premium Times, Greenbarge Reporters and other online newspapers? He further queried. Probably they only employ more experienced writers and seasoned journalists, but unfortunately I’m not one. I conceded.
But you can apply for Graduate Assistant in your University or Polytechnic where they teach Mass Communication, what about that? He continued with his mind boggling questions. This time around, he mentioned what I like doing most, but I was getting angrier with his questions. Universities no longer employ graduate assistants, and even if they do, you need the support of someone very influential to bag the job, I told him.
Just hold on, after your NYSC, you can apply for Nigeria Defence Academy and join the Army, he insists. I also have interest in joining the army. And I believe I have something to offer, especially in the areas of strategic communication. I believe, with a well coordinated strategic intelligence and communication, the army will unequivocally defeat the Boko Haram insurgents, I declared.
But if I could not get job in all the places I mentioned earlier just because I am not an anointed candidate and lack the support of those in position of authority, I wonder how I could have access to join the army.
These are my predicaments, and no doubt of thousands of graduates in Nigeria who are still jobless for no fault of theirs. And whose future is still cloudy. Aren’t these enough to make me sad? If you think these reasons are not enough, then hold on.
As I said earlier, Denmark is ranked the first “happiest nation on earth” and Nigeria is 103rd least happiest. Do you know that only Nasarawa state is richer in terms of mineral resources than the entire Denmark? Denmark has Natural gas, Limestone, Chalk, Clay, Sand, Gravel, Salt, Wind, Water, Solar and fuel trading.
In Nassarawa state, all the above resources are available plus; Beryl (emerald) Asquamirine and Haliodor), Dolomite/Marble, Sapphire, Tourmaline, Quartz- Amethyst (Topaz, gamet), Zireon, Tantalite, Cassiterite, Columbite, Limenite, Galena, Iron-Ore, Barytes, Feldspar, Limesstone, Mica, Cooking coal, Talc, Cay, Salt, Chalcopyrite. Not to talk of oil, richer agricultural land, our sea and water ways. Isn’t this enough to make you sad?
In Denmark, a lawmaker takes 38,000 US Dollars as his annual salaries while a Nigerian lawmaker takes more than four times that per month (181,974 US dollars), yet a graduate in Nigeria cannot afford three square meals. In one year, a Nigerian lawmaker takes $2183688 US which is equivalent to four hundred and thirty million, one hundred and eighty six thousand, five hundred and thirty-six naira (N430186536) and his Danish counterpart has to work for more than 57 years to earn that salaries.
Not only that, a Nigerian worker who earns N18,000 minimum wage has to work for more than 190 years before he will bag what a “distinguished” senator will earn in one year. Aren’t all these enough to make you sad? Then hold on. Do you know that a Nigerian Senator earns more than Barrack Obama of US and David Cameron of UK? A lawmaker in Sweden has to work for 12 years before he/she will earn what a senator in Nigeria will take home in 12 months.
Despite all the jumbo salaries of our lawmakers, about 300,000 children die annually of, guess what? Malaria! But no child dies of malaria in Denmark. As of 2015, our infant mortality rate (number of babies dying before they reach one year per 1000 birth) was put at 57 children while only 3 children die in Denmark before they reach one year. Isn’t this enough to make you sad?
Even citizens from war torn countries like Libya, Somalia, Lebanon and Tunisia are happier than Nigerians according to the ranking.
While countries like United Arab Emirates are appointing Minister of happiness to “align and derive government policy to create social good and satisfaction”, Nigeria should appoint its first ever minister of sadness to mobilize and coordinate sad people in Nigeria and at least remind them that President Buhari is in charge, probably things may get better.
I am calling on PMB to appoint me as his first minister of sadness, but my worries for now lies on the fact that I may not pass ministerial screening especially in the event that the National “Legislooters” (Legislators) become upset with my article
Haruna Mohammed Salisu writes from Bauchi. He could be reached at 08063180608 or harunababale@gmail.com. [myad]
Police in Brussels have announced the arrest of the most wanted terrorist, Salah Abdeslam, believed to be the 10th participant in the Paris terrorist attacks of Nov. 13 after the afternoon raid today.
A Belgian minister, Théo Francken wrote on Twitter: “We’ve got him.”
The country’s two public broadcasters, VRT and RTBF, reported that Abdeslam had been captured and had a leg injury, and that the raid was one of four carried out in the Belgian capital.
The raid, carried out by a heavily armed phalanx of police officers, began about an hour after Belgian prosecutors announced that they had found Abdeslam’s fingerprint in an apartment that was raided on Tuesday.
Of the 10 men believed to have participated directly in the attacks, which were orchestrated by the Islamic State and killed 130 people, Abdeslam was the only one who was at large. The rest are dead.
Mr. Michel raced from a summit meeting of European Union and Turkish leaders about the migration crisis in Europe to deal with the situation. On Twitter, he said he was monitoring the police operations with President François Hollande of France.
“There is a link with the Paris attacks,” Mr. Hollande told reporters in Brussels, while declining to provide details of the police operation. “We need to let the Belgian police finish its work and wrap up the operation that is still ongoing.”
Belgian security forces work at the scene of an anti-terrorism operation on Friday in the Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels. Credit Laurent Dubrule/European Pressphoto Agency
The raid on Tuesday was not an attempt to capture Abdeslam. The authorities had targeted the home, on the Rue du Dries in the Forest section of Brussels, as part of an effort to collect additional intelligence. Over the past four months, the French and Belgian police have raided dozens of buildings, scooped up troves of documents and questioned scores of suspects as part of their investigation.
The French and Belgian officers who conducted the raid were surprised to find the residence occupied. They immediately came under fire, and in the ensuing gunfight, a 35-year-old man named Mohamed Belkaid was killed, while two other people escaped. Four police officers were slightly wounded.
It was the second time the authorities had found Abdeslam’s fingerprints in an apartment in Brussels; in December his fingerprints were found in an apartment in the Schaerbeek section of Brussels, along with material that might have been used to make suicide belts.
The tantalizing, and frustrating, clues suggested that Mr. Abdeslam hid in the Belgian capital after the attacks, and might be there still, although some investigators theorized that he escaped to Syria.
Belgian prosecutors said on Friday that the Algerian man killed in the raid, Mr. Belkaid, was “most probably” a man who helped the Paris attackers. Mr. Belkaid had been using fake Belgian identity papers in the name Samir Bouzid.
A man traveling under that name had been previously identified as one of two men in a car with Abdeslam in September as the three drove between Hungary and Austria. After the attacks, someone using the name Samir Bouzid wired 750 euros, about $825, to the cousin of Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the on-the-ground organizer of the attacks. (Mr. Abaaoud died in a police raid outside Paris on Nov. 18.)
Abdeslam, 26, a Belgian-born French citizen of Morrocan ancestry, is believed to have driven the car that carried a team of terrorists to the Bataclan theater, where 89 people died.
In the hours after the attacks in Paris, and before his identity was widely known, Abdeslam was overlooked by the French authorities as he returned to Belgium by car.
The Expanding Web of Connections Among the Paris Attackers
It remains unclear if he was one of the assailants expected to carry out a subsequent attack, in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris. He was suspected of dumping his suicide vest in a trash can after the attacks, but authorities have not found his DNA. They are not certain that the vest belonged to him, although that has been the working hypothesis. It is also not certain whether he ever intended to detonate the vest.
Abdeslam and his brother Ibrahim, who blew himself up during the attacks lived in Molenbeek; Mr. Abdeslam was known to the authorities as a possible Islamic militant.
In 2010, Ibrahim Abdeslam served time in a Belgian prison with Mr. Abaaoud, who helped organize the attacks and who also lived in Molenbeek.
Salah Abdeslam had several brushes with the law, mainly for minor offenses. A week before the attacks, Belgian authorities shut down the nightclub Ibrahim Abdeslam operated because the two were suspected of selling drugs.
In September, Salah Abdeslam drove to Budapest, where he picked up two men who returned with him to Belgium with fake identity cards.
The morning after the attacks, Abdeslam was stopped on a highway in the French town of Cambrai, near the Belgian border, but he was waved through.
Despite an enormous manhunt, Abdeslam evaded the dragnet in at least two different countries.
There has been almost weekly report by various French and Belgium media outlets, none confirmed yet by government authorities, of Abdeslam’s whereabouts. Sightings have been reported in at least two places in Belgium as well as in Amsterdam. Other law enforcement experts suggested that he went to Syria.
In December it was revealed that Abdeslam may have evaded the Belgian police two days after the attacks because of an arcane law that prevented law enforcement officers from raiding a private home after 9 p.m.
Last month his fiancée was quoted in the Belgium media saying that he would be killed before he would allow himself to be captured. [myad]
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have given details of how Senate President, Bukola Saraki allegedly looted Kwara State while he served as the state’s governor between 2003 and 2011.
The CCB and EFCC, in a joint response to claim by Saraki that his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was mere persecution and witch-hunt, gave details of how Saraki allegedly acquired property in Lagos, Abuja and London, using kwara State funds.
The agencies also gave details of how Saraki allegedly siphoned Kwara state funds, using his link with a commercial bank, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc into his foreign account, and with which he procured property in London.
The joint response by the CCT and EFCC is contained in the counter-affidavit filed by the prosecution in the trial of Saraki on charges of false assets declaration.
Saraki had, in a fresh motion filed by his new lawyer, Kanu Agabi (SAN), queried the competence of the charge against him, the jurisdiction of the CCT to try the charge on the ground that he was not accorded fair hearing by the CCB before he was charged before the EFCC over alleged discrepancies in his asset declarations forms.
He queried the timing, arguing that most of the offences were allegedly committed about 15 years ago while he was a governor and that he was not confronted with the discrepancies as required under the Constitution, to enable him explain either agree or deny the discrepancies.
The prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) argued the prosecution’s counter-affidavit and urged the court to dismiss Saraki’s fresh motion on the ground that it constituted an abuse of court process.
An official of the CCB, Peter Danladi stated in the counter affidavit, that the investigation of the various petitions of corruption, theft, money laundering, among others against Saraki in 2010, was conducted jointly by official of the EFCC, CCB and the DSS.
“The EFCC conducted its investigation on the various petitions and made findings which showed that the defendant/applicant abused his office while he was the governor of Kwara State and was involved in various acts of corruption as the governor of the state.
“The defendant/applicant borrowed huge sums of money running into billions from commercial banks, particularly Guarantee Trust Bank and used the proceeds of the loan to acquire several landed property in Lagos, Abuja and London, while he was the governor of Kwara State.
“As against the defendant using his own legitimate income to defray the loan, he took public funds, running into billions from Kwara State Government and lodged same in several tranches and in cash into his GTB account I GRA (Government Reservation Area), Ilorin, Kwara State.
“The defendant/applicant’s account officer in GTB, confirmed that the defendant/applicant gave him several cash in government house to lodge into the account and in some occasions, the defendant sent his aids from government house to give him the cash for lodgement into his account.
“When the EFCC submitted its report to its legal department and the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice formed the opinion that the offences revealed from the investigation, particlularly as they relate to the property acquired by the defendant/applicant while he was governor of Kwara State and various moneys sent into his various accounts outside Nigeria can be better handled through the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
“The office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) then sends the findings and the evidence gathered during investigation by the EFCC as a complaint to the Code of Conduct Bureau for investigation and that the operatives of the EFCC would collaborate with the officers of the CCB for effective investigation.
“Our investigation on the CCB Assets Declaration Forms for public officers filed by the defendant/respondent revealed the following:
“The landed property listed as No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi was visited by Mr. Ikechi Iwuagwu (Deputy Director, CCB), Miss. Geraldine Longsten (DSS) and Adamu Garba (EFCC) sometime in 2006 and discovered that the property was under construction.
“Contrary to the declaration by the defendant that he was earning an annual income of N110, 000,000 from No: 42 Gerald Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, there were no tenants in the property as same was an empty land as at the time of the declaration.
“Contrary to the declaration by the defendant that he owned 15A and 15B Mcdonald, Ikoyi, Lagos as at the time of the declaration in 2003 our investigation revealed that the said property were acquaired in 2006 from the implementation committee on Federal Government Landed properties through his companies called Tiny Tee Limited and Vitti Oil Limited wherein he paid the sum of N396, 150,000 to the federal Government of Nigeria.
“The defendant made an anticipatory declaration for the said 15A and 15B, Ikoyi, Lagos. The defendant acquired the property in the name of two companies because he could not buy two Federal government property in his personal name.
“The defendant bided for and acquired 17, 17A and 17B Mcdonald, Ikoyi, Lagos from the Implementation Committee on Federal government Landed Property and paid an aggregate sum of N497, 200,000 to the Federal Government between October 2006 and 2007.
“A scrutiny of the defendant’s salary account with the Intercontinental Bank (now Access Bank) of account No: 0100857813 reveals that his monthly take home salary as at the time he acquired the property was not more than N500, 000 and the defendant acquired property far in excess of his income.
“While the Federal Government was selling its property, the Centarl Bank of Nigeria, being an agency of the Federal Government sold plot 2A, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos for N325,000,000 between 2007 and 2008 to the defendant, which the defendant purchased through his company called Carlisle Properties when he was the governor of Kwara State,” Danladi said.
He added that further investigation by the CCB revealed that Saraki also acquired a property at Plot #&A Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos through Carlisle Properties Limited while he was governor of Kwara state and that he has been receiving rent form the property.
Danladi said that investigation on the asset declaration forms submitted by Saraki between 2003 and 2011 revealed that he failed to declare his interest in Plot 2A Golver Road, Ikoyi, Lagos (in his 2011 asset declaration form); No: 1 Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as 2482 Cadastral Zone A06, which he claimed he acquired in November 1996 from one David Baba Akawu (in his assets declaration form of 2003).
Saraki was also said to have failed to declare his ownership of No: 3 Targus Street, Maitama, Abuja otherwise known as 2481 Cadastral Zone A06, Abuja which he acquired from one Alhaji Attahiru Adamu in his asset declaration form (of June 3, 2011.) and No: 42 Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja Lagos, which he acquired through his company, Skyview Properties Limited from First Finance Trust Limited on December 12, 1996.
“The defendant has a domiciliary account with GTB Plc in Nigeria with account No: 441441953210 from where he made various cash transfers totalling 3.4million US dollar between 2009 and 2012 to American Express Service Europe Limited with account No: 730580 maintained with the American Express bank, New York and the various sums were transferred into the defendant’s card account No: 374588216836009 maintained by the defendant outside Nigeria.
“Sometime in February 2010 the defendant obtained a loan of N375, 000,000 from GTB Plc in Nigeria, which he converted into 1,516,194.53 pounds sterling and gave instructions to the bank to transfer the entire sum to the united Kingdom in favour of Forts Bank SA/NV the purpose of which the defendant stated to be the full and final payment of mortgage redemption for the property he purchased in London,” Danladi said.
Arguing Saraki’s motion earlier, Agabi was of the view that the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the charges, on among other grounds, that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice lacked the powers to file charges before the tribunal.
He also argued that the failure of the Code of Conduct Bureau to invite Saraki to confront him with the breaches in his assets declaration form was fatal to the validity of the charges.
Responding, Jacobs argued that Agabi’s argument was embarrassing and self-serving. Jacobs, who once served as aide to Agabi while he was the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) wondered why his former principal will now argue against the power to initiate proceedings before the CCT.
“On their argument that the AGF cannot initiate proceedings before this tribunal, we are saying that issue, which is their NO: 2 is embarrassing. They had earlier argued, up to the Supreme Court, that it is only the AGF that can initiate cases here. They dragged that case before the Supreme Court and lost. Then they have come back here to now argue the opposite, that the AGF cannot initiate a case before the CCT.
“Fortunately for me, I served with the lead defence lawyer (Agabi) as a Special Assistant (SA) when he was the AGF. He signed several charges, which I prosecuted before this tribunal on his behalf. Some these case included that involving former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, Jeremiah Useni, former Plateau State governor, Joshua Dariye, among others.
“He did not only sign those charges, I represented him. Having benefited and utilised those law, can he now come back to condemn the law? That is embarrassing. And it should not be accepted. The same AGF, who worked with that provision of the Constitution, cannot now argue that the EFCC cannot liaise with the CCB in investigating cases,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs argued that the fresh motion by Saraki was an abuse of court process because he had raised similar issues and sought the same reliefs in about four other motions he filed before different courts in the country.
He cited the cases marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/775/15, FHC/ABJ/CS/905/15 and FHC/ABJ/CS/1507/15 already filed by Saraki in attempt to frustrate his trial before the CCT.
CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar has adjourned to March 24 for ruling and possible commencement of trial. [myad]
The times are hard. There is a consensus that the economy has tanked – at least in the short term. The naira has lost much of its value in the real (or parallel) forex market. As usual we bicker on who is to blame. Overlooked in the finger pointing is the old cliché that necessity is the mother of invention and that every crisis creates its own opportunities. As Thomas Edison, the American inventor and business man would say, opportunity is missed by most people because it is generally dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Peter Drucker, the Austrian-born American management consultant would say that the entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and exploits it as an opportunity. The Nigerian bus conductor would remind us that Nigeria is tough but that those who live in it are made of iron. The American author Napoleon Hill would say that our opportunity may be right where we are. The crucial question therefore is beyond the economic gloom, how do we partake in the available opportunities created by the current currency crisis and the gloomy economic outlook?
The first consolation is that we are not alone in what APC politicians like to call ‘the mess we are in’. The truth is that it is simplistic to blame the PDP for all that has gone wrong in the country, including the current economic crisis. Ironically by framing the current economic crisis as a PDP legacy, there is an expectation that an APC government headed by a man that is generally believed not to be corrupt will fix things quickly.
And because this has not happened and is not likely to happen overnight, there is an increasing frustration that is already morphing into legitimacy crisis in some quarters. Like those who blame all our problems, including the inability of some women to find husbands and some men to find wives on the past government, expectations that Buhari has a sort of magic wand to fix our problems overnight are also simplistic.
The truth is that several countries are seriously hurting. All exporting economies – whether they are exporting manufactured goods or simply commodities as we do – are not finding things easy. For instance exporters of manufactured goods such as China are suffering because of the weakness in Europe and to a lesser degree the USA. Mineral and oil exporters have been particularly hard hit because of declining commodity prices.
In a very incisive article in the Geopolitical Futures of January 26 2016 entitled, ‘The Export Crisis: The 10 Worst Hit Countries and the 5 Most at Risk’, George Friedman ranked Nigeria the eighth worst affected behind China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Australia, Zambia and Angola in that order. Like Nigeria, Russia is heavily dependent on its oil revenues, with oil and gas accounting for about 70 per cent of total export revenues. It is often said that Russia loses about $2 billion in revenue for every dollar fall in the oil price.
In Venezuela, which relies on crude sales for roughly 96 percent of its exports and more than half of the country’s gross domestic product, it is estimated that for every dollar off the price of oil, the government loses as much as $700 million in estimated revenues a year. Though it is estimated that we need oil prices of about $119 a barrel to balance our budget, oil prices currently straddle between $39 and $40 per barrel. It is therefore obvious that much of the current economic challenge is caused by external shock.
My argument is not that PDP did not get a few things wrong or that Buhari’s and CBN’s economic policies are beyond reproach. My argument rather is that insufficient weight is given to the international context of the current crisis and that not enough attention is paid to the opportunities created by the crisis.
While some companies are already grabbing these opportunities with both hands most of us remain the ‘wailing wailers’. For instance the Deputy Managing Director of Tempo Pulp & Packaging Ltd, Nassos Sidirofagis, a Greek national who runs a manufacturing firm in Nigeria was quoted by the Vanguard of January 26 2016 as saying that due to the CBN’s demand management policies that included the banning of the importation of 41 items, local patronage has increased, leading to a 70 per cent increase in capacity utilization. For Mr Sidirofagis, the CBN’s policy was the “game changer because as a Nigerian company, we are also competing globally and locally”.
It is within the above context that the current ‘Made in Nigeria’ campaign should be located. The Senate President Bukola Saraki recently promised that the National Assembly would support locally produced items including garments, wears and cars. He also promised that the Public Procurement Act would be amended by the 8th National Assembly to make it mandatory for the government to patronize ‘Made in Nigeria’ goods. In the same vein, Aisha Abubakar, the Minister of state for Trade, Industry and Investment has proposed a ‘Patronize Naija Product Campaign’, as a way of encouraging local manufacturers.
Equally, Ben Bruce, ‘the Common Sense’ Senator has created a hashtag: #BuyNaijatoGrowtheNaira to trump support for locally made goods. Senator Bruce and some members of the National Assembly have gone a step further by purchasing Made in Nigeria cars. The wife of the President Muhamadu Buhari, Hajiya Aishat Buhari, equally keyed into the ‘Made in Nigeria’ train. Recently she commissioned the Erisco Foods Lagos Factory. The factory is said to be the largest tomato paste factory in Africa and the fourth largest in the world with installed capacity of 450,000 metric tonnes per annum.
Elite-led campaign for locally made goods is all well and good. But more needs to be done beyond the rhetoric, grandstanding, photo-op and our instinctive search for new mantras and catch-phrases as the magic elixirs to our problems. I will recommend the following:
One, the government should define what it means by ‘Made in Nigeria’. Since many ‘locally manufactured’ products even in the industrialized economies still have substantial foreign inputs, we need to know what percentage of locally sourced materials must be in place for a product to be called ‘Made in Nigeria’ It is important not to mistake local re-packaging or assembling for local manufacture. The government will then design different incentive packages for companies with certain percentages of local content.
Two, for Nigerians to maximally take advantage of the opportunities in the current economic challenges or for the Made-in-Nigeria Campaign to work, credit must be available at affordable rate to local producers. In this connection the CBN needs to take a second look at the current nine per cent cost of borrowing policy from commercial banks to manufacturers. It also needs to fast track the commencement of operations by the recently established Development Bank of Nigeria, which is dedicated to industrial development.
Three, a big challenge for most policies in Nigeria is sustainability. Though some people mentioned as belonging to Buhari’s Economic Management team are honestly uninspiring, once economic policies have been thoroughly debated by those competent to do so and a decision is taken, the government should avoid quick reversals. This is different from being inflexible which happens when one clings to a course of action even against superior argument or evidence that the chosen path is not working. Since every new policy is expected to disadvantage some of the current beneficiaries, a fight-back using different tools, channels and tactics should be expected.
This is where the ability of the President to provide maximum political cover to those who are fronting the policy becomes an imperative. Certainly without Obasanjo’s generous political cover, El-Rufai’s restoration of the Abuja Masterplan or Soludo’s bank consolidation would not have been possible.
Four, though the debate on whether the naira should be devalued or not is both complex and largely ideological (each option has its merits and downsides), what is not in doubt is that there is need for measures to bridge the gap between the official and parallel market rates. The Nation newspaper of 27 February 2016 reported that the CBN is targeting a N200 per dollar rate for the parallel market.
It also claims that the CBN has the capacity to sustain the current downward pressure on the major foreign currencies and that the apex bank’s aim is “to ensure that the divergence between the official and parallel rate does not exceed N3”. Certainly if the CBN is able to do this, the debate on whether the Naira should be devalued or not will become a moot point because the black market is the ‘real’ foreign exchange market. It also means that the temptation for arbitrage and round tripping by those fortunate enough to get foreign currency at the official exchange rate will be reduced.
Former governor of Oyo state, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has said that with bad economy presently staring the nation in the face, he would have died of hypertension if he had won the governorship election of Oyo state last year.
Akala, who expressed joy for losing the election which he contested under the platform of Labour Party (LP), told newsmen shortly after he visited the national secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, said instead of regretting the loss of the election, he is happy over it.
“I said that because I pitied the governors because of what they are going through now. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep with these dwindling monthly allocations. That was the reason why I said that. I don’t know how I would have coped. It doesn’t go beyond that.”
On why he visited the Secretariat, Akala said: “I’m at the national headquarters of my party, maybe, you don’t know that I’m in the APC. This is just to tell you that I’m a member of the APC. So, I have come to the national headquarters of my party to have a tete-a-tete with my leaders and the national chairman of the party, including my leaders from the South-West in the party structures. That is what I have come here to do.”
When asked whether he will give another shot to governorship seat 2019, the Ogbomosho born politician said: “When we get to the bridge, we shall cross it. This is just 2016. Time will tell wherever anybody wants to go. Why do you try to ask God about 2019 now? Do you know whether you will sleep tomorrow and wake up tomorrow? Let’s leave 2019 to God.” [myad]
Whatever problem we may have in Nigeria at this or any other time, this country is sustained by the fact that we are indeed a very special people. We have been described as the happiest people on earth, we have also described ourselves as resilient, gifted and determined, and in one report, Nigerians are said to have the strongest shock absorber against some of the deadliest diseases in the world. If anyone doubted this last point, well, recall that we won the battle over Ebola virus, and polio. The more you look at it, the more it seems as if there is something in the Nigerian DNA that defies defeat, that automatically deletes any virus that can result in system shut down, there is that X-factor in our affairs that rises when hope seems lost, and life seems tragic. Somehow, the Nigerian spirit regenerates, recreates and reinvents itself, turns failure into possibilities, pessimism into new expectations, and tomorrow into an anchor for renewal.
We are at such a crossroad, right now. But in the midst of the despair, the listlessness, the anxiety, the what-happened-to-us and what-the hell-is-going-on, you can’t miss the fact that the average Nigerian has not lost his bounce. The biggest tragedies that can hobble other nations happen here and we just shrug them off. Boko Haram alone has claimed thousands of lives. Hun hun. Herdsmen have killed men and women in their hundreds. Hun hun. More lives have been lost to vehicle accidents on our poorly made, badly maintained roads. Well, hun hun. Many fingers have been caught in the national cookie jar. Ha. What is this? Who dunnit? But, o ma se o. hun hun. The national leaky bucket has a thousand holes. Ha, no country can live with this? Still, hen hun hun. We voted and there were promises of a new spirit of the age. But that spirit is yet to manifest. So? Nothing good comes easy, therefore. No miracles in the new agenda. So, ni igba yen wa n ko? So, life goes on.
Whatever life throws at the average Nigerian, he protests, he complains, but he accommodates it. It is the reason why nobody will throw stones because power supply is at the worst level in years. It is the reason why workers who have not been paid for months after months will still see the same Governor who is responsible for their misery, after collecting Federal money to help them, and has refused to deliver and they will still scream: “My Excellency, sir.” When workers go on strike, someone calls them together, says something nice, provides something nice and everything falls nicely in place. The late Chief MKO Abiola was quoted saying “eto ni gbogbo e,” that is anything in Nigeria can be arranged nicely.
The June 12 debacle sadly could not be arranged nicely. It cost the Chief of native wisdom and martyr of Nigerian democracy his life, but many lessons have been learnt. And one key lesson is that in this country, the people are determined to live no matter what. They can grumble as they wish about the public space but Nigerians are not ready to give up their will to live, their right to live and their understanding of how to live. And if you put your neck on the line on their behalf, you will be shocked that you will the subject of memes and what’s app jokes. The people laugh at martyrs and heroes because they see no reason why anyone should commit suicide, defending Nigeria, when there is so much life to be enjoyed.
Nigeria is probably the global headquarters of enjoyment. The way the ordinary man has complained in recent times, about political change and the socio-cultural changes it has brought, you would think Nigerians are in serious trouble. But that is not the case. The foreign exchange market has gone into a crazy overdrive impoverishing the whole nation. Parents whose children are schooling abroad are afraid that they may no longer be able to pay fees. The manufacturing sector is abusing the Minister of Finance-what’s-that-her-name-again? and where-did-she-learn-finance-public-policy-and-economics, but I beg, look around, more businesses are actually springing up and all those foreign investors who are supposedly monitoring the Nigerian market are actually clinging to this market. Why do you think MTN wants to remain in Nigeria till death do them part? Why do you think all those foreign countries want President Buhari to visit? The banks have retrenched a lot of staff but the same banks have started recruiting again. In this country, what you see is not what you get. There is problem with foreign exchange but activities at the ports have not ceased. Wait till September, you’d be shocked the number of Nigerian children heading towards Europe, North America and other parts of Africa in pursuit of expensive, forex-backed education.
I beg, leave matter. And if you don’t want to leave it go to the nearest fuel station where many Nigerians are queuing up for fuel with power generating sets and jerry cans. The people are going through the hardship but they are laughing at their leaders. You think you can mess us up, na lie. If you people like, sell fuel for N150, we go survive. They stay in front of that fuel station and they review Nigeria’s history and lament the choices they have made, but their spirit remains strong. That is what makes them Nigerian. Go to the vendors’ stand. The crowd of poor people who cannot afford to buy a newspaper copy, have all the same listened to the news and the only place where they can compete as pundits is that roadside corner, where sometimes one drunken idiot loses control behind the wheels and sheds human blood, wasting those who have gathered not to buy any newspaper but to debate Nigeria. This special crowd knows it all. You don’t want to get involved with them. They will remind you that a Ph.D holder is actually a real idiot, and that nobody needs certificates of any type to be a Nigerian, and well they add too, that if you ever worked in government, then you are a confirmed idiot, and a professional trickster.
Nigerians are so inventive, they find every way of beating bad news, bad experience, or anything that tries to defeat them. Everyone says there is no money in town, they claim things have gone from bad to worse but the parties have not stooped. Go to any of the joints around Lagos, nothing has been spoiled. Isi ewu, nkwobi, asun, sawa, orisirisi,point and kill have all defied the Forex market. Yes, the price of staple commodities has risen, but that has not stopped the people from throwing lavish wedding parties. Nor has it stopped anybody from marrying three times when once is enough: our people do traditional wedding – valid, they go to the registry: valid, they rush to church- valid: rather than marry once, they do it thrice all within a week. Nor has the austerity in town stopped anybody from burying the dead as if the more money is thrown at the grave, the likeliest the possibility of the dead suddenly becoming a Lazarus of the 21st century.
Is there poverty in town? You answer that question based on the evidence of your eyes. What I have seen is that Nigerians are still living as if there is too much money in the country. Take a look at the garments Nigerians wear every week. We certainly don’t look like electricity is a problem or that money is in short supply. Soon it will be another Ojude oba among the Ijebus, for example. You go and check them out. As a teacher at Ogun State University in those days, (I served later as member of the Governing Council), we used to go from one party to the other, guzzling free food and quaffing free drinks. Today, those lavish parties have not ceased. Nobody eats like that in Europe or North America. When you go to all the old joints, in Agarawu in Lagos or Tarmac, nothing has changed either. The music still flows, the swag is on. Elsewhere, new buildings are springing up; new cars are being “washed”, additional wives are being acquired. Leave matter, I beg. Nigeria will survive, and these same people who are complaining about change, you’d be shocked, they’d still vote for their stomachs in 2019.
And that is why Nigeria is one country that beats all the textbook theories. We are just something else. There is more in the social arena that defines who we are, than in the theoretical arena. The same people who are complaining that they have not seen change are actually hoping for more. They are not ready to adjust. They are not ready to make sacrifices. If they have an opportunity to be close to government in any way, they will jump at it. The corruption that we talk about is not just in government corridors, it is in society, but the one inside society is so difficult to trap because it is amorphous and inchoate in so many respects. Invariably, the snake feeds on itself: mobius strip.
What we are left with is the image of the people laughing at government and themselves. Have you taken time out to check what happens on social media? Anybody who ever ventured into governance is easy game. The people design caricatures and mock them. Nigeria produces more memes and graphics than any other country in Africa not necessarily because of the events that happen here but because of the people’s consciousness, and if I may add, private greed. In that other world, political change is ridiculed, poverty is deplored, GEJ is becoming a saint and PMB a villain, but the people are still having fun, and blaming Nigeria and the politicians. I tell you, the problem with Nigeria is not the politicians but the people themselves. We are very special people, but we don’t really know what we want, and because we are like that, we confuse the politicians and the nation. But for as long as we can wear those impressive attires and throw those parties and dance to old music and pay our private bills, we see no reason to care enough. Pity is: no country can ever move ahead if the people do not care enough. For us, life goes on, no matter what. [myad]
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Enyimba of Nigeria and Wydad Casablanca today, sailed to next round of the CAF Champions League, despite falling 2-1 to Vital’O in the second leg of their first round match in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s First Minister Of Sadness, By Haruna Mohammed Salisu
But to start with the first one, as usually the case with many students who graduated and are awaiting mobilization for National Youth Service, I started browsing the street of some major towns and cities in search of a temporary job to earn a living and avoid being dependent.
I visited several secondary schools in Kano to see if I could be appointed a classroom teacher, of all the schools I visited, the school principal pulls out dossiers of applicants waiting to be called for an interview. I wasn’t discourage, I visited some private radio stations where some of my friends work, one of them whispered: “ we haven’t been paid salaries for three months”. What!
A friend and classmate who resides in Gombe told me of a newly established Radio station—Progress FM. He advised I visit him to see if I could be lucky this time around. I conceded. Upon entry into the reception of Progress FM in his company, I demanded contact with the General Manager which I got within a couple of minutes. I tabled my issue immediately. She replied, though in a very encouraging tone at least not to get me demoralized. “We have over 40 staff already” wow!
I thanked my friend for his support and left for Bauchi, my home state. Upon arrival, another friend of mine who studied mass communication at the Federal Polytechnic, Bauchi and have completed his NYSC but is still jobless told me to hold on a second.
“ I thought you have been an Editor-in-Chief of Bayero Beacon and THE READER, your school based Newspaper and Magazine? He interrogated. Yes. I replied. And you also have more than four points as your CGPA? Yes. I answered again. Then you have a chance to work with the Daily Trust Newspaper, he said. No. Daily Trust only employs best graduating students and I am the second. I replied in a rather low tone of hopelessness.
What about other National Dailies such as Vanguard, The Guardian, Sahara Reporters, Premium Times, Greenbarge Reporters and other online newspapers? He further queried. Probably they only employ more experienced writers and seasoned journalists, but unfortunately I’m not one. I conceded.
But you can apply for Graduate Assistant in your University or Polytechnic where they teach Mass Communication, what about that? He continued with his mind boggling questions. This time around, he mentioned what I like doing most, but I was getting angrier with his questions. Universities no longer employ graduate assistants, and even if they do, you need the support of someone very influential to bag the job, I told him.
Just hold on, after your NYSC, you can apply for Nigeria Defence Academy and join the Army, he insists. I also have interest in joining the army. And I believe I have something to offer, especially in the areas of strategic communication. I believe, with a well coordinated strategic intelligence and communication, the army will unequivocally defeat the Boko Haram insurgents, I declared.
But if I could not get job in all the places I mentioned earlier just because I am not an anointed candidate and lack the support of those in position of authority, I wonder how I could have access to join the army.
These are my predicaments, and no doubt of thousands of graduates in Nigeria who are still jobless for no fault of theirs. And whose future is still cloudy. Aren’t these enough to make me sad? If you think these reasons are not enough, then hold on.
As I said earlier, Denmark is ranked the first “happiest nation on earth” and Nigeria is 103rd least happiest. Do you know that only Nasarawa state is richer in terms of mineral resources than the entire Denmark? Denmark has Natural gas, Limestone, Chalk, Clay, Sand, Gravel, Salt, Wind, Water, Solar and fuel trading.
In Nassarawa state, all the above resources are available plus; Beryl (emerald) Asquamirine and Haliodor), Dolomite/Marble, Sapphire, Tourmaline, Quartz- Amethyst (Topaz, gamet), Zireon, Tantalite, Cassiterite, Columbite, Limenite, Galena, Iron-Ore, Barytes, Feldspar, Limesstone, Mica, Cooking coal, Talc, Cay, Salt, Chalcopyrite. Not to talk of oil, richer agricultural land, our sea and water ways. Isn’t this enough to make you sad?
In Denmark, a lawmaker takes 38,000 US Dollars as his annual salaries while a Nigerian lawmaker takes more than four times that per month (181,974 US dollars), yet a graduate in Nigeria cannot afford three square meals. In one year, a Nigerian lawmaker takes $2183688 US which is equivalent to four hundred and thirty million, one hundred and eighty six thousand, five hundred and thirty-six naira (N430186536) and his Danish counterpart has to work for more than 57 years to earn that salaries.
Not only that, a Nigerian worker who earns N18,000 minimum wage has to work for more than 190 years before he will bag what a “distinguished” senator will earn in one year. Aren’t all these enough to make you sad? Then hold on. Do you know that a Nigerian Senator earns more than Barrack Obama of US and David Cameron of UK? A lawmaker in Sweden has to work for 12 years before he/she will earn what a senator in Nigeria will take home in 12 months.
Despite all the jumbo salaries of our lawmakers, about 300,000 children die annually of, guess what? Malaria! But no child dies of malaria in Denmark. As of 2015, our infant mortality rate (number of babies dying before they reach one year per 1000 birth) was put at 57 children while only 3 children die in Denmark before they reach one year. Isn’t this enough to make you sad?
Even citizens from war torn countries like Libya, Somalia, Lebanon and Tunisia are happier than Nigerians according to the ranking.
While countries like United Arab Emirates are appointing Minister of happiness to “align and derive government policy to create social good and satisfaction”, Nigeria should appoint its first ever minister of sadness to mobilize and coordinate sad people in Nigeria and at least remind them that President Buhari is in charge, probably things may get better.
I am calling on PMB to appoint me as his first minister of sadness, but my worries for now lies on the fact that I may not pass ministerial screening especially in the event that the National “Legislooters” (Legislators) become upset with my article
Haruna Mohammed Salisu writes from Bauchi. He could be reached at 08063180608 or harunababale@gmail.com. [myad]