Since the emergence of Mallam Nasiru El’Rufa’i as the Governor of Kaduna state, it was not difficult for many political pundits, spectators, journalists and writers to predict that the Governor may likely replicate what he did when he was a minister during President Obasanjo’s administration—demolition of illegal structures.
Unarguably, what is difficult among politicians in Nigeria is a strong zeal and enthusiasm to take decisive decisions unmindful of whose interest they will go against provided they are taking in the best interest of the general public. Such decisions are not hard to take by Governor El’Rufa’i whose political body language does not suggest fear or favour. But I shall return to this later.
Since assumption of office as the Governor of northern Nigeria’s most elitist state, El’Rufa’i wasted no time in declaring a state of emergency in the education sector. In view of the sickening state of affairs in this sector which suffered neglect and ill-informed policies and lack of strong commitments by past administrations to boost the sector, the governor made a quick u-turn to turn the tide of things.
To kick the ball rolling, the Governor unveiled a 13.7 billion naira yearly education project for primary and secondary schools which include free tuition fees, free school feeding and uniforms coupled with rehabilitation of dilapidated structures. Despite heavy debt placed on the coffers of the state government which culminated to over N74.27 billion, recklessly “siphoned’ by the past administration, El’Rufa’i still found succor not to relent.
The Governor who nurtured a strong passion to improve the education sector believes that such a gesture will not only lay a foundation for development, but will also free humanity from bondage. “We are determined that one legacy for the rebirth of our country will be the restoration of education as a tool to free our people from the fetters of ignorance”, El’Rufa’i was quoted as saying when unveiling the package to reinvigorate the sector.
Indeed any sensible government whose interest is to develop its people will stop at nothing to improve its education, for; the popular minds believe that the bedrock of any meaningful development is education.
In my opinion, El’Rufai has characteristically chosen to boost the education sector for two reasons: first, the Governor is not only a beneficiary of education which liberated him from all forms of bondage and placed him where he is today, but is also a first class guru whose passion to see many of his likes among the masses is not far from being sighted. Secondly, the Governor knew too well that with education accorded priority, the economic, social and political malfeasances that have eaten deep into the fabrics of the state will be history and dubious politicians who see nothing wrong in hiring the uneducated disadvantaged youths as political thugs will have to make a rethink.
Despite the economic quagmire that has ravaged the country because of the dwindling prices of oil in the world market, which has impact on the monthly allocation from the federal government, coupled with entrenched culture of impunity and systemic corruption that looted the state dry, the governor still insists, such will not be an excuse not to discharge his responsibilities.
The apparent rendition of El’Rufa’i to boost the sector started with the introduction of school feeding which has so far redoubled school attendance among pupils in the state. Kaduna state is not only the pioneering state in this regard, but a serious minded one whose Governor has generated about 125, 000 jobs in nine months and the larger chunk of those employed are in the education sector. With reports from various national and international NGOs such as UNICEF suggesting that Nigeria has the highest out of school children in the world, El’Rufa’i’s resolve to revitalize education is not only timely but, commendable.
In his quest to achieve success, the Governor also pledged to distribute free customized tablets to enhance e-learning among secondary school students, as well as training and retraining of teachers has since been factored in.
To make all these policies a realization, Mr. ElRufai has demonstrated a strong commitment to hold any public official to ransom who is found wanting in diverting what is meant for the public to their private use. And so far, a school headmaster and support officer that were apprehended and relieved of their duties and suspending two other culprits for allegedly benefitting personally from the school feeding programme is a glaring demonstration of his cohesive approach to rekindle life back to the sector.
Demolition of illegal structures
To demonstrate his doggedness on the notoriously “untouched” Kaduna mafia—a composition of elites, business moguls and top civil servants who have grown fat at the detriment of the common folks, the fearless El’Rufa’i has since started what he was best known for as a minister—demolition of illegal structures.
The people’s Governor is strongly bent on his resolve not to renege his campaign promises, part of which was to fight the Kaduna mafia who illegally allocated hectares of land to themselves and their families.
What is unarguably unpardonable according to the Governor was how these mafias confiscated hectares of land which belong to schools supposedly meant for their expansion and development. El’Rufa’i who defied being “afflicted with a course” from the so called mafia is not only healthy and physically fit to fight back, but has turned his war fare on promoters of endemic corruption, entrenched culture of impunity and the mafia have since started reaping what they have sown.
And gradually with the help of the Almighty and the dysfunction of the mafia, the Governor is getting more grounded in his ambition to peep up the education sector and bulldoze the mafia simultaneously.
The momentum gathered so far is also translating in several other sectors too numerous to mention because of time and space, but this writer will keenly monitor developments in the state to keep readers abreast and to encourage other state Governors to emulate El’Rufai’s model of development.
Haruna Mohammed Salisu writes from Bauchi. He could be reached at 08063180608 or harunababale@gmail.com. [myad]
Former foreign coach of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, Jo Bonfrere is again eyeing the same job 15 years after he left.
The 69-year-old Bonfrere, a Dutchman believes that he is ‘the right man’ to return Nigeria to the summit of African football, 15 years after he was sacked as coach. Bonfrere who coached the nation;s team towards the Nations Cup in 2000 expressed his desire to replace Sunday Oliseh who resigned from the post. The foreign coach, who was sacked by Nigeria in 2001 after losing a World Cup qualifier in Sierra Leone, was also assistant Super Eagles coach from 1990 to 1994 and led Nigeria’s under-23 team to gold at the Atlanta Olympics. “I have worked in Nigeria for a long time in the past and I know what to do to get the Super Eagles flying again,” Bonfrere told BBC Sport on the telephone from the Netherlands. “I love Nigeria because that is where my football mentality is most at home and I have a fantastic relationship with the people there. “Other foreign coaches have also failed because they come with the arrogant attitude of being a world class coach and a big name to perform magic there, and that wrong notion meant they had no passion, desire and the required knowledge to succeed on the job. “I was very successful because I did not separate myself from the reality. I worked with youth and domestic players; I had faith in my Nigerian assistants and gave my best despite all the challenges. “No one has done what I achieved and I believe I am the right man to return Nigeria to glory days in Africa and the world.” Bonfrere began his stormy romance with Nigeria in 1990, when he was the de facto assistant to Clemens Westerhof. The Dutch coaching duo worked together at the 1990, 1992 and 1994 African Nations Cups, winning silver, bronze and gold medals. Bonfrere was also Westerhof’s assistant at the 1994 World Cup and subsequently managed the Under-23 team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. But arguments over his salary and team selection made him quit the job in the United States, from where he returned to his native Holland. He returned in 1999 and took charge of the Super Eagles at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations where Nigeria won the silver medal. [myad]
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has said that even if the State is invaded by one million armed men of the Department of State Services (DSS) on the orders of President Mohammadu Buhari, the government and the people of the State will never be intimidated to surrender governance of the State to political desperadoes, whose four-year reign destroyed the economy of the State. The governor, who said the DSS under President Buhari is operating beyond its constitutional mandate, added: “the government of Ekiti State may have to reconsider the usefulness of men of the DSS in the government house and other institutions of the State government.” In a statement by the Special Assistant to the governor on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government is pursuing a clandestine agenda of truncating democracy in Ekiti State and other Peoples Democratic Party controlled States like Rivers and Bayelsa. “If Buhari likes, let him relocate all DSS men in Nigeria with the entire ammunitions in their armoury to Ekiti, the will of Ekiti people can never be broken. They will only try, and like they have always done, they will fail because dictatorship has never triumphed over the people. Even Buhari’s dictatorship between 1984 and 1985 ended one day and Nigerians will also outlive his present dictatorship.” The governor said that the DSS under Buhari’s kinsman, Lawal Daura, has abandoned its core mandate of providing intelligence for the protection of the internal security of Nigeria as provided in the Security Agencies Act Cap. N74 LFN, 2004 adding: “Instead of assisting the Police, Military and other security agencies with classified matters, we now have a DSS that is running after perceived opponents of the president, arresting goat and fowl thieves as well as husbands who assaulted their wives. “If the DSS was alive to its responsibilities, we won’t be having Boko Haram insurgents killing Nigerians, all these kidnappings and Fulani Herdsmen killings, raping and destroying farmlands in the South-West, South-East and North-Central zones in the country would have been nipped in the bud.” Fayose said the same way President Buhari used the National Security Organisation, headed by Ambassador Mohammed Lawal Rafindadi from Katsina State, is the same way the President is using the DSS, headed by another of his kinsman, Lawal Daura, to harass, oppress and intimidate Nigerians. “It is obvious that democracy in Nigeria is becoming unsafe in the hands of Buhari and his APC and those keeping silent now because of politics may also end up in the belly of this roaring lion that is threatening to consume our democracy. “Therefore, Nigerians and the international community should take special notice of the use of the DSS and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to muscle opposition. “As for me, I wish to say once again that I am not among those Nigerians that are afraid of harassment by any agency of the federal government. “I make bold to state that in the overall interest of democracy and well-being of Nigerians, I will continue to speak my mind on issues bordering on governance in Nigeria. I will not be intimidated!” [myad]
Permanent Secretary in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye described the attitude some insurance firms involved in the Group Life Assurance Scheme of the FCT as callous and insensitive. Dr. Ajakaiye who held a meeting with representatives of the nine insurance companies involved in the scheme in his office in Abuja, threatened to hand them over to the anti-graft agencies for failing to settle indemnity claims to the several affected staff that are now deceased. The Permanent Secretary lamented that these insurance firms that have refused to pay claims from 2007 to date are deliberately frustrating the implementation of this laudable policy. “We made this policy so that we can take care of those they left behind and if we could bring you in as our partners to implement this scheme and then you default in your own area, year after year, for us to be having unpaid claims from 2007 till date, is seriously unacceptable. “When I received brief on this issue I felt very unhappy. I felt very bad. If there is anything I don’t play with wherever I go, it is staff welfare, especially the welfare of those who are so unfortunate to depart from us.” Dr. Ajakaiye made it clear that if this is the only thing that he will achieve during his period as a Permanent Secretary in FCT, he would take it to the highest level because it is people’s money and the money must get to the individual families that are supposed to benefit from the money today to change their lives. The Permanent Secretary therefore gave 30 days deadline to the firms to pay the deceased families or face the full wrath of the law, saying that the era of impunity is gone forever. Dr. Ajakaiye said that he would go to any length to ensure that these claims are paid, stressing: “the present crop of leadership in the FCTA places high premium on staff welfare and would not tolerate crass lawlessness and misdemeanor from any insurance company. “We won’t allow you to continue to do whatever you like with this money. This money is already with you and the Administration does not owe you. If this (payment) is not done within the stipulated period, we will write to Mr. President on this matter and be assured that the security agencies including the anti-graft bodies will treat this as economic sabotage.” The insurance claims which run into several hundreds of millions of Naira have been pending since 2007, a development that has kept the next of kins of the deceased in financial and emotional jeopardy even when the FCTA had long paid the insurance firms their deductible premiums. Some of the companies involved in the FCT Group Life Assurance scheme include Leadway Assurance, Standard Alliance, Crystal Life, Capital Express, Zenith General Insurance, Intercontinental Life Assurance Company, Wapic Life Assurance, Oceanic Life, Lasco and Goldlink. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has described his minister of state for Labour and Productivity, late Barrister James Ocholi, who died along with his wife and a child in a motor accident today, as a key component of the Change Agenda of his government. In a sympathy message by senior special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, the President expressed shock and sadness over the death of Barrister Ocholi. President Buhari described the death of the minister of State as untimely, “regretting that Nigeria has lost a key component of the CHANGE agenda. “Barrister Ocholi was an accomplished and patriotic Nigerian, who was keen to accept the call to service at a time his country needed him,” President Buhari said, adding that in the few months he had been in office, the late minister of state had already begun to distinguish himself through his commitment and dedication to his portfolio. The late Ocholi has had a long record of political association with President Buhari. President Buhari also consoled with the government and people of Kogi State, whom he described as having lost a distinguished and irreplaceable son. He prayed to God to comfort them and grant them the grace to bear the loss. “The entire country mourns the loss of this great man, who has sadly left us when we need him most,” he said. President Buhari has also sent the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Engineer, David Babachir to formally convey the news to members of the deceased family as well as parishioners in his place of worship. The minister died today in an accident near Rijana, along the Kaduna-Abuja Road. James Ocholi and his son had earlier died instantly in the accident as his wife was rushed to Doka Hospital, in Kaduna, Kaduna state in coma. But the Kaduna State Ministry of Health and Human Services later announced the death of his wife.
Governor Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai also sent a condolence message, wishing the souls of the dead ones a rest in peace.
ABOUT JAMES OCHOLI
James Enojo Ocholi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),was born on 26th November 1960. He hails from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi state. James Ocholi studied law at the University of Jos and was called to the Bar in 1986. James Ocholi was a Public Counsel from 1987-1988 in the firm of D.D Peter Achimusi in Idah, Kogi State and thereafter left for private practice. In December of 2007, he was conferred with the prestigious title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. James Ocholi specializes in incorporation of companies; constitutional and commercial law, and conveyance; as well as private and public international law. He has worked as Consultant to Governments, parastatals, banks, financial institutions and corporate bodies. He was the Deputy National Legal Adviser (interim) of the APC and later became the Kogi State Coordinator of Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign organisation. From Grass to Grace James-Ocholi James-Ocholi On the 26th of November 1960 the baby Ocholi was born to the couple, Mr. and Mrs. James Momoh Odoh at Idah in the present Kogi State in the then Northern Region of Nigeria, West Africa. He was the second child and the first boy in the family of four girls and two boys. However by reason of early death of the grandparents and uncles, the father took responsibility of the extended family as was the common practice in the African setting, so the house was always full. The resultant stress on his father’s purse meant the children lived marginally and barely had two meals a day. It was in this setting the kid went to public schools and subsequently to a mission high school in the area. Pa James was a staff of the Native Authority in the Agric Department and rose to the position of acting treasurer. He was a devout Christian, an elder in the local church and a strict disciplinarian. The children therefore were not exposed to the usual vices associated with children in the neighbourhood. By virtue of the high school the young Ocholi attended he was further kept under strict moral discipline and subjected to good ethical behaviour such that he was not exposed to unwholesome self indulgence. Even if he had mischievous tendencies as all teenagers and adolescents do, the social atmosphere in the family prevented him from exhibiting any. The Early Encounter with God. In 1974 while in class two of Ochaja Secondary School, Dekina, at an evening school meeting at the school assembly hall, a Christian staff nurse from a neighbouring town was invited to speak to the students. Ocholi had an unusual experience and for the first time he understood that being born to a Christian family did not make one a Christian so he consciously made a decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. He went forward in response to an alter call and accepted Jesus. This singular experience marked the turning point in his life. He suddenly realized that being brilliant in school is not just enough to guarantee success in life. In 1978 the young Ocholi lost his father shortly after graduation from High School. As a result, he became the family’s breadwinner even when he was not old enough to marry. His meager salary of one hundred and twenty five naira per month was barely enough to put basic meals on the table for the entire family. By sheer grace of God, the teenager (Ocholi) was able to secure a scholarship from the then Benue state Government and this enabled him to go through and graduate as a lawyer from University of Jos in 1985. He finished from the Nigerian Law School in 1986 and he was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1986. After the one year compulsory Youth services in Calabar, Cross River State of Nigeria he declined offers of paid employment because he needed to cater for the younger siblings and the mother who had gone through difficult times while he was in school. According to the young lawyer he remembered his little sister while in his final year who wrote to him wondering why his education was taking so long and asked “Brother, when will you finish University so we can eat meat”. So he discerned that the challenges waiting for him required an entrepreneurial approach. By divine arrangement he had met his wife while in school and they were planning to get married and start a family after his National Youth Corps Service. It became obvious that he needed to make his way and strive for a successful career to meet the financial demands on him. He then started his practice in the small city of Ankpa the wife’s home city and the most commercial centre in Igalaland of Nigeria at the time. He had no start up capital and was barely able to put a table and two chairs as his only office furniture. It was at this critical time that he got married to his wife of over 21 years. In Ocholis words: “In Blessing Fatima Ocholi I have seen the benefits of being married to a woman who loves God. She not only came into my life when I had nothing but all through by her prayers and steadfast support she became one of the pillars of my success as she partook in the challenges of my professional pursuit”. In addition the marriage has been blessed with five wonderful children; Ojone Peace, Aaron Enojo jr, Joshua Eb‘ojo, Uyo Blessing Jr and Ele Excellent. It was also at this time that he got introduced to the Full Gospel Businessmen Fellowship International and became the Pioneer President of the Ankpa Chapter which became the mother chapter to over 35 Chapters. The Fellowship has had a lot of impact in his personal and professional life and brought him in contact with men of high standing who also love to serve God. Overcoming the storm For days on end barrister Ocholi spent his time reading Bible and law books which were indeed few as he couldn’t afford many because of his lean finances. He waited for briefs which were not forthcoming. When eventually a few briefs trickled in he had a devastating experience as he lost his first ten cases at the customary area and magistrate courts level. This appeared damaging to his aspiring practice as no one would like to patronize a lawyer with a penchant for losing cases. Rather than fall into despair the barrister decided to appeal against the decisions to the high Court. At the hearing of the appeals all the judgments’ were overturned in his clients’ favor and indeed some of the judgments were reported extensively. As a result his reputation was enhanced, God using seemingly damaging events to set one up on the path of success and acclaim. This was his first major experience of God’s divine arrangement i.e. turning around an ugly situation for one’s good. From this time onwards his practice flourished from one level to another in all the hierarchy of Courts in Nigeria up to and including the Supreme Court. God’s Guidance and Inspiration In 1998 he felt God leading him to relocate from Ankpa to one of the major cities of Nigeria. He and His wife began to pray and they felt God leading them to relocate to Lagos. However Lagos presented a lot of problems including office accommodation. In addition there was a lot of distraction to the movement. It happened that that same year while handling a high profile chieftaincy case at the Court of Appeal, Kaduna he came in contact with Mr. Kehinde Onafowokan, a quintessential Senior Advocate of Nigeria who was to become very influential in his life. He was retained to lead him and a few other lawyers in that case. He saw and admired the strength of Ocholi’s advocacy and asked him where Ankpa was on the face of the map. He told him that he was not meant to practice in a little village. In addition he told him that he had the potential to become a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (the equivalent of the Queen’s Counsel). This was the first time that his eyes opened to the possibility of attaining the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. To cut a long story short Onafowokan (SAN) invited him to Lagos and offered him an office accommodation free of charge to start his law practice in Lagos at the ground floor of a mansion at 5 Military street, Onikan, Lagos Island. He accepted the offer and moved to Lagos recognizing the offer as the hand of God. Expression of Gratitude Lagos was to be a major turning point in his life as not only did briefs begin to come in at a rapid rate but he began to be exposed to high profile, corporate, criminal and political briefs. The nature of these briefs brought him in close contact with seasoned Senior Advocates of Nigeria on the opposite side and by implication further exposed him in his law practice. Onafowokan (SAN) who at this time had become a father – figure to barrister Ocholi offered that the young man handled all his cases at the Supreme court, Abuja because the SAN was no longer disposed to hectic travels. This singular offer was one of the greatest boosts that the aspiring Ocholi needed if he would attain the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria which required his handling a sizeable number of cases at the Supreme Court among other Courts. He was excited at the offer and he felt it was God paving a way for him. Shortly thereafter as he was preparing for these cases Onafowokan (SAN) died and all his promises could not be actualized. Undoubtedly the sudden passing away of this great mentor and father created a vacuum in Ocholi’s life and career. As he felt it was no longer humanly possible to move forward, he once again turned to God in prayer and declared his confidence in Him that if He brought him thus far in his practice He was more than able to take him to a glorious future and that if He allowed the door to close He had a better door for him. That prayer was answered as he left for another office secured at 24 Macarthy Street, Onikan, Lagos Island. He also trusted God to provide opportunities, wisdom and grace for him to conduct cases from the High Court to the Court of Appeal and finally to the Supreme Court, more so when at this stage he had no godfather. The cases came and he successfully conducted them at all levels of the judicial hierarchy. Shortly after the Lord laid on his heart to relocate to Abuja, the Federal Capital of Nigeria where his practice moved on to a higher level. All the movements put a lot of pressure on his family but his wife rose to the occasion and that lightened the burden. The Conferment of Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN) on Ocholi James In 2006 Mr. Ocholi applied for the conferment of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria but was not successful. However as he said the Lord assured him that he was going to get it so in 2007 he applied again. In a keenly but fairly contested process he was successful and on 12th December 2007 he stood among distinguished legal luminaries in the hallowed chambers of the Apex Court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the city of Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital as he was conferred with highest and prestigious rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria. This born stammerer, with financially disadvantaged background, loaded with responsibility without the benefit of a godfather in the profession had entered the highest rank that a lawyer in Nigeria could attain, a rank so high that only about that time, 250 living Nigerian hold in the legal profession. This feat is certainly not his personal making, it is the hand of God “who takes a man from the dunghill and makes him to seat among the princes”. Ocholi contested for Kogi Governorship election under the defunct Congress for Progress Change in 2011 and later under the All Progressive Congress in 2014. Though opposition arose to his choice as Minister designate by Buhari (being from the same Local Government with the governor, Capt. Idris. Wada), but Still scaled through and was assigned the Labour and Productivity portfolio. The Enojo James Ocholi (SAN), who was born on 26th November 1960., from Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi state, whose education denies his families meat in their soup studied law at the University of Jos, got called to the Bar in 1986, become Public Counsel from 1987-1988 in the firm of D.D Peter Achimusi in Idah, Kogi State, specializes in incorporation of companies; constitutional and commercial law, and conveyance; as well as private and public international law; worked as Consultant to Governments, parastatals, banks, financial institutions and corporate bodies; was Deputy National Legal Adviser (interim) of the APC and later became Kogi State Coordinator of Buhari/Osinbajo Presidential Campaign organization; once served as National Secretary of The Full Gospel Businessmen’s Fellowship International in Nigeria. Late Ocholi was a Notary Public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Pro-chancellor and chairman of Council of the Salem University, Lokoja, once the chairman of Disciplinary Committee of Nigeria Bar Association, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; principal partner of the law firm of Ocholi James & Associates and until is death the State Minister for Labour and Productivity. [myad]
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FC), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has announced a bailout fund to be extended to troubled FCT Area Councils to enable them pay two months salary arrears to their workers. This is even as he mandated the Area Councils to look inward and immediately clear the remaining one-month for equity. The minister who spoke through his media team during an interactive session with members of the FCT Press Corps said however said that the National Assembly would have to approve the virement to accommodate such request first since FCT Administration has no provision for Area Councils’ staff salaries. He said that the FCT Administration has structured the repayment plan for the bailout to be from the 10 percent statutory payment to the Area Councils from the FCTA’s Internally Generated Revenue. He said that to ensure that these funds were judiciously spent, the FCT Administration would constitute a panel to conduct Personnel Audit of the Local Education Authority. Muhammad Bello said that about 90 percent of allocation from the federation account to the FCT Area Councils have been going to the Primary Schools. The minister also announced that the FCT Administration would look into the budgetary system of the FCT Area Councils, adding that the way they are designed is the beginning of the problem at the local level. He said that FCT Administration has recently cleared outstanding debt of over N250 million owed the cleaning and security contractors working in the FCT District and General Hospitals; and that the debt cleared was for services provided for up to December 2015. He said that the Administration has equally extended the services of those contractors to December 2016 to allow for room to plan for new engagement as from 2017 fiscal year. Muhammad Bello said that soon, the FCT Administration would fumigate the entire Territory as a way of eliminating rodents and minimize any possibility of Lassa fever. The minister said that the action would go along way in improving the environment and reducing the incidences of avoidable diseases. On Avian Influenza, he said that the Administration has been able to stamp out the bird flu because no new case has been reported since February 9 this year. [myad]
This is really exciting time in America; watching the drama of the 2016 Presidential nomination process from a distance, I find the contests, the debates, the arguments, the hustling and jostling on both sides of the mainstream political aisle, most instructive, and intriguing. The world’s most advanced democracy is proving once again that freedom is a golden ideal and that anyone who seeks to lead it, must undergo a rigorous test of leadership and courage. So far, the presidential primaries have proven to be a sifting process, and after last Tuesday, better known as Super Tuesday, many of the otherwise promising candidates have dropped out of the race, leaving the field to just a few survivors.
But the prospects are clear: Senator Hillary Clinton seems a sure bet on the Democratic side, with Senator Bernie Sanders still trailing behind. The Republicans too may well end up with Donald Trump. The other contenders: Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich may not succeed in displacing Trump. And this in itself is a source of anxiety, to both Americans and non-Americans alike. If the race gets down to a Hillary Clinton vs Donald Trump scenario, we all have every reason to be anxious. Suppose Trump wins and becomes America’s President?
Donald Trump is a snarling insurgent and a nativist. He has said all the worse things that should never be uttered by anyone seeking to lead a responsible and diverse nation. His campaign has been marked by insults, anger, put downs, bully tactics, rants and unapologetic immaturity. He has not been able to articulate any coherent policy, but he has proved to be very creative with populist histrionics. The list of Trumpisms is so frighteningly long and embarrassing. He recommends torture, and the killing of families of terrorists. He has been endorsed by white supremacists and he doesn’t quite seem to mind being labeled a racist. He threatens violence and on one occasion, he almost punched a protester in the face. He even got into an altercation with the Pope. He wants to barricade the American South border, and build a wall to shut out Mexico, because according to him, the Mexicans who cross the border into America are “rapists.” And when that wall is built, he insists Mexico must pick up the bill.
He doesn’t want Muslims inside America either, and he has dismissed Africans as unwanted and Nigerians as a problem. He says:
“We need to get the Africans out. Not the blacks, the Africans. Especially the Nigerians. They’re everywhere. I went for a rally in Alaska and met just one African in the entire state. Where was he from? Nigeria! He’s in Alaska taking our jobs. They’re in Houston taking our jobs. Why can’t they stay in their own country? Why? I’ll tell you why. Because they are corrupt. Their Governments are so corrupt, they rob the people blind and bring it all here to spend. And their people run away and come down here and take our jobs! We can’t have that! If I become president, we’ll send them all home. We’ll build a wall at the Atlantic Shore. Then maybe we’ll re-colonize them because obviously they did not learn a damn thing from the British!”
This certainly cannot be the temperament of a man who wants to be President. Indeed, one of the most amazing things that has happened in the on-going process is how a real estate and reality television celebrity, whose best achievement is inheriting wealth, and turning around a family business, more by instinct rather than any special technocratic ability, has ended up, getting close to winning the Presidential nomination of the Republican Party, with the frightening prospect of becoming President of the United States on January 20, 2017.
The irony is that everyone underestimated him. The media loved the headlines that he offered with his many offensive remarks. He was regarded in many quarters as a comical distraction, and a bubble that may soon burst. There were pictures of his current wife, looking like a siren, with her drop-dead gorgeous figure, and skimpy dressing that belongs more to Hollywood rather than the White House. When Ted Cruz upstaged him in the Iowa caucuses, there were sighs of relief, but since then The Donald has won every other primary, and on March 1, he won in seven of the 11 states. He is also likely to do better than his closest rivals in the coming caucuses. Except a miracle happens, Donald Trump will be the Republican flagbearer for the 2016 Presidential election. He has received endorsements from key members of the Republican establishment, something that was thought unlikely. In a recent debate, his fiercest opponents even said they would support anyone that wins the GOP nomination. It may be too late to “dump Trump.”
He did not invent the votes that have put him comfortably in the lead. Republican voters actually gave him the votes. While voters at party primaries do not represent the general voting population, they are nevertheless saying something about the American mind at this moment. Trump’s message of xenophobia, protectionism and isolationism attracts large followership and excites the conservative crowd. The average American is angry: angry with his circumstances, with the establishment, with the lack of jobs, with the economy, with politicians, with foreigners. Trump shapes all that anger into rhetoric and he offers himself as an alternative. He is not part of the establishment; he is against it. He calls himself a “common sense conservative” but he is actually a political insurgent. The only time he has said anything that sounded Presidential was after Super Tuesday, when he departed from his usual script.
This has been taken as a sign that perhaps Trump will re-brand, and that his style so far has been nothing but populist gimmickry. As President of the United States, he would probably change that style, recruit experts to handle state affairs, and restrain himself. But can America afford to vote on the basis of that possibility? Can America afford to gamble? Trump is impulsive and non-conventional; there is no guarantee that his Presidency will not trump America and embarrass the party of Abraham Lincoln. The character of the leader affects nearly everything else. It will be too much to believe that Donald Trump is merely acting, given his surplus confidence.
Mrs. Hillary Clinton is a better choice, but going into a general election, she would have to deal with the division within the Democratic fold. Bernie Sanders, her leading rival, has such a devoted grassroots followership that has divided the Democrats into the pro- and anti-establishment wings. Sanders has mobilized such a fanatical political base within the party and on social media that does not trust Mrs Clinton. She has been branded a friend of Wall Street and the status quo, whereas Sanders and his supporters insist that the best way forward is to change how Washington works, and they do not believe Mrs Clinton can do that.
Despite her attempts to move a little to the left in recent times, the insurgents running a “Bernie or Bust” campaign may move to the Trump side during the general elections because they are convinced she is play-acting, just to win the nomination. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is admired for his progressive, liberal ideas. But again, just as in Trump’s case, his mostly young supporters are motivated by anger and insecurity. Sanders wants to redistribute wealth, checkmate Wall Street, and revolutionize health care. The young and the angry are excited but those ideas are not properly articulated in policy terms. And in any case, will the American voter be willing to have as President a man who says he is a “socialist?”
Mrs. Clinton’s big challenge is to play the role of a unifier and take steps to unite the party, after winning the Democratic nomination. She will definitely need that “Bernie or Bust” crowd. She struck the right chord when she spoke recently about love and unity, quoting the Scriptures. “Love never fails. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13),” she said.
“These are words to live by, not only for ourselves, but also for our country. I know it sometimes seems a little odd for someone running for president in these days, in this time, to say we need more love and kindness in America. But I’m telling you from the bottom of my heart we do. We do.
“There is no doubt in my mind that America’s best years can be ahead of us. We have got to believe that. We’ve got to work for that. We have to stand with each other. We have to hold each other up, lift each other up, move together into the future that we will make.”
These are wise, consolatory words. Mrs Clinton has her heart in the right place and has both the experience and the maturity to lead America. Senator, former Secretary of State, and 42nd First Lady of the United States, more than 25 years in the limelight has exposed Hillary Rodham Clinton to intense media scrutiny, creating what many consider an image problem. But whatever that is, it can be surmounted. A Presidential contest between her and Trump will amount to a choice between love and hate, between the sober and the outrageous, between the respectable and the grossly self-contradictory. America needs to encourage love and kindness within its borders and also stand with the rest of the world. The angry American voter who feels under-represented, alienated, jobless and unfulfilled, and who desperately wants to punish the establishment, may be making a comment on mainstream politics, orthodoxy and the performance of the Obama administration. But that anger should not be turned against the rest of the world by putting a xenophobe and closet dictator in the White House.
Democracy is tricky; it sometimes ends up as a parody of itself. When the people clamour for change, they can vote with their hearts, and prove impervious to plain sight reason, and overlook likely pitfalls. We can only hope that Donald Trump does not become the symbol of the change that Americans are seeking. That would be sad indeed for the free world. [myad]
The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has identified some factors that made most Nigerians to keep dirty environment which has caused so many health hazards to the people.
The Minister who spoke today as he flagged off the Households and Community based sanitation exercise at Kurudu, a suburb of Abuja, in the Abuja Municipal Area Council said that one of the causes is that the society and relevant institutions have not been carrying out their statutory responsibilities professionally and diligently.
The Minister said that another cause is Town Planners and other professionals involved in city planning have not been doing the planning well by providing spaces to dump refuse to prevent people from dumping refuse by the road side or road dividers.
According to Muhammad Musa Bello, the daily dirty habits of the people and lack of effective enforcement have contributed immensely to the poor sanitary condition.
He made it clear that the society has roles to play to keep the environment clean and to ensure the maintenance of the green.
“Unless we tackle all these and change our attitude, we would continue to flounder in dirty which of course is unacceptable to his Administration.”
The Minister charged the residents in the Abuja Municipal Area Council to be exceptionally clean for the reason that the Council hosts the Federal Capital City where the President, members of the National Assembly and members of the diplomatic corps reside.
“If any Area Council could afford to be dirty then certainly it is not AMAC. The ‘Clean and Green’ exercise is unique in its totality as it carries two messages at once, cleaning and greening.”
Speaking earlier, the Minister of Environment, Hajiya Amina Mohammed who was represented at the occasion by the Director of Special Duties in the Ministry, Engr. Okunnu Otosin Kehinde expressed happiness over the collaboration of FCTA with the Federal Ministry of Environment on “Environmental Sanitation” to ensure the provision of clean environment for healthy living in the Territory, and assured of her strong commitment to make the collaboration sustainable.
The Minister stressed that environment of filths and dirt constitutes so much public health hazards to the people and therefore called for concerted efforts to rid our habitats of dirt.
Welcoming guests to the occasion, the Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council, Mr. Micah Jiba thanked the Minister for introducing the Household and Community Sanitation exercise; adding that it would go a long way to reduce incidences of avoidable diseases in the Territory. [myad]
A middle aged pastor (name withheld), in one of the new generation churches in Asaba, Delta State, has revealed how he caught his wife allegedly having sex with a choir master of his church.
The pastor, who spoke to journalists in Asaba said: “I have been inundated with reports about my wife having sex with her choir master, but I kept my ears to the ground until the fateful day I was called to a hotel around Ezeani Avenue, Asaba where I caught my wife pants down in the hotel room.”
With twelve years in their marriage, the pastor who narrated his ordeals in tears said: “I have been married to her in the last 12 years without a child. She has exposed me to the winds; people spread all kinds of rumours about me.”
He said that the choir master on interrogation admitted to the crime and begged for forgiveness.
It was gathered that the lady, a native of Esan land in Edo State (name withheld) had been warned by the church members who smell a rat of her illicit relationship with the choir master, but their warnings fell on deaf ears as the love birds allegedly resumed their sexual intercourse with pride.
A member of the church, Rosemary Iwoha who claimed she stumbled on the choir master and the pastor’s wife in the church neck deep in kissing said: “I met them kissing one day and I reported to our Daddy about it.”
The pastor said the woman had since left his house, adding that necessary action would be taken against her soonest. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has described those who are agitating for the actualization of the Republic of Biafra as jokers.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, the President said that most, if not all those who are agitating for the Republic of Biafra were not born when the last war was fought on the same issue during which over two million lives were lost.
“At least two millions Nigerians were killed in the Biafra war. And for somebody who were not born at the time to wake up and be agitating for the same Biafra is a big joke. Looking for Biafra after two millions people were killed, they are joking with the security and Nigeria won’t tolerate Biafra.”
It is on record that the declaration of the Independent Republic of Biafra in 1967 led to a civil war as a result of which millions lost their lives. The civil war ended in 1970.
The administration of President Buhari has always maintained that Nigeria’s unity is a priority for the country and that while peaceful pro-Biafran protests are welcome; demanding the separation of the Biafran territories is against the constitution. [myad]
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Former foreign coach of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, Jo Bonfrere is again eyeing the same job 15 years after he left.
El’Rufai: Revolutionizing Education Sector, Bulldozing Kaduna Mafia, By Haruna Mohammed Salisu
Unarguably, what is difficult among politicians in Nigeria is a strong zeal and enthusiasm to take decisive decisions unmindful of whose interest they will go against provided they are taking in the best interest of the general public. Such decisions are not hard to take by Governor El’Rufa’i whose political body language does not suggest fear or favour. But I shall return to this later.
Since assumption of office as the Governor of northern Nigeria’s most elitist state, El’Rufa’i wasted no time in declaring a state of emergency in the education sector. In view of the sickening state of affairs in this sector which suffered neglect and ill-informed policies and lack of strong commitments by past administrations to boost the sector, the governor made a quick u-turn to turn the tide of things.
To kick the ball rolling, the Governor unveiled a 13.7 billion naira yearly education project for primary and secondary schools which include free tuition fees, free school feeding and uniforms coupled with rehabilitation of dilapidated structures. Despite heavy debt placed on the coffers of the state government which culminated to over N74.27 billion, recklessly “siphoned’ by the past administration, El’Rufa’i still found succor not to relent.
The Governor who nurtured a strong passion to improve the education sector believes that such a gesture will not only lay a foundation for development, but will also free humanity from bondage. “We are determined that one legacy for the rebirth of our country will be the restoration of education as a tool to free our people from the fetters of ignorance”, El’Rufa’i was quoted as saying when unveiling the package to reinvigorate the sector.
Indeed any sensible government whose interest is to develop its people will stop at nothing to improve its education, for; the popular minds believe that the bedrock of any meaningful development is education.
In my opinion, El’Rufai has characteristically chosen to boost the education sector for two reasons: first, the Governor is not only a beneficiary of education which liberated him from all forms of bondage and placed him where he is today, but is also a first class guru whose passion to see many of his likes among the masses is not far from being sighted. Secondly, the Governor knew too well that with education accorded priority, the economic, social and political malfeasances that have eaten deep into the fabrics of the state will be history and dubious politicians who see nothing wrong in hiring the uneducated disadvantaged youths as political thugs will have to make a rethink.
Despite the economic quagmire that has ravaged the country because of the dwindling prices of oil in the world market, which has impact on the monthly allocation from the federal government, coupled with entrenched culture of impunity and systemic corruption that looted the state dry, the governor still insists, such will not be an excuse not to discharge his responsibilities.
The apparent rendition of El’Rufa’i to boost the sector started with the introduction of school feeding which has so far redoubled school attendance among pupils in the state. Kaduna state is not only the pioneering state in this regard, but a serious minded one whose Governor has generated about 125, 000 jobs in nine months and the larger chunk of those employed are in the education sector. With reports from various national and international NGOs such as UNICEF suggesting that Nigeria has the highest out of school children in the world, El’Rufa’i’s resolve to revitalize education is not only timely but, commendable.
In his quest to achieve success, the Governor also pledged to distribute free customized tablets to enhance e-learning among secondary school students, as well as training and retraining of teachers has since been factored in.
To make all these policies a realization, Mr. ElRufai has demonstrated a strong commitment to hold any public official to ransom who is found wanting in diverting what is meant for the public to their private use. And so far, a school headmaster and support officer that were apprehended and relieved of their duties and suspending two other culprits for allegedly benefitting personally from the school feeding programme is a glaring demonstration of his cohesive approach to rekindle life back to the sector.
Demolition of illegal structures
To demonstrate his doggedness on the notoriously “untouched” Kaduna mafia—a composition of elites, business moguls and top civil servants who have grown fat at the detriment of the common folks, the fearless El’Rufa’i has since started what he was best known for as a minister—demolition of illegal structures.
The people’s Governor is strongly bent on his resolve not to renege his campaign promises, part of which was to fight the Kaduna mafia who illegally allocated hectares of land to themselves and their families.
What is unarguably unpardonable according to the Governor was how these mafias confiscated hectares of land which belong to schools supposedly meant for their expansion and development. El’Rufa’i who defied being “afflicted with a course” from the so called mafia is not only healthy and physically fit to fight back, but has turned his war fare on promoters of endemic corruption, entrenched culture of impunity and the mafia have since started reaping what they have sown.
And gradually with the help of the Almighty and the dysfunction of the mafia, the Governor is getting more grounded in his ambition to peep up the education sector and bulldoze the mafia simultaneously.
The momentum gathered so far is also translating in several other sectors too numerous to mention because of time and space, but this writer will keenly monitor developments in the state to keep readers abreast and to encourage other state Governors to emulate El’Rufai’s model of development.
Haruna Mohammed Salisu writes from Bauchi. He could be reached at 08063180608 or harunababale@gmail.com. [myad]